Doctor Who has always fallen under our gaze due to the
crossover with the creative crew of Sherlock, but we've
never actually sat down and reviewed any part of the series. We
thought we'd put this right from now on, and simultaneously do
something a little different, by focusing on the episodes in each
series of Doctor Who that have a direct link to
Sherlock. To that end, what follows isn't an all
encompassing review of the first five episodes of Series Seven, but
a close look at the two Steven Moffat scripted instalments -
The Asylum of the Daleks and The Angels Take
Manhattan - as well as Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
featuring Rupert Graves. Please note though we'll be discussing
spoilers in detail.
S7E1: ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS
Following the tightly wound narrative arc of the sixth series
that led to The Doctor's effective removal from history, Steven
Moffat said that series seven would take a slightly different tack,
being more focussed on individual block buster episodes that lack
that through line. As always though, you shouldn't take what he
says too much to heart, as here there's a clear thread being laid
down, as well as one of the best and most confounding pieces of
television subterfuge in recent years. It's been well know that Amy
(Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) would be departing in the
middle of this series and replaced with a new companion during the
upcoming Christmas Special. Weeks after the event, it can't be
overstated how gobsmacking it was to see Jenna Louise Coleman make
her first appearance in this episode, quite casually and with
little initial fanfare, the playful post opening titles scene
giving the audience a chance to sit for a few seconds and then no
doubt collectively emit a universal "Hang on a
minute...!"
And from her role here, seemingly set up in a very similar vein
to the first appearance of River Song in Series Four (but with no
doubt far more to it), Oswin Oswald - if that IS her real
name - looks to be an able foil for The Doctor, both intellectually
and comedically. Cunningly placing her in isolation from the rest
of the cast but fully interacting with them, Steven Moffat's
writing gives her spark and verve as well as an eventual layer of
tragedy whose rectification can't be guessed at. Amazingly, despite
his long association with the series, this is of course also the
first time Moffat has written an episode fully dedicated to the
Daleks, and he fully puts his own stamp upon the classic enemies.
The introduction of the human-zombie-Daleks is a slightly odd, left
field addition that harks back to similar horrific transformations
from the series' history, not least the infamous gas mask
transformations in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, but this new
wrinkle to Dalek physiology comes off nicely once you get used to
it though, the deadly pepper pots made flesh and arguably far more
dangerous.
Add to this a noticeable acceleration in the chronology for both
Amy and Rory and The Doctor, and you get the sense that this series
is even more willing to play with the effects of time travel, and
indeed travel with The Doctor, than ever before. The continued
erasure of the character from his own fictional history - not least
from the memories of his most mortal enemies - is a quietly seismic
idea to be executing, and there's clearly some rather dramatic
groundwork being laid here for future adventures, though we
probably aren't able to notice it quite yet.
S7E2: DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP
The second episode with a Sherlock link in this chunk of
episodes is a little different. A rollicking action adventure that
springboards off one of the more absurd film titles of the last few
years, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is a good old fashioned
romp that is one of the funniest episodes Doctor Who has ever
fielded. While Samuel L Jackson isn't anywhere to be seen, Rupert
Graves makes a great appearance as John Riddell, a big game hunter
harking from the early 1900s that The Doctor has clearly had a few
adventures with in the intervening years - despite being a man out
of time in more ways than one, it's really notable how unfazed he
is by the circumstances he finds himself in during this
episode.
Affecting an upper class accent and some rather sexist behaviour
whilst paired with Amy and Queen Nefertiti (Riann Steele) aboard a
spaceship with a very unusual, scaly cargo, Rupert is clearly
having great fun here, not least during a moment of pure physical
comedy while navigating the prone form a slumbering juvenile
Tyrannosaur. Riddell is perhaps rather directly written, but
there's a nice unspoken counterpoint to his manners, dinosaur like
as they are to our modern sensibilities, and when action is called
for its undeniably exciting to see him leap into action to dispense
some non-lethal justice. And while he gets to deploy a string of
one-liners and chamber taser shotguns like a pro, there's maybe a
wry bit of disappointment Chris Chibnell's script doesn't allow
Riddell to utter "Clever girl" to either of his female co-stars
during the episode in an obvious Jurassic Park reference -
it would have been completely in character, but we won't complain
too much when the episode is so entertaining. The script arguably
runs out of steam in a mad rush in the last ten minutes, and
Riddell and Amy's climatic defence against the Raptors feels maybe
slightly perfunctory when there is so much going on, not least the
casual darkness that The Doctor displays towards the episode's
antagonist that sits slightly uneasily amongst all the previous
light heartedness.
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is without doubt a proper romp
though, and while Rupert Graves is a piece within the puzzle that
forms the episode, he makes an extremely memorable mark. Aside from
the core companions, there's definitely been a strong effort to
boast the secondary cast of allies for The Doctor throughout Steven
Moffat's stewardship on the series. John Riddell is an excellent
addition to that list, and he is definitely a character we'd love
to see return in the future.
S7E5: THE ANGELS TAKE MANHATTAN
And so we come to the final episode in the half series run, and
also the final instalment to feature Amy and Rory. As the first
episode written by Steven Moffat that features the departure of
cast members, this was to be an interesting experience, and it's
certainly extremely different in tack from the Russell T Davis
years. Whereas as before any jeopardy was removed by Davis'
insistence on 'one more go round' with his characters, here Moffat
is determined to invest a genuine sense of permanence to events,
the rules he set in series six surrounding fixed time points being
the backbone that makes it clear these events cannot be undone.
Returning with The Weeping Angels - his greatest invention on
the series - as the antagonists, the episode proceeds almost as any
other adventure for much of the duration. Returning to the original
time-feeding nature of the Angels after a slight departure in
Series Five, they remain a terrifyingly original threat, and not
least by the addition here of Weeping Cherubs and other, more
dramatic forms - although the use of the Statue of Liberty is a
tremendous visual that perhaps lacks a true narrative point. The
Angels' plan in this episode is also perhaps the single most
horrific from them thus far, insidious and methodical, a distinct
evolution of their existing abilities that invest those attributes
with a functional point. Narratively the episode is relatively
straightforward, though the distinct sense of borrowed time for Amy
and Rory gives several moments tremendous power and the entire
episode a palpable sense of dread.
And that end, when it comes, is sudden and cruel - defeat being
snatched from the jaws of victory. But critically, while extremely
moving and powerful, the ending skirts sentimentality. The great
tragedy is Amy and Rory's permanent separation from The Doctor
rather than their onscreen deaths, and a reinforcement of the short
lives of those that travel with this 'ageless God who chooses to
wear the face of a twelve year old'. The final scene between The
Doctor and Amy arguably gives us the best work either Matt Smith
and Karen Gillan have played as these characters, an inexorable
tear between Amy's loyalty to her husband and The Doctor's
selfishness that in the heat of the moment goes unspoken between
them, with only River Song fully comprehending what is occurring,
following a thematic thread she raises in the middle of the episode
- The Doctor doesn't like endings, but at the same time he doesn't
like seeing his companions age. Though harsh, the solution hit upon
here by Moffat, and encouraged onscreen by River, is one that
fulfils both obligations, departure by death avoided through the
building of a new and full life in the past. As an ending for a
pair of beloved characters, it is quietly hard hitting and slow
burning, the emotion in the episode being even more powerful on
repeat viewings. The final moments allow us to come full circle on
Amelia Pond quite beautifully, the implication that the girl who
waited will be rewarded, but quite rightly, Steven Moffat's script
ensures we are never shown that reunion.
As a run of five episodes then, Doctor Who Series Seven is off
to a strong, varied start. The series returns at Christmas with the
now traditional special episode written by Steven Moffat, seeing
the full introduction of Jenna Louise Coleman, before returning in
2013 with a further eight episodes - two written by Steven Moffat,
two by Mark Gatiss, and one by Steve Thompson, meaning the trinity
of Sherlock's writers will be well represented.