Doctor Who Review - The Time of Angels

Warning - The following contains spoilers for Doctor Who S5 Ep4, "The Time of Angels". It will air in America on May 8th. If you have not seen it, and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read the following.





NOW THAT IS HOW YOU DO A DOCTOR WHO EPISODE! After the disheartening mess the past two episodes have been, it's good to see such a good episode come out of the new episode. Or maybe I just love the Weeping Angels. I don't know, either way, this was freaking awesome.

I previously expressed the fact that I would love nothing more than for The Weeping Angels to become reoccurring creatures such as the Daleks or The Cybermen. The first time I saw Blink, I was edge of my seat. I was a little scared. It was a cool, great, scary episode. So the fact that The Weeping Angels are returning was good news to me. But I'll admit I was a little worried that, after the STAR WHALES episode (I neglected to review, but was awful), and the rushed Dalek episode, that Steven Moffat wouldn't do this episode right. And the news that River Song would be returning didn't help things either. I was a little worried it would be the exact same episode as "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead", but with The Weeping Angels instead of the... I dunno, little piranha things.

In a way it was. It did, in fact, feel similar to both "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" and "Blink". But it also felt as though it made itself different enough that it was still freaking awesome. It all starts when River Song sends a message to The Doctor and he saves her from some guys in suits on a ship. The Doctor is shown up on his piloting ability of The Doctor and she explains there is a Weeping Angel in the ship. The ship crashes due to sabotage and the Angel escapes into some catacombs called the maze of the dead. Lovely.

If you thought the Angels were scary in Blink, you haven't seen anything yet. They have quite a few new tricks that weren't shown off in Blink, and they are pretty darn cool, and scary.

The episode has the same scary feel that Blink had, the same short cuts, close shots, that just gives a nervous feeling to all of it, but this time, well... We're not dealing with some weak scavengers who crashed on Earth.

I really can't even think up any complaints for the episode. It was freaking awesome. I can't wait to see the conclusion next week.

Doctor Who Review - Victory of the Daleks

Warning - The following contains spoilers for Doctor Who S5 Ep3, "Victory of the Daleks". It will air in America on May 1st. If you have not seen it, and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read the following.








Did I miss something? Did I forget to take my weekly trip to England last week, and miss part one of this clearly two-part episode? I mean, I don't remember any of that stuff setting up the episode from the previously on.

What's that? That WAS the setup for the episode? There WAS no part one? You're kidding right?

So... This episode was good. Don't get me wrong, it was a good episode. It's just... It felt like the second half of a two-parter. I mean it had enough content for two episodes. The result of squeezing it all into one episode just made it feel... Sloppy. It made it feel rushed. That's actually something I've noticed about all 3 episodes of the season so far. Matt Smith is so happy to do his impression of David Tennant talking very fast, that he forgets the other part where he speaks at reasonable speeds.

I know it sounds like I'm hating on Matt Smith, but that's not true. I don't hate him, he was really good in episode one! In episode one, it made sense he was still channeling David Tennant, because he had just changed. Heck, in "The Christmas Invasion", the first Tenth Doctor episode, Tennant was channeling some Eccleston. But he doesn't seem to be stopping.

I don't know, I felt a little let down by this episode. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high, but it just felt rushed! If it had been a two-parter, it should have had a setup like this:

Episode 1:

Doctor arrives, meets Churchill.

Churchill shows doctor the Ironsides. Doctor freaks out.

Doctor spends half an episode trying to convince Churchill that the Ironsides are actually aliens, and suspects the guy who made them to be working with the Daleks.

Subplot where Amy meets that one lady who was crying at the end, and they talk about how her boyfriend is flying over London. Amy goes through that "What am I doing here" moment every companion goes through. (Rose went through it in S1 Ep2 "The End of the World", Martha went through it in S3 Ep3 "Gridlock", Donna went through it in S4 Ep2 "The Fires of Pompeii")

The Doctor gives his "I AM THE DOCTOR, YOU ARE THE DALEKS" speech, they port up to spaceship, the guy who made them is revealed to be a robot. End of episode one.

Episode 2:
Pretty much exactly how the real episode is set up, with a few minutes of filler content to make up for the first ten minutes which are now the whole first episode.

If the episode had been set up like that, it just would have been more enjoyable overall! It's a shame too, because it was a good episode. But it could have been a great two-parter.

Ah well, at least the next episode is a two-parter about the WEEPING ANGELS. I really hope to see the Weeping Angels become a recurring villain on the show.

Doctor Who Review - The Eleventh Hour

Warning - The following contains spoilers for Doctor Who S5 Ep1, "The Eleventh Hour". It will air in America on April 17th. If you have not seen it, and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read the following.







HOLYCRAPAMAZING

Ok, any skepticism I had about Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor is now gone. This episode was freaking AMAZING. Jaw dropping, heart stopping, Doctor Who AWESOME.

And yes, I know it hasn't aired in America yet, so for the sake of the argument, let's just say I flew to England to see it.

When we last left off, David Tennant had just left, and Matt Smith had just become The Doctor. Only to find that he was crashing to earth. This episode picks up right from there, with him crashing towards Earth. After an opening of him crashing, they cut to a scene of a little girl, Amy Pond, praying to Santa... Which was odd. But ignoring that, she's praying about a small crack in her wall, which she says she hears thing through.

Suddenly, the TARDIS crashes outside her window, and she runs down, to meet The Doctor. She asks if he's here to fix the crack, and he begins to have chest pains, and glow, a side effect of the regeneration. She is ok with this, because she's a pretty cool 8 year old. He takes a look at the wall, and hears the words "PRISONER ZERO HAS ESCAPED". He explains it's not a crack in the wall, it's a crack in the fabric of reality, and opens the crack completely, where a giant eye stares at him, before he closes the crack completely.

He figures out that the prisoner zero has escaped onto earth through the crack, and that it's using a perception filter, which is awesome because I love the perception filter concept. Before he can do anything else, he hears the TARDIS, and runs to it, explaining that it'll explode if he doesn't take a trip to stabilize the engines. She asks how a box can have engines, and he explains that it's not a box, it's a time machine. She asks for a ride, and he says it's too dangerous, and that he'll come back in 5 minutes and give her a ride.

12 years later... He finally arrives.

Without spoiling too much of the rest of the episode, suffice it to say that it's The Doctor, still being The Doctor, and doing what he does best. Running. A race against time to save the earth.

The change in directors from Russel T. Davies, to Steven Moffat definatly shows, and the episode has a creepier feel than some of the old Russel T. Davies episodes, staying in line with Moffat's other episodes, such as Blink, and Midnight. But it's still Doctor Who, and feels like Doctor Who, just a little different.

All in all, it was amazing, and I can't wait for next week's episode. The overall story arc they've introduced seems pretty interesting.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, you've got me. Now keep it up.

So This Is How It Ends, Not With A Bang, But With A Whimper.

The Tenth Doctor was amazing. I'm sorry to see him go. (No pun intended.)I don't know how else I can put it. The Ninth Doctor was fantastic, sure, (pun intended.) but Ten was just brilliant.

The End Of Time should really be viewed as a whole. In fact, while other two part episodes have seperate names, (Utopia/The Sound Of Drums/The Last Of The Time Lords for example) this one has the same name, in two parts. And really, it's rightly so, because the episode is really just a Doctor Who movie, split into two halves. The closest we'll ever get at least. (The '96 movie doesn't count, because it was bad.)

What really shocks me is how long he's been setting this up for. Russel T. Davies knew he would be writing the swansong episode of Tennant's take on The Doctor, and so he began setting things up from the minute The Master returned. Between setting up the drumming, and Wilf, I'm quite impressed.

This episode feels like it really pays off on everything that the past few years with the 10th Doctor have been building up to. And as much as it hurts to see him go, and he'll always be The Doctor to me, this episode is a very fitting way for him to go.

Not that it didn't have it's share of cringe worthy moments, in fact I didn't even get the most out of the cliffhanger of Pt. 1 until the second watch through, because I spent the whole time laughing the first time. It was incredibly cheesy. But it was fitting. Because even though I love the heck outta the show, it's nothing if not cheesy. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. There's a place for cheesiness. And that was it.

It was incredibly emotional too. And I'll admit I nearly cried, more than once. And I don't cry for movies/TV shows usually. It takes something special. But this was special. The very end held a moment, hearing Ten talk about his mortality, and how even though he'll regenerate, it's like dying. It shows it's not something routine for Time Lords. It's not like going to the dentist. It's like... Death. You die, and a new man takes your place. Imagine that. If you died, and knew when you died a completely different person would get up and continue on.. It would be almost worse than real death wouldn't it?

The point is, David Tennants swansong episode was very fitting. It touched upon everything that makes The Doctor, The Doctor. It was easily one of the best episodes written by RTD. It was fitting end for his control over the show too. I gotta continue what I touched upon in yesterday's post, Stephen Moffat is my favorite writer for the show. Blink, and Midnight are amazing episodes. I really think the Weeping Angels could be a great reoccurring enemy if done right. And I think with him taking the reins from RTD next season, the show could be even better than before. But as far as RTD episodes go, The End of Time is pretty top notch. I really enjoyed it. The complaints I had were outweighed by the good of the episode.

This is how we're going to remember RTD, and David Tennant, and you know what? That's a good thing. The End of Time had it's share of problems (Too much build up, not enough payoff for the Time Lords for one thing.) but the extremely emotional, and surprising ending, paid off for the whole thing.

The last line Ten says, is really emotional. David Tennant was a Doctor Who fan growing up, and he seems like it. He loved being The Doctor. In fact, there's a line in The Waters of Mars that sums Tennant's take on the doctor up.

The captain of the Mars expedition says to The Doctor, "State your name, rank, and intention."
The Doctor replies: "The Doctor. Doctor. Fun."

He really enjoys seeing the universe, he's seen his share of sadness, and it shows, but all in all... He loves life. And in that, Ten, and Tennant both really loved being The Doctor.

Tennants take on the character, was much more built on relationships, and being The Doctor, than it was built upon great, epic, grand danger. In that, it's fitting that the regeneration doesn't come until AFTER the threat is foiled. It's very personal. The Doctor won. He could just walk away. He's told, to just walk away. But he can't, because that's not who he is. Because if there's one thing The Doctor loved more than being The Doctor... It's the people he met. All of them.

It was pretty much as fitting an ending as you could ask for. And with that Ten, I bid you farewell. The show won't be the same without you. It may be just as good, it may be terrible, it may even be better, but one thing it won't be, is the same. You'll always be the doctor to me.

Breaking Down the 11th Doctor Trailer

Alright, let me preface this by saying I am the biggest 10th Doctor fan you will ever find, and I'm seriously going to miss him as The Doctor.

Doctor Who is one of, if not, my favorite shows, and I have not seen, as of the time of writing, The End Of Time Pt. 2. I'm an American so it airs tomorrow night.

However, this lovely little trailer popped up tonight:



Did you see what I just saw? Because I've watched this trailer 4 times now and I'm still in amazement. Congratulations Matt Smith, I'm compelled even further to watch Season 5.

But what's really going on here? Well, let's break it down.


The trailer opening is very nice, as matt stands there asking what the TARDIS has in store this time.






What indeed, as the next few seconds are a roller coaster ride, featuring explosions, swords, and the doctor punching someone. (Looked like a woman to me, but I couldn't tell.)


But then at :08 you see an explosion in The Doctor's hand... And if you look closely, it's his sonic screwdriver.


Now let me say this is probably nothing. He's probably using it for deus ex machina like always.

But, let me put a small what-if into your head. What-if... He doesn't have his screwdriver anymore? What if, in this new, grittier Stephen Moffat era (writer of The Doctor Dances/The Empty Child, and Blink, among others.) he removes the magic wand. He makes The Doctor rely on wit alone, instead of his magical sonic screwdriver. Just a thought.


And then there's 0:11. And that was when I started really geeking out about it.
A bunch of guys are in a cave, or a certain basement with flashlights...

Suddenly the camera turns around, and you better hope none of them start blinking.



That's right. Return of the weeping angels.

Now let me just say I consider Blink the best single Doctor Who episode of the new series. It is amazing. So the fact that the weeping angels are back, that's fantastic.

Now, I suspect that Stephen Moffat taking lead instead of Russel T. Davies has a lot to do with them being back, as I have a feeling Moffat had as much fun writing that episode as I had watching it. I will eagerly await seeing the angels return, and hopefully it'll be it's own episode, heck, I'm hoping the angels can become the first real reoccurring enemies in the new series. So far, think about it, the main reoccurring enemies are:

The Daleks
The Cybermen
The Master

And all of those are classic series enemies. It's about time new Who got it's own iconic enemy.

But, moving on:

From 0:11-0:14 we see vampire ladies, and some demented mask, not sure what either of those are.

But at 0:15 we see this:


Oh yay, more Daleks. Aren't they supposed to be dead or something? Not that I don't like watching Dalek episodes, I just hope they come up with something that at least kind of makes sense for them to be back.

The shot itself shows The Doctor hitting the dalek with a hammer, pretty violently. Quite interesting.

After that we see The Doctor and his new companion kissing.
Then we see some aliens with ray guns, some explosions, another Dalek shot, more swordfighting, and some other various stuff. Then we see some soldier backing up, and some flickering lights, an explosion, in the dark... and well...



More angels! Yay!

Then, what is possibly, but I hope not, the new Doctor's catchphrase:

GERONIMO!

Then his companion is scared, and he jumps off of something.


Then more montage, and "Coming Spring 2010... The End... Is just the beginning..."

Ooh, The Doctor using a gun. Edgy.
Seriously though, I have no problem with him using a gun, especially if they do take away the sonic screwdriver, which they PROBABLY will not. It's also probably just an editing trick, he may just be shoot a rope lowering a cage full of, uh, I dunno, orphan puppies? Yeah. He's freeing the Orphan Puppies.

Finally: Trust him. He's The Doctor.


In conclusion: Big changes are in store for Doctor Who. It's a darker feel, yes, but that's expected with Stephen Moffat in charge, who's written some of the best new series stuff. I eagerly await to see the new season. Matt Smith has big shoes to fill, but I believe he can fill them. Maybe.

Tune in next time for my review of Doctor Who: The End of Time (Parts 1 and 2)

Maybe.

If I get around to it.