Electric TV Review: Doctor Who Season 6 "The Wedding of River Song"

THE STARS AND TIME ARE MY LONELY DESTINATION

Alas my expectations were not met. But I'm not sure why. This last episode of Season 6 fairly bounced along on a bouncy thing of its own internal logic and was a thoroughly entertaining ride and watch. I guess I expected to be more surprised than I was. That the revelations therein would be at the more extreme end of the mass speculation that this series has given arise to. Very last "Losty" in the end for me - though nowhere near the emotional deflation I felt watching the final moments of that series. In truth, it is a very rare gem that lives up to the anticipation of expection. We are slaves to our own perceptive reasoning and timey whimeyness. More fool us and is certainly no slight to those that strive to create through love and passion that which we all cherish.

No point in discussing the plot of the thing as I'd end up tying myself up in wishful thinking knots but here are some random bubble universal thoughts on this finale. The most important being the rebirth of the shadow Doctor. Applaud this loads. Bedone with the Jesus myth and begone this intergalactic Napoleon. Season 7 has a new gameplan with a more invisible Gallifreyan bouncing around singular episodes doing good deeds and keeping a low profile. Hopefully the writers can expand this return to the original horizons for the character. Gee whizz, maybe from the get go this was Moffats grand scheme of returning the show to pre-cancellation basics. Thumbs up if so. Went the long way around and did it the hard way though..

Liked the respectful nod to the Brigadier. More so because it changed the character of the Doctor. That in sadness he came to realise than no one can escape their ultimate fate. Smith was outstanding here. Loss, pain, realisation and resignation writ large on his oblong face. Even with wonky writing, Smith has the ability to rise above such ding dong dialog and make it matter.

So there was no second Doctor as I and many others had presumed. Instead we had a clockwork doppleganger who bit the bullets for the greater good. Loved that the "other" Tardis was actually inside the robot Doctor all the time. "Look into my eye." Indeed. Enjoyed that. Oooo, when was the switch then?

Bit sad that the River Song character arc sort of withered on the vine. And that her story really was nothing more than a plot whisper to create a fixed point in time. Though did enjoy that nice little scene with her and her parents in the garden at the end. Full circle. The Ponds were peripheral to the greater plot. Amy was hot in the suit. Rory didn't die again despite the best efforts and jive talk of the Silents. Cute coda that Amy and Rory will always find each other no matter what. Their overall destiny is that they are soulmates and destined to be together. Everything is right with the world when the geek gets the hot girl.

Design wise, very impressive look to the episode. Money on screen for sure. I could live in an alt-timeline like that. A sort of Vernetopia. How wonderful to see a British science fiction show done with such imagination and sheer bravura.

Despite my overall reservations "The Wedding of River Song." was a satisfying end to what has been a very enjoyable season. The feeling that the story has progressed and moved on is obvious. Another chapter in the tale of Doctor Who has been writ. Another piece to the jigsaw has been placed. Time is no longer standing still. The future is an exciting horizon. "Doctor Who?" said the head in the box as the Timelord stepped away from the limelight back into the shadows. Exactly. A new start. A new adventure begins. Roll on Christmas 2011 and Season 7.

Electric TV Review: Doctor Who Season 6 "The God Complex"

HE REALLY WAS JUST A MAD MAN IN A BLUE BOX

I hate goodbyes. Goodbyes suck. You should only say goodbye when you know there's a hello again around the corner. Which is exactly wot we got last night in the "God Complex", the latest episode of Doctor Who Season 6. A great big soppy onion of an episode that was. All sorts of deep meaning and deeper revelations where the main characters discovered their inner faith - or not as in Rory's case. That was curious. Was Rory shown the exit because his death would have greater significance than what was obvious? Maybe his death is one of those fixed points in time where nothing can affect its true outcome. Amy's faith was nicely done and an "of course!!" moment. Lovely scene with little Amelia sat on her suitcase staring out of the window waiting for him to return. That she realised he really was only a "mad man in a box" was the beginning of the end of her adventures with him. Smith and Gillan were splendid there and their companionship shone through. The Wizard had pulled back the curtain to reveal his true self. Awww.

As for what the Doctor saw in his own room 11 - ah, of course. Why spoil the fun and break a gazillion  threads of fevered speculation and argument.

The more I think of this episode the more I like it. So many little "Oooo's" to ponder. Did he really eat that apple? How many Doctors were in that room full of mirrors? Has there been more than one Doctor running around in front of us all this time? What's with the boots? Oh, and different coloured bow ties! Was that Jim the Fish the alien ate? Is there a connection between water and portals? Are we jumping between multiple time lines and dimensions in this thing? Is Plymouth really that bad? And those peculiar little time jump quirks with Rory. Is he still hearing banging in his head? But since he's said goodbye will we ever find out? I guess the answers to that lie in the future in the past.

To finish, those last moments as the Doctor returns Amy and Rory back to their new home with their new HOT car was a nice emotional way to bring their journey to an end and to keep them safe. Time to get on with living and to grow old with the one you love. But, by gum, it's been a fun journey. For me, the great thing about Seasons 5 and 6 is the sense that we actually have been on an incredible journey and that each character has both grown and learned from the experience. The most inmportant being those lessons learned by the Doctor himself. That, no matter how much fun it is galivanting around time and space, you should never forget who you truly are and where you came from.

Can we have that Victorian, whip cracking, leather wearing, lesbian silurian for the new companion please...

Electric TV Review: Doctor Who Season 6 "The Girl Who Waited"

THE LIVES, LOVES AND DEATHS OF AMELIA POND

The more I watch of Moffat's Doctor Who the more I think this is his long planned magnus opus about the mechanics and heart of travelling in time. A story told not through the adventures of the last alien standing from Gallifrey but of the lives, loves and deaths of the impossible Amelia Pond. Moffat is weaving a web of multiplex time streams around the story of a little girl who grew up to be someone extraordinary who destroys and creates universes in her dreams. 

"The Girl who Waited." was 45 minutes devoted to those moments where we consider the time we've had and the time we have left from both ends of the aging spectrum, and how time becomes more precious as we grow older and try to hang on to its finite elixir. That the older Amy Pond wanted to live on no matter how complex the subsequent paradox to keep her within the same universe and space as the younger Amy Pond was beautifully realised and performed by Karen Gillan. It was also the story of how much Amy loved Rory. A love that crossed different worlds in two seperate time streams. The sudden dawning for the older Amy that her love for her devoted nerd was still strong after 36 years apart and that to make him choose between her and her younger self was a choice too far. A moment where time stands still and weeps emotional loss. Give up your life so that your lover can be with the you you once were but can never be again. A story of sacrifice for the greater good.

An excellent episode all told. The el cheapo one. Simple and effective design. Loved the beam me down droids. Smith, Gillan and Darville were all on top form again. We see a Doctor confused, desperate, determined and cold. A dark hand player who is playing for higher stakes and his ultimate fate. As Rory put it, "You're making me choose and that's not fair." No it's not. Moffat's Doctor Who is the story of a time traveller seen through the eyes of a little girl. Everything that ever happened or ever will. The Doctor knows his fate. The time, the place and the method. He just doesn't understand the why. He's spent nearly two seasons trying to find out. He needs to fix his fate and Amy Pond is the key. Kudos to all concerned for a first rate episode.

And yes, Karen Gillan as a samurai ninja hot milf was just as good as I thought it would be.

Retro Babes: Karen Gillan.

SOME WHOVIANS HAVE ALL THE LUCK

Hang on, so what regeneration is this?

Isn't he a little short for a Space and Time Traveller?

 Anyway, behold she of the "legs and fiery mane."