So the universe may be safe, but Saturdays have become boring again. No more Doctor Who until Christmas. So to conclude the last few weeks of entertainment here are my answers to the DWM readers survey.
Story marks:
Again you’ll have heard them already but, if like me you have forgotten, here they are again:
The Eleventh Hour - 8
The Beast Below - 6
Victory of the Daleks - 7
Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone - 9
Vampires of Venice - 8
Amy's Choice - 9
Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - 7
Vincent and the Doctor – 6.5
The Lodger - 8
The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang - 10
Best Writer: It has been a year that we’ve seen scripts from acclaimed writers, Simon Nye and Richard Curtis, as well as Doctor Who die hards Mark Gatiss, Toby Whitehouse and Gareth Roberts. However the award has to go to Steven Moffatt.
Why, well this series has been so complicated and each episode was so important to each other that the award has to go to him. Also his writing has been brilliant, with a slight dip with The Beast Beneath, he has been on top form.
Best Director: With a whole crop of new directors giving us their approach I have to give the award to Catherine Morshead, director of The Lodger. She made what could be a filler episode into a fantastic story. Every where it could go wrong, she took into the right direction to make a fantastic story.
Best Actor: Matt Smith. Is there any doubt. This season has depended on him and his ability to be the Doctor. He has got it spot on. There have never been a moment where the Doctor was not the Doctor. There were several impressive male actors including Tony Curran.
Best Actress: It’s got to be Karen GIllan. She played the role of Amy brilliant. Outstanding moments include the sequence where Rory dies and the entire of the finale. The fact that she is also very fit helps as well ☺
Best Monster: There have been lots of interesting monsters this season. From old favorites like the Daleks, Silurians, and the Weeping Angels to new creatures like the Vampire fish creatures in Vampires of Venice and the sinister smilers. I think it has to be the Daleks. I love the new design and looking forward to seeing where they go on.
Best Villain: It has to be the Dream Lord. It was great to see the dark side of the Doctor’s psyche. Played well, and written well. For a single episode he was brilliant and intresting. Though I would not like to see him come back.
Best Male Supporting Character: Rory Williams, it has to be. He is a welcome addition to the cast and unlike, when we had a Tardis full of the companion’s family, he worked. I am looking forward to seeing where we go next.
Best Female Supporting Character: It’s a hard one this one. River Song or Amelia Pond are obvious strong contenders. But I could go for Liz 10 or the mum from the Silurian story. I think it has to be River though. At the end of the Silence in the Library, we thought we knew here. But’s she back, more mysterious and interesting than ever. I am also quite happy to see her return next year.
Best Special Effect: I like the fact that we have moved away from throwing everything CGI on the screen but used sparing and well. From the dogfight over the Dalek Spaceship to Venice, to every single Doctor Who space ship. My winner, Venice.
Best Music: Murry Gold has done wonders with the music this year and it’s hard to name just one piece.
Greatest Contribution: Steven Moffat, it has to be.
We’ll be back, soon. Maybe.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
DWM 2010 Season Survey
Ok, so how can we finish this series' blog? Turns out there is a handy way sat in front of us courtesy of the good folk at DWM! So following their format here's some thoughts on the series that has just gone:
Story marks:
We've already covered this in the blog but to recap:
The Eleventh Hour - 8
Beast Below - 6
Victory of the Daleks - 7
Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone - 9
Vampires of Venice - 8
Amy's Choice - 7
Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - 7
Vincent and the Doctor - 9
The Lodger - 7
The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang - 9
Best Writer: It really was great to get Richard Curtis and Simon Nye on board, their input was refreshingly and good to watch. Tony Whithouse's Vampire romp was a really fun mid-series tale but for the finale, the Angels' superb return and a very solid curtain raiser (leaving aside the disappointment of ep 2) this has to be Steven Moffat's award doesn't it??!
Best Director: Toby Haynes' finale looked the partand the Silurian two-parter should earn Ashley Way some credit but I think, for the clever use of location and fantastic look of both of his stories (Vampires, Vincent), I have to go with Jonny Campbell.
Best Actor: Matt Smith. Cannot be any doubt who is number one here, in fact it really is a stupid question isn't it?! Matt returned the character to the type of other-wordly unnerving alien not seen since McCoy at least and added splashes of Hartnell and Troughton to a "modern" Doctor. Second would have to be Arthur Darvill, Rory could have been annoying but wasn't and Arthur delivered a full array of funny, scary, action and emotional scenes. Third has to be Tony Curran for a sensitively handled showing as the mentally troubled Vincent Van Gogh.
Best Actress: Again silly question. Karen Gillan settled perfectly into the companion role. I wasn't always sure about Amy, sometimes her character's super confidence grated slightly, but for the main part she was a stellar addition to the Tardis team, with Karen handling the role very well indeed for such a young actress. Alex Kingston's performance as River Song shouldn't be under-estimated though. River remains a mystery tantalisingly waiting to be unravelled. Alex Kingston's cheeky-but-guarded portrayal has been spot on and won me over after a few doubts surrounding the first outing. Third for me would be Caitlin Blackwood, who was excellent as the young Amelia in the first and last episodes.
Best Monster: If anything the monsters haven't been overly strong this series. The "iDaleks" were ok but seemed more about new toy-selling opportunities than anything else while the SMilers has masses of potential but didn't deliver. The Autons were a shock addition to the finale and outshone the "bigger names" with their part but I reckon this one has to go to the chillingly superb Weeping Angels who were marvellously menacing on their return.
Best Villain: To some extent we don't even know the villain behind the finale yet do we? Aren't there some tantalising unanswered questions about who tried to blow up the Tardies etc? Or was that the "monster team's" doing? Anyway, with no real stand out choice I think i'll back Helen McCrory's Rosanna who had a depth that took the character beyond just sinister.
Best Male Supporting Character: Rory Williams. Others had flashes but Rory's character meant more to the story of the series as a whole.
Best Female Supporting Character: River Song. For all the reasons above really. River adds adventure, action, mystery and intrigue to a story and that's never a bad thing. It will be interesting to see what's next in her and the Doctor's "wibbley-wobbly, timey-wimey" relationship.
Best Special Effect: Hmm, not really too fussed about effects in general but the splash of wizardry involved to make the Silurian city a reality deserves a mention.
Best Music: Not sure I paid enough attention to pick out an episode on this score but as a whole the standard of music seemed high and strayed away from the over-the-top stuff of the Donna series finale.
Greatest Contribution: Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan.
Story marks:
We've already covered this in the blog but to recap:
The Eleventh Hour - 8
Beast Below - 6
Victory of the Daleks - 7
Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone - 9
Vampires of Venice - 8
Amy's Choice - 7
Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - 7
Vincent and the Doctor - 9
The Lodger - 7
The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang - 9
Best Writer: It really was great to get Richard Curtis and Simon Nye on board, their input was refreshingly and good to watch. Tony Whithouse's Vampire romp was a really fun mid-series tale but for the finale, the Angels' superb return and a very solid curtain raiser (leaving aside the disappointment of ep 2) this has to be Steven Moffat's award doesn't it??!
Best Director: Toby Haynes' finale looked the partand the Silurian two-parter should earn Ashley Way some credit but I think, for the clever use of location and fantastic look of both of his stories (Vampires, Vincent), I have to go with Jonny Campbell.
Best Actor: Matt Smith. Cannot be any doubt who is number one here, in fact it really is a stupid question isn't it?! Matt returned the character to the type of other-wordly unnerving alien not seen since McCoy at least and added splashes of Hartnell and Troughton to a "modern" Doctor. Second would have to be Arthur Darvill, Rory could have been annoying but wasn't and Arthur delivered a full array of funny, scary, action and emotional scenes. Third has to be Tony Curran for a sensitively handled showing as the mentally troubled Vincent Van Gogh.
Best Actress: Again silly question. Karen Gillan settled perfectly into the companion role. I wasn't always sure about Amy, sometimes her character's super confidence grated slightly, but for the main part she was a stellar addition to the Tardis team, with Karen handling the role very well indeed for such a young actress. Alex Kingston's performance as River Song shouldn't be under-estimated though. River remains a mystery tantalisingly waiting to be unravelled. Alex Kingston's cheeky-but-guarded portrayal has been spot on and won me over after a few doubts surrounding the first outing. Third for me would be Caitlin Blackwood, who was excellent as the young Amelia in the first and last episodes.
Best Monster: If anything the monsters haven't been overly strong this series. The "iDaleks" were ok but seemed more about new toy-selling opportunities than anything else while the SMilers has masses of potential but didn't deliver. The Autons were a shock addition to the finale and outshone the "bigger names" with their part but I reckon this one has to go to the chillingly superb Weeping Angels who were marvellously menacing on their return.
Best Villain: To some extent we don't even know the villain behind the finale yet do we? Aren't there some tantalising unanswered questions about who tried to blow up the Tardies etc? Or was that the "monster team's" doing? Anyway, with no real stand out choice I think i'll back Helen McCrory's Rosanna who had a depth that took the character beyond just sinister.
Best Male Supporting Character: Rory Williams. Others had flashes but Rory's character meant more to the story of the series as a whole.
Best Female Supporting Character: River Song. For all the reasons above really. River adds adventure, action, mystery and intrigue to a story and that's never a bad thing. It will be interesting to see what's next in her and the Doctor's "wibbley-wobbly, timey-wimey" relationship.
Best Special Effect: Hmm, not really too fussed about effects in general but the splash of wizardry involved to make the Silurian city a reality deserves a mention.
Best Music: Not sure I paid enough attention to pick out an episode on this score but as a whole the standard of music seemed high and strayed away from the over-the-top stuff of the Donna series finale.
Greatest Contribution: Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan.
Friday, 9 July 2010
Confusing and wonderful in equal measure!
I've just got around to watching the Big Bang for the second time and it was just as enthralling as the first watch. Mr Moffat has managed to serve up an end of series special that is baffling, exciting, funny and intriguing all in one go. From the moment Amy stumbled out of the Pandorica this was always going to be a weird and wonderful ride, and so it proved.
Refreshingly there was no place or need for the "token baddy behind it all" aspect. Yes, we had a Dalek or two but they played a small and entertaining cameo in their cool stone look.
Instead of a finale filled with special effects and characters we had a proper story. The Doctor was at his mischievious best flitting between time streams with the plot linking into itself in a number of fun ways in the build up to orchestrating the second Big Bang.
This "flitting" included the excellent addition of the Doctor's Fez. He'll have to pop one on again in the future surely?!!
The museum setting was probably an undervalued part of the story but proved the perfectly creepy battldrop for the events that unfolded and the Pandorica prop.
For those who think Smith doesn't do the serious and emotional with quite so much panache as his predecessor however should take a look at the Doctor's speech to the sleeping young Amelia as his own time stream begins to reverse. It's a moving and superbly scripted moment up there with Hartnell's classic "One day I'll come back" speech to Susan.
The story also leaves us wanting more. Who was behind the explosion of the Tardis? Where did River land? How did she appear at Amy's wedding? Who is River? Is Rory still an Auton?
Strangely with so many questions left at the end of the series this still felt like the fitting fairytale end. It solve one big problem but whetted the appetite for a whole host more.
Top class. 9/10
Refreshingly there was no place or need for the "token baddy behind it all" aspect. Yes, we had a Dalek or two but they played a small and entertaining cameo in their cool stone look.
Instead of a finale filled with special effects and characters we had a proper story. The Doctor was at his mischievious best flitting between time streams with the plot linking into itself in a number of fun ways in the build up to orchestrating the second Big Bang.
This "flitting" included the excellent addition of the Doctor's Fez. He'll have to pop one on again in the future surely?!!
The museum setting was probably an undervalued part of the story but proved the perfectly creepy battldrop for the events that unfolded and the Pandorica prop.
For those who think Smith doesn't do the serious and emotional with quite so much panache as his predecessor however should take a look at the Doctor's speech to the sleeping young Amelia as his own time stream begins to reverse. It's a moving and superbly scripted moment up there with Hartnell's classic "One day I'll come back" speech to Susan.
The story also leaves us wanting more. Who was behind the explosion of the Tardis? Where did River land? How did she appear at Amy's wedding? Who is River? Is Rory still an Auton?
Strangely with so many questions left at the end of the series this still felt like the fitting fairytale end. It solve one big problem but whetted the appetite for a whole host more.
Top class. 9/10
Friday, 2 July 2010
The best bang since the big one.
So we come to the finale, The Big Bang. The Doctor is trapped, Rory is an Auton, Amy’s dead and River is in an exploding Tardis. That’s how we were left at the end of last week’s episode. I had put lots of thought in how the Doctor was going to escape from the box.
So once we get past the obligatory recap we find ourselves right back with an identical opening to episode one, which I had finished watching scant moments before the start of The Big Bang. However, things are slightly different, Amelia is not saved by the Doctor, but subjected to a session with a therapist because of a painting with stars in.
It was a nice twist to hear mention that the well known atheist, Richard Dawkins, was not the leader of a cult, believing in something that did not exist. The plot suddenly changes track when a fez wearing man puts something through Amelia’s door and we are led to the National Museum where we find the Pandorica, a mystery objects surrounded by nice other objects including Stone Daleks, Nile Penguins and the Pharaohs of the Himalayas. We are then given a nice twist as Amelia opens the Pandorica to find Amy inside and the credits come crashing in.
The plot for this story was very clever. I have described the opening scenes in quite some detail but don’t fully give it the justice that it deserves. Steven Moffatt takes all of the questions that we had going on answered them brilliant. The Doctor get’s himself out of the Pandorica by jumping back in time and getting Rory to open the box with his Sonic Screwdriver. Amy is nearly dead and so by putting her into the Pandorica she is revived.
It all could be so confusing, but the Doctor’s time jumping back and forth in a fez (and I’ll sign the petition to get him wearing one in season 2) is over pretty quickly and brings the opening act to a close with a dying Doctor appearing.
Steven Moffatt once described writing TV as, asking as many questions as you can and then answering them. It works for Lost and it worked here. We want to know how the Doctor ends up in that state and we soon find out, a Dalek, previously stone has been rejuvenated by the Pandorica. We have a chase around the museum and we discover the explosion of the Tardis.
We soon have a quick rescue of River from inside the Tardis. It has crossed my mind that all of these characters have been rescued so quickly from death, or life ending situations as a bit of a kop out. Russell T Davis did that when he rescued The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack from the future so easily at the beginning of the Sound of Drums. But here it works. We don’t want complicated explanations, there is enough in the plot already.
The Doctor comes up with a plan and he is going to sacrifice himself and kick start the whole of the universe. It’s an emotional moment and Matt Smith and Karen Gillan play their final scene together beautfilly well. A tear was in the corner of my eye. The Doctor saves the universe and then wakes up with the line.
“I’ve escaped. I love it when I do that”
Brilliant. However the emotional rollercoaster carries on as the Doctor is soon heading back wards through his time line. He knows he needs to step behind the crack and leave the world forever and so he makes his goodbye to young Amelia and then he goes.
The concept of the Two Doctors running through the story has been mooted since episode 5 and we finally see its realisation here. This shows how much planning Steven Moffatt has put into the whole series and unlike the words that Russell T Davis we get a sense of relief as we realise what all of those different things that we hadn’t fully understood means.
So we get to Amy’s wedding and she remembers the most unforgettable man she’s ever met, the Doctor. With a big tease for Christmas, and the universe saved, were done.
So what did I think? I loved it. The plot is deceptively simple but brilliantly clever at the same time. The dialogue is on top form, comedic when needed, but retains the seriousness of the story.
Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan, and Alex Kingston were all on top performance and though I still feel that Alex Kingston was underused in this story she still gave a cracking performance. We are still no closer to understanding who River Song is; but yet we still like her. I don’t feel that she is the Doctor as has been touted.
The episode was wonderfully shot and the museum was a brilliant set. I don’t think I have anything bad to say about this episode. 10/10
And for both parts 10/10
Stay tuned to see what we review next.
So once we get past the obligatory recap we find ourselves right back with an identical opening to episode one, which I had finished watching scant moments before the start of The Big Bang. However, things are slightly different, Amelia is not saved by the Doctor, but subjected to a session with a therapist because of a painting with stars in.
It was a nice twist to hear mention that the well known atheist, Richard Dawkins, was not the leader of a cult, believing in something that did not exist. The plot suddenly changes track when a fez wearing man puts something through Amelia’s door and we are led to the National Museum where we find the Pandorica, a mystery objects surrounded by nice other objects including Stone Daleks, Nile Penguins and the Pharaohs of the Himalayas. We are then given a nice twist as Amelia opens the Pandorica to find Amy inside and the credits come crashing in.
The plot for this story was very clever. I have described the opening scenes in quite some detail but don’t fully give it the justice that it deserves. Steven Moffatt takes all of the questions that we had going on answered them brilliant. The Doctor get’s himself out of the Pandorica by jumping back in time and getting Rory to open the box with his Sonic Screwdriver. Amy is nearly dead and so by putting her into the Pandorica she is revived.
It all could be so confusing, but the Doctor’s time jumping back and forth in a fez (and I’ll sign the petition to get him wearing one in season 2) is over pretty quickly and brings the opening act to a close with a dying Doctor appearing.
Steven Moffatt once described writing TV as, asking as many questions as you can and then answering them. It works for Lost and it worked here. We want to know how the Doctor ends up in that state and we soon find out, a Dalek, previously stone has been rejuvenated by the Pandorica. We have a chase around the museum and we discover the explosion of the Tardis.
We soon have a quick rescue of River from inside the Tardis. It has crossed my mind that all of these characters have been rescued so quickly from death, or life ending situations as a bit of a kop out. Russell T Davis did that when he rescued The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack from the future so easily at the beginning of the Sound of Drums. But here it works. We don’t want complicated explanations, there is enough in the plot already.
The Doctor comes up with a plan and he is going to sacrifice himself and kick start the whole of the universe. It’s an emotional moment and Matt Smith and Karen Gillan play their final scene together beautfilly well. A tear was in the corner of my eye. The Doctor saves the universe and then wakes up with the line.
“I’ve escaped. I love it when I do that”
Brilliant. However the emotional rollercoaster carries on as the Doctor is soon heading back wards through his time line. He knows he needs to step behind the crack and leave the world forever and so he makes his goodbye to young Amelia and then he goes.
The concept of the Two Doctors running through the story has been mooted since episode 5 and we finally see its realisation here. This shows how much planning Steven Moffatt has put into the whole series and unlike the words that Russell T Davis we get a sense of relief as we realise what all of those different things that we hadn’t fully understood means.
So we get to Amy’s wedding and she remembers the most unforgettable man she’s ever met, the Doctor. With a big tease for Christmas, and the universe saved, were done.
So what did I think? I loved it. The plot is deceptively simple but brilliantly clever at the same time. The dialogue is on top form, comedic when needed, but retains the seriousness of the story.
Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan, and Alex Kingston were all on top performance and though I still feel that Alex Kingston was underused in this story she still gave a cracking performance. We are still no closer to understanding who River Song is; but yet we still like her. I don’t feel that she is the Doctor as has been touted.
The episode was wonderfully shot and the museum was a brilliant set. I don’t think I have anything bad to say about this episode. 10/10
And for both parts 10/10
Stay tuned to see what we review next.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Moffat's mission to finish with a flourish
So here we are, the grand finale - and the first chance for Stephen Moffat to get his teeth into the shows end of series bonanza. And what a way to start!
From a slighlty self-indulgent if thoroughly fun and frantic opening right through to the dramatic and utterly fantastic cliffhanger, the Moff has served up a real treat.
Stonehenge seems the perfect setting for a blockbuster slice of Who, more iconic, eerie and dramatic than any alien landscape - and backed up superbly by the creepy Underhenge.
The setting gave a spooky cinematic backdrop for yet another brilliant performance from Matt Smith. He combined the enigmatic genius of the Doctor with a nagging sense of not quite being in possession of the full facts for a change wonderfully.
That all built up well to a thrilling climax. Throughout the fast-paced 45 minutes we'd been teased into thinking the mystery of the story was what was going to lie inside the Pandorica, so it was an excellent twist that the whole tale, and the presence of numerous "baddies", was acutally about putting something, the Doctor, in. He was revealed as the dangerous, deadly being of folklore that it was built for, playing on the dark reputation the Doctor has used to his advantage in his last three guises.
The complex plot also tempted us into thinking we had some answers about Amy's unfathomable past yet you still feel there are a host of twists to come.
Those multiple baddies didn't jar either. When I first heard a Dalek voice my heart sank slightly - "not another series finale that uses the Daleks for effect" - but the addition of Cybermen (who provided a memorably sinister moment with Amy and brought them back to their evil best as a foe), Sontarans and goodness knows what that was lying around the prosthetic department, the monsters instead added to the intrigue.
The best of all the returning foes was surprisingly the Autons. I never guessed that the Romans would turn out to be plastic fakes and it led to another strand of the big cliffhanger with the copied Rory killing his beloved Amy.
River Song too was on top form - played with a cheeky charisma but underlying mystery that has made her a fascinating addition to the Tardis team.
The only worry now is how to follow this. Amy's dead, the Doctor is locked away in the Pandorica and River Song has just exploded in the Tardis. Quite how they get out of this one I don't know. I only hope Stephen Moffat avoids falling into a twee and unsatisfactory ending that sometimes plagued the RTD era - most notably with the Davros/Dalek finale which started so brilliantly but ended in disappoinment for this reviewer.
On this evidence there's plenty to make you believe that won't happen.
9/10
From a slighlty self-indulgent if thoroughly fun and frantic opening right through to the dramatic and utterly fantastic cliffhanger, the Moff has served up a real treat.
Stonehenge seems the perfect setting for a blockbuster slice of Who, more iconic, eerie and dramatic than any alien landscape - and backed up superbly by the creepy Underhenge.
The setting gave a spooky cinematic backdrop for yet another brilliant performance from Matt Smith. He combined the enigmatic genius of the Doctor with a nagging sense of not quite being in possession of the full facts for a change wonderfully.
That all built up well to a thrilling climax. Throughout the fast-paced 45 minutes we'd been teased into thinking the mystery of the story was what was going to lie inside the Pandorica, so it was an excellent twist that the whole tale, and the presence of numerous "baddies", was acutally about putting something, the Doctor, in. He was revealed as the dangerous, deadly being of folklore that it was built for, playing on the dark reputation the Doctor has used to his advantage in his last three guises.
The complex plot also tempted us into thinking we had some answers about Amy's unfathomable past yet you still feel there are a host of twists to come.
Those multiple baddies didn't jar either. When I first heard a Dalek voice my heart sank slightly - "not another series finale that uses the Daleks for effect" - but the addition of Cybermen (who provided a memorably sinister moment with Amy and brought them back to their evil best as a foe), Sontarans and goodness knows what that was lying around the prosthetic department, the monsters instead added to the intrigue.
The best of all the returning foes was surprisingly the Autons. I never guessed that the Romans would turn out to be plastic fakes and it led to another strand of the big cliffhanger with the copied Rory killing his beloved Amy.
River Song too was on top form - played with a cheeky charisma but underlying mystery that has made her a fascinating addition to the Tardis team.
The only worry now is how to follow this. Amy's dead, the Doctor is locked away in the Pandorica and River Song has just exploded in the Tardis. Quite how they get out of this one I don't know. I only hope Stephen Moffat avoids falling into a twee and unsatisfactory ending that sometimes plagued the RTD era - most notably with the Davros/Dalek finale which started so brilliantly but ended in disappoinment for this reviewer.
On this evidence there's plenty to make you believe that won't happen.
9/10
Thursday, 24 June 2010
It has opened.
Oh my goodness. What a great penultimate episode, The Pandorica Opens, tuned out to be. We start out with a very quick montage of various people, who the Doctor has met over the last series, getting a message to the Doctor. We even see inside the Stormcage and watch as River Song escapes.
I was slightly worried that seeing Liz 10, Vincent, and Winston Churchill again would have the same effect as when Russell T Davis through Martha, Mickey, Rose etc… in Stolen Earth / Journey’s and the End The End of Time. They were all thrown in to create an emotional journey. However, the characters passed the painting on and the Doctor, Amy, and River Song meet at Stonehenge.
An impressive start to the story and it only get better from there. We soon discover an impressive hidden chamber underneath Stonehenge, called by the Doctor Underhenge, and a Roman legion outside. Were soon inside the chamber and looking at the Pandorica itself, another impressive prop from the prop department.
The use of Stonehenge gave the story a unique feel to it. It is so wrapped up in British mythology it felt right for the Doctor to have a story set around it. Also the set design team have out done themselves there. The Pandorica chamber has a very Indiana Jones feel to it and it works.
The tension is built up by Steven Moffatt. We soon discover that there are thousands of ships come to release the creature inside the Pandorica. We soon finds that Rory has been resurrected as a Roman Legionnaire, which led to a clever comedic moment.
And at this point we are only halfway through the story. Amy and the Doctor are soon attacked by a broken Cyberman. In one of the most brilliant moments we see inside the cyber helmet and of course it tries to take Amy to replace its organic parts.
I liked the way that Murray Gold worked the Cybermen signature tune into the score in subtle, understated ways. In fact his score throughout the series, something I have not commented on over the last twelve weeks, has been a lot better than a lot of the stuff he has produced for Doctor who over the last five years. I, for one, and looking forward to the soundtrack album being released.
Matt Smith is on fine form as the Doctor. He had a rock star arrogance as he proclaimed to all of the spaceships that he has the Pandorica and would like to see who would like to take it from him.
Then we come to the conclusion. The Pandorica is for him, the Doctor. The realisation that this was a trap was brilliant. It came out of nowhere and left us all stunned. The who universe villains have all teamed up to entrap the Doctor because he threatens to destroy the universe. A great idea, even though by the fact that by entrapping the Doctor inside the Pandorica, they themselves destroy the universe.
But this is not the only cliff-hanger. At the point we see Amy remembering who Rory is and how important he is to her and then he, like the entirety of the Roman Legion, becomes an Auton. He tried his best to fight his programming, but despite his best attempt, he kills her. River Song is also killed in an exploding Tardis which is being controlled by someone else.
Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan gave a fantastic performance, especially in the death sequence and I hope some awards are coming there way. Alex Kingston, once again, was fantastic as River Song but she was pretty much consigned to the Tardis. I enjoy seeing her in stories, but she was reserved to the back ground and could all most be left at home for another story.
All in all this episode is fantastic. I’ve only got one major worry about the following episode, The Big Bang, and that is how everything is going to be concluded. Steven Moffatt has opened the Doctor Who toy box and thrown it all on the screen and destroyed the universe in the process, so where do you go from there.
10/10
I was slightly worried that seeing Liz 10, Vincent, and Winston Churchill again would have the same effect as when Russell T Davis through Martha, Mickey, Rose etc… in Stolen Earth / Journey’s and the End The End of Time. They were all thrown in to create an emotional journey. However, the characters passed the painting on and the Doctor, Amy, and River Song meet at Stonehenge.
An impressive start to the story and it only get better from there. We soon discover an impressive hidden chamber underneath Stonehenge, called by the Doctor Underhenge, and a Roman legion outside. Were soon inside the chamber and looking at the Pandorica itself, another impressive prop from the prop department.
The use of Stonehenge gave the story a unique feel to it. It is so wrapped up in British mythology it felt right for the Doctor to have a story set around it. Also the set design team have out done themselves there. The Pandorica chamber has a very Indiana Jones feel to it and it works.
The tension is built up by Steven Moffatt. We soon discover that there are thousands of ships come to release the creature inside the Pandorica. We soon finds that Rory has been resurrected as a Roman Legionnaire, which led to a clever comedic moment.
And at this point we are only halfway through the story. Amy and the Doctor are soon attacked by a broken Cyberman. In one of the most brilliant moments we see inside the cyber helmet and of course it tries to take Amy to replace its organic parts.
I liked the way that Murray Gold worked the Cybermen signature tune into the score in subtle, understated ways. In fact his score throughout the series, something I have not commented on over the last twelve weeks, has been a lot better than a lot of the stuff he has produced for Doctor who over the last five years. I, for one, and looking forward to the soundtrack album being released.
Matt Smith is on fine form as the Doctor. He had a rock star arrogance as he proclaimed to all of the spaceships that he has the Pandorica and would like to see who would like to take it from him.
Then we come to the conclusion. The Pandorica is for him, the Doctor. The realisation that this was a trap was brilliant. It came out of nowhere and left us all stunned. The who universe villains have all teamed up to entrap the Doctor because he threatens to destroy the universe. A great idea, even though by the fact that by entrapping the Doctor inside the Pandorica, they themselves destroy the universe.
But this is not the only cliff-hanger. At the point we see Amy remembering who Rory is and how important he is to her and then he, like the entirety of the Roman Legion, becomes an Auton. He tried his best to fight his programming, but despite his best attempt, he kills her. River Song is also killed in an exploding Tardis which is being controlled by someone else.
Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan gave a fantastic performance, especially in the death sequence and I hope some awards are coming there way. Alex Kingston, once again, was fantastic as River Song but she was pretty much consigned to the Tardis. I enjoy seeing her in stories, but she was reserved to the back ground and could all most be left at home for another story.
All in all this episode is fantastic. I’ve only got one major worry about the following episode, The Big Bang, and that is how everything is going to be concluded. Steven Moffatt has opened the Doctor Who toy box and thrown it all on the screen and destroyed the universe in the process, so where do you go from there.
10/10
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Corden-t fault it
James Corden really is everywhere at the moment isn't he? Which is a shame because I'm sure alot of people who get annoyed by his grating personality might have chosen to give this one a wide berth, and will have missed him at his best.
Corden may well annoy in "real life" but his performances, and writing, in Gavin and Stacey were actually very good and he showed his talents again in The Lodger in a decent little tale.
This week the Doctor had to pass as a human as flat mate to Corden's Craig. The two proved a fun foil for one another and once again allowed Smith to build on his strong show as a very other-wordly Doctor.
Similarly to last week (although I saw this first so is it next week??!) the underlying plot was pretty basic, and was much along the same lines as the Girl in the Fireplace - the machine operating to instructions which turn out to be harmful to humans.
Still the mystery of the flat upstairs was enough to hold the attention while Smith had his Black Orchid moment (if Davison can pause for cricket i'm sure ex Forest trainee Smith can show off his silky skills.....in fact on this evidence sign him up!!) and plenty of fun to boot.
Craig's love story was also carefully handled so not to edge into soap opera territory. With no Doctor-lite element to this series this felt like a relatively cheap-ish story with fleeting glimpses of Amy. If it was a budget episode though it did it well and, once again brought something fresh and different to the much-varied menu served up in Moffat's era so far.
In some respects the resolution and revelation were a bit underwhelming but nevertheless another week goes by with another entertaining 45 minutes in the bag. Now it's Moffat's turn to try to amaze and thrill with a big finale.
We're told that everything has been leading to this moment so the pressure is on somewhat. I'm sure i'm not the only one who felt RTD's "big event" stories were sometimes a let down (certainly the final part of the Donna season). The series has been great fun so far so here's hoping the next two stories cap it off in a fitting fashion....
7/10
Corden may well annoy in "real life" but his performances, and writing, in Gavin and Stacey were actually very good and he showed his talents again in The Lodger in a decent little tale.
This week the Doctor had to pass as a human as flat mate to Corden's Craig. The two proved a fun foil for one another and once again allowed Smith to build on his strong show as a very other-wordly Doctor.
Similarly to last week (although I saw this first so is it next week??!) the underlying plot was pretty basic, and was much along the same lines as the Girl in the Fireplace - the machine operating to instructions which turn out to be harmful to humans.
Still the mystery of the flat upstairs was enough to hold the attention while Smith had his Black Orchid moment (if Davison can pause for cricket i'm sure ex Forest trainee Smith can show off his silky skills.....in fact on this evidence sign him up!!) and plenty of fun to boot.
Craig's love story was also carefully handled so not to edge into soap opera territory. With no Doctor-lite element to this series this felt like a relatively cheap-ish story with fleeting glimpses of Amy. If it was a budget episode though it did it well and, once again brought something fresh and different to the much-varied menu served up in Moffat's era so far.
In some respects the resolution and revelation were a bit underwhelming but nevertheless another week goes by with another entertaining 45 minutes in the bag. Now it's Moffat's turn to try to amaze and thrill with a big finale.
We're told that everything has been leading to this moment so the pressure is on somewhat. I'm sure i'm not the only one who felt RTD's "big event" stories were sometimes a let down (certainly the final part of the Donna season). The series has been great fun so far so here's hoping the next two stories cap it off in a fitting fashion....
7/10
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