Episode #217 : Vincent and the Doctor

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

Episode #217:      Vincent and the Doctor.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              5th June 2010.

While taking Amy to several peaceful locations, the Eleventh Doctor's trip to a museum takes turn for the worse: his interest is caught by a painting of a church by Vincent van Gogh. What troubles the Doctor is that there's a face in the church's window; it's not a nice face, it's a curious, shadowed, creepy face with a beak and nasty eyes. The Doctor knows evil when he sees it and this face is definitely evil; it may pose a threat to the one who painted this face into the church. Only one thing will calm the Doctor's nerves: a trip in the TARDIS to 1890 so the Doctor can find out from the artist himself.

Vincent and the Doctor is a very unusual story. At first glance it is both science fiction and a good historical story. In that regard is reminds me of the old historical adventures designed to teach the younger viewers. Although some elements of this story are slightly different than the real world truth we have an episode that gives us some insight into one of history's more loved classical artists. However, the science fiction story of an invisible space alien monster running around doesn't actually do much to further the story.

The true strength of this story to me comes at the very end when the Doctor takes Vincent to the modern day and shows him his works on display for all to enjoy. The curator speaks volumes about Vincent's impact and how he will always be remembered. I'm no art expert or fan but this speech does tend to bring a tear to the eye.

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 #215 : Amy's Choice

The Dream Lord: If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality.
Rory: What happens?
The Dream Lord: You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality.

Episode #215:      Amy's Choice.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              15th May 2010.

It has been five years since Amy Pond last travelled with the Eleventh Doctor. However, when he arrives by accident and they have a reunion, Amy is left questioning what is real. Is she actually living with her husband Rory in Leadworth, 2015, or is she still travelling with Rory and the Doctor in the TARDIS? Which is real and which is fake? Dream or reality? Only one thing is clear: it's Amy's choice.

Amy's Choice is a filler episode that does nothing to further the season plot. There is no reference to the Silence nor is there a crack in the universe this time. The entire episode is totally self contained. Instead we have a confusing story about dream and reality which is somewhat mediocre.

The villain of this story is an entity calling itself the Dream Lord. The first time I watched this episode I was really hoping that he would be a previous villain, the Valeyard or the Celestial Toymaker. Instead we have a one use villain playing the role of the Doctor's darker side (hence the thought that he may be the Valeyard). Played by the wonderful Toby Jones, the Dream Lord is a fun villain with the perfect sarcastic responses to the Doctor.

I don't have much to really review this episode. It's fun if you take it the right way but I dislike filler episodes intensely.

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 #213 : The Time of the Angels / Flesh and Stone

"Didn't anyone ever tell you? There's one thing you never put in a trap. If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there's one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

Episode #213:      The Time of the Angels / Flesh and Stone.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Amy Pond.
Air Date:              14th April to 1st May 2010.

The enigmatic River Song hurtles back into the Eleventh Doctor's life, but she's not the only familiar face returning — the Weeping Angels are back! Following River's calling card, the Doctor is recruited to help track down the last of the Angels, which has escaped from the Byzantium starliner and into the terrifying Maze of the Dead.

The Weeping Angels and River Song return in a rather good story that continues the lore of the Angels. Most of the time the episodes that feature the Angels are rather naff but this one adds something to it. We learn a little more about them and what they are capable off. Blink barely touched the surface. As for River she is a very different person than when we last saw her. We are going backwards though as the Doctor and River do keep meeting in the wrong order.

This is also a major revelation episode where the crack in the universe is concerned. At the end of Victory of the Daleks the Doctor points out that Amy should remember the Dalek invasion that recently moved the Earth but she doesn't. In this adventure the Doctor realises that something is changing or rewriting history as, and I pointed this out a while back, no one remembers the giant Cyberking marching across Victorian London. Something is a foot and the Doctor is on the case.

The best bit about this adventure is that pretty much from the get go we have a suspense filled romp through an ancient maze and a crashed space ship. Most adventures are quite exciting but few are truly suspenseful. This is one of the few and it's worth it.

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.