The Big Moff at his Best...

...so far.

It shouldn't be hard to notice that this time it was the Big Moff's pen which brought 'Time of the Angels' to paper.

I have to say I don't know whether he has planned this all along (good, I guess it is safe to say we know he hasn't) but this was a great combination of Moffat's best creations, River Song and the Weeping Angels. Additionally, Moffat lives up to our expectations by writing a great story with an awesome cliffhanger. Fans can't wish for more, can they? (Hold on a sec, whichsing for more is our  number one privilege, so yes we can...)

Anyway, I guess I don't need to point out that IMHO this was very likely the best proper episode so far. I like the way River is teasing (and at the same time not-teasing) him about his future. Plus, whatever she has told him when they were , it was surely not very romantic and the Doctor seem to have reasons not to trust her with his life, unlike her, as she isn't missing a chance to point this out. Further, she says she has pictures of all his faces and although we don't really know how far that really goes, we have good old Doctor Who school-book reasons to assume that all in all there can't be more than 3 portraits of the Doctor in that diary.

BTW, I think this was the first time the Doctor has bit a companion of him. I hope Timelords aren't venomous (lol).

Ok, I bet that it's not only me who want to find out what that incredibly stupid and dangerous idea is going to be...

Moffat's Choice

Up to now I have done a great job in not taking part in the 'oh my dear, one of the main characters is going to die in the season opener! Let's write a post about it' -frenzy. Actually, the reason for my lacking enthusiasm is that with Moffat having killed each of the main characters at least once last year it's hard to take him seriously. Moreover we have various other reasons to think that whoever is going to die will not stay dead for long. Maybe the most obvious one is that all three of them have been spotted filming for future episodes. So, the only reasonable possibility of why this could get us excited is that we also know that 'The Impossible Astronaut' 2 parter has a number of flash-forwards. And if the season opener started with the actual finale (don't ask me which one as there seem to be 2 this year) things could get more complicated than they seem to be now. But that is not very likely, for what we can assume that is not what was on Moffat's mind when writing this season's opener.

So, with having told you why not to take the whole thing too seriously, let the speculations begin.
Rory is maybe the first candidate who comes to ones mind when talking about this topic. Still, I don't think that Moffat is going to kill Rory again. I mean, how often can you get rid of him and bring him back before fans start complaining about it. That's why he seems to be out of question.

While Amy isn't. Although it might be bad for the ratings, for what I'm not sure whether Moffat is brave enough to kill her...

In my humble opinion the most likely option is River. And I know that she is supposed to die in The Library. But that's the joke. After all, that is the only thing we are not expecting. Fans would be genuinely shocked. However, with Moffat bringing her back anyway it would not even interfere with canon. Not as if Moffat needed to care about this stuff.

The only character whose death I'm not really taking into account is the Doctor's. It is just not very likely. And I bet it's hard to write a season with having killed the main character in the first episode. Well, Moffat says his choice will make people go 'What the hell?', however, I think that would be a too big bit to swallow.

But no matter whom Moffat chooses to die, maybe the most interesting part of the story is how he is going to bring him or her back again.

The Doctor Meets The Chocolate Factory...

And the question whether Doctor Who is appropriate entrainment for children is settled till the next episode.

@ Children In Need

Another pointless but not utterly bad 2 minutes well spent. Although Children in Need was not having a striptease in mind when they asked Doctor Whoto do something.

Lucky him that my TV remote does not have a red button; not as if...

Oh, and for the trailer. Last year's had a flying shark in it and you just can't beat that, but still, 'the Doctor, The Widow and the Waredrobe looks like fun. Just have a look at his explanations.

Cheating Time...

Let's face it, there seems to have been a curse on Doctor Who's finales. Or am I the only one who doesn't have any of them on their 'Recommendable Doctor Who Episodes' list? Maybe not. And having twice of them a season would not have been exactly my idea of a solution; but the same person who invented double-finale-seasons, is apparently the one to break the spell. Even though admittedly solving the problem by writing a Doctor Who parody will hopefully not become the standard solution of how to deal with the usually hopelessly self-important and overrated finales. 

I dare to say, that The Wedding of River Song is the first finale which I consider to be entertaining, because that's what parodies are. Of course, this comes at a cost due to which some (especially older) fans may be less fond of, namely, to achieve this Moffat breaks maybe every single of Doctor Who's unwritten Golden Rules:

First of all, you and I know that the Doctor will never die, at least not before completing his 12th regeneration. So, when we saw the Doctor's death in 'The Impossinle Astronaut' for the first time, most of us knew it could not be real. So the only remaining question was which paradoxical set-up was Moffat going to use to save the Doctor. Of course, using a Teselcta-Doctor-double is not the cleverest twist the Big Moff could have come up with, after all it triggers more questions than answers, but if we think about the finale as a parody, it may just do.

Then, there is the date. So, the whoniverse was supposed to end on April 11th 2o11 at 5:o2 pm. If it had been true, wouldn't it have been more effective to air episode 13 on April 11th? This way it seemed like one of those newspaper articles announcing that yesterday the world/time/universe ended. With a whimper not a bang, that's why we need a note.

Furthermore, I don't remember a season during which people, DIY-journalists, or according to Steven Moffat even worse, grown-ups, would not have been complaining about Doctor Who's far too complex storyline. And no doubt, bearing this in mind, the Big Moff wrote the most complex story-arch in Who's up-to-date-history, which gives, as a side effect, the running gang, What is bigger on the inside? a new answer: Steven Moffat's brain. He is the only one who can keep that finale and River's story in there. At the same time.

Talking about running gangs. Wasn't, back in the old days, the shows title supposed to be one? Well, now, almost 25 years after its 25 year anniversary we learn it's not a running gag, it is the question of the universe, which should be never asked nor answered.

And last but not least, if you had asked an old whovian whether the Doctor is ever going to change his martial status, the answer would have been a definite 'no'. Well, we could argue that the 'wedding' (lovely low-budget-bowties-are-cool-ceremony BTW) took place in an alternative universe which never happened, for what the wedding actually did never take place. But, of course that would be too easy. Because with Gallifrey being used to govern alternative-universes, they certainly made sure that their wedding-ceremonies are binding ones, no matter when and in which universe they happen to be conducted. So, I guess the 'I-do' is binding. And I know, there was never an actual I-do... but maybe that is what the kiss in Gallifreyan terms is supposed to be.

Oh, and we didn't really expected to see River in a white dress, did we? Then again we don't know much about time-lord-ish weddings in the first place...

But there is more to the episode than its immense fun factor. This was the first time since 2oo5 that the finale did not mean the end of an era, and Moffat kept his promise, we got answers. River is the Doctor's wife, and she is also in prison for killing him, without having actually killed him. Sort of. At least that seems to be how River's storyline is set in Moffat's mind. But come on, isn't it ironical that the Mill, the Champions of Law and Order, doesn't care about River committing a 'fake' murder, however, she still has to suffer its real effects? Although without the Teselecta the whole situation couldn't have happened in the first place. Is Moffat hinting at the universal police being as corrupt as the Russian government? And what about time itself? If everyone in the world believe a lie, does it become the truth? Ok, maybe things start to become too philosophical...

Anyway. Let's move on to the parts which were even less  answered. Like almost everything about season 5. Or most crucially what or who made the TARDIS explode causing Big Bang number 2? The Silence? And if yes, shouldn't we have come across that voice declaring 'Silence will Fall' from the TARDIS console by now? Maybe we'll find out next season. Even though personally I think that season 7's quest is more a 'when no living creature could speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered. Silence will fall when the question is asked...' -thing. So who knows, Moffat may manage to tackle both.

How Much Can You Cramm Into a Single Episode?

Moffat is usually not keen on revealing the finale's plot, but this season is some sort of an exception. This year he promised to fill those less than 45 minutes with answers, after all we all know what is going to happen, the only thing we don't know is how. Due to this maybe the most interesting question is 'what exactly is going to be answered?'

Let's start with the obvious, we know Moffat has to save the Doctor somehow; that's why it might be fair to assume that's what the biggest part of the story will be about. However, there is more, and no, I'm not referring to the colour of River's wedding-dress (if there should be one in the first place).

Like, will we get an explanation why the TARDIS exploded in season 5? Was it because of the Silence controlling it? Or is it something else hacking its really complicated system?

Then, do we get a reason for the astronautish-like footsteps in front of Amelia's house? Or does Moffat save these things for season 7? After all he can't cramp it into a single episode, can he? Well, it's just a day till we find out.

'The Lodger' Part 2

I hope Moffat makes Craig a once-per-season companion. I wouldn't be the one complaining.

Anyway.One of the first things you notice about 'Closing Time', is no, not the Doctor's coat, but that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are still in the credits. For a reason, as we find out several minutes and a near-death experience of Bitey the cybermat later. But never mind the two (ex-)'companions', because this time the Doctor has a new 'partner': good old Craig trying to spend a few days without Sophie but Stormageddon/Alfie the baby, alone, without anybody's help, least of all the Doctor's who turns up to say hello, or rather good-bye, however, things do not go exactly according to plan. So, instead of visiting the Alignment of Exedor the Doctor lives an average parent's life for a few days dividing one's time between working in a job (inclusive name badge!), playing the super-hero for one's own and optionally friend's offspring, babysitting, chasing Cybermats and fighting Cybermen and doing the cleaning at home in between.

Something a few fans may complain about is that again, love saved the day. Even though I hope that this is not becoming a re-occurring mantra, the idea of fighting Cybermen with love, literally, is not that cheesy as one might expect. But talking about cheese; I bet Doctor Who merchandise could make a fortune of Bitey, the cybermat. I'd get one for myself, if they didn't need batteries in real life.

But after about 4o minutes the Doctor's, as Moffat wants us to believe, last romp ends and although this episode does really not deserve it, the last scene is again beating the actual story: Doctor River Song is recruited to kill her love, the Doctor. But who does really think this is the season Moffat's contract for Doctor Who ends? Plus, we know there is a Christmas Special on its way (which hopefully does not have the very xmasy title 'The Ultimate Death of the Doctor', or something along that.) I for my part am just curious how Moffat does sort this timey-wimey fix-point-y mess out in 45 minutes only.

The Doctor's Choice

You should never ever begin with the end, but let's make an exception. Mostly because it did not make my eyes water, although I have the feeling that it wanted to. To be honest I'm a bit disappointed by that because in 'School Reunion' I was not too familiar with Sarah Jane's and the Doctor's common past, nevertheless I did not need to to feel the sadness when he said goodbye to her. And now, in spite of knowing all of Amy's and the Doctor's story, that certain sad feeling wasn't there. The reason for this might be that 'The God Complex's ending feels too much as being part of the plan. It seems the Doctor always intended to drop the Ponds there, not this soon, but he prepared the house and Rory's dream car for them, knowing where and when to find them, when needed. Moreover, with two episodes left, it appears unrealistic to believe that this was really the actual end.

Anyway. There is more to write about than the last minutes of yesterday's story; namely the Minotaur. I've seldom come across a better researched Who-story, and one which also uses the additional background information this sophisticatedly. The way Toby Whithouse turns the Minotaur's story into the Doctor's is a picture book exapmle of how to write good drama. Also the Doctor saving Amy by sacrificing her faith in him was genuinely touching. After all, he does need her all the same. Moreover, I'm glad that we did not see the Doctor's room, because it gives us something to speculate about.

What I'm less sure about are a few other loose ends. E.g. what was that fuss about the goldfish? I have the feeling it was never meant to be there. Or is it secretly called Jim? And why didn't Amy tell the Doctor before he left her that she knew about lake Silencio?
Well, maybe it's just Moffat being really clever and trying to confuse us with a few hints regarding the finale. Even though I'm not too sure about that. IMHO whatever happened in the 8Os hotel has not much influence on season 6's closing episodes.

What was in the Doctor's Room?

Well, this is hopefully not THE Question of the universe which could make Silence fall, still, it's a pretty interesting one, even if, admittedly, it may never be (finally and officially) answered. Nevertheless, we do have hints.

First of all, we know that whatever is kept in one's room is resembling their basic fears. Now, as far as the Doctor is concerned, stakes might be high, that going by his record his basic fear is either loneliness or being responsible for something bad or both. Then again, being familiar with how much series love dramatic situations, it may be not too unreasonable to assume that by rescuing Amy (i.e. telling her all the reasons why she should leave him) he made his own fears come true. Moreover this is backed by the fact that he appears to have encountered his worst nightmare many a time, for when looking at it he has an almost 'oh that's the one' look on his face.

Because of these reasons it is possible that door 11 led him into an empty TARDIS, one without Amy and Rory. After all, this is one of the images which can cover both, responsibility and loneliness; responsibility for whatever he had done so that he ended up on his own again, which is usually the stuff Doctor Who finales are made off. Only that this time he used a shortcut. He knows being responsible for something else than their house and Rory's dream car could be much worse.

Maybe, if we get really lucky, one day Moffat will maybe provide us with a definite answer (on his deathbed is a likely option), but till then, only he knows for sure.

Who Facts - The Minotaur

Moffat wants us to spend tomorrow's evening watching 'The God Complex' and one of the characters featuring it is a Minotaur, a creature some of us should be familiar with from... was it history, English or something in between? Anyway. There are a few things about him which may be interesting regarding the episode.

Something most of us do not have difficulties to associate the Minotaur with is his home, the labyrinth in which he was kept, a house with open doors, rooms and endless corridors. So, why does this remind me of the trailer? Furthermore every 9th year, or depending on your source, every year, he demanded a sacrifice, 14 youth, which was the reason for his death.

But there is more. He had a name, Asterion, "the ruler of the stars". This ties in with something the story The House of Asterion deals with. There he compares his home to the universe, thinking that maybe he is its creator and just forgot about it. Additionally, he has a somewhat odd notion to death. To him killing people is a favour he pays to them. As for his own, the story describes his end as the following 'The Minotaur scarcely defended himself.' which may be an intentional or unintentional reference to the opening minutes of 'The Impossible Astronaut', but maybe I'm reading too much into it. Nevertheless, the chances of the Minotaur surviving the next episode are not too high...

Well, it should not be too difficult to write a good episode with such a mythological background. I would be disappointed if Toby Whithouse didn't make use of it.

The Greatest Love Story Gone Timey-Wimey

If Shakespeare had added time-travel to his Romeo & Juliet he could not have written it better than Tom MacRae wrote his 'The Girl Who Waited'.*

Maybe I am repeating myself, but I have seldom seen a comparable emotional episode which was as 'comfortably' cheesy-less as this one. However, I have to admit, that even if this episode is the creation of a genius, am I the only one thinking that Amy asking 'where is she' is not the last scene in the actual script? How can the now-Amy remember that anyway?

But apart from that, thumbs up, after all who can't be in love Amy's and Rory's very own episode?

There are many greatly written moments to chose from, but maybe the most notable thing about this story is how MacRae uses the way the companions see the Doctor as a plot device, something until know only the Big Moff was famous for.

E.g. 'Still, anything beats a fez, eh?' is not only a witty statement, or marks the first time future-Amy laughs in 36 years, but it creates a bond between her and Rory. It brings back all those other memories she and 'her Rory' shared a long time ago, and this may be the moment she starts to give the two of them a second chance.

Another remarkable scene of this kind is Rory's 'You're turning me into you.' which may certainly not be the bit most viewers are going to remember. According to the rules of old-'Who' the companion is not there to criticise the Doctor, even though I know that this also occurred back then. However, in this episode it is the point the story stops belonging to the Doctor and starts being that of Amy and Rory, even though I personally can't imagine the Doctor doing something else in that situation than handing the responsibility of making that choice to Rory. Usually we have the Doctor playing this part, choosing between possibilities and feeling sorry for the outcome because of the situation not offering a perfect solution.

Nevertheless, MacRae develops this idea further, into something we are not unfamiliar with. 'Sometimes knowing your own future is what enables you to change it.' And this is what Amy does, she takes her future into her own hands, even if it means to cease to exist. Well, knowing what happened in 'The Impossible Astronaut' there is obviously more to it than that...

The scene most people do remember, and are never going to forget, is when Amy makes her choice. 'Three Words: "What about Rory?"'. This and begging her husband to keep that door shut, no matter what was my 'Who' moment of this season (up to know), because it is there for only one reason: showing how much she loves him. This Juliet is willing to commit suicide because she knows that after that her Romeo will be able to live happily ever after with the version of the Juliet he should have grown old. Although a part of herself is fighting this idea, in the end she loves him more than herself, what makes her willing to pay the highest price only pure love can pay.

And although I did not have tears in my eyes, I think Shakespeare himself could not have plotted it better than this.
________
*I'm one of those people whose teacher made them read Romeo & Juliet, twice, and I did not really enjoy it. Up to the balcony scene it was ok, but after that I felt like wasting my time...

Moffat's AssignmentX Interview

This is a shortish AssignmentX interview with the Big Moff. Actually, there is not much we would not already know about, expect of two rather interesting statements, and here they are.

On the chances of producing more episodes in the USA:

"If we’ve got a story for it. I mean, that’s all it’s about. It is story-driven, so if we’ve got a really great idea set in America, we’ll do it."

On how much the Doctor changes after each regeneration:

"I think fundamentally it’s the same man. It’s the same man for a very long time, in very different ways."

Moffat on HitFix

Here is another Steven Moffat interview done in August (I know, I am lagging behind a bit), and this time it's HitFix who is doing the enquiry. Here are a few interesting bits, but it's not a mistake to read the whole thing.

On what did Matt Smith do so that Moffat cast him as the Doctor:

"The same performance you see on the show now. I still have it on my laptop. It's the same performance he gives now. He was just brilliant. He was by far the best."

On why the Doctor is able to cross his own timeline and doing other wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff, he, according to canon, should not be able to do:

"The fact that he says it's a rule doesn't mean he's going to stick to it. "

On writing challengingly complex story archs for a series which is meant for children:

"And if there's something that maybe makes them say, "I didn't quite understand that, Dad, what happened?" and they have a conversation about it, can someone tell me what's wrong with that? "

On his busy schedule for doing Sherlock and Doctor Who at the same time:

""Manageable" is the wrong word. It's "survivable.""

The Big Moff's Sexy Beast Interview

This is a 3-pages long interview Sexy Beast did with The Big Moff in August. And although it is not brand new anymore, there are some interesting topics which are covered. And BTW, you can take the answer to the third question, which is about Doctor Who's budget, as the reason of why the Doctor won't die at lake Silencio.

But there are also a number of other things they talk about. To give you a short overview, her are a few Moffat quotes which should tease you into reading all of it. It's worth it.


On River's story arch:

"The great thing about the River Song conundrum is that every time you get an answer, it makes you ask another question."

On leaving Doctor Who:

"It would be really hard to feel that the Doctor isn’t mine anymore…"

On why the Doctor is always leaving his companions (inclusive Rose) behind:

"In one of the upcoming episodes, he sits in this room and says, “I can’t keep doing this to them.”"

On the art of writing (for) Doctor Who:

"It’s an exercise…in clever exploitation of limitations."

The Scariest Place in the Universe...

'Night Terrors' is the stuff usually Moffat episodes are made off. But only on the surface. It has the the basic fears of children as main topic: night, darkness, monsters (weather in the cupboard or under the bed is not that important), with the only difference that Moffat writes better scripts.

What I really loved about it was the old fashioned creepiness, and come on, you can't do much wrong when setting a story into a giant dolls house occupied by giant, snobbish dolls living on posh wooden food, can you? Yes you can. Am I the only one thinking the solution of letting George's dad save the day was a bit off the track. I'm not saying that parental love is not powerful, but Mark Gatiss could have backed things up more. This way it felt a bit as if he had recycled a few things from other episodes: The relationship between the parents and the child who does not feel to be accepted is clearly inspired by Moffat's very own 'The Empty Child', while George having the power of letting his fears become real has 'Fear Her' written all over it. And then there was the Doctor who is trying to act human-like and fails which was an homage to last year's 'The Lodger' (not to mention the perception filter). Even though I have to admit, that listening to the Doctor mentioning some of the Gallifreyan good-night stories belongs to its best scenes.

To sum up, the story did not turn me into a big Gatiss fan, but neither against him. Some of the dialogues were top, most of them were a rather stupid, but all in all, it could have been worse. Maybe we are just too Moffat-spoilt...