Series 7: Part 1 - The Pros & Cons Overview
- SERIES 7: PART 1 -
Pros & Cons of the path this Series has taken so far...
Pros:
Character Development
- If there's one thing for sure about Part 1 of Series 7, is that there was a lot about character development throughout. I saw great changes in Amy, Rory, and the Doctor. Here's more about what I have to say about the Character Development in Series 7: Part 1: http://doumoto-hikaru.livejournal.com/28031.html
Concepts
- Dinosaurs on a spaceship, cyborg gunslinger assassin in the wild west, entering an asylum for Daleks, cube invasion is the work of pest controllers, weeping angels in 1930's New York... These are just 5 fantastic ideas to go with.
Writing Team
- Chris Chibnall & Toby Whithouse were great choices to write alongside Steven Moffat for the 1st half of this series. Chibnall wrote the characters' voices impeccably well and had some of the best sci-fi elements written in this series. Whithouse writes morality conflict very intensely in "A Town Called Mercy" and paints very interesting "villains."
Acting
- I've got to say, Karen Gillan & Arthur Darvill surprised me for their last season. Their chemistry was A LOT better, emotional scenes this series have been some of their very best, and their comedic timing has even improved. Matt Smith keeps making my year with his interpretation and unearthly skill in playing the "ageless" Time Lord.
Casting
- I was surprised at the level of actors they cast as the new characters of this Series. I've been pleased with Jenna Louise-Coleman (Oswin), Rupert Graves (Riddell), Mark Williams (Brian), David Bradley (Solomon), Ben Browder (Issac), Adrian Scarborough (Kahler-Jex), Andrew Brooke (Gunslinger), and Jemma Redgrave (Kate).
Money
- Not only did the special effects, costuming, sets, and prosthetics improve because of the money put into it, but the fact that the cast and crew could film in locations like New York and Spain gave the show a sort of grand beauty. I'm not sure about the opening credits yet though.
Possible Hints
- There seems to be a very faint story arc through this series so far. People have started to pick out clues within the episodes already. Even some remaining questions have induced speculation for next year. It's a nice sign that some things in these 5 episodes might pay off even more for dedicated watchers of the show.
Tiny Christmas Episode Preview
- Only three shots were revealed for the Christmas special and I'm still wrought with concern over the Doctor, but I've got to admit, I'm excited. What's done is done and I'm looking forward to a new chapter in the life of Matt Smith's Doctor, also the Victorian-esque look of the coming Christmas special. I'm also glad I don't know much about what's coming.
Extras & Behind the Scenes
- I'm really glad they decided to do the "Pond Life" prequels and the "Asylum of the Daleks" prequel. Some of the best moments were in scenes from those miniature episodes. They recently cancelled "Doctor Who Confidential," a show in itself about each episode's development and the process of making it. Admittedly, although Confidential had great material for Whovians to sink their teeth into, I think they could have improved on that behind-the-scenes hour long show. The Doctor Who website has at least been providing some lovely mini featurettes, articles, and photos.
Cons:
Subdued "brilliance"?
- What I missed about Series 5, was the nutty professor-like mind & non-cynical attitude of the Doctor. What I missed about Series 6, is the wittiness/cleverness of the intricate & complex storylines. From both, I missed the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey adventures and the sense of "solving a problem/conundrum" in a brilliant, amazing, & wonderful way. There wasn't anything super clever in these five episodes, nor a lot of a sense of awe or amazement about what was going on in the episodes. Perhaps the lack of awe & wonder is because the companions, Amy & Rory, have been with the Doctor for 10 years now so it was more about how used to the Doctor's way of doing things they were. I mainly hope Steven Moffat isn't "dumbing things down" but I'm not bothered as much by a change or development in character and show.
Shortness
- There have been a lot of complaints about plot-holes in "The Angels Take Manhattan" especially because of lack of explanation into the hows & whys of what was going on. I think one of the main reasons for this is that they decided to go with the "movie of the week" & "non-two-parter" this series. Most of the episodes, in my opinion, could have been the length of "Sherlock" episodes. But perhaps more of the work, time, & money will be going into the Christmas special and the second half of Series 7, into the 50th Anniversary. "Asylum of the Daleks" was my least favorite of this Part 1, Series 7, and it was technically the longest, but I also felt like the pacing was off. There was so much more they could have done particularly with "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Angels Take Manhattan." They could have had more about what it was REALLY like in the Dalek asylum & about the parliament of the Daleks & the new zombie Daleks, and they could have had a lot more fun in 1930's New York & between the four main characters. Overall, there could have been a bit more moments of reflection, substance, fun (that's legitimately important), and conflict in each episode as well.
Only 5 episodes?
- This first part of the series ended within ONE MONTH. This was basically the last we would see the Ponds interact with the Doctor and the only episodes besides the Christmas special that we would get this year. I suppose it was a good decision to make the Ponds' end be relatively quick for the duration of Series 7 and move on to the next chapter, but in comparison to the last two series, this was quite a quick exit. Also, we're not getting much Doctor Who this year after all the waiting. I'm hoping it'll be worth it in the end though, once we see the rest of the series.
3 months!
- More waiting... 2012 has become the year of waiting for Doctor Who. To quote Inigo Montoya, "I hate waiting." (Not to mention the Doctor's abhor for linear time progression: "I hate being patient! Patience is for wimps!" "Is this how time normally passes?? ... really... slowly... in the 'right' order...")
I want story arc!
- I've pretty much retained strong faith in Steven Moffat's writing & leading of the show because of his great work in Series 5 and 6. I was a bit bothered with the early report that Moffat was planning on making Series 7 story arc light. Story arcs are the sort of reward that diligent watchers of the show get to tie in all the episodes together and Steven Moffat was brilliant at it! Without the clever intricacies of Moffat's intertwining of story for the first part of this series, I feel like I'm missing half of what I love about Doctor Who. I'm guessing there's a faint arc hidden within these episodes that will reveal itself in the remainder of Series 7, but it's too bad we didn't get a bit of a payoff at the end of Part 1.
Worse than a cliffhanger
- Not only did they not answer questions about any kind of thread weaving the 5 episodes together or into the next era to come, but we're left not really knowing how the Doctor will have been affected by the events of "The Angels Take Manhattan." We're left with the vaguest of possible clues with no sense of satisfaction or benefit for knowing them. All we have is the hope that the next companion will be good & the wonder of how that companion will be introduced. However, for three months, I'm personally left with utter concern & worry for the Doctor.
SPOILERS
- I think the worst thing the promotional team could have done for me is give out so much information about what was to come in this first part of Series 7. If you just follow basic Doctor Who news, you'll have known the Ponds were leaving, who the next companion is, the titles & summaries of all 5 episodes, the filming locations, and would have seen the overabundance of promotional photos & clips.
[Extended Cut]
(Parliament of the Daleks, beamed down to a snowy planet, various explosions & surviving them, killing the Daleks, Amy in the Doctor's arms, Rory alone with dusty sleeping Daleks, chased on the beach by pterodactyls, controlling the raptor attack with stun guns, the Doctor getting thrown out of the town, the gun snafu with Amy, the Doctor's change in letting people die because of his travelling alone, the Doctor pointing a gun to Kahler-Jex at the edge of the town, the high-noon standoff, the baby weeping angels, and even a few for the Christmas special.) After "Asylum of the Daleks", I had to try to avoid the promos, interviews, and everything but they were practically everywhere on the net, it was hard not to have seen a few of them. (Tumblr is especially spoilerific, like River Song's diary, or more relevantly, "Melody Malone"... they even had gifs of Matt crying on the bench in New York whilst reading the final page of the "Melody Malone" book. They also had photos of the Statue of Liberty weeping angel.) Although I still stand by my opinion that "Asylum of the Daleks" was my least favorite and one of the worst of Moffat's writing, I think I would have at least enjoyed the episode a little bit more had there not been so much clips & promo photos for that episode beforehand. By having a sense of what's to come, you develop expectations about it and your speculations can get in the way of enjoying the show itself.
What were the Pros & Cons about Series 7: Part 1 for you?
*Comment below!*