As the first two-parter of Series 6 of Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffat, ends, I just have to say, wow! There were times that I jumped, laughed, applauded and let out an audible gasp, something that I would never have done in the past. Indeed, even last series there was something missing. I never reacted the way I would if I was a child. Maybe because back then I was a mere casual, dipping in and out of stories with no real knowledge of the characters or Doctor Who mythology. That ends today. Mr. Moffat, you have my attention, use it well.
What I did know about Doctor Who was that it was a science fiction adventure series aimed for family viewings, hence its prime time slot. I also know its known and beloved for its camp value and light-hearted approach. You could be forgiven for assuming that this was something else entirely. Despite many comedic moments, cringe-inducing and sappy dialogue, and Matt Smith's geeky awkwardness and quirkiness this episode, a continuation of last week's season opener, it packs a punch.
How do you top the Doctor's companion shooting a gun at a crying child? How about our heroes running from FBI agents while covered in tally marks. What about the main protagonist bound to a chair while an impenetrable cell is built up brick by brick? Of course, that's just a twist to fool the government. Lots of twists so far in just two episodes. There's more. How about a dreamlike Lovecraftian sequence where Amy and an FBI agent wonder through an abandoned orphanage with graffiti telling them to leave now slapped all over the walls and big Silent heads hanging from the ceiling like green and bulbous bats in a scene that sent chills down by sweaty spine. The scenes in the orphanage are bordering on horror film material, and I mean that in a good way. Everything I say I mean in a good way when it comes to this episode. Like how some plot points and twists are genuinely confounding and would probably go over most peoples' heads at first.
The main plot is Doctor Who orchestrating the genocide of a race of aliens known as The Silence, first encountered in the previous episode. Yes, really. For some unknown reason (until the very end) the Silence orchestrated the moon landing so they cold acquire a space suit to customize so they could protect a little girl, the same one Doctor and the gang are trying to rescue. The Silence kidnap Amy (Why? probably for the same reason), The Doctor then interrupts the broadcast of Apollo 11 taking off with footage of a Silent saying the humans should kill them (The Silence) on sight. The humans then kill the Silence on sight. All of them. All the while Doctor and River Song exchange quips while murdering the aliens in the room.
It's almost as if Moffat is trying to prove something. To pass something off as family entertainment one minute and then dive into a horror with complex plots, scary set pieces, creepy abandoned houses, gun-ho action heroes and philosophical moments regarding memories and murder. And yet at the same time peppering the script with cringe inducing romantic dialogue, purposely unfunny nerd references and cheese that belong in a sitcom. It's surreal, he's managed to do all this in a Saturday teatime slot. He's made a gritty reboot of Doctor Who and still managed to keep the humour and campiness of it all. Well, hats off to you, Moffat. I personally welcome a change to more drama and grit. Whether parents and families agree or disagree is another blog, which I'm more than willing to write. The episode was great fun with a reason to watch this week's episode: at the very end the girl who the Doctor was trying to save, then subsequently forgotten about, appears and re-generates. She's a Time Lord! That alone got me excited for this series. The mystery, if not the characters and story structure, is enough.
Next episode looks to feature pirates, in pirate times, with the pirates. Last series it was vampires, this series it's pirates. So a good chance of camp to lighten the load after two WTF episodes. And that's cool. Pirates are cool.
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