Doctor Who Series 5 Episode 4 - The Time Of Angels (Part 1) - Review

Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston & Iain Glen

Written By: Steven Moffat

Directed By: Adam Smith

 

When Steven Moffat decided to bring back arguably his scariest creation, the Weeping Angels, for a rematch with the Doctor, he was inspired by the film Alien and its relationship with its sequel Aliens. For their second appearance, Steven Moffat wanted the Weeping Angels to feature in a more action-oriented story. Hoping to do a similar job to Aliens is no small feat, as its a sequel that somehow managed to top the original – and the original was already something of a masterpiece. So is The Time Of Angels and Flesh & Stone capable of toppling Blink, one of Doctor Who's best episodes?

 

After receiving a call for help from the 51st Century, from onboard the starship Byzantium, the Doctor meets River Song again, after his last encounter with her in Silence In The Library and Forest Of The Dead. The Doctor rescues River as the ship crashes on the planet Alfava Metraxis. On the planet, militarised “cleric” Father Octavian recruits the Doctor, Amy and River to accompany him through the Byzantium wreckage, in the hopes of tracking and destroying the last of the Weeping Angels.

 

Just because this two-parter sees the return of the Weeping Angels, don't assume that it's just a rehash of Blink. While Blink is one of the best episodes ever made, and easily the best Series 3 had to offer, The Time Of Angels is a lot more ambitious in what it sets out to achieve. The inspiration that Steven Moffat has taken from Aliens is all over the screen, as this episode is definitely an action sequel, with a heavy military presence, an investigation into a ruined and abandoned setting, and huge numbers of Weeping Angels. Even the labyrinth setting is much bigger than anything we saw in Blink, and the script moves at a much faster pace, as there's no need to be messing around or setting up any mysteries here.

 

One of my biggest worries in bringing back the Weeping Angels was that they wouldn't be able to pull off the same scare factor a second time around. Part of what made the Weeping Angels so scary in Blink was that for a large part of the episode, we knew nothing about them and what they are capable of. This time we're much more informed, so can they still be scary? Absolutely. For one thing, they are far greater in number this time, in fact the Doctor's facing a whole army of them. We also have Steven Moffat introducing new elements about them, and revealing more about what they are capable of. For example, while the Weeping Angels were previously thought to be the only beings that kill you “nicely”, these Angels are a lot more brutal, snapping the necks of many of the clerics. Also, by looking into their eyes, you allow that particular Angel to manifest itself inside your visual cortex, where it will start killing you from within. All these changes to the Weeping Angels, not to mention their vastly increased numbers makes sure that they still feel fresh and that this episode offers something new.

 

Not only are the Weeping Angels back, but so is the ever-mysterious River Song. Compared to her last appearance, her character here feels different, and this version feels younger and cockier. While I miss the River Song that we saw in her previous appearance, Alex Kingston still does a great job with the character. We also get to learn more about who exactly she is, and her relationship with the Doctor, and with any luck, we might start getting some more concrete answers in the near future. River's return also allows for a really stylish and exciting introduction to the episode, which helps to remind us just why this character was so great the last time we saw her. It's also clear from the start of this episode just how brilliant Adam Smith's direction is, making use of some interesting and clever shots, then later making use of plenty of fast rapid shots and cuts to heighten the sense of tension and danger. The great direction compliments some equally great production values, with the cave system being a nice blend of practical sets and CGI, and as we should expect in an episode with Weeping Angels, some really atmospheric lighting.

 

River Song's return also demands a lot performance-wise from Matt Smith as the Doctor. If we take ourselves back to the end of Forest Of The Dead, we'll remember that the Doctor watched River give her life to save everyone in the library, so of course he's going to be dreading their next meeting. Matt Smith's performance completely sells this, as there are moments where it seems he even has difficulty looking at River, and once he takes her to Alfava Metraxis, the Doctor even wants to leave her there and carry on in his travels. Matt Smith's performance is even more impressive when we remember that this is the first episode he shot as the Doctor. Unfortunately, while the Doctor and River get a great deal to do in this episode, the same cannot be said for Amy. While Amy stepped up to the mark at the end of last week's episode, and had a big part to play in defeating the Daleks, this week she is again put to the side. If you want proof, she even has the line “Anybody need me? Nobody?”. The only things Amy gets to do here is to be rescued from a Weeping Angel attack, and to set up the mystery of how one of the Angels managed to get into her eye. Now admittedly, the scene where Amy gets attacked by an Angel through the monitor is terrifying, and I am interested to see just where the Angel in Amy's eye subplot is going. However, it's still a real shame that the character had nothing else to do, and was ultimately forgettable here.

 

It's also worth mentioning that we have some decent supporting characters here. The leader of the clerics, Father Octavian may initially come across as something of a military idiot, but when going back and re-watching the episode, it's clearer that this is more because he cares about the men under his care. We also have Bob as one of the episode's most sympathetic characters, and he gets quite a few touching moments, particularly when talking to the Doctor. (Spoiler Warning!) It's these moments that make his ultimate demise a genuinely upsetting scene. The rest of the supporting cast sadly don't fare as well, as they are little more than red-shirts, and I'm honestly struggling to remember any of their names.

 

So far, The Time Of Angels is a very promising start to a two-parter, thanks to the Weeping Angels, who still manage to be really scary, a whole load of ambition, pacing that moves at a break-neck speed (No pun intended) and a very dramatic and well-executed cliffhanger (not taking into account the infamous banner incident). It remains to be seen whether next week's instalment will be able to keep up the same momentum and provide a satisfying pay-off, but for now, The Time Of Angels is definitely one to enjoy.

Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/doctor-who-series-5-episode-5-flesh.html

 

 

The Time Of Angels



8/10

 So far ...