'Yowzer' sums it up quite nicely I think
So the first half of the latest Doctor Who series is over. What did I think? Well...
I was impressed. They were a good diverse mix of episodes and there were good things in each episode. Asylum of the Daleks made the Daleks scary again - those people with the lights in their foreheads utterly freaked me out, a great new twist, especially the black guy in the snow who suddenly casually realised that he'd been dead for a while. Such a scary moment. And it had great imagery as well as introducing new companion Oswin who I though was played brilliantly by Jenna-Louise Coleman. She and Matt Smith are going to be so high energy together, it'll be insane! It has been brought to my attention however, particularly by gnimaerd that Steven Moffat tends to write all his female companion characters in the exact same way - Oswin's dialogue could have been given to River or Amy and it still would have worked. You can say what you think about Russell T Davies' writing but at least the female characters were diverse and real, not all bantering naughty smart-alecs. Also the problems in Amy and Rory's marriage were way too quickly resolved. I have to admit though, I didn't guess the twist at all and I love that. Television that can surprise me always gets my vote. I was genuinely shocked so bravo, Mr Moffat. Oh, Oswin, of course we'll remember you.
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was definitely one of the weaker episodes. But it had Rory's Dad Brian who was so darn perfect and wonderful and Rupert Graves as big game hunter Riddell and Queen Nefertiti being a badass. Also Solomon the villain was utterly chilling. Could have done without the comedy robots. They were a bit 'for the kids' for me. Also the dinosaurs weren't all that integrel. But the plot worked well and the dialogue was pretty awesome.
A Town Called Mercy was the Western and was so atmospheric. A scruffy Ben Browder is always welcome and I know he enjoyed himself on the show, which is always a plus. The cyborg and Jek were both really wonderful characters and the whole theme of war and what you'd do to win it to stop your people dying was once again brought up. The whole thing was fun and highly enjoyable, but it wasn't one of the best. Not sure why, just felt like there was something missing. The best bit was of course the male horse called Susan who wants you to respect his life choices. Little lines like that just make my day :)
I have to admit it, The Power of Three was my favourite episode of the first stretch of episodes. And all because of Kate Stewart (more on her later). The plot was a clever one, we humans really are intrigued by the newest shiny thing to appear so of course we'd take the black boxes into our homes and lives. The slow invasion was a great and highly creepy idea. The comedy from the Doctor staying with Amy and Rory was great, as was his fidgety boredom. Poor Ponds! Someone's pointed out that this ep was an ode to the Third Doctor's era and thinking about it, it really was - staying on Earth, home invasion, and UNIT. Which brings me neatly onto Kate Stewart. Take a bow, Jemma Redgrave, as you played the UNIT scientific leader so very well. Proof that Moffat can write a different sort of female character. Also, I shed many tears when it was revealed that Kate is the Brigadier's daughter. I'm a sucker for a Classic Who reference, especially a memorial one. How I cried. A perfect tribute to a loved character and much missed actor. Please bring Kate back in future episodes! There were a few bad points - why were those people kidnapped? And didn't they die when the ship blew up? Still my fave ep of the run though.
And finally the Angels took Manhattan. The Weeping Angels really scare me so I was super freaked out by this ep. Thankfully they fixed the mistake made a couple of years back when they showed the angels moving which just took away all their creepiness and scare-factor. They were scarier than ever in this ep! The period setting was atmospheric and terrific and I'm a fan of River Song so I was really thrilled to have her back. Her scenes with the Doctor, the two married now, are always wonderful. It made me so very happy to see them bantering and loving and angsty because it's far from a perfect marriage. Alex Kingston and Matt Smith pitch it so well. I guessed that Amy and Rory would exit by being sent back in time by the angels and the way it happened was so perfectly bittersweet - they caused a paradox, got saved, happy ending...and then Rory pauses and he's sent back. So Amy makes her choice and of course this time, it's Rory. A nice closing of the circle as in her first episode, she chose to travel with the Doctor instead of marrying Rory. Little Amelia Pond has grown up and it's time for her and the Last Centurian to leave. I love the little moving details like her calling River Melody and River kissing her hand in goodbye. A great complex episode. I was thoroughly satisfied. My only complaint was the massive plothole - the Doctor can't go back to that time and place to get them...he could go to New Jersey and drive there?
Now, I've heard a theory - thanks, internet - that the episodes have happened in the wrong order. One episode we hear that Rory left his phone charger in Henry the Eighth's quarters, but in the next episode we see them visit Henry the Eighth. And the Doctor's much darker in the first three episodes - killing Solomon, pointing a gun at Jek. I think the theory holds up - the Doctor will do something to time which causes the timeline to go completely wonko. It also explains how he meets Oswin at Christmas as she's very dead right now. Plus Steven Moffat loves timey-wimey storylines, anything that twists time into knots he's a fan of.
I'm still excited for the Christmas episode and what happens in the second half of the series. As I said to Anthony yesterday, I love Doctor Who, the new stuff post-2005 is great entertainment with some fantastic moments. But Classic Who will always own my heart. It's more magical to me. It means more to me, the stories and characters are more satisfying. As long as New Who doesn't crap all over the Classic stuff - and I trust Moffat not to do that since he's such a fan, then I'm okay with it. So far, so good, nothing has horrified me yet. Roll on Christmas and the return of Souffle Girl :)
I was impressed. They were a good diverse mix of episodes and there were good things in each episode. Asylum of the Daleks made the Daleks scary again - those people with the lights in their foreheads utterly freaked me out, a great new twist, especially the black guy in the snow who suddenly casually realised that he'd been dead for a while. Such a scary moment. And it had great imagery as well as introducing new companion Oswin who I though was played brilliantly by Jenna-Louise Coleman. She and Matt Smith are going to be so high energy together, it'll be insane! It has been brought to my attention however, particularly by gnimaerd that Steven Moffat tends to write all his female companion characters in the exact same way - Oswin's dialogue could have been given to River or Amy and it still would have worked. You can say what you think about Russell T Davies' writing but at least the female characters were diverse and real, not all bantering naughty smart-alecs. Also the problems in Amy and Rory's marriage were way too quickly resolved. I have to admit though, I didn't guess the twist at all and I love that. Television that can surprise me always gets my vote. I was genuinely shocked so bravo, Mr Moffat. Oh, Oswin, of course we'll remember you.
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was definitely one of the weaker episodes. But it had Rory's Dad Brian who was so darn perfect and wonderful and Rupert Graves as big game hunter Riddell and Queen Nefertiti being a badass. Also Solomon the villain was utterly chilling. Could have done without the comedy robots. They were a bit 'for the kids' for me. Also the dinosaurs weren't all that integrel. But the plot worked well and the dialogue was pretty awesome.
A Town Called Mercy was the Western and was so atmospheric. A scruffy Ben Browder is always welcome and I know he enjoyed himself on the show, which is always a plus. The cyborg and Jek were both really wonderful characters and the whole theme of war and what you'd do to win it to stop your people dying was once again brought up. The whole thing was fun and highly enjoyable, but it wasn't one of the best. Not sure why, just felt like there was something missing. The best bit was of course the male horse called Susan who wants you to respect his life choices. Little lines like that just make my day :)
I have to admit it, The Power of Three was my favourite episode of the first stretch of episodes. And all because of Kate Stewart (more on her later). The plot was a clever one, we humans really are intrigued by the newest shiny thing to appear so of course we'd take the black boxes into our homes and lives. The slow invasion was a great and highly creepy idea. The comedy from the Doctor staying with Amy and Rory was great, as was his fidgety boredom. Poor Ponds! Someone's pointed out that this ep was an ode to the Third Doctor's era and thinking about it, it really was - staying on Earth, home invasion, and UNIT. Which brings me neatly onto Kate Stewart. Take a bow, Jemma Redgrave, as you played the UNIT scientific leader so very well. Proof that Moffat can write a different sort of female character. Also, I shed many tears when it was revealed that Kate is the Brigadier's daughter. I'm a sucker for a Classic Who reference, especially a memorial one. How I cried. A perfect tribute to a loved character and much missed actor. Please bring Kate back in future episodes! There were a few bad points - why were those people kidnapped? And didn't they die when the ship blew up? Still my fave ep of the run though.
And finally the Angels took Manhattan. The Weeping Angels really scare me so I was super freaked out by this ep. Thankfully they fixed the mistake made a couple of years back when they showed the angels moving which just took away all their creepiness and scare-factor. They were scarier than ever in this ep! The period setting was atmospheric and terrific and I'm a fan of River Song so I was really thrilled to have her back. Her scenes with the Doctor, the two married now, are always wonderful. It made me so very happy to see them bantering and loving and angsty because it's far from a perfect marriage. Alex Kingston and Matt Smith pitch it so well. I guessed that Amy and Rory would exit by being sent back in time by the angels and the way it happened was so perfectly bittersweet - they caused a paradox, got saved, happy ending...and then Rory pauses and he's sent back. So Amy makes her choice and of course this time, it's Rory. A nice closing of the circle as in her first episode, she chose to travel with the Doctor instead of marrying Rory. Little Amelia Pond has grown up and it's time for her and the Last Centurian to leave. I love the little moving details like her calling River Melody and River kissing her hand in goodbye. A great complex episode. I was thoroughly satisfied. My only complaint was the massive plothole - the Doctor can't go back to that time and place to get them...he could go to New Jersey and drive there?
Now, I've heard a theory - thanks, internet - that the episodes have happened in the wrong order. One episode we hear that Rory left his phone charger in Henry the Eighth's quarters, but in the next episode we see them visit Henry the Eighth. And the Doctor's much darker in the first three episodes - killing Solomon, pointing a gun at Jek. I think the theory holds up - the Doctor will do something to time which causes the timeline to go completely wonko. It also explains how he meets Oswin at Christmas as she's very dead right now. Plus Steven Moffat loves timey-wimey storylines, anything that twists time into knots he's a fan of.
I'm still excited for the Christmas episode and what happens in the second half of the series. As I said to Anthony yesterday, I love Doctor Who, the new stuff post-2005 is great entertainment with some fantastic moments. But Classic Who will always own my heart. It's more magical to me. It means more to me, the stories and characters are more satisfying. As long as New Who doesn't crap all over the Classic stuff - and I trust Moffat not to do that since he's such a fan, then I'm okay with it. So far, so good, nothing has horrified me yet. Roll on Christmas and the return of Souffle Girl :)