Well, that was quite an episode. Lots to say so let’s start, as many things do, at the beginning.
Opening scene, always good to see a TARDIS crashing sequence, I’m glad that just because so much is changing they haven’t just cut off from the previous episode and continued straight on with the old interior exploding and back-references. I thought too much was made of The Doctor’s meeting with Amy as a child – that sequence could’ve been cut down a bit, allowing more time for action. The Doctor has a tendency to be inactive for a while after his regeneration, usually through him sleeping for most of an episode before having a heroic reappearance at the end, though this was not the case here, it was almost worse that our first real look at the Eleventh Doctor was of him sitting in a dowdy kitchen with a child trying different foods, I’d rather he were unconcious.
Opening sequence wasn’t what I expected, the thunder cuts into the theme tune which I dislike, it’s quite dark (which I suppose fits in with Moffat’s reimagining of the show but still) and I’d heard abundant rumours that we were going to see Smith’s face in the titles like in the days of old, but no. In all honesty, it really isn’t that different, which was a bit disappointing but only a minor detail so not a massive fault. Most of the first half hour was a bit boring really, it was quite predictable what was going to happen during that time, like The Doctor overshooting his return, the “policewoman” turning out to be Amy, etc. etc. What was up with that weird eye thing The Doctor did, good for the plot I suppose but I really hope it doesn’t become a staple feature, the sheer noise of it makes my ears ache.
Characters were a mixed bag, I don’t like that we’ve got yet another Mickey, in the form of Rory, playing the hapless comic relief boyfriend of the companion. Amy, perhaps the first character with father issues projected onto The Doctor, is a good change of pace from “fiesty Londoner” that every main companion since the revival has been. Other than that, a delightful cameo by Patrick Moore, a lot of funny characters but none that appear as though they will be influential to the show in any way. Matt Smith, as The Doctor, was absolutely sublime. He was a bit haggard at first by the slow-moving plot dealing with Amy’s issues, settling into his new body and so on, but when the “20 minutes” thing started, The Doctor, and I think Smith as an actor, was in his element and became a charismatic, witty blur of plan-making machine. There was something very Doctor about this sequence but also something different that Smith has bought to the role, I can’t quite put my finger on it (which is why I don’t try to make a career out of TV reviews), it was definetely The Doctor, just not as we know him.
I wish we’d seen more of the new Sonic Screwdriver, there was a lot of old Sonic action and we saw it blow up, but I wish we’d seen more of it. I’m also a bit annoyed that the TARDIS rebuilt itself rather than The Doctor repairing it, mostly because I would’ve loved to see a montage sequence of The Doctor building a new Sonic and then using it to repair the TARDIS. The interior was definitely NOT what I was expecting – it’s so much biggger and the console itself is quite a distance from the door that, compared to all previous interiors it was odd. I like that they’ve bought back the screen hanging from the ceiling of the TV Movie and just how intricate the console is, plus the layers and the prospect of seeing different rooms with the cavernous doors is appealing. My earlier mention of expecting it to be fairly similar, owing to how relatively seldom the set is used per episode has been completely thrown out judging by just how much money they must’ve spent on that (half of it looks CGI as it is) so I expect (and really hope) that there’s a lot of inner-TARDIS action.
The alien antagonist was a nifty, but I think a little bit underplayed villain. I suppose the focus of the episode really isn’t the villain during a story like this so I got the feeling that Moffat avoided putting in an alien that would take up too much of the plot. The CG was…interesting… and, particularly during shots where Amy came face to face with the snake thing, looked a bit poorly done – I know there were budget issues so that’s probably why the villain spent most of it’s time inhabiting other bodies. The teeth of this alien are a testament to the rest of the series, Moffat’s known for writing seemingly-standard “scary” stuff and making it actually chilling – sharp teeth on a vicious alien is nothing new, but only Steven Moffat can do it in a way that could unnerve even a very masculine 19-year-old man such as myself *cough*. Also, twins from The Shining………….WHAT?
There was the obligatory scene where The Doctor, now fully stabilised after his regeneration, having picked out a new costume (hospital locker room again, love it!) and saved the day, confronts the alien and scares them off. A projection showed previous monsters and clips from the new and classic series, and there was the shot of each incarnation of The Doctor, which Smith steps through after we see David Tennant and says “Hello, I’m The Doctor” undoubtedly more to the audience than the giant eyeball he’s facing. I’m pretty sure we saw something like that quite recentely and it screws up Moffat’s proclamation that this series wouldn’t be mythology-heavy, but for a regeneration episode it’s pretty permissable.
Overall, an up and down episode, but the up parts were a fantastic introduction for The Eleventh Doctor and, for the down parts, even Smith looked a little bit bored during those scenes so he was forgiven. It’s hard not to love this Doctor, he reminds me of Sylvester McCoy in an odd way, but hopefully without the sharp decline in ratings and eventual cancellation this time.
