Doctor Who Series 6 Episode 1 - The Impossible Astronaut (Part 1) - Review
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston & Mark Sheppard
Written By: Steven Moffat
Directed By: Toby Haynes
Series
6 has begun! For the first time since 1985, the new series
has kicked off with a two-part episode and we begin with The
Impossible Astronaut. It's a welcome move, especially seeing as two-parters usually allow more time to develop key characters and plot details. So how did this one get on? Well, this is going to be a
tricky one …
The
Impossible Astronaut begins with the Doctor sending
messages through time to recruit Amy, Rory and River Song together.
Once they are gathered, they travel to Utah, America, where an
impossible astronaut rises from the lake and kills the Doctor. Okay,
this is a fantastic concept … for a series finale! Kicking a new
series of a programme off, by killing the main character, is an
incredibly bold move, and I’m fairly certain that Steven Moffat has
laid the foundations for Series 6's story arc already. Before the
Doctor’s untimely death, the audience are given a visual feast for
the eyes with the Utah setting. The Impossible Astronaut
is easily one of the most cinematic episodes in the history of Doctor
Who. The deserts of Utah look amazing when combined with the stellar direction from Toby Haynes. Despite being one of the best-looking
episodes Doctor Who has ever had, there is a subtle lack of special
effects and CGI, and it’s very rare in this episode that it's
needed. However, when it is present, it’s subtle and looks as great
as ever, particularly the shots of the astronaut shooting the Doctor.
For the first time since last year’s The Pandorica Opens, the whole team are back together, consisting of the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River. All of the performances from the lead actors are fantastic. Matt Smith gives a to-be-expected good performance as the Doctor. However, it might just be me, but the 11th Doctor seems to be getting a bit more comical than he was last year. Hopefully, he'll be turned down a little later in the series, as he's just a bit too jokey here. However, one stand-out comedy moment that worked was the first hilarious scene between the Doctor and President Nixon in the oval office. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are also back as Amy and Rory. Sadly, I’m still struggling to relate to Amy as a character, due to a lack of a developed personality – a severe problem when this is the second series to feature this character. However, Arthur Darvill’s performance is quickly making Rory one of my favourite companions, and the character is getting better each week Lastly, Alex Kingston as River Song. What can I say? It’s River Song, nothing much new, but still as great as ever!
This episode is also the debut for Steven Moffat's latest creation … The Silence, and although this is the first time we’ve seen them, their arrival has been foreshadowed for a while; going back to the start of the last series. In the run-up to this episode, the production team tried selling them as the scariest Doctor Who monster yet. For me, they don’t come anywhere near being the scariest monster in the show. However, that isn’t to say that they aren’t at all scary. On the contrary, they are pretty creepy, yet still being almost elegant, even when they attack people. I love the effects involved when the Silence absorb electricity from the environment and use it for their attacks. One of my few complaints with them is the voice. Although it’s a nit-pick, their voice can sometimes be so deep and raspy, that I can sometimes struggle to understand what they’re saying. As for the Silence editing themselves out of a person’s memory, I thought it worked pretty well, but the scene between Joy and one of the Silence in the bathroom wasn’t needed, and quite frankly got on my nerves.
As for the supporting cast, the best supporting cast member here was easily Mark Sheppard as Canton Delaware III. It was a good, solid performance, and he shared some great chemistry with the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River. His scenes with Stuart Milligan as Richard Nixon, were some of the funniest in the episode, especially when the Doctor was added to the mix. If I have any serious problem with this episode, it's the cliff-hanger, as it was very poorly handled. (Spoiler Warning!) In the scenes leading up to the little girl getting shot, there was either misplacement or laughable moments abound. Before finding the unconscious Canton, Amy is suddenly struck with pain and reveals to the Doctor that she is … pregnant. Why there?! Okay, that is a decent plot twist, but why suddenly reveal it there, all of a sudden, and before an even bigger cliff-hanger? You could practically see the crowbar forcing that moment in, and it feels like it should have been revealed earlier in the episode, but was forgotten. This mishandled reveal is then followed by Amy shooting the little girl that had been phoning the president, because Amy thought the little girl was going to kill the Doctor in the future. But as Amy swings round and shoots the little girl, the actions and the dialogue are done in slow-motion. That might not sound like a problem, but seeing it on screen, it just looks awful and you can't take it seriously.
For now, that’s all that I have to say about The Impossible Astronaut. This review might be a bit all over the place, but it was difficult to write, as it seems like a lot of unresolved plot points are going to either be solved in the next episode, or, knowing Steven Moffat, in the remainder of Series 6. However, for now, The Impossible Astronaut is a solid opener to Series 6 that looks amazing and certainly kicks the series off with a bang.
Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/doctor-who-series-6-episode-2-day-of.html
For the first time since last year’s The Pandorica Opens, the whole team are back together, consisting of the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River. All of the performances from the lead actors are fantastic. Matt Smith gives a to-be-expected good performance as the Doctor. However, it might just be me, but the 11th Doctor seems to be getting a bit more comical than he was last year. Hopefully, he'll be turned down a little later in the series, as he's just a bit too jokey here. However, one stand-out comedy moment that worked was the first hilarious scene between the Doctor and President Nixon in the oval office. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are also back as Amy and Rory. Sadly, I’m still struggling to relate to Amy as a character, due to a lack of a developed personality – a severe problem when this is the second series to feature this character. However, Arthur Darvill’s performance is quickly making Rory one of my favourite companions, and the character is getting better each week Lastly, Alex Kingston as River Song. What can I say? It’s River Song, nothing much new, but still as great as ever!
This episode is also the debut for Steven Moffat's latest creation … The Silence, and although this is the first time we’ve seen them, their arrival has been foreshadowed for a while; going back to the start of the last series. In the run-up to this episode, the production team tried selling them as the scariest Doctor Who monster yet. For me, they don’t come anywhere near being the scariest monster in the show. However, that isn’t to say that they aren’t at all scary. On the contrary, they are pretty creepy, yet still being almost elegant, even when they attack people. I love the effects involved when the Silence absorb electricity from the environment and use it for their attacks. One of my few complaints with them is the voice. Although it’s a nit-pick, their voice can sometimes be so deep and raspy, that I can sometimes struggle to understand what they’re saying. As for the Silence editing themselves out of a person’s memory, I thought it worked pretty well, but the scene between Joy and one of the Silence in the bathroom wasn’t needed, and quite frankly got on my nerves.
As for the supporting cast, the best supporting cast member here was easily Mark Sheppard as Canton Delaware III. It was a good, solid performance, and he shared some great chemistry with the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River. His scenes with Stuart Milligan as Richard Nixon, were some of the funniest in the episode, especially when the Doctor was added to the mix. If I have any serious problem with this episode, it's the cliff-hanger, as it was very poorly handled. (Spoiler Warning!) In the scenes leading up to the little girl getting shot, there was either misplacement or laughable moments abound. Before finding the unconscious Canton, Amy is suddenly struck with pain and reveals to the Doctor that she is … pregnant. Why there?! Okay, that is a decent plot twist, but why suddenly reveal it there, all of a sudden, and before an even bigger cliff-hanger? You could practically see the crowbar forcing that moment in, and it feels like it should have been revealed earlier in the episode, but was forgotten. This mishandled reveal is then followed by Amy shooting the little girl that had been phoning the president, because Amy thought the little girl was going to kill the Doctor in the future. But as Amy swings round and shoots the little girl, the actions and the dialogue are done in slow-motion. That might not sound like a problem, but seeing it on screen, it just looks awful and you can't take it seriously.
For now, that’s all that I have to say about The Impossible Astronaut. This review might be a bit all over the place, but it was difficult to write, as it seems like a lot of unresolved plot points are going to either be solved in the next episode, or, knowing Steven Moffat, in the remainder of Series 6. However, for now, The Impossible Astronaut is a solid opener to Series 6 that looks amazing and certainly kicks the series off with a bang.
Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/doctor-who-series-6-episode-2-day-of.html
The Impossible Astronaut
7/10
So far ...
So far ...
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