(776) The Almost People

The first bit with the Ganger Doctor is quite funny causes there are several incarnations that are being mixed up. The two Doctors together is fun and fun isn’t a word that I would have used over the course of these two episodes. This episode is stronger than the opening one largely because I know what’s going on and the tension that is built from it is something that instantly makes the story better than the first part.

There is a ‘us vs them’ mentality from the very beginning which for some reason didn’t work in the previous episode yet her does. The performances are also better in this episode. Smith seems to be having fun playing the two versions of himself and its clear that he has confidence in himself to be able to pull this off. Gillan is better and does well with the trying to decide which is the real Doctor and which is the Ganger. Darvill has a better episode as he gets used well for the first time in several episodes.

When Jenny turns into the big bug thing towards the end that was the point that I thought it had got as best as it could. To be honest there was no way I thought that the story could pick up despite wanting it to. It’s almost like Graham was waiting until this episode to let the good stuff appear on screen. The direction is something that has hasn’t been mentioned until now or the setting and both worked well especially the setting. I thought that the story had a base under siege vibe to it and normally that would be enough for me to rate the story highly but on this occasion the setting couldn’t save the story 100%.

There is a nice bit through this episode where Amy thinks that one of the Doctors is her Doctor and the other is a ganger but towards the end  it turns out that the one she had preferred was in fact the ganger. This showed her that you should never judge a book by it cover. It hink that more of this could have been put into the story but sadly it was reduced to a side plot which I felt was a wasted opportunity.

At the end of the episode Amy goes into labour and we learn the shocking fact that she isn’t the real Amy and she turns into the plastic seen in this story and she wakes up in a pod with the scary eye patch lady looking at her. This sets up the mid-season finale up quite well (more about that tomorrow). This episode is much better than the first but I still think that it’s a disappointing two parter.

(775) The Rebel Flesh

The Rebel Flesh is the first part of a two parter that I have never really liked that much. So it wont my a long review. This story was written by Matthew Graham who previously wrote Fear Her and whilst that was a mildly interesting story, there was something about this story that just doesn’t work quite well. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive on a planet which has a monastery type place and some acid surrounding it. There are people working there and they have dopplegangers (or just gangers) that after a storm start to turn on everyone. That is pretty much the plot for these two episodes and that is why I found this episode rather boring in 2011 and find it equally boring today.

The only thing of interest that happens in this story is that Rory is starting to stand on his own too feet. He doesn’t just do what Amy tells him to do and its good to see the look on Amy’s face when this happens. Actually the cliffhanger is quite interesting as it shows that the Doctor has become a ganger. I do genuinely believe that things will pick up because there were good signs in the final ten minutes of the episode but it would have been nice had the good stuff started earlier in the episode.

I don’t know if it’s the heat but there is something about some of the episodes that aren’t working on me in the way that the previous series did. I don’t think that it’s the fault of the regulars because Smith is just getting better and better and Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvil are also on good form. I just think that some of the stories have been a bit weak.

(774) The Doctor's Wife

After being disappointed with the previous story, it was nice to know that there was a really good story coming up. The title is a bit misleading because when the title was revealed it was implied that it would be someone that the Doctor meets and marries but in reality the wife is the TARDIS and this is a marriage that has been going on since 1963 and its only know that the relationship is thrusted into the centre of the story. In the past when the word Doctor has been included in the story then people have been slightly put on the defensive but on this occasion the worries were unfounded.

There are two familiar names in the supporting cast in this episode. The first being Suranne Jones who is perhaps best known for the ITV drama Scott and Bailey (2011-2014) and Coronation Street (1997-2004) and also played Mona Lisa in The Sarah Jane Adventures (2009). The other name is Michael Sheen who has been in Frost/Nixon (2008), The Twilight Movies and The Damned United (2009). Sadly we don’t get to see Sheen but just hear him as he is the voice of House.

Neil Gaiman is the writer of this episode and to be honest I haven’t read his work before but people seemed to be quite excited by this so it was always going to be interested to see what he would come with. Well by the time the titles played we knew because it was a pre-title scene full of action and ends with the sole of the TARDIS going inside Idris. Gaiman really has come up with a treat and is someone who clearly understands the show and what the show can deal with and whereas I wasn’t a fan of his before I am definelty one now even though I still haven’t actually read anything of his.

It is a great performance from Jones and proves that just because you have been in a soap, doesn’t mean that you aren’t a good actress. The good/bad ratio is still in favour of the bad but Jones is the exception to the rule. I am guessing that some work had to go on Sheen’s voice but the character of House is very good and even though its just a voice, he has the power to move a TARDIS. He wants to use the TARDIS to get some energy because he’s been using the TARDIS that have been lured to absorb the energy. It’s quite a good idea for a creature.

The Doctor is lured onto the asteroid thinking that there are other timelords when in fact there aren’t. The Doctor wants them to be there so he can bring them back and it’s a good moment when the Doctor realises that he has been tricked.

Amy and Rory are separated from the Doctor after a while and spend the rest of the episode running around the TARDIS. This is the first time since the show came back in 2005 that we have seen anything other than the console room. Even if the episode was rubbish, then the saving grace of it would be that we saw more of the TARDIS. This is a great part of the episode where doors shut and Amy and Rory are separated. Rory ends up getting a raw deal because at one point he appears dishevelled and this is where Arthur Darvill really shines.

There is a line where the Idris says (as the TARDIS) that she hasn’t always taken the Doctor where he wanted to go but where he needed to go. This totally changes things when watching other stories because when watching early Doctor stories then it would be cool to think that it wasn’t poor handling on the Doctor’s part but just the TARDIS taken him where he needed to go. I like how the Doctor builds a new TARDIS out of the remains of the junkyard.

For anyone who has watched Doctor Who since the Tom Baker era will know that there is more than one console room and this point is bought to our attention again as the Eccleston/Tennant console room is bought back and this is a wonderful moment although its too brief and soon the action moves back to the new console room. Then there is a lovely scene where the Doctor is crying about the TARDIS leaving Idris and this is one of the strongest moments of the Matt Smith era so far. It still baffles me why people would be so down on Smith even after this episode but that’s for another discussion.

This has been a brilliant story and I have loved it as much as I did in 2011. As a rating, this episode got 8.02 which currently places it in 5^th place and only the seventh story to get in the 8’s and that gives Matt Smith his second top 10 story. Sadly the NEXT TIME trailer shows what is coming and its another two parter but one that I haven’t thought too highly of. At the moment the series is coming off as a bit inconsistent which is troubling.

(773) The Curse of the Black Spot

Today is quite a special day because it was announced that Big Finish are doing more stories using characters from the new series. The Judoon, the Weeping Angels and River Song are going to be used.

I haven’t mentioned it for a while but I have been watching these episode on Netflix and I have noticed that especially in the previous two episodes there was a little addition before the titles played and it is Amy talking about her story with the Doctor and then the titles play. I’ve checked the DVD just in case it was my poor memory but it’s not on there. Anyway to todays episode and its not one of my favourites. I think that the swing from seriousness of the previous two episodes to the light hearted tone of this episode was too great. The story sees the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive on a ship where the crew are being terrorised by a siren-like creature. To be honest that’s the most that I am prepared to write about the story because to be honest I just haven’t got the enthusiasm to write much about it.

So I am going to write about the performances. The performances from Smith, Gillan and Darvill are all quite good but I thought that Darvill suffered because he was the one the got the black spot and that was about as exciting as his day got. Smith seems to be having fun playing pirates and Gillan is also having fun following him. Hugh Bonneville plays Henry Avery and is perhaps the biggest name in the episode as he has been in stuff like Downton Abbey, Twenty Twelve and W1A. He is a good on screen presence and brings a nice vibe to the story but to be honest even Hugh Bonneville cant rescue this story. Lily Cole is a name that got a lot of attention because she’s a model and apparently that’s a big reason for casting her. Her character is one that starts off as a baddie but is soon revealed to be a nurse helping everyone who is ill on the ship and she makes them better.

I wasn’t a fan of the episode in 2011 and four years later I still haven’t been won over by it. With everything going on it was a shame that I didn’t take much more from it. It’s definelty the weakest story of the Matt Smith era with The Beast Below slightly better but only because the novelty of the new team of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. Here there isn’t anything that I can take from it. Thankfully when the episode ended and I saw the NEXT TIME trailer it reminded me that one of my favourite Matt Smith stories coming up next.

(772) Day of the Moon

As I mentioned in The Big Bang review, Moffat has a problem ending big epic two-parters. Whilst this isn’t the same as The Big Bang, its fair to say that this episode doesn’t suffer from the same problems but it certainly comes close. Doctor Who’s stateside holiday takes a decidedly grim and unexpected twist in this episode. The episode immediately starts with Amy running in the middle of the desert and is seemingly killed. Quite a grim start to the episode, things get grimmer when Rory seems to suffer the same fate. River seems to be jumping off a unbuilt floor and is going to fall to her death but I like how after a while the TARDIS appears and she dives into the TARDIS and seemingly into the infamous swimming pool. For Amy and Rory their fate is revealed because the perfect prison that has been built for the Doctor and Amy and Rory are alive and the TARDIS has been placed inside the prison but is invisible.

Action moves to a creepy abandoned children’s home. It’s very creepy indeed and one this is where some of the best stuff in the episode happens. When Amy is looking at all the silences hanging from the ceiling I thought that it was a great moment. Another great moment comes when Amy sees a woman called the Eye Patch Lady and she opens a slot in a door and then disappears. It’s unclear whether this is relevant to this part of the story but obviously as the series progresses it becomes more interesting.

The big scene comes when the Doctor has moment with the silence which leads to the death of the silence. The use of the moon landing is teased throughout these two episodes and the moment when it actually happens comes at the peak of the episode. When everyone is watching the moon landing they can suddenly see the silence which leads to their deaths. It’s quite a way of getting out of the current situation and does lead to a great shootout with River showing that she’s more than a match for the Doctor.

Nixon asks the Doctor if he will be remembered which is quite an amusing question and when the Doctor says “say hello to David Frost” that also made me chuckle. Milligan has portrayed Nixon as a bit of a comedy character in this episode which is a bit odd but after a while I got use to it and whilst it was clear that Nixon wasn’t the greatest person in the world. In the context of this story he was someone that the Doctor could trust

The final shot in the TARDIS is of the scanner checking to see if Amy is pregnant and it doesn’t make a decision. I’ll be honest and say I don’t really care about this and the only reason its getting a mention is that at least later on it becomes relevant but at the moment I just can’t get worked up about whether she’s pregnant or not.

The final shot of the episode is arguably the most intriguing because it’s the girl from the astronauts costume and she regenerates. There are too many loose ends in this story which are left frustratingly open. The opening story of the season should have a gentle open to the story arc and it feels like they have just gone overboard with it. It’s a good two parter but I think that they have started to high and the rest of the series will be poorer as a result.

(771) The Impossible Astronaut

This is where the Matt Smith era really starts to get dark. Unlike David Tennant’s first series, Matt Smith enjoyed quite a lot of success in his debut year and so there was some renewed excitement when the trailers started to air showing what looked like an awesome series. The trailer showed that the Doctor was going stateside for the first time since 1996 and unusually, the series was going to start with a two-parter. This was the first time that a series had started with a two-parter since Attack of the Cybermen in 1985. If this didn’t make it clear that they were aiming for epic this series then nothing would.

Amy and Rory start the episode in what seems like a normal life, River Song is in prison and they have been invited to a meeting with the Doctor. It’s an interesting sort of prison where River can seemingly leave at any time. In the real world that’s not a prison but that not important at the moment.

The Doctor mentions that Amy has put on a couple of pounds which seems like a horrible dig but comes on to take on significant importance.

The Silence makes it debut in this episode. It’s first appearance is far away and is a silhouette. It’s not until the 25^th minute before one appears in the oval office of the White House. The design of the Silecne is rather well done although it has similarities to the Slenderman. The cool thing about the Silence though is that the moment anyone sees them and looks away they forget.

The first big scene happens quite early on in the episode when Amy, River and Rory witness the Doctor being shot by someone in a spacesuit. We don’t see who it is even though the Doctor knows who it is. There is a nice sense of us not being in on the plan. No one could know that the Doctor would be killed so early on in the first episode of a brand new series. This shock only lasted a few minutes when he wanders out of the toilets.

The idea to use Richard Nixon is something that perhaps couldn’t be avoided so he is used to the advantage of the story. Stuart Milligan plays Nixon and I thought that it wasn’t that bad an impression. I cant help but think about the character he plays in Jonathan Creek but that aside I thought that it was a good performance from him.

I like how the control room of the Silence is the same as the one seen in The Lodger. I don’t know whether we are supposed to put two and two together but that episode aired quite soon before this one so people would still remember it.

This story has an end of series finale feel to it which is why this episode feels so different to pervious opening episodes. The episode ends with Amy (who has been on a weird mind trip) shoot at the astronaut who turns out to be a young girl. The mystery doesn’t end here because the question remains as to who the girl is and why did she kill the Doctor.

This was a very good opening episode. The good form that the show had during the previous series has continued with this episode. The setting has helped make this story seem more epic than it would have done had it happened in London or Cardiff. It gives it a truly international experience and I just hope that things continue.

(770) A Christmas Carol

Matt Smith’s first Christmas Special is arguably his best. This is incredibly the sixth Christmas special since the 2005 revival. It is also Matt Smith’s 14^th episode as the Doctor and he hasn’t been Doctor for a year at this point. The beauty of Christmas Specials is that it is the only Doctor Who episode that doesn’t have much to do with story arcs and the jolliness is rather evident.

There are two big names that guest star in this episode. The first is opera singer Katherine Jenkins who plays Abigail. Even though Rory and Amy are in the story and technically part of the story, Abigail essentially becomes the Doctor’s companion for the story. With Jenkins being a singer then it was obvious that she would do singing and thankfully she is a better singer than actress because to sound a bit harsh she isn’t the most convincing. The best bit for Jenkins comes when she is singing Silence is Golden at the end opposite Michael Gambon. The next big name is Michael Gambon. Yes the actual Michael Gambon who is best known for having a corner on the Top Gear track named after him. Gambon plays an Ebineezer Scrooge type character and for all intents and purposes he is because this is Doctor Who’s attempt at A Christmas Carol and its not just the title that Moffat borrows from Mr Dickens.

The first thing that strikes me when I started watching this episode after the titles have finished and that is that the episode looks visually impressive. The writing from Moffat is rather good but the problem is that at some stage in the writing process he realised that eh didn’t have enough material to sustaine 60 minutes so he’s added the whole stuff with Kazran and Abigail’s regular Christmas celebration which got a bit tiresome after a while. The flying fish is another thing that I like about this story. The sight of a flying shark is something that still looks impressive and is worth some of the poorer stuff that happens in the episode.

There is a part of the story where the Doctor is talking to Young Kazran and is also talking to adult Kazran. The story progresses with adult Kazran getting new memories of him as a young boy travelling with the Doctor and Abigail. There are moments which work quite well in the story but despite these things I still at times felt less warmly to the story. I don’t know if its got something to do with watching a Christmas episode on one of the warmest days of the year or not but it didn’t connect with me much.

I said at the beginning that this was the best Matt Smith Christmas Special but that doesn’t mean that it’s the best special. To be honest it gets bogged down quite early on and the whole Kazran/Abigail love story isn’t the most interesting but its more the directing of Toby Haynes that saves the day and I also thought that Matt Smith was really good and seems to have well and truly settled into the role. Now the 32^nd series starts to take on a darker tone.

(769) The Big Bang

The final episode of Matt Smith’s first season comes to an end with a story that has a lot to achieve. The pre-title scene starts with Young Amy who goes to visit the Pandorica which is now at a museum and the scene ends with Amy in the Pandorica and says “This is where it gets complicated!”. That is the understatement of the episode. The thing about RTD finales is that they had too much sentimentality whereas Moffat’s problem is that he sets things up well in the first part but kind of backs himself into a corner.

Things continue to get complicated when the Doctor suddenly appears in front of Rory. It doesn’t make sense at the time and later on it fills in the blanks but then things start even more complicated where its clear that Moffat doesn’t really have any care about how people get to certain places in certain times. I will be honest and say that I don’t fully understand most of what is going on but to be honest I don’t mind that because the whole episode roars along

There is something quite nice about the fact that Rory guarded the Pandorica which at this point has Amy in it.

The stone looking Dalek is quite a good design. After the massive alliance of monsters, its curious that only the Dalek makes it into this episode. It would have been nice if the Sontarans or Cybermen had made it.

History being erased and time is running out are two phrases used countless times. It almost seems like it is being mentioned every couple of seconds which indicates that at times Moffat was running out of things to say and used these lines to get out of situations.

The Doctor thinks that he has died in the Pandorica when the big bang happens but instead he wakes up in the TARDIS in a rather interesting way because things start to play backwards. One of the backwards scenes is the bit in the Weeping Angels two-parter where he is talking to Amy and the camera is really close and it reveals that there are two Doctors there. The best scene from the Doctor is when he is talking to Young Amy where he talks about how he stole the TARDIS and it’s a superb performance from Matt Smith and he has been largely very good in this series. I have commented that he has showed that the show could survive without David Tennant.

The end of the episode sees River says that the next time they meet is when everything ends which is a rather interesting way of leaving River’s return at the front of our minds. Another interesting thing happens at the end when the Doctor mentions that Silence and that is when The Silence becomes an actual thing.

This is an episode that I think will work for some and not work for others. I think that Moffat just about gets away with it but now the honeymoon period is over for both Steven Moffat and Matt Smith. Overall I think that the two parter is one that starts off really well and ends with craziness. One thing is for sure, it is a finale that doesn’t reduce itself to emotional stuff to fill a third of the episode. Yes there are emotional scenes but it’s not too much. Now onto the next Christmas Special.

(768) The Pandorica Opens

How would a Steven Moffat series finale work? We have had four from the RTD era and they have generally featured a story that ended in the second episode at the forty-minute mark and then there was a lot of sentimentality. The crack in the wall storyline reaches its conclusion and after being impressed with how the show and the different feel that Steven Moffat has come up with, I wanted to see how Moffat would deal with the finale. You could tell from the pre-title scene what he was going to do and it’s as definelty different from what RTD did.

The episode starts with Vincent Van Gogh making a cameo appearance and has painted something which is then owned by Winston Churchill who phones River Song in 5145 who then escapes and bumps into Liz Ten. The painting is then revealed to be the TARDIS blowing up. The thing is that it takes seven minutes for this be revealed and that long before the titles play.

The action takes the Doctor to Stonehenge. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for the show to film at Stonehenge and its used in a rather creative way.

There are many cool things that appear in this episode such as a headless Cyberman. Amy and the Doctor are attacked by a roaming hand and Amy is attacked by its head which has tentacles and splits down the middle to reveal a quite horrific skull before clattering at Amy’s face trying to bite it off. This episode feature an alliance of the Daleks, Cybermen, Teriltptil’s (The Visitation), Slitheen’s, Chelonian, Judoon, Nestene, Drahvin (Galaxy 4), Sycorax, Haemo-goth, Zygon, Atraxi, the weird monster from Love and Monsters & Draconian (Frontier in Space). The sight of them standing in front of the Doctor when he is sitting in the Pandorica is one of the highlights of the episode. It’s only at this point that you get an impression of the vastness of the problem that is happening in the story. There is no other reason why the Daleks and Cybermen would even entertain the same space.

The return of Rory is rather funny because the Doctor knows its Rory and yet doesn’t put two and two together for quite a while. At first there is no real explanation given as to why he has ended up as a Roman and saves Amy. The fact that he is in fact an Auton is something that I didn’t expect and that all the Romans. The reunion between Rory and Amy is rather sweet and if this had been Mickey and Rose then things would have been slushy and rather frustrating whereas due to the performances from Arthur Darvil and Karen Gillan, it is anything but annoying and when Rory shoots Amy is so

The Pandorica is according to River Song for the “Most feared thing in all creation”. The design of the Pandorica is spectacular and the thing about this episode is that the revelation is the story. The build up is done rather well and I remember speculating even at the time as to what it was. The revelation that it was a creative decision to imprison the Doctor is a brilliant idea. The idea is that the Doctor is the most dangerous thing in creation is clearly a stupid idea and

The scene where the Doctor is yelling at all the spaceships that are racing around above the Stonehenge. He gives a great speech about stopping each and everyone of them at some point and then seem to frighten them off. This is clearly just delaying the inevitable and the episode ends with the Doctor being locked in the Pandorica and things clearly going wrong straight away. It’s a great way to end the episode and it’s a great cliffhanger and hopefully things will continue to be just as good in the final episode of the series.

(767) The Lodger

The Lodger is the cheap episode of the series. Now by being cheap it doesn’t mean that the creepiness or scariness isn’t there. Gareth Roberts returns after writing The Unicorn and the Wasp and I will say now that this is a lot better than Unicorn and the Wasp. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate that story but this story makes it look a bit below par.The episode starts with the Doctor leaving the TARDIS and saying he can see a Ryman’s. I like this because I work for Ryman and for my place of work to be mentioned in my favourite TV show. Amy and the Doctor are separated as Amy is in the TARDIS and the Doctor is Craig Owens’ (James Corden) new lodger.

James Corden is the guest star of the episode and at the moment he is hosting a late night talk show on CBS having replaced Craig Ferguson who was quite the Doctor Who fan. Before this (and after) I couldn’t stand Corden. I just found him to be an annoying fool. There was nothing that would make me watch Gavin and Stacey (BBC3) or A League of their Own (Sky1) so for the second episode in a row, I find myself surprised. I thought that Corden’s performance in this was likeable and the interaction between Smith and Corden was nice.

The most interesting aspect of the episode comes when the Doctor plays football. We have never seen the Doctor play football in eleven incarnations but here we a scene where he is indeed playing football and it reminds of that time in Black Orchid where the fifth Doctor is playing cricket so its not that strange to have the Doctor playing sport. The Doctor does a good job of integrating himself into Craig’s world including going to his work and sitting in a planning meeting and becoming Mr Popular.

The threat of this starts off innocently enough with people walking past Craig’s flat and are called in by a weird voice and lured up the stairs. Things carry on like this until Amy reveals that there is no upstairs and we get to see the spaceship that has crashed on top of Craig’s flat. This is dealt with in quite a quick amount of time but it is good and the question remains is whether it was a house and CGI used to make it look like a flat or vice versa. The ship needed pilots and was using humans to do it but they aren’t compatible and 17 people had died and like the Krafayis in the previous story, this aspect of the story kind of gets in the way of everything else.

For the third episode in a row there is a nod back to previous Doctors and it comes when Craig sees the previous incarnations and it seems to be that the floodgates have opened in this regard and by that I mean that the show is starting to submerge itself in its history that isn’t a problem at the moment because its not at the expense of the story. This was never going to be as good as Vincent and the Doctor but this is still an enjoyable episode and now the fun stuff is over and the series finale is here and this is where as far as I remember things start to get overly complicated.

(766) Vincent and the Doctor

On the face of it, Vincent and the Doctor shouldn’t be a very good story because a) it has the word Doctor in the title and b) it was written by Richard Curtis. Curtis is famous for creating comedy and slushy sentimental stuff. So it was a nice surprise to see that this episode is one of my favourites of the series. It is certainly one that shows what’s great about Doctor Who. That it can do stuff with Daleks and Cybermen but then it does lovely episodes dealing with such a tragic figure like Vincent Van Gogh who was born in March 1853 until he committed suicide in July 1890.

Tony Curran is brilliant as Vincent Van Gogh. One of the reasons why I like this story so much is that I believe that Curran is the painter. There is a wonderful sense of just going along with the Doctor and Amy and yet there is the vulnerability of his confidence. He seems like he is just one step from teetering over the edge. I like that Bill Nighy is in this episode as a bow-tie wearing Dr Black. His best scene is his last where he explains why he thinks that Van Gogh is one of the best artists in the world.  

Like in The Vampire of Venice. There is another nod to William Hartnell and in this episodes case, there is a picture of Patrick Troughton. It’s weird to think until 2008, there were hardly any references to past Doctors and now we have had two in just a few episodes.

There is a monster of the week in this episode and it’s the Krafayis. Clearly there was a desire to keep the costs down and so that is why for most of the episode its invisible. When we do see it I think that it looks quite good. Not one of the all time classics but its one of the better monsters. I think that the episode would have worked with the Krafayis so their inclusion is rather wasted but this is the only critiscm that I can level at the episode.

There is a nice scene between the Doctor, Amy and Vincent when they are lying on the grass looking at the skies and Vincent is talking about the colours and we see what his imagination is coming up with. It’s a lovely and yet heart breaking moment because we know what happens to Vincent. What is even sadder is when the Doctor takes Vincent back to modern earth and lets Vincent hear what Dr Black says about him.

This is my favourite episode of the series so far and based on my previous feelings about the next three episodes, I think that despite the use of Krafayis this is the strongest episode of the series and possibly one of the strongest Matt Smith stories.

(765) Cold Blood

The second part of this Silurian two parter is very much the one where the momentum starts to slow down and the story becomes one of morality and the things that people will do. The episode starts off with the Doctor and Nasreen walking around the Silurian City. The visual effects are rather good because there is a nice mixture of CGI and sets. There are a few occasions where the visual effects don’t quite work but they are few and far between.

There is a nice link to the 1970 Silurians story when the Doctor tells Restac (also played by Neve McIntosh) that the humans killed the Silurians. This puts Restac’s narky mood firmly into p****d off mode. Rory, Ambrose and Tony have to try and hide the fact that Alaya is dead from Restac. Neve McIntosh does a good job of making the two Silurians seem different. Alaya tries to goad Ambrose into killing her and she is angered into doing this. There is a sad inevitability about this happening and the fallout from it is what occupies the rest of the episode. I think that this is a slightly wasted opportunity because there is more about the Silurians that could have been done yet the story seems stuck of the potential war between the Silurians and the humans.

One of the few things that work in this episode is the conflict between the Silurians about what to do to the humans. Malohkeh and Eldane don’t want the warfare yet are somewhat overruled by Restac. Both Malohkeh and Eldane are likeable characters and it would have been nice if they had featured more in the story.

The only thing that this episode is memorable for is the death of Rory. He sacrifices himself to stop Restac from killing the Doctor. It’s quite a sad moment because Rory has just settled into the TARDIS and I was getting use to the line-up as it was. It just works and a strong line up. To make his death worse he is consumed by the light from the crack and so Amy forgets him. It’s a slow process of Amy forgetting him and the scene with the Doctor trying to get Amy to remember is quite a good dramatic moment. This moment is then followed by the dig blowing up and it’s like the death never happened.

The crack makes an appearance and the Doctor grabs something from inside it and it isn’t until the very end that we learn it’s a corner of the Police Notice sign. As we are three quarters of the way through the series, it’s time for things to start building up to something and this is a great part of the story arc. As a two parter, I found this to be a rather disappointing two-parter. I think that there was potential that was never explored very much. Sadly this is the last time that Silurians are used in a half decent way.

(764) The Hungry Earth

At the end of the Silurians’ last adventure, the smile was well and truly wiped off their happy looking faces which would explain why it’s taken 158 episodes (or 9,595 days) for them to return. This is the last story to feature the Silurians as a threatening menace because after this story the Silurians become friendlier which is one of the problems with Steven Moffat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to jump on the Anti-Moffat bandwagon but this is one thing that does frustrate me about new Who. Normally I can remember what episode is coming up next and whilst I knew that the first Silurian story was next, I just couldn’t remember what the episode was called. I think that it’s because it’s a rather average name for an episode. I can remember the name of the second part (Cold Blood) but this one always escapes me.

This episode features people drilling into the earth and if Doctor Who fans have learnt anything then its that drilling is never a good thing. The pre-title scene ends with the dad being sucked into the earth. It’s a good effect and works just as well when Amy in pulled into the hole.

There are somethings in the episode that occasionally don’t make sense. For example, Rory steps out of a Police Box and Ambrose and Elliot assume that he’s the police. I’m sorry but that is just a bit silly. Sadly with this being a two-parter it means that there is time to keep this going for longer than we would normally be on screen for. Another is what is achieved in the twelve minutes before the drilling upwards comes to an end. Elliot is able to draw a very detailed map in a short time and I also cant believe that even a gifted youngster would be able to draw a map like that as good as he did.

The introduction of the Silurian is slow and well done. It doesn’t appear when its daytime but waits until things have gone dark before it strikes. This would be the perfect time to talk about the new design because whilst I liked the 1970 version and thought that the 1984 version was terrible, there is something to really like about this version. It looks organic and the make up is truly superb. The Silurian we meet is played by Neve McIntosh who plays Alaya. I like how she tries to goad Rory, Ambrose and Tony. It is just frustrating when I remember what the character becomes.

It could be argued that this story slightly rehashes the idea from Doctor Who and the Silurians. The Doctor is trying to stop a war between humans and the Silurians. This is something that is started in this episode but its quite late when it does start so its clear that this is what the focus of the next episode is going to be.

The city that the Doctor and Nasreen discover looks really good and implies that we are dealing with more than just one Silurian. However I don’t know whether it was impactful enough to form a cliffhanger. It’s rather limp if I am being brutal because it isn’t really enough to make people come back the following week. After being away for over a quarter of a century, their return was something disappointing. It’s not terrible by any means but when it’s a classic series monster returning, anything other that superb is going to be a disappointing.

(763) Amy's Choice

Amy’s Choice was one of my favourite episodes of Matt Smith’s debut series. The reason being that it does something different that we haven’t seen in the show before. Simon Nye is normally a comedy writer and is perhaps best known for the BBC/ITV sitcom Men Behaving Badly and to be honest I thought that this episode was going a comedy episode but that is far from what we get.

The pre-title scene sees Amy pregnant and Rory with the worst ponytail wig that I have seen since Rodney’s stirrup in Only Fools and Horses. Moments later they all wake up in the TARDIS realising that they had the same dream and then wake up back in Upper Ledworth.

Toby Jones is the Dreamlord in this episode and I think that he’s a great actor and so think that his performance is really good. The episode has a simple premise and that is to decide which scenario is real. Is the TARDIS real or is Upper Ledworth real. It’s not just the Doctor, Amy and Rory that have to work this out as we the viewer have to decide. Rory wants Upper Ledworth to be the real place because he gets everything he wants, the Doctor wants the TARDIS to be real and Amy is happy with both. What makes the thing tick over quicker than usual is that in Upper Ledworth there are old people with aliens inside them and in the TARDIS they are going to be freezing to death. I found the Upper Ledworth monsters to be a bit disappointing. That was the only aspect of this episode that didn’t work for me. Killer old people does work and the Dreamlord help make up for this.

I like how Amy suddenly realises that she really loves Rory because she has been using him as an emotional weight and its only when she thinks that he is dead that she realises. She then turns on the Doctor and asks what the point of him is. Karen Gillan starts to show just how good she is and this is something that gets shown in The Girl Who Waited but Gillan has managed to become one of the strongest companions since the show started in 2005 and has to be considered better that Billie Piper.

The explanation about the Dreamlord is quite good. It was the Doctor’s dark impulses and it used the psychic pollen that had got caught in the time rotor. I do wish that the Dreamlord would come back because I think that there is potential for the character to be what the Celestial Toymaker could have been. I still like this episode because I think the setting is very good, the characters are well developed and the directing has been very good as well. I think at the moment The Eleventh Hour is the better episode but this is a very close second.

On a final note, I have just 50 episodes left and I am on course to finish seven weeks tomorrow.

(762) The Vampires of Venice

This is the second script from Toby Whithouse who previously wrote the 2006 story School Reunion. This is a story with Vampire in the title and normally this would bore me because I just find vampires to be very dull in terms of storytelling. The end of the previous episode saw Amy trying to know THE Doctor a bit better than was natural on a Saturday evening. This story sees the return of Rory and the introduction of him as a companion. His opening scene comes just before the title sequence and ends with the Doctor bursting out of a cake. The Doctor’s plan to stop Amy from jumping on him is to bring Rory along and take them to Venice in 1580.

It’s fun to see Rory installed into the story as when he appeared in The Eleventh Hour he was a bit of a one dimension but loveable character. Here he develops a slight distrust of the Doctor and Amy’s relationship. The best bit for Rory came when he points out to the Doctor that everyone tries to impress the Doctor and I couldn’t help but think that Rory doesn’t even know half the story.

This story was filmed in Trogir in Croatia and one of the things that I really like about this episode is that it looks stunning. It’s one of the things that works in the episode’s favour. It’s better than the locations used in The Fires of Pompeii which I thought couldn’t be topped but this managed it. I think the locations used in Vincent and the Doctor are just a good but this is the first time in the series that the locations have almost stolen the show.

Helen McCrory (currently in Peaky Blinders) plays Rosanna who is quite the mummy’s boy to Francesco who is played by Alex Price. There is a strange thing going on with this relationship and it’s is this that I quite like about their performances.

I like the moment when the Doctor shows his library card to the vampires and it’s got a picture of the first Doctor. That’s not the first nod that the series will make to the early Doctor’s and it’s something that is subtle but noticeable enough to be enjoyed. This was another good performance from Matt Smith and there were some good comedy moments and Smith does these just as well as Tennant did his.

The twist in the story comes with the fact that Francesco and Rosanna aren’t actually vampires but are from the planet Saturnyne who have Vampire like tendencies. The scene between Rosanna and the Doctor was a nice one because Rosanna is an effective villain and we learn that they were running from the silence thus continuing the story arc. At the very end there was silence and its quite an eerie silence considering that the end of the episode it should be jolly and happy.

It was a good episode which had some lovely locations and also had a good plot. I always thought that School Reunion was more nostalgia than Doctor Who, so it was nice to see what Toby Whithouse could do and I am pleased to say that I liked what I saw. I

(761) Flesh and Stone

I was thinking before watching this episode that I would like there to be more Angel stories. But at the moment we have to enjoy what we have. The opening episode set things up nicely but the thing about this story is that it follows the trends of previous two parters and that is the second half is not as strong as the opening episode. The cliffhanger (without Graham Norton) was resolved quite cleverly when they were basically standing upside down from where they were. In the early part of the episode where they are in the tunnel there is some nice editing to help them move whilst they can’t be seen to move. Another good editing moment comes when they are surrounding the Doctor in the control room and he is looking at either side of him.

I like how Amy is slowly and subtly being turned into stone. She started counting down from 10 and saying numbers in the middle of conversations. She gets into the situation where she has to close her eyes to stop the angel inside her killing her. I thought that this was quite a clever moment. She is well used in this episode because even though she can’t open her eyes, she has to navigate the woods whilst trying to avoids the angels. This is clever writing from Steven Moffat (wonder how much longer I will be writing this).

The sight of angels in the forest are really good. This is the episode where you see them moving for the first time and I really liked it. There is something just as creepy about them moving than if we don’t see them moving. The way that they are defeated could be argued to be a bit of a cheat because they get sucked into the crack through consuming all the energy and gravity letting them down. Personally I thought that was quite a good idea and the only practical way that they could be defeated.

There is a nice bit where the Doctor goes off and the Doctor seems to come back but he appears to be wearing his jacket even though he lost it in the control room. At this time it would appear to be a continuity error but it becomes quite important at the end of the series.

I thought that the death of Octavian was a shame because it was a nice performance from Iain Glen. River Song is revealed by Octavian to have killed a good man. This starts a mystery about the identity of the victim. I thought that Alex Kingston was good in this episode.

The ending of this episode caused a bit of controversy because weird people got their knickers into a twist that Amy was acting inappropriately towards the Doctor. To be honest I thought that this was all a bit of hogwash as there has been snogging between Doctors and Companions and it all seemed to be something about nothing.

Amy’s Date was mentioned earlier in the episode and the full date was revealed before the very end and the date is June 26, 2010 which is when the final episode of the series was broadcast. This was good at the time because it made it seem that something big was going to happen on this date because a date hadn’t been put into a story so much like this.

I don’t think that this episode has quite the punch that the previous episode did but there were things in it that I found it entertaining. The series is moving along quite nicely and apart from The Beast Below, this series has shown that it could survive without David Tennant.

(760) The Time of Angels

Having been a fan of The Weeping Angels when they made the debut back in 2007, it was great news when it was revealed that they would be appearing in the new series. Blink was a superb story and is most likely to remain at the number four spot of top rate stories. This story also sees the return of River Song who when we last saw her was quite happy in her ‘heaven’. Due to the complex timeline for her this is obviously before that story for her. The pre-title scene is totally mad but its great. It centres largely around River Song and how she escapes from the ship that she’s on. She has managed to engrave on a stone box that would be read 12,000 years later by the Doctor and the Doctor arrives just at the time that River gets ejected out of the ship.

I love the idea of an army of religious people. The church in the 51^st as the Doctor says has moved on and thankfully the characters aren’t frustratingly preachy. Octavian is the Bishop and is well played by Iain Glen. He does act like he’s in charge but is willing to trust the Doctor and listen to what he says.

The Weeping Angels seen in Blink were scavengers and that means that the weeping angels in this story are much stronger and much more dangerous. One of the new advances in the character since Blink comes during the scene where The Doctor, River and Amy are watching the Angel on the screen on a four second loop and there is the moment where it is coming out of the screen and is going to attack Amy. This is a great little scene causes it basically says that an image of an angel becomes an angel. That is why you will never see a Weeping Angel selfie. Another development of the Weeping Angels is that statues that people think are the Aplans are in fact the Weeping Angels evolving because they were dying before the Byzantium crashed.

Amy asks the Doctor if River Song is his wife and obviously we know that they do get married. Amy does get stuck in the traditional companion role in this story which isn’t a bad thing but she slowly becomes stone after dealing with the Weeping Angel.

The sets used as the caves are really good because they are claustrophobic and dimly lit and I am reminded of how brightly lit things were during the classic era. The whole caves section is a mixture of actual caves and CGI and they work well together.

The build up to the cliffhanger is good and infamous. The Angels are about to circle the Doctor and the others and the Doctor is going to shoot a gun into the engines of the Byzantium which even I know isn’t a good thing to do. The episode ends with the explosion happening and watching it now I am able to enjoy it for what it is. Sadly in 2010 this was spoilt by Graham Norton inserting himself in Doctor Who yet again. After his unexpected appearance in the Rose episode back in 2005, this was far more obvious of a problem with TV itself as there is a desperation on the part of the TV channels to point out what’s coming up next and in the case of this episode it’s a desperation to tell us what’s coming up next while the current programme is on and the appearance of the Graham Norton indent appearing while Smith is pointing the gun in the air. This does ruin the ending somewhat and since then I don’t recall that this has happened.

This is a good episode. I think that the ganging up between Amy and River is somewhat annoying but apart from that it’s a very well written and well directed and things look good for the next episode.

(759) Victory of the Daleks

It’s fair to say that the Daleks haven’t been exactly original since they came back. Dalek was quite good for being different but it seemed like Dalek stories afterwards have tended to rather middle of the road in terms of plot. It’s no secret that the Daleks are in this as Daleks is in the title and they were hinted at in the previous episode but the pre-title scene ends with the Dalek being revealed as the secret weapon that Winston Churchil uses and this is a good introduction for them.

This episode is rather controversial because Steven Moffat does the first thing that annoys certain Doctor Who fans. He tries to reinvent the wheel and redesign the Daleks. Not just a nip and tuck here and there but pretty much redesigns them by colour coding them. They look like a group of Teletubbies. Things start off so well when the Dalek makes its first appearance in army colours. It’s not just the colours but also the shape of them. They look completely odd looking from the back.

“I am your soldier” is Mark Gatiss’ nod to the Power of the Daleks when the Daleks say “I am your servant!”. The Doctor spends a while trying to convince Winston Churchill and Amy that the Daleks are bad and it doesn’t take too long for their true colours to show (forgive the pun). When the new Daleks are created the first thing that they do is to exterminate the old Daleks because they are not pure and are willing to be killed.

Ian McNeice plays Winston Churchill and does a great job. Not only does he look like Churchill but when he talks and the way he holds himself I believe that he is the former Prime Minister. It’s good how Churchill wants to use the TARDIS to help win the war. There is a nice bit of cheeky banter between Churchill and the Doctor. Bill Paterson plays Bracewell who seems like a nice scientist who ‘created’ the Ironsides but its soon revealed that they created him. He is used as a weapon by the Daleks and at the end the right thing happened when he survives and is pretty much given a new life. I thought that it was a nice bit of casting and worked in the episode’s favour.

Spitfires in Space is the sort of thing that TD would have come up with and I just think that it’s a step too far and doesn’t really work. That said it’s the only time that I got slightly frustrated with the story. The Doctor has to make a choice of saving humans or letting the Daleks go free. I think that this is a nice dilemma for the new Doctor and one that is handled well.

After being slightly disappointed with The Beast Below, I am happy that to report that things are back on track. Apart from the dodgy new Dalek design, this story is rather interesting and has some interesting moments. The performances are good from Matt Smith and Karen Gillan and the writing from Mark Gatiss is of the same calibre that we have had from his previous episodes. The NEXT TIME trailer reminds me that the Weeping Angels are set to make a return and that’s something to look forward to.

(758) The Beast Below

The Beast Below follows the traditional pattern of how a series begins. This is Amy’s first trip into space. The most memorable thing about this episode were the smiling faces in the booths. There are several faces but its one very angry face that is quite chilling. It quite good that the show can make these sort of things seem scary. What I didn’t expect when I watched in 2010 that they actually get out of the booth and start walking around.

One of the aspects of the story that does work is the idea that every five years people watch a video. You can choose to Protest or Forget. It all hinges of what has been done for Starship UK and Amy is put in that position this is her first test as a companion and she tries to interfere in the process and tries to take the decision out of the Doctor’s hand which creates a nice bit of conflict between the two.

Sophie Okonedo is one of the big names and plays Liz 10 who is the Queen and has been part of the five year forget plan. Okonedo is a big name actress and yet the role she plays isn’t the greatest. At first the character seemed mysterious and then when Liz started speaking it lost all of that mystery. Terrence Hardiman is the demon headmaster Hawthorne and he is the one that has been keep things ticking over while Liz 10 has been forgetting things. Due to the fact that I cant get past his Demon Headmaster I don’t quite believe the character and that’s a shame really.

They have been torturing the beast to move it under the assumption that they had to torture it to keep them alive but the space whale wanted to help them cause it couldn’t let the children cry. This worked quite well in the context of the story but I just think that it took too long for us to get to this moment.

There is a nice link into the next episode where Winston Churchill is calling the Doctor. What makes the end to this episode work is that there is a shadow of a Dalek. There is also another part of the crack story arc when we see the crack in the shell. It seemed at first that it’s a subtle thing but then the camera zooms in on it to make it quite obvious. I was never a fan of this episode before today and nothing has changed because its an ok episode but nothing special. I think the novelty of a new Doctor means that I can sort of forgive Moffat for writing a story that doesn’t quite hit the mark.

(757) The Eleventh Hour

This period of Doctor Who is quite similar to Peter Davison’s time because following someone immensely popular isn’t the most enviable of tasks. Like Tennant’s opening story, this one gets an hours running time which only seems fair. With Steven Moffat now the Head Writer it means he gets to write the first story of the Smith era.

The new title sequence seems like a breath of fresh air after five years of the same one. It looks nice and the change shows that its not just the Doctor that has changed. Also the theme tune is new but I’m not quite sure about that.

The story arc is started quite quickly when Young Amelia talks about a crack in her wall. Young Amelia is played by Caitlin Blackwood who is Karen Gillan’s cousin and it’s a good performance from her.

The humour at the beginning of the episode is quite good. The whole scene in the kitchen is funny to me for some reason. Had this been done on the RTD episodes then I might have found fault with it. The whole Fish Custard thing is something that I thought was going to be a thing. It’s such a mad thing that would normally have caught in the

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the change in this episode is the look of it. The RTD era seemed to have a warm glow to it whereas this episode starts the less warm feel.

Karen Gillan makes her second appearance and starts off appearing to be a police officer but then is revealed to be a kissogram. When the Doctor returned he had done so 12 years after their first meeting and not 5 minutes. Gillan is impressive in this series because she isn’t Billie Piper. It’s quite refreshing to not have a companion that has such a complicated history. That will change of course but at the moment it give Gillan the chance that Agyeman had in Smith and Jones. The interaction between Gillan and Smith is good from the very beginning which is quite an impressive feat.  

Arthur Darvill makes his debut as well as Rory. Rory is introduced as a loveable buffoon and at this stage its unclear why he would be considered a regular character.

Matt Smith shows during this episode how he was a good choice as the Doctor. The scenes where he is facing Prisoner Zero (played at this point by Olivia Coleman) and the Atraxi are two big scenes are ones that Matt Smith shows that he can be good when he’s required to be. The Atraxi scene where he announces that he is the Doctor is a fantastic moment. The design of the Atraxi isn’t one of the success of the episode. It looks a bit cheap and I can see what they were trying to achieve but it will have to go down as a mistake.

It’s not just the Doctor, title sequence and theme tune that’s new. The TARDIS interior gets it first update since its 2005 return and I thought that it was really good. I like the different levels because it just gives the interior scenes a bit of freshness. It makes the Eccleston/Tennant interior look rather drab in comparison.  

The Pandorica Opens and Silence will fall along with the crack in the wall bit all come together to form the story arc and it’s a great bit of mystery in 2010 to wonder what this all meant. There is also the final scene of the episode where Amy needs to be back in the morning for an event she doesn’t tell the Doctor but the viewer gets to see that it’s her wedding. This bit I don’t find as interesting as the Pandorica stuff but I suppose the show has to lean towards mellow-drama just a little bit.

This was a very strong opening episode and despite the longer than usual running time was well used by Steven Moffat. The performances from Matt Smith and Karen Gillan help show that the show can survive without Russell T Davies and David Tennant. One of my friends says that Matt Smith was close to bringing the show to its knees. I know its meant in a jokey fashion (though he wont admit it) but I think that the show has a freshness that it desperately needed.

(756) The End of Time - Part Two

The End OF Time is the final appearance for David Tennant as the Doctor (apart from his 2013 appearance). This is 47^th and final episode and is the sixth longest serving Doctor in terms of episode credited to. This is also his 1,468^th and final day as the Doctor and becomes stays as the third longest serving Doctor in that respect. It is also the 60^th and final episode for Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers and the 31^st for Russell T Davies as writer and becomes the seventh most credited writer in Doctor Who ever and the most credited writer since the show returned in 2005.

The first scene after the titles have played is set on Gallifrey and it’s the most that we have seen of Gallifrey since the show returned. Sadly the room that the Lord President meets the other Timelords in is less impressive. I suppose that it could be argued that it just means that there is nothing to distract you and your attention could be focused on Timothy Dalton. Dalton’s character is called Lord President for most of the story but it isn’t until the end that he’s called Rassilon.

It’s nice that the drumming was started by the Timelords and he has had this all his lives. It gives an nice explanation as to why the Master has been the way that he has been since he debuted in Terror of the Autons. The idea of using six billion copies of himself to find where the signal of the drumming is coming from is.

When the Lord President arrives on Earth that is what things start to ramp up and soon Gallifrey appears above the Earth and I love how quickly things spiral out of control. The reason why the Time War was timelocked is finally explained and its quite a good one.

Bernard Cribbins is fantastic in this story and the scene where he is trying to get the Doctor to shoot the Master is one of the best scenes in this story. The fact that Wilfred is the one that knocks four times and causes the Doctor to pretty much sacrifice his life is something that would normally make him a terrible character but it shows how close Wilfred and the Doctor have become that he is prepared to do this ultimate sacrifice.

The performance that John Simm gives in these two episodes is much better than the one he gave in series twenty-nine. The Master is used rather well and is quite central to the story but not in his usual way. The fact he gives up his life for the Doctor is the perfect way for the Master to exit the story.

The Doctor jumping out of the ship to crash land into the main room of the Naismith mansion seems a bit of an over the top thing to do but its not as bad as the hover boat scene in Planet of the Spiders. I thought that the moment when the Doctor realises he is alive and then hears the four knocks is a heart stopping moment and the look on Tennant’s face is so sad. When he decides to go into the booth to let Wilfred out it’s a scene that is as emotional as anything in the show since it returned. Even when RTD was trying to be emotional, this was the first time that it seemed to have an effect on me.

The final fifteen minutes is given over to the Doctor saying goodbye to all of the people who have been a part of the show during RTD’s time. I mentioned during the Journeys End review that too much time was given over to the soppy sentimental stuff but that wont happen here. You don’t appear in so many stories without earning the right to say goodbye this way. The first people that he visits are Martha and Mickey are seen trying to dodge a Sontaran and have become a married couple.  That seems like a bolt out of the blue. Next was Sarah Jane and Luke also return and the Doctor saves Luke’s life after he runs into the road. This was nice cause because Elisabeth Sladen does seem to well up and it’s the last time that Sarah Jane would appear in Doctor Who because she passes away the following year.

Captain Jack is in a bar with Slitheen, Judoon, Adispose, the Hath and ends up hooking up with Alonso from Voyage of the Damned. The tune from Daleks in Manhattan is playing in the background. Next up is Jessica Hynes appears as Verity Newman who is a descendant on Joan Redfern from Human Nature. It was perhaps for time reason that they didn’t go back to Joan Redfern and instead went for her granddaughter. Whatever the reason for it doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s a nice moment. Donna gets married (properly this time) and sadly doesn’t notice the Doctor but Wilfred and Sylvia do. The Doctor goes back to meet Geoffrey Noble and I had forgotten that bit and it was a nice touch because Geoffrey would have appeared in the 2008 series had he not passed away. The final encounter was with Rose which was always going to be the case. It happens just before Rose meets Eccleston’s Doctor but I do wonder how Rose wouldn’t remember him later on.

After all the goodbyes are done, the Doctor takes a slow walk towards his TARDIS and I think that this is where Murray Gold’s music works its magic because it builds up and up trying to crank up the emotions of the moment. I suspect that Tennant’s final words as the Doctor aren’t 100% acting. There must have been a part of him during that scene that wanted to carry on but not everything can go on forever. As last words go “I don’t want to go” is a million times better than “Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice”. The destruction of the TARDIS was a great moment and this is the last time that it features like this (it makes an appearance later in the next series).

Matt Smith’s opening minute wasn’t the greatest start and I know that there is suppose to be a bit of madness to this part but it was perhaps just a bit too mad. That said I know certain people that I watched this scene with weren’t convinced that Matt Smith was the right person to play the role. It’s hard to judge someone after such a short time but I was convinced that he would prove everyone wrong and now it remains to be seen whether this is still the case.

The End of Time was a good story and I think that it gave Tennant the send off that he deserved. Tennant had a difficult job to do when he took over from Christopher Eccleston in June 2005 but over the course of his time on the show he has helped the show increase in popularity and despite some iffy moments, the Tennant era has been really good and it will be interesting to see how watching the Smith era an episode a day will match up with Tennant’s.

(755) The End of Time - Part One

How do you end David Tennant’s tenure in the right way? It’s the sort of question that JNT had to answer when Tom Baker left the series. The way that RTD has decided to mark the end of the Tennant era was to have a two parter which has a combined running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The new Mad Max film was shorter. The opening scene starts with Timothy Dalton talking. An actual James Bond is in Doctor Who. Dalton is credited as The Narrator but it’s clear by the way that he is talking that he is far more important to the story than it seems. The Master returns to this story but the thing about the last time he was in the story it seemed like he was done in a permanent kind of way. I remember reading that the Master was suppose to take part in Jon Pertwee’s final story but the death of Roger Delgado put a stop to that.

Bernard Cribbins returns (which is always a good thing). It’s quite good that he gets a credit in the title sequence along with John Simm and David Tennant.

There is a woman that appears in a church scene with Wilfred Mott and her identity is a bit of a mystery. It turns out that the woman is actually the Doctor’s mother. I think that this could have been clearer.

The business of the ring falling to the ground and being picked up in Last of the Timelords is finally addressed and it was picked up by a member of a group of people who are believers of The Master/Harold Saxon. They bring him back and the thing that sets it all off is the lipstick from Lucy Saxon. This is something that I think is a bit of a stretch and that she would still have the Masters imprint on her lips are such a long time. However during the ‘regeneration’ process things wrong and this is what makes the Master mad (I mean madder) and this is what I like about the Master. When the Master is ripping a cooked Chicken to pieces it shows how mad the character is.

There are two people that are totally annoying. I found Joshua Naismith (David Harewood) and Abigail Naismith (Tracy Ifeachor). They are wealthy people and I just cant stand them from the very moment that I first saw them. I quite like David Harewood as an actor as he is very good in Homeland but here he poorly served by a character that is a poorly realised part of the story. The characters get the comeuppance that they deserve when they get taken over by the Master.

The scene where the Doctor and Wilfred are talking about dying is one that I found really good. It shows how good Wilfred would have been as a companion. I know the in-thing that the companion has to be young but he was only about 81 at the time so that’s quite young. Isnt it? The downside of this story is that it’s the last time that Bernard Cribbins will feature in a Doctor Who story. I suppose I will have to enjoy the final episode even more. Catherine Tate makes a sort of cameo appearance. It’s weird to think that just a few days ago she was a companion and now she is reduced to a basically a supporting role. The two cactus like characters have more to do in this story.

President Obama announces a plan to fight the recession. It’s something that gets mentioned a few times and to be honest I couldn’t be bothered with it. The only reason to have it in the episode is that he turns into the Master. When Obama appears there is some clever camera angles to hide the fact that its obviously not the President.

The whole episode builds up to the Master becoming every single human on the planet. It’s such an epic idea and it works really well. It’s odd that a Christmas Special would have a cliffhanger but it is an ending that the story deserves. The cliffhanger sees Timothy Dalton (Rassilon) standing in front of a chamber of timelords. The sight of them is superb and is the perfect way to leave things. I found this episode to be largely good and think that the 75 minute finale will be just as good as it needs to be.

(754) The Waters of Mars

The Water of Mars is the one special that I have been looking forward to and to save any suspense, I really like this story. If only the other specials before this had been this good then I would be over the moon. When this episode was transmitted on November 15, 2009, David Tennant had ben Doctor for 1,421 days making him the third longest serving Doctor ever. He has now been the Doctor longer than William Hartnell.

Lindsey Duncan is a proper actress and so she plays Adelaide Brooke. I think that the character is good because she comes across as harsh and not likeable at all but it was clear that she was hiding something and in a nice scene with the Doctor the moment is revealed because she saw a Dalek and the Dalek saw her but didn’t exterminate her. This happened during the Stolen Earth/Journeys End story and this was a totally unexpected moment in this story and I liked it.

There is one thing that doesn’t quite work and that is the Gadget robot think which after Wall-E looks like a bit of a cheat.

One of the things that I love about this special is that things go badly wrong very quickly. When Andy becomes the first infected its done in the background of Maggie talking and its very grim. Another thing about this story is that it’s a base under siege and if you have been following this blog since the very beginning you know I love a base under siege story. The Doctor realises quite quickly that he has to leave quickly because the crew of Bowie Base One die and for some reason he can’t change things like he normally would. This presents a great personal struggle for the Doctor because for most of the episode he says he cant and then changes his mind. This causes him to crack and decides that because he is the only timelord that he can decide who lives and who dies. This is the first time that Tennants Doctor has shown such anger.

He changes history and helps three of them (including Adelaide) survive. What I like when this happens is that Adelaide knows that this is the wrong thing and kills herself. This shows that the Doctor has gone too far and shouldn’t be taking matters into his own hands. The scene where Adelaide takes the Doctor to task over this its an unexpected scene at the end of what has been a grim and dark story. When she dies its like a slap in the face to the Doctor and the build up to his end starts.

The story uses such a simple thing as water and uses it in a wonderful way. Just one drop is enough to infect someone and this means that the body count is quite high.

The effect of the cracked lips and the water dripping from their mouth is impressive. The sight of them pretty much vomiting water is one of the best sights from this story. I don’t know who it was that came up with this aspect of the story but its one of the best monsters that the show has created since the weeping angels.

On a final note, this episode was dedicated to Barry Letts who had passed and I think that this was a perfect tribute to him. This is the sort of story that he would do and it’s the first time since Human Nature and The Family of Blood that I have felt that the story has been this good. After being slightly disappointed with The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead, it was nice that the good form has returned. There are now just two episodes left of the Tennant era and its weird to think that there isn’t much time left before the Matt Smith era.

(753) Planet of the Dead

Officially this is the 200^th story in Doctor Who but due to the way that I have worked things out this is in fact the 202^nd. This is the first of three episodes to be broadcast in 2009 due to Tennant wanting to do other stuff and the BBC desperate to keep him happy. This is what I class as the first of the specials because The Next Doctor is more attached to the 30^th series. The buzz around this episode was that the show filmed in the United Arab Emirates and a double-decker bus that was used for this story was damaged quite badly. Cleverly though RTD used this to his advantaged and worked it into the story. This is the first story that lays the groundwork to the departure of David Tennant’s Doctor. Having become use to Christmas Specials, it was somewhat of a treat to have a special that aired over the Easter weekend.

This special sees Michelle Ryan play Lady Christina de Souza who is the guest companion and starts the episode by pulling off quite the heist. She’s not a very good robber cause the police have pretty much caught her before she boards the 200 bus. To be honest I don’t think that she is that good really. I thought that she was cast purely cause of her looks and sadly I think that her past as a soap star might be something that works against her. When her character is sort of seen as a good character I still don’t care.

UAE doubles for San Helios and filming it here helps make it feel like an alien world instead of loads of sand being dumped in a Welsh studio. In one sense, this is the only thing that makes this story memorable. The interior of the bus scenes are filmed in a studio but it still looks good enough.

The Bus Driver who allowed Christina to board the bus by paying with her diamond earrings was the first to die by walking through the barrier. To be honest he would have become an annoyance had he lasted much longer. The rest of the bus passengers aren’t that good because they are all quite unlikely or believable. When they are back home I still found myself not being that bothered with them. Carmen (Ellen Thomas) is the only interesting character of the supporting characters. She is the one that can hear voices and guess how many fingers the Doctor has behind his back. Her most significant moment comes when she tells the Doctor that he will knock four times.

This episode sees UNIT return but sadly its more of an amusing UNIT. Lee Evans guest stars as Malcolm who has managed to name a measure of time after himself. I don’t really understand why UNIT are even in this story cause they don’t really add anything to the story.

If Jamie were in Doctor Who now then he would describe the monsters as timerous beasties and they are able to create wormholes by flying in formation. I think that this is a really good idea and infact their design is a good idea which bearing in mind that RTD is clearly on the wind down it makes the idea more impressive. The sight of a London Double Decker bus flying is a barmy yet great image to see in Doctor Who.

This has been a bit of a disappointing Doctor Who story. There have been some interesting things that have happened in this story but for some reason I just found myself watching it and not really enjoying it. Since I finished watching Journeys End I have found myself not enjoying the show as much. I wonder whether its because I know that the Tennant era is coming to an end or whether its just that everything was thrown into that two parter that it seems like the show is running on empty and just keeping things ticking over until Steven Moffat and Matt Smith take over.

(752) The Next Doctor

When this episode aired on Christmas Day 2008, it was well known that David Tennant would be leaving the show and Matt Smith’s announcement was still a week away. The title seem to exist purely to give people the impression that the new Doctor would be making his/her debut in this special. But of course things with RTD are never that simple and in fact the title is a bit more complex than you would think. When this episode aired on December 25, 2008 it was day 1,096 meaning that he overtook Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton and becomes the fourth longest serving actor and also the fourth actor to go past the 1,000 day mark.

David Morrissey is one of the guest stars. He stars as Jackson Lake who thinks he is the Doctor. He has a sonic screwdriver which is just a normal screwdriver. There is a moment when the Doctor notices a fob watch on Jackson Lake but its just a broken fob watch. It’s a nice comedy moment. Another comedy moment is the revelation of his TARDIS which is a hot air balloon. His TARDIS stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed in Style. That is quite clever of RTD. The truth about Morrissey’s Doctor is that he is in fact Jackson Lake.

Dervla Kirwan plays Miss Mercy Hartigan and she is one of the successes of this episode. She is very good from the very beginning of the episode. Miss Hartigan is working for the Cybermen but like most humans, she thinks that she will be the at the court of the Cyber King. The scene where she walks through the cemetery attending the funeral is a great scene cause she’s dressed in red and the snow helps her stand out more. Things seem to be going well for her but just before the Cyber King is launched its clear that Miss Hartigan will become the Cyber King.

The Cyber shade are another RTD disaster. It’s like a dog with a rusty Cyberman mask. Luckily they aren’t in it that much. I cant make up my mind about the head piece of the Cyber Leader. On one hand its very distinctive but on the other hand it looks a bit odd. Black and Silver can go together but no on this occasion. The Cyber King is criticised when people talk about this episode but I have to be honest that I really like it. I like the idea of the Cyber King stomping its way through London. It also looks visually impressive so I cant quite understand why it people are so down on it.

This episode sees the first example of the Doctor’s previous incarnations. I think I remember hearing/reading that Julie Gardner was reluctant about this idea but I think that the show had been back long enough that people would be aware about the past Doctors and will have even bought Doctor Who DVD’s so it’s a nice little nostalgia moment.

The thing about this story is that its not really designed to be taken seriously as like most stories in the series (like the other Christmas Specials) so its unfair to lump it in with the other specials. I thought that this story had its moments and the things that were right with it were good enough to make me like it. I thought that the two David’s were equally great and also Dervla Kirwan was more than capable of keeping up with them.

It’s not the greatest Christmas Special but it was an enjoyable one and it had David Morrissey in it and that’s never a bad thing.

(751) Journeys End

Today is the final episode of the series and the final series that David Tenannt would do as the Doctor. This is a longer episode than normal. Just over an hour (1hr 3 min) which is the length normally reserved for the Christmas Special but this episode is given special treatment. Back in 2008 I was happy about this cause it meant 15 minutes more of my favourite TV show but watching it today I don’t think that the story needing that extra time.

The cliffhanger of yesterday’s episode was one of the best one for a long time and sadly that always meant that the resolution of it would be disappointing and to be really harsh on RTD, this was a bit of a cop out. He managed to put the energy of the regeneration into the hand. That hand then becomes a more human version of the Doctor.

The Osterhagan Key is a weapon that is talked about a lot and will basically blow up the Earth. It was never going to happen but it still an effective thing to use in the story.

I don’t know why but hearing Daleks talk in German is quite funny.

This is an episode where Donna is quite central to the story. She starts hearing a heartbeat sound and then manages to absorb some Timelord intelligence which is never a good thing. Seeing her manage to outsmart Davros and the Daleks is quite fun to watch. There is an explanation about the Doctor Donna line from Planet of the Ood. Catherine Tate does a good job of making all the technical jargon sound real and that knows what she is talking about.

It’s quite a while before Davros finally makes an appearance but it’s well worth the wait cause Julian Bleach gets to show us why he’s a great Davros. Davros isn’t really the leader of the Daleks but is instead working for the Daleks which is slightly disappointing because it would be nice to have Davros back as leader. Bleach manages to channel both Michael Wisher (in his voice) and the madness of Terry Molloy’s Davros. I did like the reunion between Sarah Jane Smith and Davros. They met in Davros’ first story back in 1975 and it’s a lovely fanboy moment but probably won’t mean much to many people who are new to the series.

The truth about the Doctor (according to Davros) turning his companions into murderers and weapons. There is a nice glimpse of the people that have died in Doctor Who stories since 2005. It’s a great moment because it does show that the Doctor’s actions have consequences. Ok he can’t control them but the reckless manner in which he roams the universe has consequences.

I had the thought that most RTD finales were ruined by slushing nonsense but in recent series finale’s it hasn’t been as noticeable. The main plot is dealt with and Earth is returned home meaning that there is nearly a quarter of an hour of the Doctor saying goodbye and this is a problem because it did go on way too long. What took the cake was that yet again the Doctor and Rose get their blubbery farewell. If all of that had been cut down then Donna’s goodbye would have been even better. I thought that Donna’s departure is really sad and I found it a more effective end that either of Rose’s. Donna having her memory wiped of the Doctor is very similar to Jamie and Zoe but back then they didn’t have Bernard Cribbins and he was great.

The music from Murray Gold was quite epic in this two parter. I think that this was the peak of his abilities (not that he has gone off the boil).

The visual effects team deserve credit because some of the crucible shots are superb and some of the best that the show has produced. It could easily rival what is seen in a Hollywood movie.

Yesterday I commented that the business with the bees was the first sign that RTD has started to lose the plot a bit and in todays episode there is another example of this. The TARDIS being able to pull the TARDIS like a tow truck pulling a broken down car is another moment where I really scratch my head wondering just what was going through RTD’s head. On the plus side there is a lovely shot of The Doctor (both of them), Donna, Jackie, Rose, Martha, Sarah Jane, Mickey steering the TARDIS with help from K9. The music is lovely and another example of how good Murray Gold is.

This was a good two parter and did a good job of using Davros and the Daleks and making it seem like the most important Doctor Who story ever. I do think that it was fifteen minutes too long and that the cliffhanger wasn’t resolved in the way that it should have been but the performances were all really good and this series as a whole has been quite good but not as strong as the previous one.  Now I am about to embark on the specials which spell the beginning of the end for the Tennant era.