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“Who sent those messages? I know you know, I can see it in your faces. Don’t play games with me. Don’t ever, ever think you’re capable of that.”
Two episodes in, and this new series of Doctor Who is easily the most confusing yet. This opening two-parter had it all: big landscapes; funny moments; River Song being particularly amazing; scary-as-anything monsters; and more mysteries than you could shake a stick at. It was a certainly a struggle to keep up with at times, and many of the most interesting moments were set-up for later in the series, but one thing’s for sure: Doctor Who is most definitely back.
Following on from the not-so-successful rendering of New York when the Daleks tried to invade Manhattan back in series 3, the latest American offering from Doctor Who is much more convincing. The decision to shoot on location most certainly paid off, with the epic scenery adding a real sense of scale and place to proceedings. Great credit must also go to Stuart Milligan as Richard Nixon; if his portrayal of the President was slightly cartoonish, it was because the script demanded it. Even better was Mark Sheppard as the inscrutable Canton Delaware III (greatest name ever); that gravelly voice was made for playing characters of mystery, but there was also real humour and warmth underlying his actions.
The regulars were as brilliant as their performances last year would suggest; Karen Gillan showed real depth following the Doctor’s death, while Arthur Darvill just keeps on being all noble as Rory and breaking my heart a little every moment he’s on screen. And, even covered in a beard, the glory of Matt Smith’s face could not be hidden. The whole time he’s present, it feels like the show is in safe hands. Big, mad hands, but safe ones nonetheless. The real star for me, though, was Alex Kingston as River Song: she nailed every moment of the archaeologist, from her camp flirting with the Doctor, to her quiet moments of heartbreak, especially when she realised that she’d just kissed the Doctor for the last time.
With the Silence, Steven Moffat has once again proved his ability to tap into very real human fears and create ridiculously scary monsters out of them. The physical presence of the Silence was bad enough, but the concept of them being forgotten the second you can’t see them was even worse. These two episodes had a little bit of everything, but the gothic horror at the children’s home was one of the best sequences the show has ever done. The opening of the second episode, with Canton supposedly tracking down all the Doctor’s companions and killing them, was also brilliantly played, written and directed, making the most of those vast landscapes.
In fact, with everything that happened afterwards, it’s almost easy to forget that the Doctor died at the start of the first episode. They’ll get round it, of course, but still. We saw the Doctor actually die. And what about the little girl? Is she Amy and Rory’s daughter, made into a Time Lady by her mother’s time in the TARDIS? Or is that far too simple? That ending was perhaps one of the best cliffhangers new Who has ever pulled off, especially as we’ve no idea how or when it will be resolved.
As long as Moffat doesn't get too caught up in clever, twisty plots, it looks like the latest offering from Doctor Who is on fine form. Standard, really.
And next week, we have a little slice of heaven on earth in the form of my absolute favourite, Hugh Bonneville, as a space pirate.
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