Well we've both been a bit slack on the blog front when it comes to the return of Doctor Who but here goes with the first series 'seven' instalment from me. I'll return to the end of series six at a later date in wibbly wobbly timey wimey fashion. I'm sure 'The Moff' would approve.
And speaking of wibbly wobbly timey wimey, that was certainly my experience of the series opener - Asylum of the Daleks - as I saw the last two thirds before the first third.
Still that didn't take away from my enjoyment of a serial that was possibly the strongest opener since Who's Russell T Davies reboot. A bold claim perhaps, but I certainly enjoyed Asylum.
It's hard not to start a review without speaking about the shock of seeing new companion Jenna Louise Coleman turn up as Oswin. We'd all expected Jenna to turn up at Christmas, post Pond farewell, and I certainly had something of a double take when she appeared. It was something that perhaps meant more for the diehards than the casual viewer but even if you didn't know who Jenna was and that she'd be joining the show at a later juncture I think her character probably still worked. It's also nice the series can still keep surprises in the gossip hungry Twitter era. I mean it wasn't up there with how Earthshock must've been but still, not bad at all.
Jenna's performance as Oswin was a pretty impressive Who debut, displaying a quick thinking wittiness that proves she might be more than a match for Matt Smith's Doctor when the two renew acquaintances at Christmas.
The revelation that the funny and brainy Oswin was in fact a Dalek was a neat twist and more than a little macabre. In typical Moffat fashion the 'souffle gag' turned out to be the important clue to the grisly truth and gave Smith some well-played drama as the show hurtled towards a rapid resolution.
I also enjoyed the setting for Asylum. From the impressive Skaro scenes (another tick for the fanboys) to the vast parliament (what do they claim in expenses?) to the icy asylum surface and creepy broken Dalek filled corridors - it all looked superb. The sets made excellent use of the budget now available to Who while still somehow evoking Revelation, Renaissance etc. I do wonder what the original plan was for the planet scenes though - with the production team seemingly striking lucky in Spain?
On the planet itself the 'eye stalk people' added another evil creation to Dalek folklore in the vein of Robomen and Ogrons in another chilling twist easily recreatable/reimagined on a school playground near you.
The fully formed Daleks worked well here too. They we art their best as a creepy menace never more than a corridor turn away from the time travelling trio. In the past they've felt a little like a predictable headline act wheeled out unimaginatively like Paul McCartney at the end of the Olympic ceremony, this time they felt much more than that. Some have felt that the bold claims that 'every type of Dalek will appear' fell flat, I didn't really care. The Daleks here were used sparingly and well, making this not only the best series opener for some time but also the best Dalek story since Remembrance. It would have even worked as a classic Dalek 4/6 parter too with the Doctor being captured in the first episode, the planet and asylum bits in episode two, the big revelation that Oswin was a Dalek at the end of episode three and the resolution in the final part. Still, unlike other stories last year that would've been, in my opinion, four-partable, this didn't feel too rushed or condensed.
What about the not-so-good bits? Well, for me the weakest part for me was the matrimonial disharmony of the Ponds. Amy and Rory's relationship veered towards a not-too-believable divorce and then back to the status quo before Asylum was out and while that served to create the half-decent 'love and hate' scene between the pair when Amy was about to be 'eye stalked' it didn't quite work for me. There was seemingly no build up to their break-up (apart from a small Pond Life snippet) or indeed any follow-up as they son slipped back into their usual relationship dynamic.
The story ended with the Doctor continuing along the 'making himself anonymous' trajectory that was introduced at the end of series six (and ignored by a pretty average Christmas outing...) and paves the way for some intriguing adventures to come next year. There are also, of course, questions galore about how the seemingly dead Oswin might be able to return as the Doctor's companion, if indeed Oswin is even the character the confident Coleman eventually portrays. This is Moffat after all, who knows what might happen?!
Overall, a very good start. 8/10
