The Eleventh Hour

Brilliant revision of a beloved series
OK, it's a little premature to judge something that hasn't been released yet. And I'm sure I'll make a few additions to this review when the set is released. In the meantime, this review is meant to enlighten you about Series 5 of Doctor Who.

I'm sure I wasn't the only fan who was skeptical that this lanky upstart Matt "Who?" Smith (Ha! Did you see what I did there?) could replace the wonderful 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant. But we long-time fans have come to accept that the role of the Doctor is going to change every few years. And in the case of Matt Smith, the role couldn't be in better hands.

But Doctor Who doesn't just have a new face in front of the camera; Steven Moffat, writer of such modern-day DW classics like "Blink" and "The Girl in the Fireplace" took over the showrunner position from Russell T. Davies. And again, the show couldn't be in better hands. Moffat has been very vocal about his reimagining of the series as a sort of dark fairy...

a convert
I was very unsure of whether I would warm up to the new cast even as far as midseason. I had absolutely loved David Tennant and Chris Eccleston, and these were some very large shoes to fill. Fortunately, Matt Smith gave me a delightful surprise and ended up owning the character in his own lighter way. He isnt as grave as the 9th doctor, nor as intense as Tennant's take. Considering the things that were happening in the doctor's life at the time those actors were portraying him (lost love, recovering from a lost people) it is not surprising that Smith's version is less damaged and more carefree. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the previous incarnations, I'm just saying the evolution in personality at this time makes sense. It's reminiscent of when Tom Baker took over the reins in the early seventies with his big grin and goofy scarf - just replace it with big hair and a goofy (but cool) bow tie.

I wasn't at all sure about Amy until I realised later in the series that we weren't...

Safe, but sharp - Tennant fans should give it a shot
It's a huge pet peeve of mine when people review Doctor Who based on their tastes rather than the objective standards on the show. Doctor Who as a show has changed so often and so radically that there will ALWAYS be parts of the show that, whether or not they are good, just don't appeal to people. If you want darkness and grit, try Season 7. If you want space exploration, avoid it. And so on, and so on.

For this reason, I'm going to start with OBJECTIVE commentary - standards of writing, storytelling, etc. - and then proceed to the SUBJECTIVE, as in my personal take on the direction of the show, the style, and the acting.

First the objective.

THE PLOTS
Overall, this is a more tightly written series than the four which preceded it. There's a little more attention to plotting and logic, which is due in no small part to Moffat's talent for writing puzzlebox stories. In past seasons, you always knew you had to suspend a lot of your logical faculties...

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