YMMV / Doctor Who S25 E4 "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy"

• Catharsis Factor: Cmon, who else cheered when the useless Dirty Coward Captain Cook bit the dust.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Mags, to the point that Jessica Martin has, as of 2019, reprised the role for Big Finish, now as a full-fledged companion to the Seventh Doctor.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: The Psychic Circus is used as an allegory for Doctor Who falling on hard times from its earlier seasons. However, at the end of the serial, Kingpin resolves to revamp the Circus with a new format and start afresh. Other stories would reveal the Psychic Circus was able to make a comeback, just as Doctor Who would do in 2005.
• Les Yay: Ace forms a bond with Mags almost instantly, and seems to pick up on the abusive nature of the girl's arrangement with her companion/master almost before the Doctor does. While Ace is separated from her for most of the episode, they play off one another beautifully when they're together and are among the only characters that never, at any point, doubt one another's honesty or try to use each other.
• Narm: The story has creepy robo-clowns, werewolves, and kickass explosions for a finale. Unfortunately, it also has a Totally Radical rapping Ringmaster (though his relentless cheerfulness may be Nightmare Fuel to some).
• Strawman Has a Point: Whizzkid is a cruel stereotype of the Doctor Who fans of the period, complaining that "although I never saw it in the early days I know it's not as good as it used to be." Except, as pointed out in The Completely Useless Encyclopedia, Whizzkid is right about the Circus, and the reasons are pretty much exactly the criticisms fans made about 1980s Doctor Who both then and now (especially since the Classic Series' arrival on home media in later decades made it easier for fans to point out the show's Seasonal Rot in the '80s).

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