Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 5: The Rebel Flesh

After a long month in the ICU, it's back to the TARDIS for the last three episodes of series 6.5! After seeing the TARDIS come to life, the doctor, Rory, and Amy are sent to a planet that apparently mines acid, using dopplegangers to do the dirty work. Not a bad idea, considering the fatal nature of an acid accident. However, they didn't quite expect the solar storm to bring the dopplegangers to life permanently, causing them to become virtually a clone of the real person.

This wasn't an original concept, but it was executed in an original way. The end, with the doppleganger doctor, bodes for some interesting scenes next week I think. I hope, though, that this doppleganger doctor isn't a leeway to explain how the doctor died in "The Impossible Astronaut." I think that would be somewhat of a letdown.

The episode also raised an interesting dilemma. What would you do if a your doppleganger was here? It's technically not just a machine or a disposable object; it's a real, breathing person that shares the same memories as you. And it's not like you can send them to another planet and be done with it. If you have family, friends, and so on, they belong to your doppleganger as well. In the end, perhaps we would just go to war against ourselves.

These types of episodes aren't my favorites. And it's mostly a lighting issue. Just like "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood" from last series, the lighting here is really dark, which to me isn't my favorite. I hope "A Good Man Goes To War" is brighter. And if that BBC trailer was only for this half season, then I'm expecting to see some clowns and weird dolls, and to find out who River finally is!

Next time: doctor vs doctor!