How to do a proper cliffhanger...

Let the universe end just after reaching half of the time you have to go. That's it.

And basically that's the plot of this week's The Pandorica Opens. For the currant situation is: Auton-Rory killed Amy after a really heart breaking and love-revealing scene, the Doctor is locked up inside the Pandorica, which was actually created for... a nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies, the most feared being in all the cosmos. And, River Song is about to die for being inside the very soon exploding TARDIS which is causing the cracks in time and the end of the whole universe. Well, actually things has been already better than this.

Although I have to admit this is how I would imagine the perfect end of the very last Doctor Who episode ever, Moffat has still 55 minutes to go and to turn this into the perfect happy end of Amy Pond's fairytale. And we know that's exactly what he is going to do.

I Was Not Expecting This....

I seem to be one of those few ones who weren't that fond of this week's episode, but it might be just its teasers which got me too excited... I.Just.Don't.Know.

Anway, to my mind The Lodger is walking the really narrow line between a soap-opera-ish comedy and something which might have been originally some sort of sci-fi, well, maybe before it was turned into an episode. And even back then it was rather bad sci-fi than good one, for although this show has very obviously the label sci-fi on it, this isn't an excuse for not explaining important plot elements. Like, how or through which mechanism were those humans (and also the Doctor) pulled to the machine, or why would a machine explode only because it has a really clever pilot? Or how can a not properly working time-machine keep the TARDIS from landing? Well, maybe it's just me missing something...

But starting at the very beginning, I have to admit, if we cut The Lodger into really short sequences and if we watched them separately, we would get a really entertaining..., ehm, something. Because the only parts of this  episode which worked were it's non sci-fi elements, and, I have to admit that they were outstandingly well done. Indeed, there aren't many not-Moffat episodes having such amazingly well written dialogues and one-liners.

Furthermore, its timing couldn't have been more perfect. Come on, this was maybe the only episode in which the Doctor actually plays football and it was aired just before England faced the USA in the World Cup. Additionally, let's not forget Matt Smith's original plans for the future... Can this be sheer coincidence? Yes it can! Oddly enough, there is even evince that this was *really* not planned. For the whole story is based on a comic strip published somewhen around David Tennant's era, and despite of him not being famous for his football abilities, that original story also features a football-match. So to those who think that these 43 minutes were exclusively written for Matt Smith's Doctor, I recommend to do some research.

However, apart from this and its good conversations there isn't much positive to say about The Lodger. And I'm not absolutely sure whether a football playing Doctor is something positive in the first place. I'm sorry, but it takes more than some witty dialogues to write a good Doctor Who episode. If a good storyline is too obviously not there, there isn't much to save it. And to me this was actually the most pointless and awkward plot I've ever seen in Doctor Who.

In addition, I wasn't exactly comfortable with seeing the Doctor only wrapped into a towel as a result of being in a hurry to save his friend. Sorry, but there is something utterly wrong with that. And yes please, never do that "let's smash our heads against each other to see the world from your perspective" again. Thank you.

Maybe there are a few people claiming that the story was quite funny as a whole, but I think it's already the situation alone guaranteeing that. I mean, the Doctor being forced to act as a human being for a week (or wasn't it rather 4-5 days?) automatically leads to some comical elements. Nevertheless, it's the job of a good scriptwriter to take these good elements and to turn them into an even better and coherent story.

I hope next week's finale-opener will show how it's done in a proper way.

Starry Starry Night...

"If you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

Sorry for being late. Well, the only good thing about writing a review after every one else have already informed us about their opinions is that I'm able to say Curti's Vincent and the Doctor is quite dividing the whoniverse. And I know saying this is not worth waiting almost one week to write a review, sorry.

I for my part liked it pretty much, although I have to agree with the common opinion, the ending was a bit cheesy, and I really could have done without the music. The next time they should make sure to get rather the acoustic version than the actual song. But apart from that, I really loved it for Curtis' didn't stopped by writing an interesting story sprinkled with quotable dialogues, but there were also some Doctor Who insiders, which maybe not even every fan knows about, but more about this in a minute.

For a start, the episode's beginning was awesome and it worked pretty well also with the small bits, like the Doctor being irritated by the boys' conversation, just like any other fan of this show.

Then, there was the actual part of the story, with Vincent Van Gogh played by an incredibly good Tony Curran. Some fans might have been upset of Vincent having a Scottish accent, but luckily SFX prepared us for that and those who still haven't got it, this was what point 5 on their preview list, the one about the ongoing TARDIS-gag, was all about.

Indeed, this week's (or rather last week's) list was hotly discussed in several Doctor Who forums. And this leads us straight to our next point (point 1o for any SFX fans) which was, and I quote "a major story element that some will decry as a massive plot hole and others will embrace on a metaphorical level".
To my mind, the only important thing lacking some explenation was "the monster", or rather, why Vincent was the only one who could see it. Nevertheless, the monster is real and I think a far more interesting question is how the Doctor appeared to "Vincent van Goff". (At one point I wondered whether David Tennant would have got the pronunciation right, and yes, actually I'm pretty sure he would.)

Furthermore, while some see the monster as a big unnecessary something, others can't help noticing the extraordinary irony Curtis has added to the story through this. Namely, we have an invisible blind monster, which only a "mad" painter can see.

Taliking about Vincent's mental conditions. I'm glad the way this topic was dealt with, so that his depression was not denied or whatever they could have done with it, but it was very much there. His breakdown and suicide were surely major elements of the episode. But at the same time we were also showed that it was the same man "painting" his famous "Starry Night" picture into the sky, which was the most beautiful scene of the whole episode. The Doctor's line "I haven't seen nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see." couldn't have been more on spot.

Maybe also because of this (and that Amy tries to apply the Doctor's "time can be rewritten" theory and has to recognise that sometimes it just doesn't rewrites itself) the ending was surely tragic. Still, again, the Doctor doesn't fail to hit the mark... And he is sooo right. They definitely added to Vincent's pile of good things.

They killed Rory ... AGAIN!?

Cold Blood was a not bad Sillurian 2 parter, well, the only thing we could have asked for was a good plot, but according to this week's Guardian comments people seem to care less about that aspect as they used to. There was some tension, some weird set of sci-fi rules, some relatives of an "old" alien species, a nice in-between human story (actually there were two of them) and the Doctor more or less saved the day (again). Still, I cant' help thinking that the connection between these parts could have been a bit better.

However, it is very likely that we don't care much about the actual story anyway, because just after we started thinking that now they will be dashing off toward a new exciting place (or Rio), the crack reappears and Rory sacrifices his life for the Doctor and gets consumed by 'the light' and his own fiancée can't remember him anymore (some sort of a Donna-deja-vu, anyone?). Furthermore, as if this would not have been enough, the crack also seems to destroy the Doctor's TARDIS in the future.
Obviously, all these finale-teasers had to steal the Sillurians the show.

Now, I won't write about how complicated (and stereotypical) the Human-Sillurian relationship was in the first place, even without Ambrose killing Ayela out of a weird form of mother-love. Or what Chris Chibnall's idea was when writing it's human germs keeping the Doctor alive, because when looking at it form a biological point of view, also humans need germs to stay alive, so they could not have done the same with them either. And I definitely won't ask myself why the Doctor could pick that TARDIS-bit out of the crack without the light having an effect on him, while Rory was forgotten before the light/the crack even consumed him completely.

Because thanks to Moffat there are a bit more interesting things to write about.

So let's start with those famous last five minute which start with Rory's death.
I'm sure that an average fan must have liked him for giving us another (a more 'down-to-earth') perspective of the happenings. Sure, generally, he was not very heroic, still, he also knew how to shine, how to appeal to a/our human common sense, but not in a boring way. Somehow he was a bit of the counterpart of the Doctor. And that's why he was so likeable.
Additionally, many (traditional) fans were glad about him being some sort of a grantee that we won't have to sit through another 'season 2' storyline.

Still, despite Moffat apparently having something against him (all in all it was him who wasn't against killing Rory three times within only one season!), there is a chance that Amy gets the opportunity to live her life with Rory, because of the simple reason that the Doctor won't allow anything, no matter how terrifying it might be, to harm his beloved TARDIS. For this, he will find a way to get the crack-story-arch fixed (I just didn't feel like calling it a 'crack-problem') and through this maybe Amy and Rory will be reunited in the future.

And next week Vincent Van Gogh will see Amy and the Doctor, and I guess he is also in desperate need of one.

Happy Towelday

To my mind it is good to have a day reminding us of the importance of towels. So dear froods, don't forget yours, especially not today.

The Differences between Cwmtaff and Rio....

... should be definitely made more obvious.

This is not a proper review for Hungry Earth because I think what Chris Chibnall did was only stretching the usual 5 minute intro of an average Doctor Who story to a sometimes not pretty fast going nor really interesting episode. If you want me to say something positive about it, I absolutely liked the costume of the Sillurians. And I loved the Doctor's meringue comment. Good for him that preparing decent desserts is not an obligatory skill to save the universe .
Anyway, all in all this was an interesting 45 minute opener for part 2. So let's wait and see.

Because if this is real life, I don't want it.

Oh my dear. Who wasn't shivering when Amy said those words to a not quite so sure Doctor. I wouldn't go so far to state that Amy's Choice (link) was the best Doctor Who episode ever, or of this season (although, giving it another thought...) But it was good, deep and emotional AND the low budget one of this season. If saving money looks this good, then I don't know Moffat's problem. (Ok, I know due to the Beeb not being too gorgeous this year he is saving the biggest part of the budget for... guess.)

I have to admit, last week after watching its trailer I didn't know where to put it. To be honest I thought it were only a good script and a story bringing those three to their limits which could save that one. However, without exaggerating, that's exactly what Simon Nye did. It seems to me as if he hadn't done anything else but thinking about the perfect Doctor Who episode, and actually, that's what Amy's Choice manages to be: perfect (although not in a "Gallifrey-ish" way if you know what I mean*.)

First, letting the Doctor's dark side to be the "Dream-Lord" was a hilarious idea, which worked on quite a few levels. It helped settling the whole love part, finally. Then, well, we were always aware of the Doctor having a reason for being a bit, ehm, difficult when it comes to his past, but his line "No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do." was quite revealing. It was also awesome that there wasn't one "real" world, in fact that would have been cheap. And there aren't many episodes where the Doctor gets the chance and also would blow up the TARDIS.

Still, Amy's Choice didn't only work with the big bits. For a start, the Doctor seems to have his very own definition of nightmare. And I smiled when he admits that he threw the TARDIS' manual into a supernova because he disagreed with it (we all know situations like that), or all the moments when everyone is teasing him for his appearance (and bow ties ARE cool BTW.) But then again, we could go on about every, really every sentence the Doctor says to work things out.

Alright, my conclusion of all that is if this was a low budget episode, then first, I hope Simon Nye won't give up on writing for this show after all (yes, I DO know what he said) and secondly, Chris Chibnall, who is in charge for The Hungry Earth 2-parter, will have a though job, or at least pretty high expectations to live up to.

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*Just watch Planet of the Dead, Gridlock, or another s3 episode in which the Doctor is talking about his "perfect" home planet.

Got my Spaceship, Got my Boys...

... Well, the Doctor maybe doesn't agree with her that much about whose TARDIS she travels in...

To be frank, this is my 2nd version of this review. The first's title went something like "Is it just me thinking this was... stupid", because Vampires of Venice had a bit too many not necessary scenes and elements of former episodes in it (more about this in a moment). But after noticing that SFX's review writer gave it 4 stars (out of 5) through what it ended up having the same rating as Flesh and Stone which was magnificent IMHO, I started wondering whether we are trying to write about the same episode... Because of this I re-watched it today (those who are still searching desperately for a link as YouTube is having some issues with the BBC: here it is) And I have to say I changed my opinion about it... a bit.

Alright then, let's start with the very obvious bad things about Vampires of Venice. For a start, what was the scene with the Doctor being electroshocked all about? Those fish-aliens weren't exactly electric eels, so how did they do that in the first place? Talking about the Saturnynians. Right after watching it I couldn't help myself thinking that somehow the whole concept (apparently human beings turn out to be deadly man-killing aliens) looked like a remake of School Reunion, so I wasn't surprised to find out that it was Toby Whithouse, known for being the writer of the said episode, being also in charge for this one. However, interestingly enough he didn't only add a few things out of his own episode, but I bet it was not only me thinking that this wasn't the first time we saw the Doctor climbing to the top of a tower while it's storming around him (Daleks in Manhattan 2-parter, anyone?). Furthermore, having some recently really overused vampires in a show like this for the 2nd time (old Who) doesn't show of having too much creativity.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be fair not to mention Vampires of Venice's good parts. I can't deny that some scenes were just fun, or let's say, they were so out of place that they managed to "be in place" after all. Who didn't smile about Rory discussing Amy kissing the Doctor while they are going through pitch black catacombs and there might be other things to have on their minds. Or his attempt of fighting with Francesco just to impress his fiancée? Further, seeing the Doctor showing his old (and by this I mean really old) library card instead of the psychic paper was just a laugh. And I really loved the scene where the Doctor is disappointed by Rory not saying "It's bigger on the inside". I almost felt a bit sorry for him... Additionally, some of those dialogues, especially the Doctor's (which were rather monologues though) were really cleverly done and I dare to say they were the best bits of the whole episode in general. Although I bet tomorrow there will be people complaining about the whole "love/getting married/children" references. Well, I as an adult fan think that today's children are used to worse stuff than this.

So overall, what we got was a well written but still a bit "recycled" episode with a few potholes which managed to look like a big portion of fun, somehow.

Time Can Be Rewritten...

So that's how Moffat deals with the very ambiguous past of Doctor Who: by inventing a crack in time which absorbs and un-writes history. We are used to a few things but I'm sure not each further main editor will get away this easily with this series' more than just difficult "heritage".

Anyway. All in all I think 'Flesh And Stone' as such doesn't live up to Time of the Angles' quality, but if we watch it as a single episode the result is far from being disappointing. Especially because we can put a few more things on our River-speculation list. And as this is the most interesting part of the whole episode anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for skipping the other bits.

First things first. A question. What is scarier than the weeping Angels or a crack in the universe tearing reality apart? River. Maybe. Now we know that River is in prison for murder; she has killed the best man she ever knew who is maybe the same one who has taught her flying the TARDIS. But while I'm quite sure that the latter one has to be the Doctor I just can't imagine that she has killed him, at least not on purpose. Then again, if she killed him the whole Silence in the Library - stuff would get another completely new and deep meaning, and we know that's exactly what Moffat is fond of. Still, I think Moffat's big picture is surely not River killing the Doctor. Come on, the Big Moff loves fooling us. But then again, no matter whether she did it or not, to quote the Doctor: history can be rewritten so Moffat doesn't need to stick to his own 'fairy tale'-ly rules (in my humble opinion, he starts to gain too much power.) I for my part am looking forward to the next time River will show up.

Further I like how Moffat manges to add a Silence in the Library reference to the plot. River's "You, me, handcuffs... must it always end this way?" was more than just a hint to her own death. I have to admit maybe it is not only sheer coincidence that that scene is there. It could be a reference to 11th death after all, but I have still a few doubts.

Oh, and before I forget it, especially as the official reviews and their comments will be full of it: first, Amy, you bad girl. Loved the Doctor's reaction though. That's exactly what we expected and waited for... for 3 years.

And 2nd, I can't help thinking that we were actually supposed to notice the Doctor wearing his 'lost' jacket and a different watch in the 'you must remember' scene. Come on, they made him wearing a different wristwatch, that's like adding flashing lights and a 'This is IMPORTANT'-sign to it, and yes, the 'important' standing in capital letters.

So next week Rory joins the team and they are going to Venice. No idea how that should help fixing the crack but although I think there are too many vampires on TV ATM, just watching Rory and Amy dealing with each other and/or with the Doctor has the potential of making the story more interesting than it might appear to be at first sight.

Pimp My Dalek*

This seems to be quite a "controversial" episode, meaning that fans aren't sure whether to love it or to hate it, but after considering its good and bad sides I have to say actually I liked it.

Sure, I'm also starting to be tired of Amy getting too much attention, but apart from that it wasn't a really bad one. Well, an episode with Churchill and the Daleks in it can't be bad, can it?

Further I don't think that technicoloured Daleks are something bad. If I had a say I would have rather gone for the "iron-side" version, for the coloured ones look like some pepper-pots from the 6o's and 7o's standing on the shelf of a fast-food restaurant. And I loved the "All right, it's a Jammy Dodger,but I was promised tea!"-bit just as the tea-references in general.

It was strange to see that no-one believed the Doctor in the beginning, not even his own companion, bad girl. Now, that's how nightmares feel like (and I guess that's how Amy felt like about the crack when she was a child; only that hitting it with an oversized spanner wouldn't have had such an effect; but why was that necessary in the first place?) Still, I'm looking forward to finding out why and how those Journey's End Daleks could have been erased out of her mind.

Well, I guess no matter what fans are thinking about The Victory of the Daleks, it won't stop them watching the next episode because it is going to deal with one of the most discussed phenomenons in Doctor Who history: Who is Prof. River Song? I'm not saying we'll surely get that question fixed, but... let's wait and see.

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*yes, those who have read the Guardian review know these lines are not mine; but I wish they were....

This was different...

... but I'm not entirely sure whether that's good or bad.

So, Lawrence Miles is looking for "in betweens" (as mentioned here)? I really hope he stayed tuned in.

Right now, I'm going to do something which hopefully won't happen quite often: Considering The Best Below's plot it is very likely the worst Steven Moffat has written (yet?, that hurt).

I have nothing against star-whales, are surely lovely animals, and I liked the ending (letting Amy to save the day was a really nice twist), but the Big Moff's former stories used to be easy-going and light-hearted and this one seems to be a bit forced. Come on, what was the "being inside a star-whale" scene all about, or the Smilers?

Still, it could have been worse, especially because if you don't concentrate on the actual plot of the episode but on the in-betweens (should I put that in capital letters?) then it was great.

Well, let's say, this one wasn't about the story, but about character development. For it really was, especially, if we take in account that we have 2 strangers flying around in a tiny police box (or being in the mouth of a whale, I know, nice options) then we should have known that this is going to be an "in-betweens" one. But to be honest, I expected Moffat to do it a bit better. Nevertheless, the in-betweens we got were really good. I'm about to say that Amy has the potential of being a part of my "best companion" list (but sorry, she just can't be 21 years old, or am I missing something?). Further, I love Moffat for writing the Doctor less dramatic and more "alien-like". I have nothing against drama, but RTD overdid that constantly the last 5 years, so I'm quite enjoying the recent (although luckily not complete) lack of it.

So, next week the Daleks are back and it's Churchill having an appointment with the Doctor? We'll see...

Fishfingers And Custard

Moffat IS a genius, no news there, but even I wasn't quite prepared for the awesomeness of this story and the really quotable dialogues. Additionally, it was fast going, I for my part had quite long no idea how a computer virus should save planet earth from being incinerated. But it worked.

Further I loved how Moffat created a great mixture between a fairytale and a sci-fi story. Doctor Who starts to become something for "never going to be adult" grown-ups and children alike. Well, maybe the "trying food and spitting it out" scene was a bit... too childish, and Amy's job could have been something else but apart from that I really liked it. And that guy should get a BAFTA for the way he introduced Amy. People might point out that we already had a Moffat-story in which the Doctor becomes some sort of someone's imaginary friend , but even those have to admit that it's the first time that that someone knocks their imaginary friend down with a cricket bat.

Talking about Amy. She seems to be a bit random and she has definitely been a nice child. But in my opinion we don't really know a lot about her real character at the moment.

Then again, talking about randomness, I haven't mentioned Matt Smith yet, who had very likely the most difficult job of the three people I have mentioned above. And I have to say his interpretation of the Doctor was brilliant. There are certain Tennant-like features in his acting, I mean I could imagine the last Doctor talking in the way he does, but then again he also adds his own freshness, clumsiness and enthusiasm (or maybe more some kind of a fascination) to it. I just have to agree with Moffat who said "Matt's Doctor is bonkers." That sums it up pretty well.
Nice TARDIS - interior by the way, I liked the old colour of its outside more, but the interior outweighs it again.

So, that was a really nice start. Looking forward to next week.

Oh, am I the only one wondering what the title and the actual story had to do with each other? The only possible connection I can see is that the episode was about 6o minutes long, but apart from that - no idea. But shouldn't it rather say Eleventh's Hour then?

@ Mr. Mile's "In-Between Days"

... which, as I don't really need to mention, might disappear.

Sensible people know that Steven Moffar is actually one of the best script writers Doctor Who might have got to do the job of a main editor, and I guess it's not only me loving his episodes we have seen so far. And even if I have to admit that yes, I disliked the promised 6o second bit of the new episode (I know time is relative, but without the long trailer there are only about 2o seconds left) and yes, Blink wasn't Moffat's masterpiece, Lawrence Miles seems to forget that Blink was THE lowbudget episode of that season (s3), nevertheless it scooped a BAFTA, somehow. (Well, considering season 3's other episodes, that wasn't such a big surprise.)

Furthermore, in my opinion Doctor Who is still one of those TV shows where I actually do have the feeling that it lives of these "in between" parts (as Mr. Miles calls them). E.g. remembering Partners in Crime I for my part was much more enthusiastic about having Donna in it than about those extraordinary cute fat-chunks called Adiposes. And talking about Moffat's Girl in the Fireplace, it was all about those parts "in between". Now I won't quarrel about David Tennant's interpretation of the Doctor, I guess I couldn't be enough objective for that, although I really didn't liked a few things RTD wrote his Doctor into (I'm still trying to forget a few things about End of Time), but I have to say that some of the best Doctor Who stories I've seen so far belong to the 1oth Doctor's era.

Anyway, at least thanks for keeping those terms straight. I hate reading Doctor Who related articles not having their vocabulary right. Come on, I have just spotted the word "Tardis" in the rADIO tIMES, now how does that look like?

We could spend Avatar's budget and still ask for more

Now that's a statement, and I bet the Beeb isn't amused to hear it.

This article by the BBC includes some bits of a Steven Moffat interview about how the team deals with money issues for Doctor Who.

We know that producing such a science-fiction show isn't exactly cheap. So I love the fact that Moffat thinks of budge-cuts as a challenge instead of just saying that they are bad. At the same time he also adds that they "could spend Avatar's budget and still ask for more [...]" and that he wasn't considering the budget when writing episodes. Now that's true. Do you remember one of the most amazing stuff the Mighty Moff wrote? I'm referring to the sequence in Girl in the Fireplace" where the Doctor crashes through a mirror into a ballroom on a horse. IMO it's very likely that RTD wouldn't have done that, simply because it seems to be such a big and expensive effort to film (and after watching its confidential I have to say, indeed, that scene wasn't an easy one).

Further, Steven Moffat says that the TARDIS, maybe the best idea in sci-fi history ever, came into existence because of the then team having budget problems.
I like his point of view.

That Looks Awesome...

A few days ago the very first episode of the next season (5 or 31, just chose a number) had its premier and critics are not bad.* You can read here what The Guardian thinks it has to say about it, not much if you ask me. And this is SFX's opinion, which is worth reading. It's not giving away too much, but in a good way, although I have to admit I haven't highlighted that major spoiler. This is the BBC's statement, but somehow the writer doesn't seem to have been informed of the difference between "the Doctor" and "Doctor Who". I whish at least the BBC would get it right...

Furthermore, we have 2 new trailers (trailer 1, trailer 2, and that's the American version trailer 3). Additionally, there was a "The 11th Hour" Karen Gillan/Matt Smith interview, after which this short extract of the next episode was shown.

Somehow it's becoming hard to wait, good to know that in less than 2 weeks we are going to know how to spend our Saturday afternoons.
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*This is very obviously an understatement.