Well, as well as satisfying our desires for answers, more questions were asked. Unfortunately, this time, the questions felt slightly too persistent in ogling in the knowledge that we don't know the answers. At least we found out who the Silence were, but what question? And why is it unknown? Will it be forever unknown? And yet again, Steven plays with us with the whispering. Perhaps he whispered what was whispered to the Tenth Doctor in The Forest of the Dead?
Introducing River Song for the first time was dealt with amazingly, whilst also cleverly employing dramatic irony. The progression from the one-minded killing machine she first was, to the empathetic 'child of the TARDIS' she becomes was a true testament to Alex Kingston's acting abilities, as well as a testament to the writing - with this development happening in a very short amount of time. Although many viewers would argue that Rory and Amy's ignorance to the situation held it back, it actually provided some ground to show that the confusion was still present in us too. What made it particularly interesting was the awkward 'parental' relationship between Melody-River and her parents - a strong reflection on what the audience feels too - and preventing the situation from being too easily understood.
The story consistency was strong but a bit off at times, especially during robot-Amy and River's encounter with the 'dying' Doctor. At that point, it seemed lacking of anything particularly sensical, but then again, the ending tied up his 'regeneration' marvelously...! The ontological paradox with Melody's name was also a nice touch for the story, as well as the TARDIS diary gift from the Doctor.
All in all, Moffat provided an excellent episode in all ways: the comedy, the satisfaction of answers and the inclusion of Donna, Rose and Martha (!) I would also commend Moffat for developing Amy and Rory's relationship a lot better than previous episodes as they did seem like a couple this time. More importantly, River's history was beautifully delivered, suggesting a stronger approach in future episodes.
9/10
12 comments:
i LOVED the idea of them growing up with their daughter.
sucks they couldnt have Nina Toussaint-White in the show a little longer though - shes a good actress! (hot too!)
Good episode, almost totally ruined for me by the corny pre-credit teaser. Deary me was Mels annoying as a character...
Got better as it went on, was so thrown by the start that I wasn't really getting into it until about 5-10 mins from the end :(
Loved this episode start to finish! The thing that hit me most is the fact that River can no longer regenerate and how it ties into the library episodes. Brilliant work!
I reckon one of the worst episodes I have seen. Great for long term fans but rubbish as a story for the casual viewer, I worry the way this is going as this kind of thing destroyed the programme in the 80s
It's fantastic that they managed to find someone even more irritating than River Song in the person of Mels. Terrific inspired casting to keep both the casual viewer and the long term fan away.
This show is for the fans, not the casual viewer. Deal with it.
I don't know why, but I don't like River Song :S.. I liked the episode, specially the scene when Donna and Rose appear!
I was very glad that Mels turned out to be Melody/River, because she was annoying from the moment she appeared on the screen.
Overall a decent episode, though the longer I watch the Smith/Gillan/Darvill line up the more I wish for an older Doctor. Sometimes it's a bit too much like watching a group of college students running around.
I was bored with this episode. We all know that River is good, and the Doctor won't die until his 200-year-older self gets to Utah.
This episode could have been incredibly awesome, what with the oppurtunities of the Doctor and Amy and Rory dodging Nazi soldiers and possibly reasoning with Hitler. It's fun when the Doctor starts talking fast, not when he's crawling over the floor of the TARDIS and arguing with a computer in the shape of little Amelia.
River Song has worn out her welcome. Alex Kingston's acting doesn't impress me, and her "Mels" alias wasn't worth the five minutes of episode she was in. I wish they (Moffat) would stop focusing on an annoying character and actually have Amy and Rory DO something that actually HELPS! Amy obeys the Doctor like a little robot, and Rory follows suite. Ugh, I'm NOT impressed with this season, not at all. I want DT and RTD back. RTD wrote episodes I actually LIKED, unlike Moffat, who's episodes bore me to death and get me confused at the same time.
What a terrible episode. It had the same problem that A Good Man Goes to War had, in that it was too hurried and tried to do too much in the time allotted, except here it seemed even worse. I guess it goes by so fast that most people just went with it and weren't bothered by it. With the exception of Blink Moffats best work tends to show up in his two parters when he's allowed to let his ideas breathe.
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