We saw the first 60 minutes of Matt Smith ’s reign as the Doctor , the time - traveling hero of Britain ’s iconic Doctor Who . The report was only so - so , but Smith ’s bravura performance wholly wipe out our qualification . We can barely remember the Tennant era .
It was shiver to see Matt Smith ’s introduction in a room full of awestruck and excited fans at Wondercon . Probably always the honorable way to see new Doctor Who . I remember watching “ The Twin Dilemma ” for the first sentence at a convention in the U.S. , just after it had aired in the U.K. , and call up it was the best instalment evar – mostly just because I determine in a way full of excited rooter like myself .
We ’ll have a full recap of the sequence after it airs on BBC America , but here ’s a spot of an other review . Some spoiler ahead , so be warned .
This was almost a newfangled pilot for Doctor Who , since so many element were being reinvent or revamped over the course of an 60 minutes . In finical , we need to bond with fresh companion Amy Pond – our first real familiar after a year of throwaway stop - gap companions like Michelle Ryan . True to Steven Moffat ’s conviction that Doctor Who is really the account of the companion , more than of the Doctor , Amy got an detailed , crystalline origin story .
In a nutshell , Amy ’s origin is a somewhat revamp rendering of Moffat ’s season two episode , “ The Girl In The Fireplace . ” She meets the Doctor as a young young woman , and he lay down a potent enough impression that he becomes a variety of mythic number in her life . It ’s a prissy room to reintroduce us to the Doctor , since we see the physician ’s awesomeness through her eyes – although she also body our doubts about this new MD , as she questions his off-the-wall claims , and by extension his competency . But most of all , as Amy discovers the Doctor , we in crook discover her , and her puerility shackle with the Doctor makes her our ideal sales booth - in .
The Doctor is more than ordinarily fickle , because of his regeneration and a seriously busted TARDIS . contrariwise , this progress to him even more gripping , both to us and to Amy . The “ post - regeneration unbalance ” trope has rarely been used to such great effect . The Doctor is flighty and even sillier than usual , swanning off for farseeing stretches before return and save the day with instant to spare .
Really , the sequence lives and croak based on Matt Smith ’s and Karen Gillan ’s performances . And they ’re both captivating . Smith ’s hyperactive , jubilant Doctor is already firmly launch in my mind as THE Doctor . He gets some defining “ shag yeah ” moments towards the goal of the episode which varnish the deal , if anybody was still dubitable , and his final speech to the Atraxi – very clearly recalling Tennant ’s spoken language to the Sycorax in “ The Christmas Invasion ” – puts him straightforwardly in the majestic tradition of Doctors , fight down the Earth .
And Gillan is the correct combination of nervous and madcap , with a complicated enough relationship to the Doctor to keep the chemistry effervesce for a span of episode . And she leaves to go jaunt with the Doctor on the night before her wedding ! It ’ll be fascinating to see how that plays out .
Oh , and there were net ton of sinister confidential information . “ muteness will fall ” being chief among them . But also , how does Amy ’s aunt know the Doctor ’s brass ?
Also : New TARDIS inside look great so far , although perhaps a bit too campy with the mixture of low and high technical school . ( A mechanical typewriter ? ) And new costume looked expert in action . All in all , a bright start .
Now for the svelte criticisms – dark , but these are heartfelt and not just nitpick to bear witness that I ’m a “ REEL KRITIK ” . As an introduction to the new Doctor and unexampled companion , it was nearly unadulterated . ( I could have done without the endless “ Doctor has food cravings ” successiveness , and a couple other turn . ) But as a story , it was pretty meh . We get tell that the Earth is in peril of being burn , but the threat remains abstract . We glimpse spaceships , and we meet Prisoner Zero , who snarls a lot but does n’t ever really do anything – on projection screen , anyway . The menace is mostly suggested in abbreviated dialog , then we go back to the character developing . Likewise , the Doctor ’s victory is mostly advance through stuff we ’re told about , rather than show , like his magic computer computer virus .
“ The Eleventh Hour ” will inevitably be compare to “ Rose , ” Russell T. Davies ’ first story and the story that launched the new era of Doctor Who . And “ Rose ” is clearly a stronger episode as an 60 minutes of tv drama , not least because we see stuff happening and the tale is told through activeness as well as dialogue – the Doctor say us a lot about his part by grabbing Rose ’s hand , aver “ Run , ” and blow up a construction , all in the first few moment . The Autons are an ever - present threat , and they kill a whole heap of hoi polloi , on screen . At the same time , “ The Eleventh Hour ” is a lot cleverer , especially with how it set up the Doctor - companion relationship .
really , comparing those two episodes gives us a secure sense of where Davies ’ and Moffat ’s strengths as writers lie . “ Rose ” find absolutely grounded in reality . We see Rose at her job , folding shirts , and hanging out with her football - obsess boyfriend Mickey . Davies takes a lot of aid to make certain we see Rose in her ordinary life , so that there ’s a context for what follows . At the same prison term , Rose ’s relationship with the Doctor is middling unsubdivided : He ’s this amazing man who appears out of nowhere , and he sees something special in her .
Meanwhile , Amy ’s job in “ The Eleventh Hour ” is mostly there to set up a few jokes . We never see her at work as a “ kiss - o - g , ” which is probably just as well , and her kinfolk and champion are introduced quickly , except for Rory , who has a bigger role in the patch . Amy ’s whole context as a graphic symbol is her relationship with the Doctor , plus the mysterious crack in her wall which launches the tale . Thanks to the alien who visits her as a child and the other noncitizen who footle within her house for most of her life , she ’s fully part of the Doctor ’s world from the beginning . There ’s never a “ normal ” for Amy .
Am I saying that “ Rose ” is a better sequence , over all , than “ The Eleventh Hour ? ” As a standalone installment , yes . The more I think about it , the more I think that ’s the case . For one thing , “ Rose ” is just a bit more tightly constructed and less ego - soft – in some ways , it ’s likely just the difference between a show that ’s despairing to re - establish itself after a decade away , versus a show that ’s already confident of being a collision .
On the other hand , “ The Eleventh Hour ” sets up a much more intriguing dynamic between the Doctor and companion , and creates a much richer set of context for them to deal with . I have a intuitive feeling the payoff from “ The Eleventh Hour ” will be much neat than from the one from “ Rose ” was .
So what did you think ?
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