The Beast Below, by Steven Moffat
This was an odd one for me. All the signs said I should have LOVED this. The Orwellian undertones of the society that choses to forget, the Smilers, the ruddy Demon Headmaster!
But somehow it just didn't quite "click". Liz 10 was cringeworthy, the Smilers didn't really do anything, and Terrence Hardiman was sadly wasted in a largely irrelevant role.
This was one tale that could have done with being a bit longer for me. Maybe use Hardiman as more of a red herring "baddy", get more frights out of the fantastic looking Smilers and just generally add lashings of mystery.
There were other high points though - Matt Smith continues to impress, Karen Gillan was excellent and the "cracks in the universe" thing is suitably intriguing.
So don't worry Steve (although I'm sure you won't!!) - I wasn't quite with you on this one but next week's looks mouth-wateringly good and the signs are still there for a brilliant series. I guess with this one I just felt that, with such strong ideas and cast, it could have been so so much better...
6/10
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