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REVIEW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End by Russell T Davies

SERIAL: PB9, 4.12/4.13, 1 X 45 minute episode + 1 X 60 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Throughout the new series, Russell T Davies had been seeding information that would eventually come into play during the fourth season's finale. Although it was doubtful that he thought this far ahead when the first new series came around, there's no doubt that throughout this series, there were seeds of information that, though initially innocuous, would turn out to have a payoff. And with each season finale so far, there have been escalating threats, from a Dalek invasion of Earth in the future, to a war between Cybermen and Daleks in the present, to the Master conquering Earth and intending to conquer the universe. But now, a new threat was needed, and what could be even greater than an end to reality itself?

At first, Rose's message to the Doctor via Donna seems unfounded. The Earth seems fine. But when they step back into the TARDIS for a short period, they soon find that the Earth has vanished literally from under the TARDIS. The Doctor decides to engage the help of the Shadow Proclamation, who are busy with the news of 27 planets, now vanished. On Earth, the Doctor's companions and allies look into an alien sky filled with the missing planets, and the Daleks swooping in to invade Earth. And in a Dalek stronghold called the Crucible, Davros, creator of the Daleks, awaits. Following the trail to the Medusa Cascade, a rift in space and time, the Doctor and Donna follow a subwave signal generated by his allies to the stolen Earth. But why these 27 planets? What is Davros' plan? How, indeed, did he survive the Time War? And what does it have to do with the now crazed survivor of the Cult of Skaro, Dalek Caan? Caan has prophesized the death of one of the Doctor's companions, but death may be coming for all creation, and even the Doctor and all his companions may not be able to stop it...

Okay, so I was a bit premature rubbishing Turn Left because it didn't explain Rose's knowledge, as it's explained here. My fault. But in any case, this two-part finale to the fourth series not only manages to pack in every companion shown in the new series, along with many associates from the spinoffs (like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures), but also the Daleks and Davros. And while the explanation for their return is okay, it does feel to me like a but of hurried justification to have them in the finale. Davies once more demonstrates his tendency to pull things out of the story's arse, and the ending is long-winded. The main saving grace of the story is that it is epic, has manay twists and turns, and never fails to entertain. We have a comparison between Davros and the Doctor, with the former taunting the Doctor about turning his companions into soldiers of sorts, a rather nasty barb that still rings a little true, even if Davros is being highly selective in his means to demotivate the Doctor. This is basically one big crossover with a major multiversal threat, and the fact that it manages to work at entertainment, despite the at times shoddy story, is amazing.

What can I say about the Doctor and his companions that appear that hasn't been said already? They are bloody amazing, even if the story allows for little character development. Particular praise has to go to David Tennant, especially as the metacrisis Doctor, Catherine Tate enjoying herself immensely when she becomes the Doctor Donna (and the death of the character she had become, even if she didn't literally die, is depressing), and Elisabeth Sladen, with her reactions to both the Daleks and Davros returning amazing to behold, and it's nice to see that Davies acknowledges that Davros and Sarah had met. Davros himself is played excellently by Julian Bleach, who seems to take Michael Wisher's version as his basis, but adding a certain quirkiness to the role that is rarely seen.

The production is lavish and spectacular, as behooves a story of this scope in scale. In fact, it is the production that goes a long way to covering up the flaws of the story. There's a few dodgy CGI bits, particularly the TARDIS towing sequence at the end, but it otherwise works. Davros' new look is astounding, giving a realism to the character that makes you believe that he is a (albeit barely, thanks to his life-support) living being. Impressive doesn't cover it.

This story, while flawed, nonetheless manages to work, at least on the level of entertainment. Filled with one deus ex machina after another, I wish it was a little bit better constructed, but hey, with an epic threat to the universe and so many character of the Whoniverse coming in, it's still entertaining.



SCORE: 9/10


Next time teaser for The Next Doctor...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5E6XiPEDO4[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Next Doctor by Russell T Davies

SERIAL: PB10, 4.14, 60 minute special

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


With series four proper over, the following year would see five specials, four stories in all, detailing the end of the Tenth Doctor, as played by David Tennant. This arc began with the 2008 Christmas special, where an unusual gimmick would be used. David Tennant's co-star from Blackpool, David Morrissey, would come to play a role that would tease with the expectations of the audience...

Travelling alone, the Doctor ends up in Victorian London, in 1851. Hearing a cry for the Doctor, he arrives, only to find that he was not the man expected. Instead, another man, claiming to be the Doctor, arrives, and he is investigating disappearances and murders, linked to the Cybermen, and their minions, the animalistic Cybershades. The Doctor wonders if this new Doctor is a later incarnation, perhaps his very next one, suffering from amnesia. But the truth may be very different. Accompanied by Rosita, the two Doctors investigate, but there's some unanswered questions. What links the new Doctor to the disappearance of teacher Jackson Lake? Why have the Cybermen teamed up with Miss Hartigan, owner of a workhouse? And what is the Cyberking?

The story has some fine moments, with the best part of the story being the mystery around the new Doctor and Jackson Lake. And while the story overall is an enjoyable romp, one does question a number of aspects, like why the Cybermen need children to run their machines, when they could presumably control a whole bunch of adults. And frankly, that whole Cyberking=giant mecha thing is just bloody gratuitious. And the ending seems just a little too conveniently over. Would the Doctor doing that to Miss Hartigan caused what it did? Of course, the ending, where the Doctor states (as is his intent over the specials) to travel alone gives a certain poingnancy.

Of the characters, the Doctor is on fine form, trying to figure out the problem around his possible next incarnation, as well as showing how lonely he is beginning to get, and that he is willing to endure that. Perhaps on finer form in terms of writing and acting is David Morriessey's Doctor, aka Jackson Lake. While acting as a plausible Doctor, his revelations about himself actually work. The other two characters of note, Rosita and Miss Hartigan, are much less well written, with Rosita being basically a feisty pseudocompanion, and Miss Hartigan being a misandrist harpy. However, their respective actresses do better, with Velile Tshabalala doing fine as Rosita, and Dervla Kirwan clearly enjoying herself playing the villainous Hartigan.

Production-wise, well, the costumes and sets are excellent, as is often the case when the BBC does period drama. And the Cybermen are as menacing as ever, and the Cybershades are an interesting variation on the standard Cybermen. But the rest of the story, even with its action sequences, feels a little flat, possibly a consequence of the writing. And the Cyberking is a gratuitious concept realised in a ludicrously obvious CGI manner.

The Next Doctor represents a step backwards, after the excellent Christmas specials of the last couple of years. Not actually bad, but disappointing compared to previous Christmas specials. And not the most auspicious of beginnings for the year of specials...


SCORE: 8/10

REVIEW: Planet of the Dead by Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts

SERIAL: 4.15, 60 minute special

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Having filmed as far afield as Manhattan to the west and Italy to the east, the Doctor Who team, in a bid to make a desolate world that wasn't filmed on a beach or a quarry, decided to film in the deserts near Dubai. While the story was due out on Easter, this was no Easter romp. Between sandstorms and a shipping accident involving the bus key to the story, this story nearly ended in disaster. But how did the end product turn out?

Lady Christina de Souza, lady thief, is escaping from the police on a bus after a successful theft from the International Gallery. The Doctor is on board too, tracking unusual emissions on a device. But soon, the bus disappears from London, only to reappear, damaged, on an alien desert world. And Carmen, one of the passengers, is hearing voices from all around, the voices of the dead. Trying to find out what happened, the Doctor manages to contact UNIT back on Earth, only to find that the wormhole that brought them there is getting larger, and the only safe way back through is in the bus. But on the horizon, a storm seems to be blowing up. And a pair of aliens are watching the stranded passengers. This planet of the dead has secrets, deadly secrets that may mean the destruction of all life on the Earth...

After the lightweight story of The Next Doctor, it's nice to see a story that, while rather too simple and straightforward, is at least nicely put together. And the crisis involving the bus was seamlessly integrated with such elan that you think it was intentional. But despite this, the story is still on the lightweight side, being a story which serves only as an adventurous romp and with foreshadowings of the later specials. It doesn't fall flat per se, it just doesn't feel right.

The Doctor is on form, as usual, with less of the baggage seen in The Next Doctor, although his character still has this stubborn refusal to take on companions is rather annoying. Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina is enjoyable, but doesn't have sticking power as a companion. Noma Dumezweni as Captain Magambo is fine enough, although Malcolm Taylor, as played by Lee Evans, is at best meh, and at worst irritating. He's basically a parody of a Doctor Who fanboy who is annoying. The other characters are fine, but forgettable.

The production values are quite good, especially with the location filming. The Tritovore costumes and prosthetics are actually quite excellent, which makes it all the more a pity when you see the Stingrays. The design, as usual, is excellent and intimidating, but the execution makes it clear that this is a CGI creation. And at times, the story lacks a certain energy.

Planet of the Dead is a fairly average (by Doctor Who standards) story. It just sets the scene for the dark stories yet to come...


SCORE: 8.5/10

And now, the next time trailer for The Waters of Mars...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc9XiZ2A4xk[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Waters of Mars by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford

SERIAL: 4.16, 60 minute special

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


With the end of the specials, and thus both David Tennant's and Russell T Davies' tenure on the series fast approaching, the series needed to climax with a bang. And to lead into it, Davies, along with Phil Ford, a writer from The Sarah Jane Adventures, wrote a horror story set on Mars, and designed to lead the Doctor into a decision that will change his life...

November 21st, 2059. The Doctor lands on Mars, and is taken into custody by the residents of a nearby Mars base, Bowie Base One, commanded by Adelaide Brooke. But when the Doctor realises where he is, he's eager to leave. For this is a fixed point in history that ensures that humanity reaches the stars, as Brooke and her crew die when the base self-destructs. But his attempts to get away are stymied when one of the crewmembers attacks another. An infection that travels through water, coming from the glacier used for Bowie Base's water. The waters of Mars are eager to spread their infection. The Doctor soon realises that he is faced with a choice: does he leave the crew to die, and history take its course? Or will he break every law of time, save them, and damn the consequences?

Hoo, boy. After the previous couple of specials, this is a welcome story. Dark, intelligent, and horrific. Like Davies' Midnight the previous year, this story utterly deconstructs the Doctor's travels and his MO, especially in a situation where he shouldn't interfere. Two forms of horror are present here. Although the horror of infected water is excellent and well-used, there's also the horror of what the Doctor may become without his companions: a callous god. The story is well-written from start to finish, and answers those questions of why the Doctor likes to meddle in future times more than past times.

David Tennant shows no signs of slowing down as the Doctor, and the Doctor goes from anxious, to sorrowful about the fate of the Bowie Base crew, all the way up to madness as the Time Lord Victorious. While jarring, it also fits into what has been shown throughout the new series, that the Doctor without a companion is a bad thing, and he needs a companion to help him with his conscience. The Bowie Base crew are all excellent, with just enough development given to this cast of characters, with Lindsey Duncan's Adelaide Brooke being, of course, the key role. The only issue I have with the character is her changing from wanting to be rescued by the Doctor once she learns what happens, to criticising him. It seems like it swung just a little too harshly for me, but it's a minor annoyance, nothing serious.

Production-wise, the direction is filled with pace and energy, though one would expect no less from a story directed by Graeme Harper. Bowie Base One is excellent, with the only complaint about the design being the long vast corridors leading to various domes. I would've thought that impractical in space colonies. The Gadget robot, while irritating, is nonetheless well-designed and looks the part. And the Flood zombies, while looking weird in still photographs, look absolutely horrific in motion, especially with the cracked skin, bloated bodies, and water perpetually trickling down their bodies.

The Waters of Mars is one of the best stories in David Tennant's era, and Russell T Davies' tenure, of Doctor Who. Dark, thrilling, and leading into the grand finale, it makes you think about how far the Doctor might go if all he had was himself...


SCORE: 10/10

And now, the next time trailers for both parts of The End of Time...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT4vieVh4d8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FntRKPEnCJc[/youtube]

REVIEW: The End of Time by Russell T Davies

SERIAL: 4.17/4.18, 60 minute special + 70 minute special

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


The first Doctor regenerated after helping stop the Cybermen. The second forfeited his life after a trail by his own people. The third died of radiation sickness, confronting his fears of death. The fourth plummeted to his demise from a radio telescope after stopping the Master from holding the universe to ransom. The fifth died saving the life of his companion, Peri. The sixth perished from head trauma thanks to a crashing TARDIS. The seventh was shot, and an operation to remove the bullets was bungled. The eighth presumably perished in the fires of the Time War. The ninth died saving Rose from the time vortex energies she had absorbed. And so, we come to the tenth Doctor, a popular Doctor, and so a suitably epic ending is needed. But will the tenth Doctor's era, and the tenure of Russell T Davies, end with a bang, or with a whimper?

Some time ago, the Doctor received a prophecy: "He will knock four times", and the Doctor will die. Summoned to the Oodsphere, the Doctor finds that it is coming true. The Ood have advanced too swiftly in the century since their liberation, and warn the Doctor that it is due to events that not only herald the resurrection of the Master, but something vast stirring in the dark. Something that will bring about the end of time. While the Master's revival goes wrong thanks to sabotage from his former wife Lucy, he still remains a threat, killing people to replenish his fading life force. And as the Doctor discovers, the sound of drums in his head is all too real. But the Doctor is also disturbed when Donna's grandfather Wilfred Mott, apparently effortlessly, tracks him down, as if there is something further keeping them together. The Master is soon kidnapped by billionaire Joshua Naismith, in order to repair the alien Immortality Gate. The Doctor and Wilfred go to stop the Master, only to find a pair of aliens hoping to steal the Gate themselves. But what is the Master's plan? Who is the mysterious woman that Wilfred keeps seeing, the one who knows so much about the Doctor? Can the Doctor cheat fate? And what does it have to do with the return of the Time Lords? The deadliest truth about the Time War is about to be revealed, and the Doctor has to take arms against it, win, lose, or die...

This story is really how The Stolen Earth and Journey's End should have been written. It's more coherent, better written, and while the ending takes a long bloody time, it also works much better. We also finally find out why the Doctor ended the Time War with the genocide of both the Daleks and the Time Lords, and the epic battle between the Doctor and the Master is soon overshadowed by the return of the Time Lords. While there's still a few weak points (like how the Doctor was able to survive a long fall in the climax, or the lengthy ending, not to mention the Vinvocci subplot), it's appropriate and epic. If you're not feeling sorrow at both the Doctor's pre-sacrifice rant and his final words before regenerating, then there is something seriously wrong with you. This is the saddest regeneration since the fourth Doctor's in Logopolis.

David Tennant. What can I say about him that I already haven't? While you could say that he overacts, it works here. This is the Doctor, raging against the dying of his light, and utterly convinced that he may die, and Tennant wrings every bit of mileage out of the angst and sorrow. Bernard Cribbins, although he did have significant roles to play as Wilfred Mott in previous stories, shines as the tenth Doctor's last companion, with both humour and pathos, giving one of the most genuinely touching relationships the Doctor has. John Simm as the Master is even barmier than before, but the Master is even more dangerous when he is desperate, and there's even an oblique reference to a story that was originally going to write the character out. Timothy Dalton is superb as the narrator, who turns out to be none other than Rassilon, revived for the Time War, vicious, cunning, and brutal. Claire Bloom is suitably enigmatic as the Mysterious Woman. The other new roles range from the decent (David Harewood as Joshua Naismith) to the forgettable (Lawry Lewin and Sinead Keenan as Rossiter and Addams respectively, though that is more the fault of the writing).

And once more, to the production. Excellent, excellent, excellent. The FX work for the most part, with spectacular Gallifreyan vistas, and the Master's 'skull', though a bit cheap-looking, nonetheless conveys the desired effect. Can't say the same about the Master duplicates, who at times do seem a little too overtly digitally duplicated. The direction is well paced, giving the right amount of contemplation and action for the appropriate sequences. The music is used to great effect, with the emotional Vale Decem used for the regeneration. In short, while not a masterpiece, it works to the desired effect.

The End of Time, while not perfect, is such an excellent and epic ending to the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, and farewells David Tennant. Now, Steven Moffat will be handed the reins of showrunner, and Matt Smith steps into Tennant's shoes...


SCORE: 9.5/10

PROGRESS REPORT TWELVE: NEW SERIES FOUR: VALE DECEM

STORIES: Total for this era:

Cumulative total: 142. 15 William Hartnell, 6 Patrick Troughton. 17 Jon Pertwee. 37 Tom Baker. 20 Peter Davison. 11 Colin Baker. 9 Sylvester McCoy. 1 Paul McGann. 1 Spin-Off. 10 Christopher Eccleston. 36 David Tennant


TIME: Total for this era: 16 days

Cumulative total: 176 days

PERCENTAGE NEVER WATCHED BEFORE: 0/15, or 0%

Cumulative total: 42/163, or 26%


MILESTONES:

The first (and to date, last) appearance of Jenny

The first appearance of River Song

The first companion-lite episode

The first mention (in the main series) of the Trickster

The Time Lords return


COMPANIONS: Donna Noble, Martha, Wilfred Mott


THOUGHTS:

If the Hinchcliffe/Holmes seasons were the golden age of the classic series (which, in my not-so-humble opinion, they were), then series four and the specials, the last Russell T Davies season, as well as David Tennant's last stories, are the golden age of the new series to date. Not just in terms of escalating things. For the first time in a long time, we have a companion who is an older female, and who has a better grip on the situation. Donna Noble, one-off for The Runaway Bride, returns to great acclaim, showing that the character could be very human indeed, and thus helping the Doctor question the choices he makes, humanising him. Her 'death' at the end of Journey's End is a great tragedy, as she is perhaps an even better companion than Rose.

The stories became more ambitious, with the return of the Sontarans and Davros, a story set almost entirely within a space shuttlebus with paranoia working against the Doctor, and the introduction of a character who would come into her own during Steven Moffat's time as showrunner, River Song, in a horrifying tale of hungry shadows. The show, with a few exceptions, went from strength to strength, and although Journey's End did wrap up many storylines from the series, it wasn't quite the end.

The first couple of specials weren't much special, though they did introduce the idea of the Doctor wishing to remain alone, because he knew that his companions leaving hurt him. But in the terrifying The Waters of Mars, we saw how far the Doctor could go when he doesn't have someone to hold him back, becoming megalomaniacal, almost like his nemesis, the Master, who would return in the next story. The End of Time not only cleared up many elements of mystery surrounding the Time War (while still leaving some secrets intact), but it also challenged the Doctor's morality. And the Tenth Doctor was given the sendoff he deserved. And not just that, but Davies and Tennant.

An enjoyable spectacle from start to finish, the end of this series marks the end of an era in more ways than one. Vale Decem. Farewell to the Tenth. And Hail to the Eleventh...

BEST STORIES: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, Midnight, The Waters of Mars

WORST STORIES: The Doctor's Daughter, The Next Doctor

REVIEW: The Eleventh Hour by Steven Moffat

SERIAL: PB3, 5.1, 1 X 60 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


With the series now in the hands of Steven Moffat, writer par excellence for the previous seasons, it was time to introduce a new Doctor, and a new companion. All change at the top, of course. So a good story was needed to bring the new series in with a bang. But could Moffat do that? Or would The Eleventh Hour be one too many?

Freshly regenerated, his TARDIS out of control, the Doctor lands in the backyard of a house where young girl Amelia Pond is staying. Although bemused by this stranger and his bizarre taste in food, she soon finds out that he is the right man for the job in investigating the strange, scary crack in her bedroom, a crack in time and space. Said crack leads to a prison, where the Atraxi are concerned that their prisoner, shapeshifting Prisoner Zero has escaped through the crack. But before the Doctor can investigate any further, a crisis with the damaged TARDIS requires him to take a short hop forward in time. He promises Amelia, who wants to come with him, that he will only be a few minutes. Twelve years later, the Doctor returns, only to find that Amelia has grown up and become Amy, and that Prisoner Zero has been hiding in her house all this time. With the Atraxi preparing to incinerate the Earth if Prisoner Zero doesn't surrender, the Doctor has twenty minutes to save it. His TARDIS is reforming, his sonic screwdriver is damaged, he's still suffering from the effects of his regeneration, and the inhabitants of the town of Leadworth believe him to be an imaginary friend of Amy's come to life. If the world will be saved, it will be up to the eleventh hour...

The Eleventh Hour is basically a rerun of Smith and Jones in many respects, with the story of how the Doctor became involved in Amy's life attached. An enemy that can look human, space police tracking said enemy down with heavy-handed tactics, and a hospital key to the plot. It does things a little better than Smith and Jones, with some psychological horror added, decent dialogue, and some interesting humour. And there's an essence of childhood magic recaptured here. But for a longer episode than usual (at over an hour long), it's filled with more incident than actual plot. And the Doctor and Amy's relationship isn't quite developed as well as I would have liked, and some of the dialogue is just a touch too mad.

Matt Smith is not my favourite Doctor. However, this doesn't mean that he isn't competent. He manages to expertly balance the quirky, childlike nature with the ancient alien, even if at times he doesn't quite have the charm or skill of the other actors in the roles. Amy Pond...I have to confess, I don't like her character. For a long time, I thought it was because the actress, Karen Gillian was too young and inexperienced, but this is far from the truth after seeing her performances as the Seeress in The Fires of Pompeii, and older Amy in The Girl Who Waited. Amy Pond is basically a child that has never grown up, and while that sort of does fit into the role of a companion, it also makes Amy feel rather flat in many regards. Arthur Darvill, however, is slightly more promising as Rory, being competent and keeping his eye out, although this story doesn't do much towards his future abilities. The other characters don't quite work for me, although to be honest, most of them are bit parts, there to be amazed that the Raggedy Doctor is no imaginary friend.

Production-wise, the direction doesn't have much energy. Oh, the fairytale magic is there, but it's rather limpid, and not helped by some rather dodgy CGI effects. Seriously, Prisoner Zero looks really fake, and the intimidation factor, while there in the design, is lessened by the realisation. Same with the Atraxi, although they look mostly weird when they are in their spaceships. The new TARDIS takes some time getting used to, though I did in the end.

Unfortunately, The Eleventh Hour was not the strongest opening the new era could have had. We have two disparate stories more or less clashing. But it's not bad at all. It just could have been better...


SCORE: 8/10

REVIEW: The Beast Below by Steven Moffat

SERIAL: PB2, 5.2, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


The standard formula, it seems, for the new series is to start by reintroducing the Doctor, and then have him take his companion into the future and the past. Instead of the far future of New Earth and the Oodsphere, Moffat decided to take it into a different, unexplored area of Earth's future. But could this story succeed?

On their first trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Amy travel to sometime after the 28th Century, where the Earth has been devastated by solar activity, and the entire UK is currently a gigantic spaceship. But there is something rotten in the state of Starship UK. It is a police state ruled by fear, with strange animatronic dummies in booths watching over all, and there appears to be no motion from the engines. Separated from Amy, the Doctor encounters Liz 10, who is also aware of the problems in Starship UK, while Amy, after seeing a strange tentacle growing out of the ground and attacking her, is ushered into a voting booth, where she is shown the horrible truth behind Starship UK, and chooses what everyone else does: to forget. The Doctor, Amy, and Liz 10, aka Queen Elizabeth the Xth, all investigate. But what is the beast below? What is the terrible secret linking it to Starship UK? And can Amy prevent the Doctor from potentially making the worst mistake of his lives?

The story of The Beast Below is ambitious, but suffers from having too many loose ends, and a deus ex machina that is pulled off rather badly. Amy's ability to figure out the solution when the Doctor couldn't comes out of nowhere, and doesn't quite gel with her later competency (which, while good for a companion, isn't the best), and there's no resolution as to how the leaders of Starship UK are going to get away with feeding its constituents to the Space Whale. And the Doctor being so willing to give up seems very out of character, even for this incarnation. In short, it could have worked given more time and effort, and is basically an example of what went wrong when Steven Moffat, debatably the best writer during Russell T Davies' time as showrunner, became showrunner himself. I presume that the reason why is that as showrunner, he simply doesn't have enough time to make the scripts as excellent as they used to be.

The Doctor is played well enough by Matt Smith, although as mentioned above, his attitude to Amy when he finds out what she (and the rest of Starship UK) have done is ridiculous. The pain he shows is a testament to Smith's skill, though. Amy Pond is a bit too hypercompetent here, and as usual, comes off as being flat, though as noted before, this seems to be more the result of the material rather than Karen Gillian's ability. Sophie Okonedo is good as the unfortunately not best-written Liz 10, and Terrence Hardiman's morally ambiguous Hawthorne could have done with some more work.

The set design is quite good, but seems to echo a lot of stuff done in the new series to date. And once again, CGI FX don't work when they should, even though the design is excellent. I don't know what it is about the earlier serials in a new series season that makes the special effects people cheap out. Is it time or budget? I've no idea. But there are some magical moments, like the spacewalk sequence at the start. The Smilers are interesting, but not quite menacing enough for my liking.

The Beast Below is rather average by my entertainment standards, which is a real pity. One could see the potential in this story, had it been given a bit more than a lick and a promise.


SCORE: 7.5/10


And now, the next time trailer for Victory of the Daleks...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbcuOm3YNSc[/youtube]

REVIEW: Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gatiss

SERIAL: PB2, 5.3, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Inevitably, Steven Moffat was going to have to give thought to how to bring the Daleks back. He decided to turn the task over to seasoned writer/actor Mark Gatiss, who had previously written The Unquiet Dead and The Idiot's Lantern. Mixing Daleks with World War II (after all, they had their roots in the Nazis) and Winston Churchill may seem like a winning combination, but is it?

After receiving a call from Winston Churchill, the Doctor arrives a month later than expected. It is the height of the Blitz, and Churchill is desperate for any edge he can get, and Professor Bracewell's Ironsides, a kind of robot soldier, look to be the answer. Except the Doctor, and only the Doctor, recognises them as the Daleks. Amy doesn't recognise them, and Churchill is willing to accept anything that will help him win the war. But the Daleks are up to mischief. They need the Doctor to identify them. What is the Progenitor? What is the secret behind Bracewell? And why can't Amy recognise the Daleks after they invaded Earth not long ago? Victory is drawing near, and this time, it may just be for the Daleks...

Like the previous episode, Victory of the Daleks has wonderful ideas, but fails to use them correctly. Many critics of this episode feel that it should have been expanded into two episodes, and frankly, I agree. Most of the suspense about the Daleks' subterfuge is gone before the halfway mark, whereas the story that inspired it, the sadly now missing The Power of the Daleks, managed to make it last longer, and better. In the end, the story itself is wasted ideas put together hurriedly, and it is the fact that this story could have had the potential to be one of the best Dalek stories if it had been handled better that makes it even more gut-wrenching. Besides the characterisation, the best thing that works about this story is that the title is no lie: for once, the Daleks win almost completely, only failing to destroy Earth and the Doctor.

Matt Smith is fine, if not stellar as the Doctor, with his confrontation with the Daleks being the highlight. Karen Gillian fails to inspire as Amy, although Amy saving the day here feels much less contrived than in The Beast Below. Ian McNiece as Winston Churchill is a delight, and one feels the history between Churchill and the Doctor, which was only stated in the novels. Bill Paterson as Bracewell, while not excellent, manages to convey the humanity of the character as the story moves towards its climax. And Nicholas Briggs seems to enjoy himself immensely as the various Daleks, especially with some of the more humorous dialogue.

The direction is rather average, but for once, the CGI FX in a story so early in the season mostly work, with only the London lit up looking a little dodgy. It is rather cute to see Daleks painted in khaki and with utility belts, but the New Paradigm Daleks are intriguing. Although they look more colourful, perhaps even garishly so, because they are bigger and bulkier, they actually look more intimidating, once you get used to the colours.

Victory of the Daleks is a good production marred by a story that could have been so much better. As it stand, the story is only a plot device to get the Daleks back into the series, as well as seed more about the cracks in time that seem to be showing up...


SCORE: 6.5/10


And now, the next time trailer for The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owzlm0cuhT0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jsHdD-nAf8[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone by Steven Moffat

SERIAL: PB1, 5.4/5.5, 2 X 45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


When I first began watching the fifth year of the new series on television, I began to lose hope and faith in Doctor Who. The stories so far hadn't quite clicked with me, having lost the magic. However, I had anticipation for the first two-part story of the Steven Moffat era, a sequel to Blink. But could Moffat, with this story amongst so many others this season, regain my faith in the series, and more to the point, my faith in him?

While touring a museum in the far future, the Doctor finds a spaceship's flight recorder with a message for him in Gallifreyan: "Hello, sweetie". Using the recording, he travels back in time to the 51st century, and rescues River Song when she throws herself out of said spaceship, the Byzantium. Pursuing the Byzantium leads to its crash site on Alfava Metraxis, the Doctor has little reason to trust River, until she reveals that the ship had a Weeping Angel on board. With River and a military squad from the future Church led by Father Octavian, the Doctor and Amy investigate, only to discover some horrifying new facts about the Angels. After a recording of the Angel nearly kills Amy, they head into the catacombs that the ship crashed into, only to find it filled with statues. With the Byzantium leaking radiation, food to an Angel, the Doctor, Amy, River, and the Clerics are hard-pressed to fight them. But why does Amy believe that she is turning to stone? What is the deadly secret of the catacombs? And what on the Byzantium might turn out to be even deadlier than the Weeping Angels? The time of Angels is approaching, and not everyone will get out alive...

Blink didn't need a sequel in the first place, and Moffat, given his track record as showrunner so far, could have easily gotten it so wrong. So it was a welcome surprise that this story not only manages to bring the magic back, but also manage to reach the quality of his earlier writing. This story is brilliant, and while not quite at the cerebral level of horror of Blink, nonetheless manages to introduce many horrific new abilities of the Weeping Angels. Any image of them becomes an Angel in its own right, and this not only includes TV monitors, but, if one stares into their eyes (possible because of looking at an Angel to prevent it from moving), it can also include the vision centres of a human brain. You may now freak out. Even worse is that we are shown that the cracks in space and time can have a deadly (or worse) effect on people. And there's a wonderful shock in the first episode when the Doctor and River, upon remembering that the planet's original inhabitants had two heads, realise why the eroded statues in the catacombs have only one. Everything here works, making this a very welcome return to form for both the series and Moffat's writing, with some great dialogue, and an excellent cliffhanger that points out how dangerous the Doctor can be when he's cornered.

Although this story was filmed first, Matt Smith seems to have grown into the role of the Doctor straight away, and here, he has some of his better moments, including a major speech about why nobody should ever try to trap the Doctor. And this story includes some better moments for Amy, even if the ending sequence where she attempts to seduce the Doctor is a bit much. This has some of Karen Gillian's better moments in the series, and that's saying something. Alex Kingston as River is a delight, being more flirty and teasy this time around, even knowing the revelations to come. Iain Glen as Father Octavian is a bit too deadpan, but it suits the character, and his death scene is well-written, where the Doctor, who was giving him trouble earlier, expresses regret that he didn't know him better. David Atkins as Bob is okay when human, but when he voices a Weeping Angel, the flat delivery actually works in the story's favour, making it creepy.

All the stories in this season were directed by newcomers to the show, and while Adam Smith didn't distinguish himself as well with the later-produced but first transmitted The Eleventh Hour, this story seems to be better made, with pace and atmosphere aplenty. And the effects work works, which seems to indicate that a lot more effort was put into this adventure than others at the start of the series. The Weeping Angels work well, and although seeing them actually move for the first time onscreen breaks the rules of what we see of them so far, it is done so eerily that it is highly forgivable.

The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone together bring back the magic of Doctor Who for the fifth season of the new series. It will chill and thrill viewers, and it proves that though the road may be bumpy, it may not necessarily mean that it will always be that way...


SCORE: 10/10


And now, the next time trailer for The Vampires of Venice...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwJn7k8tJ94[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Vampires of Venice by Toby Whithouse

SERIAL: PB5, 5.6, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Doctor Who has never shied away from the supernatural, even if not actually portraying them in as supernatural a light as they usually are. Vampires appeared on a planet in a bubble universe in State of Decay, spawned by a deadly entity that once fought the Time Lords, and as the Haemovores from The Curse of Fenric, vampiric descendants of humanity from an alternate, polluted future brought about by the evil Fenric. So what bigger draw to the series in this post-Buffy and Twilight generation than having vampires, and in Venice? But can it make for more than an alliterative title?

Realising that Amy has issues about her impending marriage to Rory Williams, the Doctor intervenes, and gives Rory and Amy a wedding gift, a trip to Venice in 1580. But he soon learns that the House of Calvierri, which runs a prestigious school for girls, has dark secrets. Teaming up with boatbuilder Guido, whose daughter is in the school, but changing into something, the Doctor and his companions soon learn that the girls, as well as Signora Rosanna Calvieri and her son, don't like sunlight, have sharp fangs, and don't appear in mirrors. Vampires? That's what it seems like at first. But the truth may be even more dangerous for the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and the city of Venice. The Saturnyne have arrived in the city as refugees from another world, and they intend to make Venice their new kingdom, no matter what the cost...

Finally, after the first three episodes (and excluding the brilliant previous two-parter), we have a story that finally gets back to the norm. Not brilliant, not bad, but just run of the mill for the series. It's a nice gimmick to have vampires in Venice, and to reveal that they are a very different kind of alien (a sort of bizarre fish-prawn hybrid), and the aliens are sympathetic, even if they are nasty in the end, although the Doctor doesn't even give them a chance to stop, compared to earlier iterations. And the storyline around Rory and Amy's wedding is nice. It's just a little too traditional and run of the mill, albeit with some nice dialogue.

Matt Smith continues to do fine as the Doctor, with joy and anger taking part. Karen Gillian as Amy doesn't exactly inspire, although she does have her moments. However, Arthur Darvill as Rory shines here, being an ordinary bloke thrown into the adventures of the Doctor, and calling him out about how eager people are to impress him. Of the guest stars, Helen McCrory is elegant and menacing as Rosanna, although she could have been a little more evil. Alex Price as Francesco is clearly enjoying himself, even if his character is little more than an evil mamma's boy. Lucian Msamati as Guido is good, even if the character doesn't seem to be used as best as I think possible.

The design of this story is gorgeous, and the direction suits a suspenseful period drama and horror. Someone clearly went to town with the costumes, and the location filming in Trogir, Croatia (which was actually settled by Venetians) helps sell the story. But unfortunately, it's a shame about the special effects. The Saturnyne are, as often is the case with Doctor Who monsters in the new series, a good design, but shame about the execution. They are suitably bizarre and horrifying, and only the conspicuous nature of the CGI effects break the illusion. This isn't helped by the final storm scene, either.

The Vampires of Venice, while average by Doctor Who standards, still shows promise that the series can continue to capture the magic. A quirky, if rather standard, mystery for the series, and one that hints ominously at Silence...


SCORE: 8.5/10


And now, the next time trailer for Amy's Choice...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDKva5s39kU[/youtube]

REVIEW: Amy's Choice by Simon Nye

SERIAL: PB7, 5.7, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


With the addition of Rory in the TARDIS crew, there would inevitably be some friction. And so Steven Moffat turned to an unusual choice for the episode that would address that. Fellow comedy writer Simon Nye (of Men Behaving Badly fame) would write a story where the issues of Amy and Rory travelling with the Doctor would be resolved, and where hints of the Doctor's future would come in...

Five years after leaving the Doctor, Amy and Rory are living in Leadworth, Rory now a doctor, and Amy heavily pregnant. The Doctor comes to visit. Except...they fall asleep, and awake in the TARDIS, where it malfunctions. Two realities, each apparently mutually exclusive. And soon, they realise who the culprit is. The malevolent, impish Dream Lord is the mastermind, and he has decided to play a little game with them: two worlds, one a dream, one a fake. Both with deadly dangers, with homicidal aliens inhabiting the elderly in Leadworth, and a cold star in the TARDIS. And if they die in the wrong world, they die for good. But even as they struggle to tell which reality is which, the Dream Lord taunts them, showing intimate knowledge of all three time travellers, and intending to turn them against each other. As the TARDIS begins to freeze in one reality, and the alien parasites begin decimating Leadworth in another, the Doctor, Rory, and Amy find themselves at loggerheads. Who is the Dream Lord? Why is he so determined to make the time travellers suffer? And which world is the true reality? As it turns out, it may be Amy's choice in the end, whether to go with the Doctor, or with Rory...

Given the writer, Amy's Choice turns out to be quite a good story, with some good twists and some real psychological uncertainty. While not quite at the psychological horror level of some other previous stories, it nonetheless has a sense of mystery sustained throughout that works, and the final resolution of Amy's relationship issues is actually quite well done. We also see, in the Dream Lord, some foreshadowing of a character who should recur before long: the Valeyard. After all, they are both the distilled darkness of the Doctor.

In this story, there are four characters that matter: the time travellers and the Dream Lord. Matt Smith's Doctor is good, and Amy actually gets some development here, with her actions regarding Rory's 'death' and calling out the Doctor understated but good. Not sure about her faking labour to piss the Doctor and Rory off, though. Rory is getting even better, and Arthur Darvill is getting even better. Particular note has to go to the impish Toby Jones as the Dream Lord, who manages to make his character more interesting than the Valeyard, being more snide and sly than bombastic and malicious. The Enkodine weren't exactly well done, but then again, it was meant to pastiche the usual plot of the series.

Production-wise, it's a bit staid. It suits this story, of course, but one wishes that the psychological elements of the story were brought a little more to the fore. Instead, it feels a little too staid and plodding. This doesn't make the story bad at all, just not as good as it could be. Most of the special effects work, save for the Enkodine disintegration effects. The music is used to great effect, with strange, reversed-sounding music being played.

Amy's Choice helps show that the series under Moffat is still capable of continuing. Not only that, but it takes care of some of the tension in the TARDIS, with a nice, cerebral episode...



SCORE: 9/10


And now, the next time trailers for The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYsHN4YAZKs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ffu38PcLqA[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood by Chris Chibnall

SERIAL: PB4, 5.8/5.9, 2 X 45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


If I had to choose a particular favourite out of all the aliens and creatures from throughout the series, after some careful consideration, I would choose the Silurians. Created by Malcolm Hulke after a discussion with Terrance Dicks, these creatures are sympathetic in their motives, being residents of Earth before humanity. But with the new series reviving them, can they be brought back with any success? Or should they have remained buried?

Cwmtaff, a small village in Wales in 2020, the site of the Discovery Drilling Project. Headed by Dr Nasreen Chaudry and Tony Mack, it is designed to drill deep into the Earth's crust, trying to find what has caused trace minerals to come to the surface for the first time in millions of years. But when the Doctor, Amy, and Rory arrive, having intended to head to Rio de Janeiro, they find trouble. Tony's son-in-law Mo has disappeared. Corpses are being taken out of their graves from beneath. And when the drill is started up again, Amy is sucked into the very soil itself. The Doctor soon learns that the soil beneath their feet has been converted into a potent weapon by a race he knows very well: Homo reptilia, AKA the Silurians. A group of the humanoid reptiles had been hibernating for millions of years beneath the ground, and have viewed the drilling as an attack on their underground city. One is taken hostage, but many humans, like the son of Mo and his wife Ambrose, Amy, and Mo, have been taken prisoner as well. The Doctor is determined not only to rescue them, but broker a peace between the Silurians and humanity. But he has failed before, and with both sides harbouring warmongerers, it may be that even if he succeeds, it will come at great cost...

In a way, this story is almost a remake of the original story, Doctor Who and the Silurians. A scientific installation disturbs the hibernation of the Silurians, and despite the Doctor's attempts at negotiations, ends rather badly for both. But Chris Chibnall manages to surpass even Malcolm Hulke, the creator of the Silurians, in this story. We have the Doctor succeeding, after a fashion, in his negotiations, even if the resurgence of the Silurians won't be for another millennium. Themes of family, and how close the humans and the Silurians are in nature are expanded upon, something that wasn't as much explored in the original serial. And the death of Rory and the revelation of what might have caused the cracks in time are suitably unexpected and disturbing.

Like Hulke's stories, this story's key success is in the characters. Matt Smith's Doctor is doing well here, particularly when confronting Alaya for her pretending to be the last of her kind. Karen Gillian as Amy is surprisingly good here, especially during the scenes when she is suffering from the loss of Rory, and Rory...it is touching to see the Doctor show how much he truly trusts him, and his death scene is played well. Neve MacIntosh pulls quite excellent double duty as both Alaya and Restac, and manages to convince us that they are different, albeit subtly so, characters. Meera Syal's Chaudry, Nia Roberts' Ambrose, and Stephen Moore's Eldane also deserve particular praise.

Oh, is there any part of this story that doesn't work? In my opinion, only the effects of the drill exploding and the Silurian tongue, and quite frankly, they are small potatoes compared to the whole. The Silurian redesign, while very different to previous iterations, actually help us empathise more with them more than the original costumes did, and so I think it was worth the reimagining. The sets of the Silurian city are marvellous, and even have some hints from the original story.

So far, it seems that the two-part stories are the best reason to keep watching Doctor Who. With this story comes the best reintroduction of a creature since Dalek. And here's hoping for more of the Silurians...


SCORE: 10/10


And now, the next time trailer for Vincent and the Doctor...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzme7w2CpEU[/youtube]

REVIEW: Vincent and the Doctor by Richard Curtis

SERIAL: PB5, 5.10, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Steven Moffat, before he wrote for Doctor Who, wrote for comedy, in particular founding the series Coupling, as well as writing the Comic Relief Doctor Who spoof The Curse of Fatal Death. And this season has seen him bring in other comedians. Mark Gatiss of The League of Gentlemen and Nebulous fame was an already established writer for the series, but while Simon Nye of Men Behaving Badly fame was a newcomer, so too was Richard Curtis. The creator of Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley, he was commissioned to write an intriguing story, once more bringing the Doctor and his companion into contact with a famous historical figure...

The Doctor is taking Amy to all sorts of nice places, feeling responsible for Rory being erased from existence, and her memories. But a trip to the Musée d'Orsay and an exhibition of the works of Vincent van Gogh changes things. The Doctor spots a malevolent alien face in a window in The Church at Auvers, and decides to investigate. Travelling back to 1890, he and Amy find van Gogh a troubled soul, struggling to support himself on paintings felt to be worthless at the time, and subject to bad fits of depression and mental instability. But worse is happening: something is killing the locals, something only Vincent, with his mental problems, can see, and while the locals blame Vincent's madness, the Doctor and Amy soon realise that Vincent is telling the truth. But can they stop the alien monster before it kills more?

The story is a singular, very lightweight one, with no extra plot threads, and a rather overlong ending. But even then, Curtis shows that he can write drama fairly well, with the story centreing around van Gogh's depression, and the impact Amy and the Doctor have on his life. It's a wonderful, heartwarming and touching story, a little heavy-handed with the moral about depression, but still a needed one.

Matt Smith does fine as the Doctor, and Karen Gillian's Amy, while not exactly inspiring, nonetheless manages to pass muster. But it is Tony Curran's van Gogh that steals the show, playing a complex, tortured soul who manages to be both angsty and heroic while managing to remain human. Bill Nighy's small role as Doctor Black is a nice one, if not quite the best role for his talent.

The direction is rather sedate, but it suits this story, which is more about human drama, and the moods are right, more often than not. But unfortunately, this is one of the times where both the monster design and the realisation are a major failure. The Krafayis looks like a bizarre gigantic chicken, and while it does manage to look menacing sometimes, it also looks too bizarre and even a little comical, something not helped by the dud CGI.

Vincent and the Doctor is another nice little number that helps keep the fifth series above water. No means perfect, with a dodgy monster and a thin storyline, but a nonetheless good story.


SCORE: 9/10


And now, the next time trailer for The Lodger...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaHsWupNJlU[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Lodger by Gareth Roberts

SERIAL: PB7, 5.11, 1 X 45 minute episode

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No (not completely)

After the success of Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Blink as adaptations of other Doctor Who media, the time had come to try another adaptation. Steven Moffat tasked Gareth Roberts with adapting The Lodger, a comic strip Roberts wrote for Doctor Who Magazine. But could the adaptation work? Or would the story lodge like a piece of food, choking someone...

Meet Craig Owens, an office worker in Colchester with few aspirations, and enmeshed in a platonic relationship with Sophie, a coworker. Both want to move upwards, but are afraid of ruining it. But Craig is about to receive a very unconventional lodger: an eccentric calling himself the Doctor. The Doctor has been separated from his TARDIS, and it seems to be thanks to something in the upstairs rooms of Craig's house. But the Doctor must try to act like a normal human being so that the presence doesn't detect him. No small feat, as he begins to upstage and usurp Craig at every turn. What is the secret of the room upstairs, and why does it seem to lure people to their fate? Can the Doctor help Craig, or will Craig decide that the new lodger is too crazy for his tastes?

This is a fairly average story (by Doctor Who standards), nice, and domestic. Problem is, some of the comedy sticks out like a sore thumb, and I'm not comfortable with watching the Doctor be a gooseberry, as well as upstaging poor Craig. But it's not too bad, with some interesting foreshadowing of the Silence as they appear in the next series, a decent mystery, and some genuinely funny moments, like when the Doctor tells Craig who he is by two psychic headbutts (I wish I was making that up).

Matt Smith's comedy (and soccer!) skills come to the fore in this story as the Doctor, making for some good moments. James Corden as Craig is well scripted, if a little too much on the receiving end of the comedic abuse (being upstaged in particular), and Daisy Haggard's Sophie is fine enough. The other characters...fine enough, but not exactly memorable.

The direction suits this episode well, with the comedic and dramatic tones. Design is pretty good too, with the pseudo-TARDIS (linked to the Silence in next year's The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon) suitably sinister and recognisible. The special effects, or at least those that are there, also work well.

The Lodger is a nice bit of time-waste before the grand finale. Nothing too bad, just rather average dramedy with a happy ending. Until Amy discovers her engagement ring...


SCORE: 8.5/10


And now, the next time trailer for The Pandorica Opens (no next time trailer for The Big Bang)...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7oWxX8eWr4[/youtube]

Now that I'm coming to the end of series 5, I'm fairly sure that I will watch, and finish, series 6 shortly thereafter, thus finishing my sojourn through both the classic and new series.

However, that's far from the end of the blog. Another catch-up is due soon, and I intend to include the series 7 Christmas special, The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe, in that catch-up.

What stories will be in the next catch-up? Well, in order, and in all likelihood, the classic series stories The Daemons, The Face of Evil, Nightmare of Eden, (hopefully) Dragonfire, (hopefully) The Happiness Patrol, and the new series story The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe.

After that? I wonder whether I should watch and review each story as it is released. And there's also the possibility of watching and reviewing the animated stories The Infinite Quest and Dreamland. And then, there is one last possibility: listening to and watching any surviving material for the missing stories.

Looks like the stories left to be released is getting shorter. After Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol, the following releases have been confirmed up until August (in the UK): Death to the Daleks, The Krotons, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and Planet of Giants. The remaining stories yet to be released (including partially incomplete stories that have been released on VHS previously) are The Reign of Terror, The Tenth Planet, The Ice Warriors, The Ambassadors of Death, The Mind of Evil, and Terror of the Zygons, along with the surviving footage from Shada, and the newly found episodes from Galaxy 4 and The Underwater Menace.