With the finales completed on network television, which dominated recent posts in SciFi Weekend, this is a good time to return to the discussion of Doctor Who. Reviewing the series is even more complicated now that BBC America has fallen three weeks behind the BBC airings of the show due to skipping Memorial Day weekend in the United States. As usual my comments may include major spoilers on the last episode to air in the United States (in this case Amy’s Choice). I will avoid major spoilers as to events which have not aired yet in the United States but make more general comments on what is upcoming which should not spoil the show for those watching. I will say there are really big things in store as the series long arcs has progressed. Those who want to know nothing as to what is to come might want to turn away.
Amy’s Choice continued the theme from the previous week of Amy deciding that Rory is her true love. As the season progresses Amy Pond has become one of the more significant characters in the history of Doctor Who, which is saying a lot for a show going back to 1963. This season really is shaping up as Amy’s story, with the crack in time being one aspect of this.
When we look back on this season in the future we will obviously see it as the first year with Steven Moffat as show runner and Matt Smith as the Doctor, but more importantly it will be the story of Amy Pond. This has raised one disturbing thought that after this season’s arc is completed it might be the end of Amy’s story, but hopefully Moffat has more ideas for her for next year.
Amy’s Choice seems to involve two alternative realities. I’m sure most viewers assumed that the future story with Amy being pregnant and the characters being attacked by the Eknodine in the form of elderly humans was the dream. The story was fun, especially if viewed as a satire of many of the elements of a typical Doctor Who monster story, along with forcing Amy to decide that life without Rory was not worth living. As in any love story, complications will come in upcoming episodes which I will not spoil here (and which hopefully be resolved favorably after the Pandorica opens).
The story turned out to be far more complex as both realities were a dream caused by specks of psychic pollen which had fallen into the time rotor and got heated up. The episode ended with the Doctor revealing that the Dream Lord was the dark side of his personality, manifested by the pollen. The Dream Lord is in some ways reminiscent of the Valyard, and there are hints we will see him again.
Throughout the season we have seen references to the long television history of Doctor Who. The episode included this plaque identifying the Tardis as a Type 40 built in 1963 when the series began:
Viewers of the BBC episodes have seen three additional episodes. Following Amy’s Choice is a two-part story, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. The two-part episode works as both a stand alone story, has important ramifications for future human history, and advances the season long arc.
This week’s episode, Vincent and the Doctor, was perhaps the finest and most important fluff episode in the history of the series. The episode worked in images of earlier regenerations of the Doctor while returning to one of the early plans for the series in being an educational show for children (as well as adults). While I have already seen some reviewers who hated it, I found the episode thoroughly enjoyable. This is primarily a stand alone episode but it did refer back just enough to a major event of the previous episode which I will not spoil here.
In previous episodes we have seen how bizarre the Doctor is by human standards including, but not limited to, more than one recent mention that bow ties are cool. Next week in The Lodger the Doctor faces one of his greatest challenges in renting a room and having to blend in as a normal human. The preview shows continuity with this week’s episode including a flier for a Van Gogh exhibit.
This leads to the two-part episode, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang written by Steven Moffat to conclude the season’s arc. A BBC press release for The Pandorica Opens reveals:
The Doctor’s friends unite to send him a terrible warning; the Pandorica – which is said to contain the most feared being in all the cosmos – is opening, as the time travelling drama continues. But what’s inside, and can the Doctor stop it?
