The TARDIS Diaries

@ Children In Need

2011-11-19T21:15:00.006Z

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.

How Much Can You Cramp Into a Single Episode?

2011-09-30T10:31:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-25T13:57:00.000+01:00

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

2011-09-18T22:56:00.011+01:00

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?

2011-09-18T21:11:00.009+01:00

Well, this is hopefully not THE Question of the universe which could make the 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, and I guess the internet is being flooded with entries trying to answer exactly the same thing.

Chances are high that room 11 was where either loneliness, responsibility or both were kept. We know whatever it was it made the Doctor understand how the Minotaur's system works, which should explain the way he saved Amy. Being familiar with how much series love dramatic situations, it may be not too unreasonable to assume that by rescuing her he made his own fears come true. Moreover, hr appears to have encountered his worst nightmare many a time for when looking at it he almost seems to be bored . For these reasons it is possible that door 11 lead him into an empty TARDIS, one without Amy and Rory. Because 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 even worse.

However, maybe 'The God Complex' is not part of the Big Moff's master-plan, and then things can change. After all, in my humble opinion, the story seemed to be a bit too rushed towards the end. What's more, we know that the Ponds are in the finale.

Who Facts - The Minotaur

2011-09-16T19:37:00.013+01:00

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

2011-09-11T22:23:00.017+01:00

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 know-Amy remember that anyway? It never happened to her, she never had to make that choice. I wouldn't have minded if she had remembered it for a second, but only that long, because her whole timeline got changed and the mechanics of time being rewritten involve that people's past does change.
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 a 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

2011-09-08T14:46:00.003+01:00

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

2011-09-08T13:48:00.002+01:00

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

2011-09-07T20:18:00.006+01:00

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...

2011-09-05T15:09:00.007+01:00

'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...

Let's Kill The Doctor

2011-08-30T15:42:00.008+01:00

I guess that was the original title of the recent episode, but it would have been too obvious. After all, Moffat's latest masterpiece was not really about Hitler; who spent most of it in a cupboard.

Actually, 'Let's Kill Hitler' is nothing else but a demonstration of what you can do when you are the one and only headwriter of Doctor Who. Nevertheless, this does not save it from coming pretty close to parodying our beloved series, but let's start with something different first.

It's only fair to admit it has its moments and in addition also the certainly most unforgettable quote of this season: 'I was on my way to this gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled when I suddenly thought, ‘Gosh, the Third Reich’s a bit rubbish, I think I’ll kill The Führer.'

But back to those 'moments'. The prequel is certainly one of the most imaginative one we had this season, come on, you can't open a season much more spectacular than letting the Doctor's companions search for him via crop-circles. Not to mention Mel ruining the effect with a sports car... and with the trio, sry, quartet ending up involuntarily saving Hitler from being tortured to death and beyond by the Teselecta, the champions of justice. And that's when things start to be a bit ridiculous. But only a bit, because it gets compensated by Hitler being locked up in the cupboard, the magnificent quote I just mentioned in the foregoing paragraph and Mel proposing to the Doctor just before she dies.... and regenerates. What brings me to the next point on my imaginary list of random things.

Good, Melody is Mel who is River, only that she doesn't know yet. Or throughout the plot of this episode. And while most of us can live with the unrealistic fact that this is the first time the Doctor learns about his companion's childhood friend's existence (her not doing weddings is not a real excuse) the one really amazing thing about this is that nobody, not even Rory or Amy are too surprised by their daughter's let's say timelady qualities. Come on, when did they exactly catch up on their daughter being less human and more timelord, or on regenerations, to start with. And isn't particularly Rory's behaviour a bit odd?

Another thing which is odd is the Tesceleca. Although we don't know much about River Song, going by their records the fact that she is the one who killed the Doctor seems to maker her a bigger criminal than Hitler himself. Isn't that a tiny bit exaggerated? Or am I just failing to switch off my real-life history lessons?

But the biggest issue is certainly the 'Goodness, is killing you going to take all day?'-part. In fact I'm getting used to the Doctor dying about every third episode.
So she does successfully poison him and he dies a rather painful death, but not before finding out that he is not supposed to die then and there, as on the top of it the 22nd April at Lake Silencio seems to be a fix-point in time. And just after the Doctor takes his last breath River decides to save him, by using up all her regenerations left. So goodbye Berlin in WW2 and hello Utah, although, mark my words: the Doctor won't die there either. Even if Moffat has to (re-)reboot the whoniverse to change that silly fix-point. In fact, changing a fix-point in time may turn out to be pretty handy, Moffat could use it to claim that a few things which happened in the last seasons were changed by that. Not as if Moffat really needed to give us explanations.

All in all, this week Moffat proved again to be the master of timey-wimey stuff, especially timey-wimey love stories. And although he promised us answered, it seems there is at least one question remaining open to speculation: just who let Hitler out of the cupboard?

Interview Round-Up Volume 2

2011-08-19T13:09:00.010+01:00

This is a Moffat interview by SFX with the eye-caching title 'The Acceptance Interview You Never Read' It does not mention anything new, especially as we've already seen the mid-season final, but it's nice to read how Moffat sees the Whoniverse and the Doctor, like 'his superpower is just that he’s a really good improviser'. Furthermore, it's also lovely that Moffat thinks that Sherlock Holmes is more alien than the Doctor, which is more than just a bit ironic when you think about it.

Then, I guess ATM there are not many Doctor Who blogs which manage not to mention Fright Night. So fulfilling my pleasant duties, here is a Collider interview with David Tennant on guess which topic... He talks about how it was to do a remake of something attracting people who already learnt to love the original (as if he would not have already some experience with that) and other stuff. And here is a 2nd one, this time by Shock Till You Drop (erm, right) and he is answering more or less the same questions but also talks a bit about Doctor Who.

Karen Gillan on the Fall-Episodes

2011-08-17T20:16:00.007+01:00

Karen Gillan gave an interview to UnrealityPrimetime on the 2nd part of season 6.

The only thing she mentions I did hear for the first time was the name of the monster from 'Let's Kill Hitler' (Teselecta) and a few pretty obvious things regarding Amy's and River's relationships to each other... oh, and there is also a Rory Williams in that wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey constellation. Furthermore, her comment's prove that DoctorWhoTv made a great job when analysing that trailer. And, I almost forgot, in the first part she teases something we've been knowing all along.

Interview Round-Up

2011-08-15T22:11:00.004+01:00

Somehow I forgot to include this into my previous post, so here is a Matt Smith interview by Digital Journal, for the US, and he is talking about season 6 and he also mentions the upcoming episode, 'Let's Kill Hitler', shortly.

Then the 21st century remake of Fright Night had it's premier and this is a short interview with David Tennant on the carpet.

The 'Let's Kill Hitler Prequel

2011-08-15T15:15:00.004+01:00

Is it wrong to say that the Doctor's answer-phone recording was the best bit of it?

Season 6 Fall News Round-up

2011-08-13T20:16:00.011+01:00

I'm sorry for the delay, but it has beeen a while since I last felt a keypad at my fingertips. So here are the more important bits which have been revealed since my last log in:

The Comic-Con BBC America Trailer for the Fall-episodes with DoctorWhoTV's really precise analysis of it here.

A BBC Trailer for the Fall-episodes with DoctorWhoTV's analysis here.

And another BBC America Trailer for the Fall-episodes

And on the 15th August we are going to get a prequel of 'Let's Kill Hitler'. At least they make sure we get some Doctor Who during this rather long-ish summer-break.

Misquotes and Misunderstandings?

2011-06-16T18:14:00.012+01:00

The recent news regarding Doctor Who are causing quite a fuss, mostly because there seem to be only a few people who know what is going on, but they are not too willing to share their news with us...

But before opening a new round of speculations about Doctor Who's future I just want to mention, that we should not believe everything out there, even if they claim to base their assumptions on reliable sources.
A textbook example for this is the latest BBC article dealing with this topic, however, the Whoniverse's very own Big Moff sees things a bit differently. His twitter statement reads:

The scheduling of Dr Who has got NOTHING to with Sherlock. On the plus side THE BBC SPELLED MY NAME RIGHT!!!!

So I don't know whom the BBC article does quote, but Steven Moffat seems to have different sources, and I have the feeling that he knows best what is going on ATM.

Another question fans are asking themselves is what has caused this fuss?
Yes, ratings could have been better this season, but I think the BBC knows better than butchering its cash-cow. Another option is that Moffat has a small problem with being in charge of Sherlock and Doctor Who at the same time. Or is it that Moffat wants to keep the current spring and autumn schedule for the forthcoming seasons, maybe not only for the sake of budget or ratings, but also because Doctor Who was originally meant to be aired in the cold months. Well, it would work for me. Or is it all of these points?
Still, no matter how things will turn out to be, I'm willing to trust Moffat saying (or rather twittering):

Dr Who: misquotes and misunderstandings. But I'm not being bounced into announcing the cool stuff before we're ready. Hush, and patience.

And somehow I rather take his words over the BBC's. So there is some 'cool stuff' on its way. We'll wait and see...

Demons Run...

2011-06-13T18:37:00.002+01:00

... when a good Man goes to war.

Finales are special. And season mid finals are no exception. And there are two things all of them usually have in common: a, the Doctor loses someone in the end, and b, the plot is on the edge of being dull when watched as a single story and could be roughly summed up in less than 14o's twitter characters, well, almost: Demons run when a good man goes to war, but they are not fast enough. However, the afore mentioned good man and his allies still lose the main cause which they where fighting for, even though in the end this does not seem to matter that much. You see what I mean? Then again Moffat knows how to distract his audience form the main plot by what I like to refer to as the story's wrapping: We have Headless Monks, scenes which would have fitted into any Star Wars-ode and we find out about River's identity, for which we've been waiting for more than 2 season. However, let's not forget that there is just one part of that original question answered which the Doctor asked her in the Library. We are still waiting for the 'Who are you to me?'-bit.

And here we are, at the biggest problem of the story: River Song's identity. There aren't many people who can't claim their brownies for something they predicted, said, wanted to say but thought it to be too obvious to say, or something along those lines. So, River is a Time Lord, well, Lady; she is Melody Pond; the Ponds are her parents. Did I forgot anything? To quote Dan Martin's not improvable words 'It feels as if every possible theory anyone has posited has turned out to be correct. That's either totally genius or horribly foolish.' This may be the reason for why watching it for the 2nd time does improve people's opinion on it: There are no expectations left.

Still, as already mentioned, thanks to Moffat we are only too willing to ignore this, for the story's wrapping is more than just breath-taking at certain points, not to mention the cracking dialogues. And the cherry on this cake is that although 'A Good Man Goes to War' will be famous as the episode in which River Song's identity was revealed, it also gives us a few hints at the Doctor's past. Because the man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name is right, 'Good men don't need rules'. And maybe one day if we are lucky, we'll indeed learn while he has so many. But before that, let's try and make the best of the upcoming involuntary summer-break.

Alex Kingston and Moffat's Anti-Teaser Policy...

2011-06-03T21:19:00.016+01:00

... may or may not be in conflict. Just make up your own mind.

Today this blog has a premier, for as far as I know I've never posted an interview with Alex Kingston before. So this is an 'London Evening Standard' interview with the woman playing the Doctor's love-interest.

Somehow, she manages to drag that wild sweetness she seems to occupy on screen to that questioning, when talking about her family situation, her age 'troubles' and her wish of playing Shakespeare's Cleopatra. Although, strictly speaking she already did that, well it was not exactly Shakespeare's, rather Moffat's, but after all, the name was identical.

Of course she also mentions a few things Doctor Who, and mostly nice ones... Then again, most of us may not care too much about it being "the closest thing to theatre" on television. However, something we do care about is her way of 'explaining' the obvious age difference between her and Matt Smith, and the fact that they are still playing some sort of a ... couple, which is not the precise word, I know. She says, and this is a (longish) quote

'It plays with the notion of an older woman being in love with a younger man, who in his own funny, confused way loves her but doesn't quite know why, because it's a love in his future, in a different body. I'm not sure you'd get that kind of dynamic in America. At first I thought, my goodness, children aren't really going to understand or respond to River Song because of the age difference. But it seems they don't notice that.'

And in fact, they are not noticing it, because while Matt Smith may be younger than Mrs. Kingston, the character he is playing is not. And this is all the explanation fans and children need to cope with it. Sometimes I think it's remarkable how much adults forget what kind of explanations they were willing to believe when they were kids. As I already mentioned in an older post, Doctor Who makes much more sense when you forget about having grown up and try to watch it with the eyes of the child you are somewhere deep inside. Anyway, this is not what I planned to write about...

So, back to the quote. There is also something else pretty remarkable about it. Namely, I'm not sure whether she was supposed to give us a teaser regarding something we've been wondering about since the very first time she appeared on our screens, or not, even though latter one is much more likely; thus, the question of 'just who is her Doctor?' And when saying that 'it's a love in his [the Doctor's] future, in a different body' we kind of get the answer... Season 6 and 7 are according to this not the last ones she seems to be in. At least if looking at the canonical side of it. Knowing Moffat's love-hate relationship he has with spoilers, our Big Moff is maybe not amused by her spilling the beans, or should I say jelly-babies...

'A Good Man Goes to War' - Spoiler Round-up 2/2

2011-06-02T16:32:00.004+01:00

And these are Digitalspy's 1o Teasers about 'A Good Man Goes to War', which are surprisingly more spoilerish than those we got from SFX...:

1. Remember not to interact with the headless monks (without divine permission).

2. "Oh turn it off. I'm breaking in, not out!" - It seems that someone is trying to break into a prison... I think guessing that it's River, who is pretty sophisticated with these things as we know, is trying to break into Daemons Run, the prison-planet Amy is kept, is not a bad start...

3. The Doctor calls on favours from a number of familiar faces. - among which seem to be the Sontarans and Cybermen as we've may learnd from the trailer and several other sources.

4. "They don't put up a balloon or anything!"

5. A line from a previous episode takes on a new significance.

6. "****** ******** is a geography teacher, ****** **** is a superhero".

7. Sontarans can produce a tasty drink.

8. Rory: "That's probably enough ******* now".

9. River Song's true identity is revealed in the episode's final moments.

10. The (frankly brilliant) title to episode eight is revealed before the end credits roll.

'A Good Man Goes to War' - Spoiler Round-up 1/2

2011-06-02T15:29:00.006+01:00

At last SFX published their 2o teasers for this week mid-finale-cliffhanger episode. And they are upping our already high expectations:

1. It is amazing – a true five-star episode.

2. There are lots of spaceships – and that’s just in the teaser.

3. There is a very Star Wars feel (The Empire Strikes Back especially) even down to the shape of the windows and the music.

4. It’s action-packed and feels so much more epic than a usual single parter.

5. There are lots of suprise guests stars (and some will be a surprise) but unlike in “The Pandorica Opens” none of them feels wasted – they all have a chance to shine…

6. …Apart from one maybe. - Because one will die right at the beginning? or are they talking about something else... my money is on latter one.

7. It cracks along at a hell of a pace.

8. There are some revelations that really will make your jaw drop. - Wait till you see the last seconds...

9. There is a terrific battle scene at the end (which more than makes up for a slightly underwhelming and confusingly directed one in the first half).

10. Although there’s lots of time travelling, it’s not a timey-whimey-reliant plot. - for a change.

11. The Doctor produces something very revealing from the TARDIS.

12. Rory says something very funny to an old enemy that you can’t believe has never been said before. - Now, this one is about him having been a Roman Centurion.

13.It’s a great episode for both Rory and Amy (and Matt Smith is as brilliant as ever, especially in a sudden, unexpected emotional moment).

14. A throwaway line from last season becomes a major plot device. - Moffat really knows how much the Whoniverse lovesto write story-archs...

15. Somebody is asked to make a donation.

16. Somebody very unexpected is playing doctors and nurses. - Now why am I remembered of cats? No, don't expect THAT to happen.

17. We get to see somebody’s muff. - And it's not the Doctor's that's for sure.

18. Rory is definitely cool. - I hope you don't mean in a dead sort of way...

19. Look carefully at the monitor screens…

20 …And the corridors. - Thanks, we will.

Shenanigans...

2011-05-28T22:06:00.012+01:00

This was the best proper double-Doctor episode I've seen so far, and I'm glad that there wasn't a regeneration, even though only because this proofs the Daily Star wrong, if it was the Daily Star which claimed that. And it looks that Doctor 11b won't turn up at that lake in the US. It would have been a too easy way to solve that problem anyway, even though that problem will be solved. I'm sure.

So, what is there to love about these 4o-odd minutes? First, seeing the Doctors finishing each others sentences was one of the best moments in Double-Who history. It was also more than just logical that the Doctor had an 'identity-crisis' for a few seconds. All in all, he already had (at least) 11 different personalities, so creating a real double may be a bit complicated. And the way they said good-bye to each other was bitter-sweet: 'If I turn up to nick all your biscuits, you'll know you were right'. Sadly, he will be wrong. At least most likely. At least as long as the Big Moff ..., anyway that guy has already too much power. Come on, he can destroy the universe at his will. How do you want to top this?

I could write a book on why the Doctor(s) was (were) especially adorable in this episode, but let's move on to the more important bits. Amy. And to this I just want to say the words every single scriptwriter longs to hear, even though this time it's rather the Big Moff than Graham who should be given credit: What a cliffhanger. No one did see that coming. That we have a flesh Amy from episode 2-something onwards was the most astonishing point of the whole story. Now also the whole 'TARDIS-is-not-sure-whether-she-is-pregnant-or-not' thing makes sense. And of course the Doctor knows what is going on. In fact, I can't think off another way of how this could have been explained away.

What I don't really get is why the Doctor sonics Amy number two, when he was so keen on letting anyone else live... but this is just a side-remark.
Somehow it was amusing that also the Doctor has his problems with these small things getting into his way when he wants to say something important, like Amy being pregnant. Well, some parents maybe had to explain the Doctor's 'Birds and Bees' comment to their offspring.

Anyway. Next week is the beginning of the end, or the Grand Finale, well, mid Grand Finale, to be most precise. Looking forward to it.

'The Almost People' Spoiler Round-up 2/2

2011-05-27T22:48:00.005+01:00

These are Digitalspy's 1o Teaser for this week.

1. There's fleeting cameos (of sorts) from both Tom Baker and David Tennant.

2. "I'll break out the big guns."

3. Listen carefully - the two Doctors briefly discuss an old foe... - This is why we love double-Doctor stories.

4. The two Jennifers engage in a fight to the death.

5. "Being almost The Doctor's like being no Doctor at all."

6. Amy finally shares a secret with her Time Lord chum. - Finally? Well, it's not the first time... Oh, that secret.

7. The Doctor's old alias 'John Smith' gets another outing. - You don't think what I think you're thinking... Right? That would be mean. And handy.

8. Watch out for the red balloons.

9. "**** Amy, but only when *** ***** *** too."

10. The final scenes are every bit as mind-blowing and game-changing as Moffat and co. would have you believe!

'The Almost People' Spoiler Round-up 1/2

2011-05-21T23:22:00.006+01:00

Here are SFX 23 Teasers for Doctor Who's next episode. Even though they are not really teaser-ish...

1 It’s a compelling, solid action/adventure episode, with a few irritating moments that don’t quite gel and some lapses in logic. If anything, it feels a little small scale and never really steps up a gear to a level you’d expect from a two-parter, but at least that means it can deal with its themes a little more thoroughly and concentrate on the characters.

2 The denoument is character based rather than technobabble based.

3 The last couple of minutes are riveting.

4 The Doctor has a great John Culshaw moment.

5 There’s some new footage – not just “story so far” clips – before the opening credits. - Now that's a nice idea...

6 Random words from the script: “Breathe” “Yowzer” “Mirage” “Bad boy” “Bisucuits” “Burnt onions” “Pop”.

7 There’s a very Dali moment. - No, you don't mean The moustache, do you?

8 The Doctor appeals to someone’s better nature. - He usually does, you know.

9 Rory makes a mistake. - ...and dies? I hope not.

10There’s a lovely reference back to “The Doctor’s Wife”. - Which is not 'River is the only water in the forest'. But something else... regarding the TARDIS. Well, that's what I think anyway.

11 The Doctor is very scary at a couple of points.

12 Amy voices something that may have been on the veiwers’ minds if they’ve been following the series.

13 The theme of prejudice and the nature of the gangers are explored in a number of effective dialogue exchanges.

14 The Doctor once won a bet in a very unusual fashion.

15 The Doctor asks Amy to do something he also asked her to do in the last series. - You have to remember?

16 Some waste product has a profound affect on Rory.

17 There are some very icky FX.

18 Somebody has a big mouth.

19 The music at one point is very Blade Runner.

20 The TARDIS makes a very unusual landing.

21 By the end of the episode you be left trying to work out when something that clearly happened actually happened. - Now why am I looking forward to this one?

22 There’s a very random balloon.

23 The TARDIS is better medically equipped than in “Curse Of The Black Spot”.

A Real Phonie...

2011-05-21T22:11:00.011+01:00

IMHO it's not fair to judge a two-parter by its first 4o-something minutes, so I won't. Nevertheless, what you can, is comment on them. For that, here are my 'comments':

* This time even I noticed that Amy is not wearing a skirt.

* The Doctor does not tell Amy about the TARDIS not being sure about her being or not being pregnant...

* Matthew Graham is up to a double-Doctor story. And while some of us may be less amused by this, this has potential. I just can't wait to see the Doctor dealing with his own selves.

* Having said this, I'm sure that Doctor Number 11b is going to die sooner or later.

*Talking about dying... I'm glad that Rory has not yet and I hope he won't. That is starting to be ridiculous.

* What reminds me of the best line so far 'I think I died' - 'Welcome to my world.' And it's hard to top that.

* BTW, why is that guy keeping sneezing??? Is it important?

Anyway, let's hope that part 2 'The Almost People' will breath some new, preferable less artificial life into the story.

'The Rebel Flesh' - Spoiler Round-up 3/3

2011-05-19T18:16:00.005+01:00

Here are Digitalspy's 1o Teasers for ''The Rebel Flesh':

1. This episode features the music of both Muse and Dusty Springfield.- SFX already mentioned this one.

2. The Doctor loses a pair of shoes. - So this is the two 'somethings' SFX was teasing us about... Nice one.

3. "No need to get poncey - it's just gunge."

4. The Doctor's Northern accent isn't quite as convincing as it used to be. - This is the second time we get teased about his accent...

5. One sequence is reminiscent of The Exorcist. - Erm, sorry, but that film is not something I'd show my KIDS, if I had any...

6. There's a particularly unpleasant moment in a bathroom.

7. "I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose!" - Why does this remind me of the Doctor owing Casanova a chicken?

8. The Doctor uses a microwave to prove a point.

9. "It would seem the storm has ******** your *******."

10. "Trust me." - Are there any special reasons for calling this a teaser?

'The Rebel Flesh' - Spoiler Round-up 2/3

2011-05-18T21:53:00.006+01:00

This time it is Doctor Who-spoilers teasing us.

The Gangers are used to mine the deadly acid in the 22nd century, and if they die, they get another Ganger. Ganger’s don’t feel intense pain.

"Had an accident in the workplace? I have as it goes. I melted."

We hear both Muse and Dusty Springfield. - Cool.

Rory mentions his mum.

He also makes a funny gag about his repeated deaths. - Well, it was about time...

"For want of a better word – ow!"

Jennifer puts her neck on the line for Rory. - Jennifer? Who is Jennifer? Anyway; Rory does not seem to die again... for a change.

'The Rebel Flesh' - Spoiler Round-up 1/3

2011-05-15T16:13:00.005+01:00

And here we go again... These are SFX's 2o Teasers for this week's 'The Rebel Flesh':

1 It’s this season’s most trad-Who episode so far, but whereas last year’s “trad” story (the Silurian two-parter) was Pertwee era, this is straight out of the Troughton years. Appropriately Matt Smith is at his most Troughton-esque.

2 It also evokes memories of “The Impossible Planet”. There’s a lot of exposition to start with, but it soon becomes very pacy claustrophobic, creepy and full of powerful, well-written character moments for the guest stars and striking images.

3 The pre-titles teaser is frankly disturbing.

4 Accident Direct could have to rethink their policies in this world. - What have injury-companies and Who have in common? I'm curious.

5 Rory fails to score a double. - Of what? At least he does not seem to be sword-fighting again...

6 There’s lots and lots of shaky acting (term © Suranne Jones). - Shaky, in a zombie-sort-of-way?

7 There’s a surprising selection of pop songs.

8 The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver when simply reading would suffice. - LOL; I can already see people complaining about this one.

9 The Doctor reveals he’s a fan of someone.

10 The Doctor pretends to be a weatherman.

11 The Doctor has a great Derren Brown moment.

12 Random words: “Poncy”, “cockerel”, “welly-boots”, “football”.

13 The Doctor loses two of something.

14 The Doctor says something again we’ve never heard him say before.

15 Beware the oncoming storm.

16 Someone builds a castle.

17 There’s a moment straight out of The Thing, and another one straight out of Death Becomes Her. - Why does this reminds me of Halloween?

18 Someone’s first words are a big clue.

19 Rory puts his foot down.

2o The Doctor clearly isn’t from the North any more!

'But this was when we talked...'

2011-05-15T13:10:00.014+01:00

This week Gaiman brought the only love-story involving the Doctor to screen about which not a single fan is ever going to complain. And you can't beat this one. Giving the TARDIS a human body, showing the relationship the Doctor and 'his old girl' have and wrapping this up into a genuine story; these are the secret ingredients for writing the perfect episode. The only down-side is that you can use them just once; but a great once.

Maybe the most interesting part of the whole thing was to see the story out of the TARDIS' point of view. According to her it was she who chose the Doctor because he was 'the only one mad enough' to show the universe to her. So indeed, the Doctor is a mad man with a box, or vice versa.

We also learn finally that it is not only the Doctor's navigation-skills which are to blame when he does not end up where he originally wants to, even after having spent 7oo years fiddling with her consoles. 'But I always took you where you needed to go.' She could not have put it in better words.
And there is also the bit about Time Lords being able to change sex when regenerating, even though I think that we should not get there. But talking about 'sex issues'; Amy and Rory 'complaining' about their sleeping-arrangements is the latest addition to our Doctor Who-related in-jokes list. Loved it, almost as much as seeing the old control-room for a change...
Oh, and the Ponds and the Doctor talking about the Timewar was just excellent. It more than just made sense.

Furthermore those of you who are reading this blog regularly, know that usually I'm not one of those to whom hankies belong to the standard equipment when watching finals, or heart-breaking story-lines, but the scene in which the Doctor was about to say 'goodbye' to Idris some kind of got me. There was something bitter-sweet about it. They won't be separated, but the scene in which he asks her whether she can still hear him in the very end was simply touching. Because she can, she will never stop being there for him, but she will never be able to talk/kiss/bite 'her' Doctor ever again.

All in all, this may be the best episode I've ever seen. And in spite of running the risk to say something stupid, it almost seems that Gaiman is what Moffat has been during RTD's era. So I really hope this is not the last bit we've seen of his genius.

'The Doctor's Wife' Spoiler Round-up 2/2

2011-05-14T11:27:00.007+01:00

I know, it is 'The Doctor's Wife' day and I haven't posted DigitalSpy's 1o Teasers for this week's episode yet. So there they are, and this time they are so un-spoilerish that I just can't be bothered to give a verdict about them.

I'm not complaining, for at least it is not offering us the whole plot on a silver-plate, unlike The Times, however, there is an art about finding the right teasers, tiny tid-bits and in-jokes, which are not part of the episode's main-plot, but are nevertheless explaining or adding something to the background or the hopefully never ending story-arch of Doctor Who.

The Partners in Crime...

2011-05-13T21:48:00.002+01:00

... talk Shakespeare.

I guess if you are a David Tennant and/or Catherine Tate fan you do not need a longer introduction to read this Telegraph interview in which the two of them are speaking about their upcoming Shakespeare-production Much Ado about Nothing. In fact it is the sweetest thing I've come across during the past months. Loved the way David said Catherine has been the perfect Beatrice in his head. Now that's a compliment. And it was just sweet how Catherine's commented as his 'publicist' that he won't answer the question of how he is going to cope with doing Shakespeare and being a newly minted dad at the same time. But knowing some of his interviews I guess we did not seriously expect him to answer that question anyway.

So, I really hope someone will adapt Much Ado about Nothing for film for those of us to whom London is not just round the corner... And until then we'll have to wait for some reviews.

I've seldom seen...

2011-05-11T21:00:00.010+01:00

... someone declaring their love to Doctor Who in a more beautiful way.

While the Whoniverse is 'melting the internet' due to Neil Gaiman having his Who debut this week DenOfGeek published an interview with the newest addition to the big club of Who writers, and here is the result of the inquisition.

It is one of those classical must-read-interviews with a lot of interesting points mentioned, however, the most relevant ones are about Doctor Who's complicate-ish heritage, and why fans should be appreciating plot holes, or the mythos of Who as Neil Gaiman puts it. While he promises that his own episode is settling a number of things, he also mentions that it is these missing bits which keep Doctor Who alive. And if you are honest with yourself you know he is right. If we knew why the Doctor was living with his granddaughter on Earth, if we knew every single detail about his family, Galilfrey, the Timewar and so on, things would stop being interesting. Luckily we do get some answers now and then, but we have to face it that a few big chunks are never going to be reviled, at least if forth-coming script-writers know what is good for Doctor Who...

So, if you feel like reading an interview with maybe the happiest Who fan on this planet ATM, go for it.

'The Doctor's Wife' Spoiler Round-up 1/2

2011-05-10T01:47:00.007+01:00

Here are SFX's rather un-teaserish spoilerfree 2o Teasers. Just don't except too much:

1 There’s something in the pre-credit teaser that settles an argument that’s been raging in fandom for some time. - No matter what it is, just that you know, we have been waiting for this.

2 In fact, the whole episode is peppered with cool continuity references, allusions and in-jokes. -In-jokes; don't say no more. We are on your site, if they are good ones.

3 It’s a great, great episode. Very Gaiman (even within the first minute). Not prefect, but the good bits are so good you won’t worry too much.

4 One aspect of the story that doesn’t quite deliver, presumably for budgetary reasons, is something that could have involved lots of sets instead but is reduced, largely, to just one multipurpose one… But it’s still fun with a great pay-off.

5 Suranne Jones is just stunning in a very challenging role.

6 The Doctor is challenged on some fundamental beliefs.

7 There are three different versions of one of the series’ icons, two familiar, one completely new. - Is this about the TARDIS, somehow?

8 Rory waits. Again.

9 There are some genuinely sweet, emotional moments.

10 There’s some dialogue to die for: some of our favourite examples include the words “ladder”, “winner”, “dancing”, “sexy”, “PE teacher” and “wish really hard”. - Gallifreyan PE lessons?

11 While it’s not what you’d call action packed, it’s very pacy and cracks along. If it's well done, people tend not to notice.

12 The script demands a couple of aspects of the Eleventh Doctor we have haven’t seen before and Smith acts these scenes beautifully.

13 There are some very pretty special FX.

14 A revelation about Rory and Amy’s sleeping arrangements will doubtlessly inspire thousands to post, think or tell their mates the same gag. Now, that's what I call a teaser. A proper one.

15 Not sure if it’s intentional, but there’s a bit of a “Brain Of Morbius” vibe going on (in two regards).

16 The Doctor leaps in the bath.

17 Someone gets their teeth into the Doctor. ... however, the Vampire-agenda is NOT back.

18 There are some magical musical queues.

19 A familiar sound effects is used in some unfamiliar situations. - TARDIS brakes, anyone?

20 The writing’s on the wall for Amy, and it’s quite shocking. -Writing? Again? Shocking???

Welcome Back...

2011-05-10T01:16:00.007+01:00

...to the ghasty RTD era.

Do I need to say more? Even though I have to admit that I did enjoy 'The Curse of the Black Spot' slightly more than the opening line of this really short review-ish something might indicate. In fact, up to the 'twist' everybody was teasing us about, it was even enjoyable and I dare to say that I've seldom come across better lines in a non-Moffat episode than in this one; just pick any of those which the Doctor said, really. And while these points alone should be more than enough to write a good episode, Stephen Thomson screws up things really badly towards the end...

Just out of curiosity... are they going to kill Rory every time when a story needs a bit of tension? And what is the point in Toby and his father being stranded with the pirate crew on a star-ship/whatever? How can they steer it anyway? It's not like steering an 18th century pirate ship would be so much the same. And are the strange, cryptic, spooky abilities of the Siren going to be explained in a *never-going-to-be-screened* part 2? There are more than just a few explanations missing.

All in all, although this one started off really promising, it ends up being one of this year's fillers, and one of the worse ones by definition. Which is a pity, because doing a pirate episode in Doctor Who could have worked so well...
Anyway, next weeks' story looks more than just promising, so let's hope for getting a recompense for this weeks rather ghastly masterpiece.

'The Curse of the Black Spot' Spoiler Round-up 2/2

2011-05-06T15:44:00.012+01:00

Here are SFX's 2o Teasers for this week. And no, the big question 'Is Amy pregnant this week, or not?' is not among them.

1 It’s very much a return to the traditional Who formula – this year’s “Vampires Of Venice” maybe? - Yes, with the final (?) part of Pirates of the Caribbean coming up in a few weeks' time this is not too surprising. Then again we hadn't had a pirate episodes for ages... I'm not complaining, as long as there are no Vampires in it lol

2 Having said that, just when it seems to be panning out in traditional fashion, it does suddenly take an unexpected turn.

3 There are elements of the arc plot, but they don’t impinge on the action very much. - So we don't find out why the eye-patch lady from this episode is also in the season's opener... or are there also other 'elements' in it?

4 There’s one scene straight out of a Michael Crichton movie. - Jurassic Park?

5 Somebody keeps making mistakes. - According to DigitalSpy's teasers this one is about the Doctor...

6 There’s a new twist on a running gag. - Is it regarding the TARDIS or hats?

7 Rory says something that he later regrets.

8 In case of emergency break glass.

9 The Doctor gets Sirius at one point. -Sirius the dog? Or the star-system? Both of them are equally unlikely.

10 Is there a palm agenda going on this series? - A palm agenda? A PALM agenda????

11 Amy proves better at something than Rory did last series (though quite why or how is a mystery) - Sword fighting? Well, if you can call that what Rory did 'sword' fighting... because he hadn't had a real sword.

12 The Doctor likes a good laugh. -Wow, the least spoilerish teaser of all time.

13 You might find one twist naggingly familiar. - Cracks?

14 It’s very plot-led.

15 Someone proves very adaptable. - Amy.

16 Someone has daddy issues.

17 The Doctor has been on somebody famous’s sofa. - Freud! Oh, that explains quite a number of things... regarding Freud.

18 A strop leaves the Doctor in a lot of trouble.

19 No-one mentions Treasure Island, oddly.

20 After the epic opening two-parter, some may find it a little lightweight, but we suspect that’s a deliberate ploy.

'The Curse of the Black Spot' Spoiler Round-up 1/2

2011-05-06T15:26:00.004+01:00

'The Curse of the Black Spot' is going to be on tomorrow, and up to now only DigitalSpy has come up with its 1o Teasers.
Here they are:

1. This is definitely an episode of two halves, with a big twist 30 minutes in.

2. There's more than one stowaway aboard Captain Avery's craft.

3. "Look at these brilliant pirates! Look at their brilliant beards!" - there are no points for guessing who's line this is....

4. The Doctor once again laments his lack of a hat, but is soon sporting a new type of headgear.

5. The TARDIS apparently contains a bedroom, a kitchen, and several bathrooms. - Yep, we were presuming that...

6. "I want to say 'multi-dimensional engineering', but since you had a problem with 'sensors', I won't go there." - I'm already in love with this scene...

7. One man's greed could spell doom for the ship and its crew.

8. The Doctor makes a mistake that places his friends in peril. - come on, this has been the plot of this series since 'An Unearthly Child'... is this the first time that you've noticed?

9. Remember the mysterious woman with the silver eyepatch? She's back! - Somehow I have the feeling that it won't be this episode in which we find out why she turns up in 1969 in an 'orphanage' and looking out of the slot of a red door, saying non-matching stuff.

10. The Doctor gets rather intimate with his TARDIS.

Lots of Questions and Some Answers

2011-05-01T12:31:00.019+01:00

You watched 'The Day of the Moon' to find answers? Well, Moffat gives us more questions first.

It is fascinating that the internet is still up and working, instead of exploding with speculations after yesterday's episode.
Those 45 minutes started with Moffat invents the pre-titles-cliffhanger. Well, sort of. Some of the scenes were pretty fun but incredibly needless, come on, River jumping from the sky-scrapper and landing in the famous TARDIS swimming-pool, even if going by the scene it seems to be rather set into one of the walls of the library, than on the ground... And let's not get into details of why the water is staying at its place. But that is just a side-remark.

Anyway. There are a number of more serious points to speak about. Like, the really creepy Silence. But are they able to control time somehow? I mean, just before Amy went inside 'her' child's room (more about this later) there was this woman looking outside the small window on the door. Who is she? Where did she went and why did the door look different afterwards? Moreover, apparently Amy spent several months, if not years being a prisoner of the Silence. She seems to have forgotten everything about it. But how did they do that? And why does she not seem to have been missing for such a long time. Maybe the fact that the TARDIS can't make up her mind whether Amy is pregnant or not (it does show both) is a hint at this. Time also may be a bit more bumpy than usual, what could be an indication for them having changed something in the past after all (and I'm thinking at the picnic at the lake in the desert in 2o11...)

So, there was also that little girl with a bunch of timelord-genes whom the whole season seems to be about in the first place. Funnily enough, the Doctor is out of question. We all remember why he got Rory on board of the TARDIS; I'm quite sure there is nothing left for interpretation there. It seems that either Rory or Amy is a Timelord (or a Timelady) then, however, I think that Rory is the more possible options. This is because we do know a few things about Amy's parents and her aunt, and they appear to be quite human. at least to me. On the contrary Rory's relatives are pretty much a mystery. I don't even know for sure whether they have been at the wedding of their own son... Additionally, he waited 2ooo years for Amy, and although he was 'plastic' during that time, he still remembers it and he is dealing with it the same way as the Doctor is dealing with his past. Which is a bit odd in my humble opinion, but maybe I am reading too much into it.

Another point is River Song. Who is she? We still don't know for sure (or at all) but at least we got another bit supporting our 'wife' theory. The kissing-scene was somehow intentionally unintentionally funny. And if her last comment did not make you said go and get a heart. Nevertheless, this was not the last kiss for her. She mentioned in 'Silence of the Library' (what a introspectively spooky title) that before she left he turned up on her doorstep with a bunch of flowers and so on... There is a touch of tragedy about her character. I'm really looking forward to the next time she turns up.

But first Amy, Rory and the Doctor are having an adventure with pirates and an optically not unattractive monster, for a change.

'Day of The Moon' Spoiler Round-up 3/3

2011-04-28T19:24:00.009+01:00

These are SFX's 2o Teasers for the upcoming episode:

1 There are another two cracking bits of physical comedy from Matt Smith, one involving him almost falling over, and another involving his teeth. - But the Doctor won't bite Amy again, will he?

2 The episode opens very unexpectedly, almost disorientatingly, but the whole precredit sequence is just stunning.

3 There’s a very silly stunt involving one of the TARDIS’s rooms, that may make you cringe, but made us laugh (and got a cheer at the preview screening). - Is that the one about the swimming -pool from the (former?) library?

4 Pay close attention to the discussion following the “bow tie” moment at the start of the episode; what may seem like a throwaway comment actually becomes vital later on. - Thanks for the info.

5 Rory’s emotions are put through the wringer. Again. - Whom is Amy flirting with this time? At least it seems that DigitalSpy's Teasers are not about Moffat killing Rory the Roman again.

6 Rory briefly gets a new look. So does River, but Rory’s is more striking and may win him some new fans. - New fans??? Well, erm... no, no comment.

7 The TARDIS can’t seem to make its mind up about someone. - Cool. I guess this is the first time (in New Who anyway) since the TARDIS is makeing up her mind about someone in the first place.

8 The gay agenda is back… again. - Not looking forward to that bit, although then again Moffat is not RTD. Hold on, is that about Canton Everett Delaware III getting married? It would make sense. Even though he did make a different impression on me...

9 There’s snogging. - River and the Doctor. I'm curious about the circumstances...

10 There are two great action sequences, one of them ludicrous, but stupidly fun.

11 The writing’s on the wall. - Two Words: Get Out. The ones from the trailer.

12 Nixon’s final expression in the episode is a doozy.

13 A famous British TV personality gets a mention. - Marilyn Monroe? No... Elvis? Maybe. I'm not good at this.

14 You want answers? Prepare for even more questions first. - You want answers? Stop watching Doctor Who.

15 There’s a great beauty shot just after the Doctor is discovered tinkering somewhere he shouldn’t be. - Is he doing something with the rocket? Or the strange TARDIS-like machine?

16 Karen Gillan is getting better and better and better… - At what? If the statement had involved the words 'skirt' and 'shorter' we would have less problems to work this out.

17 Some more Moffat tropes are given the dust down.

18 Unless you’ve had inside information, you will NEVER predict what happens in the final scene.

19 Has somebody wandered in off the set of Twin Peaks?

20 If you liked part one, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed in part two – it’s pacier, creepier and just as full of “Huh?!” moments, though maybe it’s not quite as witty, and doesn’t have the shock of the new. But there’s still an awful lot of information to take in. Then again, that also means you’re still picking up on clever little moments the third, fourth and fifth time you watch it.

'Day of The Moon' Spoiler Round-up 2/3

2011-04-27T18:13:00.006+01:00

Today digitalspy.co.uk released their 1o Teasers for 'Day of The Moon':

1. There's a touch of the 2000 film Memento about this episode.

2. "You're building me the perfect ****** and it still won't be enough!" - Rocket?! Prison?!

3. The Tardis swimming pool plays a vital role in a daring escape attempt. - And we'll find out whether it is still in the library.

4. Watch out for a terrifically creepy performance from Kerry Shale, who plays the disturbed Dr. Renfrew.

5. At least one of the shocking twists from last week's episode is called into question, but who can The Doctor really trust? - Which one? With taking doctorwhotv.co.uk's teasers into account it may be the one about Amy being pregnant...

6. If you don't feel sorry for Rory at least once while watching this episode, then you're truly heartless. - Why, will Moffat kill him again? Then, there is also plenty of other stuff how the Big Moff could torture him.

7. Speaking of Rory, if you've been wondering whether he remembers his 2000 years as Amy's plastic guardian, then this episode provides a definitive answer. - I love it when we get definite answers. That's one of the rarest things in Doctor Who.

8. "Night terrors...with a hotline to the White House."

9. The Doctor has a new experience, while River does something for the very last time. - This one is about the kiss...

10. The final scene contains an absolutely shocking twist.

Summer of 69

2011-04-26T09:35:00.012+01:00

Heaving read some of the reviews (The Guardian, SFX, DenOfGeek, The Guardian again) I was wondering whether it was the same 'The Impossible Astronaut' we are writing about. Because frankly, I don't understand the overwhelming positive opinions people seem to have about it.

Some of the above mentioned reviews claim that the first ten minutes of the episode were genuinely shocking, however, couldn't they have added some more tension to it? I mean, let's say they would have cut that bit and this season would start with River, Amy and Rory entering the fast-food restaurant, and are quite irritated by something. Maybe River mentions that the cards are numbered, see the Doctor's blue envelope lying on one of the tables and a few seconds later they bump into him. They are even more irritated and we are doing our best to figure out what had happened. Just imagine how astounded we would have been to find out about the whole stuff when the three of them are talking down in the TARDIS. After all, everything we have to imagine ourselves ends up to be a lot more scary than what we are shown. That's the rule and I did not make it.

However, apart from these things I really enjoyed the episode. The Doctor is back and wittier than ever. I just adore Moffat for having written that scene in the oval office. Loved the bit that by saying his standard line the Doctor can keep Daleks and Cybermen from shooting him, but that it does not work for Americans. Maybe this is supposed to tell us something about mankind...

A thing which keeps me thinking is why Amy, who is supposed to be pregnant, is drinking some wine at the lake. Well, DoctorWhoTv.co.uk have already published their 1o Teasers for next week, and one of their point is that she is not pregnant after all. Is she thinking that because the Silence are making her feeling sick. But what was the thing she wanted to tell the Doctor in 'Time and Space' all about? Nevertheless, let's not forget about River also having similar 'symptoms' but blaming the prison food for it. So apparently, the cause of the whole mess is Big Moff's latest addition to the Whoniverse, which are really scary monsters by the way with extraordinarily terrifying abilities.

Speaking of River... We still don't know who she is, but it seems she won't end up killing the Doctor. The last time he meets her he seems to be on pretty good terms with her. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about their relationhip.

Altogether this is not the worst opener ever written, for luckily there are a few shining moments which enormously lift its quality. So, I'm looking forward to next week, when we are hopefully going to find out a bit more what this stuff is all about.

'Day of The Moon' Spoiler Round-up 1/3

2011-04-25T21:28:00.009+01:00

This week's round-up is started by DoctorWhoTv.co.uk presenting their 15 Teasers.

* The Doctor gets told to put up some shelves. - the last time he did that it was because he had to kill some time... What is it this ime?

* We only went to the Moon because of the Silence. - Good to know.

* The Doctor is fond of River’s dark side. - He already said that in the first part of the opener.

* Two of the main characters get shot. - Again? This is getting boring. Well, I already have the feeling that Rory is not very much alive after River shouted 'Rory' in the cliffhanger. But how is Moffat going to get them back?

* Nixon does not agree with who Canton wants to marry. - Now that's an interesting bit. It's definitely not Marilyn Monroe.

* Should there be a part left over from the rocket?

* Could the Silence have destroyed themselves? - We could be never sure of that, could we?

* Where does Amy go?

* Just who is Amy declaring feelings for?

* A cloaked TARDIS, again?

* The Silence are angry…

* The Doctor is a big flirt!

* Amy is not pregnant? - So, she was drinking wine at the picnic because she is not pregnant? Or am I not getting something. I mean, everything else would simply not match with Doctor Who's official target audience...

* Only one question really gets answered. - Which question? Who sent the TARDIS-blue cards?

* Another regeneration scene…

Why the Doctor Won't Die In 2o11...

2011-04-24T18:03:00.011+01:00

... in spite of that's what Moffat gave us yesterday on screen.

Let's skip the boring introduction bit and let's start with the interesting part, the 3 most obvious reasons why the Doctor being killed by an Astronaut-like creature is not his final and ultimate cause of death.

Firstly, Matt Smith won't be the last actor playing that role. For, and this leads me to point two, the BBC just can't afford to drop their flag-ship show only because the script writer in charge has come up with a rather unusual, not to say crazy, idea.
I guess there are no news here, but what does this mean on a story level...

...which is point three on my list. Looking at the story the Doctor basically recruited his younger self and the rest of team TARDIS to do something in his past. And why would he do that for? It seems that he was not able to do that himself. Otherwise he would not had to recruited them. They would have just shown up at the right time and place without his interfering. So, whatever is about to happen it will change his first timeline, and if it gets altered enough he won't end up dying at the lake, which actually was the starting-point for the whole incident. I know, this is a paradox. That's also what River said and why she objected to Amy saying Time can be rewritten. But think about it, we had already more or less the same situation in The Lodger, the only other episode that TARDIS-like travel-machine or however you want to call it, showed up; when the Doctor told Amy to put a slice of paper into a window, but without it he would not have ended up at Craig's place, so the whole stuff could not have happened, through what he could not have told Amy to put the piece of paper there... So the act of passing on information seems to have its own timy-whimey-rules. At least in Moffat's Whoniverse.

Another point is the series' title: 'The IMPOSSIBLE Astronaut'. If what I said in my last paragraph is true, what do you think, which is going to be the impossible spaceman? The one from the lake? Could be... Well, we have to assume first that this time the title is making sense for a change. But I guess we have good chances to take that for sure.

After all, there is really no need for us to worry about a thing. Not even the first minutes of this otherwise pretty awesome episode.

'The Impossible Astronaut'

2011-04-23T19:27:00.011+01:00

I tried to embed a link with the right frame size and all that stuff, but my HTML skills seem to have been better in the past. So I just give you simply a link, the one which has been the fastest for me, and let's forget about my coding skills. Maybe I'll get round to that later. This is it.

If you prefer another site, here is what I found. Help yourself.

The BBC News' United Report

2011-04-23T18:38:00.006+01:00

I don't know how I missed this BBC report about United but I did somehow. If you want to have some backgroundinfo regarding the drama, which is going to be on in a bit more than 24 hours, then that article is certainly nothing bad to start with. It's really nicely done. I for my part enjoyed it, even if it does not reveal any world-shocking news or insights.

Graham Norton's Steven Moffat Interview

2011-04-23T15:44:00.003+01:00

Just as the title says.

I tried to track down a complete version of this, but DoctorWhoTV was the one who managed to do it first. So, here it is. And it's great. I guess Moffat just can't do a bad interview, and the live ones are even better.

It's the children's program that adults adore.

2011-04-23T13:48:00.007+01:00

With this being the nth interview I link to this page, I'm running out of introductions...

Steven Moffat is talking about Doctor Who and Sherlock and this time it's gothamist scripting it for us. I think if you like Moffat's stuff then you're going to enjoy reading those lines.

Among other things it's about how it is to be responsible for maybe the two most innovative and successful series on television, why the similarities between the leading characters of Doctor Who and Sherlock only last at first sight and how writing for such a complex show as Doctor Who is like. Although, it is a bit scary to know that the Big Moff used to have nightmares about flying sharks. I guess there are not many people having the power of making their nightmare come true... luckily.

The Big Moff Talks Who

2011-04-21T22:57:00.005+01:00

This is a longish (I'm not complaining) SFX interview with the Big Moff himself. And I do appologise for the length of this post, me commenting on a few things the Moff says.

Well, I guess there are not many Whovians who don't like and appreciate what Steven Moffat has done for Doctor Who, and I usually don't make a secret of me being a fan of him. Reading Steven Moffat interviews comes 2nd on my imaginary Doctor Who-related hobbies list. Still, there is one thing I'll never get about him: why he just can't leave the 'online fandom' of Doctor Who alone. Or at least live in peace with them. Still, he says: 'these are the people in the whole world who understand Doctor Who the least. They’ve stared at it so long, and invested so much in it that they no longer understand what it is. They can’t see it for what it is. Everyone else in the whole world gets it better than they do.' I can't help it, but I don't agree with that statement. After all, we are a big part of those 6.5 million people who are regularly watching the programme, who are madly in love with it, who are willing to spend their spare-time analysing it... I guess I don't need to go on to clarify my point. Maybe he is not fond of us pointing out a number of paradoxes which could have been easily avoided if script writers would stick to their own rules (and a small set introduced by others): But we are those who try to find explanations for them... which should have been actually their job. I agree that it's easier to write for the 2nd half of the 12 million people, those who do not watch this show regularly, who won't notice that the Doctor could not have given Rory the sonic-screwdriver while being locked in the Pandorica... and stuff like that. But it's possible to explain them, and as long as we are successful he can go on and write whatever he pleases to. In real life companies employ people to point out mistake to them. We are making it for free, and as a small bonus we even do our best to get them out of the way...

However, I guess we just can't stop adoring him for everything else he thinks and does.It seems to be so Moffat-like going on about Doctor Who's ratings. It is certainly the most important issue to a show. It's not only the money the BBC and he and everyone else earns by it, but also some sort of a cultural heritage. And let's not forget about all the streaming-services, if I may call them that way, which also play an important role nowadays, even if the BBC is not earning a penny, at least not directly, by it. However, it is great advertisement and I guess there is quite a number of fans who bought something Doctor Who-related on their trip to the UK. They would have never made that money otherwise. Now it's me rambling, sry for that...

The next point he talks about is that he can't imagine an American network doing Doctor Who or something comparable to it. I fully understand that. Over there people would not get the idea of a horror-show for children. Not the sort of horror of The Adams Family but a more realistic one. I know this sounds dull, because Doctor Who is sci-fi after all, but it manages to feel realer than Frankenstein-servants... When watching it it seems to be possible, somehow. In a very un-scientific way.

Altogether, Moffat is certainly one of those people who have a unique and astonishing passion for Doctor Who, but he does not seem to understand that there are also other people loving it, maybe in a slightly different way. Ironically, with being head of Doctor Who it should be him knowing that differences and conflicts are what keep things fresh and going.

The Coolest, Sexiest, Smartest Most Stylish Thing ...

2011-04-21T22:41:00.006+01:00

on Television.

Is that Doctor Who he is writing about??? I just found this Guardian article and if after reading it you still think it does not matter when you get to see this years opening episode you should go and get a check-up. After having read the closing paragraph (Doctor Who might now be one of the coolest, sexiest, smartest most stylish things on television.) I could not stop grinning. In fact I still can't. I've no idea what Steven Moffat is about to do to our all time favourite series, but it seems to be something new and something everyone thinks that we are going to love. I hope they are right. Luckily, we have only 2 more days till we find out...

Today's BBC Breakfast...

2011-04-21T14:55:00.005+01:00

was pretty Doctor Who related.

BlogtorWho did a great job in uploading these clips, so here they are. And just a short note. If you are looking for a longer version, DoctorWhoDom [part 1, part 2] has maybe what you are looking for, even though he does exclude the clips from Doctor Who and United and the chronology he uses is a bit odd.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Matt Smith in EntertainmentWeekly

2011-04-21T14:32:00.003+01:00

Here is an EntertainmentWeekly interview with Matt Smith. And guess what they are talking about - yes, the new season. It's not too interesting, really nothing new there, expect that we learn a few other production details I for my part do not really care about. And come on, he could have come up with a maybe less over-used quote when asked to say a line from this season 6.
Actually, it's just another (longish) drop in this year's interview-sea.

'The Impossible Astronaut' Spoiler Round Up 3/3

2011-04-20T17:21:00.006+01:00

Here are 1o teasers by the lately often cited DigitalSpy:

1. The rumours are true - one of the lead characters really does die. It's not a trick. And it happens within the first ten minutes. - We already have heard that a zillion times, but thank you for reminding us. You know, just in case we happen to live hundred miles behind the moon...

2. When we first see the Doctor, he's in a… compromising position.

3. For Amy and Rory, it's been a while since the events of A Christmas Carol. And for The Doctor? Possibly even longer. - That's an interesting bit. Maybe this will turn out to have some significance later in the story, or am I just reading too much into it?

4. The Doctor gets slapped, again. - Whose mother is it this time?

5. "The legs, the nose and Mrs. Robinson." - Sorry, but the last statement just keeps me reminding of the song (which was actually written in 1968)... Or is it only there to make us think that's what it's all about?

6. Amy reveals a shocking secret, but is keeping another from The Doctor.

7. The Doctor drinks wine, and isn't a fan. - Again. That was one of the best bit of 'The Lodger' last year...

8. "River, make it blue again!" - ...whatever the Doctor is talking about, I guess the TARDIS is out of question...

9. One character makes a Star Trek reference. Several times.

10. "You will tell the Doctor what he **** ****, and what he **** ***** ****." - This is just a random guess but the first set of stars of each group could stand for 'does' making the sentence 'You will tell the Doctor what he does **** and what he does ***** ****.' Maybe I'll come up with something brighter in a couple of hours or days. I'll let you 'know' (one of the four letter-words which seem to be out of the question*

________
* mostly because then the first part of the sentence would not make too much sense. Ok, Doctor Who does not need to make sense, and inserting a 'know' is tempting, still, I can't see it happening. But Moffat might prove me wrong.

Good-Bye Our Sarah Jane...

2011-04-19T21:49:00.018+01:00

I wish I wasn't writing this post... but sadly Elisabeth Sladen passed away. I just read the news and I never saw this coming. And the general public does not seem to have either.

She was one of those people who will always be associated with Doctor Who, maybe stronger than anyone else ever will be. Without her the Whoniverse will never be the same again, she will have always a part in our hearts. She was deeply loved and will be deeply missed. At least she did what she loved and was happy doing it.
Well, I suppose everybody knows that everybody dies, but we just can't accept it. And never will. Stories like this never fail to cath us off-guard.

If you happen to doubt the whole story here is an official article by a proper newspaper, and with time going by there wil be certainly more.

EDIT: DoctorWhoTV.co.uk's article has got a few statements most notably from Russel T Davies and Steven Moffat. Just in case you're interested... EDIT: DigitalsSpy has collected a number of other actors' and producers' reactions Elisabeth Sladen has worked with.
And this is Matt Smith paying his tribute, also published by DigitalsSpy.
EDIT: And to make the round complete, this is David Tennant expressing his sadness at the loss of Elisabeth Sladen.

And Another Interview...

2011-04-19T13:13:00.002+01:00

As I said yesterday the interview madness has begun, and while most of them consist of pretty much the same question and therefore also the same answers, thisone is an exception. It's TVChoice interviewing Matt Smith, and while the beginning is just the same as usual, they also ask him about Doctor Who "not picking up anything" at the National Television Awards. Actually, this is the first time I hear a statement on that topic and he said the best possible thing to say in such a situation:'There’s always next year.'

Combom's RadioTimes Scans

2011-04-19T11:08:00.008+01:00

The always so awesome 'Combom&Team' are scanning this week's RadioTimes, so if you're interested, here is a link. Maybe the most interesting part is Matt Smith's US Diary even though it does not give us any spoilers. But it's fun to read how they did some of the scenes...

I remember to have got several questions regarding how to navigate through the album last year. So here is what I wrote then on this topic.

Interview with A Mad Man in A Box...

2011-04-18T22:23:00.001+01:00

So, I just opened this season's interview session with my previous post a couple of minutes ago, and here is the next bit. This time it's UnrealityTV asking Matt Smith about the new season, and he gets the chance of talking about the desert-film sessions they had in the US, stetsons, the Silence, his clumsiness and that getting soaked at 4am while filming is apparently just part of the job. Some of the film details are moderately interesting, but actually there is nothing, or not much, that we would not already know about.

Crazy & Bizarre...

2011-04-18T22:15:00.006+01:00

With Doctor Who's season opener being less than a week away, and I know I'm overusing this phrase, but it's true, all kind of newspapers are starting to take an interest into the more or less leading actors of our all time favourite series. The result is that around this time we are getting quite a number of interviews. And The Telegraph is no exception. So, here is their rather ... bizarre interview they did with Karen Gillan. But I'm only posting this so that I can say I did not miss it, because actually it's not too interesting.

Anyway. This week just has started, so I think this won't be the only one we'll have the pleasure of reading this week.

The Partners In Crime Go Shakespeare

2011-04-18T17:10:00.013+01:00

I know what you're thinking, with 'The Impossible Astronaut' coming up in less than a week's time probably ther may be more interesting things to write about than the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show, the one with Catherine Tate and David Tennant promoting their Shakespeare project, well, mostly. But if you're interested, here it is.

It's pretty entertaining at least up to David Tennant's socks-joke. After all, who does not know how it is to face 1oooo almost identical black socks... And Catherine Tate's Footlocker-experience is a comedy-sketch for its own.

Matt Smith's Introduction to Doctor Who

2011-04-15T19:47:00.016+01:00

Just dedicate 8 minutes of your precious life to watch that interview: Matt Smith gives a really nice summary of Doctor Who's (that's the show's) main ideas, which most fans know by heart, however, we can't take for granted that people who are actually making this series also agree with them. Furthermore, now we know how to answer questions such as what is Doctor Who about ('A mad man comes along and saves the day with a toaster and with a piece of string. ' just in case you did not know) and if I should find myself confronted with someone asking me to describe the Doctor's character, I guess I'm going to give them a link.

I know, longterm fans are not going to learn any shocking details in those 8 minutes; the interview is rather a hymn on how great the series and Moffat's story telling is. And I guess if I were not such a big Moffat fan myself I could not stop pondering whether he had a certain motive to call Moffat the greatest science-fiction writer in the world... But as things are, I could not agree more. Moffat certainly brought back the mystery of Doctor Who. It is genuinely scary and witty at the same time. Additionally, there is again a generation of children to whom watching the episodes from behind the sofa does make sense.

The only thing I'm not too sure about is whether people who has never seen Doctor Who before could really understand season 6 without any problems. After all, looking at what we have learned so far, the opening 2 parter has the impression of being a firework of hints and teasers referring back to loose ends and introducing a new set of them. Still, the interview as such is maybe the best (and shortest) available summary and a pretty good introduction dealing with the most important concept the series is about.

Anyway, I guess the interview's main purpose is that of getting us excited. And that is something it really achieves to do. I for my part can't wait.

Just a short Note on....

2011-04-13T19:39:00.010+01:00

...io9's First Impression of this year's season opener.

Here is a spoiler-free review by io9 and it's a good one. Even if we aren't told too many things we don't already know about. Well, I'm not complaining and there are a few pretty nice bits after all... And even if I actually wanted to introduce a few people to Doctor Who this season, I guess Moffat will compensate that for us. After all, the Big Moff seems to know what success is made out of and according to io9 there will be no need for us to miss that easy going cheerfulness paired with genuinely scary story-lines he made us to fall in love with last season.

'The Impossible Astronaut' - Spoiler Round Up 2/3

2011-04-05T22:52:00.009+01:00

And here is what DoctorWhoTv.co.uk has come up with:

* The death of a main character occurs within the first 10 minutes of 'The Impossible Astronaut'. - Is it Rory, again? If yes, I hope this is not becoming a habit of his.

* There is a proper funeral for the person who dies.

* The Silence – if you look away from one, you forget you ever saw it...

* There is a cheeky reference to Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead. - I'm looking forward to that one. Show me one fan who is not falling for story arks.

* River shows that she can work the TARDIS better than the Doctor, again.

* The ‘TARDIS’ from The Lodger makes an appearance and that isn’t the end of it.

* The Doctor is disappointed about not receiving a Fez.

* President Nixon helps the Doctor out of a few scrapes.

* River slaps…and kisses the Doctor. -Right...

* The Silence will return after the opening two-parter.

* Who’s the daddy...? - The last time we had 'Are you my Mommy?'

* Day of the Moon ends on 2 cliffhangers.

'The Impossible Astronaut' - Spoiler Round Up 1/3

2011-04-05T22:35:00.007+01:00

This season it seems it is the words Spoiler Free spoilers we have to look for. So, here is SFX's contribution to this year's season opener:

o1. Neither episode starts as you’d expect.

o2. Both episodes open magnificently, especially episode two which is a patented Moffat-montage special. - 'Patented Moffat-montage special' I like that one.

o3. The gay agenda is back!

o4. The monsters (whose mere name would be a spoiler) are brilliant, with a truly chilling MO. They should rate up there with the Weeping Angels as one of the new series’ greatest creations. They look great, but it’s the idea behind them that is truly chilling. - Seems like another splendid Moffat-creation to look forward to.

o5. There is an Easter Island gag.

o6. The Doctor dances… with some unexpected film stars. - This time it's not Marilyn Monroe. That's for sure.

o7. There are lots of Americans with guns gags.

o8. There are two fez mentions. - And we know one of them from the trailers.

o9. It’s very, very dark and spooky at times. Wait till you see the scene in the Whitehouse toilets… -- The what?

1o. At least three Moffat tropes are put into action again.

11. There is the startling return of a familiar special effect… twice.

12. There is the curious return of a familiar prop.

13. The Utah footage is quite simply stunning, but there’s not as much of it as we’d expected.

14. There are some quite beautiful, cinematic sequences.- We know...

15. Rory gets to wear some specs.

16. Amy reveals a secret.

17. The President’s nose dominates any scene it’s in.

18. The special effects are downright magnificent. - Why is this the third time they are mentioning some production details?

19. Matt Smith takes his portrayal of the Doctor up a gear.

2o. The Doctor looks very embarrassed at one point. - Maybe because of point 21 on this list, or is this just coincidence?

21. The first time we see the Doctor, he’s naked. Sort of...

22. The monsters have some important dialogue, so it’s a bit of a shame their voices are not terribly clear at times.

23. The first episode is a little talky and surprisingly character-led when you’d expect a barnstorming opening; the second episode kicks off storming that barn and keeps storming it. - Number 4...

24. Having said that, the character led-moments are often quite exquisite. - Number 5...

25. It’s funny, it’s wildly inventive, it’s fiendishly clever, it’s surprising, it’s audacious, it’s uncompromising and it’s quite unlike anything else on television. - Or in other words, Steven Moffat at his best.

26. There’s lots of timey whimey stuff, and not just in terms of the science fiction – more so, we’re referring to some of the storytelling techniques involved, with lots of flashbacks, sudden jumps and montages.

27. However, it’s so packed with ideas, you can’t help thinking some important elements are undeveloped. There are enough great concepts here to fuel five or six episodes, which is a good thing in many ways, because it keeps the energy fizzing and the plot surprising, but they do all fight for room a bit. We’d certainly liked to have seen more about the monsters’ background and had the dénouement clarified, among other things. - Sorry, I would not be looking forward to getting too much background-information. This is Doctor Who. 'Background Information' is what some of the producers have to look up in the dictionary to understand what fans are complaining about. But let's hope for the best.

28. You can’t help thinking there are a lot of moments when kids are going to turn to mum and dad go, “Why did that happen?” and mum or dad will go, “Erm… shhhh, I’m concentrating!”

29. You may suffer from revelation fatigue by the end of it. And a lot of things – perhaps a couple too many – are not wrapped up in the story itself, but are ongoing mysteries to be sorted out later. This show is getting like Lost, designed to be picked over on the internet! Let’s hope it doesn’t take seven years to get some answers. - Answers? Doctor Who is not famous for giving a lot of explanations... that's what they think fans are for.

30. The final, final, final scene, though, will ensure you’ll carry on tuning in to find out what happens next… or maybe in the story after next. Or maybe next season...

Spoilers. Really BIG Ones. Seriously...

2011-04-04T01:17:00.007+01:00

...and I have to admit I have not read them.

But you may if you chose. Still, there are reasons not to do so.
One of the few things I'm missing about the upcoming season is that Doctor Who does not seem to care much about making a secret of its storyline. Generally, I would not be against it, I guess fans are even supposed to love spoilers, and we do. But actually it is rather a love-hate relationship than a pure love story, because where is the fun in waiting for a season when you know what is going to happen beforehand. The best spoilers are those which reveal the least. After all, it's not the final touch we are curious about. It's a bit like reading ones future diary...

Anyway. If you still feel like it this is the link. It's your choice. But don't blame me for not warning you. I tried.

Let's Not Jump to Conclusions...

2011-03-28T21:52:00.012+01:00

...even though the title of Neil Gaiman's episode has been revealed.

It is... 'The Doctor's Wife' and I know what you're thinking, moreover Moffat knows what we are thinking and that approxy 1o1% of us are not amused by this choice.

But before starting an anti-Moffat/Gaiman demonstration, let's remember the last time we had to deal with such a... less favourable episode title e.g. 'The Doctor's Daughter' or 'The Next Doctor'. And, it wasn't what we expected it to be.Furthermore, during Moffat's reign the number of misleading episode titles has been increasing. E.g. I'm still wondering what 'The 11th Hour' has to do with the actual episode being named that way (11th'S Hour would have made more sense to me; or 'VAMPIRES of Venice' (which has, strictly speaking, a certain lack of actual Vampires in it), not to forget about Flesh and Stone' (yes, everyone besides the angels are not made of stone, at least when observed by others, but when I 1st heard the title it was a bloody ritual coming to my mind). And I bet Moffat has plans to keep up this rather new-ish tradition. After all, misleading titles are certainly not bad for getting some extra attention. So let's hope for the best.

EDIT: Giving it another thought 'The Doctor's Wife' might turn out to be an episode about River Song without her being actually in it. At least this is the most sensible thing I can come up with ATM.

EDIT: Maybe this idea is just crazy, but what if the Doctor's wife turns out to be the TARDIS... so the title would have a rather metaphorical meaning then.

Just for the Record...

2011-03-25T20:01:00.009Z

... again.

Maybe it's just me getting old, but last year I was much more excited when the Beeb was so gorgeous to release a glimpse of the upcoming season-opener. And a few days ago the BBC gave us a... promo-something AND a proper prequel, still, somehow I can be hardly bothered to dedicate a post to them. If they had done this with 'The Eleventh Hour' (which is still an odd title in my humble opinion) last year some of us maybe would have needed tranquillisers. Ok, I'm joking. Obviously.

Well, I'm not saying the prequel isn't great, even if it is rather a combination of the 'Silence in the Library' opener and the Blink's storyline: Child's voice is recorded on a tape-recorder to deliver a cryptic message which is part of a future conversation, and therefore, only makes sense at a special point in time. Moreover we know the president is wrong, there is at least one white-ish something in the oval office which seems to be an alien. And there is certainly more from where that one came from. Let's go and poke it with a stick...

Maybe the most exiting news are that there are more and more rumours about episode 2 airing just one day after the season-opener. So it may be not entirely insensible to be looking forward to a Doctor Who Easter-weekend.

Time And Space - Red Nose Day

2011-03-19T15:35:00.012Z

... those who still think Doctor Who is mostly aimed at children should have paied more attention yesterday. Still, as an already adult whovian I loved it... well, actually not that much for I think Moffat should stop writing illogical episodes, but apart from that it was... no, not brilliant. I guess it will take at least another year until that word loses its Doctor Who reference.

Back to Time & Space. We understand that Moffat has a strict paradox + paradox = o and not 2 paradoxes policy. But he is wrong with that. There is a reason why that theorem does not work with let's say bana... apples. However, at least we got some sort of an explanation of how the TARDIS could have possibly landed in herself. Well, then that got spoiled by the Doctor telling himself that it's the wibbly-leaver he has to use to solve the situation. We already had that sort of discussion for 'The Big Bang' only that then it was the collapsing universe (time included) which saved Moffat's dignity.
But thanks to the two Amy Ponds' skirts many of us aren't remembering that tiny problem anymore. At least not too well.

So the only remaining thing to ask ourselves is 'What was Amy's question?'. And we finally know why Moffat does insist on those episodes being canonical because he twittered back 'That WILL come back. But not for a while. Oh, how ANNOYING!!'

Moffat's beloved Paradoxes

2011-03-04T15:40:00.010Z

There has been too many articles featuring Moffat-caused paradoxes lately, sorry for that. But I'm afraid this year's Red Nose Day 'Comic Relief' mini-episodes will just add to an already enormous list.

Although there is to say the Big Moff didn't give too many hints away when talking to SFX, it's still more than enough to tell us that this year's plot seems to focus on a paradox, again. We remember, in his last 'Comic Relief' contribution we had two Doctors, now it will be two Amy Ponds, who even end up flirting with each other. And if things weren't already complicated enough, because after all there might *be* an explanation for someone flirting with themselves (or is that just Amy?), Moffat made sure to introduce also the question of how a TARDIS can land in her own self. I hope this time it will be him solving his own canonical problems. And all that in less than 8 minutes.
Well, giving it another thought it may have something to do with the 'Clone-Doctor' of season 6. Which would be brilliant, BTW.

However, no matter what was on Moffat's mind when writing his 'Comic Relief' episodes, the fuss it's already making is certainly not bad for Doctor Who. And fans are also curious about how 'Life Abroad the TARDIS', as Moffat unofficially calls it, looks like. Furthermore, after several Doctor Who-less months I guess there aren't many of us who care that much about the scientific background anyway.

The Bycantium Paradox

2011-02-15T16:44:00.025Z

'Is Moffat rewriting River's Spoilers? Or is that just part of the Big Plan?'

With River Song's really wibbely wobbely timelne it's really remarkable that there has been, to my knowledge, only one paradox regarding her character up to now. Namely, when she meets the Tenth Doctor in 'Silence of the Library' she appears to think that it was him with whom she was investigating the Crash of Byzantium*. But we know better than that. So why doesn't she ?

Certainly, there are several sensible and even more less sensible explanations for this, however one of the more reasonable reasons go back to the famous 'The Waters of Mars' fixed-point domino-effect, which altered the universe's and the Doctor's timeline.** Obviously, it wasn't the Eleventh Doctor who should have shown up in the 'Delirium Archive', the final resting place of the headless monks. But we also understand that between 'The Waters of Mars' and 'The End of Time' the Doctor wasn't visiting as many museums as he apparently was supposed to. So back then in the Library things (or time) seem to have been more straight froward for River.

But is that the only time she meets him then? Probably. At least up to our *recent* knowledge that's how it appears to be. Surely, the Doctor would have mentioned a certain 'Picnic at Asgards' when telling the Ood what he was all up to before visiting them. Come on, he even told them about having tinkered with the TARDIS' locking circuit. Additionally, the Doctor doesn't seem to have learnt much more about River since his very first encounter.
Moreover, that domino-effect could have also effected River's timeline through what certain events don't take place exactly as they should have. I'm not saying she won't find herself sacrificing her life in the Library. But the Doctor, River and we know that Time can be rewritten... and it wouldn't surprise me if Moffat did take advantage of this, at least a little bit e.g. for sorting a few paradoxes out...

____________
*In a DWM(#147) interview Moffat says that when filming his Library episode in 2oo8 he knew that it won't be David Tennant's Doctor whom he'll be writing for during his time as executive producer. And Doctor Who has already dealt with bigger last minute changes than dropping one part of a line.
**Although personally 'The Waters of Mars' does not belong to my most favourite episodes, every single future Doctor Who script writer is going to be thankful for Russel T Davies allowing them to take the parts RTD contributed to that serials canon less seriously.

Shattered Dreams...

2011-01-27T10:25:00.015Z

Sadly, yesterday neither Sherlock nor Doctor Who could stand their ground at the National Television Awards (NTA), which is for the latter one the first time since it has been brought back to life. If you feel like torturing yourself, these YouTube videos show how they are NOT getting the awards. (Best Drama, Best Drama Performance).

And the winning parties forgot to thank Sherlock and Doctor Who being nominated in the same categories, which was the main cause for Waterloo Road (never heard of it) and ... erm who? - David Jason getting any awards in the first place.

Because, the obvious reason for this is that both shows have more or less the same fan-base, and as the two of them were put up against each other in the same categories, fans had to make up their minds what to vote for. And because of the split votes both failed... Well, I wouldn't say failed for Doctor Who is still one of the Beeb's most important series, and Sherlock is on the best way to get there, nevertheless, we are not pleased. I mean, back in 2oo5 the show could scope three awards, and I think since then Doctor Who has improved a lot.

Let's hope next year we'll have learnt something of this, because with Sherlock's new season it's more than just very likely that two of our most favourite serials will be nominated against each other again.

'Doctor Who' goes Shakespeare...

2011-01-08T11:27:00.017Z

... at least sort of.

Actually, this one will be more about Shakespeare than 'Doctor Who', however, maybe there are still a few fans out there who are interested into this BBC interview with Catherine Tate and David Tennant which is mostly about their new 'Much Ado about Nothing' Shakespeare project. But naturally, there are also several remarks about 'Doctor Who' and other 'stuff' they used to work on together. So it ends up to be at least some sort of interesting also for a few fans of that TV show this blog is mostly dedicated to.

And I really hope someone will come up with the idea of adapting that Shakespeare production for film, just as they did that with Hamlet a few years ago. Don't panic, I'm not going to make a Hamlet review out of this post, but to sum it up, saying it's a great one would be some sort of an understatement, even if a few conservative teachers and professors might disagree with me about that.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading the first reviews of that 'Much Ado about Nothing stage production. The two of them seem to be enthusiastic enough to turn it into something well worth seeing.

PS: I just couldn't help noticing David Tennant's familiar 'old trainers - suit' combination...

EDIT: Thanks to DoctorWhoDom we are able to watch the complete version of the interview on YouTube. And credits go to Combom for pointng this out.

Halfway Out of the Dark...

2010-12-26T17:23:00.025Z

Actually, the key-line was 'Don't make my mistakes.' But you can't have that as a title. Or something between that and 'How did boredom even get invented?' (well, I guess not being in the possession of a TARDIS comes quite handy to do this).
Anyway. These 6o minutes has to prove the biggest Moffat critics that there is a reason for that guy having that job. Come on, just compare what RTD used to give us around this time of year... and he even got away with it.

But first things first, here are a few other reviews by The Guardian, SFX and The Telegraph. And after writing this 'review' (if it's one) someone should check whether Lawrence Miles is all right.

So, comparing 'A Christmas Carol' to any other Christmas episode we had so far, the biggest difference was the plot. This year, it wasn't about the end of the universe, planet earth or London, but about 4oo3 people trapped in a crashing space-ship and Kazran being the only one being able to save them. The problem is, he doesn't feel like it. But the Doctor wouldn't be the Doctor if he didn't try to do something about this, a la good old Charles Dickens. Still, after testing a chimney's general chimney-ness (another unforgettable entrance of the 11th Doctor), being let down by the psychic paper which refuses to refer to the Doctor as a 'mature and responsible adult', almost comparing himself to Mary Poppins, breaking a sonic-screwdriver (again!), rescuing and taming a flying shark, making a match between Kazran and Abigail, proving to be bad with card-tricks, and not to forget about marrying Marilyn Monroe, the Doctor finally manages to save the day. And the outcome is one of Moffat's other 'must-sees'.

Maybe its biggest plus point is that the audience doesn't need to be a Whovian to understand what is going on (*cough* not like last year *cough*) but luckily, Moffat didn't forget about us while writing it. I guess, the Doctor appearing in a fez and a Tom Baker scarf are among other things those bits which are exclusively aimed at us. So are Amy and Rory's 'costumes'... Furthermore, there are a few great one-liners and almost even more lovable situations the Doctor get himself into. I just loved the 'Kazran, it's this or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes.'-bit or his instruction to young Kazran about how to kiss Abigail 'Try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky... Make it part of the plan!'

My biggest fear was that Moffat's adaptation of Dicken's story might turn out to be some sort of a Christmassy musical, especially after a few teasers saying that Katherine Jenkins, who did a great job BTW, is singing two times within 6o minutes. But really everything was just on spot. I mean even the fact of Kazran not letting Abigail out of her ice-y coffin for Christmas in the beginning makes sense in the end. Or that the machine doesn't react to Kazran as the Doctor changed him too much, or how Kazran finally releases Abigail because of his younger self. Besides, when Kazran decides to do that after all, and she finally comes out of her 'ice-box', that was one of those rare Doctor Who-moments that I had some sort of a tear in my eyes.*

Oh, and before I forget it. Fans seem to be a bit in two minds about the Doctor saving or not saving Abigail. In my humble opinion I think he did save her. Because, although that is not exactly what he says to Amy in the closing scene, he still acts a bit fibishly (and I know that's not a proper word). As if he didn't want to tell her something for being afraid of revealing one of his habits. I mean, saving her wouldn't have been a requirement for saving those 4oo3 people on that space-ship. Additionally, the following 'Halfway out of the dark.' sounds way too optimistic... almost as if it was a reference to Kazran's own life.
EDIT: And yes, I know what official sources say. But think about it. If Kazran lost his love on that day it wouldn't be 'Half way out of the dark' for him and Kazran is the only one to whom the Doctor can refer to. Additionally, Moffat is certainly not keen on spoiling his xmas episode by not giving it a 'popper' ending.

__________
*The other time was, when Wilf said good bye to the Doctor in Journey's End - 'But every night, Doctor, when it gets dark, and the stars come out, I'll look up on her behalf. I'll look up at the sky, and think of you.' that was the tear-jerker.

A Christmas Carol's Paradoxes

2010-12-26T17:22:00.013Z

or 'Things would be much easier if script writers were aware of a *small* set of rules' but who cares...

I don't remember another episode dealing with more paradoxes than 'A Christmas Carol'. Starting with the Doctor altering Kazran's time-line to Kazran hugging his younger self in the end - and surprisingly it doesn't mean the end of the world. There aren't any Reapers (we might now from 'Father's Day') and this time it also doesn't lead to the Doctor receiving doomsday-like messages from Oods or any other aliens. So what did we miss?

Although it has to be said that I think it's not us missing something but quite the opposite. Still, I suggest to keep the good old 'fans are going to sort that out somehow'-tradition up and to start with a few 'explanations'.

The most obvious and handy reason why this time the Doctor didn't need to care about the famous 'Laws of Time' was that in the 'Big Bang' two-parter the universe was whipped out and re-installed from Amy's memories. And maybe the Reapers some sort of didn't make it. Or that their non-appearance has something to do with the mysterious 'Silence'.

However, going into further detail, those lovely creatures also didn't appear in 'The Waters of Mars'. And here I have to mention the definition of a paradox, which is something along two points in time which aren't supposed to meet. Right? And fixpoints are certain events which aren't supposed to change, as seen in 'Fires of Pompeii' and 'Waters of Mars'. So, applying this knowledge, obviously Kazran's life was not exactly a fixed point in history. That's why the Doctor had some fun instead of feeling guilty while altering it.

But there is still the question why old Kazran could touch is younger self without any consequences. Well, going back to 'Waters of Mars' we know that by saving Adelaide Brooke the Doctor started off something terrifying which haven't appeared yet. Everything what happened in 'End of Time' was caused by the Master, except for the Ood's magically fast development of the ability of time travel and prophesying. Now, that could have been a result of the Doctor changing Adelaide's time-line. And this whole thing might be a hint to time having some sort of a problem in general which has to be sorted out, maybe by the Reapers. And that issue is keeping them busy for a while, or at least it appears to be a bit more important than the whole Kazran stuff. They seem to be busy saving time as we know it first, to have the time to deal with that nasty young-Kazran-thouching-old-Kazran incident. And it seems that they won't make it out of that important time-saving-job alive. So, to cut it short, whatever happened in 'Waters of Mars' may have made the Reapers cease to exist in general.

Or is it that the Reapers are just really afraid of (flying) sharks?

Just one of Those Coincidences

2010-12-24T18:56:00.010Z

Good old Disney tries to get more Doctor Who into our every day-lives.
Do you know the opening line of its (Disney's) latest ... erm, masterpiece? 'Tangled'?

It's: 'This is the story of how I died...'

What happened to good old 'Once upon a time'? Old fashioned? Maybe... So 'borrowing' the opening words of the most over-rated Doctor Who finale (I dare to put an optimistic 'ever' after this) seem to be more up to date.

Still, I don't think RTD is going to write them a letter...

It’s called 'A Christmas Carol' ─ it is 'A Christmas Carol'

2010-12-23T20:36:00.008Z

In this interview published by The New York Times Steven Moffat talks about a few things we've all been worrying or, if not worrying at least wondering about. Starting with the Doctor mysteriously marrying Marilyn Monroe, or how he managed to write his first Christmas special in mid-April, up to whether Moffat is planning to do a Doctor Who-Sherlock cross-over, or not.

Well, I suppose you read it yourself...

'A Christmas Charol' Teaser-Round Up 3/3

2010-12-19T23:38:00.001Z

And last but not least, here is what Digital Spy reveals about it:

* The Doctor finally tells a lie too big for the psychic paper. - Two possibilities, a. he could say he is Santa, or b. after him saying 'I'm a ghost of Christmas past' Kazran wants to see his papers. Or it is possibility c.

* "The other half is ****** the *****." - I pass, I've been never good at this.

* We learn exactly why bow-ties are cool. - Now this sounds good :)

* Abigail breaks into song twice, but there's an interesting reason why. - ... while this doesn't.

* The Doctor once spent a revealing evening with Frank Sinatra, Einstein and Father Christmas. - ...erm, right. At once? Will the Doctor end up at Madame Tussauds?

* "Why are they singing?" "For ***** *****."

* Turns out The Doctor is rubbish at card tricks.

* "Marilyn, get your coat!" - Which Marilyn? Marilyn Monroe?

* Kazran gets a glimpse at his past, present and future - but not in the way you might expect. - Ok, WE expect it in a wibbely-wobbely timey-whimey TARDIS-ish way. Let's talk about what exactly are we expected to expect?

* "No chance. Completely impossible. Except at Christmas." - Sounds like something River might say. But as far as we know she won't be in this one, so it's one of the Doctor's lines, right?

'A Christmas Carol' Teaser-Round Up 2/3

2010-12-19T23:37:00.001Z

This is DoctorWhoTV's contribution:

* Amy and Rory are in their honeymoon suite on a space liner when it starts to crash. - Right, we have been knowing this for several month.

* The pair emerge from the suite with their police and centurion outfits (ahem). - I may see the bit 'needing some explanation' coming...

* Amy and Rory’s scenes are a very small part of the story.

* Arthur Darvill (Rory) is now in the opening credits. - This was more than just 'about time'

* Kazran (Michael Gambon) owns a device that controls the skies. - Yep, this bit was also confirmed by the the BBC several weeks ago.

* He is the only one that can save the lives of Amy, Rory and the 4000 odd people onboard the ship. - And you call this news? Seriously?

* Kazran freezes townsfolk that owe him money. Abigail (Katherine Jenkins) is one of these.

* The TARDIS takes a trip to the 1950′s.

* The Doctor hangs with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.

* Not to mention Albert Einstein and Santa. - Santa? You are kidding me. Please, tell me this is NOT true.

* The Doctor doesn’t just get engaged, he marries Marilyn Monroe! - LOL. If I could chose between which one not being true, than I'd prefer this one.

* Katherine Jenkins sings more than once. - ... or this. Doctor Who is not a musical, at least not actually.

* Katherine Jenkins shares a kiss. - ... with Kazran, just in case you're wondering.

* There is a sleigh ride with the shark.

* Moffat already has a big idea for the Christmas 2011 special. - Thanks for adding this bit. I hope he'll have no occasion to have to.

'A Christmas Carol' Teaser-Round Up 1/3

2010-12-19T23:36:00.016Z

I know, these have been around for ages, but my time schedule isn't a Doctor Who spoiler friendly one. I'll be working on it, I promise.

These are the bits, or to be more precise, the spoilers we got for A Christmas Carol, Moffat's very xmassy Christmas special for ... Christmas.

So, this is what SFX is willing to tell us about it:

* The episode is a tour de force for Matt Smith. Amy and Rory are pretty much sidelined as Smith explodes like a force of nature from the screen. He is magnificent

* It’s fantasy, through and through. It’s a Christmas whimsy that pays mere lip service to science fiction. This is Moffat’s vision of the show as a dark fairy tale taken further than ever before. We’re predicting some people will have a problem with this. Your enjoyment may be in relation to your ability to suspend disbelief

* Two articles of clothing from the Doctor’s past make cameo appearances - And we don't need to wait until Christmas to find out about this one

* There’s an unexpected continuity reference to the Tom Baker story “Pyramids Of Mars”

* The Doctor is asked for some advice that he cannot give - I wonder what this will turn out to be about

* The Doctor gets married - And DoctorWhoTV tells us to whom

* Katherine can act. You might be worried about a singer who’s never acted before taking on such a major role, but she’s really very good.

* There are more witty, quotable lines per minute than ever before - Good old Moffat

*Some of the FX are outstanding, but a couple are, well, shall we just say… over-ambitious - In a good or in a bad way?

* The production design is stunning

* It’s not the most action-packed of Christmas special. There are some great, exciting set pieces, but mostly it’s a character piece - Yep, we are prepared for that... as long as it won't be another character piece a la 'The Beast Belowe' it will be fine with me

* Michael Gambon is, of course, amazing.

*The names in the opening titles are all Christmas-ed up - Come on, I hope the Doctor won't be referred to as 'A Ghost of Christmas Past', will he?

* It’s fish and ships for Christmas!

* It’s very, very, very Christmassy, and quite emotional - Is this a warning? Or why are you telling us this again and again and agian?

* There’s a trailer for next season at the end (roll over for spoilery info: the Utah shoot looks incredible, we think we spotted an Ood, and there is a mention of Jammy Dodgers!) - Thanks Moffat for caring about this show's traditions.

* Two of the Doctor’s trusted aides aren’t quite so reliable - Is this Rory and Amy or the TARDIS and the sonic-screwdriver?

* Parents may hope that children won’t ask them to explain one gag Mhm... Marilyn Monroe? Liz? River Song? No, hold on, Amy and Rory are supposed to be on their honeymoon...

* The final shot would make a good Christmas card - I hope the shark is also on that one...

* The Doctor has one major costume change (other than ones involving putting Father Christmas hats on)

On Reading Moffat's Continuiy Errors

2010-12-06T21:06:00.011Z

In the very unlikely case that you aren't sure what I'm talking about, there are a few rumours that Moffat's very first Doctor Who Xmas special might have something in common with a story ('Continuity Errors') he once wrote featuring the 7th Doctor and the biggest library of the universe having every single book ever known, at least up to 2668. (So, strictly speaking, the events took place long before Moffat's 'Silence in the Library' 2-parter.)You can give it a read-through here. And believe me, it's worth it.

To sum it up, it's about the Doctor manipulating a librarian's past to get hold of a 'restricted' book. And oddly enough, reading the story now is some sort of a continuity error in its own. From the very beginning you think you know what is going to happen, for example we know that and how the Doctor will answer Gwen's question, without the question actually being there in Andrea's first 'memory-draft'. But we just know these things from Moffat's episodes, form - I don't know how to put it. It's like reading a deja-vu. It's as if we were knowing the hard facts before them taking place but without being familiar of the details. Or vice versa. And that's what keeps us interested into the story as such.

And it's not entirely impossible that the Doctor might end up doing something different this Christmas, manipulating Mr Scrooge's life... Well, I'm pretty sure that there won't be this 'deja-vu feeling' about it, but I'm afraid it will be only after having watched 'A Christmas Carol' that we'll know for sure.

Just For the Record...

2010-11-23T21:30:00.005Z

Today Doctor Who, you know, very likely the best TV serial on this tiny blue planet, is having its 47th anniversary. But as this is the first official Doctor Who Day, there aren't any established 'rituals' yet. So we have the freedom of being creative, and freedom is, as facts prove, one of the biggest enemy of creativity in the first place. But let's ignore that side-mark.

Wish you a happy Doctor Who Day then.

'A Christmas Carol' News Round-Up

2010-11-20T10:40:00.023Z

If you haven't taken a closer look at the Doctor Who TV-site's Christmas Carol dissection yet, then I really encourage you to do so.

To continue my previous post: how could I miss Amy wearing her police uniform again? And why on earth has Rory put on a Roman centurion's costume? But that does not mean he turns into 'plastic' again, does it? No, I guess there might be another explanation to this like, erm, they are supposed to be on their honey-moon, right? And why was Amy wearing that police costume in 'The Eleventh Hour'? Oh...

Furthermore we learn Mr Scrooge's real name, Kazran , and maybe he is not an alien, but a human living on a different planet after all, although this isn't said in the post.

In addition, according to the same article, the villain for this special is a flying shark. I, for my part, am not too sure about this. Although that creature does look really 'sharkish' to me.

Then there is this (older) post by the same page, giving us even more teasers. It tells us that in fact the Doctor is on , let's call it 'Victorian New Earth', to save that space-ship from crashing. I wonder how Kazran is linked to all this.

And last but not least, the final paragraphs show that letting Amy tie the knot and getting her husband on board isn't a solution for the Doctor to avoid a few awkward situations. But maybe this won't happen exactly in this episode, well, then again, it's Amy we're talking about... At least the picture on the page says it all.

Children In Need - A Christmas Carol

2010-11-19T21:38:00.040Z

Here is the link. Don't be disappointed, it is only a trailer and not the opening minutes as I at least was hoping for. But it is nevertheless a very promising one, however, there isn't much to speculate about, at least not yet.

So, what did we get then?
We are already told that 'A Christmas Carol' is not set on earth, for what we can assume that, let's call him Mr Scrooge, is an alien who is not too fond of Christmas, which is, we remember, a very human feast and quite popular on earth but even there not everyone is happily celebrating it. Furthermore, he doesn't seem to agree about the Doctor's 'Time can be rewritten' theory. I guess it is not wrong to suppose that's why the Doctor gives him a visit, and I hope Moffat has a very sensible reason why the Doctor uses the chimney to do so. Oh, this might be just after the scene where we see him standing on the roof looking through a giant window at something that might be Mr Scrooge's home...

Additionally, that blond woman the boy (young Mr Scrooge?) is staring at in the beginning might be dead, or something similar to it, and it's not too hard to guess that somehow he is connected to her past. Just as the girl, the one saying one of the Doctor's most favourite lines. And it wouldn't surprise me if somehow Mr Scrooge were also connected to those spooky white corridors which don't seem to exist for much good.

Besides, Amy and Rory appear to end up in some trouble. I hope they won't need the Doctor's help too much, because we also know in this episode they won't spend a lot of time with him.

So, for the next month the Whoniverse has something to look forward to.

About Moffat's And A Certain Blue Box's Secrets...

2010-11-11T22:13:00.014Z

This Steven Moffat interview by NYMag just made my day, at least some sort of.

First, ignore its title, I couldn't find a single line referring to Sherlock, or is this just me?

The interview as such starts with Moffat answering a few questions about the Doctor's love-life, and yes, thanks for mentioning him having a grand-daughter. But what about Liz, pardon, Queen Elizabeth I?

Then they are addressing Moffat's soft spot regarding killing main-characters and the famous 'Flesh And Stone' 'continuity error' which, as it has to be added, many suspected as part of the story even back then, because it was actually crying to get some attention. Come on, you let the Doctor wandering around in a tweet jacket he had lost just a few minutes ago AND then you also gave him a different watch, so you really shouldn't have expected us not to notice that you wanteed us to notice something going on.

The final part is about the bad, bad internet. We shouldn't forget about Moffat having a twitter account to which he seems to be at least some sort of devoted*. Oh, and people writing blogs do have a life, dates and relationships and all this kind of stuff, it's only that they also happen to have a hobby. But hold on a second – there is an entire blog dedicated to Matt Smith's hair? Really? That's new to me, but then again I also didn't know that River was polarising Doctor Who fans. Gwynne Watkins might simply not know the right sites.

__________
* EDIT: at least Moffat shows here that he is also aware of this small paradox...

A Mad Man with a Box...

2010-11-07T18:45:00.023Z

This is a Matt Smith interview by The Telegraph about how Doctor Who has changed his life, how he has been dealing with its fandom and there is also a paragraph mentioning the old 'How Did Matt Smith End Up As An Actor' story, which might be already familiar to more than just the vast majority of the people who are going to read that article.

A bit of a downer is how Matt Smith refers to the name of his character, or is this just The Telegraph quoting him in a wrong way? It is still, just as for the last 47 years, 'the Doctor' and not 'Doctor Who', latter one is the name of the show. Oh, and is it worth mentioning the whole TARDIS vs Tardis stuff?
Probably not.

However, apart from these points in my humble opinion it manages to be a surprisingly entertaining interview. Matt Smith has certainly the right idea of presenting his role. Thanks for that.

Furthermore, he also talks about why this show is still so immensely popular (yep, it does have 'the best ever TV drama format'). And I hope when saying 'everything is possible' he does not include to forget about a certain set of rules which would really appreciate if someone would actually care about them. That's rather Steven Moffat's job, though.

And finally we have to agree uncompromisingly to the last statement, we’ll never tire of watching the Doctor saving the day again and again, at least not as long as someone screws things up really badly.

For Your Enjoy...

2010-11-06T12:39:00.008Z

This is not about Doctor Who for a change... but as I've rarely seen anything as sweet as this I dedicate a post to these astonishingly cute seal-puppies after all.

That link there is a live web-cam service by the Beeb showing this year's grey seals' pupping season at the Orkney Islands.
Have fun.

PS: This service only runs from 9am–4pm (GMT), weather and daylight permitting. The last broadcasting day is Sunday 7 November.
________
EDIT: Just in case you've missed it, and that you still want to see some grey seal videos, this is the link to the BBC's Grey Seal video archive.

You make All Of Space & Time Your Backyard...

2010-11-06T09:00:00.012Z

... and what do you have? A back yard.

If you haven't come across two extraordinarily nice scenes which haven't made it into the actual episodes (and yes, I AM talking about Doctor Who) then these links might be quite interesting to you:
this one took place between The Eleventh Hour and The Beast Below and this one was intended to be between Flesh and Stone and Vampires in Venice.

They are quite adorable, but if you are actually waiting for your box-set to arrive, don't blame me for serving you surely one of its biggest highlights. So, it's your choice.

Oh, and BTW, there is a tiny chance that you might find the second one quite entertaining. Well, some of it is just stupid, nevertheless, in my humble opinion it's a pity that it's not in the actual episode. Because I think it's quite revealing, come on, the Doctor tells Amy why he likes to have a companion on board of the TARDIS. Additional it's hard not to love the tiny Donna reference 'No, forget mates...' At least it makes more sense to me than Flesh And Stone's actual last minutes.

Every Doctor, Every Me...

2010-10-27T21:53:00.026+01:00

That was actually good, or is it only the nostalgia coming through?

It wasn't a surprise that part 2 of The Death of the Doctor (link) was better than part 1 because that's where the actual story took place, just like in last year's The Wedding of Sarah Jane. Basically, it even had the same structure, with the Doctor doing a lot of dashing between two places and running as about a year ago.

Nevertheless, this time it was different, in a brilliant way. For if there is one thing RTD is good at, then it's reuniting companions. Sure, there was a bit of a lot hugging and and all that stuff going on, but I suppose that's just the way people are.
I'm glad that this time RTD even addressed the 'why didn't you come back' question, which is not the easiest one to answer, I guess. But RTD handled it in one of the best ways possible. We some sort of suspected Ten going back to each of his former 'companions' before regenerating, and RTD just told us what we wanted to hear. I think also the line 'I don't look back, because I can't...' didn't take many of us by surprise (although we may want to attach an 'Explanation Needed' sign to it.)

Still, there were at least two things fans won't be too found of. First, how that Memory Wave device could have worked in the first place, because even New-Who fans might know that the Doctor uses to change the TARDIS key here and then. So Jo and Sarah Jane weren't exactly remembering the same key. Additionally, why didn't the Doctor just snap his fingers for opening the TARDIS to save them? We know that he knows that he can do that...

The second thing was RTD's attempt of rewriting the good old regeneration rule. In my humble opinion RTD didn't rewrote any sort of canon, because the Doctor was obviously lying. It isn't the first time that he would do that when confronted with a let's call it rather unpleasant question. He just didn't want them to worry about him too much. Besides, he also didn't told Jo about Gallifrey not existing anymore.*

However, all in all, this turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable episode. Sure, we have to take in account that The Sarah Jane Adventures isn't only officially made for children. It actually IS made for them.
And RTD, thanks for the Doctor not taking himself too seriously. 'Cos between you and me, if that day ever comes, I think the whole universe might just shiver.' is the perfect amount of drama all of his episodes should have.

_________
* EDIT: By the way, Russel T Davies himself encourages us in this SFX interview not to take that '5o7 statement' too seriously.

The Wait Is Over...

2010-10-26T13:06:00.012+01:00

How do you write a proper introduction to a post about a 26 minutes long episode which's main purpose was to introduce its next part?
So, with The Death of the Doctor (link) we had again a very long intro to about 6 interesting minutes just as last year... and I guess they could have solved this a bit differently. Furthermore, actually I'm not too comfortable about the Doctor insulting his former companions for, well, ageing, despite Jo was not exactly nice to him either. Then again this wasn't the first time Eleven has insulted someone... poor Rory.

Furthermore, this episode might be the reason why children will be afraid of big soft-toys in the future. Loved Jo's reaction to those 'Giant Vouchers', though.

And yes, it's undeniable that RTD delivered us a cliffhanger, the part of which The Sarah Jane Adventures has become quite famous for. But in my humble opinion this wasn't exactly RTD's greatest one, it seemed to be a bit forced to me. Basically he just cut a scene into two parts, and I'm sure he could have done better than that...

Nevertheless, after there hasn't been any Doctor Who-ish episode on for about 6 month I think I've been missing it too much to be critical. So, I'm really looking forward to part two. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for RTD explaining that somewhat *cough* ridiculous *cough* 'very complicated biological swap' properly. Additionally I may not be the only one looking forward to Jo and Sarah Jane firing questions at the Doctor.

Interviews...

2010-10-09T10:31:00.011+01:00

Sorry, but I just can't come up with a proeper title for this one...

It has been for a very long time that I've seen more interviews by David Tennant within a day than yesterday. Well, I'm not complaining for when it comes to giving an interesting but still diplomatic interview there are certainly a few people who might learn form him...
So, here are the bits.

Thanks to Combom and someone calling herself Timelady the pages of David Tennant's recent Radio Times interview have made it to flickr (page 1, page2). It's mostly about his time after Doctor Who, Fright Night, the American Rex Is Not Your Lawyer pilot, Single Father and other stuff.

Furthermore, Blogtor Who was so nice to upload the 5Live interview with David Morrisay and David Tennant to YouTube (part1, part2, part3) which's main part is again about Single Father and Morrison's project Thorn. They also talk a bit about politics, David Tennant's experiences in thee US and the time when he and Morrison were working on Blackpool and The Next Doctor.
Enjoy.

Russel T Davies can't keep his Hands off Doctor Who

2010-10-06T17:40:00.006+01:00

According to this Digital-Spy article RTD is about to deal with one of the most important question of Doctor Who, namely, how many lives does the Doctor really have... However, RTD isn't going to deal with this in that TV series which's main-elements he is going to re-write, but in that show's The Sarah Jane Adventures - spin-off. Disappointed?
Me too.

The Ghost of Christmas Past...

2010-10-06T16:20:00.005+01:00

First, I'm sorry for being late.

Right, let's get started... About one week ago the BBC released its showreel for the next months. And thanks to this we get a really short glimpse of Steven Moffat's very first pretty Christmas-y Christmas-Special for Doctor Who. Looking at those 4 seconds it might seem to be sensible for certain rumours popping up saying its title being 'A Christmas-Carol', last but not least because of Steven Moffat's son thinking its title is a cheesy one (as can be found on the Big Moff's twitter-page). And there is also no doubt that copying Mr Dickens is something cheesy to do.

Personally, I think it's strange that the idea of combining Dickens' story with the Christmas-special hasn't popped up earlier in certain editors' minds. Because that's one of those few classical Christmas stories which deal with Doctor Who's most important element...

The Big Moffs's Perfect Christmas & Other Stuff

2010-09-22T21:13:00.014+01:00

According to SFX or rather a Steven Moffat interview to be found in The Brilliant Book about which SFX happened to drop a few lines, the next Christmas-special is going to be the one the Big Moff himself would 'like to see.' Actually, I liked Doctor Who's former Christmas-specials for giving me a break from those cheesy Christmas-y and consume-advertising films and episodes. Although I'm pretty sure that as a fan Moffat doesn't need much advise... And even if he spoiled it, at least we would get to know his definition of 'the perfect Christmas'.

Another point the Big Moff mentions (and SFX is so nice to write about) is the quite big 'Silence-Will-Fall'-story arch. So finally he tells us that Silence is a 'they'... (which is at least grammatically speaking also the politically correct term for referring to a female or male being alike. BTW.)

Last but not least there are also a few sentences about River Song. Well, I guess it's not really necessary to mention that Moffat has come up with a very clever story for her, but fans are always grateful for letting them know. And thank you so much for not making her an android... That's something we can put off our immensely long list then.

This changes everything...

2010-09-21T21:33:00.003+01:00

Again.

Digital Spy tries to shorten the time to this year's Christmas special by giving us something we could consider as some sort of remarkable news.

This article is mostly about season 6, and to be honest, it's a quite mouth-watering one despite a certain lack of ... lets call it information.

First, it ensures us that, as we already might know, Moffat isn't only madly in love with 'game-changing cliffhangers', but if he weren't already married he might consider getting engaged to one of them. Furthermore, we are told (twice!) that the next season 'will change everything'.

At least the last paragraph is finally giving some spoilers away... Well, I hope in spite of Rory stumbling 'to the brink of a tragic mistake' this won't make him the most often killed character of this show. Hold on, that's the Doctor. Although, Rory has already died twice this season, so he is undeniably catching up.

The Big Split...

2010-09-05T18:04:00.018+01:00

Oh my dear. Am I the only one thinking that there are a few things Steven Moffat shouldn't mess with? I know, there aren't many arguments supporting my automatic disfavour of his idea of dividing Doctor Who's oncoming seasons into spring and autumn-ones (source), on the contrary, it's not hard to spot at least 3 almost positive points why he has come up with this. I only want you to know that somehow I am going to miss the old schedule, despite writing the following paragraphs...

So, here we go. Moffat's official reason for this, as he says, is that he thinks waiting almost 6 month for the Christmas-special and then another 4 month for the next season is not exactly child- or audience-friendly. I think there aren't many fans disagreeing with him about this. (Although, in my humble opinion it will be more than just odd to have a break after 6 or 7 episodes.)

Secondly, it was really hard not to notice that Steven Moffat was also quite involved into Sherlock's first season, and he makes the impression of being pretty found of writing detective stories. Well, it might be possible that after finishing 6 Doctor Who episodes and giving it a break after that, he hopes to get some extra time for his new project. Again, those who have watched Moffat's 'Study in Pink' might like these news.

And last but not least, is it just me thinking it's odd that the Christmas-special was the only episode which wasn't filmed under winterish-springish conditions?

Or are Moffat's news rather about the bad ratings after all, as our all time favourite series has a slight problem with 2 reality shows...

The Series That Never Was

2010-08-17T21:28:00.009+01:00

I thought I won't join the recent fuss a certain pilot of a legal-drama makes by NOT being made... but here is my really short note about it anyway.

So, I guess there is no need of pointing out that it's Rex Is Not Your Lawyer I'm talking about. Well, in my humble opinion even a whole episode isn't enough to judge a series properly, so the given material isn't exactly my definition of 'dream-footage'.
Nevertheless, what I can say about it is that it won't be only those people who might know David Tennant from Doctor Who who will have to get used to his 'new' accent. I'm not an expert on this topic, but somehow it manages to sound a bit like some sort of a Canadian one to me... Then again, I'm neither from Canada nor the States, so I might be wrong. On the one hand I understand why they want an American accent over there, however I don't think it's that bad as some people say.

Anyway. Taking into account what I've seen so far, I think the main reason why it was cancelled is the writing. People need a few jokes or word-games to fall in love with a show, and I can't help to detect a certain lack of it. Additionally, I'm not exactly overwhelmed by the acting, certainly not on David Tennat's part, though.

The Great Game

2010-08-09T16:42:00.014+01:00

Someone is trying hard to drive people's attention to this show. For it looks as if the Beeb won't have another choice than giving us at least another season of this 21st century Sherlock.

So, we had our story-arch then... (and this made it official that last week's episode was really just a filler, as it seemed to be in the first place). Additionally, The Great Game showed us this series' future capacity. Come on, they could have made a whole season out of the last episode's plot alone. And after sitting through it the only thing we get is a cliff-hanger, which was a bit far-fetched IMHO. But who cares. Somehow it still managed to be amazing, and I can't wait for more.

And BTW I just love Sherlock's catchy opening-titles.

The Blind Banker

2010-08-07T20:17:00.013+01:00

I can't help being a bit disappointed. We all know it's not easy to compete with Moffat's writing skills, so Stephen Thompson's job wasn't an easy one in the first place. But, if people were already complaining about Sherlock's opener, then what did they do with this one? While Moffat's A Study In Pink was an easy-going episode, which even had the time to have some extraordinarily nice jokes in it, to me The Blind Banker was the uncoordinated attempt of recycling some elements of one of the best detective novels ever.

Although I'm a fan of a certain amount of 'chaotism' in a story, this time it was too much. Like, what was that scene of Sherlock fighting against whoever that was all about? Just to let Watson claim later onwards that Sherlock "hasn't even moved" since he had left? Now, that's not what I call a joke. Sure, I have to admit, the plot was more darker and scarier than the last time, but for my taste it just tried too hard to surprise its audience. And while last time I wasn't sure which one-liners I should mention in my post, now there is not really an outstanding sentence I could think of. Oh, and what kind of title is The Blind Banker anyway?
So, there is one more to go... hope it's a good one then.

A Study In Pink

2010-08-06T23:37:00.017+01:00

With no Doctor Who on until Christmas and a lot of spare time on my hand, I decided to dedicate almost ninety minutes of my afternoon to the BBC's new Sherlock Holmes adaptation of which a certain Steven Moffat's happens to be one of its co-writers.

Maybe, there is to mention, that I am, or rather was a big Sherlock Holmes fan a few years ago. Well, maybe not that big, but I read some of the books, and I remember enjoying them pretty much. Additionally, I was also quite curious about what Moffat would do with Sherlock Holmes' apparently not too temporary methods. And, luckily as far as I'm concerned, this series' opener didn't let neither of its fans down.

So, let's start with the casting... For a start, I wasn't familiar with the leading actors Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Marin Freeman who plays Doctor John Watson (John Watson on this blog.)Their mixture of sticking to the original characters and adding their (and the writers') own interpretation of them to the roles just won me over right from the start. For on the one hand Cumberbatch's Sherlock is eccentric enough so that it's not difficult to identify the world's most famous detective, but on the other hand their changed his relationship to Watson, so that he isn't only using him as someone in front of whom he can show off. And through this he appears to be nicer than in the books.
Additionally, I loved the way the team circumvented the BBC's 'not showing smoking heroes in our programmes' rule, while still sticking to Doyle's ideas of Sherlock Holems. His 'This is a three-patch problem' - line was superb.

My only, and slight critic of this opener is the plot of A Study In Pink. Until now the story didn't make too much sense, however, maybe when the Moriarty-story-arch will be finally reviled it might be possible that we won't be complaining about it anymore.

After all, this episode made me certainly curious about the following ones, for this was the best thing I've seen on TV for month.

About Bow-Ties and Converse...

2010-07-27T23:37:00.010+01:00

As there are more and more blog entries and newspaper articles popping up like mushrooms on a misty autumnish summer morning comparing Matt Smith's and David Tennant's acting abilities, I think this blog shouldn't miss the fun of it. Especially, because I haven't dedicated a post to Matt Smith yet.

Well, in my previous posts (by this I mean those I did before the recent season) I didn't make a secret of me being quite a 1oth Doctor fan. Still, I have to admit David Tennant was so right saying that Matt Smith will conquer our hearts, at least sooner or later. And it wouldn't be fair not to say that he really did so. Matt Smith's clumsy freshness and quite alien-like behaviour is absolutely on spot. Additionally, somehow his Doctor appears to be a lot older than Tennant's in spite of Matt Smith being about 10 years younger than his predecessor. So it's quite hard not to like his Doctor.

However, we shouldn't forget about Moffat also being massively responsible for this success. Matt Smith's Doctor is surely his creation, just the same way the 9th and 1oth Doctors were Russell T Davies'. And I also never made a secret of RTD not being my personal most favourite main editor of all time. On the contrary, Moffat has this title since his Empty Child 2 parter which was aired five years ago.

So, comparing only the actors isn't that fair as it seems to. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that there is a good reason why people don't compare bow-ties to Converse, the end-result is just not fair. You whether like them or not.

And at that whole "who is your Doctor" - stuff I have one advice. When you can watch the "You are the new DJ then" part in the first episode of Takin' Over the Asylum without thinking at a certain sci-fi show, then it might not be David Tennant any more... But IMHO it's really challenging not to do so.

We are all stories in the end...

2010-07-02T14:57:00.007+01:00

The Doctor is famous for giving the universe a hard time to vanish into thin air, but now the odds were more than just bad. However, the Doctor wouldn't be the Doctor if being imprisoned inside the Pandorica could stop him from fulfilling his duties, and yes, guaranteeing Amy to get her finale fairytale-y happy ending. Hurray.

These last 11o minutes didn't only topped any other of Russel T Davies' (if you happen to remember that name) so-called finales, but they also ended a season during which the Big Moff proved to be very much capable of doing his job in a really fantastic way. The only things people might criticise is that this two-parter was really for the fans (to occasional viewers the story might have been a bit complicated), and that Moffat doesn't care about paradoxes as the Doctor couldn't give Rory his screwdriver before he got out of the Pandorica in the first place. Although, when the universe and time are collapsing it can be supposed that nothing ( time included) behaves the way it used to. So, at least Moffat made sure that we get some sort of an explanation.

Then he also made sure to serve RTD-fans by making the end one of the most dramatical ones ever. For to my mind the Doctor never ever had to face the possibility of vanishing out of existence in such a complex manner. Although to be honest we knew it all along. Come on, the name of this show is Doctor Who after all. However, he did it in a very clever way... Now there is a whole generation to whom "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" has a completely different meaning. Well, I'm not complaining.

All in all, this was a great deep ending and I can't wait for the Christmas Special and for the next season to find out about River Song's view of the story.

How to do a proper cliffhanger...

2010-06-20T14:39:00.010+01:00

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.