Best of 2015 Awards: The Winners (Part 2)
Connor Johnston presents the second set of results from Doctor Who TV’s “Best of 2015” Polls.
Best Pre-Title Sequence of 2015 – “My Name Is Davros” (The Magician’s Apprentice)
There can be no underestimating the power and responsibility of the ‘Pre-Title Sequence’ when it comes to constructing a new episode of Doctor Who. To paraphrase a very fitting saying, “It only takes a dull opening sequence to lose a viewer’s attention, but it takes the entire following episode to earn it back”. This is a writer’s first chance to take grip of the audience’s attention and ensure they will remain as eager and enthralled throughout the entirety of the episode. Looking over the selection from Series 9, it’s clear how innovative and original each writer has been in bringing to the table something new and invigorating. “Before the Flood’s” fourth wall breaking explanation of the Bootstrap Paradox was refreshingly academic, foreshadowing the structure of the following episode’s resolution, while “The Husbands of River Song” and “The Girl Who Died” banked on a more traditionally entertaining and comedic scene. “Sleep No More” began with a frighteningly abrupt warning, while both “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion” invoked the use of jarring imagery and intense action shots to open their stories explosively. However, despite such strong competition it will come as no surprise to many to see “The Magician’s Apprentice” opening entitled ‘My name is Davros’ take top place today with 32.04% of the votes.
There’s always something fairly electric about the start of a series, however it was the ambition of Series 9 to open with such a strong and polarising moral dilemma that was particularly impressive. The brilliance of this scene is the reaction it stirs up from the audience; with a mixture of confusion, shock, horror and uncertainty over the Doctor’s actions. The atmosphere and cinematography of the scene is too one of its strongest points of victory – a compliment that can be easily extended to the entire series it headlines. It’s with this opening sequence that the show hints at the unpredictable, thrilling and epic series to come, as well as setting up for one of the greatest Davros-Doctor confrontations of all time.
Best Visual Effects of 2015 – Hell Bent
When it comes to Doctor Who and visual effects, the historic track record isn’t quite what one would label as ‘enduring’. However, regardless of how littered its past is with Paper-Mache monsters and rubber dinosaurs, what has remained timeless is its sincerity in realising the broad imaginations of its script to the best quality it can achieve at the time. It’s become an increasingly popular trend in recent years to attempt to build the atmosphere of the show to cinematic levels, and how the episode looks is one of the most important aspects in doing so. From the moment the first trailer premiered at Comic Con last July, it was no secret that in this department Series 9 would excel to unprecedented heights. From the realisation of a rebuilt Skaro to the profound beauty of the Singing Towers, the transparent horrors of the Fisher King’s ghosts to the horrific demise of Professor Rasmussen and of course the epic deconstruction of the dam – 2015 was jam packed full of extraordinary visuals and jaw-dropping moments. However, despite such a strong consistency in quality throughout the entire year – it was the epic conclusion in “Hell Bent” that stood out from the crowd, claiming victory with 36.21% of the vote.
Gallifrey has, of course, been witnessed throughout the revival many times in the past, however its appearance has always been in short snippets or raging destruction. “Hell Bent” was the first time in over 2 decades that the planet had been witnessed in such a triumphant and significant way – and it was stunning. Between the elongated towers of the citadel to the mysterious depths of the Gallifreyan Matrix, the imposing patrol ships to the striking re-imagining of a Classic TARDIS – “Hell Bent” delivered such an extensive array of gobsmacking environments and humbling cinematography, and truly deserves each and every bit of praise that it receives. It’s a mixture of hard work, determination and an immense amount of talent by all involved in the creation of the show, both during and post production, that should receive the most thanks for translating the world of Doctor Who to audiences in such a polished and spectacular way.
Best Music Score of 2015 – Heaven Sent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLzC7lnyiZc
How is it possible that after over a decade working on the show, Murray Gold continues to go from strength to strength, triumphantly bettering his work each series? Series 9 showed that more than ever before, Gold’s score was instrumental in dictating the tone and atmosphere of the episode. Specific highlights throughout the year included Ashildr’s immortal awakening at the conclusion of “The Girl Who Died” that complimented the striking visuals superbly, Clara’s farewell to the Doctor and death on trap street in “Face the Raven” (which remains in my mind one of, if not THE best piece of music Gold has ever produced for the show), and of course the entirety of “Hell Bent’s” score ranging from an in universe variation on Clara’s theme to a stirring rendition of the Ninth Doctor’s theme in the wake of the Doctor’s return. However consistent Gold’s work has been, yet again it is “Heaven Sent” who claims the prize with 47.66% of the vote.
There’s only so much I can say about the painstakingly stunning score to an equally impressive episode. It’s been widely remarked that Gold’s work for “Heaven Sent” has come across as very reminiscent of the Classic Era, and I for one thing this is simply a reference to how timeless and universal his arrangements for the episode are. Of course the musical highlight has to easily be Gold’s variation of “This Time There’s Three of of Us” which married perfectly to episode’s revelation and conclusion, which can be listened to in all its glory above.
Best Writer of 2015 – Steven Moffat
It’s no secret that Series 9 has been praised with a far greater enthusiasm than episodes in recent years, and one of the most popular remarks is that the writing of the show has taken a welcome leap in both quality and maturity. 2015’s writing line up was without a shadow of a doubt one of the most impressive list of creative personalities the show has had in years – and the success of the series stands as a testament to their talent. “Face the Raven” saw one of the most impressive debuts of a writer to date, with Sarah Dollard capturing our imaginations with the originality of Trap Street and crushing our souls with Clara’s heartbreaking death, while Catherine Tregenna was also welcomed to the main series with the equally moving and layered “The Woman Who Lived”. Both Peter Harness and Jamie Mathieson returned from Series 8 to further enhance their contributions to the Capaldi Era with 2 stories that each held a special significance in layout of the series, and veterans Mark Gatiss and Toby Whithouse were each billed to channel their ambition into two scare-inducing horror stories both set within a claustrophobic environment. Regardless of how impressive the line-up was however, there really is no challenge to the level of commitment and quality provided by Steven Moffat in shaping one of the most successful series of the revival with 66.06% of the vote.
Steven’s originality, confidence, and passion for the show really shone through with his work this year, from reintroducing Skaro and offering such an iconic villain a new lease of life in Davros with “The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witches Familiar” to aiding shape to two of the most structurally important episodes in “The Girl Who Died” and “The Zygon Inversion” before sparing no efforts in closing the stories of Clara Oswald and River Song towards the end of the run with the most respect and justice possible. It’s no overstatement to say that if Moffat’s final series is half as impressive as Series 9, we are certainly in for a treat indeed.
Best Director of 2015 – Rachel Talalay
As I’ve mentioned many times before, it’s no secret how masterfully crafted the ninth series was. It takes real talent to achieve the scope and cinematic presence of a blockbuster movie within one episode, especially on Doctor Who’s minuscule budget – and luckily the line-up of directors this year barely faulted in producing one of the most visually pleasing and impeccably paced series of the revival. Between Hettie MacDonald opening the series spectacularly with such a confident and epic two parter, Daniel O’Hara tackling on of the most challenging environments and Ed Bazalgette embedding a certain quirkiness to his episodes – the first half of the series set the benchmark ridiculously high. The scope and pacing of “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion” cemented the abilities of Daniel Nettheim who personally stands out as one of the most accomplished and ambitious directors of the series, and both Justin Molotnikov and Douglas Mackinnon impressed with some stunning visuals towards the latter half of the year. It will come as no surprise however that the award today goes to the unexplainable genius of Rachel Talalay, with 74.81% of the vote.
Talalay has, from her very first episode in Series 8’s “Dark Water”, been a force to be reckoned with in the directing team. There can be no question that the talent, ability, passion and sincerity Talalay brought to her episodes in 2015 is among some of the strongest work the show has ever seen. Both “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent” transcend the usual format for a Doctor Who episode and are visually stunning. As bluntly as I can: she just gets “Doctor Who”. Every setting was perfectly utilised, every reveal suspended for dramatic effect and every action shot delivered with a punch. Rachel’s devotion to her craft is so obvious in every piece of work that she delivers, and I’m sure I can speak for the vast majority in hoping that a Talalay finale becomes an integral part in the show’s future for many years to come.
Join us again tomorrow for the next set of results.
