Who Review: The Angels Take Manhattan

I absolutely bawled my eyes out at this episode. And I couldn’t be happier about that fact.

I’d seen the trailers, I knew this was the finale, last week was fairly decent, and it’s the return of the Weeping Angels. For the first time in what feels like forever I was genuinely excited about watching this week’s episode The Angels Take Manhattan, and I am ludicrously happy to say that I wasn’t let down. I didn’t even have to try to like this episode, I honestly loved it. More than one person had told me it wasn’t that great, so I was a little worried, but personally I thought it was definitely a case of save the best ‘til last. 

Whilst the introductory scene went on a little longer than I would have liked, it nevertheless was a stunning opening that gave me actual shivers. It established the threat and gave us the first in a long list of punch-in-the-gut moments; “I’m you.” Classic, concise, and followed by a short sharp chase by the most terrifying of Who monsters. Monsters that were actually doing what they were supposed to in this episode; sending people back in time to live to death, so they can feed off their time energy. Whilst I enjoyed The Forest of Angels back in season five, it did bother me that the angels were snapping necks for some unexplained reason. Here they’re farming humans for time energy, which adds something new whilst keeping them true to their original form.

Don't blink!

 I really loved the concept of the book in this episode, despite the slightly obvious “I hate endings” from the Doctor as he ripped out the last page. We know this is Amy and Rory’s last episode, no need to hang a neon sign up. Overall though, I found this to be a clever technique that for once didn’t act as a get-out-of-jail-free card for plot-holes. The book also added the dilemma of ‘fixed time’, and the issue of River’s wrist needing to be broken “because Amy read it in a book” also foreshadowed something more sinister, and highlighted the danger of ‘spoilers’. I was honestly touched when River tried to hide the fact she had broken her wrist to give the Doctor hope that Amy didn’t have to leave.

That’s another thing that this episode did exceptionally well for a change; the relationship between the Doctor and River. For the first time since Silence in the Library it felt like an actual relationship, rather than a collision of fixed fates built on cheap innuendos. Finally, this relationship feels like something real. We still got River’s cheeky personality coming through (“If it was easy I’d have asked you to do it”), but her vulnerability and genuine emotion wasn’t sacrificed in its place. This is a mature River, the River we first met in season four, and a River I actually warmed to. For the first time in too long, I care. I actually really care about these characters, which of course made the ending even more heart-breaking to watch. 

Let's keep this River. I like her.

The pacing of this episode was as close to spot-on as I think it can get at this point. There were no long dragging expositional scenes or lags in plot, but it didn’t all whiz by so quickly I couldn’t keep up. It was exciting, and my eyes were glued to the screen in a way they have not been so much as of late. Instead of just waiting for the episode to end, I was wishing it wouldn’t. 

The emotion displayed in this episode was also brilliant. And horrible. And brilliant. Both of Rory’s dying scenes (I was wondering when he was going to get around to dying in this series) had me sobbing into a pillow, and the way the Doctor loses it over Amy leaving was crushing. It was completely selfish of him to ask her to stay, to say “Come along Pond,” and expect her to walk away from her husband’s grave just like that. But it showed his human side, and with River there to encourage Amy along it really worked. I was worried for a second that it was going to be a ‘happily ever after’ ending – I’ve never been so happy to be so heartbroken. Moffat managed to kill them off, without actually killing them off. We know they led a long and happy life together, but still tinged with a tragedy that was needed to round off their story. 

 Now, there were a few things in this episode that did annoy me, as they always do. The reference to the fact that the Doctor has wiped himself off all records and now nobody knows who he is again just feels like a shortcut to put the Doctor back to square one, just in time for a new companion. And despite the fact that I really loved a more mature River Song, I was a bit confused; isn't she supposed to be getting further and further away from who she is in Silence of the Library? I thought the whole point was that we are going backwards through her timeline? Also, there’s that small issue of the Statue of Liberty having a wander across New York every now and again for an impact scare. Really? Not one single person in the city that never sleeps turned around and saw a massive stone statue frozen halfway to Winter Quay?

From http://chirravutever.tumblr.com/post/32568928253

But despite the fact that these (admittedly highly annoying) errors sadly exist, they didn’t take away the fact that overall I was very impressed with this episode. Maybe it’s because I’m slowly learning not to hold Steven Moffatt up against Russell T Davies, but the main point of the show is to entertain… and despite the fact I was in tears for half of it, I was very entertained. These issues are things I can’t usually look over, because the episodes have failed to make me feel anything about the characters. But here I was happy to nod and let things slide, as proper time was taken to make sure the reader was really sucked in to the story and able to suspend disbelief a little. Still not a great writing technique, but it's better than giving us nothing.

Roll on the Christmas special.

Who Review: The Power of a Decent Episode

In an attempt to try and make the viewing experience more positive for myself this time (I really am trying now, I don’t want to have to write another moaning review) I looked up the writer of this episode to see which other Doctor Who episodes he’s penned. Chris Chibnall is the man responsible for Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (which I have still yet to see, so cannot comment) and the great double episodes from series 5 The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. But best of all, and what actually got me excited to watch The Power of Three, he wrote my all-time favourite Who episode 42. This episode also stars Mark Williams as Rory’s father Brian, another thing I can get excited about as he never fails to crack me up. Finally, I can go in with a positive attitude!

What exactly is the function of a rubber du… I mean, a little black cube?

 Despite the slightly annoying use of Amy’s voiceover to introduce the episode (some more of that ‘telling’ not ‘showing’ I mentioned in the last review), the premise of The Power of Three immediately caught my interest. The “year of the slow invasion” and a mysterious little black box? At last, a promising start.

Whilst the cinematography is again pretty stunning for a British TV drama, parts of this episode were also pleasantly reminiscent of new Who series 1 – 4.  I was happy to see the return of the BBC news desk to the show, adding that sense of things going global and beyond the Pond’s life bubble. I feel like it makes everything that little bit more believable when people other than the Doctor and his companions (occasionally plus guests) are affected by the events of the episode. The appearance of UNIT was also interesting, again giving the sense that someone other than the Doctor is keeping an eye on things. 

There is also a couple of touching moments with Amy and the Doctor, ones that actually felt like they had some depth this time. Even though we appear to have skipped a large amount of time (ten years?), we still have seen enough of Amy’s adventures with the Doctor for this scenes in the kitchen and by the Thames to carry some weight. The fact that both times these moments were interrupted quickly by a sudden chance in pace (the house being overrun by soldiers and the Doctor’s eureka moment about the cubes) meant that they didn’t drag out too long either, and kept everything moving.

We are also treated to Rory in his pants. Is it just me, or does the Doctor look a little too happy here?

 We are introduced to new character Katie Stewart (guest star Jemma Redgrave), one who was refreshingly different to the fast-talking ass-kicking pretty young things that Steven Moffatt takes great delight in creating. I was disappointed that she vanished again as quickly as she appeared (quite like Brian, apparently perfectly content sitting in a box, watching a box, for four days straight), but she popped up again later with a lab and a background story. It was nice to see a female character that had some impact on the story, without her having to be a Wonder Woman to do so.

Another fantastic Rory moment appears in this episode, when he thoroughly puts the Doctor in his place after he refers to nursing as “your little job.” I’ve always loved how Rory isn’t afraid to tell the Doctor exactly what he things. Telling him he’s dangerous in Vampires of Venice, punching him in the face when he says Amy isn’t important in The Big Bang, telling him he doesn’t want to travel with him anymore in The Girl Who Waited. The show is peppered with Rory being awesome, and this episode does not disappoint on that front. 

About twenty minutes in and finally, those little boxes are doing something. Although the rest of the episode was entertaining, a lot of it (the random trip to visit Henry VII in particular) was beginning to feel like filler. A lot happened… but not a great deal happened. I suppose though, that it added to the feel that these boxes really have been sitting around doing nothing for a year. Now not only have things started moving again, but the Doctor makes a reference to K9. Albeit not a particularly affectionate reference, but one I had a happy little fan moment at all the same. 

Master remembers me!

 Although overall I enjoyed this episode, there were always going to be a few things I would have to gripe about, but I’ll try and keep it brief. I have to admit I cringed when the reason for the title of the episode became clear. Aside from the fact that it was so cheesy I could taste it, this episode was not driven by the ‘power of three’. It was driven by the power of three, plus Brian, Katie and the entirety of UNIT. I would have also liked a little more development on the race behind the mysterious cubes, as (another) long expositional talk between the Doctor and Shakri didn’t really provide this. Apart from knowing they were a Gallifreyan bedtime story I’m a little in the dark about them. 

Overall though, this was a whole lot better than the other episodes of series 7 I have seen. It was no 42, but it was nice to finally write a review that didn’t make me want to burn my Who paraphernalia. 

Next week it’s return of the Weeping Angels, one of my (and almost every other Whovian’s) absolute favourite monsters. Let’s hope it’s onwards and upwards from here.

EDIT: I have just been reminded of the fact that, towards the end of the episode, the Doctor blew up the spaceship with people still in it. There was so much going on in this episode I forgot to mention it... as, apaprently, did the Doctor. I am going to allow myself to fully complain about this... what happened to those people?!