(799) The Day of the Doctor

The Day of the Doctor had a lot to live up to. When the show has celebrated a milestone it has had mixed results. The 10^th Anniversary ‘special’ The Three Doctors was an enjoyable and well performed story. The 20^th Anniversary was perhaps less successful although it did have its moments. Since then we have lost the chance to celebrate the 30^th and 40^th Anniversaries so this is quite a big moment. I was amazed when it was announced that it would screened at the cinema and I was over the moon when I was able to get a title at my local cinema. It was a great experience because there wasn’t an empty seat and the number of people that had dressed up was quite high and it was a great place to watch the 50^th Anniversary special. There was a nice little video that featured Strax and warned on cinema etiquette. Anyone a fan of Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode’s Film Review will be aware of the Code of Conduct and such videos aren’t necessary. But it was fun to see and also

Like the 20^th Anniversary Special, there was something that got in the way and on this occasion it was the fact that Christopher Eccleston didn’t want to appear in the special and so a War Doctor had to be found and John Hurt was the one chosen. John Hurt was the Doctor during the Time War and is the one that pressed the button on ‘The Moment’ that ended the Time War and wiped out the Timelords. Hurt is great as the Doctor and treats the role with a nice sense of sarcasm. He has a nice time of making certain mannerisms of the Tennant and Smiths Doctors and the Sandshoes and Chin nicknames were spot on. His story was only going to be for this story and the fact he regenerates at the end is just Moffat’s attempt to tidy up the continuity line problem that Eccleston caused. I might make a controversial statement but I just don’t consider Hurt’s Doctor as canon. Due to Hurt’s Doctor, it means that Eccleston is the tenth Doctor, Tennant was the eleventh Doctor and Smith would be the thirteenth but as I don’t count Hurt as a canon Doctor it means that Eccleston, Tennant and Smith are Doctors 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

When his Doctor meets Smith and Tennant’s Doctors it’s a funny moment because they are able to do comedy and seriousness in equal measure and they disappoint. Tennant’s first appearance in the role since 2010 is curious because it was like only a few months had passed and not three years. He looks slightly older but when Tennant is talking and running around its like its 2010 and not 2013. Billie Piper makes her first appearance since The End of Time Part Two and its not Rose that she is playing but an imaginary version. Whilst I have grown weary of her during this marathon, I thought that she did well with what she is given and bearing in mind that she only interacts with John Hurt’s Doctor she manages to make it look like she is actually doing something.

Matt Smith is also good and shares the limelight well and yet doesn’t lose face during the course of the story. He must have had a lot of pressure in not dropping the ball and he manages not to. Jenna Coleman also manages to not get lost in the shuffle which isn’t an easy things to do. The fact that there aren’t 20 companions to have to work with is something that helps Coleman standout.

The start of the episode is impressive because it’s a nice bit of the original theme and it then blends into colour and we learn that Ian Chesterton is the chairman of the governors of Coal Hill School and Clara is now a teacher there. The headteacher is W Coburn which is a reference to Waris Hussein who directed the very first story and Anthony Coburn who wrote that story. There are plenty of nods to the continuity of the show and I think that they were done in such a way that newer fans wouldn’t be confused by it and long time fans like myself would get them.

There are many great moments that occur during this story. The first good bit comes when Clara drives a bike into the TARDIS and the camera follows it in one single edit. The TARDIS bursting through the wall and knocking out a whole load of Daleks is another great moment.

Zygons make their first appearance since 1975’s Terror of the Zygons. I don’t quite know why they haven’t made a return until now but the wait has been worth it. They lost their planet in the first days of the Time War and want Earth as their new home. The transformation of human to Zygon is so much better than in 1975.

The first meeting between Tennant and Smith is very good and its always interesting to see multiple Doctors. They interact with each other very well and the nice bit of jealousy is something that is used at the right times and in the right way. The long running gag about not liking the new TARDIS console is something that was obviously going to be used and if there were a game of bingo then this would be crossed off the list.

The idea that all three Doctors have come up with an idea to hide Gallifrey and destroy the Daleks in the process is such an epic idea and one that could have only worked in a big bonkers special like this. When this start it leads to all twelve incarnations and their TARDIS’s come to save the day. Well actually thirteen because Peter Capaldi makes a very special cameo with just his eyes. That was totally unexpected and a nice treat for the fans. That wasn’t the only treat for the fans because the shock appearance of Tom Baker was one that everyone in the cinema gasped at. It probably p****d off the other Doctors but to be honest I don’t care cause it’s a great scene and it sort of makes up for the fact that Baker didn’t appear in The Five Doctors.

The final shot is of the Doctor walking out of the TARDIS and all the incarnations standing in a nice arrow line with Hartnell’s Doctor standing at the back was the perfect way of ending the special and it sets up a nice story arc about the Doctor finding Gallifrey. There was an awful lot of expectation riding on this story and I had very high expectations and part of me was expecting this to disappoint but I cant tell you how much I enjoyed this story. It was the story I wanted it to be and was well worth the jacked up price that the Cinema charged. This is the eighth story to get rated in the 8’s and becomes the second best story with 8.25. This is only the fourth story of the new era to get in the 8’s and overtakes Blink as the best story. I think that Steven Moffat should be applauded for doing this story and Marcus Wilson (producer) says that this story was a love letter to the fans and that’s the truth because it had loads of elements from the shows past and unlike The Five Doctors, it does it in a way that works and juggles a lot of balls and doesn’t drop a ball. On a related note, two weeks today is when the marathon comes to an end and this will probably be the last true classic story of the run but a lot can happen in two weeks.

(789) The Angels Take Manhattan

Today is the end of the first half of the 33^rd series of Doctor Who. Matt Smith has now been Doctor for 1,002 days and this is also his 33^rd episode as the Doctor which means that he is tied with Colin Baker. This is the fifth story of 2012 and this will be the second lowest number of episodes that have aired in Doctor Who ever. Only 2009 broadcast less episodes where four episodes aired, there is one more to come but this is arguably the most important because it writes out Amy Pond and Rory Williams.

The pre-title scene is very good cause it shows the Private Detective encountering his older self and being surrounded by Angels and the last show is of the Statue of Liberty looking really cross. The Doctor, Amy and Rory start off in Central Park and are reading a book that turns out to be written by River Song. One of the successes that happens in this story is that there is a new use for the Angels. It now seems that any Angels can touch you and you go back in time. Even baby statues are able to have the same effect and the idea that the Angels run/own a hotel that they use to keep transporting people to the past is something that Moffat doesn’t get enough credit for.

The last time the show went to Manhattan, it was Cardiff but with a few CGI shot of old Manhattan. This time they go to the trouble of going over there and filming all the familiar landmarks. True, a lot of it is still filmed in this country but you cant fake Times Square and due to the quite creative cinematography that is used, for most of the story I can believe that they are in New York.

Karen Gillan has become the longest serving companion of the new era, having overtaken Billie Piper a few episodes ago. Arthur Darvill is tied with Mary Tamm and Caroline John on 26 episodes. It would be quite easy to argue that Gillan has been the best companion of the new series and certainly has had better stories than Rose.

I thought that both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill were on fine form in this story and the scene where they are standing on top of the building about to jump was a lovely moment between the two. It’s great how Moffat tries to throw a curve in the story because when we think that Rory and Amy have survived it’s a great moment that doesn’t last long because the Angel takes Rory right in the graveyard. Amy’s final scene as she is about to leave the Doctor is really quite sad and a much better goodbye than Rose’s first goodbye in Doomsday. It was sad but not slushy and when the episode ends I kind of wished that there was more of those two. They have been a huge part of the Matt Smith era but I suppose the old adage is true and that is leave people wanting more.

As a story it was very good and said goodbye to two very well liked and well performed characters. The story itself didn’t really do a lot for the character or River Song as everything that happened in The Wedding of River Song pretty much meant that the character had run its course. Beside that this story served its purpose as a mid season finale. It’s weird to think that it would be another six months before the series would return (apart from the Christmas Special). This half of the season has been very impressive and I hope that the second half will be just as impressive.

(785) Asylum of the Daleks

Everyone was told that Jenna Coleman would be joining the show however no one expected her to join in this episode. It was something that was hidden from most of the internet and the TV guides. I think that more attention was given that the show was returning and so were the Daleks. Today is the 974th day for Matt Smith as Doctor and he overtaken Sylvester McCoy, Patrick Troughton and Peter Davison and is just fifteen days away from overtaking Colin Baker and become the fifth longest serving Doctor.

This is a season that is split over two years. The first run of episodes is five episodes long and finished at the end of September 2012. There is a Christmas Special and then the series resumes at the end of March where the show has traditionally being. This is the Amy/Rory part of the season although it is memorable for the introduction of Oswin Oswald.

The episode opens with a huge building that looks like a Dalek and it’s revealed to be Skaro and this is the first time we visit Skaro since 1979’s Destiny of the Daleks. The Doctor is lured to meet someone who has a eye stalk coming out of their head. When Amy and Rory appear they are on the brink of divorcing and both Amy and Rory suffer the same fate. They soon find themselves in the Parliament of the Daleks which I think is a wonderful idea. An even better idea is that the Daleks want the Doctor to help them instead of exterminating the Doctor. They want the Doctor to turn off the force field surrounding the Asylum so they can destroy it.

The Daleks in the Parliament are the pre-2010 Daleks but there are also a few of the 2010 versions which shows that they are slowly being wiped out of the shows history. One of the reasons I was looking forward to this episode was that it would feature all the different versions of the Daleks going right back to the 1963 version. My favourite is also in this story as it’s the 1988 Gold and White livery.  There is a room called intensive care and it features Daleks from Spiridon (Planet of the Daleks), Kembel (Daleks Master Plan), Aridius (The Chase), Vulcan (Power of the Daleks), Exxilon (Death to the Daleks). They are Daleks that survived an encounter from the Doctor.

This episode is a lot lighter in tone than the previous series but that doesn’t mean that the story doesn’t have creepy moments. The first being all the skeletons that have become Daleks. The next being rusty Daleks moving around which is helped by the low lighting. Dalek stories should always have this level of creepiness and one of the most creative Dalek stories of the new era.  

There is a nice mystery about Oswin because she seems to know everything and all the schematics of the underground Asylum. The revelation that she is actually a Dalek is one that I didn’t see coming although its rather clever. It was a great performance from Jenna Coleman (or Jenna Louise Coleman as she’s credited at this time). She takes the unexpectedness of her debut and shows us how good she can be. I remember thinking that it’s a shame that she wont appear until the Christmas Special because she has been so good. It seems like Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are halfway out of the door because they don’t seem entirely there in terms of their performances. There is definelty something different about them but it feels like they are slowly being phased out.

Nicholas Briggs does a good job in making the Dalek sound more human and he is the only one who could do it bearing in mind he’s being doing it for over a decade.

Amy and Rory’s situation isn’t explained until towards the end when it’s revealed that Amy can’t have kids because of whatever happened at Demons Run. The scene where they discuss this is one of the few good moments involving these two during this part of the series.

This episode did what it should do and that is start the series with a bang. It is also the best use of the Daleks for quite sometime. I think that when people are hating on Steven Moffat, they clearly conveniently forget stories like this. Ok so there is a horrible reminder of his Dalek mistake but he shows that this was a blip and the story is a great one. The NEXT TIME trailer shows Dinosaurs (which on previous experience doesn’t generate warm confidence) and also the First Doctor (sort of!).

(781) The God Complex

Amazingly this is the 25^th episode for Matt Smith and in the way that I have counted the stories it is the 225^th story.

It really doesn’t take very long for the creepiness factor to star showing in this episode. Even before the titles place the shots of the different part of a hotel make it look like they are in the hotel from The Shining. Nick Hurran (director) loves this set and in particular the spiral staircase because he seems to use it at every opportunity.

The minotaur creature is the monster of the week and is so old it doesn’t know its name and the Doctor does a mercy killing which isn’t the sort oft thing that is seen in Doctor Who. Towards the end its revealed that they are actually on a spaceship and a distant relation of the Nimon (from The Horns of Nimon). I was never quite sure whether we should be feeling sorry for it or scared of it because I never felt convinced about it either way.

There is a nice picture of a Sontaran called Commander Halke and it lists his fear and that is simply Defeat. That is the theme of the story and its about fear and faith. There is a room in the hotel for everyone’s fear and there is even a room for the Doctor. That raises an interesting question as to what the Doctor fears. The Doctor goes into his room (obviously number 11), but we don’t see it and instead just hear the cloister bell. There is one room that have a group of giggling young teenage girls and a room with some weeping angels. There are pictures of a Judoon, Cat Nun from New Earth and I’m sure that fly thing from Planet of the Dead. Trying not to be fearful isn’t the easiest thing that you can do and yet this a great

David Walliams guest stars in this episode. Walliams is best known for Little Britain, swimming in the Thames for Comic Relief and most recently a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. He plays Gibbis who is from a planet that gets invaded and I chuckled when he talks about being a town planner and making a layout easier for an alien invasion.

The thing about this episode is that whilst the characters were good and the directing was quite good from Hurran. The actual plot wasn’t the greatest and the good idea of the plot isn’t really developed as well as it could have done.

The ‘departure’ of Amy and Rory is handled quite well. I am not quite sure what led this departure but the scene where they go their separate ways is quite nice but it was never going to be a permanent end because it’s a rather drama free scene and so it’s clear that it’s a similar attempt to create drama like when Tegan ‘left’ at the end of Time-Flight. This is a story that has its moments and is better than the stories in the first half of series but I don’t think that its quite as good as The Girl Who Waited. Next Up is the return of James Cordon.

(780) The Girl Who Waited

The Girl Who Waited is one of the strongest stories of the series in my opinion and easily the strongest story of this half of the series. When I saw this episode on September 10^th 2011, I came to the immediate conclusion that this was the best episode that Karen Gillan had been in. The Doctor doesn’t feature in the episode very much so this allows Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill to shine. I have commented on how Rory has felt like a spare part in recent episodes but this is corrected in this episode.

The Doctor and Rory are separated from Amy before the titles have even played. Even by Doctor Who standards this is quick and its slightly eye rolling because it does seem a bit silly. That is perhaps the only aspect of the episode that doesn’t work. The rest of it is light on special effects but heavy on character development. Amy is literally the girl who waited as her time stream is faster than the Doctor’s and Rory’s.

Rory has to search for Amy and after a while finds older Amy. I was really impressed with the older Amy. Older Amy has become quite the aggressive individual and Gillan does a good job in making older Amy seem very different from the Amy at the beginning of the episode, she doesn’t like the Doctor and has become bitter because of the 36 years she was on her own. One of the best scenes for Gillan is Younger Amy is talking to Older Amy and Younger Amy is trying to convince the older version to help change her history. This episode should really have been called Rory’s Choice because he is the one that makes the decision.

I never realised that Imelda Staunton played the voice of the Interface. It’s a shame that she didn’t get a physical role for the story but it’s the same thing as with Michael Sheen in The Doctor’s Wife. Even though he isn’t in the story that much, I thought that Matt Smith was still quite good and the Doctor deals with Amy’s anger quite well. It seemed the Doctor and Rory got on better in this episode than ever before.

This is the first story from Tom McRae since 2006’s Cyberman two-parter and I think that this is far better because it’s tighter in narrative terms and also doesn’t carry the burden of having a classic monster in it. McRae deals with the three strong characters really well and seems to thrive from the lack of supporting characters. The direction was also something that worked quite well and Nick Hurran used the sets quite well.

This was a superb episode that had some superb performances and this shows how good the show can be and bearing in mind that it’s a cheap episode it makes the story even more impressive. The NEXT TIME trailer reminds me that there is another great episode coming up. This is one of the best Matt Smith stories and the dark tone of the series continues but I must admit that I would like the serious tone of the series to subside a bit but not too much.