Synopsis: The Doctor takes Clara to see the rings of the planet Akhaten and the Festival of Offerings. However, something stirs in a nearby pyramid and it demands a sacrificial offering,

My recap: Clara finally joins the Doctor on her first official jaunt as a companion. Yet, the episode began with the story of how Clara came to be. Remember the movie Up? That is kind of the feeling I got from the opening sequence. We see how her parents met and then they have a baby and they raise her. We see an incredible bond between Clara and her mother, which has left an indelible mark on her and is reflective in how she interacts with children.

Which was evident in how she interacts with the Queen of the Years, a little girl named Mary that has the responsibility of seven worlds on her shoulders. This causes her to run because if she fails at her task than the known universe will be eaten up by her Grandfather (a planet that eats planets). Clara gives Mary the confidence to do her job, but ultimately she fails and everyone is in a panic as the little girl is sucked to the Grandfather so she can feed it. Clara and the Doctor intervene, but even the Doctor’s impassioned tale of suffering is not enough to save the worlds. But, Clara and her little red leaf and all the memories and moments that should have taken place were it not for the untimely death of her Mother, saved everyone. Even after all this, the Doctor is still questioning who Clara is…

What I can say about Clara is that her sense of wonder is infectious. If I were in her shoes I would be the same way, wide-eyed and giddy. Also, when you see her be sympathetic… it kind of plucks at the heart strings because it is in those moments where we learn the most about her. In a way, she mirrors the Doctor.

I have a clarification for new Whovians and a question that I had after this episode:
1. Who is the Doctor’s granddaughter? It is Susan from the first version of Doctor Who.
2. We never really saw Clara’s mother pregnant. Is she something other than human?
Loved this episode.

Next time: In Cold War, it is 1983 and the Doctor and Clara land on a Russian nuclear submarine trapped beneath the Arctic ice. A ghostlike alien haunts the ship, and threatens to drive the crew to the brink of madness.

He may not be your classically good-looking actor, but he is charismatic, funny, and he has made a whole new generation (including my 11 year old niece) want to wear red Shriner hats and bow ties in public, and made everyone fall in love with Doctor Who.

Last Bite is back with news on the new shows that will be popping up on your TV in the 2013-2014 TV season (i.e. Dracula, Gothica, The Originals, The Selection, The Witches of East End and more…) and the latest news on upcoming movies (Star Wars, Blood Sisters and Divergent).

For SBLC, Maria reviews Warm Bodies the book and Kelly gives us a major hint on who Sookie may pick at the end of the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Plus, you’ll hear the latest news and spoilers on your favorite shows!

You can download the podcast here, via iTunes or via the Zune Marketplace.

Enjoy!

This podcast was recorded on 02.15.2013.

So what can you pretend that you don’t know about the Christmas episode?

SMITH: We’ve got the wonderful Richard E. Grant who’s brilliant as a sort of villainous role. We meet the new companion.

But, we’ve met her already.

SMITH: But, we meet her again.

But is she still a Dalek?

SMITH: We meet the new companion. And we’ve got Vastra, Jenny and Strax are making a return appearance which is terribly exciting. And it does the sort of wonderful Doctor Who-ey Christmas things, you know, snow, aliens, good will, good cheer, someone trying to take over the world. Hopefully it makes for good Christmas day telly.

Where are you in part two of season seven? Are you still filming that?

SMITH: Yeah, we are. We’ve got another five weeks left of shooting. We’ve just finished shooting episode one, the opener of next season which I think will be a real belter, actually. Steven’s delivered a great script; we had a great director called Colm McCarthy. Jenna really was on form in it and stuff. I think Steven’s written a really good monster so I think that could be something to really look forward to next year.

If I’m not mistaken, I believe Neil Gaiman-

SMITH: Is back, yeah.

There’s a film made about he’s thinking about the genesis of Doctor Who written by Mark Gatiss.

SMITH: Ah, the genesis of The Doctor, but that’s about William Hartnell isn’t it? I mean, there’s that and we’ll obviously make a 50th anniversary episode special, and then they’ll be all sorts of live events I would’ve thought that surround that. I think we’re going to make it a big year for Doctor Who on the BBC. I think that’s the plan.

When I last spoke to you, you said you really enjoyed playing The Doctor, do you still get the same relish from the role?

SMITH: Yeah, I mean, I was filming yesterday and I can’t even begin to explain—I know, again, I’m sorry to sort of tease you and not say anything, but it was this wonderful set with this array of particular characters and it was like a sort of fairy land of alien world. It was remarkable, and me and Jenna were just going, “Good day at work, right?”

What kind of a Doctor is he with Clara on board?

SMITH: Well, I mean, it’s a funny thing really, because that’s sort of an ongoing process. It’s something that you learn as you go quite a lot of the time, because obviously I don’t know Jenna when she gets the job, just like any job but this particularly where the relationships and their relationship throughout the show is so important to the story, it’s something that is constantly evolving as you get to know each other a bit better. But of course we meet him having lost Amy and Rory which were very—that was a very important part of his life. So we meet a slightly different version of him. I think being with anyone, being with a different actress, being with a different character ultimately it’s going to change you. But, it’s hard for me to articulate what that is because I don’t know, it’s not something that I’m conscious of really.

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