In 2011 DW reached it's 6th series since it's return I'm a lifelong fan and here are my thoughts, wit and wisdom (...ahem!) on the first half of the year. Not just what's on the telly either! There's a fantastic, thriving expanded universe in audio, books and comics...Plenty for new or old fans, as I explore my connection to this much loved series..! :D

New-ish Year and brand new blog! Welcome to my column dedicated to the biggest, most loved SF and fantasy series of all-time.
2011 promises to be a superb, benchmark year for followers of the genre. As regards the DW universe, it'll be the busiest in a few years too. All the family of shows are returning for new episodes this calendar year.

Here, in this opening entry, I'll map out what we can expect to grace our screens over the coming months, and when. In my considered opinion, obviously...and until someone officially confirms otherwise.

As things stand now, over the next couple of months it's the quiet period! The unofficial DW spin-off, K9: The Series, continued into the New Year on FIVE.  It seemS K9 has found it's audience. The network has shown many more episodes of Series 1 than announced. My guess is that a full re-run will be scheduled at some point between now and Easter, including those not yet screened.  A 2nd series is in development, following the great reception, internationally.

 

In very late March/early April we've got the return of Doctor Who itself.
Back for Series 6, the 32nd season all in all, at it's traditional "kick-off" time since 2005. I'll take it as read you WERE one of the 10 plus million people who watched at Christmas, either live on on iplayer. As such you've seen that teaser trailer for the forthcoming run. Frankly, Easter can't come fast enough. I'll be taking a closer look to the new series in coming weeks as further details, and an exact launch date, become clear. 
 
Listen up though, 'cos there are changes this year! Easter will see the broadcast of 7 brand new episodes, rather than the full 13. There's been speculation on this decision, but it seems to me they're all more bizarre than the reasons, as given. A shorter run as British Summer holiday season comes in, with it's customary sporting events and lighter nights makes sense. I'd say this pattern will also be implemented next year too, making sure transmission isn't affected by the Olympic Games. This year we're guaranteed a cliff-hanger ending to episode 7, leaving us to speculate and sweat over the intervening months, for the conclusion...
 
Summer will bring brand new Torchwood, after 2 years.
The 4th series, of 10 episodes, will screen on BBC1 from the first week of July. Alongside it's premiere on USA's Starz channel. Now a co-production between those broadcasters, with hugely increased budget, profile and an international cast to reflect it's transatlantic evolution.
 
A press call, where returning executive producer and showrunner Russell T Davies introduced some cast members and teased the high concept, was reported all over the net. This new run is an important production in just about every conceivable respect. It's broadcast will no doubt be a highlight of the TV year, building on the critical and ratings success of Children Of Earth, in 2009. Pointing the way further, not only for more Torchwood, but the growing presence of UK broadcasters like BBC Worldwide and ITV Studios, as true international players. "Everything changes.....?" well, just maybe....

 
In the Autumn, I'm guessing mid/late September, it's time for more Doctor Who.
Either Series 7, or Series 6.2, depending on how they decide to bill it. A further 6 episodes will be screened as the nights start to draw in, starting with the resolution that cliff-hanger ending. Through to a suitably big grand finale, I think it's safe to speculate. Details are sketchy at present, as I like them, thanks very much (...my NO SPOILERS policy remains!) with even many of the writers of these stories still a mystery.
 
To my mind, DW has always been more suited to the darker evenings, later in the year. Maybe that's because most of my memories of watching the classic series were always with street lamps on, and curtains drawn in the Autumn, I dunno..?!! 
 
 
 
Later in the Autumn,  Series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures airs, on CBBC and BBC1.
Probably in the winning format of twice a week. 12 new episodes, made up of 6x2 part adventures. Although 2 of these stories are in the can, little information has slipped through the net on what to expect. The producer has denied there will be a repeat appearance from The Doctor, but I'd say another 2 part event story of some kind, will still be a feature. Maybe we'll see Sarah Jane, Jo Grant-Jones AND Professor Liz Shaw, unite?
 
SJA goes from strength to strength. Whilst it's probably true it has a shelf life which DW doesn't, it's not out of the question this series too can evolve, as the young cast are now adults. Sarah Jane herself, still played so beautifully by Lis Sladen, has developed as a character more this last 4 years than during her time on DW in the 70's. 
 
Taking us up to the launch of the Christmas season of programming in the first week of December. Including the already guaranteed Doctor Who Christmas Special for 2011. 
It's impossible to guess, with 13 episodes between now and then, what the tone and content of next years festive instalment will be. But I would be surprised if the TARDIS crew, by that point, is made up of the exact individuals it is now. That's where my speculation begins and ends! 

 
So there we have it....!! 14 episodes of DW, 12 of Sarah Jane with 10 new Torchwood's. Plus a few more K9's for the younger ones.
There's way more to appreciating SF than Doctor Who, obviously. But I know I'm far from alone in feeling that this is THE series which forms a kind of outline for the genre year. With other series organised and viewed by whether they screen before, during or after a run of brand new DW. I'll be sharing here, as this all plays out, and drawing on facets of the expanded or "off screen" DW universe too.


Amy and Rory are trapped on a crashing space-liner. The only way the Time Lord can rescue his friends is to save the soul of a lonely old miser in a festive edition of the time-travelling adventure, written by Steven Moffat. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?
 
Another Christmas slips into the past and with it another DW special. Mercifully, we get to enjoy the specials over and over again thanks to shiny DVD's, which could be clinching proof that DW is even better than Christmas itself, right..?! Okay, don't answer that..! Now it's a month and a rewatch later, and this week sees the release of that latest escapade on official DVD.
 
When this special was announced, the obvious question seemed, "is there room for another version of A Christmas Carol..?" It's been covered more times than "My Way" hasn't it? Sure enough, over Christmas, and you could view the story over and over, and starring everyone from Alastair Simm to Patrick Stewart, via Michael Caine with the Muppets. A whole service of "Carols"! No one says you have to watch any one of them to be fair, it just feels like it probably is the law! Partially with this in mind, I doubt I was alone in being non-plussed as details started to appear of the riff DW would play on such a well trodden story. I deliberately stayed Scrooge free this year, not knowing what to expect other than the bare bones of that story. 
 
The other aspect I couldn't quite reconcile was that Charles Dickens himself is very much a part of the DW universe. Simon Callow played him so memorably in 2005's The Unquiet Dead. It was then shown that The Doctor is a fan of "Charlie-boy" (...his words, not mine! ) and it's that established fact which nicely provides the starting point for this story. An episode I'd now confidently offer as possibly the strongest individual Christmas special of them all. Loaded with pathos, with rich production design full of victoriana and steam-punk, from the new art team on DW. All accompanied by wonderful music, which stayed in the mind for days afterwards. Both incidental, and not so.
 
I was, first off, struck by a funny, exciting homage (...it's only a rip-off when they try and disguise the fact, remember!!) to Star Trek. Not just the visuals of the recent movie either. As Amy and Rory's honeymoon is plunged into disaster, and the familiar police box swings into shot, we had the Janeway-ish Captain and her Geordi-like helmsman both on the bridge. First goose-pimple moment almost instantly as and the Doctor's "COME ALONG POND!!" message fills the view-screen. How can it seem so long since the end of the last series, yet at the same time, like it's never been away....?
 
In contrast to even the most modest of Russell T Davies specials, this episode felt so intimate. Almost a "two hander". Albeit with 4 actors!...and the supporting cast! ...AND FLYING SHARKS!!!
As such, ACC positively belongs to Matt Smith and Michael Gambon. Each scene where these two actors were together exuded chemistry and weight. Even when it was just him watching the Time Lord interact with his either of his younger selves on screen, Gambon is predictably brilliant and multi-facetted as Kazran. The willingness to present such rounded characters as "opponents" keeps DW above pretenders, like Primeval and Merlin. Presented as such an unlikeable Scrooge type initially, we quickly see hope for Kazran as The Doctor does. Namely his distress at his own actions when almost striking a child in the first act, where The Doctor knows he can "reach" him even if he fears it won't be easy or knows the exact way in. Sure that a single act of kindness, will make a difference. One of many highlights had to be where the older Kazran starts to feel and retrieve new memories, whilst watching The Doctor intercede in his formative years..."that didn't happen....but it did". But then again ACC was full of such moments, and Gambon will, prove the most unforgettable of guest stars. Even the old trick of getting the same actor to portray the father and the son, works splendidly here.
 
Credit should also go to the two other actors who play Kazran as he's growing up. DW seems to have a hit rate of casting the most capable, and least irritating, juvenile actors seen on TV ( witness Caitlin Blackwood's appearances as Amelia, last year) I  loved how the youngest Kazran responds to The Doctor's breathless and brash explanation of the science presenting this particular threat to 4,000 lives, with a simple glance and ".....so the fish like the singing..?!". He's a normal child, taking it all in, being the best he can be, exactly like so many of the adults who meet The Doctor. As was Amelia or Elliot and Series 5, and not a precocious child protegee. Likewise the teen Kazran, starting to not only dress, but walk, talk and style his hair exactly like The Doctor was a terrific bit of characterisation. How many fans out here in the real world do the same thing, eh....? Young and old. Even without knowing they're doing it.
 
It's the little things, the attentions to detail in both character and ambience, which lift the story above the classification of "cover version". Gambon cuts a figure not unlike the original Doctor himself, William Hartnell, with combed back, silver hair and neck tie. Notice how his tie changed, a couple of times, as The Doctor proved hugely influential on his life. Then there were other touches, such as the dialogue about isomorphic controls. There for the classic fans, without looking incongruous to those 21st century viewers. Amy and Rory were used in a way which served the story best. In any story like this, the characters have to be where it makes sense for them to be so as the whole thing works the best it possibly could. Rather than either an actors ego or any obligation. Putting Amy and Rory on the "sidelines" helps tell the most "Doctor-led" story so far of the Matt Smith era. The first really since The Waters Of Mars, and one of the best examples of what make the character tick since 1963. The Doctor obviously, has to save his friends, but tasks himself with much, much more. Simply because he'd sure he can, rather than he should. Returning us to one of the most debateable issues at the heart of the series. 
 
Matt Smith himself is keeping The Doctor very much in line with all the ground work done last series. Developing nuances (notice the fezz made a fleeting appearance) and playing to what he now knows we all now like, very much thank you. I doubt it'll be long before this 11th Doctor starts to develop considerably. For the time being, this is Smith feasting on all the part allows him as an actor. A joy to watch him refining and stretching, faster than many of his predecessors (including David Tennant ) were either inclined or empowered to. The Doctor again presented as a childhood friend and companion, so child-LIKE in many respects and so like JM Barrie's Peter Pan when appearing silhouette in the young Kazran's window. It's a recurring take of Moffat's, of the character. One which could start to feel old, if revisited any time soon, granted. It's explored more than previously here, as Kazran grows up to almost hero worship his annual visitor before rejecting his further intervention, and tellingly removing the tie at the same time. It's the moment when Kazran is privy to something that even The Doctor, who has at this point been driving everything forward at this point, doesn't know, that provides the turning point. Leaving Moffat's already heartfelt story to deliver a final act which I'm sure jerked many a tear, on many a sofa.
  
It's only fair, after reading so many reservation about her casting, to credit the wholesome and affecting performance from Katherine Jenkins as Abigail. We waited almost half the run time to see her act, here for the very first time. Having little to no previous awareness of Jenkins, I was impressed by how believable, and delightful she was in this ethereal role. Those scenes with the older Kazran, in the street, being particularly touching. It seems clear that she worked at understanding this character as anyone else in the cast. I totally believed she was the apparition-like Abigail, separate from her profile as a recording artist. That's not always a given when casting in such a way, as any long term DW viewer will testify.
 
The visuals, like the haunting musical elements from Jenkins and composer, Murray Gold were stunning. Particularly the little flying fish. Personally I think that although the larger, shark sequences were fun, that some work better than others. Less probably was more, as with the giant Wasp in an episode a couple of series ago. Still, the Tim Burton-esque rooftops and landscapes were magical. It's true this episode is a smaller affair than we've been used to from the series at Christmas, where the whole thing builds up to an spine-tingling embrace, rather than an explosive showdown with an alien horde. As such ACC is proudly a character piece, in every regard and uniquely Doctor Who.

 
So was there room for another take on the classic Dickensian story.....?
I still would have welcomed a more imaginative title. That fact aside, the answer was a yes after all. Even if there was just about room enough, rather than an abundance. Of the 6 Christmas specials broadcast so far, this has to be the most worthy and substantial. You could quite easily slice away the Christmas elements of Runaway Bride, Voyage of the Damned, Next Doctor and even The Christmas Invasion; place them in any slot in a standard season on DW and they'd not look out of place. ACC took what could potentially be limiting factors, use to it's benefit and proved anything but the obvious choice and the straight rewrite I'd feared. The revelations of the ghosts of Christmas's present and then future being especially clever and unique.
 

It's often said by those in the arts that there actual number of stories told doesn't even run into double figures. All tales told, across any media, through the ages are variation thereof. It's bringing those fresh relevance, that is the trick and this episode is probably a localised example of that statement. Beacuse within ACC there's huge innovation and distinction. Dickens tale was the starting point for Moffat, as much as it is The Doctor within the narrative. His script owing as much to DW lore as it does to Dickens standards. At face value, which lets not forget is exactly how it's judged by record audiences each Christmas now wolrdwide, Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol represents everything the central character stands for. Similliarly the flavour and tone of the series philosophy, quite splendidly. The Doctor meeting his task, head on, the only way he knows how: instinctual, but with huge intelligence and faith in those he draws in.
 
As a fan of decades standing now, i can't help but be reminded of some of the latter stories of the classic run ( I'm thinking of The Happiness Patrol, which also takes place in the one evening) It belongs to that slightly grimy, all cogs and fog, side to the DW universe we also saw in The Beast Below. Nevertheless, it'll be revisited; repeated muchly over the next few years as it's so damn watchable but ACC isn't the easiest of viewing either, and that should be applauded. There's no conventional happy ending, but a message and some memorable big concepts. Well, certainly big enough when you've just loosed your belt after Christmas dinner. Complex...? Yes! As was The Big Bang last year. Unlike that season finale, this made 100% sense at the first pass, providing you're listening. Everything you need to understand it is there in the dialogue, even if ripped along quite breathlessly at times.
 
ACC proved, as billed, the most Christmassy one thus far and probably the final word for the time being on such traditional iconography. What it also does, more subtley than may currently be obvious, is point to the way the series itself, and the braoder arc of Moffat's version, will take over the next series or two. "Time can be rewritten", individual lives can.....and in some cases should be so, but where are the shades of grey...? Even with the best and purest of intentions. The transformation in tone of the series, or evolution to be more accurate, is now complete. Take a look back just 9 months to the premiere of the "very RTD" The Eleventh Hour and compare it to this....? You couldn't get a more idiosyncratic, more fairytale, more timey-wimey and consequentially, a more Steven Moffat episode of Doctor Who. I often say a big strength of modern DW is that it rewards repeated viewings, without demanding them and that couldn't be more true than in this case. My 2nd viewing was only a couple of evenings ago and there was plenty of little touches, of both character and story which hadn't struck me first time out. For anyone who was disappointed, or feels they missed something, all I can do is urge a rewatch too. As such it's a pity that, by being so ashamedly Christmassy, this one is the least likely of all the DW episodes to be revisisted throughout the rest of the year 4.5/5
  
DOCTOR WHO: A CHRISTMAS CAROL has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK. Features include a 5.1 mix of the soundtrack, BBC3's DW Confidential and they've included the 2010 Doctor Who Prom from the Albert Hall. 
It's superb entertainment in it's own right, featuring a "mini-episode" LIVE,  performed by Matt Smith.
 
Doctor Who is copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 
 
 
 
Last  week started with a great occasion for DW and it's fans, as the huge DW Experience exhibition finally opened it's doors in London. A showcase for the entire history of the series, with many props and iconography from the "classic series" on display alongside that of the "new series" (if I really must keep making a distinction between the two now...?) 
 
How sad that just as a new generation of children have once again come to the series and it's longer history, just days later we should lose one if it's true legends. Possibly the greatest Ambassador that DW had ever had: Nicholas Courtney, who has died aged 81.
 
Courtney was an actor for six decades, with a filmography listing some of the most well loved drama and comedy series from the 60's to the 80's in particular. He was adored by generations of Doctor Who viewers for his recurring role as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart: Charismatic, heroic but flawed co-founder and Commanding officer of the organisation called UNIT. UNIT being the taskforce The Doctor has worked alongside even to this day, and was actually employed by, during the early to mid-1970's. During this time, Courtney was considered one of the regular cast members of the series, just as the traditional companions were.
 
"The Brigadier" was a character Nicholas Courtney had first brought to life back in 1968, in the notorious, bed-wettingly scary story The Web Of Fear, as Colonel Lethbridge Stewart and last recreated on screen exactly 40 years later, in The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-off series. By which time the character was still working in an advisory role for UNIT, and had been knighted. 

For modern viewers, I suppose the nearest approximation to the role of The Brigadier in the post 2005 episodes, has been John Barrowman's Captain Jack Harkness. They both inhabit a zone, in relation to The Doctor himself, somewhere in and around his day to day "staff" or companions. Plus they both straddle the incarnations of our hero, with a bond ultimately uninfluenced by whatever face he just happens to be wearing on each occasion. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart appearing with between 5 and 7 successive incarnations, depending on how you consume your DW and in which form. Plus sharing screen time with the First Doctor, William Hartnell, in the original multi-Doctor celebration story in 1973. I've opened this UNIT file for a peek at past glories, and for a look at his journey in over those 40 years...(see below)
 
Off screen, Courtney has been, particularly when the BBC wasn't making any new episodes, the truest advocate and believer in the series and it's fans. Convention appearances must've ranked in the hundreds and whenever there was a revival across another media (audio, books and spin off films) Nicholas Courtney was there like a wavy haired, slightly posh, beacon. Either performing this most famous role where possible, or commenting on magazine programmes, dedicated theme nights and documentaries. This was probably what earnt him the courtesy of being awarded the official presidency of the long standing, pre-internet, fan group The DW Appreciation Society. 
 
I'm hardly a mainstay of the convention world, but even I've met and exchanged a few pleasantries with Nicholas Courtney a couple of times. I remember him as genial, funny and genuinely "interested". His place in the hearts of DW followers, just as within the fictional universe of Doctor Who, will be impossible to fill. 
 
Tributes to Courtney poured in to the media over the last week or so. here's just a few quotes:
 
Steven Moffat (current Lead Writer and Executive Producer Of DW)
'..on screen, his perfectly pitched performance as the Brigadier carved a very special place in the history of Doctor Who. Not just because he could be grave and funny at the same time, and wise and silly in the same moment, and not just because you could still love him when he was clearly in the wrong, or because he could point a gun at you and still somehow twinkle - but because out of all the people the Doctor has met, in all of space and time, Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was the only one who was ever his boss. Somewhere out there, the Doctor just got a little lonelier.'

Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor, friend and co-star)
Of all the characters in DW there is no doubt that he was the most loved by the fans for his wonderful portrayal of the rather pompous Brigadier. "Five rounds rapid" was the line we all loved, always addressed to Sergeant Benton. Nick's close friends simply adored him. There was a certain innocence in his personality that was utterly endearing..... a wonderful companion and his friends would call each other or e-mail to relate the latest little stories of a night out with the Brig. He had a marvellous resonant voice which he used brilliantly when it was his turn to spin a yarn....We shall miss him terribly.
 
Writer/actor Mark Gatiss remembers Nick as "a childhood hero and the sweetest of gentlemen". Impressionist Jon Culsaw said of Courtney, "a brilliant actor and warm, charming man", while director Edgar Wright paid tribute to "a true gent". Nicholas Briggs, Big Finish driving force and "TV's voice of The Daleks" amongst other things said on the Big Finish site:"I've known Nick for around 25 years and I am so sad that he has left us...Our thoughts are with his wife Karen, his family and all of you who knew and loved him.
 
Pictured above right: Top picture is Nicholas Courtney the role of Bret Vyon, in an earlier DW adventure (1965). It was the director that story who remembered him when casting the role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart a couple of years later. Bottom picture shows Courtney reflecting on his time by The Doctor's side...or sides, as president of the DWAS.
 
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE-STEWART: HIS STORY...
 
In February 1968, Nicholas Courtney appeared as Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for the very first time as part of a standard adventure. Within months, it was decided by the serials department at the BBC, that if DW were to continue at all, into the age of colour TV on BBC1 in the 70's, it's premise needed a refresh. The Brigadier would be offered as a lynchpin of this, as the leader of UNIT. Aiding a new Doctor in defending the Earth, specifically the Home counties, from invading aliens and mad scientists. The format was tested out later that year (The Invasion) and proved hugely satisfying, so by it's Seventh series Nicholas Courtney and The Brigadier were fully incorporated into Doctor Who.
 
Top Left: COLONEL Lethbridge Stewart meets The Doctor for the very first time (The Web Of Fear)

Those early appearances saw Lethbridge-Stewart very much an archetypal military sceptic/bully boy. Both fascinated and appalled by The Doctor's various quirks and moral stance. Though they got on, and respected one another, the now exiled and Earth bound Time Lord, would also be frustrated and ashamed of some of the Brigadiers methods and beliefs. These resulting conflicts would elevate the programme from its roots in purer adventure and expand some of it's most evocative concepts, in the early 70's. That relationship and rapport would develop, and affection and tolerance grow between the two characters.
 
Courtney's active part in developing The Brigadier, on top of what was on the page, or away from the required function of the character was subtle, and patient. Cornerstones of the man remained, such as an unshakeable faith and old school stiff-upper lip resolve, whilst a warmth and tempered understanding would rise. This regular role continued, throughout the life span of the Third Doctor (as played by Jon Pertwee) until 1974. 
 
Bottom Left: Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewart, sinister counter-part from another universe (Inferno)
 
Although the series was already evolving again, and moving on from the UNIT set-up, The Brigadier was to play a guiding part in the changeover between Pertwee and his legendary successor, Tom Baker. Baker's time on the series would rejuvenate the show once again, and following a call back to Earth by UNIT for the classic body-snatching story Terror Of the Zygons, The Brigadier disappeared from the series in even a recurring role for 7 years.
     
The Brigadier consults his Doctor....or Doctor's. "Splendid fellows", all: From top left: With the Second Doctor, introducing UNIT in The Invasion (1968)
with the Third in The Three Doctors (1973) and meeting the Fourth in Robot (1974) 
 
 
Bottom row: The younger, Fifth incarnation seeks The Brigadier's help once again in Mawdryn Undead (1983) Then The Brig comes out of retirement to aid The Sixth Doctor in 1993, after Battlefield (1989) with the Seventh. Finally it's The Brig who rescues an amnesiac Eighth Doctor, in Minuet In Hell (2001)
 
In time, Courtney was delighted to be asked to recreate the character, later in both their lives, on three occasions during the 1980's. Firstly for a key role in Mawdryn Undead (1983), where we find a retired Brig teaching maths and suffering from amnesia. Then later the same year for the feature length 20th anniversary adventure, The Five Doctors. A story which famously united not just the available Doctor's, but plenty of the supporting cast from years gone by too. Finally, in Battlefield (1989) Lethbridge-Stewart is again called out of retirement, away from wife Doris, to aid UNIT and re-aquaint himself with a further incarnation of The Doctor.
 
Whilst DW wasn't in regular production as a TV series, for over a decade, The Brigadier would also team up fleetingly with The Sixth Doctor, for special 30th anniversary episode Dimensions In Time (1993), then for a full-blooded audio adventure The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor (2000) for Big Finish Productions. He'd fight the Yeti alongside a Sarah Jane in spin-off film Downtime and feature in two new Third Doctor radio adventures before coming up to date, completing his classic set of Doctors with the 8th in Minuet In Hell (2001)
 
The Brigadier was destined never to appear in the new series of Doctor Who, but the character is still alive during the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's tenure.
 
Though mentions of the character and his whereabouts continued, as they had all through the last decade of the classic series. To the delight of viewers, eventually he would join old colleague Sarah Jane Smith in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, for 2 parter, Enemy Of the Bane in 2008 (see right) This story saw him now knighted, as Sir Alistair, and working as an Ambassador for UNIT.
 
Courtney's declining health prevented a planned on screen reunion with the Doctor, then played by David Tennant, in further SJA episodes the next year, though the name checks would continue. I do hope that continues to be the case.
 
 
So many vintage DW episodes were ever so slightly better of, due to the presence of this wonderful character and the sterling work of a dedicated performer. One who whilst never really becoming a houshold name, was aware, respectful and affectionate towards his audience. Be they the generation who grew up watching him, or those who would disover his work, years, sometimes decades later. "The Brig" never really left DW behind and Nicholas Courtney will be missed.
 
Doctor Who is copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 
 
 
So the clock can finally start counting down to the brand new series of Doctor Who on BBC1/1hd and BBC America. The date for the almost simultaneous broadcast of episode "6.01" is Saturday 23rd April 2011, I'm hoping at 7pm (and staying there, as opposed to bobbing about anywhere between an hour before and 20 mins after, like last year) 
 
....that's 5 and a half weeks of promo posters ( the first of which we see left, from BBC America ) ads, interviews and the traditional trailers which have every regular, let alone fanatical viewer, telling family members to "shuuussshhh" during the bits in between the programmes...! 
 
And as many weeks of my going on about it, obviously!,ha! I have a clear conscience...after all, the football season seems to last 50 weeks of the year, rather than 14, right..?! Just that one piece of true promo so far, but it's very evocative, and exciting. Totally different from last years too. Seeming to restate the scarier tone of the preview shown just after the last Christmas special, all those weeks ago. Word seems to be spreading that the first two episodes, a two parter by Steven Moffat, will be titled "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day Of the Moon".
 
After a cold, miserable winter even the cracker-tastic A Christmas Carol seems so far back "into the dark", let alone the climax of the last series. At least we've had a few bite sized chunks of DW elsewhere, to see us through. The latest of which airs this coming Friday on BBC1 as part of the bi-annual Red Nose Day 2011 telethon event. Watch out for not one, but two, brand new mini-episodes of DW between 7 and 9pm.
You can click just here to support this very worthy cause...

Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 2011

...I'll be casting my eye over these latest Moffat scripted slices of DW, called "Time" and Space" respectively, in coming weeks. First I'm taking a look at a couple of earlier examples of such fare. Starting with a rather unique production you may have caught in the Doctor Who at the Proms 2010 special on TV, DVD or been lucky enough to go to the Royal Albert Hall to see live, last Summer....

 
The Doctor appears via a huge screen, interrupting the announcer at the Royal Albert Hall Proms in 2010. The TARDIS malfunctioned and sent him to the Albert Hall in 2207, from where he is broadcasting this message. The Doctor tells the audience that the TARDIS has locked on to an engine, which has gone into overdrive, and could detonate at any moment. After failing to deactivate the overdrive, he tries to find a safer area to defuse it. He emerges into the Albert Hall....
 
The rest of this escapade was performed LIVE in front of a capacity audience at the Royal Albert Hall on two nights as part of the traditional BBC Proms. The Doctor, as usual played by Matt Smith, has to concoct a method of deactivating this engine, using the halls wi-fi system, but crucially enlisting the help of an unsuspecting, but brave, child from the audience...!! In the version televised, it's a boy called Ellis, who I'm sure has rightly seen his "playground cred" soar and soar ever since.
 
Following the initial DW: A Celebration event at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, back in 2006, this was the second, dedicated DW Prom staged by the BBC at the historic London venue. Performed for 2 evenings on 24th and 25th July in 2010, and hosted by Matt Smith along with Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill who play his companions in the series itself. As on prior occasions, the concert featured orchestral incidental and theme music from DW, with additional pieces by classical performers also. It was televised, in two edits (one with and one without the classical pieces) on BBC television in the UK the following September and then in the US at Christmas. It was the massive success of the 2008 Prom which prompted BBC Worldwide to develop the sell-out DW concert tour "Doctor Who Live". It filled arena's all over the UK last Autumn. The continued appeal of these Proms will hopefully mean a second such production may materialise, making childhoods and bringing the fans, old and not so young, closer into the DW universe than has been possible before.

Trying to keep in mind that it shouldn't take you longer to read a review of anything, than it does to consume the product itself, I'll keep this to the point. What "The Boy Who Saved the Proms" spotlights so well is how far Matt Smith has come with his Doctor, in the 18 months since his announcement. Remember in that interview which accompanied the news, he spoke so tentatively about finding inside his own nature "..this Time Lord" as a process...? Here we see him fully formed so much that Smith can inhabit the character so wholly in front of a live audience no less, and you can't help but be impressed. Smith's embracing of the role, on and off screen, shows as he bounds up and down the steps of the Royal Albert Hall to whoops of delight from an audience hanging on every word. Anyone watching, still holding a notion that Smith hasn't made the part his own yet, and secured his own place in the affections of the public, would surely have them eliminated by this.

Yes, Smith is an accomplished stage actor. Until his casting in this huge, populist role, considered one of Theatre lands best kept secrets, almost! So this is him plying his trade, but still, most of those roles wouldn't come with so much audience participation and the added danger of having to improvise in and around Moffat's script and keep to task and time. Smith, like his Doctor, is a unique physical presence with unmistakeable body language and so great with children. This script allows him to give us more of the childlike side to this eleventh incarnation, yet be the trusted hero at the same time. The best moment has to be the "psychic wire" routine, towards the end. 

So does "The Boy Who Saved the Proms" really count as an episode of DW, in it's own right.....?
The way I see it, it was scripted, though with purposeful room for improvisation, by Steven Moffat and given a "working title". As it was performed, by Matt Smith in person and broadcast on BBC television also....?? Well, I say, why not...!! It's more DW, right..? plus it contains a another variation on Moffat's "Wibbly Wobbly Timey-Wimey" (..see Blink, Time Crash AND The Eleventh Hour)...in "Wibbly Wobbly Explody-Wodey" you simply 'gotta love it...!!!
 
The fact that the writers and performers who make the television series are so linked to these enterprises ads a huge amount of legitimacy and spectacle to what are essentially huge promotional exercises as much as celebrations of DW's popularity. Yes, they make a profit from them, otherwise they wouldn't do them..! BBC enterprises is a business, after all. But they don't HAVE to go to this much detail to create something so unique and memorable. The excitement and warmth really translates through the screen to those who are watching at home too, so I can only imagine how electric it must have been at the Royal Albert Hall that evening.

DW is being looked after now, in the 21st century. The duty of care of the legacy AND the responsibility to it's audience, preserved and rewarded and respected. This 48 year old story is now the flagship of UK popular culture and like the Proms season itself, there's nothing more British. The concert itself, albeit a scaled version of, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray along with A Christmas Carol, earlier this year. This 7 minute scripted/improvised segment was included in that edit too and is also viewable online, at YouTUBE. Just click on this link (below) to watch this mini-episode, excerpt from the Prom...

The Boy Who Saved The Proms

You can find a great assortment of DW merchandise, by clicking here for the TNM COLLECTABLES Doctor Who Store
 
Doctor Who is copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 

  
Following up on my last DW column, the recent Comic Relief specials aired within the first hour of the telethon earlier this month, and proved easily the highlight of the night (not that I'm biased in any way, oh no!) The charity had a great night and raised a record-breaking £74.3 million for it's causes. I'll be reviewing the specials, in the next DW:R column, right here next week.
 
As well as those mini-adventure, there were appearances from DW alumni, doted around, here and there. Our Donna Noble, otherwise known as Catherine Tate, featured alongside Series 6 guest stars James Corden and David Walliams, for a Take That spoof. There were two films recorded by David Tennant, documenting the charity's work concerning blindness in Africa, and the former Doctor also took part in 24 Panel People. A marathon quiz event from which highlights were shown on BBC Three all week. There's still plenty of time to contribute to the appeal, if you've not already, at this link:
 
 
Now, back to my look at the most recent new special episodes of DW. A couple of months back, to this years National Television Awards, or NTA's, which screened on ITV1. A night of mild irritation to DW fans, after the series failed to bag it's almost traditional 2 awards, for the first time since it returned to TV in 2005. It wasn't all frustration, on that night though..
 
 
 
It's Wednesday the 26 January 2011: the night of the 16th annual National Television Awards or NTA's. To be broadcast live on ITV1 from 8 that evening, and hosted once again, by TV's Dermot O'Leary. Except O' Leary has overslept! He wakes to realise he's missed the awards! Disaster!! Until the TARDIS appears in the corner of his bedroom and The Doctor opens the door, with an offer to help get O'Leary there on time after all....

They frantically travel through the vortex together, with the TARDIS making a few false landings along the way and meeting various personalities and characters from British television. Most of whom appear to recognise The Doctor and his TARDIS. Before, naturally, bringing the tardy host to his required destination: The O2 stadium for the start of the NTA's 2011.

It's was very clear watching this show live, that DW had provided the biggest suprises of the night in not winning both it's nominated categories. Whilst Doctor Who failing to scoop those, almost expected by now, awards for Best Drama series and Best Actor (losing out to the BBC's Waterloo Road and veteran favourite David Jason respectively) was a shame, this roller-coaster installment of DW had made up for it in my eyes. Penned by showrunner and executive producer Steven Moffat, as was the prom scene "The Boy Who Saved the Proms". It also represents the first example, to my knowledge anyway, of brand new DW material to be run on the commercial ITV network.

I've no qualms about considering this a bona-fide slice of new DW either. After all, if you check through the end credits of the NTA ceremony we can see that this section does indeed have it's own listing. With a seperate writer, and the rest of the in house DW production team in their roles (....all that's missing is a catchy, handy little title!) This pre-titles film, as the credits define it, is comparable in length and technical complexity to certainly either of the Comic Relief 2011 episodes. Even if it does, once again, throw EastEnders fictional, exact relation to the DW universe, into chaos AGAIN....for those so inclined to reconcile such things.Ha, ha!!
 
This scene is wild and ridiculous, but as self-aware and clever as anything we've come to expect from Moffat. Dermot O' Leary, formerly of Big Brother's Little Brother and now the presenter of the biggest entertainment show on television: The X Factor, sent himself up very, very well indeed. You couldn't help but enter the spirit of things, as it was clear O'Leary was desperately struggling not to laugh practically the whole time. After all, not only does the frantic scene feature many familiar faces, playing along, but it's really very, genuinely funny too with some very witty asides. Matt Smith once again is channelling very much that bumbling side to his,by now well-honed, interpretation of The Doctor. Smith and O'Leary clearly had a blast making this.
 
I won't spoil all the suprise guests who appear in this scene, but I feel special mention should perhaps go firstly to the actress June Brown. Much loved stalwart of the BBC's EastEnders, appearing here as she has done for much of the last 25 years, as Dot Branning. Brown, as you may recall, previously appeared as Lady Eleanor in the 1973 DW story The Time Warrior.
 
Secondly, there was a brief appearance from the scourge of new DW, TV personality Graham Norton. Norton has twice before made infamous, unplanned appearances "in the series", to the frustration of fans. There was the technical problem which meant he could be heard talking over the soundtrack to first episode of "New DW", Rose in 2005, and then his animated likeness was plastered across the screen during a cliffhanger of all things, last year, just to advertise the next programme.
 
So where does this scene fit into the continuity of the TV series then...? Well, Rory and Amy are nowhere to be seen....and The Doctor is wearing his new jacket, as seen in both Sarah Jane Adventures and A Christmas Carol. Therefore, we could presume they're still on their honeymoon! If you missed it on the night, or just want to enjoy it again, here's a link to view the NTA scene on You Tube, below.
Enjoy, and meet me back here soon, where I'll bring us right up to date with the latest two mini-episodes and a look forward with the prequel to the new series.

Time Lords and Time Ladies, the clock is ticking loudly now....! The countdown: absolutely on. A few days ago the BBC hosted the press screening and thus official opening to this years season of TV favourite Doctor Who. I know..!! How fantastic is this..?! Most of us aren't lucky enough to make these events, but quite honestly I don't think I'd trade the shared viewing experience of the coming 7 Saturday evenings for anything. Particularly those weeks I'm accompanied by my little boys.

Teasers have also given way to full trailers, on both the BBC and BBC America. The BBC's own official DW site has also premiered and exclusive ON-LINE only, 2 minute PREQUEL to that first two part adventure. It's the first of three such prequels for the duration of the series, serving to set the tone and back story up, featuring members of the supporting cast. If you've not managed to catch either the new trailer or this first prequel yet, well here are the links....

Doctor Who Series 6: Full Trailer

Doctor Who Series 6: PREQUEL 1

That trailer, airing across BBC channels, multiple times a day in various edits, is a rip-roaring collision of images and dialogue from this first half of episodes to screen this year. The kind that demand at least a dozen watches, then perhaps one just to make sure "that really was what you thought it was..." There are plenty of blogs and message boards taking them apart, frame for frame. Good luck to them! I'll stick to enjoying the build up, and consume the hype as The Moff intended. I certainly won't be reading those papers who seem compelled to publish massive spoilers and dilute what I'm confident will be masterful blend of great story-telling and cataclysmic revelations, from Saturday 23rd April...

In the meantime, I'm coming to the end of my look back the recent mini-episodes with reviews of the two Comic Relief specials which aired last month, here in the UK: "Space" and "Time"...

Amy tries to get the Doctor's attention while he fixes the TARDIS, and discovers that Rory is helping him by installing thermal couplings underneath the glass floor in the console room. The couple are bickering about Amy's driving skills, when the TARDIS lights go out! Rory admits to dropping the exact same part The Doctor has stated him no to, before the Time Lord announces they've landed in the nearest available safe space, by way of "emergency materialisation"...

When the lights come on again, our three travellers are dumbfounded to see the TARDIS, as they know it, stood there, bold as brass within it's own control room. The Doctor quickly demonstrating they're in a a "space loop", and that nothing can enter or exit. Of course, a second later ANOTHER Amy Pond walks through the exterior doors to great effect. "..okay kids, this is where it gets complicated", she announces. Referencing the mind-boggling plot of last years finale.

This was the first of two special mini episodes of DW broadcast Friday 18 March 2011, on BBC1. Part of the bi-annual Comic Relief charity event "Red Nose Day" which has always led to their entire evening's schedule being a telethon. All to raise money and awareness of the charity and the work they do, both in the UK and overseas. Comic Relief itself was launched at Christmas in 1985, by "Vincent and The Doctor" writer Richard Curtis and associates. The famine so crippling Ethiopia had been making headlines for 18 months at that point. Following early benefit shows and a high profile novelty single featuring Cliff Richard and comedy stars "The Young Ones", the first "Red Nose Day" was staged in 1988 and raised 15 million pounds. There've been eleven more since then, and Comic Relief's biggest event, always featuring specially commissioned "special episodes" of television favourites (usually comedy series!) has become part of British culture and raised over £500m.

DW has been a big feature of Red Nose Day before, back in 1999 when Rowan Atkinson featured as The Doctor in a spoof set of 4 episodes. They were also written by DW's current show runner and head writer, Steven Moffat. Since the series returned to TV proper, there's been a Catherine Tate Show sketch featuring David Tennant as a supply teacher to Tate's Lauren character, which made loads of in-jokes. Tennant returning the favour to Tate, after she seemingly having been a guest on "his show", the previous Christmas. Two years ago it was Tennant again, alongside Davina McCall, who introduced a Sarah Jane Adventures Comic Relief special. It starred the regular cast, including K9, with comedy legend Ronnie Corbett.

I adore these pint-sized Doctor Who episodes, to be honest. In fact I've always enjoyed charity specials, full-stop. From One Foot In the Grave, through Black Adder and Men Behaving Badly. What this one succeeds in giving, apart from tantalising us for the imminent Series 6, is a refresh of the dynamic between the three characters that'll make up the crew of the TARDIS come "The Impossible Astronaut". Here we can see them spark off one another, after spending 99.9999% of the Christmas special apart. One of the things I'm still finding an unknown about the next run is how The Doctor and Rory in particular, will have bonded since The Big Bang (...and no, that's not another reference to the Pond's honeymoon...) Amy is pushed to the side, whilst the boys play, and it serves Darvill and Smith very well, even if it's Gillan who gets to steal the show. It's been a long time, especially for the children in the audience, since the last series and I think this was a timely reminder come appetiser.

Talking of the children, I believe, story-wise, this double-episode serves to answer what has to be a favourite and inevitable question every child will speculate or even ask a parent at some point: "What would happen if the TARDIS landed inside itself....?" Smart-arse DW fans already know this of course! If they're old enough, or canny enough to have seen and/or bought the classic adventure Logopolis from 1981. But this seems like the most natural question in the world to ask, when you're a kid and your imagination has been fired by the lore of the Doctor Who universe. Moffat answers that quicker, certainly more amusingly and probably better, than Christopher H Bidmead did within that classic tale. The special effects are as polished as ever, and the direction totally in the "house style". Despite the short run time, part one entitled "Space" on screen, neatly led to that traditional cliff-hanger ending so identifiable with the series. Though viewers would only have to wait another 5 minutes or so to see the conclusion...

To watch Doctor Who: "Space", click here...

 

So, a second Amy Pond has breezed into the TARDIS console room, announcing she's from just a short time into the future. The exterior TARDIS, she explains, having "drifting forwards in time". She only knows what to say and do because she's heard and seen herself do it already....as the current, original Amy is now doing. The Doctor hurries the original Amy into the police box, to preserve this timeline, though not before the two Amy's exchange some flirtatious banter. He figures out he somehow reset the TARDIS via 'controlled temporal implosion'.....but with which lever.....??

"Time" is short in these specials! Less than a minute later, the inner TARDIS has dematerialised as the outer does the same. The resolution not being that much different to the one in 2007's Children In Need charity episode, also penned by Moffat. Though this time with a more Douglas Adam's feel. But that's hardly the point, is it...? Whilst these specials are undoubtedly, 100%, totally canonical Doctor Who, their function is conceptually different. It's meant to be taken seriously, but only as seriously as you ever take the more whimsical, caper-style adventures of The Doctor. And they're hardly exclusive to the charity mini-episodes, I'd suggest. Having said this there is, I'm sure, a piece of dialogue present early on, about a question Amy has for The Doctor which is supposed to tie into the greater arc of the year...somehow...!

I'm well aware that there is a section of fans who've taken exception to these episodes, based on the fact that technically the whole thing is driven by an "upskirt" gag. Surely a slim, old fashioned and perhaps cheap laugh, at the expense of the biggest family drama on British television...? I can partially understand where they're coming from. But then again, it IS funny....! Not hilarious, but funny in a way that anyone can at least get the joke, and invest in the story. The dialogue isn't clumsy or out of character for any of the leads. I have to ultimately see it, as an exercise in demonstrating how sure DW and those who produce it are with it's present identity. Particularly outside of it's accepted genre, playing for those laughs with a no fear attitude.

It may not work for everyone, but if anyone gets themselves into a lather about this double episode, I'd suggest they chill, take the joke, even if they don't get or feel it. Lets get some sense of perspective? Look at what this allows the series to perform, in less than 10 minutes. The dynamic and appeal of it's core cast, played up front. Karen Gillan in particular seems more than game playing dual roles, perhaps poking fun at the public and perception of the character and playing with the image of "WHO-girl" as objectified in the press.

This years Red Nose Day was presented by the likes of Fearne Cotton, Davina McCall, Michael McIntyre, Graham Norton, Jonathan Ross, and recent TARDIS co-pilot Dermot O'Leary, alongside the perennial Lenny Henry. Other specials included Outnumbered and Harry Hill's TV Burp. The 10th Doctor, David Tennant made two appeal films, focussing on CR charity work and recurring DW guest star James Corden, a third of his "Smithy" sketches.

...and click here to watch Doctor Who: "Time"...!

Later on in the evening, The Doctor as played by Matt Smith even materialised the TARDIS right in the middle of the stage at Television Centre, live on BBC1 to assure viewers it was worth staying up late for this: "the greatest night in television history". He'd already seen it..! Smith is proving unshakeable at staying in characater during these instances, and as great and willing ambassador for Doctor Who as it's ever had. You can donate to Comic Relief, here....

Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 2011

You can find a great assortment of DW merchandise,
by clicking here for the TNM COLLECTABLES Doctor Who Store
 
Doctor Who is copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 
 

 
 
As we inch closer and closer to the start of the new series of DW, and the promotional bandwagon moves up, gear for gear, it's clear something is different this year. Something you probably can't put your finger on, and aside from the obvious or those we'd naturally look for. There's been no change in lead actor and for the first time since 2006, no new companion to bed in either. That non-change in roster is a change in itself, you could identify (...I do wonder how new series only viewers, will be conscious of that) but I'm thinking along lines more off-screen. It's a change reflected in the promo imagery that's circulating and in the nature of the promo circuit the cast and guiding lights are working, in April 2011.
 
Throughout the RTD series (2005-2009 and a single day of 2010) the imagery was exciting and unmistakeable, though conceptually similar. It evolved over that time, of course but for example we always knew there'd be the "back to back" shot, vivid colours etc. These images we've seen so far accompanying Series 6 are stylistically different, even from the "3D bubble" concepts of last year. They're grainer, richer and look more like the kind of promo you'd see attached a big Summer movie, than before. More conceptual, and linked to the narrative/tonal starting point I notice, than the gimmickry of 3D say. I'm looking to the Astronaut helmet poster (see my last DW:R column ) and the single sheet character posters.
 
It would be inaccurate to declare the DW has grown up, though that won't stop folks. More the case that it's grown outwards. In scale, and breadth and perhaps ambition (that's too early to say) Less parochial, maybe..? We'll see once they start airing. I'm positive that's at least part connected to the ground-breaking and long awaited way in which the series will burst through into living rooms all over the world come next Saturday. For the first time DW will premiere, week for week, on the same day on both sides of the Atlantic. A couple of hours apart too. The US audience has been clamouring for this for year. Both Canada and Australia will follow, days rather than weeks or months later, too. Two of the biggest territories as regards audience. So DW will become as close to a shared global television viewing experience as it's possible for a dramatic series  to be (....so not including such as an Olympics or a Royal Wedding) 
 
The BBC have confirmed this is partly in response to the huge demand for the material after UK broadcast, unfailingly meaning it is quickly, widely available to watch via un-official sources online. DW was, as many big US network shows, outgrowing the regionalised viewing whether the BBC were driving it or not. Taking the wheel like this, means not only is "Auntie" stepping up it's game as an international player, but also as a pro-active, forward ACTING (never mind "thinking"...anyone can think!!) broadcaster. This initiative can only prove beneficial to DW's profile and identity and can't possible be to the detriment of the market place it's originated for: therefore no one loses. BBC America have admirably seized this and are building on the slow, but definite permutation of the series into the consciousness of TV audiences in the states. Indeed, as I've reported before in these pages, BBCA is co-producer of that opening two-parter, with it's own team working under/alongside that based in BBC Wales to assure as smooth a shoot for the footage shot on American soil, as that on British. If this partnership is successful, and required more so, I've little doubt it will happen again, with increasing ambition in one respect or another.
 
On the same evening that BBC One premiered their full trailer for DW, BBC America showcased their own. Promotion of the series started there as it did here, with bus posters and billboards appearing a few weeks ago. Then there was a DW themed panel at the Wondercon event on April 3rd, where Neil Gaiman teased the audience with details of his long waited, much speculated script for Episode 4 (at that time, untitled!) and the BBC premiered a behind the scenes peek the early episodes.
 
TOP RIGHT: The cast joins Steven Moffat (middle) for the premiere screening.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Smith, Gillan and Darvill made an in store appearance at a signing of the Series 5 DVD set, at the Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue New York. Entry to the signing line, by wristband only.

Now with transmission a week away, this Monday, BBC America staged the first  FREE event for fans to "celebrate the first Doctor Who episodes ever filmed in America". Tickets were first come first served, but those lucky enough to get in were joined by all four of the headlining cast, Steven Moffat and executive producers Beth Willis and Piers Wenger. Following a screening of the two-part season premiere, podcaster Chris Hardwick chaired a Q&A with the guests. This will be followed soon by a screening and themed party in Brooklyn, New York. Listed as "a party that will be remembered throughout time and space!" How marvellous...! The venue will be dressed to look like the inside of the TARDIS and they're staging a quiz, lectures, stand up comedy and offering "themed" food and drink (...yep, fish custard is on the menu!!) 
 
Whilst I'm sure the tabloids and those so inclined will label this DW's drive to "break America"...(such a dated expression, I feel, harkening back to the pre-internet age where the continents seemed further apart) I don't see it this way. DW is, in fact, slowly and yes only patchily creeping into American popular culture. An awareness of it's language, mythos, characters and iconography. That's a miracle in itself. It's such a huge market, and DW's origins and appeal are so unique, that I believe BBC America and the BBC are doing the sensible thing for the long term.
 
Making it clear to those who are likely to be it's audience, know where to find it. Gradually reaching out to those like-minded and rewarding with a quality production on an international scale, which they may refer others to. If DW is to be the biggest it can possibly be in such a market, and to truly endure, it must be on it's own terms. In previous decades this wouldn't have been possible. New technologies and the changing way in which we (..globally now,Im talking) consume entertainment, at times and via means that suit us, mean that a series like DW can gain without any risk.
 
I'm not sure the series can, or even should, ever aspire to being anything but a cult series there. The American market is hardly unique to that! In the UK some of the biggest/best US series of the last two decades, are seen as specialist interest here and we're a way smaller a market. Still, some cults are bigger than others. DW's longevity and the affection of it's viewers come with a cache of their own. Others will find it, year on year as long as a steady footing and some organic market presence is maintained. Matt Smith recently commented to MTV thus: "We really think that Doctor Who is a universal idea -- so we hope that people in the States pick it up and enjoy it!" A noble and realistic hope.
 
DW just gained a bigger presence on newsstands as the first edition of Doctor Who Insider was published...
Produced under licence from the BBC, by the makers of the UK's long running Doctor Who Magazine, DWI occupies similar territory though the material is 100% new and exclusive to North America. In terms of content and appeal, at first glance, it seems to sit somewhere between DWM and the BBC's Doctor Who Adventures comic, for children here in the UK."Doctor Who has always been a strong performer. we are very excited to be able to collaborate with BBC Worldwide and BBC America and build on its increasing popularity in the United States and Canada." says Mike Ridell of Panini UK.
 
This title joins the USA exclusive comic book from IDW, just titled "Doctor Who", which recently began a new series of brand new stories, featuring the latest TARDIS crew, for the first time. Last year the company, now only behind DC and Marvel in terms of profile in the comic book marketplace, concluded an acclaimed 16 issue run featuring David Tennant's Doctor. I've been reading comic books almost as long as I've been watching DW, so here's my review of another brand new DW adventure:
 
 
When the TARDIS becomes infected with holographic spam, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory are forced to land on an alien world, but it's been targeted for invasion by intergalactic mercenaries.
 
British writer Tony Lee wastes no time, words or panels in making it very clear that he's mastered capturing the voices of the latest regular TARDIS crew, in this opening issue. He can't possibly have found this process as easy as the script makes it look! I'm very impressed by the way the dialogue flows between the The Doctor, Amy AND Rory. No small feat, when the latter hasn't had a steady run for long enough to really assert a consistent voice on screen, I'd felt. Here it is Rory, and his dopey using the TARDIS phone to check his emails (..sounds perfectly reasonable to me, but there 'ya go! hehe) which kicks off the threat in this stand-alone tale.
Mr Pond's cock up means he manifests physical "spam" to infest the console room.
 
When they land on a planet populated solely by holograms, things start to get interesting. This world is about to be destroyed by the swarthy galactic "Scavengers", led by a character bearing an uncanny resemblence to Machete star Danny Trejo. A pity, 'cos it would be very convenient for The Doctor to evacuate empty his spam, whilst the TARDIS is "rebooting", right there and then! Over the remaining pages, Lee plays out an almost Douglas Adam's like ruse of The Doctor's to fox the Scavengers, save that planet and lose the spam. It's tremendous fun to turn these pages, and roll with the story. The script has an energy that remind me of the earliest of the strips from Marvel's original DW Weekly comic. Devotees will already know those stories were pencilled by comics legend Dave "Watchmen" Gibbons, to words by 2000AD's Pat Mills. I loved the reference to Red Dwarf and the hard-light holograms, and enjoyed how Lee weaves the language of an "e-existence", in social networking and commerce for example. Anyone who's on Facebook, and let's face it, that's a lot of us, will "get it".
 
Artist Andrew Currie captures the likenesses of The Doctor and Rory particularly well, and manages to get over the feeling of being in the TARDIS console room accurately, without over-cluttering with the details of that complex and busy set. Graphically, it reminded me, and I mean this as a compliment if Mr Currie is reading, of the strips that used to run in British TV based comic/magazine combo "Look-In" in the 70's and 80's. The balance between the use of detailand space. The stance of the guest characters and the balance of licence to likeness in those familiar faces and body language.
 
I reccommend getting hold of this comic book to anyone who enjoys DW, in any media. Comic book veterans may find less stimulation and attitude than perhaps they're used to and it does assume a familiarity of sorts, with the series and it's basic set-up. As it is clearly based on a high-profile TV property, as is IDW's speciality (they also publish Star Trek, True Blood and many other such titles), I don't see that as a disservice either. This is a licenced book which needs to be approved by the BBC, and it is a starting point, first issue. As it stands issue 1 is as inclusive as is wise, and showing promise for the continuing issues.
 
Sadly there is no UK edition. You can only get IDW's DW series from specialist comic stores or via ebay and mail order for now. This addition to the legend is worth taking time and trouble to get hold of. I'll be covering further story arcs, and exciting evolutions in this field, on further entries. First things first though, we're on the threshold of Series 6! Join me, here in a few days, for my preview..
 
 
 
So here we are, at long last. The new series of Doctor Who begins this coming weekend, and not just on BBC1 and BBC1 HD, but on BBC America and SPACE in Canada too. That's Saturday 23 April 2011, at 6pm in the evening in the UK. Happy Who-day, all...! Matt Smith returns for his second series as the timeless television legend: The Doctor, with Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill once again playing her husband, Rory.
 
As you may know, I take River Song's advice and avoid spoilers like the plague. So you can trust me when I say that what I offer here as a quick guide to what's coming this next couple of months, I would describe as an appetiser. Rather than anything which could harm enjoyment or ruin any surprises. Of course some information, even that officially released, does travel further than others and not everyone who reads this will be an active "fan" with a capital "F". Still, if the BBC have released it, it's not a spoiler and will be very, very unlikely to contain anything which wouldn't be widely reported in the weeks before transmission, across the media. In short: you can trust me..!
 
It was announced some months ago, that not only will the new series break with tradition by opening with a 2 part adventure, it will be effectively split in two. BBC Wales are producing just as many new episodes as is usual, this year. It's just we'll get 7 now....with the balance of 6 more come September. Without further ado, let's turn to Saturday night...
 
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 601:
THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT
By Steven Moffat. Director: Toby Haynes
 
Series 6 (..actually the 32nd series of DW, all in all!) commences with this 2 parter penned by head writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat. It's these instalments which are co-produced with BBC America and have "key scenes" (their words not mine!) filmed in Utah. The story takes place in the late 1960's and promises to envelope The Doctor, his companions and the wonderful, enigmatic River Song ( as always played by Alex Kingston) in intrigue and action. Taking them right to The White House. Not bad for a first official trip, eh..? Co-starring Alex Kingston, as well as Stuart Milligan. This story also features the US actor Mark Sheppard. Sheppard is a familiar face from some of the biggest series on American Network TV (24, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica etc) A full trailer is now airing for the opening part, across the BBC stations, but you can see it now, just here..
 
 
Directly after this weeks episode, please switch over to the CBBC Channel for "My Sarah Jane". It's a special programme, showing as a tribute to the remarkable Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away this week. Lis played Sarah Jane Smith on DW and in the hugely popular spin off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Her loss has been a huge shock, for young and old fans. It will include contributions from some of them, and many of her colleagues over the years. The customary Doctor Who Confidential to go with that nights new episode, then follows over on BBC3 at 7:00pm. This two part story itself continues the following Saturday, thats the 30th April, with episode 602: Day Of the Moon.
From then on, things get a little cloudier, but here's the general lay of the land. Broadcast dates and time could alter... 
SERIES 6: WHAT'S WHAT...! 
 
Now what do we know exactly..? Or what are we supposed to know...? I've little doubt that you could, if you wished, find exact details of every minute of all 7 episodes for this Springs series, somewhere on the internet. Maybe even some of the Autumn run too. That doesn't interest me. No spoilers here..just tell me when I can watch, and as little more as you like and I'm happy. I'll be there!! 
 
Isn't it's the closest a viewer can get to knowing as little as the TARDIS crew do, when they flick on the scanner, or pull open those double doors.....? ( see official promo photos, right..)
 
603: The Curse of the Black Spot ( Saturday 7 May )
By Stephen Thompson. Director: Jeremy Webb.
 
Thompson wrote the middle episode of Moffat and Mark Gatiss's celebrated Sherlock series, for the BBC last year. This story is teased as a "pirate yarn" and guest stars Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville and Lily Cole, who looks so glorious in green on the recent trailer. Steven Moffat says of this story that it's "hugely clever, very funny but again properly scary adventure". Though a wonderful contrast to the opener. Confiding that Thompson, a distinguished playwright whom he's worked with before, was "desperate" to do DW.
 
604: The Doctor's Wife ( Saturday 14 May )
This fourth episode is the long awaited script by legendary writer Neil Gaiman.
 
Long term DW fan Gaiman made his name writing the ongoing, acclaimed Sandman comic book for DC Comics, but has an impressive pedigree in prose as well. His novel, Stardust, became a massive Hollywood movie. Gaiman had previously written for Babylon 5 and one of his books, Neverwhere itself became a BBC serial in the mid 90's. Richard Clark returns to DW after a 4 year break, to direct (He previously helmed The Lazarus Experiment and Gridlock)
 
You may gather I'm skirting around THAT title...This is DW after all, it's impossible to guess how literal we take those three words. Remember The Doctor's Daughter...? All I will note additionally is that the guest cast includes the gorgeous Surranne Jones in a prominent part. Moffat will not be drawn on either the title, or Gaiman himselfs comments about what the story may or may not contain as regards impact and drawing from the greater tapestry of DW lore. He did add that it's "A killer idea, which he pitched to me shortly after I first met him. And if I summed it up in several words for you you'd think 'Yes, of course…'." 
 
605: The Rebel Flesh ( Saturday 21 May )
606: The Almost People ( Saturday 28 May )
By Matthew Graham. Director: Julian Simpson
 
A second, 2 part tale, this time by the show runner of Life On Mars and sequel, Ashes to Ashes: Matthew Graham. His first script for the series since "Fear Her" in 2006. The story is known to feature the actor Marshall Lancaster, who starred in both those series, as well as Sarah Smart. 
 
607: A Good Man Goes To War ( Saturday 4 June )
The finale, by Steven Moffat.
 
It states in the press release that "Steven Moffat has penned an incredible climax to the opening seven episodes". As expected, details are few. The director for this, and perhaps it's conclusion in September is newcomer Peter Hoar (Spooks) In breaking with tradition by splitting the series thus, as well as making sure that children (...okay, and many, many adults!) don't have to wait 6 months in between episodes of DW, Moffat intends serving viewers with a colossal cliff-hanger. One to leave us gagging for more, over the Summer months and the internet forums, positively spinning and convulsing with speculation.
 
At the Q&A which followed the press launch, Moffat was drawn on this issue:
"If you run for 13 weeks you can start to feel as though you can miss one ep and it'll be OK. We don't want that - we stop for a few weeks and let you all worry about what's happening and then come back. Of course we get then two finales and two first nights."

Doctor Who is event television, but more than that it's profile is bigger than ever, not only in terms of merchandise, but tie-in events, exhibitions and just plain BUZZ! Make no mistake, this series really matters to people. They invest in it, debate (..for better or worse, obsessive or not) and celebrate it. We also form the most subjective of bonds, yet it is also that most potent of shared viewing experiences, outside of reality television or talent contests. That's part of why I often refer to it as the hardest working series on television. Of course this comes with incredible, added pressure to deliver. Moffat must be supremely confident not only in this much talked up cliff-hanger, but also the resolution and greater arc of this series. Looking at the make-up of these 7, you'll see that 5 are part of double-episodes, with only episodes 3 and 4 standalone stories "of the week". That alone could be indicative of change..longer term..?
SERIES 6: WHO'S WHO...!
 
So I've told you the what's, here's some of the who's: those people at the forefront of this era in DW's legacy. I've cherry picked the press releases and promo interviews for those "hows and whys" too. What I view as most relevant and interesting, from the horses mouths, so to speak. Then chipping in with my own hopes, observations and wishes for the series, and it's characters, in 2011.
 
Firstly, here's Steven Moffat. Moffat (LEFT) is one of the most high profile and best reviewed writers on British TV. With a back catalogue of series, over the last 20 years which have proven memorable and ground-breaking in terms of story structure and characterisation. From Press Gang in the early 90's, through convention defying sitcom Coupling, to Jekyll and most recently the 21st century reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, simply "Sherlock". Prior to taking the reins of DW, he was it's most talked of regular writer, aside from Russell T Davies.
 
Moffat is talkative on the series itself, however much he goes to great lengths to preserve the mystery and suprise surrounding a brand new series of DW. Explaining the extension of his version/vision for the series, longer term, and what he feels viewers can take from continual investment in these characters, outside of what convention and history may appear to dictate. So just how has this series evolved from it's direct predecessor?
 
"Well we've moved through the funfair a bit - we've done the rollercoaster, now we're on the ghost train. Last year, in a way, was all about saying, don't worry, it's still him, it's still the same show, nothing's really been lost. It's been the biggest joy to see him (Matt Smith) stride in and just claim that TARDIS for his own. But now he's really here, and the part is his, and the bow tie is cool, he's ready to lead us places we didn't know existed"
 
Steven Moffat does confirm that a story arc, as has been customary since 2005 to varying degrees, will be present. Promising it'll be...
"a bigger player this year. More than hints and whispers.....and there will be no easy answers" Though he is careful to repeat that each episode will continue to standalone too. Similarly, the approach to "the monsters" is indicative of a editorial decision "They're ... scary. Very scary. These are more than just freaky costumes and masks; there are SCARY ideas here"
 
 
In my own experience there will always be those who will lament the series should constantly be "darker". I hear this regularly, from many of the same people. It will never be dark enough for them. More often than not it seems the ones who need it to be, in some respect as if to justify their continued investment and enjoyment of it in adult life. It's a selfish perspective and with a blinkered view of exactly what DW is about and why it's endured both on and off screen.
 
I have always believed that the DW universe is inherently dark in any case, whether the tone of individual instalment may be lighter or not. The Doctor's life, steeped in melancholy, loss and death. That's dark enough for anyone surely? The trick is in how you bring the lightness into that. How you balance those factors. Just as it is when something which may appear whimsy, is turned on it's head and shown to have a sinister undercurrent and consequence. It cuts' both ways because as a piece of drama, it has to to reflect real life...even in fantasy! If DW was, week for week as relentlessly dark as some claim to want, it would lose it's power. Just as other series have. Simply because there'd be less for it to contrast with. The Doctor himself for example, often works best when larking in the face of the bleakest of the bleak. Or at the other extreme: staying stern faced, and foreboding, whilst others are seemingly oblivious.
 
It's looks clear the this year will start on a darker, perhaps slower footing than audiences are used to...and that will confound expectations and maybe initially disappoint some. After all, you can't please all of the people, all of time etc. It's a series which people make that appoinment to view though, no matter what. DW is ready to maybe play a longer game. For those who may be slower to fall under this particular spell, there'll be plenty of time. There may be some head-scratching, but I doubt many will turn away from the TARDIS. Turning attention towards what's in front of the camera now, I start with Matt Smith himself and his evolving version of the lead charcacter...
 
The Doctor: excited explorer of the universe, with a keen intelligence that means he often notices what everyone else has missed. He can turn in a moment from being interested in the largest of things to being fascinated by the tiniest of things. But his excitement sometimes results in him tripping over himself and walking into things. He enjoys anything that's different and interesting, and as always he has a powerful sense of right and wrong and a determination to do what's right. He gets on well with children. He prefers to call Amy 'Pond'. His dress sense might be a bit... odd. But he knows that bowties are cool.
 
Smith, after quite a build up, finally took residence in this iconic role, this time last year. Confounding expectations and doubts, it's fair to say, by almost instantly winning over the legions of dedicated DW viewers. Bringing along plenty of new ones, discovering the character for the first time with his remarkable interpretation. Smith, like his co stars, is used to keeping his council over what the coming series may have in store. He has aired some insights on what he views as things to watch for, and that which he enjoys both as a contributor, and a fan.
 
Matt Smith: "Steven [Moffat] has a grand plan and some of the seeds he planted in the last series start coming to fruition and affecting the characters in drastic ways,....Every character is faced with the most seismic and high-stakes choices we've seen so far."
On filming for this first story, out in Utah, he adds: "It was very strange...We were in the middle of the desert and suddenly there was a lady with a campervan and deck chair, holding an iPad up with a moving screen which read 'autograph please!'. I mean how on earth she knew we were in the middle of the desert I have no idea, but it certainly proved her dedication to the show!"

"I have to confess that I think the Stetson has been my favourite hat for the Doctor so far, 100 per cent. Viewers may well see more of the Stetson later in the series but I couldn't possibly reveal when..."  When specifiacally speaking Of Amy, Smith muses: "The Doctor will always love Amy, but he loves her the way you would a friend, a best friend....he's capable of loving people, but he's an alien...he doesn't see love in the conventional way we see it."
 
This being DW, of course, during the Q&A session which followed the premiere screening two weeks ago, THE eternal question was poised on just how long Smith will remain at the centre of this series: "I take it year by year, month by month. So I'll finish this particular season - and sit down with Mr Moffat and see where I go from there. It's certainly not a part I want to give up anytime soon. I love playing him" 
 
Since that evening though, it has been confirmed not only that Smith will film a new series, from this Summer to air in 2012, but that he's very excited about the prospect of being The Doctor for the 50th anniversary, the following year. When MTV caught up with Smith he added: "The great thing about Doctor Who is that you can jump into Episode 6 of Season 6, and the fundamental storytelling is the same: a madman comes along and saves the day with a toaster and a piece of string." Proof, if any more were needed, that Smith has a great grasp of the character, to match his enthusiasm.
 
A great deal of last year, in the dynaimc of the show, it's arc and the alignment of it's principles, was about reassurance, I recall being aware at the time. The Eleventh Hour was "very RTD" in pace and tone, though with plenty new. But the shift happened week for week. Sometimes to varying degrees, but it was always there. Now, after a suprising and most triumphant Christmas special in A Christmas Carol, I feel Moffat and Smith are both done flexing muscles. This is where their strengths really come to the fore, and Moffat's version of the series and reflections on the central character, become clearer. I predict the nature of his bond with humans will be looked at afresh. And that new spins on other sides to his nature will surface. Smith does dark exceedingly well, I feel. Though we've seen less of it so far. I was particularly interested in The Doctor who lashed out at an "Ironside" with a wrench in Victory Of the Daleks last year. The tip of that iceberg, I'm suspecting.
It's not just the bad guys that try the Time Lords patience, remember..! From time to time, it's his trusted companions too. This time The Doctor is joined by two humans, and they're a married couple, for the first time....
 
 
 
Amy Pond: The young Scottish woman from the English village of Leadworth first met her 'raggedy Doctor' when she was a little girl and had to wait fourteen years before he finally returned and took her off in the TARDIS.
She's very brave, bold and decisive, always ready to confront the problem or force the Doctor to tell her what he's up to. To the Time Lord's surprise she can sometimes see what's going on more clearly than he does....
 
Karen Gillan shot to fame last year as "feisty" companion to The Doctor, Amy Pond. A DW girl in the truest tradition, making headlines as much for her choice of apparel, as performance and chemistry with the lead actor. Clearly escatic to be back for a second series,
 
Karen Gillan:"There were clues planted in the last series that are going to become major storylines in this one, There's a really interesting arc in this series that involves all of the major characters...It makes for a fascinating dynamic between the characters and it's incredibly important to the overall series."
 
On the subject on whether married life will have changed "Pond": "if anything she is even more Amy Pondish! I don't think it would work for Amy to completely change now that she's a married woman and I certainly don't think she should become a subdued version of herself. However, I do think being married has helped to define the Doctor and Amy's relationship. The great thing about this show is that it attracts big names and everyone who comes on set is so excited to be part of the DW experience....For me, it's also a wonderful experience to watch these people at work - it's like an acting masterclass every episode."

All three of the regulars get a mention in on how close they've become in these interviews, without fail. That can only be good for the series, and a creative atmosphere. KG: "We genuinely mess around all day, but I think that works because as a viewer I'd like to see the Doctor, Amy and Rory having fun. Of course we are serious when we need to be...."
 
For my money, Amy needs to develop considerably this year. To grow from what was, not consistently, the character of a space/time tourist into an adventurer. I'd like to see her explored with regard to her issues of trust and the side to her nature which is too proud and maybe even stubborn to show her vulnerability. I like that childlike aspect she shares with The Doctor. I view them very similiarly to Phoebe Cates character in comedy fantasy Drop Dead Fred, or maybe Wendy in Peter Pan. Her bond with The Doctor is so different from anything we've had before, particular in the new series. As such it would be criminal for her to remain what sometimes feels an ever so slight backward step. Of course Amy now has Rory to think of, and she's made some big decisions. That's rich territory too.
 
I hadn't a problem with Karen last year at all. Perhaps she lacked CatherineTate and Billie Piper's "chops", for want of a better word. When she was at her best, I believe her worthy of joining their ranks and she's so starkly recognisable, in a similar but different way to how Billie was. The press and the children love her....I want to too.
So what of "Mr Pond".....? This is the year we get to know him considerably better...
 

Rory Williams: Amy Pond's husband, a straightforward sort of bloke who was initially wary of the Doctor and his constant surprises. He's known Amy since they were children. Rory's compassionate, inquisitive, and capable of great bravery and endurance. He loves Amy, but the Doctor sometimes exasperates him. And he worries that Amy's only with him because he reminds her of the Time Lord. A bit. Following them both around has already landed Rory in huge amounts of trouble...
 
Arthur Darvill gradually won over viewers last year, in the recurrent role of Amy's boyfriend, Rory. Time has flown by, and the pair are now the first ever married couple, residing aboard the TARDIS. Arthur considers that his character has grown... 
 
"Last series I think Rory felt like he was on the outside looking into this world he was desperately trying to save Amy from...he's very much inside that world now and married life has stopped him feeling so unworthy. He feels that he's proved himself." 
 
"His sense of adventure has awoken. But he hasn't become arrogant in any way, he's just more comfortable."  
The ambition of the show has grown, there are a lot of surprises this year.... ideas that are presented in episodes one and two that keep building throughout the series."  

All terrific news, I'm sure you'll agree. As long as Rory isn't unrecogniable from the guy who endeared himself to us last series. Mr Williams still feels like so much of an unknown quantity. I liked him instantly..! Right from The Eleventh Hour. Yet his journey and his development as a character was slave to a greater arc last year. Not just the "crack" stuff but in the service of developing Amy, which was only partially succesful I feel. If we'd have known Rory better, perhaps his plight and decisions in the finale would've been more potent...? The guy died twice, already. Where will Moffat take him next...? Arthur Darvill is a huge asset to the reguar cast of the series, I've no doubt. A warm and believable actor. The subtleties of the part have impressed, in the like of The Hungry Earth. More of that please, and more of his specific perception of The Doctor himself. The dynamic between those two has potential to be even more fascinating than either has with Amy. I like the fact that there's two regular companions too. No doubt, to some degree because that's what it was like during the headiest of days when I was a young fan. It reminds me of when Tegan and Nyssa, then Turlough, travelled in the TARDIS. The Doctor is outnumbered, let's explore that too.
 
So there we have it. The stories and the main players. All which remains to be done now, is to bring you right up to date, or refresh your memory with the BBC net-exclusive prequel, which launched a few weeks back. A two minute scene, leading into "The Impossible Astronaut" and featuring Stuart Milligan....
 
 
The BBC released this "short", a few weeks ago, just titled "Prequel 1″. It's also written by Stephen Moffat.
It's been announced they would begin releasing web-exclusive prequels through their website prior to the release of a few episodes this year. Reminiscent of the TARDISODES, which accompanied the 2006 series. The idea is to lead straight into the action, in some way shape or form. Setting the tone, and maybe introducing a supporting character or location. This first one begins with the simple ring of a phone. Hardly any old phone though, as this one is in the Oval Office at the White House. It's answered by the President himself, but which one....?? It's spooky stuff, see for yourself, here.. 
 
Doctor Who is copyright by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended.
 
 
Welcome back to my blog, on this Royal Wedding Bank Holiday Weekend. You've reached my regular coverage of one (..of the many, I won't lie to you ) Great British tradition I enjoy considerably more: Doctor Who...! Without further a-do, I invite you to take an easy chair and relive last Saturday's series opener, "The Impossible Astronaut" with me. Then hang around for a bit longer for a look ahead to the next episode and my thoughts, such as they are, on the River Song question...!
 
 
Four envelopes, numbered 2, 3 and 4, each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue. Who sent them? And who received the missing number one? This strange summons reunites the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song in the middle of the Utah desert and unveils a terrible secret the Doctor's friends must never reveal to him.
Placing his life entirely in their hands, the Doctor agrees to search for the recipient of the fourth envelope - just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third? And what is the relevance of their only other clue: 'Space 1969'?

As the official BBC site declares, "The Doctor is back in the biggest, most mind-blowing series opener ever..."
Big talk, for certain and now we're on the other side of the launch, you can't accuse them of over-playing things there. The Doctor, reunited with his 3 friends, and quickly up to their necks in an engrossing, unsettling plot full of twists and shocks. Somehow involving a mysterious former FBI agent, a figure(s) clad in an astronaut suit and and a new race of creepy aliens we've never seen before. Well, we've never seen them...but it's looking like they've seen us. Our heroes latest adventure has already swept them from the stunning deserts of Utah, into the halls of the highest office in the land. As if the malevolent Silence weren't bad enough, they're also face to face with one of the most notorious men in US political history, President Richard Nixon....

For days I was content to be basking in the glow of the first regular episode of DW for 9 months, and I'm still a buzz now. Full of "what's and maybe's", and replaying lines and scenes in my head. With TV, as with movies, this is a sign you've just seen something of considerable quality. Simply put, The Impossible Astronaut was strong, vibrant yet dramatic and dense as anything broadcast in the whole 5 years up to now, and this is just the first one of the year! It's difficult to say too much, or go into it all too deeply, because for much of the 40-odd minute they're laying ground. Most obviously for the second part of this particular story, but I'm sensing for much of the 12 further one's to yet to air in this 2011 series. How do you judge a story you've only seen the first half, or maybe even a way smaller fraction of...? One thing we're left in no doubt of, is that Moffat means business: this IS NEW New Doctor Who!
 
Some will no doubt be quick to dismiss that not much actually happened per se, as TIA was undoubtedly not a "romp" and more "talky" than we're used to. I even will consider that TIA took us as far as it is wise to go down this particular road, without alienating any of the regular, broader audience who anticipate a new run as much as "fans" do. Certainly to open a series. Drama, let alone anything written by Steven Moffat doesn't really work like that though, does it? Besides, from the look of that tease for Part 2, the balance will most surely be redressed "next time.." Of course on DW, there's always plenty else going on anyway! We watch, and continue to invest and suspend our disbelief, in part, for the way it ticks all those boxes. So satisfyingly, with a remarkable hit-rate, compared to 99.99% of all other series.

Each of the four familiar cast members "played a blinder". Plenty of time in the spotlight was allocated, to show how far they're come since the previous series. I really like the fact that it's been sometime since any of them have been in each others company. This even distribution is the luxury a 2-parter does afford, and I suspect that redefining Rory and Amy was a necessity best tackled by the longer format. Not that I'd want to lose the single episodes...! Everything in moderation etc. Insisting The Impossible Astronaut is a "character PIECE", does Steven Moffat a slight disservice. Despite it's steady pace, there was something important being said or communicated, even in the lines that don't quite sink in on first viewing PLUS the episode delivered supremely memorable visuals and sequences. Ones which will quickly achieve an iconic status of their own. I'm thinking of the shooting, the funeral boat and the Police Box manifesting on the rug of the White House to name just a few...! All so EPIC-ally (...if that isn't a word..? well, it should be!) realised by director Toby Haynes. What TIA doesn't give us in answers, it makes up for in this breadth of scale and contrast in locations. It was also noted that the incidental music has again, evolved from last year.

Most pleasing of all, to the eyes or ears, was the undoubted development of Amy Pond. Without getting too carried away, she definitely seems more rounded and dare I say, "mature" upon her reunion with The Doctor. Speaking rather than just saying stuff and more invested, involved in what's happening around her. A favourite scene of mine was when asked to swear on something that matters, she chooses "fish fingers and custard": the glance between her and The Doctor says the rest. Rory also is less the comic foil than before, though still far from an "alpha male". That would be the remit of River Song, you could say. Yes, Alex Kingston is as scene-stealing as ever as the once again on-the-run archaeologist. Only this time there's a definite shift in the way she's relating to the others. She actually talked and disclosed to Rory, in a way we've never heard before. As the day she seems to dread so, gets closer. Rory functions really well as a effectively Rivers own "companion" in some scenes.

I can't quite believe that WAS only 43 minutes...?...it DID have that "event" feel which have more often than not been the exclusive ground of the Christmas specials, up to now. TIA looked incredibly slick, whilst feeling unmistakeably DW. Not as easy as it looks, I'll wager. I think without going into the intricacies of the actual plot, which I must admit I'm still tied in knots about (...grrrr, curse you Moffat!) it's possible to note a couple of things about it which show DW's evolution and upping itself, conceptually.

Namely the way its now playing it's mythology as a strength to drive REAL story, not just spectacle. The development of lore, tone and individual characters, is staggeringly brave for such a high profile and populist series . DW isn't so much stepping out of it's comfort zone, as striding! Just look at the scene on the beech, where The Doctor is shot...? This is the kind of episode, even forgetting the US filming etc. that it just wouldn't have been possibly to do a couple of years ago, let alone when DW first returned. Knowing that kids are canny enough to realise that just simply being shot isn't enough, "...oh, he can just regenerate...!?", TIA uses the mythology and recognisable conventions of the last few years, to provide a jaw-dropping moment. There's little build up, and no need to go into things too much after either...the simple presence of that familiar, if slightly, spookily re-worked regeneration effect, said it all. It's all so simple, and quick, yet the stakes are higher than ever!

Wonderful to see Morgan Sheppard and real life son Mark Sheppard, both as Carlton. Veterans of so many US genre series between them, but this being DW there was also the "isn't that...?" moment. Yes, it was that guy from the UK version of Gladiators in the 1990's, playing one of the White House security. Stuart Milligan was also excellent, and understated, as Nixon.
 
And what about The Silence....? How spooky are they...?? Stood there like a cross between The Scream painting, and the classic "Grey" of The X-Files and such series. We know so little about them, their nature and less of what they're actually up to. Still, there's no doubt they'll prove as notorious as Moffat's Weeping Angels. Their taking the life of a staff worker, right in front of Amy, was extremely chilling. (I also notice the writer putting another spin on his "eye contact" scenario here with them, from his earlier creations) As Amy stood there in the ladies, with that one alien at the other end of the basins, all willowy and ghostlike in movement and presence, like there were only partially "there"...it struck me that this is what I'd so wish The Cybermen to be like again.

Off the top of my head, I love how the story has seemingly spun things round for the regulars. For once, The Doctor knows less (...and not just by some short measure, we're talking a WHOLE LOTTA-LESS!!) than all of his companions. This isn't lost on him and in his frustration to restore a more familiar status-quo, and prise the information from their lips we get a glimpse at the darker side to his nature, ( "Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that.") This represented one of the more subtle highlights for me, demonstrating just how adept Smith is at straddling the different sides to The Doctor. Then we had the more traditional magic of him playing the fool in the Oval Office, before showing just how in control he really is of that situation, when the guns are pointed over the desk at him. Almost in the blink of an eye.
 
I have previously grumbled out last year's series repeatedly killing the lead characters (not only in DW, but The Sarah Jane Adventures too...) and more often than not Rory. This time the "killing" of The Doctor is rather different though. I doubt there are many people out there watching, certainly above 8 years old, who think for one moment that The Doctor is literally dead. Even after the funeral pyre scene, EVEN within his own timeline. The question begging us to watch more isn't "how and why does The Doctor die...?" or even "...is he really dead...?" so much as "what on earth is The Doctor UP TO...??" How much was/is he in control of, up to which point precisely?

Potentially, based on how much Part 2 delivers next week, this is a Doctor Who all-time great unfolding before our very eyes. Yet it all seems almost random, doesn't it..? Who are The Silence and what do they want...? Have they been under our noses, and those of the TARDIS travellers, for some time...? What is a ship we last saw occupying a flat upstairs from Craig, doing at the heart of a network of underground tunnels...? ...and of course, who is River Song already..?! Finally, literally: what a cliff-hanger! Unconventional, yet conventional at the same time. Just got time to get one last viewing in before the conclusion, I'd say - 4.5/5
 
 
 
 
SERIES 6 - WHO's WHO: Doctor RIVER SONG
 
River Song: Archaeologist from the future who the Doctor keeps meeting in the wrong order......
He first met HER on the planet of The Library, but we haven't yet seen where she first met HIM. Her precious TARDIS blue journal is packed with information the Doctor feels he shouldn't know about yet. Just how close are they destined to get...? After all, it seems River knows the Doctor's real name, and she even packs a sonic screwdriver of her own that she claims he gave to her. PLUS... she seems to be able to fly the TARDIS, perhaps a little too well...?
 
Of course there's a tragic element to their relationship: The Doctor already knows how River dies, so when the two of them meet at the crash of the Byzantium, share that picnic at Asgard, he'll have a terrible secret that he won't be able to tell her. River has a knack for getting into trouble and knows the Doctor can help her get out of it. But as for just how much they meant to each other: spoilers!

Alex Kingston herself is still best known for a long stint on the huge US drama series ER. Though her CV lists a multitude of movies and high profile drama's on both sides of the Atlantic, over the last two decades. Since 2008, she has played this recurring role on Doctor Who. Though when she originally played Professor Song, Kingston had no idea it would turn into a character she would revisit a few time over the coming years, as she explained to Entertainment Weekly, last week:

"When I first did Doctor Who with David Tennant, I wasn't expecting that at all. As far as I was concerned, it was just a two-episode story arc with me being held forever in a computer, or whatever. But Steven always intended that she would come back. The really exciting journey for me, and for Steven, is backtracking. The characters keep missing each other..." 
 
In reference to this series containing a crucial moment in their relationship, Kingston elaborated "...In this particular season, and certainly in the first two episodes, what you see is her knowing that she's on the brink of the moment where the Doctor doesn't know any more who she is. And I think that's just tragic, really." So it seems that things are soon, never to be quite the same again.
 
The regular cast of DW clearly far from mind making room for another body around the TARDIS console room. Here's Matt Smith, on Alex Kingston:
"I'm very fond of Alex and I simply love the part of River Song because it makes the Doctor come unstuck; she's the one person in the world who knows more than him. I think Steven has written some really revelatory stuff about the character and she's extremely important to this series,"
 
"Alex is so much fun to have around," states Karen Gillian. "She makes the TARDIS team feel complete." A sentiment echoes by Arthur Darvill who adds "she's a dream to work with and is hilarious on set." All very nice I'm sure, but we as viewers, no matter how much we look forward to each "Hello sweetie..." only really need to know the one thing: "JUST WHO IS RIVER SONG..??" The regular cast were openly allowed to gain the information via a private look at  Steven Moffats laptop, after dummy endings had previously been distributed. Karen Gillan teases: '.....viewers will just have to tune in to find out more. It certainly provides a fantastic cliff-hanger to see us through until the autumn." 
 
So it's almost time...but not yet. To use an old familiar phrase! I've had a few theories over the last 3 years, as to who River is in relation to The Doctor. I've cast them all aside, as it's become clearer than ever since the confirmation of episode 604's title, that Moffat is deliberately toying with us. Pulling out red-herrings  and confounding theories. Of course, I'm sure someone out there is right! Law of averages says that's the case, but I'm happy to just enjoy then ride whilst it lasts. After all, Kingston's time on the series sadly can't last forever. I'm trying not to wish any of it away...
 
We're very close to getting another piece of that particular puzzle, then we just have to work out where they all fit......!
 
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 602: OFFICIAL UK TRAILER
DAY OF THE MOON
By Steven Moffat. Director: Toby Haynes
 
 
 
.....Yes, a 2nd entire Doctor Who story is to be broadcast this week and it's the duty of every fan-boy/girl to flag it up, for all to catch. As I'm sure you're aware, just a couple of weeks ago, suddenly and most unexpectedly, the DW universe lost one of it's biggest and most loved figures. The actress Elisabeth Sladen, passed away on 19 April.
 
Lis, who played Sarah Jane Smith, was a lynchpin of the series, past and present, on and off screen. It's most deserving and welcome news, that the BBC is repeating one of her original adventures in tribute.
 
The classic DW story"The Hand Of Fear"will be shown onMonday 9th and Tuesday 10th May, on BBC FOUR. This traditional adventure, made up of 4 x 25 minute episodes, was first shown in 1976 and featuresElisabeth Sladen alongside Tom Baker, as the legendary Fourth Doctor. An iconic, and some would argue definitive Doctor/companion combination to this day, this wastheir last adventure together and Lis's final regular appearance on the series, after 3 years in the role of the young journalist.
 
This showing of awell regarded, fun, if atypical story from one of the series most popular and creative era's,is a rare chance to catch the "classic" series on TV nowadays. And without costing a penny, as BBC FOUR is available on all digital and freeview'splatforms.If you're a fan of the new series, and have stalled on trying the DVD range, simply because you havent' they faintest idea where to start, or aren't sure how much you'd "feel" older stories,this screening is ideal for you. Particularly as it's served up in two double-bills. The Hand Of Fear is one of many stories written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, who would later create K9 for the series. It straddles both the gothic and SF side to the series back then,serving up some chilling moments and vintage Baker witty retorts. Lis is on fine form as what many have termedthe "quintessential DW girl",and practically a70's poster girl in her Andy Pandy style dungarees. Their final scene together is an understated choker, known to reduce grown men to a "there's just something in my eye" moment.Not THIS grown man, you understand...ermm, other grown men!!
 
 
So, set your EPG's, hard drives or Sky+ boxes for"DW: The Hand Of Fear" Parts One and Two, from7:40pm on Mondayevening. Then again the following night, at the same time, forParts Three and Four on BBC FOUR. Or you could evenhide behind the sofa and watch it live, snaffling Malteasers and Spanglesto recreate the ultimate 70's nostalgia-rush. There'll be more from me, on the wonderfulElisabeth Sladenin a few weeks time. For now, it's back to the 21st century...
 
 
The Doctor is locked in the perfect prison. Amy, Rory and River Song are being hunted down across America by the FBI. With the help of new friend and FBI-insider, Canton Everett Delaware the Third, our heroes are reunited to share their discoveries, if not their memories. For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted. Aided by President Nixon and Neil Armstrong's foot, the Doctor must mount a revolution to drive out the enemy and rescue the missing little girl. No-one knows why they took her. Or why they have kidnapped Amy Pond...

Now this is, in my humble, though completely correct, opinion (insert smiley face here!) how it's done. Maybe not for everyone, and maybe not 100% ( ...what is...?) and ideally not quite so EARLY in the evening, but YES!!Day Of the Moon proved asroaring and victoriousa 43 minutes of TV as I've ever seen. Aconsolidation and improvementon an already stylish, epic, high quality opening adventure.
 
Steven Moffat and director Toby Haynes, followed a surprising and unconventional cliff-hanger, withan equally baffling, haunting resolution. Events in DOTM pick up a whole 3 months after Amy discharged the gun. As such a fast paced, immediate series, it can't be a device DW employs regularly (last time was during the finale to 2007's series) Here it's not even clear why, initially and then not universally digestible, as DOTM isas packed with plot as it's predecessor. As with the majority of that Moffat serves in confounding expectation, you've got to roll with it and keep faith. Hardly a chore, when it's all sothrilling and enjoyable.
 
Thepre-credits sequence alone,over 6 minutes-worth, contained more exposition and spectacle than many series manage in a whole episode. Morphing themes and blurring the battle-lines separating The Doctor and friends from their whispering foes, steeply tilting the pace of the whole story. Matt Smith delivers the line"...Neil Armstrong's boot......"  and may as well be actually rolling up shirt-sleeves. The production team hadtaken a risk, returning the biggest family drama on TV with an episode so talky, heavy with angst and uncertainty. From the get-go, thebalance is redressedhere in Part 2. Murray Gold's slow burning, Western-like soundtrack, now more adrenalized as Amy and Rory scramble over some scenery only the US can provide, to "escape" custody. In fact it's almosta shame it does move so fast!The fascinating sight of a bearded Doctor, straight-jacketed and "roped off" could've made for an episode on it's own. (I just loved The Doctor's little fall against the invisible TARDIS, behind him)
 
Day Of the Mooncontinues to be as captivating asThe Impossible Astronaut. The location and FX work as faultless, and performances as wonderful.Mark Sheppard's Cantonbecoming a firm favourite and Stuart Milligan's President Nixon providing some slight, welcome, comic relief. I like how this most unlikely task force, once River is reunited with them in a very sillyTARDISstunt(which I'm a little lukewarm on I confess) are shown tonot be fighting an alien invasion, but"leading a revolution". It immediately marks this story out from other unstoppable-horde like stories, and The Doctor speaks with such conviction despite them being so much on the back foot just a TV week earlier.
 
Amy and Rorycontinue their evolution, separately and together. Amy's vocal plead for rescue through the removed implant is chilling, as is her husbands fear that her confessions may not be for his actual ears.I also appreciated the little scene of The Doctor and Rory comparing notes, centuries apart, on the Roman Empire. The idea that some of Rory's past existence remains (as an Auton centurion in The Big Bang) is one of the quieter and seemingly inconsequential exchanges. I'm sure this is going somewhere, longer term. In relation to his individual character and perhaps the ongoing theme of people and time being "rewritten". It's so important thatRory doesn't feel like a hanger-on, or "the ball and chain"and this shows how the regular dynamic(s) are being carefully redefined.
 
Amidst all these goodies, and I'm starting to feel like a stuck-record on this,River Song remains my personal favourite. I adore what Alex Kingston infuses this character with, and the series at large. Every scene, seems better for her presence and the more I see her alongside this Doctor, the moreI'm convinced by an attraction, understanding and unique growing trust. Seeing them confront The Silence, back to backin "the other TARDIS" for that final, fantastic stand-off,they feel like they've always belonged together. The Doctor, even at his most confident best, has never seemed more commanding, or brilliant than when she has his back.
 
Blimey, even I've got a massive crush on the prison-breaking, gun-toting archaeologist now. Little wonder The Doctor surrenders to her charms for that touching, beguiling,first/last kisswhen he returns her "home". It's this status quo which provided fresher questions, as the more we see the more there is to not quite get. The Silencehave made a huge impact on this first outing. I say first as I'm sure after all the hype and the many threads left dangling at the end of this, they must return. So how and why ? Their defeat was satisfying, clever and credible even ifyou did have to make sure you'd not missed a single line, in a script bursting at the seams with crucial ones.

Bringing me to someconstructive criticisms. Yes, they're ones that are filling the columns, blogs and forums the world over. I can't ignore that fact anymore than they can. However much I've loved this story, it is really quitecomplicated. Well, I say complicated: DOTM isn't that much more complex than a great deal of other adventures, when you take stock and break it down. Trouble is you don't actually realise that until long after the episodes over, as it's presented in a distinctive, unrelenting, breathless and slightly uneven manner. It seemed the "slower bits" andlinking between standout sceneshave either been shortened, edited out or maybe even never existed. For example, one moment the crew are consorting in the TARDIS with Canton, on checking out childrens homes, and the next they're knocking on the door of the exact one "the girl" has been holed up in.If there really is so little time to spare to scene-set in telling such a pivotal tale, either the BBC should extend the run time of EVERY DW by another 5 minutes (...I confess, something I've long thought necessary) or some of that set-up in TIA could've been rethought. 
 
I'm all for DW being the kind of TV that you can't just have on in the background, slip out to make a cuppa, sit down again and not had missed anything. Inching toward the other extreme, even more so than last week, the information and exposition comes too fast for even the most vigilant of minds and devoted hearts. For that which may not pay off til later in the series that's okay and true to the nature of TV that people revisit over and over.When it's more pertinent to what we're immediately consuming...?I think Steven Moffat's onshakier ground. This is as far as is wise to push it within DW's present format. We know he's a very clever, idiosyncratic writer with as many pet themes and party tricks as RTD ever had. Still Moffat is a showman of a different kind. Not better, not worse: just different. I worry that he could be amore understandingin regard to the pacing ofsuch a deluge of the unmissable, and considering thebroad demographicwhich enjoys Doctor Who as "appointment to view" TV.
 
Shows like The X-Filesand more recently Lost, madequestions and avoiding them, into an art form. The former, to ridiculous, ultimately self-harming levels. It had a knock-on effect on popular culture and the very genre it re-energised. When something is so much set-up, as in both TIA and DOTM this last two weeks, you naturally start to sweat. Can anything possibly, satisfyingly, make something intelligible and watchable as a pay-off? Let alone,do it all deliberately. In this instance, it's superb and I've no doubt that fact will infuriate some in itself. It's all there in the script, even if you have to retrace steps, and relative to the motivations and nature of theselatest "scariest ever"baddies, as established. The element of direction they're own power of suggestion against them, slight enough not to blind us with science or hocus-pocus. It remains thrilling enough for millions of people to long to administer that"kick up the backside"toThe Silence, in person.
 
So, two episodes down and what do we know..?I think it may be more helpful to try and map what we don't..!!
(Clears throat): Who was it that killed The Doctor and why ? WAS that really The Doctor...? Canton seems absolutely certain of it, but then againwho is Cantonand what had he been doing in those years in between...? What is he to the elder Doctor..?
 
Is Amy pregnant...?WAS Amy pregnant..? Would she ever have told Rory, really..? (... Time-head, yeah...right...!)
Who is that little girl ? is it tied to that earlier point, and how can sheregenerate...?Is she a natural descendant, survivor or a test subject ? Then there'sThe Silence. Did they need to put the girl in the suit..? Is she in their care, or vice versa..?
Who's is that "other TARDIS"..? Is it the same one from the flat above Craigs..? Or just"one like it"as The Doctor said.
 
All these without even mentioning River. Is The Doctor really her"old fella"....??The more Moffat tries to convince us who she "MUST BE..." the less I'm inclined to believe. That juicy glance back to the TARDIS, as she guns down the last of The Silence with quiet glee, is further fuel for the fire. At least we're guaranteed some answers soon, but I'm in no way considering this will resolve all the mystery of River. For the classic series anorak's out there, is it significant that The Doctor's prison was fashioned from"dwarf star alloy",last named in the likewise complicated1980 story "Warriors Gate" ? How had it gotten to Area 51 in 1969..??

The6th series of NEW Doctor Whohas taken a gamble andruffled feathers as it's been bending and boggling mindsacross the world. Aside from questions we've had partially answered, new ones spring up to delight and frustrate. What's clearest is that DW stands transformed, even from the series aired in 2008. Once a fabulous British institution; the jewel in the BBC's crown and a critical success, is now something truly WORLD CLASS.As formidable, cinematic and universal as anything on the global TV. Achieved without the former factors being compromised, let alone sacrificed. As The Doctor asserts just before that latest, amazing cliff-hanger,for now it's back to straight adventure for the series. I honestly don't think what's to follow, without BBC America co-production, will feel lesser -4.5/5
 
The BBC has also made available this week, the 2nd of their exclusive,ONLINE ONLY PREQUELS to selected episodes of Series 6:
 
 
Like the first one, this new scene leads straight into the plot of the episode
 coming this Saturday on BBC1 and you can watch it by clicking this link...PREQUEL 2 

 
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 603:OFFICIAL UK TRAILER
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SPOT
By Steven Thompson.Director: Jeremy Webb
 
 
 
Welcome back, unless of course this is your first visit to this blog, in which case a big and hearty hello!! Before I get stuck right into my review of last weeks brand new episode of this finest of fine TV shows, I just wanted to draw further attention to that bubble above! Yep, that one...there..!! You'll notice that the forthcoming episode 604: The Doctor's Wife, begins at the later still time of 6:30pm, on BBC1. An advance on that later time from last week. Not only that, but NEXT WEEK, it's on later still...!! The following 2 episodes have both been listed for 6:45.
 
Now, to my mind theideal time for the serieswill always be bang on at 7:00pm, and there every single week. That consistency of a nailed down time, is right for the family audience andwide demographic that STILL flock to watch DW live, on the night!!Fair's fair though, the slot IS gradually getting better. Pity there's only one more to come after that, before the Summer break though eh..? Fingers crossed lessons have been learnt, and for the second run we'll get aconsistent, and later slot. Anchors...awaaayyyyy!!!!
 
 
The TARDIS is marooned onboard a 17th-century pirate ship whose crew is being attacked by a mysterious and beautiful sea creature, Becalmed and beset by cabin fever, the pirates have numerous superstitious explanations for the Siren's appearance. The Doctor has other ideas but, as his theories are disproved and every plan of escape is thwarted, he must work to win the trust of the implacable Captain Avery and uncover the truth behind the pirates' supernatural fears - and he must work quickly, for some of his friends have already fallen under the Siren's spell
 
Some will adore to confide the obvious, as the waters settle on this story. ThatThe Curse Of the Black Spotwas a change of pace, a slighter tale, and less memorable than the two-parter it's directly followed. It's not that they're not right, but it's neither here nor there in the grand scheme. Each series being more than the sum of it's parts, and each part can'tall be heavy with a foreboding arc or "game changing" elements. Having said that, this was a drastic gear-shift by any stretch and patchier waters, generally.
 
In it's infancy theRadio Timesused to bill DW as simply"An Adventure In Space & Time"That's still all it need be for it to (a) work in it's own unique manner and (b) be satisfying entertainment. This, playwrightSteve Thompson's first script for the series, purely meets that remit and that's a tonic, as the first standard episode sinceThe Lodger, 10 months-ish ago. I found the story merelyenjoyable enough, on the first watch. Which is STILL (if only just..) the one that matters most. The highlights: bright ones indeed, but in other waysThe Curse Of the Black Spot (COTBS )didn't seem as focussed as other smaller scale episodes. When revisited though, I did find more treasure in the chest.
 
The moment the hatch was opened by PirateCaptain Avery, and a beardedHugh Bonneville(Downton Abbey and Twenty Twelve, amongst a gazillion other things!) is greeted by The Doctor's hopeful" Yo-ho-ho!!", we get expected trappings and ticked boxes. Matt Smith, Arthur Darvill and particularly Karen Gillanget to revel in sailing under the Jolly Roger. The latter was even almost convincing swashing a cutlass and swinging on admittedly not that high rigging. Smith playing the enthusiastic, childlike quality of his Doctor, beautifully and Darvill's an undoubted asset. The atmosphere director Jeremy Webb managed to evoke inCOTBSwas of isolation, desperation but a kind of nobility. Dropping them into the mix, and havingAvery immediately threatened by The Doctor's status, providing an instant energy between the two leaders. Eventually, Avery would have to concede SOME form of authority to The Doctor, butit was fun watching the "Cat and Mouse" of that.
 
It's a small supporting cast, featuring Press Gang and EastEndersLee Rossas the only other memorable shipmate. As they're claimed, one by one by the "demon", I genuinely felt there was no sign of release from it's mercy, had the TARDIS not happened upon them. That's a credit again to direction and production design. When thespecial effectscome, they're beautifully realised.The Siren,as embodied by noted model, turned actress Lily Cole, looking incredible. I totally bought the intoxication of her presence and the fury of her red-state, even if thepirates she made her prey were more "Pugwash than Sparrow". Murray Gold's creaking and bewitching score, including the Siren's anaesthetic melody was a key factor in my continual investment in the story.

The aforementionedHugh Bonnevilleis superb at playing the sides to Captain Henry Avery, who I only found out AFTER the episode was broadcast, was a genuine and notorious pirate. Perhaps I'm too used to the fanfares associated with historical figures who've featured in recent years (...Churchill, Agatha Christie, Van Gogh etc ), but I still think a bigger build up rather than "here's SOME Pirates, check out they're beards,see...!?" may have been worthwhile.
 
What we're offered in place of exploration of this "celebrity" of the 1690's is a rather ineffectual sub plot about Avery's stowaway son, Toby. The young actor used here is fine enough, but I was struggling to engage with this thread. One of the carefully rationed "gasp" moments of COTBS was when young Toby was seemingly killed by The Siren, and I would've been quite happy had they left it there. Still, I did enjoy how Avery's experiences as he spent more time with The Doctor, opened up his soul and motivations, revealing a desire to repent. The anchor of the character would be his suddenly becoming a single parent, to an ill child. An "emotional cheese pull" which doesn't quite hold water for me.I'm a big advocate of the fact DW has since 2005, elevated it's emotional contentand pushed viewers buttons. Still, it'snot a necessity in EVERY script. I feel Thompson could've made Avery a fascinating enough study, without this, as the episode struggled to conclusion and tied all ends. Once again I found a 43 minute format meant things got a little too frantic, the more we moved towards the end credits.

As events gather pace,The Doctor, Amy and Avery have to "spot" themselves, surrendering to The Siren's will. To be transported to her rather sparse vessel, and try tosave both Rory and Toby. The contrast between the two ships works really rather well, whilst opening up a gallery of influences or lifts from earlier stories. We have elements ofThe Stones Of Blood, The Girl in the Fireplace and even The Empty Childand it's nano-genes, "killing" with kindness.
 
Plenty ofCOTBSdoes work in it's own right and will pay off as the series continues, I'm feeling. We get a better flavour of where things standbetween Amy and Rory at this point, for example. The two parter before had touched upon it, but with them spending much time apart it's still something we weremostly told, rather than feel. In COTBS, they're much more a partnership, in all senses. That sense that Rory's love for Amy, even up to their Wedding Day, was close to unrequited, is fading. Karen Gillan was thoroughly engaging as a distraught Amy, when it becomes possible he won't be resuscitated following another death.Yes, they nearly killed Rory Williams-Pond AGAIN....!Rory is destined to be the "Kenny" of DW, it seems. It didheighten the dramatic point, it didplace Rory's life in Amy's actual handsand in the context of this seasonthat is important. I bought it, but only just. Likewise Captain Avery's fearlessness in accepting the chair and "atom accelerator" of an alien ship! He'd best check the glove compartment for a Haynes manual.
 
I'm hesitant to draw on "plot holes",in a series so constructed. I'm thinking specifically of the TARDIS being transported to the Alien's ship. It wasn't addressed in the script. Having said that, the TARDIS itself is a sentient creature, could be "not a well child". She is due to explode, at a later date, remember..? Those carefully trying tojoin the shifting dots of this years bigger arc, had less obvious fuel for the fire. We still don't know if Amy is pregnant or not...! In fact, even the TARDIS doesn't appear that sure. But is COTBS asautonomousas it first appears...?The Doctor's speech about parallel worlds, even if tailored to Amy's understanding, gets me again thinking back to this recurringeye-patch lady and her portals. With parallel worlds and states reflecting and now MAYBE interacting with each other, the way The Sirens ship was with Avery's. Reflections and perceptions were a theme to this episode. Thompson was even offeringAvery's taking of his ship, albeit by mutiny, and The Doctor's original stealing of the TARDISas having some reflection on one another. That reasoning could also be a key to some of the bigger mysteries and themes of this whole season, and maybe even Moffat's entire handle on the DW universe.
 
Yes, I thinkCOTBScould have been more. This is "Doctor Who meets The Pirates!!":a match made in heaven!! Though we get some of the expected/desired boxes ticked: scurvy knaves, and swinging blades etc, I feelDW could tell a bigger/better tale of this fascinating ( perennial favourite of school kids and stag parties alike ) time in history. More buckle and less swash, next time. As a study of a specific historical character, it's middling but proved noticeably more satisfying upon my rewatch a few days later. Which does make me wonder if this particular flexing and stretching of the tone, may have been a little far, just 7 days after the hyper-tense 601/2. 
 
Quite naturally, episodes like this never figure near the top of any regular viewer or fan's, favourites list. I'd offer they're still the bread and butter of DW though. This one will rise in appeal as the dust settles, as a standalone. It's only modest success, proof that putting together something like a series of DW, isn't as easy as it may look. The smaller stories are as crucial to the brew as those which cause the "spoiler-gates". We lose, or even neglect them, at our peril. - 3.5/5
 
"Henry Avery: Captain of 'the good ship Fancy', a traveller, a father and a pirate! Avery was once a respected naval officer, but afflicted by an insatiable greed he turned to piracy, commanding a ragbag band of rogues until the Siren descended on his ship. One of his crew snarled that they had seen Avery 'gun down a thousand innocent men' and although this claim was never verified it's clear that the Captain is quick with his guns and can be an implacable foe.

He has a son called Toby who believed him to be a man of honour, even after he deserted his family for three years. Avery's love for his son eventually led him to leave his planet to help ensure his survival. Reunited with the Fancy's crew, guided by the stars and with Toby by his side, Captain Avery was last seen at the helm of a spaceship, steering through outer space towards... who knows? His current whereabouts are unknown.."

As I confessed in that review, I wasn't aware ofHenry Avery as a historical figure. Vaguely recalling the name from an earlier DW adventure, sadly no longer existing in it's original form.The Smugglers, now only surviving as a reconstruction, was the penultimate story to star William Hartnell andshown in 1966. Dealing witha search for "Avery's Gold"and the script also features the fearsome "Avery's Boys". In this case, former shipmates, who take over his shipafter Avery's death and are trying to recover his hidden treasure. By modern standards, this makesThe Curse Of the Black Spot, a prequelof sorts, to The Smugglers seeing as it dramatises a circumstance of the Captain's apparent "death".
 
Henry Averyhimself, WAS a notorious English pirate whooperated in the Indian and Atlantic oceans in the mid 1690's. Though it's believed he used a few aliases in his career ( Every and Avary) and termed  "The Arch Pirate".He's most famous for being one of very few of the major pirate captains to evade arrest, and for pulling of what's termedthe most profitable raid in pirate history. It's only possible to vaguely date his birth in the 1650's, but it's believed he began as a slave trader, serving aboard a privateer as it's first officer. Avery was elected as Captain following a mutiny by the crew of delay of payment. It was asingle pirate voyage, but one that lasted two whole years.
 
Avery and his crew had rechristened the privateer the "Fancy", and after several smaller acts of piracy committed a major cannonball assuault on a ship called "Ganj-i-Sawai", part of a convoy . Eventually boarding their target, and enduring relentless rounds of hand to hand combat, substaining heavy injuries, they would prove the victors. The payoff, relatively speaking, enormous! Believed to be up to£600,000 in precious metals and jewels. Avery was now the riches pirate in the world, and had committed acts beyond any pardon. A massive bounty of £1,000 placed on his head by the Privvy Council, which is also believed to haveinitiated the first worldwise manhunt. None were successful, and he'd totally disappeared by 1696.Obviously for such a colourful figure who had captured imaginations, numerous conflicting reports circulated. To the right you'll see one of a few depictions of Avery, down the ages.
 
"The Black Spot"can be traced back to Carribean piracy. It's believed that traditionally an individual condemned as a traitor, or an informer, was shown an "Ace Of Spades", putting them "on the spot". In theclassic book by Robert Louis Stevenson: Treasure Islanda Black Spot is "presented" to Pirates officially pronouncing a verdict of guilt. In this case, a circular piece of paper or card. One side is blackened, the other bearing a message and placed in the hand of the accused. Inciting fear, indicating that pirate was now to be deposed as leader, by lethal force is needed.That about wraps this column up, for another week...I hope that may have satisfied a little of your curiosity, as it had mine.
 
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 604:
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE
By Neil Gaiman.Director: Richard Clark
 

 
 
In the 21st century, Doctor Who is a brand name as much as it is a TV series. A lucrative one, but a largely progressive, forward thinking one also. A mythology of legendary status reserved for classic literary figures, and the first such entity concieved for TV.A conception informed by literature, but the metamorphic process, and realities of producing television in the early 1960's came to bare. Pushing it from the merely influenced or derivative, intoinfluential and inspiringbracket. And 'boy has DW inspired! Just as Star Trek would spur many to innovate in science and technology, even into actual space exploration,DW has for decades nourished the creatively minded, and fired imaginations.None are more visible than those who become storytellers themselves, andone such mind is that of Neil Gaiman.
 
Gaiman's was born 1960, and raised near Croydon. Developinga passion for reading very young, and states the first book he properly read wasThe Lord Of the Rings. Taking in CS Lewi's Narnia and Lewis Carroll's Alice, to follow. Other contemporary influences he names are DC's Batman comic booksand a B/WDoctor Whoas a constant presence in those formative years. The older Neil Gaiman would discover the work of Harlan Ellision, Michael Moorcock, Edgar Allan Poe, Douglas Adams and crucially,comics writer Alan Moore. In time Gaiman would grow frustrated with his fledgling career in journalism and, with the encouragement of Moore who had become a friend,began a career in comics himself. The rest is legendary. 
 
In the early 90's, he rose as a distinctive voice and creative forcewithin that field, specifically for DC. Finding a home in themore mystical and mythological corners of their established "universe"of super-powered beings such as Superman. Gaining huge plaudits and fan devotion for his massive reinvention of The Sandman, especially. Progressing to scripting his own BBC fantasy series, which bore a similar "look", to DW."Neverwhere" (1996)would eventually become one of many novels Gaiman's written over the last decade. Now works being optioned and developed as films such asCoraline and Stardust. 
 
In recent years Neil Gaimanvoiced approval of the rejuvenated DW. When Steven Moffat took the reins, they met and quickly formed a plan where he could submit a script. Originally for Series 5, which aired last year. As the eventual transmission for the finished episode(originally entitled "The House Of Nothing")approachedGaiman gave interviews teasing it's content and origins.
 
Speaking to magazine SFX, Gaiman vowed we'll".. realise how much of what's in the TARDIS is probably still in there somewhere!"  He'll put the TARDIS centre stage. Something done only sparingly in the past, and go further into "it" both physically and mentally, than before."...I suddenly had this idea for a plot creep up at right angles to me..I got to do something that you're only allowed to do once." he teased. Finding fascination in an inkling of taking The Doctor "back to his roots " 
 
Neil Gaiman (NG):"...a junkyard planet...If I can't actually take them back to [setting of the first ever episode] Totter's Lane, then I can take them back to somewhere which I described in the script as 'the Totter's Lane at the edge of the universe'."Further explaining to cult entertainment websiteDen Of Geek:"...it's that mad thing where you get somebody who's a fan.And you want to do everything you've ever loved about the show.."
 
 
Directly above, you can see justa few of the thrilling adventures past, during the 60's especially, which have informed Gaiman's script.Folklore he's tapped into, or spun around.Far left, you can see the very first episode of DW.Where soon to be companions, Ian and Barbara encounter both The Doctor AND The TARDIS for the first time, in a junkyard. They speculate the ship too is alive, as she "hums".Middle: The Doctor has taken "wives" before, once accidentally on screen, when Cameca performed the ceremony before telling him exactly what it was...!Most crucially, there's The War Games, far left.His companions look on as The Doctor sends a"memory message" just like the one he recieved in The Doctor's Wife,giving away his location to the Time Lords for the sake of the rest of the universe.
 
NG:"as a young writer,you look at all the stuff that's gone before and the stuff that's influenced you...bubbling stew pot of all of this stuff, and you pour it out. As time goes on, you realise that it's actually kind of fun to put stuff back in the stew pot.I wanted to leave a little bit more of the mythos....that's fun for other writers, and fun for other places...There's stuff where the mystery drives the engine...sometimes every fannish impulse is immediately to go woah, what we want to know is X, Y and Z...But in doing that I realised what an incredibly fragile thing that is. Becauseif you actually answered all the questions…things would be less interesting,rather than more". 
 
In between the finishing touches and it airing, Gaiman was clearly excited; thrilled with the outcome. Confirming to multiple sources, he was impressed with the final version. Once again,Den Of Geek just asked him outright if there was more on the horizon, and what he felt most proud of.." I loved writing it. And I can think of nothing more fun than doing another, that'd be great....I'll only do it if I come up with an idea that's better than this one. What I'd love to do is every now and then go oh my God, I've got this amazing idea for Doctor Who." 
 
"I thinkmy favourite moment of pure Doctor..is a moment in the episode where everything has gone as wrongas it can possibly go, and the Doctor is talking to himself, and says "I don't actually know what to do now". And he says "That's a new feeling".I could have given it to any of the 11 people who have played the Doctor.You can see Christopher Eccleston delivering that..see Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker. And they all would have delivered it differently, andit's a line that's pure Doctor."

Seems to me that it's beena liason made in heaven. Actually, make that Narnia! Gaiman has benefitted by being able to play in this sand pit, andDW has gained enormously by having another writer of such repute clamouring to work on it, and delievering something so ageless. Gaiman has demonstrated, throughout his career, an ability to tap into sometimes vast mythology, be that DW or the DC universe. Then bring forward a re-energising perspective, sprinkled with an essence of his other influences.The Lewis Carroll, Brothers Grimm, or the Alan Moore. Palatable to the faithful flock, hanging out for every reference, and those who just want a fresh slice of their chosen "brand".It's abundantly clear to me, as I've collected his thoughts on the subject and viewed exclusive video content on the BBC site, Neil Gaiman knows Doctor Who. Maybe now vice versa, too.
 
 
The Doctor receives a distress signal from an old friend. Could there really be another living Time Lord out there? Hopes raised, he follows the signal to a junkyard planet sitting upon a mysterious asteroid in a Bubble universe, populated by a very strange family, as the time-travelling drama continues. The Doctor, Amy and Rory are given the warmest of welcomes by Auntie, Uncle and Nephew. But the beautiful and insane Idris greets them in a more unusual fashion - what is she trying to tell the Doctor?

The Doctor, being The Doctor, does the first thing he always instinctually does in the face of something "unknown"! Sends his companions, Rory and Amy back to the safety of the TARDISlooking for his "other jacket". A scene showing more proof, Matt Smith has become an incredible "Doctor". As well as boasting leading man, at the top of his game and an incarnation of the series itself now showing it's considerable teeth,The Doctor's Wife(TDW) proved the best 11th Doctor adventure to date. I'd go so far as to describe it one of the finest, maddest, baddest and most essential episodes of Doctor Who, in it's entire history. 
 
TDWis even so clever, italmost reviews itself...!This latest Series 6 episode is one which has maybe spent the longest period of time in gestastation AND actually made it to the screen, ever too. Written byacclaimed, best selling author and script writer Neil Gaiman though originally envisaged for Series 5.
 
"That title",which Steven Moffat describes as "tarty" and sent internet forums into convulsions when announced only a short while ago, seems a deliberate attempt to play into our assumptionsabout what the series has been doing of late. Within it's broader arc, encompassing the romance with someone we feel "must be" The Doctor's future/past spouse: River Song. Whilst within the context ofthis distinctive presentation, making a statement on a dynamic which has developed between The Doctor and his only constant (...well, near constant!) companion throughout the decades:The TARDIS. He's been calling her"old girl"for much of the life of the show and here we get as close to a conversation between them as is going to be possible.
 
Neil Gaiman'sscript exposes a heart and mind with a deep emotional investment in this seriesand particular way of relating it's lore,stretching back to it's very dawn.Yet also a soul enriched by all which life has informed them with since. Both professionally, as TDW shares certain trappings one would associate with Neil's "back catalogue", and I'm feeling personally too. Smallercontinuity is used sensitivelyfor a story so close to the core of DW. In ways which are relevant, or inconspicuous when they're not. As a Peter Davison devotee, I felt a warm fuzzy at the mention of"The Eye of Orion", for example. 
 
The language Gaiman gifts the characters, but specifically Matt Smith's Doctor, is sophisticated and true. We're used to Smith's flexibility with the duality of The Doctor. Here, that childlike glee of receiving his first mail in a long while, defers to thedarker, haunted side.To his own soul through the discovery ofthe origins of the voices in his head, then when engaging his adversary in conversation, and sinking into the deepening trap. As is common you could surmise, it's the TARDIS, though this time in the vocal form of Idris, whofocuses both sides of himand points towards salvation. 
 
This is also evident withinthe parallel plight of Amy and Rory, as they're driven deeper within the labyrinthine passages of the TARDIS capsule. Thoselifeless, matte wallsand resonating voices added maximum atmosphere when they became separated. Once again, their relationship is pushed along giving more insight into Rory's more troubled, fractured being than he's letting on. The scenes of them tormented by the "House-invader" are amongst the scariest this year; throw in anOodas an incredibly visually affecting vessel,(...who doesn't love an Ood!?) and we've vintage gothic chills. The rest of this small, but perfectly formed supporting cast are a delight. Led by SuranneJones, who I'll come to in a tick, and also almost a scene-stealer inpure vocal form from Michael Sheen(Frost/Nixon and the Underworld movies) as theanti-TARDIS entityknown only as "House".His exchanges with The Doctor will be as talked about in years to come.

The undoubted star is Suranne Jones as Idris. When we first meet her she's a frightened young woman, fed into a device which has 'jackedthe matrix of the TARDIS and deposited the sentienceinside her. Leaving The Doctor's space and time capsule, "vacant". It's fun to watch our suspicions these events are linked, confirmed before The Doctor is aware, and watch his realisation dawn. Could this seemingly disturbed, excitable humanoid, really be "MY TARDIS...?!"Jones is unforgettable and totally captivatingas the biting, babbling Idris.

Idris, Uncle and Auntie and their whole world, is an imagining straight out of a Tim Burton film, in attitude and in styling. Production design has a richness which defies it's status as episodic TV, on a meagre budget to those Burton plays with. Effects work and the frenetic energy it helps generate, raising the bar for TV on either side of the Atlantic. The other thing it brings to mind for me is theMatthew Vaughn movie Stardust. Itself based on a book by Gaiman. I'm thinking specifically of the notion of theStar, becoming corporeal. Idris is very different in characterisation, certainly to the one played by Claire Danes in the movie, but a similar way of giving a voice to an life form with one before and exploring the beholders connection to them.
 
As Gaiman is aware,it was established, before we even met The Doctor himself on screen, that theTARDIS IS alive.Back in another junkyard setting,in the very first episode.But how much of her..? Where does the organic and the construction crossover..? In personifying the TARDIS as Idris,the exploration of this altered state, is riveting and touching at the same time.The ship and her "thief" combine intellects, instincts and resources, against a different backdrop but higher stakes, on a personal level, than ever before. Their continuation, literally in her case, depends on their success.
 
On top of thisGaimanreturns us to the Russell T Davies tenure.TDWis the first time since the cataclysmic finale to the 10th Doctor's era, where the theme of The Doctor,as the last of the fearsome, all seeing, all powerful Time Lords has been touched upon. Although this latest version has boasted of achieving a closure of sorts, the thought that there could be other survivors, again engaged the "lonely god". I adored how Gaimanalluded with a mythic quality, to "The Corsair", departed friend of The Doctor it seems. Proof that the Time Lords still better serve the series by remaining absent, than if that status quo were reset, as some fans demand. The use ofmemory boxes, as a plot device is not only very Gaiman, butlinks TDW directly to the earliest true light ever shone on The Time Lords. The Doctor himself had fashioned one at the very climax of the Second Doctor's time. An action which famously gave away his location to the authority which he'd fled prior to that first adventure. Shame on both Gaiman and Steven Moffat, forstirring up the hornet's nestover The Doctor changing gender, mind.

Much was spoken, prior to this one screening,of it's "game-changing" quality. That's not quite accurate, I'd propose. Initially we may view the TARDIS slightly differently. The Doctor may also, for a while. Generally, in the long term it may have defined, rather than "changed". Confirming that which has been speculated and alluded to, in the past and throwing additional fuel on the fire. How psychic is "she" and to what degree can a TARDIS see and/or predict any future(s)..? IfTDWis to remain a lone contribution from Gaiman, or subsequent writers don't run with the ball, that is. Not something that's historically ever high on lists of priorities in week to week, series to series "Doctor Who", but we can hope.
 
TDWreaches a heart thumping, spectacular resolution.Old console rooms, new and nearly new, jossling for pole position in escape from the pocket universe. Given ample room to breathe, thanks to an extra few minutes afforded in BBC1's schedule. A privilege also awarded Richard Curtis's scriptlast year, and I've long said an application of this across all standard DW's, should be the norm soall resolve as satisfyingly and evenly. In comparison to Richard Curtis, Gaiman brings much of what's associated with his bibliography into the DW universe. Though more directed and in tune thanVincent and The Doctor. Part of me loves that these "name" writers come in, offer their take on whichever aspect of DW's identity they most connect with, then politely bow out. Perhaps, that scriptStephen Frydeveloped in 2006 next...? Maybe evenJK Rowling...? At the same time, I could stand more from time to time, of Gaiman's DW. It has more than novelty value. Has House really been exorcised, from either our universe of the TARDIS herself...? The notion of an anti-TARDIS alone, and whether they could find or build a capsule of their own, is too seductive to drop altogether.
 
I love that Moffat's vision and tone for the series is it's stride and formed. Still, whilst theNEXT TIMElooks marvellous and creepy, with just one episode to go after that, I'm peckish for a little light in with the shade. Shifting this balance is a major weapon in DW's arsenal, andthis runis starting to make 2007's series (very dark, by all accounts) seem likeDon't Scare the Hare..!
 
Going back toThe Doctor's Wife, in summary, what we have here is an episode which, for those who are regualr viewers of the series,50 minutes of TV they'll almost certainly, never forget. Roaring adventure, super scares, and that unmistakeble blend of whimsy with the most evocative dialogue of legend all come together so well, that I can see no fault with this episode. It may have some..? Somewhere...??? For the moment certainly, I couldn't care less. It's one that shifts perceptions of the relationship which has beomcethe soul of the series, over time. Whilst not neglecting the newer ones. For the more devoted consumer, it'sthe episode that will "carry on giving".
 
More than even the best examples of this eminently re-wachable series, it'll reward each revisit as Gaiman's script plays on so many levels. Conjouring up so much imagery, in what we don't see as much as we do. There's "The House", but more than that:because there's so many perspectives and reflections within "The Doctor's Wife". Remember what I said about last weeks...? This is definately the theme of this series now, I'm convinced - 5/5
  
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 605:OFFICIAL BBC TRAILER
THE REBEL FLESH
By Matthew Graham.Director: Julian Simpson
 
Another great cliff-hanger AGAIN last week eh..? Who'd have thought a simple straightening of a bow-tie could be so unsettling! This weekThe Doctor comes face to face with his GANGER!!An evil twin, in the best traditions of fantasy ? (...I'm thinking the wonderful Mirror Universe episodes of Star Trek!) or not so much.Anyone who caught Matt Smith's appearance on The One Showthis week and "the clip", may have an idea of where the land lies...butanything can happen with 45 minutes of TV, particularly when that is 45 minutes of Doctor Who. For now, let's get straight into my review of the story, so far.....
 
 
A solar tsunami sends the TARDIS hurtling towards a futuristic factory on Earth, where human doppelgangers are used to mine dangerous acid.
A second wave hits and the "Gangers" separate. They can remember every second of their "original's" life and feel every emotion they've ever experienced.But are these memories stolen, or have they been bequeathed? Are the Gangers merely faulity machinery that must be shut down or are they living, breathing, sentient beings?

The Rebel Flesh (TRF)is the first new script byMatthew Grahamsince he contributedFear Her, in 2006. That episode passed into the pantheon of DW, somewhat unloved. Whilst I've never seen why it's been quite so maligned, I get why people were disappointed. At that point Graham's name was generating considerable buzz as his series,Life On Marshad debut, to rave reviews. He'd been clear his time-travel drama owed a debt to DW,christening one of the leads after Rose Tyler, in honour. So when he delivered an episode which wasn't as adult or scary as viewers expected, folks were quick to denounce the bloke.
 
Of course, this had no affect whatsoever on his career.Matthew Grahamhas since gone on to greater success, with the Life On Mars sequence of series finishing, finally last year.His tardy return to DW, this time for a 2 part story,saw Graham himself promising something "epic" and properly scary, he confided. Partly in response to his critics. The nature of the longer adventures, separated by a whole 7 days, means it's a tad difficult to judge the success until the pay-off.Not impossible, as some claim,just difficult. Who are we, at this point, to know exactly which scenes are paced right in the grander scheme for example, or which bits will have the most significance at the actual close...? Still, there's plenty for the eyes, ears and mind to feast on here in TRF, as there is in any fresh chunk of DW. Obvious that whatever your feelings on Fear Her,Graham has offered something scary and psychological. Creepy, and gothic in sensibility. A story drawing in an ancient story-telling device, for an atmospheric, if familiar, new spin.

The TARDIS is forced to land at a monastery, come "factory" caught in storms following that cosmic tsunami. There's thrilling scenes as MUSE's anthemic"Super-Massive Black Hole"track fills the console room. Love the choice of music, and later in the story.. PLUS the TARDIS has a dart board! The Doctor, Amy and Rory soon encounter and infiltrate a group of miners, made up of some of the best modern characters actor on telly (Marshall Lancaster, Raquel Cassidy and especiallySarah Smart as Jennifer) In time to see that the particular science which enables this small staff to perform life endangering work, over and over again, is exhibiting some "glitches".

With echoes ofUniversal Studios classic Frankenstein, the system floods with power and the clones termed "Gangers" separate from their "drivers". TRF is undoubtedly derivative of a selection of horror and thriller tales, twerps will delight in dismissing. John Carpenter'sThe Thing, multiple versions of Invasion Of the Body-Snatchersand George Franju'sEyes Without a Faceare some I'd heard. All correctly identified as influences, I've no doubt and fair game for the DW treatment. You'd think they'd not deliberately chosen such a gothic location for the factory, wouldn't you...? The classic series spent almost 2 whole series plundering like this, togreat effect and acclaim!Some of the most fondly recalled stories, to this day.
 
All part of the fun, but like many classic DW's from both this andthe original run,the trick is to take those sources, then subvert and expand them just enough. Past thatpoint where you think you KNOW what's coming next, by association, then do a 90 degree turn. Berth a new perspective, from right over shoulder, and serve up startling images and uniquely DW questions. Here Graham's really rather old school, and sturdy script comes into it's own. TRF is more structured than the stories we've had of late. He seizes the opportunity presented by the longer screen time to let his world breathe. Embedding us in the horror of the situation, and this makes us relate, even more so.

Thevulnerability and ownershipissues, which may be a very natural response to such a quandary,are placed at the core. The Doctor, uniquely placed to convince the human beings they mustaccept their lookalikes as people, with as much right to continued life as them. Those scenes are so well written, and performed with the demanded conviction to sell to the most cynical of minds. This is theessence of what makes great science-fiction. I'm not one for using one episode as a stick with which to beat another, but I'm reminded of the two-part Silurian story from Series 5 which didn't quite connect with the issue I felt. In comparison, TRF presents these arguments with a truer voice. Those on either side being real (the same!!!) people, with jobs and memories of family to get back to, rather than any embittered race of warriors. Just as we feel comfortable in our own minds, with them being just as human, we see theGanger Jennifer, clinging to the ceilingas everyone runs around beneath. Instantly we're cheeped out again: wonderful stuff..!!

Earlier I mentioned a traditional feeling about TRF. An underlying presence, through this first half for me, as a ahem..."veteran"fan. A familiarity with Doctor Who's own past, though not actual content. Nor in the way which may exclude a general viewer. After all, TRF containsmuch less continuitythan most of this run! It's more the ethos of aspecific brand of DW. Most associated with a particular time in it's history: the mid/late 60's. An era which featured many such stories and sometimes, one after the other! Featuring abase/monastery/space station or small town under siegefrom some lumbering, half humanoid menace. Usually The Doctor (then played by Patrick Troughton)would team up with asmall band of people,(...check!) usually all inoveralls(...double-check!!) at thefront line.Standing shoulder to shoulder against any unpleasantness: Great big space cannon's and collosal chemical assaults, which look mostly like foam machines! You get the picture. Glorious fun, and nowhere near as repetitive as it sounds there, when played sometimes over 6 Saturday evenings a stretch. I suspect the inclusion of aDusty Springfieldtrack amidst Murray Gold's usual score, more nod than coincidence.Matt Smith's take on The Doctor owes much to that of Troughton's, as he's confirmed a few times. I saw glimpses of The Doctor who'd been somewhat manipulating humans into opening a whole tomb full of sleeping Cybermen, at work here in TRF.

All this and we have a slight steering back into the arc of the series. Another fleeting glimpse of "eye patch lady", always with Amy as her target it would appear...and theTARDISSTILL can't make up her mind whether Amy's "up the duff "or not..!Amy herself wasn't best served by TRF. Karen Gillan took a backseat, whilstRory again developed. His friendship and sympathy with Jennifer proving a highlight. Playing further intoRory's morality,his nature as a carer and someone with a mind and way of relating to his journiesdifferently from those Amy shares with The Doctor. As well as his mortality and the recurring memories from the last series. Who couldn't give a wry smile at the line"welcome to my world..?"Proof that Mr Williams multiple deaths may indeed be a theme in itself...? Or just a reminder of the fact that this is all "made up", after all, hehe. Wherever this is going, Arthur Darvill has proven himself an excellent straight actor this year away from "stooge". Matt Smith himself brings us aDoctor as charming and quirky, as he is thoughtful and steadfast.

By the time we're into the final stretch, battlelines are looking blurrier, sympathies divided, maybe even within The TARDIS. Even though most adults and older childrenwill have sensed the cliff-hanger coming a mile away, when it came it was deliciously eerie and quintessentially DW.Perhaps that's part of the gratification in 50% plus, of cliffhangers anyway?!I've ocassionally thought. Right from the moment the flesh had bubbled along to The Doctor's sonic probing, early on, mostwould've wondered just who was scanning whothere...?! It had seemed around the 30-odd minute mark, the script did need to have gotten there already.Graham biding his time to guarantee a chilling, rather than purely sensational, scream into the credits. I'm loathed to complain about such, given I'm often grumbling about other episodes being too fast.

A featureless Fleshy-quiffy-Doctor emerges, as if just woken from 10 minutes time out with a Jammie-dodger, and adjusts the bow-tie.....should we be pleased to see this familar-ish face?! or just freaked some more!?!. Special effects were as excellent as ever generally, but the Ganger make-up really owned this episode. Allowing enough of their fleshier modes toemote and seem just human enough.Almost glowing in the half light of the cut off location.The Fleshitself, sat in it's tank is an image to ferment inside imaginations for decades. Less so that scene of Jennifers elongated neck bobbling out through the toilet window maybe. Still, I bet it blew the socks of plenty of kids !! Much scarier, remembered in hindsight, or through cupped hands.
 
The Rebel Flesh stands asa near text book example of how to do a first-part. Sure to beadored by old school fans. It could be a photo-finish, up there for "best episode" this year. No, we don't know how it's going to play out, and if the mood will be maintained or drastically altered by the final revelation. That won't change what we've consumed last Saturday per se, but it may add a layer(s).That's the great fun still, in these longer tales though isn't it..?You couldn't get more different episodes, for example than the "2 part" finale from last year...! I'm expectingThe Almost Peopleto slip free of those conventions and gather pace with much more exposition and relevance to the regular TARDIS crew. Alonsgide further exploration of the morality and horror of the situation. With perhaps a few laughs thrown in(TWO Doctor's...??? How could there NOT be..?)Join me back here next week, by which time we'll have all the answers, but perhaps a few fresh questions...- 4/5

 
There's a long history of"THE DOUBLE"in popular fiction, and not exclusively lodged in the genre of SF either. Thinking of straighter classic yarns like The Prisoner Of Zenda, say. The beings known asThe Gangers, in the story concluding on Saturday, of coursetake their name from "doppelganger".Derived from German, it's come to mean a physical double of a living person. A concept with it's earliest roots in mytholology and folklore.Norse mythfeatures ghostly doubles, performing deeds ahead of the true person andEgyptian also speaksof "sprit doubles" possessing the memories of the original. In other legends, a "doppelganger" is aliving omen of death. To encounter oneself, means to meet God itself.

Doppelgängers appear all over popular fictionon print and on the screen. Often, though not always, as "evil counterparts orTWINS!". A double will take on the originals identity, to subvert their lives, commit criminal acts etc with any consequence visited on the innocent, original. Or affecting their personal relationships up to the point where they may kill, andtake their actual place. Though the device of atotally coincidental double, (as The Doctor twice faced in the early years of the series) or a long lost identical relation is also involved in cases of mistaken identity. Some of the more fantastical, genre friendly example are supernatural in origin, oftentapping into that mythologyabove.

The Doctor's pure likeness has beenassumed, deliberately, by a some over the years too. Most memorably by "Cactus-like", shape changing escaped criminalMeglos. Thearch villain Omega, once used The Doctor's physical being as template for a new body with which to escape his tortured existence in the anti-matter universe. The robotKamelion,briefly shifted into The Doctor's form too. There's alsoa dozen or examples of The Doctor and his companions meeting themselvesearlier or later in their actual lives. Some of which ended up being timelines that would be over-written, those "doctors" never continuing... 

For the core of this little stock take, I'm more concerned withbeings like we saw in those final moments of The Rebel Flesh.Those entirely new life forms, created or grown to be almost, but not quite, The Doctor.....

ROBOT Doctor(The Chase) An android replica of The Doctor was created by The Daleks, during their third encounter. Designed to infiltrate their enemy's life, gain the trust of his companions and kill them all. The actorEdmund Warwick played this replicafor much of his screen time, withWilliam Hartnell (The original Doctor, for those not in the know!) providing a vocal perfformance and filming all close-upcamera-work.

ANDROID Doctor I (The Android Invasion)Saw The Doctor and his companions Sarah, Harry and Sergeant Benton, all duplicated as androids by thebrutish, but advanced Kraals, to very creepy effect.

CLONE Doctor(The Invisible Enemy)BothThe Doctor and Leela had to be cloned,those clones then shrunk down and sent into the actual body of the Time Lord. In desperate attempt toeliminate an malevolent, sentient alien infectionbefore it took total possession of the original Doctor's entire being.

DALEK DUPLICATE Doctor(Resurrection Of the Daleks)TheseDalekDuplicateswere genetically engineered soldiers. Substituted for the originaland sent deep undercover. The Doctor and companions were all copied, however these duplicates were destroyed before they could be sent to infiltrate Gallifrey, in one of the skirmishesleading to the Time Wars.

ANDROID Doctor II(The Caves Of Androzani)The Doctor and Peri were rescued from military firing squad bymaster android builder, Sharaz Jek. Jek substituted copies of his own construction and helped the originals away, to join him in exile.

META-CRISIS Doctor(Journey's End) Arguablymost wide knownofALMOST Doctor's.Thisstrictly half-human, single-heart, non-regeneratingclone of the Doctor's 10th body was a result of an instantaneous biological "meta-crisis".....
 
Spare regenerative energy in The Doctor's severed hand (..who could forget the "hand in the jar!?" )combined with the human DNAof companion Donna. The force of this reaction, inside the TARDIS, allowed the energy to regenerate an entire matching body. Though as result of being partially Donna's DNA, this Doctor inherited some of her mannerisms, he possessed thesame memories, thoughts, and feelings of the original Doctorright up to the point of his aborted regeneration. Therefore theyARE essentially the same manwith physiological differences. The"HUMAN Doctor",as he is also sometimes called, began a new life in the alternate reality with Rose Tyler and her family. Rose as his partner, both of them working for TORCHWOOD. There is speculation they also have the resources to grow a new TARDIS.
 
 
That brings us right up to date, for the the story to continue inThe Almost People, this Saturday.  
Featuring a being I'm positive will join these ranks as theGANGER Doctor. Who knows what his destiny will be, eh..?
 
THIS WEEK- EPISODE 606:OFFICIAL BBC TRAILER
THE ALMOST PEOPLE
By Matthew Graham.Director: Julian Simpson
 
 Doctor Who is copyrightby the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 
 
 

A first for DW, this long talked about"Mid-series" finale promises so much. Both in relation to what's directly gone before (the continuance of an astonishing cliff-hanger) and the longer arc of theDWuniverse, since the Eleventh Doctor's debut last year. Maybe even further back! How could we possibly forget this is also the week we have the answer,well AN answer at least, on River Song. 3 years since her first appearance, alongside the previous Doctor. There's other questions, rearing their heads already though:the cast list names a "Jenny". Could that be THE Jenny...!??

THIS WEEK- EPISODE 607BBC TRAILER!
A GOOD MAN
GOES TO WAR
By Steven Moffat.Director: Peter Hoar
 Whatever answers, returning faces and themes we get, it'll no doubt set up another blinder to confound, and ensure we're all back for more come the Autumn. DW,this Saturday evening, at the SLIGHTLY EARLIER time of 6:40pm on BBC1.Here's a link to the trailer (above) and prequel to the finale (below) Which you'll also find reviewed, aftermy customary thoughts and feelings on last weeks actual episode, The Also People. I'll be posting my full review of the final episode in this first run, in due course. Keep coming back here, for more DOCTOR WHO coverage during the break..
 
 
 
As the solar storm rages, Jennifer, a Ganger driven mad by the memories of being "decommissioned", is seeking revenge. She can remember every excruciating second of every "execution" and is determined that the humans will pay. And she isn't just talking war; she's talking revolution. The crumbling factory fills with toxic fumes and drips lethal acid, the "Originals" wait desperately for the shuttle from the Mainland to rescue them. But Jennifer has other ideas...

" The only thing that was missing when Doctor Who came back this time was that there weren't enough cliff-hangers...".So saysSteven Moffat,interviewed inthis week's Radio Times. The show-runner announcing he'sactivelyincorporatingmore "brilliant cliff-hangers", to the make-up ofweek-to-week DW. Whether or not an episode is a multi-parter. Naturally pointing to the undeniably exciting final scenes, and parting shots fromThe Almost People (TAP)
Moffatelaboratedon that quote above:"Do you remember in the old days? The music crashing in just as the Doctor finds out... well, I love that. Plus it encourages the audience to come back....we are bringing the cliff-hanger back in force."  It's difficult to fault that logic. Still, is it 100% ideal that my first inclination again, upon reviewing TAP is to jump straight to said jaw-dropper...? Rather unfair on Matthew Graham'sThe Almost People, as an entity in itself.
Speaking generally: everything that was so impressive, satisfying and strong aboutThe Rebel Flesh...was likewise inTAP, with more besides.All the cast, supporting or regular, had their time to shine this week by virtue of Graham's intelligent, atmospheric and emotive story. Most significantly forKaren Gillanfans, starved of good-stuff last week, were scenes of Amy wrestling with the concept she now hastwo best friends.Supposedly the same best friend. Her notions of what makes The Doctor, THE Doctor, clever when reflected on after THAT conclusion and re-enforcing the bond between them. One that I'd felt is more distant this series, thanmay have been intended...? Amy seems now at the place where she needs The Doctor a lot less than she believes, and only partly down to married life. She's grown up.
Sarah Smart and Raquel Cassidyboth proved how crucial it remains for DW to cast great actors in, at first glance, cliched roles. They proved immensesensitivity, portraying the journey's of their characters various incarnations. Getting somewhere they'd never have if their normal lives continued. Jennifer with her fascinating, almost grotesque transformation and Cleaves self-effacement, represented sophisticated characterisation. Common in DW, yet that you're hard pushed to find in exclusively adult drama, let alone viewed by chldren.
 
Matt Smith, playingdual Doctor'sfor the first and not the last time I'm thinking, was excellent.Times two! Introducing just enough variation between the Doctor's, it never drifted into a vaudeville act. I'm duty bound to underline that pre-credit sequence. Firstly for the chilling crazy eyes,Ganger Doctor, thrashing about. Surely moments like this, have more than made up for what Moffat views as the loss of more cliff-hangers..? THEY crash into the theme music just as much! On top of that there was the body-shock as thenewborn Doctor experienced flashes of earlier "selves"...most obviously using the actual voices ofDavid Tennant's and Tom Baker's Doctor's. A nice geeky moment yeah, buta fast wayof really selling new series fans especially, on Ganger Doctor's credentials andthe original Doctor's instant acceptance.
 
Has there been an actor, since the aforementioned variety of Baker, who's been so worryingly believable when flitting twixt the aspects of the Time Lord..? Smith tapping into the sinister, almost consumed side as well here as in Victory of the Daleks. One we'll see more of in episode 7. His performance supported by some of themost seamless and distinctive SFX workand concepts, seen to date. The tunnel with the eye's, a pile of obsolete, worn past Gangers, the flesh itself: unforgettable. A gift to imaginations. There is still the question of The Doctor's...or at leastA Doctor'sdeath, over-head. Even if those 5-6 weeks seem much longer ago, now somehow. Was theGanger Doctor, who we have apparently seen the demise of,a one-offorcould this point us back somehow to the mysteryof The Impossible Astronaut...?
 
Not that the rest of this two-parter has been completely divorced from this broader arc either.TAPbrings to the fore that which I've mentioned in previous reviews, have become the actual themes of the series sinceThe Impossible Astronaut. PossiblyA Christmas Carol plus, now I recall (RememberAmy's Choice, which also included a pregnant Amy?) TAPused a familiar "body-snatcher" like premise and old-school horror tropes, to explore what makes a bad guy, and how different versions of a person may intersect or even interact! A "fixed point", or something much more blurred. Can people be re-written, as Kazran Sardick almost was..? Or rebooted, in the case ofthe increasingly intriguing Rory Williams-Pond.
 
The nature ofself. What makes a person who they are, either biologically or mentally and at which point we become someone, or even something completely new, which formed the arc of this instalment. TAP at first offered morestraight out gothic chills and allegories,as we were faced with the shock of this fleshier new Doctor,and the existing Gangers got nasty. Rather than go down an expected route there, it would be the meeker, rather whiney Jennifer who'd lead even bossCleaves to take arms against the humans.To take possession of their lives, before there own existence was halted.
 
As it developed The Doctor himself...or selves, must appeal to genuinely horrified and almost violated acid-plant workers toreach out to their Gangers, and vice versa. When it became obvious there was a much more REAL danger to them all, and implications for their shared loved ones. A neccisity for trust and putting aside of fear and prejudice. Some of the most memorable scenes involvedJimmy. A character I'd not formed much of an opinion on, inThe Rebel Flesh. In enablingGanger-Jimmyto talk to "his" son via a holographic phone call, THIS Doctor (whom we also found out later on was also "of flesh")convinces them of their humanity and kinship. Touching and palpable stuff. TAP explored morality in a way only DW can.When it could have so easily all gone a bit Star Trek(not a bad thing as such...but the two series are very different!)
 
Ultimately this turn-around,enrages Jennifer to monstrous proportions, which destroy what's left of the facility and delivers needed adrenaline to drive the plot home. A few will see those scenes as a come down, but really: everyDWSHOULD finish with a bang, not a whimper or a slapping of wrists. No point would've been served greater by notre-linking TAP back to it's roots in pulpy horror, and it got the TARDIS crew where they needed to be.
 
Yes,Amy Pond hasn't really been Amy Pond all along....! As the episode went along, when it was shown ONLY Amy could see theEye Patch Lady(...orMadame Kovarian) after she'd always been alone in previous instances. What I'd suspected sinceDay Of the Moon, was true. That Amy may even believe she's Amy,but isn't.Her original biological body being held "somewhere" by "someone's unknown". I'd rationalised that it was purely an imprint of an original pregnancy in the copied form, which the TARDIS had kept picking up on.It hadn't sunk in though, that this is why The Doctor deliberately went to the factory, to scan such "flesh"in earlier stages. The scene back in the console room between the 3 leads, was hair-raising.Rory standing aside, on word of a Doctor whohe now has a bond and absolute faith in, whilst the transmission is blocked and the copied body of his wife, dispersed. Only for Amy to come to, in the whitest of white room, underMadame Kovarian's observationas she experiences labour. That screaming, in physical and mental shock and pain, haunting us for a full week.
 
Coming full circle, back to those cliff-hangers we could see increased, as salivatingly good as that scene was,do we need this any more than we get it presently..?I'm a big advocate of this years "series" of DW dividing into two "blocks". Every justification I've seen for this rings true. Still, Ibelieve the balance is right regarding the bigger cliff-hangers at the moment.The most important thing should always be rounding off of that weeks story. Whether it a concluding part, or standalone. In a way tonally appropriate. Every storyneeds a proper ending, rather than a steam-train like roll onwards. If this isn't maintained in moderation, DWcouldlook like a series desperate, rather than keen, to retain attention. The cliff-hanger itself becomingmore transparent, pure gimmick,than iconic calling card. DW is already event TV, simply by being there.Simply by bettering itself in some espect, each consecutive year, retains audience loyalty and faith and that shouldn't be under-estimated.
 
Though I'm sensing a "Marmite-like" reaction to episodes 605-6, (as with the Silurian story last year) I hope the generally positive reception means Matthew Grahambecomes a more regular writer. His epiodes have been incredibly sturdy, funny and affecting.Derivative..?Yes, but by neccissity and with more than enough new brought to table as the main course. Both The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People boasted an abundance of what can only be done within Doctor Who's remarkable genetic, and sets us up nicely for an unforgettable finale. - 4.5/5
 
Watch DOCTOR WHO 606: The ALMOST PEOPLE on BBC iplayer: CLICK here!
 
 
As the Doctor prepares to face his darkest hour, key players conspire and a grim warning is given...
 
Soooo.....it's thefamilar blue face from the finale last year....!For me, of these three prequels which have accompanied particular episodes of DW so far this year, this works the best. Due mostly to this wonderfulDorium character, last seen inThe Pandorica Opens. Though I'm aware, it's exact context with relation to episode 607 is to be seen, I relished the fortelling tone and this playful, mysterious character. This scene has a clearer, sepcific function.To remind us, of that other side to The Doctor and his legend.
 
Thosehooded figures, also reappear..! Yes, you have seen them before, very, very briefly in the background of last years finale:The Big Bang. Here they're actually doing something plotwise of course. I'd noticed them last year, though in true Silence fashion, forgotten all about it since! So who are they..? They seek to imprison "a child"....are these the beings thatWILL become The Silenceor are other factions working to capture her also...?Meet me back here, over the coming weeks, for the aftermath to episode 607... 
 
Doctor Who is copyrightby the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). No infringement intended. 
 
Saturday evenings are rolling around and there's no new Doctor Who to nourish the mind and soul....and so soon too. You may have read me backing the move to separating a years worth of episodes into 2 shorter runs. I have to ADMIT that I've fond the actuality of it's absence after only 7 weeks, harder to take. I'm sure we'll get used to it though! Could be a case of having to...
 
Since the last episode aired (...which I've finally recovered enough to review below!) there's been much talk on the future of the series. Not the long term future of DW though. No matter what the papers or anyone who DIDN'T find the last run to their personal tastes says, it remains the jewel in the BBC's crown. A flagship property they're proud of and the series that's steering the whole of UK broadcasting into the "TV on demand age". The future which is less easy to pin-point is more immediate. Specifically between now and the landmark, much anticipated 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, in November of 2013. It seems so far away, but plans have been afoot at the BBC for months now already. Announcements are coming, and broadcast schedule taking shape but it's unlike the one which has been in place since 2005.
 
The obvious, but still wonderful news is Doctor Who is returning.The BBC has commissioned Series 7:14 episodes (including a Christmas special) which will be broadcast from 2012. I never tire of reading a fresh commission! You may have read in the media since the mid-series finale aired, there are shenanigans ( The Doctor is right, that is a great word!) at play and even that all is not well in Camp DW...??Relax and don't panic, because it's pretty straight forward. Not only is there no truth to the headline (Courtesy of bum-wipe masquerading as a newspaper "The Sun") that "DW is in CRISIS!!", but the future looks very rosey indeed.Who could possibly describe as "crisis" the steady overnight ratings, stellar audience appreciation figures and colossal final ratings for each and every episode of Series 6 so far...?
 
Steven Moffat spoke to SFX Magazine the following day, that he is unsure of the precise details of the series return. How much of what, would actually go to air, when. Again, this isn't a surprise. Splitting of the run this year was prefaced with words about the evolution of the series, away from 13 week run's in the Spring.For a number of reasons, which all have made demonstrable sense. NEXT year, The Olympic Games, then Wimbledon and the European Football Championships will dominate and dictate much of next Summer's schedules. DW cannot function to maximum effect as event TV, alongside such a global event. Nothing could!! All regular slots, including sacred soap opera's, will be be available for coverage, by priority. The Olympics being staged in this very country for the first time in decades guarantees increased additional programming.
 
Still the BBC has since guaranteed new episodes will air in 2012. A spokesman telling The Guardian, "a good chunk" of the 14 will be broadcast next year. Adding "it's a big commitment, not many other shows have such a commitment so far in advance". Danny Cohen, who's BBC One Controller confirmed at a conference, DW won't be back for a full-length series next year. But they had more than implied that the previous week. Further information came from BBC reporter Lizo Mzimba that some episodes will still go out in 2012, others in 2013.
 
Steven Moffat commented on Twitter: 
"Dr Who: misquotes and misunderstandings. But I'm not being bounced into announcing the cool stuff before we're ready. Hush, and patience."
 
BBC sourceshave since added that additional plans are underway:".. it's the 50th anniversary (in 2013), so of course there will be some great stuff!"This alone confirms there's no doubt aSeries 8of DW is also commissioned. Plus the50th Anniversary of Doctor Who is on a Saturday in 2013. November 23rdfalls right that year, so the birthday can be marked on the exact date and day, which DW premiered on in 1963.To quote the First Doctor, "sheer poetry.."Many expected, including myself, a shift in the broadcast of new DW to Autumn, simply because of this fact. There's no reason to suppose that further commissions, Series 8 plus, wouldn't be made up of the usual 14 episodes. Maybe even more since the sameDanny Cohenrecently voiced a desire for BBC shows to increase their standard runs, namingDW as his prime example.
 
It's clear as Moffat responds to this speculation, whilst attention and publicity is good, it's sometimes counter-productive to preserving the mystique surrounding DW. To the maximum effect of the publicity, anticipation and fun in "hype".Assumptions and unofficial, jocular exchanges get HEADLINED as FACTand myths start to build. The show runner has to respond, otherwise it snowballs. Just a TV series, yes but it's one viewers are protective of. DW is proven to sell papers, in the way that other, even long running drama like Casualty, simply can't so the press will just "go with" a story.
 
The main reason for that break in the production of NEW DW, which means that new episodes couldn't possibly be ready before Autumn 2012 anyway, is the same one affecting all those other series, including Moffat stable mate "Sherlock". Upper Boat Studios, DW's home for some years, is being closed down withall production moved to the BBC's huge, purpose built "drama village",nearby. A move which will take 3 whole calendar months affecting ALL in house BBC Drama's. So there's no conspiracy, just logistics and realities at play. No one wants DW to be off sceens, for any longer than it has to be, including the BBC. For my money, the wait from Christmas 2011, to September 2012 isn't much longer than the usual.
 
The fact that the rest of Series 6 won't finish until late October this year, maybe later, has pre-emptied any chances of a sparse 12 months for devoted viewers. From then on, looks like regular business up to the anniversary...!So with that all cleared up (..insert winky-face here!, haha!!) let's go back a couple of weeks to that cataclysmic mid-series finale. My review, asides and observations follow. Don't forget to check back here whilst the series is off the air, for more DW coverage...as well as my look at the RETURN of TORCHWOOD...!
 
 
 
Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her. But as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap. In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last - today will mark the Battle of Demons Run and the Doctor's darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor...

"...however hard, however far...we will find you...." : The parting words as The Doctor used the sonic to disolve Amy's flesh avatar, aboard the TARDIS in the closing moments of The Also People. A month later, the pieces fall into place. The Doctor has, as the rather wonderful Dorium explained to "Eye Patch Lady" (now named, the less catchy, Madame Kovarian) began calling in some debts.
 
The BBC afforded DW an extra five minutes of schedule time to tell this much hyped, first half of the latest tentpole story from Steven Moffat. Always a good omen, if only for a better paced standard episode than some."A Good Man Goes to War" (episode 607) is also the script which promised to sweep some of the mystery surrounding River Song away. To finally shed light on a "player" in the DW universe since 2008, so consistently, brilliantly played by Alex Kingston.
 
You could nit-pick away at 607, and episodes like it, all day long I suspect. Sometimes with SOME justification, after all it's been talked up so much yet is the most traditional adventure. As magnificent as that pre-titles scene was, with it's 1960's style Cyber-fleet, weren't they rather hard done by for such icons of the series...?, being the most obvious gripe. On the other hand, it does all embellish the DWU as one much more interacting, organic and....well, plausible in it's implausibility.
 
As much fun, and therapy as moaning is from time to time, we should never forget that DW is first and foremost an entertainment. It's very function is to to please, as anything else is. DW being (...and I am thinking of copyrighting this phrase I use it so much..!) "...the single hardest working series on TV", it has a remarkable hit-rate in pleasing most of the people, most of the time. To make Saturday evening come alive, for that 45 minutes, before taking a bow and leaving the rest of the evening to "follow that". A big part of why I stress it demands a FIXED slot. Not everyone will adore, every single episode of the series each week. But of that huge demographic it was built, then rebuilt to appeal to, a huge and mostly silent majority of them will enjoy it, and return each Saturday.These bigger episodes have the hardest job of all by nature of having a broader, with ramifications throughout a whole series or even "era". Yet still draw all into it's immediate plot.
 
The delivery of this specific anticipated revelation about River, wasn't quite what was expected...and I'll come to the final scenes later, but it must be the case that a good proportion of the viewers heard the penny drop well before "the cliff-hanger". Absolutely a deliberate play, and rather cleverer than it's likely to get credit for. In the first scene, after credits, we see the name "Melody Pond" right under our noses, on a cot inside the asteroid The Doctor's enemies have made their base: "Demon's Run". A first reveal....anyone above say 11 years old would've twigged, of the origins of River. Remember, this was first pointed towards in The Doctor's Wife as Idris/TARDIS had hinted "..the only water in the forest is the river...". It's what you could label "hiding something within plain sight"...?
 
Aside from this episode, and series, I'd suspected a link between River and Amy, since the first time they met. It was River's protective nature towards her as she faced the Weeping Angel escaping the screen (...go back and see, or keep an eye out for the next repeat if you don't recall!) which caught my imagination there. I can't claim to have been 100% certain, but considered it a strong likeliness and kept it to myself. It's been fun, and absolutely right for the story and the characters that we wait this long...
 
The big reveals ( one secret, revealed 3 times !..one down and two to go..) were only part of 607, and I've got to draw some attention back onto the general content. 607 represented the most straight forward action and adventure story this year (...so far, anyway! ) A most satisfying and riotous return to the "SAGA" feel of the Russell T Davies years....certainly in tone. Possibly in the nature of that wild assembly of supporting characters. Not that Moffat hasn't written some great, BIG aliens before, but none have felt so energetic and visual as the likes of the "old, blue and f at" (in his words!) Dorium, Sontaran Commander Strax and the Silurian Madame Vastra with her ward Jenny. Haven't we got enough "Jenny's" in the DWU already though Mr Moffat..! The last one was only last week...? To draw individuals form the Doctor's past, and stories we've never seen, in slightly skewed ways really fleshes out the The Doctor's place in the universe. Adding shades of grey to alien races, deeply embedded in the history and texture of the series for both classic and new fans. The Sontarans in particular, have made many appearances now in DW and the SJA. With Strax we see another example of The Doctor's influence convincing some to work a penance for past deeds. This also points towards further developments with River Song.

607 WILL prove an unforgettable episode of DW, and was rollicking, break-neck entertainment with it's own heart and head in the right place. More than could be said for those spooky headless monks. I'm not sure if there's much scope in development for a breed of bad guys like them, but I know a fun, bed-wettingly dark idea when I see one. If they never appear again, mark well made. People will naturally focus on the lightsabre like weapons they held, but it's more important the shadows they cast, like the crusaders of the middle ages. This crusade was one against The Doctor, and they'd allied with another group of the religious military we saw in The Time Of Angels, it seems. So is this where River's own affiliation with them will begin too..? 
 
I like to focus in on the sides to The Doctor each episode chooses to bring out, and this one was pure gold. Matt Smith was his more Doctor-ish yet. The chilling taunting of Colonel "Runaway" was uniquely Doctor 11, as was the way he played along, like a 10 year old "playing war" asDanny Boy and companyattacked Demon's Run. Quite how they managed to be there in the first place will drive hard core fans nuts, but that's not so important. The crucial fact was that theyWERE there....!Yes, and The Doctor can speak baby!. Simply brilliant characterisation. Not that 607 is amongst the most rich and challenging of Moffat's scripts, you understand. it's purest block-buster (..just check out the many, deliberate Star Warsmoments!) but it did expand Smith's portrayal again. His camaraderie with his debtors, and that affecting scene with thedying Lorna Bucketcontrasting so well with the anger and gravitas of the way he handled his enemies. I'm not sure whether Lorna's part in things quite hit home, but that surname is more evidence of thelinks between Moffat's work and that of Roald Dahl(...Bucket was the name of Dahl's most famous hero, remember..?!) Amy and Rory, both together and apart, have never been better than in this neither.Amy's screamas she held the blanket left by the Melody flesh avatar was totally convincing and I especially liked the scene whereRory tries to encourage Commander Straxthat he must and will survive his wounds. Only to be told he isn't a solider anymore, but a nurse. The mirror opposite of the effect his time with The Doctor has had on Rory, and it's poignancy will prove relevant when the series returns, I'm sure.
 
So we get to the cliff-hanger!!! Time to breathe out again, for the time being. We've had one reveal, to the audience in the early part of the episode. A wink, and massive hint towards River's lineage as the child of Rory and Amy, left in our minds as the rest unfolds and the time of baby Melody's conception nailed down. Steven Moffat effectively returns to the well on this another twice over, without it being immediately obvious. Secondly, the truth is revelaled to The Doctor without a single word being spoken. Matt Smith and Alex Kingston, so consumate...so totally inhabiting these characters that it's sold with a few glances, words and hand gestures. An excercise in great performning and great writing which I've watched over and over again, already. 
 
The final, more traditional reveal (..and certainly exactly what we'd had in mind, these past few months) was the face to face, vocal disclosure to Amy and Rory. Beautifully timed and played into the end credits. We may know what River is, but remember we still don't really know who she is, as a person. Or precisely what she comes to mean and be to The Doctor, and vice versa. Some blanks we can fill in, for ourselves. Is River serving time in Stormcage, not because she has to, but because she wants to regain The Doctor's respect and support, just as Commander Strax was.....? Time will tell. The fact that Melody/River was conceived within the TARDIS, infused with Artron energy and in natural permanent synergy with the TARDIS being, explaining exactly how Dr Song has been able to pilot the old girl as well, if not slightly better, than The Doctor himself. How and why the ship was able to hold her in stasis, when the TARDIS was seen to have exploded back in the finale to the last series.
 
I've watched this episode three time this last week and a bit. Whilst that may appear somewhat hardcore for standard or even keen viewers, I can't stress enough how much DW episodes reward a second viewing. Once the mechanics and confirmation of the big reveal aren't a mystery, there's plenty more to focus on.Little details you'd be forgiven for missing....! For example, how many people noticed that the corridors in the rooms within the centre of Demon's Run were exactly like those inside the TARDIS, as seen in The Doctor's Wife (604) a few weeks ago...? The Doctor didn't appear to even clock this, unless it's something he already knew. I'm positive it's leading somewhere.
 
At face value, A Good Man Goes to War ended this first run for 2011 in a big and bold, funny way. As well as being emotionally charged, which is superb value for 48 minutes of TV, for the whole family at Saturday tea time. This was the 777th individual episode of Doctor Who, since it began in 1963. So the press office has reminded us. Quite what this official tally includes and doesn't, I'm not yet sure. This being Doctor Who, I'm positive someone, somewhere will playfully disagree. It may be slightly longer to wait for episode 778 than we'd wish, but I know you'll be waiting with open arms to welcome The Doctor back to our screens in just a couple of months. Just as I will, with more coverage of the further 6 episodes which complete Series 6 of Doctor Who - 4.5/5
 
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