Episode #251: The Time of the Doctor

" We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me. "

Episode #251:      The Time of the Doctor.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Clara Oswald.
Air Date:              25th December 2013.

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe's deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars - among them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his companion must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.

At the end of Matt Smith's time on Doctor Who we nice big Christmas special that not only wraps up a number of open mysteries but sees him regenerate into his 12th/13th incarnation in the form of Peter Capaldi. We finally see the outcome of the crack in the universe that appeared in his first season, the question hidden in plain sight and the answer to just how many regenerations does a Time Lord actually have. All wrapped up in a nice package.

While it starts off in the usual way of Christmas specials being set on Christmas it thankfully does not stick to it like previous specials did. It moves away from that to being set in a small town called Christmas instead which although strange doesn't feel like the Christmas element is being shoved in your face. Just for that immediately it gets a thumbs up.

The story shows us what is supposed to have happened to make Trenzalore look like it did when we last visited it with The Great Intelligence. A mysterious message is cast through all time and space through the crack in the universe which when translated turns out to be a question that only the Doctor can answer - his name. Hence I suppose why the show is (retconned here) called Doctor Who I guess. When the assembled alien menaces attack the town of Christmas is saved by the Doctor and his tenuous allies from the Papal Mainframe - the Silence - over and over again through the centuries until the Doctor is an old man at the end of his life. Although since events played out differently than we saw in The Name of the Doctor does that mean that The Great Intelligence is not dead after all and could return? Good question.

Importantly we learn that a Time Lord does indeed just have 13 lives and the rumours of that going around since the latter years of the 4th Doctor are true. Thankfully the Time Lords intervene and present our hero with a whole new set of lives. They promised the Master the same thing in The Five Doctors had he been successful. Speaking of which, we see once again the seal of the high council that the 5th Doctor took from the Master in that story. Nice bit of throwback there.

The story itself is good, exciting and emotional at the end. It is fun which is what I would expect from a Doctor Who special at Christmas. However it does get a little silly in places again. Wooden cybermen and sontarans reduced to a cheap laugh especially did not sit well with me. It seems that the Sontarans haven't been given a serious appearance since the reappeared in The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky under the 10th Doctor.

It is a shame to see Matt Smith go as although I was not convinced when he was first announced he grew on me very quickly. His first few moments in The Eleventh Hour really enamored me to his character. Even now I do miss him. He is probably my favourite modern Doctor to date. The end of an era. Let's see where we go from here.

Episode #219 : The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

"The universe is big, it's vast and complicated, and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles. And that's the theory. Nine hundred years, never seen one yet, but this would do me."

Episode #219:      The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              19th to 26th June 2010.

A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years offering a terrifying prophecy, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years: in 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge hides a legendary prison-box. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens. The fates are closing around the TARDIS. The Pandorica, which contains the most dangerous threat in the Universe, is opening. Only one thing is certain: "The Pandorica will open... Silence will fall".

The season ends with a fantastic culmination. We learn that everything we have experienced since the start of this season has been orchestrated by an alien coalition who fear the Doctor and blame him for the destruction of the universe. The full explanation won't become apparent for some time though. This two parter is a complete edge of your seat type entertainment with surprises and enough cool moments to be hugely memorable.

We have the unexpected return of Rory William although at this stage as a plastic Auton facsimile of a Roman soldier. He somehow manages to retain his personality even as the other Auton's revert to their "evil" selves. Rory always struck me as a bit of an odd character but has grown on me as his time on the show went along. Strange how that happens.

The first half of the story focuses on the Doctor's discovery and investigation of Stonehenge and the Pandorica. Once entrapped and the universe changes we have our companions struggling in a shrinking universe to reset things, hence the title The Big Bang. Now is this new big bang the thing that alters history to erase events such as the giant Cyber King?

The end of the adventure is rather cool as well. The Doctor slides back along his own timeline through his adventures with Amy before he ceases to exist, and we see certain scenes from previous stories this season which now make more sense. A well written and ingenuous plot element. The final scene of Amy and Rory's wedding where Amy restores the Doctor's existence sends a chill up my spin.

All in all a fantastic piece of Doctor Who in the modern era.

Episode #218 : The Lodger.

Craig: Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?
The Doctor: They never really stop.

Episode #218:      The Lodger.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              12th June 2010.

A mysterious force blocks the TARDIS — with Amy inside it — from landing, keeping it stuck in a materialisation loop. It's up to the Eleventh Doctor to work out what that force is, lest Amy be lost forever along with his home. As he investigates, he learns of a house on Aickman Road, with a staircase which people walk up but never come back down. To solve this mystery, the Doctor must pass himself off as a normal human and share a flat with Craig Owens.

The Lodger is a fantastic story, not because of some cool science fiction or big battles, but because it is just funny. This adventure is companion lite as Amy is trapped aboard the TARDIS and the Doctor does all the hard work. The Doctor having to live as a normal everyday human just makes for some classic laugh out loud moments. Sometimes it just has to be as simple as that to make a good episode.

Ultimately though this is just another filler episode before the big end of season story. The only real element of this one that fits the rest of the story arc is that the source of the mystery appears to have a dead body that resembles a Silence from the next season. Coincidence or setting up? Who knows.

There isn't much more to this one so just enjoy this story for the comedy value and for James Corden in the role of Craig Owens.

Episode #216 : The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood

"Bringing things to order, the first meeting of the representatives of the human race and homo reptilia is now in session. Never said that before. That's fab."

Episode #216:      The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              22nd to 29th May 2010.

It’s 2020, and the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth's crust than man has ever gone before — but now the ground itself is fighting back. The Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village, and find themselves plunged into a battle against a deadly danger from a bygone age.

Yay! At last we have the long awaited return of the Silurians and they have had a 21st century make over. The episode explains it as a different species of Silurian (or Homo Reptilia as the Doctor annoyingly keeps referring to them). The re-imagining has them much more human looking and without the strange third eye in the foreheads. No reference to the Sea Devils unfortunately. Still, it is good to see them back.

The story itself is a little too similar to the original Silurian story from the time of the 3rd Doctor for my tastes. I'd have liked something more original but I guess this is a good way to introduce the Silurians to a new audience without having to do a lot of backwards explaining. The problem is that the story deals with human drilling awakening the Silurians and then a group being aggressive towards mankind for being intruding apes. A peace is started only to fall apart because of that self same aggression. All in all it is too much like the original story.

The Silurians for their anti-human stance are portrayed as highly civilized and yet mankind is once again shown to be uncompromising and aggressive in return. We humans have our issues but I don't think we are quite as bad as we are shown to be in the Doctor's eyes. Recent incarnations seem to see us in a negative light and it is a bit much.

This episode features the first proper death of Rory Williams. A running joke throughout the show now is how many times can Rory die? In this instance Rory is killed by a Silurian and his body and history erased by the mysterious crack in the skin of the universe. As part of that incident the Doctor discovers a shard of the TARDIS inside the crack indicating that at some point the TARDIS will be destroyed. All together it plays nicely into the overarching story for this season.

The Hungry Earth and the Cold Blood together make a good Doctor Who adventure if a little long and drawn out even for a two parter. The return of the Silurians is really good to see as is some expansion on their culture that we didn't have before. More classic monsters are definitely needed. Well worth a watch as a refresher or as an introduction to the Silurians.

Episode #214 : Vampires of Venice

"Tell me the whole plan! ... One day that'll work...  Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing... I'm thrilled! Oh, this is Christmas!"

Episode #214:      Vampires of Venice.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              8th May 2010.

The Eleventh Doctor takes Amy and Rory, soon to be married, on a romantic trip to Venice, 1580 to make Amy focus on her relationship with her fiancé. However, things there aren't quite what they seem. Warnings of the plague are spreading about despite having died out years before, and pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight are lurking around. Could it have something to do with the school run by the mysterious Rosanna Calvierri?

Vampires of Venice is a story that feels very much like the classic stories of old. I could imagine Tom Baker running around Venice investigating and hunting these alien vampires. As it is this isn't a bad story for the 11th Doctor. It fits what I expect from modern Doctor Who in both style and appearance, although some elements are a bit silly.

Rory joins the TRADIS crew as the Doctor tried to curtail Amy's amorous advances. Rory is a sort of anti-companion as he doesn't take to time travel the same way as everyone else. He's very unadventurous and it is a nice character trait. In this story he raises some good points that aren't normally covered and that we ignore when watching.

"You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

That is a great quote and so very very true when you think about it. Companions always trust the Doctor and assume that he knows what he is doing and go that extra mile. We see it all the time and we just go along with it. A good example of script writing. We never saw anything like this in the old days and it is good to have an insight into our hero.

The vampires themselves are a little bit of a let down but only because with modern BBC special effects I feel they could have looked a lot better than just strange alien fish with big teeth. The premise behind them and their plans ties into the crack in the universe plot, complete with reference to "silence". I'd have preferred something closer to the Great Vampires myself but then the more classic references the better in my opinion.

Vampires of Venice is a fun story but it is the character interaction and Rory's reveal of who the Doctor is is what makes the episode.

Episode #212 : Victory of the Daleks

"YOU! ARE! MY! ENEMY! And I am yours! You are everything I despise. The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you. Time and time again, I've defeated you. I sent you back into the Void. I saved the whole of reality from you. I AM THE DOCTOR AND YOU ARE THE DALEKS!"

Episode #212:      Victory of the Daleks.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              17th April 2010.

Receiving a call for help from his old friend Winston Churchill, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond head for World War II to assist the Prime Minister. Once there, though, the Doctor reunites with his greatest enemies, the scum of the universe — the Daleks. But why are these survivors passing themselves off as man-made weapons? And why don't they recognise the Doctor? What could these "Ironsides" have planned?

Victory of the Daleks is a pseudo-historical story with a science fiction twist. It doesn't use the second world war to teach like the old historical adventures but more as just a setting, in which to tell this story. Into it we find the Daleks working for the British armed forces to take down incoming German aircraft. The Doctor recognises them for what they are this triggers the actual story, that the Daleks are seeking to rebuild their forces and their creation needs proof that they are pure Daleks. The name of the episode is very apt as in this story the evil Daleks do indeed win. Yay!

Despite some rather witty dialogue this episode unfortunately is really just another filler. The entire point of this episode is simply to set up the return of the Daleks later on. I really hate it when shows do that as it feels like a waste of an episode. I like plot stories but I like them to be mostly self contained and workable.

I hate to be negative yet again, but there is one thing in this adventure which really irks me. The Daleks' plans are slightly defeated by space flying Spitfire aircraft. It just bugs me as once again we have an element of silly. It's meant to be a good sci-fi story and then they through that in there.

Episode #211 : The Beast Below

"A horse and a man, above, below,

One has a plan, but both must go,

Mile after mile, above, beneath,

One has a smile and one has teeth,

Though the man above might say hello,

Expect no love from the Beast Below."

Episode #211:      The Beast Below.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              10th April 2010.

For Amy Pond's first trip in the TARDIS, the Eleventh Doctor brings his new companion to the 29th century, where all of the United Kingdom's citizens (apart from the Scottish) live on board Starship UK, searching for a new home among the stars as the Earth is being roasted by solar flares. However, the Doctor soon finds something amiss on board the vessel. The citizens appear to fear "the smiling fellows in the booths" and ignore crying children. What is going on? What secrets does Starship UK hold at its depths, and who is hiding them? Soon, the Doctor is forced to make an impossible choice. No matter what he chooses, death is the only outcome.

After the great start to the new series we hit this story and we're dropped into what I call science-fairy tale. Basically this resembles nothing like what we have seen previously and it just feels wrong. We can assume from the century given (and you may disagree) that these country starships are the people of Earth fleeing the solar flares that led to the events from The Ark in Space. So, why does the Nerva Beacon have proper technology and here we have most of the UK crammed into a city flying through space? A city sized space ship I could get but that isn't what we have here. 

Amy gets some better dialogue and more of a character in this story. I'd already warmed to her in the previous story but here is where we start to see the real her. She has her tough side but she is still as sympathetic as the rest of us. The Doctor on the other hand, for me anyway, turns into a rather unlikable character towards the end. To start with he's all in for the wonder and the adventure but once the realisation of what is happening hits him suddenly he is all "nobody human has anything to say to me today!" despite their actions being what saved them. They weren't to know what they were doing. His reaction just seems beyond the extreme. Anger I can get because of what has happened but blaming humanity for survival seems just over the top. 

The "Beast" resembles the poor creature in the Torchwood story Meat. Could that have been an immature space whale? I like the idea of the space whale and it does fit into the Whoniverse quite nicely I think. You could certainly imagine something like it in a classic Who story.

The Beast Below is not a bad story I suppose but the weird fairy tale feel to it spoils it for me somewhat. It works for some stories such as the horror genre ones, but not for something set in the distant future on board a large impressive star ship. 

Episode #210 : The Eleventh Hour

"I'm the Doctor; I'm worse than everybody's aunt!"

Episode #210:      The Eleventh Hour.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              3rd April 2010.

After a literally explosive regeneration, the brand new Eleventh Doctor survives a crash-landing to Earth. However, he has little time to recover. With a mysterious crack in a little girl's wall and a missing alien prisoner, the Doctor is in for an adventure. However, with the TARDIS damaged and the sonic screwdriver destroyed, can the Doctor capture the rogue alien before its jailers burn Earth to a crisp?

It's all change as Matt Smith takes over the role of the Doctor. There's more humour and a rather strange surreal tone to the show now. In later episodes the show feels less science fiction and more science fairy-tale. But it is certainly in keeping with the new Doctor. When Matt Smith was first announced as the Doctor I was not convinced. He looked too young to be the Doctor and I doubted that he would have the force of personality. Within minutes of his appearance I was convinced that he was the right choice. Of the newer actors, Matt Smith has become my favourite.

The Eleventh Hour is a great start to the new series. The Doctor's new persona is just fun and immediately you like him. He is a proper eccentric personality again and much more in the style of the classic Doctors. We are also introduced to the newest companion, Amy Pond. She is another feisty female companion and one who stands up to the Doctor. She's not a screamer. We also meet her boyfriend Rory, a bit of a wet fish really but he'll have a part to play later on.

The main point of this story is not the escaped Prisoner Zero or the alien Atraxi. At the start young Amy Pond shows the Doctor a strange crack in her wall which is revealed to be a crack in the fabric of the universe. This is the main plot point for the season and for the run of the 11th Doctor.

For an episode that is there just to set up the new Doctor and his companions, this is a really good fun story. The humour is actually just right and while I sometimes grumble at the fairy tale nature of some of the future stories, this one gets a good thumbs up from me.