Thursday, April 8, 2010

Review - Doctor Who Season 5 The Eleventh Hour

Oh my god it's finally back, it's only been 4 months but it's felt a lot longer. I have kept very up to date with all the casting & pre production so I assume that's the been the reason this reasonable hiatus has felt like a Lost one.

I was never really worried about how the show would cope after saying goodbye to the most popular Doctor the franchise has ever had because I have complete belief that Steven Moffet's scripts are strong enough to cope with Matt Smith's youth & 'inexperience' This isn't me saying I think those problems would have ever come into play because I don't. I don't give a sh*t how old Matt Smith is, they have had old Doctors before so why not a young one? His experience isn't even an issue because he has acted before......... Enough said. I think the people moaning about that were stuck in the Tennant era........get over it, things change.

The episode it self was absolutely fantastic. My faith in Moffat was justified because it was better written than any of the eps in the Davies era excluding of course the ones Moffet wrote. It was scary, subtle, funny & had great one liners. It was the perfect Doctor Who episode.

Matt Smith was great, he has an exuberant energy & is capable of delivering lines & moments more robustly than Tennant, he has an edge that Tennant could display but I'm inclined to believe Smiths Doctor will be ok with for want of a better phrase bullying tactics whereas i never really brought an aggressive Tennant. I highlight the scene where he grabs Rory's Collar & the scenes in the promo's where he punches that person & fires a gun as examples of this. Tennant, for example with The Master & Davros was less happy with the idea of rough housing & would use threats & offers of truces primarily & aggression only when seeing red or as a very last resort.

I liked Amy as well, Karen Gillen is good enough to be able to stand toe to toe with Smith which is an absolute must. The fact she has a longstanding connection to The Doctor is cool. They have added her BF who I assume will be a Mickey Smith like recurring character who clearly has a head on his shoulders given he was able to spot the threat offered by the shape shifter.I like the fact that pretty much everything on the show has changed, the titles, the logo, the TARDIS & the screw driver. I am so glad they have completely dragged everything along with them into this exciting new period for the show. Despite appreciating the fact they needed to change the TARDIS & other stuff I wasn't a fan of everything. I thought the title sequence was less intense than the last one & the TARDIS was a bit too hoarded but I'm sure both of these will grow on me as I get more used to them.

The alien was good because it wasn't OTT & as all Doctor Who monsters should be is something that will make you think of the show when you walk past one in the park. How many young children will now be nervous of their spare room? The same goes for the crack in the wall, it will unnerve children which it should do. That is why Moffet is so brilliant.I liked Smith's outfit, I think it matches his madcap personality pretty well, especially the bow tie.

My favourite lines from the episode.

Hello, I'm the doctor, so basically...... run.

Carrots, are you insane?

12 years & 4 psychiatrist i kept biting them.
Why?
They said you weren't real.

I'm the Doctor i'm worse than every ones aunt.

20 minutes to save the world & all I have is a post office & it's closed.

Get a girlfriend Jeff.

Oh rubbish is that what I look like.
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