2 thoughts on “Doctor Who – Series 7 Part 1 [DVD]”
Blockbuster Doctor Who Doctor Who returns after a while to present us with another half and half season, this time with Christmas as the bridging point. After the excellent and complicated Series 6 with the most prominent story arc in the show’s history, Steven Moffat and co. presents us with a five part series, five blockbusters of Doctor Who giving us things we could only dream of, Insane Daleks,Dinosaurs, a Western and the return of the Weeping Angels. Is this series good? Oh yes, this one is good, epic stories, big characters, a constantly changing title sequence and some real highlights. Let’s begin.Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks 8/10As you no doubt have seen this episode had a lot if images showing ever Dalek design in Doctor Who history. If you expect this to have any impact on the story, you will be disappointed. There’s about three of four brief shots of the past Daleks and they do barely anything in the story. But that’s really the only major negative. The premise is that the Daleks abduct the Doctor on Skaro and force him and his companions to take out a force field on their planetary asylum so they can finally blow it up after keeping it around for the admiration of their pure hatred. Meanwhile down below, a survivor of a crash, Oswin (Jenna Louise Coleman, the next companion in a surprising cameo), finds out about our intrepid heroes and gives them a helping hand in getting around a mainly dormant asylum. As the Doctor and Amy fight off the Dalek’s new minions (in one of the most disturbing elements in the Dalek arsenal) Rory meets the Daleks who are now waking up and remembering they are scary again. As the Doctor races to get them off and Oswin out, Rory and Amy seem to be in a divorce position and tensions run high as Amy faces a potential end to her humanity. So what’s good about this episode? The Dalek’s return and the Time War design is back in force, meaning they no longer are the plastic mockery subjects of “Victory”. The episode is dark, creepy, menacing, deeply tragic and features many a moment between the Doctor and his long-standing companions, as well as very dark revelations and a great twist ending. Doctor Who is back, and it’s awesome.Episode 2: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship 10/10Could you ask for a better premise? Well, anyway, the Doctor and a gang consisting of a big game hunter, an Egyptian Queen and the Ponds + Rory’s dad arrive on a spaceship heading for Earth to find the crew missing and Dinosaurs as the cargo. This episode is just a joy, a great romp and the first proper adventure story since Series 5 in 2010. We get the best of Britain with Mark Williams as Rory’s dad Brian, David Bradley as our villain and Mitchell and Webb as a pair of robots reminiscent of Douglas Adams’ work. The plot is fairly straightforward, Chibnall is at his finest and this time doesn’t screw up the story like he did in “Hungry Earth” and its a fun, humorous romp with plenty of great CGI dinosaurs with “Primeval” contributing to designs and just generally a fun, memorable albeit silly episode of Doctor Who.Episode 3: A Town Called Mercy 7/10Doctor Who’s first Western since 1965’s “The Gunfighters” and we get a mainly good story with some weaknesses. The scenery and sets are fantastic, the effort made into making this feel genuine is extremely admirable and the fact that the lines of good and evil are blurred work well here. At heart a Western is the story of inner demons of heroes and villains, it’s perfectly handled here as is the human emotion of fear and the desire for justice. Visually it’s great with the Gunslinger cyborg looking awesome and a good back-story for what we have as the plot. So what’s wrong with it? Well the emotions are there but sometimes executed weakly, the power is there just not enough and the ending is something of a fluke in the wrong direction as to if it even makes sense. It’s still not a bad episode and it a good Western blockbuster for all to enjoy.Episode 4: The Power of Three 7.5/10Different from the other four in this series, The Power of Three is a slow invasion of Earth with billions of cubes which over time grow dangerously complacent and familiar to humanity, doing nothing but with a sinister motivation. And then the cubes begin to activate, and then the invasion truly begins. This episode however has the real strength in that it is revolutionary for examining the companions – it’s the first to truly show the strain of the Doctor / home life and does what no other story has done, examined the issue of that strain. The Doctor here has a great scene confessing to Brian about the fate of his companions, albeit vaguely but with enough there. It’s a deep story and the fact is, the Pond’s are special, they have done things with the Doctor no other has done, seen Universe’s end and reboot, had their lives stolen or lived and then come back, the Pond’s are more than most companions in what they’ve done and this episode…
Moments of Greatness in Good Stories But Why A Split Anyway? First things first; the decision to split each new series of Doctor Who continues to feel absolutely ludicrous considering the strength of the ratings not just here in the UK, but also of the shows growing ratings and popularity abroad. Also critics of Moffat should take a real look at the series and accept that such criticisms are becoming a minority based on this increasing success. Series seven (part one?) offers a diverse range of stories much like the previous series and although this half doesn’t have an overall story arc, there are themes being explored otherwise this is a series of five standalone episodes. The only issue I would disagree with the makers over this series is the claims of making each episode a blockbuster. This is a more traditional series but these episodes just demonstrate just how consistently good the production value is but individually none of these episodes feel much like a blockbuster.Asylum of the DaleksA strong series opener that sees head writer Steven Moffat also back on familiar ground with this seemingly standalone episode that ranks as the best Dalek story since their revival in the first series. Matt Smith is on great form as the Doctor and although their relationship turmoil is under-developed, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are also at their best. The episode however belongs to newcomer Jenna Lousie-Coleman who makes a surprising debut here and gets mouths watering for the Christmas special when she makes her formal debut as the new companion. It’s a story with great twists and turns, horror and thrills with outstanding visual effects and it restores the Daleks back to their glorious form as menacing and frightening adversaries.Dinosaurs on a SpaceshipThe title is silly but there is surprising darkness in this race against time thriller/adventure story. Like the previous episode there are small hints and references that things are not all well in the relationship between the Doctor and Amy but these are small, interesting moments in a generally old fashioned adventure story. The villain is particularly despicable but there is lighter moments as Mark Williams debuts as Rory’s father, Brian. Matt Smith appears to be having a great time and here his energy is quite infectious. The limited visual effects work with the dinosaurs but compared to last week’s episode this does feel like a bit of a climb down. It is fun although the expanded support cast adds little to the story. One for the kids perhaps.A Town Called MercyThis is a more serious themed episode than before but it isn’t a predictable wild western like the trailers implied and has surprising depth to it. This is a Doctor centric story where Amy and Rory are relegated to the background so at times you do wonder why they’re there although a scene where Amy challenges the Doctor does reveal plenty of this series’ themes. The finale does seem a little rushed and you get a sense that maybe more could be done and explored here with more time but the location and set designs are superb and the story works well in examining the darker side of the Doctor’s personality. It surprises with its priorities and a certain degree of unpredictability but as a whole it doesn’t feel totally satisfying. This could be one of those episodes that improve with perspective over time.The Power of ThreeThe tone and structure resembles that of series five episode `the Lodger’ and like that episode this is an absolute delight to watch thanks to superb performances from all cast members; including a welcome return by Mark Williams. This is another worldwide invasion story that features certain traits common during the Russell T Davies era but thankfully it is toned down and just about works. It’s a story requiring patience but there a number of great treats along the way making it one of the more all-round entertaining Doctor Who stories. A prelude perhaps to the pivotal end of the Ponds but this is a great story in itself although you can say its biggest flaw is that the finale is a tad rushed and cool looking monster under-used. This is a real series highlight for me.The Angels Take ManhattanSteven Moffat’s second effort this series is equally as heartbreaking and thrilling as his mighty series opener `Asylum of the Daleks’, but here he’s playing with his greatest creations; the Weeping Angels. This is a stylish story that has a slight noir feel to it mixed with horror as the Weeping Angels are back to their very best. The New York setting is beautifully realized and pays dividends but the real highlight is the performance of Matt Smith and co. as longstanding companions get a fitting and very sad farewell. The story has a few nice twist and turns but it is relatively simple but filled with great moments and I think overall Moffat delivered on his promise for a fitting end to the Ponds.This is a good first half to a series with a couple…
Blockbuster Doctor Who Doctor Who returns after a while to present us with another half and half season, this time with Christmas as the bridging point. After the excellent and complicated Series 6 with the most prominent story arc in the show’s history, Steven Moffat and co. presents us with a five part series, five blockbusters of Doctor Who giving us things we could only dream of, Insane Daleks,Dinosaurs, a Western and the return of the Weeping Angels. Is this series good? Oh yes, this one is good, epic stories, big characters, a constantly changing title sequence and some real highlights. Let’s begin.Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks 8/10As you no doubt have seen this episode had a lot if images showing ever Dalek design in Doctor Who history. If you expect this to have any impact on the story, you will be disappointed. There’s about three of four brief shots of the past Daleks and they do barely anything in the story. But that’s really the only major negative. The premise is that the Daleks abduct the Doctor on Skaro and force him and his companions to take out a force field on their planetary asylum so they can finally blow it up after keeping it around for the admiration of their pure hatred. Meanwhile down below, a survivor of a crash, Oswin (Jenna Louise Coleman, the next companion in a surprising cameo), finds out about our intrepid heroes and gives them a helping hand in getting around a mainly dormant asylum. As the Doctor and Amy fight off the Dalek’s new minions (in one of the most disturbing elements in the Dalek arsenal) Rory meets the Daleks who are now waking up and remembering they are scary again. As the Doctor races to get them off and Oswin out, Rory and Amy seem to be in a divorce position and tensions run high as Amy faces a potential end to her humanity. So what’s good about this episode? The Dalek’s return and the Time War design is back in force, meaning they no longer are the plastic mockery subjects of “Victory”. The episode is dark, creepy, menacing, deeply tragic and features many a moment between the Doctor and his long-standing companions, as well as very dark revelations and a great twist ending. Doctor Who is back, and it’s awesome.Episode 2: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship 10/10Could you ask for a better premise? Well, anyway, the Doctor and a gang consisting of a big game hunter, an Egyptian Queen and the Ponds + Rory’s dad arrive on a spaceship heading for Earth to find the crew missing and Dinosaurs as the cargo. This episode is just a joy, a great romp and the first proper adventure story since Series 5 in 2010. We get the best of Britain with Mark Williams as Rory’s dad Brian, David Bradley as our villain and Mitchell and Webb as a pair of robots reminiscent of Douglas Adams’ work. The plot is fairly straightforward, Chibnall is at his finest and this time doesn’t screw up the story like he did in “Hungry Earth” and its a fun, humorous romp with plenty of great CGI dinosaurs with “Primeval” contributing to designs and just generally a fun, memorable albeit silly episode of Doctor Who.Episode 3: A Town Called Mercy 7/10Doctor Who’s first Western since 1965’s “The Gunfighters” and we get a mainly good story with some weaknesses. The scenery and sets are fantastic, the effort made into making this feel genuine is extremely admirable and the fact that the lines of good and evil are blurred work well here. At heart a Western is the story of inner demons of heroes and villains, it’s perfectly handled here as is the human emotion of fear and the desire for justice. Visually it’s great with the Gunslinger cyborg looking awesome and a good back-story for what we have as the plot. So what’s wrong with it? Well the emotions are there but sometimes executed weakly, the power is there just not enough and the ending is something of a fluke in the wrong direction as to if it even makes sense. It’s still not a bad episode and it a good Western blockbuster for all to enjoy.Episode 4: The Power of Three 7.5/10Different from the other four in this series, The Power of Three is a slow invasion of Earth with billions of cubes which over time grow dangerously complacent and familiar to humanity, doing nothing but with a sinister motivation. And then the cubes begin to activate, and then the invasion truly begins. This episode however has the real strength in that it is revolutionary for examining the companions – it’s the first to truly show the strain of the Doctor / home life and does what no other story has done, examined the issue of that strain. The Doctor here has a great scene confessing to Brian about the fate of his companions, albeit vaguely but with enough there. It’s a deep story and the fact is, the Pond’s are special, they have done things with the Doctor no other has done, seen Universe’s end and reboot, had their lives stolen or lived and then come back, the Pond’s are more than most companions in what they’ve done and this episode…
Moments of Greatness in Good Stories But Why A Split Anyway? First things first; the decision to split each new series of Doctor Who continues to feel absolutely ludicrous considering the strength of the ratings not just here in the UK, but also of the shows growing ratings and popularity abroad. Also critics of Moffat should take a real look at the series and accept that such criticisms are becoming a minority based on this increasing success. Series seven (part one?) offers a diverse range of stories much like the previous series and although this half doesn’t have an overall story arc, there are themes being explored otherwise this is a series of five standalone episodes. The only issue I would disagree with the makers over this series is the claims of making each episode a blockbuster. This is a more traditional series but these episodes just demonstrate just how consistently good the production value is but individually none of these episodes feel much like a blockbuster.Asylum of the DaleksA strong series opener that sees head writer Steven Moffat also back on familiar ground with this seemingly standalone episode that ranks as the best Dalek story since their revival in the first series. Matt Smith is on great form as the Doctor and although their relationship turmoil is under-developed, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are also at their best. The episode however belongs to newcomer Jenna Lousie-Coleman who makes a surprising debut here and gets mouths watering for the Christmas special when she makes her formal debut as the new companion. It’s a story with great twists and turns, horror and thrills with outstanding visual effects and it restores the Daleks back to their glorious form as menacing and frightening adversaries.Dinosaurs on a SpaceshipThe title is silly but there is surprising darkness in this race against time thriller/adventure story. Like the previous episode there are small hints and references that things are not all well in the relationship between the Doctor and Amy but these are small, interesting moments in a generally old fashioned adventure story. The villain is particularly despicable but there is lighter moments as Mark Williams debuts as Rory’s father, Brian. Matt Smith appears to be having a great time and here his energy is quite infectious. The limited visual effects work with the dinosaurs but compared to last week’s episode this does feel like a bit of a climb down. It is fun although the expanded support cast adds little to the story. One for the kids perhaps.A Town Called MercyThis is a more serious themed episode than before but it isn’t a predictable wild western like the trailers implied and has surprising depth to it. This is a Doctor centric story where Amy and Rory are relegated to the background so at times you do wonder why they’re there although a scene where Amy challenges the Doctor does reveal plenty of this series’ themes. The finale does seem a little rushed and you get a sense that maybe more could be done and explored here with more time but the location and set designs are superb and the story works well in examining the darker side of the Doctor’s personality. It surprises with its priorities and a certain degree of unpredictability but as a whole it doesn’t feel totally satisfying. This could be one of those episodes that improve with perspective over time.The Power of ThreeThe tone and structure resembles that of series five episode `the Lodger’ and like that episode this is an absolute delight to watch thanks to superb performances from all cast members; including a welcome return by Mark Williams. This is another worldwide invasion story that features certain traits common during the Russell T Davies era but thankfully it is toned down and just about works. It’s a story requiring patience but there a number of great treats along the way making it one of the more all-round entertaining Doctor Who stories. A prelude perhaps to the pivotal end of the Ponds but this is a great story in itself although you can say its biggest flaw is that the finale is a tad rushed and cool looking monster under-used. This is a real series highlight for me.The Angels Take ManhattanSteven Moffat’s second effort this series is equally as heartbreaking and thrilling as his mighty series opener `Asylum of the Daleks’, but here he’s playing with his greatest creations; the Weeping Angels. This is a stylish story that has a slight noir feel to it mixed with horror as the Weeping Angels are back to their very best. The New York setting is beautifully realized and pays dividends but the real highlight is the performance of Matt Smith and co. as longstanding companions get a fitting and very sad farewell. The story has a few nice twist and turns but it is relatively simple but filled with great moments and I think overall Moffat delivered on his promise for a fitting end to the Ponds.This is a good first half to a series with a couple…