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 25th
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.
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