Wow.
I’m going to start off with the gossipy bit. Never has an episode of Doctor Who been so… hot. Excellent episode aside, Karen Gillan throwing herself at the Doctor… wow.
The conclusion to the Time of Angels was as to be expected – a perfect balance of fear, excitement, sadness and triumph. This is by far the best episode so far this series and it really shows Matt Smith settling into the character and Amy really starting to understand what it means to travel with The Doctor.
One thing I love about Matt Smith’s portrayal of The Doctor is that he gets angry, REALLY angry. You didn’t really see that too much out of David Tennant – though when you did it was shocking. Tennant mastered that quiet, solemn anger. Matt Smith’s Doctor is really quite ready to go off the handle when he’s pissed. It’s great.
River Song continues to be a mystery wrapped in a mystery. We still don’t have much of a clue as to her role in all things – all we glean is that she was in prison for murdering an ‘important man.’ Which, I suspect we’re supposed to take the hint that it’s the Doctor.
I’m not really spoiling anything by saying that the Doctor manages to fix the situation but he really doesn’t do it on his own and it raises a even more mysteries about The Crack that appears to follow Amy everywhere, which the Doctor has become quite afraid of. I suspect it’s going to become more and more important as the series progresses.
The Church soldiers were interesting, but they were basically red shirts – which I guess that means they served a purpose but they just seemed kinda wasted and I was very annoyed that they looked like American Marines. I mean come on, it’s the future and you’re telling me fatigues haven’t really changed much?
And then there’s the end… I won’t give much else up, just watch it and enjoy. I’m not really sure how I feel about another companion romantically obsessed with the Doctor – but Amy actually makes it clear she’s not interested in that. Should be an interesting dynamic.
Overall, a very well done two parter. A huge improvement over the weak Victory of the Daleks and I hope it’s a sign of things to come. Next week looks interesting!
What did you think of Flesh and Stone? Let us know in the comments!
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GRRRR. I’m soooo looking forward to seeing it.
Well, young girls get to travel through time and space with a young-looking man of power and affluence? It’s gonna happen. I think it’d be silly to assume it’s not a concern…
“He just loves playing with Earth girls.” – The Master.
And it shows the Doctor’s need for companionship…after all, we look Time Lord.
Like the myth, the doctor continues to grow young, and with that, more reckless. Interesting to see how this youthful abandon takes him. He’s already admitted to going too far once (The Water of Mars)….it’s the crack that I dun know about…sounds a little BAD WOLF to me…or maybe it’s something that wasn’t fixed from the Season 4 end…The Darkness
So looking forward to seeing it.
Im sorry, but im just not getting it. The first episode looked promising, even though i was a bit in two minds whether to watch it as i was still getting over the loss of Tennant, im still not getting it. The storys are weak and I feel that the whole doctor who thing is gone. You cant have doctor who without David Tennant, but weve lost all the good ones aswell. I understand that we have to move on with another doctor but perhaps to keep the old cast aswell would have helped. without Rose, Martha or even Donna to keep us goin , i think were in limbo land. No Jack or Mickey, Pete or Jackie, Its not the same and i dont think it ever will be. Come Back David and RTD we MISS you Please. Saturday night will never be the same again.
Nicky – you do realise Doctor Who was about for 43 years before David Tennant? 😀 I think the stories so far are much stronger than most of the frothy, camp, style-over-substance rubbish that RTD puked up on a weekly basis….
I dont agree sorry. Ive been watching Doctor who since the 70’s and i Know its been going a long time before Tennant but even the first series with Eccleston were amazing stories and with Rose it was a great come back. Tennant taking over took it to a different level. Greay episodes throughout and the two part ending stories in the first 4 series were excellent and i dont have any good feelings about this series at all. I wont give up on it though, but lets say its goin to take a lot more to convince me.
loved, loved, loved it! i am new to Who (have only seen a couple of episodes since the ‘modern’ return), but decided to start watching along with the introduction of the ‘new’ Doctor… i’m getting up to speed on the mythology, and so pretty much enjoy each episode without any expectations or comparisons to things that have come before… and while i was intrigued by the first two episodes (and disappointed by the third) last week’s cliff-hanger left me with my mouth hanging open, and this week’s conclusion was well worth the wait! for a ‘newbie’ this series, Doctor and companion strike the right note of science fiction (the bug-eyed-monster variety), fantasy, fear and humor. taken on its own, this series is hugely entertaining and of the five episodes i’ve seen so far, i would give this one a solid “A”.
Absolutely sublime. A wonderful episode. I think this could turn out to be the best series since the return.
Wow, I guess there’s no accounting for tastes! I actually absoluteley hated this episode and thought it was on of the worst Dr. Whos I had ever seen. I though Matt Smith overused anger and I thought the girl was pathetic and whimpering and the directing choppy and the story forced and predictable. Glad to see someone enjoyed it. Maybe it means it didn’t really suck, but just isn’t my cup of tea this time around. Maybe the next one will be better. I also wish they would get a new person to do the music, it was so sappy–they should really get some cooler music going.
The series has been going on long before David Tennant and will continue quite a while after. And I liked him too.
And this season has been one of the most consistent seasons quality-wise. Weakest episode was The Beast Below but even that has some great parts. This episode was great too. Seeing the immortal psychopaths get their comeuppance is fun. Oddly enough with the ending and all that Amy seems the most like her little girl self in this episode, she was kind of petulant at times.
Great review. But I thought they looked like British squaddies in Helmand – which I assumed was deliberate. You know, fighting an enemy they can’t see properly, that kind of thing.
I think Matt Smith has a long way to go before he becomes as loved in the role as David Tennant but I think he has done a good job so far. But I do have a thoery about the crack in the wall. It is definatley something to do with Amy. The crack ollows her everywhere she goes and she does seem a bit too good to be true by figuring things out before the Doctor. Hmm…we shall see. 🙂
I live in the area of the UK which Matt Smith grew up (Norfolk). I was not sure how good a Dr he was going to be as I did love David Tennant in the role. So far I’ve been pretty impressed but needs to be a bit less 2d and need to see other sides to his charecter.
Flesh and Stone – loved the “Weeping Angels” when they appeared in the earlier series.
Peter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/norfolk/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_7929000/7929953.stm
The sudden change in Amy at the end was a little weird, but we already know there’s weird stuff going on with her and she does need to get sorted out. Jonathan might like that kind of stuff, but I liked the Rose and 9 kind of romance. I guess she does make her living that way.
I thought it was a better episode than the others this year. It was truly scary, and yell-at-the-screen intense, like when the soldiers start walking toward the light. Oh God, and when the angels started moving, eeeeeek!
I never really understood why this group of angels snapped necks instead of sending characters back in time like in “Blink.” I needed a timey wimey video to explain it.
Obviously what has happened here is that newbies who are used to regular television formats have identified with the first characters they come across instead of identifying with the changeable nature of Doctor Who. Also, people have come to expect bigger budgets = better stories. This is not so. Those who can’t enjoy the old seires as well as the new are sadly either lacking in imagination, or just trying to separate themselves from “that old show with the ‘cheap’ look”. This is rather sad, as it divides fandom instead of bringing it together – not that there haven’t always been factions in sci-fi fandom. But a lot of this factionalism comes from loving individual players in the field and not the field itself. Writers, and not their stories. Actors and not their characters. Simply put, David Tennant was okay. His take was no better or worse than any of the others. Fact is, he is a good looker, who was probably in part chosen by Russel T Davies as being a gay-man’s dream. David has a fan-girl’s following and not a Doctor Who following. Doctor Who fans love the show, the good-looking ones come second to that. David was frequently over-the-top and lacked the gravitas that some of the others have commanded, which for me currently included Matt Smith. His anger is more believable. People swore it would all come to an end when Tom Baker (absolutely the most eccentric of any of them in real life as well) left, but the show went on – albeit in his shadow. As long as Doctor Who continues, then what David Tennant added to the role will still be there – this is the spirit of Doctor Who, picked up on by each subsequent actor. Please – Love the Doctor, not just one actor’s interpretation of him.
Oh – and I meant the previous rant to include Rose. Please, PLEASE go back and watch her. She is a bored brat who works in a shop who’s only special touch is that she trusts the Doctor and is willing to go off with him. But look at her during the regeneration – for Christ’s sake quit crying so much!!! She basically tells Mickey to eff-off from the beginning. She is NOT the BEST of people!!! She is average as a companion. Out of all of them I have to say that Donna is the best thus far – she’s the only one that hasn’t specifically tried to jump his bones. AND she had something of an arc and did more than whine a lot and be selfish, or play second fiddle to a previous companion who simply wasn’t all that.