Spoilers & opinions enclosed!
So the series started off with a crazy bang and it was something that I did not expect at all. I must say, doing that with him right at the beginning was amazingly done and was certainly a step in the right direction. Bringing back River Song also seems promising, especially that heart-to-heart she had with Rory later on in the episode. I think the writers should think of getting her full-time. (Yes, this means getting rid of Amy and Rory, 'boohoo'.)
Everything was going smoothly, but inevitably enough, the episode gradually grinded to a halt. We were lost in this cycle of poor double-entendres, cliched 'standing-around-doing-nothing' shots and RORY. Now, not to be mean to the lovely Arthur Darvill here, but Rory does not 'work.' He never 'worked' in the first place and will continue to not 'work.' Moffat may have been trying to increase his significance in this episode, but that's clearly not working either.
The cliffhanger, however... WOW. I don't often say this, but the cliffhanger was a true cliffhanger, i.e. a surprise. The stark difference between Moffat's work and Davies' work is that Davies' often ended with something obvious (or in some occasions, disappointing) whereas Moffat has never failed to shock, scare etc. I'm sure many viewers expected the Space Man to turn out to be River, or another Doctor, or even those prosthetic - sorry, prospathetic - aliens.
Not a very promising start to the series, but there were enough unanswered questions to keep us propelled to the second episode (The Lodger TARDIS, anyone?!) And the consequences of Amy's hasty actions are too exciting to not think about.
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25 comments:
I disagree! 4.5 stars. End of
Not a very promising start to the series??
are you mad?... it was one of the best eps i have seen.
Booo.
I disagree with almost everything in this review.
Rory works just fine. Quit being a grouch. It's nice to have a male companion in the Tardis again after so long. (Turlough in the series and Chris in the books). At least he's better than useless Mickey and play-with-my-penis-every-three-seconds-Captain Jack
I happened to think that was quite a good episode all things considered. What happens to the Doctor at the start is very VERY unexpected and the Silence are brilliant villains. And if Rory didn't win badass points in the series 5 finale I don't know what he has to do to impress you.
Sounds good.
I agree that this episode was a bit slow, although I wouldn't say that is ground to a halt. I'm also not sure what the point of Rory is at the moment. I'm hoping his role becomes more fleshed out throughout the series.
Not sure, however, if this was as lacklustre a start to the new series as you seem to indicate. I didn't mind the double entendres all that much and there was some good character development of River. The tone was quite right and it was really a very dramatic start to the series.
Hm. Where you expecting full-blown action for most of the episode? iIt had good pacing and kept the audience chilled, while nicely setting itself up for a thrilling conclusion next week. What about Mark Sheppard as Canton? He was perfectly cast and a good character. Rory will come into his own later on....
Rory. Is. Made. Of. Awesome.
He always works. It's Amy who doesn't.....
I loved it. Easily the best season opener since the show came back in 2005. And The Silence are genuinely creepy.
Is this a joke? It topped every Series 5 episode from start to finish.
Ok theory the little girl in the could be river. Plus on we all no that Amy is going to mess up this whole linear time thingy and tell the doctor of his death.
your review my friend, sucked, rory is great, amy is hot lol and the episode itself was quite good and continues to look promising, i myslef nearlly stopped watching the series when matt came aboard but no i continue to watch it and each week it gets better. its reviews like this that let the series down and shows your not that loyal a viewer.
Well, mister reviewer. Seems you're alone in your opinion. I too thought it was a great episode with lots of mysteries and chilling - well done - aliens!
Not very cool you have a fan site and then go bash the very first episode of a new series...
Claiming that someone is alone in their opinion is not only a poor generalisation, but hyopcritical! Ha!
Great and creepy episode
I don't "get" why an eleven hundred odd year old Doctor would invite Amy and Rory to witness his death. Hadn't he met any other trustworthy people in his past 200 years?
I don't "get" how a pint-sized child's face could reach the helmet of the astronauts suit, her feet must've been somewhere around the suit's knees!
I have to completely disagree with this review. I started hiding behind the sofa in 1973, and have watched just about everything since except Colin Baker & McCoy (Baker was horrible and the McCoy stories were too childish). This was an excellent opener. The picnic/execution was simply genius - and Alex Kingston's acting raises the whole level of the show. In my opinion, Rory works - he gives a sense of the 'everyday man' that the viewer can identify with. Amy is becoming more solid as a character, and Karen Gillan is about as hot as the much loved Elizabeth Sladen (and I remember her when she arrived with Pertwee). Matt Smith's doctor is a wonderful combination of troughton/baker(tom) with a dash of eccleston for when you have to get nasty.
The use of the child's voice (yes, a definate Moffat staple) really set the tone well, and the plot has enough twists and turns to make for awesome viewing.
I hope you enjoy the second part more than you did the first.
seriously this site used to be really good but now its just gone downhill since the guy running it is obviously a tennant fanboy and seems to think the past series has been no where near as good when its been better than anything tennant and davies ever did
I also enjoyed this episode and am eagerly awaiting the conclusion next week.
It’s interesting how quickly they forget that there are sounds and aliens here in the tunnels. It’s almost as soon as they notice them, they forget them. They come upon a locked door. River mentioned to Amy that there was a worse day coming for her. River says that it was when she first the Doctor. He knew all about her. She says that they are traveling in opposite directions. Every time they meet, she knows him more and he knows her less.
Well, sir, I believe it's obvious you were half asleep when you wrote this review and saw the episode, or you're blind as a bat and dotty as a mandrill. Rory works great and the episode was chillingly funny in a way Season 5 rarely was. The cliff hanger was amazing and I doubt I let go of my breath more than 12 times throughout the episode. The excellency of this episode cancels out your not-nearly-as-good review and just this once I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you had a bout of temporary insanity. Let's hope your next review is much better.
your such a ten/rose fan it hurts and this rubbish review has shown. The silence where amazing - would you want CGI silence or proper aliens.
I love the 11th doctor, he is more alien and more endearing to me than David Tennant. But I think the Doctor knows that he was summoned to Utah by his future self. Lets face it - the only person that River Song, Amy and Rory have in common - is himself. He isn't dense! Also - rewatch the scene where the companions are talking under the console in the TARDIS - I think the Dr followed Rory to the top of the stairs and listened to River telling Amy etc that they couldn't tell him the truth....
I'll say two things. One, you need to actually try to enjoy something once in a while. And two, the site has gone to hell after the original person left. TWO pieces of news since the series started, and that's the AIRTIME OF EPISODE ONE and a godawful review from someone watching the episode with his eyes half closed.
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