"So long and thanks for all the fish"

 

Just like the dolphins in Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy said goodbye to the earth with a fond farewell, we have officially come to the end of the Russell T Davis era of Doctor Who. David Tennant has left with Matt Smith taking his place, the companion has changed, the TARDIS has changed (inside and out), the logo, titles and music have changed and even the sonic screwdriver is different. However, the end of the earth also brought Arthur Dent a world of adventures from meeting a man with two heads and three arms (namely Zaphod Beeblebrox), experience a Babel fish (“The Babel Fish is small, yellow, and simultaneously translates from one spoken language to another.”) and transporting to a cricket match on a sofa. Similarly, the new Stephen Moffatt era of Doctor Who brings with it new adventures...

Tonight I watched “The Eleventh Hour”, the first in the new Doctor Who series. In short, it was amazing. Everything may have changed but it has all been changed just the right amount: enough to show that it’s a new era and to let Stephen Moffatt make his own mark, but little enough so that you can still tell that it is Doctor Who. The TARDIS looks amazing, inside and out and I think the new logo is really clever. I love the fact that everything seems to be harking back to the classic series with that eccentric olde-worlde feel without looking tacky at the same time. I know it will take a while to get used to but I’m ready for that. Sometimes it’s good to break from tradition and I think that after the success of Tennant, breaking from tradition was the only way to go.

Right, specifics so SPOILER ALERT!

Firstly, I want to say that the only thing that truly annoyed me was the fact that the sonic screwdriver glowed green. I have two issues with this. Firstly, half the definition of a sonic screwdriver is that it glows blue! The green just doesn’t work quite the same. Secondly, the sonic screwdriver from River Song in the library glowed blue, I’m pretty sure. Seen as that’s a future sonic screwdriver then it must turn back to blue at some point and if that’s the case, why did it change in the first place? Either way, it’s a bit petty to pick this out but that seriously is my only big moan. I’m suspecting there will be future moans but that is it for now!

Next, I want to talk about the monster. (Yes, I know, I’m not doing this in any sort of logical order.) I think how it worked was classic Stephen Moffatt: making mundane things like cracks in the wall scary and cleverly messing with the whole ‘wibbly wobbly timey whimey’ stuff. I didn’t think the monster, Prisoner Zero, was majorly scary but then the focus of this episode was much more introducing the new companion-to-be and letting The Doctor find out who he is. Either way, any monster than can blend in as a human is scary on one level or another.

Amelia Pond (or Amy Pond as her older self is called) is just right as a companion. Half my issue with Martha was the fact that she wasn’t so much a partner as a follower and I still don’t really understand why she wanted to leave her life. Fair enough one or two trips but it still just didn’t quite fit. In contrast, Amy is like a younger Donna: Confident and nothing to lose by going with the Doctor. (Except maybe a fiancé but that is yet to be clarified.) I just hope that the short clip of them kissing isn’t going to ruin this complex and turn her into another Rose. I really don’t get why the Doctor has to kiss all his companions!

I also loved the references to the extra rooms in the TARDIS. Russell T Davis rarely mentioned other rooms and only the massive wardrobe was ever shown but Stephen Moffatt mentioned two in the first five minutes. I love the idea that the TARDIS goes on forever, that there’s much more to it than just the console room, and Stephen Moffatt obviously agrees! The idea that the swimming pool emptied into the library is hilarious and the Doctor having to climb up through all the rooms is amazing. You rarely consider this as the TARDIS usually has an amazing ability to always land the right way up but this time the crash land flung it on its side. Unfortunately, knowing that the box used to film with doesn’t go on forever slightly spoils the effect but that’s my imagination being tainted, not Stephen Moffatt’s fault. I just hope that in this series we get to see much more of the TARDIS interior. The new interior is massive with so many parts and I so hope that it is used to its full potential.

I could go on but I didn’t take any notes while watching the episode so a full review will have to come another time but I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. Maybe more reviews will follow... you never know...