Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 4: The Doctor's Wife

Neil Gaiman's long awaited episode if here, and the TARDIS was the star of this aptly named chapter of series 6! A gallifreyan distress box knocks on the TARDIS door, leading the doctor to a bubble world, actually inhabited deep inside by a creature known as "house." There are only a few inhabitants on this little world. Auntie and uncle are a hodgepodge of biological parts, including a gallifreyan friend of the doctor. Nephew is an ood, and to my knowledge, the first original creation from the RTD era to make it's way into Moffat's realm. And then there's Idriss, a young woman who becomes the living embodiment of the TARDIS.

The story didn't really touch on the overall arc this season. But it gave us a glimpse of things we haven't seen before: a TARDIS junkyard, the corridors of the new TARDIS, a return to the old TARDIS console, and of course, the doctor's wife. Who else but the TARDIS would be an ideal partner for the doctor? She borrowed him just as much as he borrowed her, and together they're able to explore the universe together. It also explained, to me, how the doctor always seems to land in the right place. I don't know if it was ever clearly expressed that the TARDIS had a living soul, but the TARDIS Idriss stated that she took him where he needed to go.

The only thing really disappointing to me in this episode was that a lot of the intriguing scenes from the previous trailers, namely the old TARDIS console and the creepy "I killed hundreds of time lords" voice were in this story. I suppose Moffat wouldn't want to give away his big bad this season, but I thought these two things were clues to something bigger.

Nevertheless, this was an insightful episode, and one that adds new information to the core of DW. It was interesting how sad the doctor was the Idriss died; it's as if he as able to talk to a silent love for the first and last time. The corridors of the TARDIS were somewhat bland; then again, we only saw the same set of corridors. I hope we get to explore more of the TARDIS in the future.

Oh, and "The only water in the forest is the river"? Curious, using the word river. And forest, reminiscent of series 4's "Forest of the Dead." This is probably like River's tease in "The Time of Angels," when she mentioned the pandorica opening. I have a feeling that line has nothing to do with River Song.... seems too obvious.

Next week: rebellious flesh? Let's hope we get back on the arc's track!

Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 3: Curse of the Black Spot

Arrgggh and shiver me timbers! The TARDIS travels to a pirate ship in distress, an abrupt change of location and pace from the two-parter opening. Right off the bat, I could see why they wanted to film in the US. The sprawling, beautiful Utah landscape lent such a depth and vastness to the series, especially when compared to this week's cramped pirate ship. Although, I don't think many pirate ships are spacious to begin with.

This particular ship, led by Captain Avery, is severely undermanned, as most of the crew were seemingly killed by a mystical-looking siren. Anytime someone got injured, even from a minor cut, the siren came singing her song, and they were gone in a flash. Moffat set the bar for this series pretty high with the first two episodes, so coming into this week, I thought it would be rather lackluster. But lackluster DW is still pretty darn good compared to a lot of US stuff. Anyway, I was taken by surprise a bit when it was revealed that she siren was actually a nurse healing the wounded in a parallel spaceship.

I liked that we got a bit of continuity from last week's episode, with the weird eye patch lady. I have no idea why Amy's seeing her, or who she could be. But perhaps she's going to be the running theme for these first few episodes, just as the crack appeared in the start of last series's first few episodes. Also, Amy's pregnancy is still indecisive.

Overall, there's not much to say about this episode. It was a good standalone, probably ranking alongside "Vampires of Venice" from last series. Better than "The Lodger," though.

Next week: Neil Gaiman! And was that the "I killed hundreds" villain we heard in the promo? And an ood? Can't wait!

Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 2: Day of the Moon

Silence will fall. That part rang true this episode, as the silence are finally revealed, and apparently they're going to fall from power. I'm glad Moffat went with a completely original creation for the silence, instead of going with an old school villain. RTD did that a lot, with the master, daleks, and cybermen taking up a good chunk of his stories.

What are the silence? Are they the entire alien race, or are they a part of something else? That voice from the trailers, "I killed hundreds of time lords," sounded just like the silence. Are they the big bad this season? I like these new aliens, although they seem to be more along the theme of Moffat's type of villain. The four major aliens he's introduced to the whoverse (weeping angels, vashta nerada, prisoner zero, and the silence) are similar in a sense. You can't look away from the weeping angels, you can't remember the silence, you have to watch out for the shadows of the vashta nerada, and prisoner zero appears in the corner of your eye. They all have a gimmick, for lack of a better word.

And what's up with the astronaut baby? So, the silence needed a space suit, hence the 1969 mission to space. But why? Why the little girl? Needing a space suit specifically is a little odd. Were they trying to trap the girl? Maybe to tap into her power? And what the heck was that last scene? The obvious theory is that she's Amy's baby, given the photo in the orphanage. And since she can regenerate, the obvious assumption is that it's the doctor's baby. And remember, Moffat did say that we have a huge cliffhanger mid-series, something about Rory doing something very bad after finding out a secret about Amy's relationship with the doctor. Given the two instances this episode hinting at Rory's growing discontent with Amy's closensess with the doctor, the theory that Rory kills the doctor after finding out he fathered Amy's baby seems all too obvious. And with Moffat, obvious is usually not correct. That's obvious just from how this episode started.... 6 months later? I felt behind before the episode even began.

And poor River Song.... that's the last time she will ever kiss the doctor. I don't know when she'll be back, but I can't wait. I'm hoping that's when everything changes.

And I'm glad they made a connection with that control room from last series's "The Lodger"! And also, Rory's definitely growing on me. I didn't like him much at all at the start of last series (probably a bad taste from mickey in the eccleston/tennant era), but now I can't quite imagine the TARDIS without him.

Overall, a solid conclusion to this series opener. Yes, there are more questions left, but I felt like we got a satisfying series of answers so far. We know who the silence are. We saw and confirmed the connection to "The Lodger." We know more about the little girl. And we know there's something up with Amelia Pond's pregnancy, and the silence found her special as well.... can't wait to continue this journey.

Next time: Pirates and DW.... a good mix? Arrrgh, we shall see.