The Royal Albert Hole - A review/reaction thingy :)
The titles roll and the lonely name scrolls through the vortex: DAVID TENNANT. It's quite nice to see a single name in credits, especially after the massive rush of names in the Series 4 finale.
Doctor Who: Music of the Spheres
Is it canon? Personally, I'd say no. I don't count interactive episodes as canon. Plus, the Doctor's in his blue suit. And on that note I think I'll just move on before I get bad memories of *that* scene in Journey's End...
To sum it up in the quickest way possible, this is just another fun little sketch much like Time Crash but with interaction. When I first saw this cutaway episode, I wasn't actually happy with it. The whole idea was that the Doctor was talking through a hole in space/time to the people who were live in the Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Prom this morning. Therefore, it alienates the people who weren't there. I suppose I should be grateful we got anything at all though. RTD wrote it especially for a certain group of people and that group of people loved it. I'm sure it'll make more sense and it'll seem better when they show the concert on BBC One.
The shields are dropped (again) for a second when, suddenly, a Graske pops in for tea. As soon as you see the little Graske, you know it's going to be an interactive episode. Jimmy Vee certainly needs more credit than he gets because, however small the role (no pun intended), he is brilliant for every second onscreen. Too be honest though, here the Graske was actually pointless. He arrives, jumps into the Royal Albert Hall with a water pistol, gets pulled back and then is thrown to the other end of the universe.
I was gutted though when the Doctor walked towards the space hole because I was egging the Graske on to sneak up behind him and push him through. Ya know, sometimes I wish I lived in a parallel world...
Due to a lack of musicians, space, seats and thousands of people, I wasn't able to experience the full excitement and enjoyment that Music of the Spheres deserved. Tennant was great when he gave his speech to the audience, of which (I presume) joined in. However, when it was just me sat at a computer watching him repeat himself three times, it did get a little tedious. Tennant did redeem himself rather quickly when he jumped around the console saying "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow"; a nice nod to Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor.
"Close your eyes and you'll hear it; music inside your head" was a nice line to end the episode, but I couldn't help but think about the Weeping Angels when he once told us never to blink.
Contradictory bastard.
Oh, and what's this? Slow credits with the Hartnell theme? That was a stroke of genius and a lovely way to finish the episode. The Hartnell theme fits so well too...
X-posted from my journal: thesonicspoon