The Eleventh Hour Affair
OK then. Saturday's Doctor Who. Let's go.
Well, it was just about perfect really. The only things I heavily disliked was the new theme tune (which just seems to thin and weedy despite an excellent and innovative orchestral beginning), the new titles sequence (which not only looked more rubbish than the last one, but was also very very similar. If they'd made something startlingly different perhaps it would have justified the change), and my usual bugbear the CGI monster (because CGI always looks like CGI. Puppets and costumes always look like puppets and costumes too, but because they're physical I find it easier to suspend my disbelief.) Oh, and I don't like the new TARDIS interior. One of the things I love most about the Eccleston/Tennant one was the addition of all the bits and bobs like the 80s phone, bicycle pump, bell etc that looked like the Doctor had been patching it up to keep it going; the new console has similar ephemera grafted on it, but it's supposed to be newly regenerated so the typewriter and the taps (which I'd have loved on the old version) just seem a bit more silly.
And that's it. Apart from that it was all pretty much spot on. The dialogue was positively lickable, but then I wouldn't have expected any less from Steven "Press Gang" Moffatt, and the characterisation strong. The whole fairytale theme surrounding Amy is so Doctor Who, that it's surprising it's not really been done before, and the idea that she's been waiting for the Doctor to return after so many years is really lovely. I hate to sound prudish, but I'm in love with the idea of her being a kissogram what with it being a kids show and all (I know I know; it's hardly prostitution), but I'll take that just for the genius line that is "I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt." The character of Rory works quite well, and it'll be interesting to see how he deals with being blown out for the Doctor that he spent his childhood filling the shoes of, although I'm hoping it doesn't end up being too reminiscent of the Doctor-Rose-Mickey dynamic.
The plot itself was nothing special, but just like in Rose it's not really meant to be; it's about introducing Amy, her world and the new Doctor, which it achieves perfectly. The CGI snake monster looked a bit naff, but when the people it was impersonating started bearing those fishy teeth it actually looked quite creepy. I have a feeling the scene where the little girls and the woman off of Peep Show were chasing Amy and Rory through the hospital would've creeped me out as a kid.
The music, as ever, is brilliant, and I've got that tune that plays throughout it stuck in my head. I'm glad that with all the behind the scenes changes they've kept Murray Gold on.
But the best thing about it was Matt Smith. I've really enjoyed David Tennant's Doctor, but to be honest Smith embodies the Doctor so well that I noticed that there's a lot of the ol' Time Lord that I've been missing these last few years. I think it's the eccentricity. I don't think to be eccentric is absolutely a necessity for the Doctor, and I think actors such as Tennant, Eccleston, Davison, Colin Baker etc have played it well without it, but it's nice to see a little bit of that Tom Baker madness slipping in a little. He's also very likeable. One way writers tend to emphasise the Doctor's alienness is his habit of occassionaly being very rude without really understanding that he is, like he doesn't get social codes. On the whole this trait sometimes veers him towards unlikeablility, but not with Smith. There's something so unimposing and odd about him that just doesn't make his comments on Rory's looks feel as harsh as, say, the ninth Doctor's refusal to remember Mickey's name. Prior to the series being shown, people have been going on about how similar the eleventh Doctor will be to Patrick Troughton's Doctor, and I took it with a pinch of salt thinking it was mainly based on the bow tie alone, but there is that sort of childlike charm to him that can suddenly turn to steel that makes this Doctor feel like the second. And that's no bad thing.
When the Doctor steps through Tennant's face at the climax and introduces himself, he tells the Atraxi to run. And he means it. This is the Doctor. The Independent's review said "He might be more the Doctor than anyone who was the Doctor before." I don't know about that, and it seems a bit early to judge.
But he might.
Well, it was just about perfect really. The only things I heavily disliked was the new theme tune (which just seems to thin and weedy despite an excellent and innovative orchestral beginning), the new titles sequence (which not only looked more rubbish than the last one, but was also very very similar. If they'd made something startlingly different perhaps it would have justified the change), and my usual bugbear the CGI monster (because CGI always looks like CGI. Puppets and costumes always look like puppets and costumes too, but because they're physical I find it easier to suspend my disbelief.) Oh, and I don't like the new TARDIS interior. One of the things I love most about the Eccleston/Tennant one was the addition of all the bits and bobs like the 80s phone, bicycle pump, bell etc that looked like the Doctor had been patching it up to keep it going; the new console has similar ephemera grafted on it, but it's supposed to be newly regenerated so the typewriter and the taps (which I'd have loved on the old version) just seem a bit more silly.
And that's it. Apart from that it was all pretty much spot on. The dialogue was positively lickable, but then I wouldn't have expected any less from Steven "Press Gang" Moffatt, and the characterisation strong. The whole fairytale theme surrounding Amy is so Doctor Who, that it's surprising it's not really been done before, and the idea that she's been waiting for the Doctor to return after so many years is really lovely. I hate to sound prudish, but I'm in love with the idea of her being a kissogram what with it being a kids show and all (I know I know; it's hardly prostitution), but I'll take that just for the genius line that is "I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt." The character of Rory works quite well, and it'll be interesting to see how he deals with being blown out for the Doctor that he spent his childhood filling the shoes of, although I'm hoping it doesn't end up being too reminiscent of the Doctor-Rose-Mickey dynamic.
The plot itself was nothing special, but just like in Rose it's not really meant to be; it's about introducing Amy, her world and the new Doctor, which it achieves perfectly. The CGI snake monster looked a bit naff, but when the people it was impersonating started bearing those fishy teeth it actually looked quite creepy. I have a feeling the scene where the little girls and the woman off of Peep Show were chasing Amy and Rory through the hospital would've creeped me out as a kid.
The music, as ever, is brilliant, and I've got that tune that plays throughout it stuck in my head. I'm glad that with all the behind the scenes changes they've kept Murray Gold on.
But the best thing about it was Matt Smith. I've really enjoyed David Tennant's Doctor, but to be honest Smith embodies the Doctor so well that I noticed that there's a lot of the ol' Time Lord that I've been missing these last few years. I think it's the eccentricity. I don't think to be eccentric is absolutely a necessity for the Doctor, and I think actors such as Tennant, Eccleston, Davison, Colin Baker etc have played it well without it, but it's nice to see a little bit of that Tom Baker madness slipping in a little. He's also very likeable. One way writers tend to emphasise the Doctor's alienness is his habit of occassionaly being very rude without really understanding that he is, like he doesn't get social codes. On the whole this trait sometimes veers him towards unlikeablility, but not with Smith. There's something so unimposing and odd about him that just doesn't make his comments on Rory's looks feel as harsh as, say, the ninth Doctor's refusal to remember Mickey's name. Prior to the series being shown, people have been going on about how similar the eleventh Doctor will be to Patrick Troughton's Doctor, and I took it with a pinch of salt thinking it was mainly based on the bow tie alone, but there is that sort of childlike charm to him that can suddenly turn to steel that makes this Doctor feel like the second. And that's no bad thing.
When the Doctor steps through Tennant's face at the climax and introduces himself, he tells the Atraxi to run. And he means it. This is the Doctor. The Independent's review said "He might be more the Doctor than anyone who was the Doctor before." I don't know about that, and it seems a bit early to judge.
But he might.