Television Review: Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes to War

I haven’t sat down and tried to write this review before this moment, because this is going to be the hardest episode to not spoil. Now I understand why the cast just kept saying that it was a brilliant episode and leaving it at that. But, urgh, I’ll try. (I’m going to assume that you’ve read the last two episodes) **Spoiler Free**

At the end of  “The Almost People”, we discover that Amy is not flesh and blood, but one of the flesh people. And she has been, for some time. Instead, she has been locked in a very white chamber, getting more and more preggers, until she is about to pop. The Doctor tells Amy, before he Sonics her, that he is coming for her. Rory steps away, and Amy disintegrates into pancake batter. “A Good Man Goes to War” is the conclusion of this story arc, with a taste of what is to come in the last part of the season, starting with “Let’s Kill Hitlers”, which doesn’t air until September.

In “A Good Man Goes to War”, the Doctor and Rory (as the Last Centurion) head off to find Amy and rescue her. The Doctor visits old acquaintances who owe him favors and brings them along. Rory heads off first to get River Song, who tells him, she only shows up at the end and she does, with the hugest revelation of all. I mean, good lord!! River has always been an enigma, where she came from what she is to the Doctor. So finding out a piece of her history, was mind blowing. The show was a never ending whirlwind of activity, great leaps forward, and huge falls backwards. But the ending was the most spectacular mid-season finale I have seen in a while (frankly, I’ve been disappointed by a lot of the season finale’s this spring). Doctor Who proves once again, that they have got the goods and they know how to use them.

I am going to say, that for a split second in “Day of the Moon” I thought what if River is…, but dismissed the ludicrous idea out of hand. And here I was right!!! Go watch the exciting mid-season finale, if you haven’t already. If you can’t wait until September, here are some clips to hold you over.

io9 exclusive (which means I can’t embed the videos) of how Matt Smith would play an evil version of the Doctor.

Recap (of the first 7 episodes):

Compendium of pictures and scenes of the crew filming (frankly I got bored and didn’t watch the whole thing)

Television Review: Final Fringe Friday: The Day We Died of Disbelief

It literally took me three days to finish this episode. Part of it was timing and friends coming into town, part of it was my wrist giving out as I took notes for the extensive reviews I always do, and part of it was my sadness that the season had come to an end and the moment the clock ran out on the episode it would be over. But finish it I did.

This episode was a great season finale, explaining many unanswered questions and popping up with a few more mysteries at the same time. The show begins with Peter injured from a blast, for a minute he thinks he was from the past, but that is soon all straightened out and the fun begins. It’s a dystopian universe in the future and things are heated and complicated and frustrating. There was a literal jaw dropping moment for me, and I enjoyed nearly every second of this episode. At the end of everything I have great love and great hate for J.J. Abrams. I have great love, because he seems to have finally pulled his act together after Alias  and Lost, in that he actually answers the big questions, and many of the tiny ones too. Yes, it’s a cliff hanger, and yes there are some unanswered questions, but I’m actually beginning to hope that they will be fleshed out in Season 6 (::Crossesfingers:: ::Knocksonwood::).

Television Review: Review: Doctor Who Season 6 Episode 1 & 2

*Spoiler FREE review**

This weekend I was finally able to watch the first two episodes of season 6 of Doctor Who (“Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon”). While I was disappointed last weekend that I didn’t have time to watch the first episode the second it aired, I was actually really glad that I could watch the second episode right after the first, I think I would have been in a tizzy all week if I had had to wait. The first episode’s cliff hanger is ridiculous (in a good way). But it meant that I immediate watched the second episode.

My mind was literally blown by the epicness of these two episodes. I’m not just talking the wide-lens filming of the United States, though that was way awesome too, or that fact that there were several different locales filmed, because that was way cool also, but I’m talking about the grandness of the story arc. Not just in the first two episodes (which really you should try to watch together), but in bringing back things from season 4 and especially season 5. Which is my one contention with the first two episodes, they are not really new user friendly. I would suggest going back and watching season 5 before watching them, and if you have time season 4. But as a no longer new to Doctor Who viewer, I was in heaven!

I thought the re-introduction to some of t.v.’s most beloved characters on the air currently was brilliant. The new baddies are also a bit of brilliance there. I kept reading how every one found them scary and frightening, and I poo pahed their faint little hearts, but um, yah, actually kind of scary, only in a nail biting edge of your seat kind of way. I generally haven’t found Doctor Who scary, intense by all means, but those Daleks make me want to pull my ears of my head so I don’t have to hear them, and I find that way more annoying than scary. But this season’s baddies, ubber scary in a – um, so maybe that kind of monster exists- kind of way. Which was absolutely brilliant and fantastic.

The acting, as always, was spot on. Karen Gillan, as Amy Pond, is absolutely brilliant. Her face conveys so many emotions that you feel everything she is feeling. Her relationship with the Doctor is refreshing and heart warming. Arthur Darvill’s portrayal of Mr. Amy Pond (aka Rory) is complex with his subtle yet not so subtle character. Rory has really grown as an individual from the beginning of last season, and that is all due to Darvill (well ok, and the writers. 😀 ). One of my favorite bits from the second episode is of Rory, but I shan’t say more because this is supposed to be spoiler free. (I didn’t say I wouldn’t tease). Once again Alex Kingston returns as River Song and continues to lend more mystery to the series with her, “Spoilers!” warnings. Her character and the Doctor find each other in reverse chronological order. It’s her past and his future. Which makes for a very interesting story line and I can’t wait to see more of her!

Finally, Matt Smith. The Doctor. I know every one was disappointed when David Tennant left the series, myself included. It took me a bit to get around to watching season 5. And now I think I’m in love with yet another character. Smith’s portrayal of the Doctor is with such enthusiasm for the character and the show that I now consider him “my doctor.” I enjoyed Christopher Eccleston’s portrayal, and was fond of Tennant, but Matt Smith is definitely my favorite. He plays the Doctor with such emotions and thought and feeling, yet never loosing that sense of awe of the universe that Doctor maintains, that I think he is a fantastic actor. I love his persona off stage, in his interviews. He seems like a really great person, quirky and alien in his movements, that I think he makes the perfect Doctor.

I cannot say any more good things about this show, not because I don’t have more to say, but because this post is already really long. If you are a fan of science fiction, fantasy, thrillers, drama, love, life, exploration of the universe, or blue boxes marked Police, I suggest giving Doctor Who a try. I find the show thrilling, heart wrenching, heart warming, and it never fails to put a smile on my face.

Generally when a man says to trust him, I don’t. But I make an exception with the Doctor.