Doctor Who: The Wedding of River Song – Review

Is it Christmas yet? No? How about now? Still no? Why can’t time go faster? I wish I had a time machine. Which leads us on to this particular episode…

I’ll start by saying this is the kind of episode you couldn’t just start watching, say, half of the way through. It’s very, very complicated, and it’s confusing even if you’ve watched all of it. I think it’s a very good episode, one of the best in the series (but I’ve said that about every episode so far), and it tied up a lot of loose ends. But, in typical Steven Moffat fashion, it also opened up a lot of… well, beginnings (?). We were told we would get a hint of what was going to happen in the next series (like last year, with the Silence) and we got that hint. And I’m sure every Doctor Who fan out there is thinking about that hint, and they will be for a long time.

The Silence were mentioned in Series 5, and they appeared in Series 6. And it seems they might actually be back next year, because silence hasn’t actually fallen yet. And that’s related to the hint. Which is, in fact, a question. Look away if you don’t want to know what the oldest question in the universe is…

Doctor Who?

How they are going to answer that I have no idea.

So, basically, amazing episode, amazing series. Unfortunately, I haven’t reviewed the first part of Series 6 yet, but I probably will. Maybe.

To help pass the time before Christmas, Merlin is back. And that is what I’ll be reviewing very, very soon. Stay tuned!

Doctor Who: Closing Time – Review

It’s quite hard for me to write this, as I’ve just watched this episode and I can’t wait for next week. Which, for you, is today. Lucky you. Because this post is published next Saturday, which is this Saturday (today). Complicated. Or, as the Doctor says, “wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey”. Moving on.

This episode is a sequel to last year’s 11th episode, The Lodger. That means there’s Craig, played by James Corden. Last year’s episode was amazing, and this year’s was the same.

The enemy was Cybermen. And for those of you who are Doctor Who fans, you will be glad to know it’s the original Cybermen! With Cybermats! For those of you who aren’t Doctor Who fans, the original Cybermen (not the parallel universe ones) and Cybermats are from the classic series. Anyway, on to the thoughts:

I honestly can’t fault this episode. It’s a great story with great actors and so much more. And the ending… Well, for the first time since the 2005 re-launch, Doctor Who hasn’t finished with a two-parter. They said Closing Time wasn’t part one of a story, but that it did lead on. I have to disagree. This was the biggest cliffhanger ever. Even better than last year’s Pandorica trouble.

Next week (well, today for you. Lucky you!): the Doctor’s death. The Silence. The end. An impossible astronaut. The Wedding of River Song.

I can’t wait!

Doctor Who series 6 finale tonight! 19:05 on BBC One

Doctor Who is on tonight! The series finale! At 19:05!

Straight after is the last ever episode of Doctor Who Confidential on BBC Three, and if you stay on BBC One you can watch episode 1 of the new series of Merlin.

Who’s watching?

Doctor Who: The God Complex – Review

When I say this is one of the best episodes of Series 6, you might think I say that about all the episodes I’ve reviewed so far. But this one was seriously great. All of them have been so far.

The basic plot (don’t worry, no spoilers here) is that the Doctor, Amy and Rory and brought to a hotel where there are rooms. But not any ordinary rooms. Each room contains the person’s greatest fear. Oh, and there is a minotaur running about. Not forgetting the words “praise him”. It was kind of a strange episode.

The Doctor and co. weren’t the only ones who were trapped in this weird hotel, though. There were a few other people and, of course, aliens. Each character was quite different, with their own personality, beliefs and fears. They were written in well, and you can tell they weren’t added in as a last moment thing. The alien Gibbis was played by David Walliams, well-known for Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, and he portrayed the character very, very well.

(Spoiler warning)

Slowly but steadily, the characters were destroyed by the minotor, and it even went for Amy (but she survived), but in the end just Amy, Rory, the Doctor and Gibbis survived. But Amy surviving wasn’t a simple thing. The Doctor had to persuade her he wasn’t a hero etc., and that is a big thing. It was quite sad/happy at the end, really.

Spoilers over

The episode was amazing, as I have said… but it became less amazing at the end. A choice was made, that left all the characters lonely and sad. I won’t say any more.

Overall, this was a fabulous episode by Toby Whithouse, and I look forward to the two remaining episodes.

Next week (well, today by the time this is posted): Cybermen! Craig! The sequel to last year’s The Lodger!. It’s Closing Time!

Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited – Review

Anyone who has seen Series 5 might have figured who this episode focused on after just reading the title. For those of you who haven’t, the episode focuses on Amy Pond. She is known for waiting 12 years for the Doctor, then finally meets him again, then she had to wait another 2 years for the Doctor. If you thought 14 years was a long time, then you won’t like to know that, this time, she waited…

(big spoiler START)

…36 years.

(big spoiler OVER)

 The basic idea behind the story is that Amy gets trapped in a medical facility. But there are a few problems:

• The ‘kindness’ that the Handbots try to give her will kill her, because she is an alien to them
• She’s trapped in a different time stream, so it’s really hard for the Doctor and Rory to rescue her
• All this is caused by (big spoiler START) pressing the wrong button (big spoiler END)

The episode is actually one of my favourites this year (my least favourite being The Curse of the Black Spot), because it is so well written. There’s no actual alien monster that’s set it all up so they can kill people. No, it’s all made with good intentions.

The writer – Tom MacRae – has written two episodes before, Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel, and they were amazing episodes. I do hope he writes again for Doctor Who.

Next week: a creepy hotel, Weeping Angels and clowns. It’s The God Complex…

Doctor Who – Series 6: Part 2

This post is basically a round up of information about the second half of Doctor Who: Series 6.

Trailer

Episode info

• Episode 8: Let’s Kill Hitler
• Written by Steven Moffat

The gang’s all back! The Doctor, Amy, River and Rory return in what promises
to be an action-packed belter of an adventure. So far the following details have
emerged:

‘In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in 1930s
Berlin, bringing the Doctor face to face with the greatest war criminal in the
Universe. And Hitler. The Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has
responsibilities – and in so doing, learns a harsh lesson in the cruellest
warfare of all.’

We also know it features Albert Welling as Hitler and is directed by Richard
Senior, previously at the helm for Time and Space plus the Doctor Who pre-title
sequence for this year’s NTA awards.

• Episode 9: Night Terrors
• Written by Mark Gatiss

Mark Gatiss has previously written spooky episodes including The Unquiet Dead
and The Idiot’s Lantern, but he promises that Night Terrors features some of the
scariest moments he’s ever dreamt up! The adventure has a modern day setting and
features a little boy who has a fear of something… Can the Doctor help him?

• Episode 10: The Girl Who Waited
• Written by Tom MacRae

Tom MacRae’s previous credits include The Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of
Steel plus the critically acclaimed The Crash of the Elysium. This is his first
television adventure for the Eleventh Doctor and it’s directed by Nick Hurran
who was recently at the helm for the updated version of the cult classic, The
Prisoner.

• Episode 11: The God Complex
• Written by Toby Whithouse

We know the adventure is set in a hotel and features an alien called Gibbis
played by David Walliams. Again, the episode is directed by Nick Hurran and as
writer Toby Whithouse was behind School Reunion and The Vampires of Venice, we
know we’ve got something special to look forward to! A clip can be viewed below:

• Episode 12 – To be announced
• Written by Gareth Roberts

Craig Owens is back! The popular character from last year’s The Lodger
returns and judging from the trailer for eps 8-13 he’s getting closer than ever
to the Doctor! The adventure is written by Gareth Roberts whose credits include
Attack of the Graske, The Unicorn and the Wasp and, of course, The Lodger.

• Episode 13 – To be announced
• Written by Steven Moffat

The big finale! This one remains shrouded in mystery but Karen Gillan has
promised us that the series will contain ‘possibly the biggest twist so far’…
Is it possible that this is the adventure that delivers it? Steven Moffat penned
last year’s incredible finale but it’s probable that this adventure will
conclude the series with a bigger bang than ever!

Series 6: Part 2 is due to start in late August/early September (the date is TBC at the time of writing – 27th July).

A cool promotional picture

New Doctor Who Series 6: Part 2 trailer

A brand new trailer for Doctor Who Series 6: Part 2 has been launched. You can view it below:

Doctor Who returns to BBC One and BBC One HD later this month.

Doctor Who Series 6: Part 1 trailer

This is a short un-official trailer for the first part of the latest series of Doctor Who, and I think it’s brilliant! Be aware it contains spoilers for those of you who have not seen the episodes…

Oh, and it’s not long until Doctor Who returns. September, 2011…