There were obviously things I liked about it. The new sonic screwdriver, the allusion to half-human Doctor from the TV movie, the new sonic screwdriver, the HHGttG feel of the diner (which I'm sure runs on bistromathics)...
But it seemed like a wasted return to Gallifrey. And I'm not sure how I feel about immortal Clara. I liked how they handled the memory wipe reveal, though.
So I can see how someone might come away hating it.
To me it seemed like an hour of random fanboy-wankery thrown at the fan to see what would hit it. It came off as the absolute worst in fan-fiction made real.
I absolutely adore Capaldi, and Coleman. The Doctor / Clara team has been wonderful. But, her "death" and the reason for it was idiotic. And the reason "Me" couldn't stop it... just as stupid. And, while I am on the subject, "Me" is possibly the absolutely most pathetically ridiculously stupid character ever created for Doctor Who. And with both River Song and the Brigadier's daughter in the running for that award, that says alot. I loved the first episode that character was in, but they went and destroyed every bit of goodwill I had towards it by keeping that character around. Anyway, after that wankery with Clara,if I was Adric, I'd be PISSED! Ha! The death of a companion should be rare (it has been,so far) and it should be devestatingly meaningful... not undone one episode later... or at all. And making her immortal. Uh, no. Just no. Only three companions ever deserved immortality, Sarah Jane, The Brigadier and Jamie.
Oh, and I hate "Missy" too. They shouldn't have gone there. (My opinion) That character should have been the Rani. That would have been awesome. Missy as Master... sucks.
I like Moffat's vision of Gallifrey. But, after all that build-up and setting up the whole Rassilon thing in earlier seasons, to dismiss it all as simply as they did was horrid.
The Matrix looking like a catacombs was kinda neat, but silly. The wraiths was just plain dumb. And they didn't actually mean anything to the story, at all,so what was the point?
Having the new TARDIS interior look just like Hartnell's was awesome (and a good re-use of the set made for the Hartnell TV-Movie I suspect) but was just one more little thing meant to make the fanboys go "Oooooooo" just like the diner, the mentions of previous adventures in the Matrix, the half-human thing, etc. All just fanboy wankery. I am surprised he didn't throw Leela, K-9 Mk I and Romana in there somewhere during the Gallifrey bit, for one more "Ooooooo."
And on that subject... Why in the hell was the Sisterhood of Karn even there? Did they do anything? At all? Was there a story purpose for them to show up? Or, was it just an excuse to trot out a guest appearance for a famous guest star and one more meaningless piece of fan-wankery trash?
That's my take on it.
