Dr Who: The Pandorica Opens.

So, I'm a bit behind on this. Fortunately, as the this is the first part of the season finale I can fit a lot of other stuff in that crops up, including my half baked theories as to where this is going. I should say that, even with the slightly poor Silurian two parter, this has been the best season of Dr Who since it was relaunched. Hopefully the conclusion will be as good.

The episode opens with a sequence using all of the 'hero' characters from the series so far, with Vincent Van Gogh, River Song, Winston Churchill and Liz 10 cropping up to convey a message to the Doctor. It's nicely worked, and proves to be a great foil to the end of the episode. There's even a nod to the late, great Douglas Adams with the message on the cliff. E=If you've never read Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, do so immediately.

The Doctor duly arrives in Roman Britain, to investigate the giant plot device that is the Pandorica, which is opening. Once again everything is far too convenient, and Amy seems to be the focus of everything. The plot spins various directions as Rory returns, having been eraed from existence during the Silurian story, and just about every alien race encountered so far showing up, ultimately to outmanovour the Doctor. The Romans (and Rory) turn out to be Autons, and everything goes wrong at the end, with the Tardis exploding (with River in it), Amy being killed and the Doctor being locked in the Pandorica. The gathering of the villains is a lovely counterpoint to the opening with the heroes. So where from here?

One notable point is that this version of River Song is from before the Weeping Angels storyline. That means she has to survive the Tardis exploding. In theory at least - time is being unravelled by the Tardis exploding. Also of note is Leadworth, and how wrong it seems to be. Amy is clearly the centre of the story, so she can't be dead either. There is also no obvious villain for the story. They're all accounted for in the final scene of the episode, aren't they?

Well, no. There are two notable absences. The first is the Master. He seems unlikely to be the villain this time around after being the 'big bad' in the last major storyline, and he's supposed to be trapped on a dying Gallifrey.So who does that leave?

The Dreamlord, the only major villain from this season to not appear in the final episode. We know he didn't vanish completely at the end of his episode, appearing in a reflection to the Doctor. As a part of the Doctor, there are two distinct possibilities for an evil Doctor. One is that he is a future regeneration, who made his first appearance in the Doctors subconscious, but will one day be regenerated into. While good, this could limit the future regenerations so is unlikely. This leaves the possibility that he is the Doctor from the past, blanked out by his own subconscious. We only ever saw one story with the Paul McGann Doctor, and never saw him regenerate. Who know what he got up to?

Further evidence fo this is the 'Tardis' from the previous episode, the interior of which looked a lot like that of the Paul McGann Doctor's. If there's another Tardis, where is its pilot? Could it be a past Doctor, attempting to create a new Tardis?

A good indication that it is the Dreamlord in some form or another is that the whole lifting a trap from Amy's mind fits his MO, as does creating a perfect village that is wrong in someway in Leadworth. Finally, there's Rory. He was erased from existence, so the alliance would have no way of creating such a perfect replica. The Dreamlord was in his mind, so he'd be able to do it.

Of course, it could also be the Dreamlord gaining a seperate sentience somehow. Mymoney is on him being the villain in some way for certain. As for how the Doctor gets out of this one, and what Amy's secret is, who knows? It'll be fun finding out.

Dr Who: Flesh And Stone/Vampires Of Venice

So, I'm a bit late with this. Two episodes rolled into one it is then, so I can have a chance of catching up tomorrow. Generally, the standard is still high, and the plot is moving like lightning compared to previous seasons.

Flesh And Stone finishes the Weeping Angels two parter, and has a lot of revelations about the crack in time (which, far from being ignored or merely alluded to is a major plot point). Amy doesn't save the day, but is hugely important again, and possibly far too good. She's a little too perfect, and as the Doctor says at the end of the episode, it's all about her.

Vampires Of Venice is light relief after the Weeping Angels, with space fish and explosions, and Amy's fiance along for the ride. The fish people (sadly not minions of Dagon... as far as we know!) have escaped the crack and want to restart their world. The Doctor decides they can't. We see that the Doctor is less tolerant and more independant than his predecessors, and that Amy is still saving the day. The crack shows up again, in the TARDIS lock and in the sky, hinting at bigger things to come.

So far I stand by the assertion that Amy is somehow causing the crack in time, but the Doctor's excitement at being able to rewrite history seems like it will be a major point too. I wouldn't be surprised if time is rewritten so that everyone on Earth forgets about the Daleks etc, bringing the series closer to the original.

Next week (Tomorrow, to be exact) we see the Time Lord against the Dream Lord apparently, and Amy makes a terrible choice. I could probably take a stab at what that will be, but I'd rather wait and see. An episode about dreams? I thought Neil Gaiman wasn't on board until next season...

Dr Who: The Time Of Angels

Another weekend, more Who. Matt Smith is quite settled now, so we can focus on what is actually going on in the universe now, so we get the first two parter of the series. The Time Of Angels bring back the Weeping Angels and Dr River Song, tying the new Doctor into his past.

It's his past that occupies us first, using the idea that he uses a museum in the far future to keep score of what's happening in the past. Interestingly, he seems to think a lot of it is wrong, which fits in with the 'something is wrong with time' line that the series is taking. The MacGuffin in the museum takes him neatly to a planet where he ends up Angel hunting.

Since it's the first of two parts, much of this episode is taken up building the atmosphere, taking cues from The Ring and Aliens, as well as introducing an army based on the Church, which is nice. Amy is remarkably clever again, and Song is still irritatingly vague about what her relationship with the Doctor is.

Being a two parter, it doesn't have to crowbar the crack in, which helps it. The trailer for next week has Amy noticing it, which seems to indicate that this particular plot line will be speeding up. I still hold that Amy is causing the crack. She's just too good otherwise.

All in all, it was another good episode. The Weeping Angels are excellent villains, and I like the idea that they may be idea given physical form. I've liked every episode so far this series, and am once again looking forward to the next one.

Dr Who: Victory Of The Daleks.

Daleks so soon? They're normally held until the end of the season, aren't they? Apparently not. Despite the Doctor 'always' beating the Daleks, they're back again, and revamped in new flavours for maximum merchandising. Not that I'm cynical about these things, you understand.

Anyway, the episode itself was rather good. The Daleks had a purpose and were used in a few unusual ways, there were Spitfires in space and yet more hints that not all is right with Amy. Amy didn't recognise the Daleks, which she should have. Something is clearly amiss.

I'm still finding this to be the best Dr Who in recent years. The build to whatever the big reveal is is clearly signposted, and the characters are engaging. Amy has now saved the day in every episode as well, which is a departure. Amy is not a normal companion.

Thinking of Amy, she seemed to react to the name of the woman that the robot professor mentioned. Her Grandmother, perhaps? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Amy is the crack in time, which is why we see the crack everywhere she's been. She's inadvertently changing history as she travels with the Doctor.

The Daleks are clearly set to return as well. I'm hoping that they'll held off until next season, to be honest. It'd be nice to get something non-Dalek for the finale, and it'd give a nice build for the second season. I fully expect to see them again this season though.

Musing aside, next weeks episode features the Weeping Angels and River Song. No signs of overt British-ness in the trailer, so that may blow that out of the water. It should be a very good episode though.

Incidentally, the Matt Smith Doctor will be showing up in The Sarah Jane Adventures, giving Russel T Davies a shot at writing him. What are the odds on the episode having a power of love ending?

More Who...

Via Bleeding Cool:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/04/14/the-great-doctor-who-conspiracy-of-the-fifth-season/

Interesting analysis of a possible link to run throught he series, and something I hadn't considered but makes perfect sense. Either way, it looks like this is going to be a very tightly plotted series.

Dr Who: The Beast Below

So, the Matt Smith Doctor gets into his post-regeneration stories, which is where we start to find out what's different about this Doctor. So far he seems to be odder, more manic and has a bit of a temper. All of which work well. As for the episode itself...

Set on the Starship UK, over a thousand years in humanity's future, everything seems a bit familiar. It's almost a parody of London, taking the most exaggerated parts and presenting them as almost quintessentially British (more on that later).

The setting is good, and the 'villains' occupy more of a moral grey area than usual. It's well paced, has interesting character choices and some genuinely scary moments. It's a lot closer to the Dr Who of my childhood than the majority of the Russell T Davies era episodes managed to be. This can only be a good thing.

Interestingly, the Doctor doesn't actually save the day, and almost does completely the wrong thing. It's a departure, and marks Amy out as something a little different to previous assistants. She doesn't just default to the Doctor and I wouldn't be surprised if that's a continuing plot point.

Speaking of continuing plots, we get to see the Crack In Space again, clearly signposting what we're supposed to be looking out for, much like the Bad Wolf thing. Something slightly more subtle is the very noticeable Britishness of the episodes so far. The first episode was set in an idyllic English village, this one on the Starship UK with a giant Union Jack on it. Next we have Winston Churchill and Union Jack wearing Daleks. Deliberate or coincidence?

Overall, this is the best incarnation of Dr Who since it was revived with Christopher Ecclestone. Hopefully the quality will remain consistent.