Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 11

A hotel room that uses your greatest fear to feed off of your faith. That's the premise of the latest chapter of Doctor Who, as the doctor and the Ponds (or Williams, but not as nice a ring to it) land themselves on an intergalactic hotel room. We encounter the typical band of quasi-interesting throwaway characters. Most of this episode felt like a Tennant-era one-timer. I think Moffat has made me so used to interconnecting, arc-based stories that I don't find one-timers as enjoyable. This one had some good stuff in it, though. We know that the doctor has a great fear, which appears to be a person; of course, we weren't shown that off screen. The weeping angels also played a small role, although how they were that weird alien's greatest fear is kinda beyond me.

The best part was once they left the hotel. The doctor realized he had to leave Amy and Rory behind for their own sake. And Amy was made to realize that the doctor wasn't a hero, but just a regular madman with a box. I was surprised that the doctor left the Ponds at the end, but it makes sense, I suppose. I'm not sure where "The Wedding of River Song" is going to take us, exactly, but in order for the future doctor to do all the fancy stuff we saw in the first few scenes of the series 6 premiere, he was likely alone. Is that where he goes after his cybermen detour next week?

And I rewatched the series 6, part 2 trailer. It seems that the final episode will feature Madame Kovarian, an eye-patched River, some weird relics, and the silence (referring to the aliens, not the cult, though they're linked). And, if the cover for the part 2 blu-ray is indicative, we're going to Egypt with the pyramids. Fantastic; I can't believe the mystery of the doctor's demise is almost about to be solved, hopefully. I do find it somewhat sucky that the finale isn't a two-pater. This second part of the series has been somewhat mixed, to me, almost like a sine wave. We started high with "Let's Kill Hitler," had a low point with "Night Terrors," reached another high with "The Girl Who Waited," and I feel like we're on a downslope with this week's chapter. Next week seems fun, with Craig Owens and the seemingly true return of the cybermen to Moffat's era ("The Pandorica Opens" featured some lame cybermen action). But I really hope "The Wedding of River Song" lives up to its name, and isn't a disappointing finale. The good news is that it seems that the doctor's back to WWII England for the holiday special; is that why Churchhill was in the part 2 trailer? Or maybe that's something for next week.

Anyway, this week was a decent chapter. I still think the strength of this Moffat era is not even the detailed, fascinating plot, but the relationship between the Ponds and the doctor. Especially the doctor and Amy. I love Amy as a companion, and her long relationship with the doctor makes it that much more special. Add the fact that she's River's mom, and it pretty much forms the glue that holds these last two series together. Plus, Rory definitely grew on me over time; it'd be hard to imagine the show without him now. I'm definitely excited (yet sad) for the end of this series, but I look forward to a new and full series next year. But let's not jump the gun.... how did the doctor die back in Utah?

Next time: Craig returns to face off against some cybermen!