And so we're back. The blog and, more importantly (yes we're humble), the Doctor.
Matt Smith's incarnation made a much heralded return to the screens on Saturday night and this time showrunner Steven Moffat embraces the good ol' US of A for a two part opener which, I suspect, has more than a nod toward breaking the American market.
In fact the 'getting the gang back together' beginning seems perfect for those across the pond (not Amy and Rory Pond...!) to jump on board. Sadly much of the start is a cheesy throwaway and the website prequel, where President Nixon takes a call from the creepy child spooked by the 'spaceman', would serve as a much more chilling window into the story.
That aside, there's no room for the viewer to warm up because we're straight into the Doctor dying. As in proper dying. Shot by an unseen spacesuited figure mid regeneration.
Moffat and his crew had warned us they wanted to start with a death and a shock to get things going and this certainly delivered. I've a feeling we'll have great fun working back to this moment at some point further on in this story/series.
The death is set against the gloriously photogenic skyline of the American countryside. Presumably as comfortingly familiar to the Stateside viewer as ex-ER girl Alex Kingston (River Song) and a few others in this story.
Still, whatever the reason, it was a suitably dramatic backdrop for a suitably dramatic moment.
Then, once the Doctor (200 or so years younger than the one who just died) returns to the action, we get into the alien plot. The Silence tick the boxes in being menacing enough to frighten the kids and with a clever enough concept (that they are forgotten as soon as you turn away from them) to make them a fantastic foe to start this run off with.
Post-05 Doctor Who has struggled with its lack of memorable new 'baddies' (the exception being Moffat's own Weeping Angels) and the villainous Silence could turn out to be one of the better additions to the Doctor's enemy list at this rate.
You feel we haven't really got all that far when we reach the cliffhanger - but Amy shooting the child in the spacesuit is still pretty hardhitting for 6.45pm on a Saturday night and leaves us another puzzle to be solved - coming straight after the revelation of her pregnancy.
The regulars all pretty much slot back into place as before, with a noticeable edge to their dynamic added by the fact that River, Amy and Rory have all seen the Doctor die, but don't want to let on. Hopefully that'll avoid the series slipping into the cosy love-in of the later Tennant years.
The team were joined by the fantastically titled Canton Everett Delaware III (played by another US-pleaser Mark Sheppard) who, name aside made little impact in this part.
Like Canton the episode is difficult to rate. It contained much to enjoy and set out a host of new questions to be answered. Let's hope the next fulfills its promise.
7.5/10
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Pps: Like the main series we're embracing America with a new look to the blog, enjoy!
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