The Rings of Akhaten review

 

“We don’t walk away”

Well the first thing I have to say about this episode is its very different from last weeks. The opening scenes provided a little more insight into Clara’s background. We see the meeting of her parents her some saves her father from being run over after he staggered into the road because he was hit in the face with a falling leaf. This scene reminded me of Rose saving her dad in Father’s Day. There are more scenes on the Doctor “stalking” Clara as she grows up. We see where Clara gets her 101 places to see book and that her mother died when she was growing up. It’s something that obviously affected her and would come to have greater relevance later in the episode.

So after the still awesome new titles; we catch up with Clara grasping her book and waiting for the Doctor like she said she would. Taking her travelling in the TARDIS for real for the first time she asks to see “something awesome” and he does just that. As I mentioned last week, Doctor Who has never looked better and this week’s episode showed that off in spades. The visuals just get better and better, I loved the look of the meteorites that made up the rings of a very Saturnian looking Akhaten, all surrounding either a sun or more likely gas giant type of planet. 

That said when we get down on to one of the asteroids it does have a lot more of the feel of RTD era Who with different aliens milling about. The costume department must have had a field day but for me it brought to mind “The end of the world” and to a lesser extent “Turn left” even the musical sting seemed to scream the reference. There are a lot of nice interactions between Clara and the aliens and the new world she’s in here. This Culminates in a slightly daft barking alien which while is probably chucked in for the kids does give chance to introduce an important plot point. They don’t use money; things of sentimental worth are traded instead. A great concept but probably a pain in the arse when you pop to the shops for a pint of milk and some bread and all you have on you is your wedding ring.

When the Doctor and Clara are split up she meets a young girl known as the queen of years. Her elaborate costume and title tell us she’s not superfluous to this story. Indeed this scared little girl has an integral role to play and it was nice to see the interaction between her and Clara because it shows of one of the strengths she has as a companion.  She’s inquisitive and compassionate with a sense of adventure. Far more so than I think Amy ever was. I really like her however the Tardis doesn’t seem to; it wouldn’t let her in just as it wouldn’t let Jack in after he became immortal. There’s something about her that’s not usual and clearly the Tardis knows it.

Blimey I’ve done four paragraphs already and we aren’t that far through. I’ll try to be more succinct. Clara has convinced Merry (the queen of years) to perform her song. A crowd is gathered of which the Doctor and Clara form a part and the next few scenes are some of my favourite from the whole episode. The central concept being that Merry’s people sing songs to the “grandfather” or god to keep him appeased. The ritual being passed on from generation to generation. A second more mature male chorister stands much nearer to the “god” and also sings to him. The singing and all round performance of Merry was astounding. The songs themselves felt ethereal the kind of music that I’d love to fall asleep to. It really stuck with me since seeing the episode I’ve been humming bits to myself at random.

Unfortunately the singing does not seem to be working this time. Merry gets captured and of course it’s up to the Doctor and Clara to save her. To follow Merry they must hire a kind of space moped to hop to the next asteroid. Here Clara is made to give over something of huge sentimental value, her mother’s ring, in exchange for the moped. Though surely the Doctor could have given up something instead? Maybe he is just testing her mettle as a companion. They chase her down and follow her into a sort of chapel/tomb. It was nice to see the sonic screwdriver being used for what its original purpose, opening doors, even immensely heavy ones.  It’s also later put to use in a sonic battle with the creepy vigil that was more than a little akin to the battles between Voldermort and Harry Potter.

It’s at this time where we learn that the big bad, a kind of vampire of souls with a mean looking face and a temper to match isn’t really the big bad at all but just his “alarm clock” The real enemy seems to be the Planet/Star itself. I have to admit that while I enjoyed the premise it’s nice to have an enemy that isn’t conveniently humanoid in appearance but I did find the pumpkin face a bit silly but I like the episode far too much to let that spoil it. The speech the Doctor gives at the end of the episode is emotional and wrought with a passion that shows that Matt Smith just IS the Doctor these days. It’s clearly effortless for him and that’s what makes him the best Doctor in new who by some margin.

The doctor of course is always better when working with a companion and this episode was no exception. The central conceit being that the Planet/Sun feeds of memories or stories means that Clara becomes incredibly important. The leaf that she keeps in the front of her book, the same one that caused her parents to meet is, to her, the most important leaf in human history. Filled with the memories of her mother’s premature death means its imbibed with all the possibilities of a life cut short. For me personally that was very powerful and a great way to defeat the enemy. Essentially force feeding it too much memory until it imploded.

Like I’ve already said or at least implied I really enjoyed this episode. I’ve mentioned a few of the references and pop culture mentions already but there are a lot more than that sprinkled in there. I really enjoy things that are heavily referential it brings out the nerd in me, well I say brings out it feeds the nerd in me. What I’ve really enjoyed about these first two episodes is on first viewing they are easy to follow and enjoyable stories. On the second or third viewing you get more from it, you notice little things that may or may not be significant. It’s like having a puzzle in part work, every episode adds more pieces but also jumbles them around a little just for fun. Something the first part of the series lacked was continuity. The much maligned (wrongly) arc is back and long may it continue.

The Bells of Saint John review

Run you clever boy and remember.

These were Clara’s last words to the Doctor in her first two appearances. Since then she has become another in a great line of Moffatt mysteries, the impossible girl. The bells of saint john kicks off the second half of series 7 though in look and feel this episode is nothing like the previous 6 episodes. The first half and Christmas special were balls out, rock your socks off mini epics. This has a much slower feel far more character based than running around all action from start to finish and that’s a good thing. Don’t get me wrong I loved the start to this series but variety is the spice of life and Moffatt creates such interesting characters sometimes it’s nice to sit and watch them converse with each other.

So first things first, the story. There’s something in the Wi-Fi that is consuming human souls we are told in an RTD style info dump at the very beginning. The “spoonheads” thankfully not the actual name for the Wi-Fi base stations are creepy as they turn around and put me in mind of the info pod things from silence in the library.  A very interesting idea and it’s always nice to see modern technology being used to scare people as in the very best of modern Asian horror but to be honest the threat in this episode is secondary to the introduction and development on the new companion and her relationship with the doctor. Without a doubt this partnership is going to be an exciting one. The chemistry between Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman is electric; you can tell or at least they get on in real life.

There’s so much about this episode to talk about its hard to know where begin. I’ve watched it three times now and there are still little bits and lines I’m picking up on that I missed on the first viewing. It’s probably simplest to just talk about the things I really loved, you may have already noticed from the tone there is nothing I didn’t like. Like all Moffatt scripts it is full of quotable lines and clever things that to him must seem so obvious but until it’s pointed out you never realise it’s there. For example the title The Bells of Saint John, sure as soon as phone rings and the close up of the St Johns ambulance crest it all clicks in to place but before that can you honestly say that’s what it referred to?

The new titles I think first shown in the Christmas special are great. The music brings the original theme back to the forefront and along with the visuals and Matt Smiths face appearing it invokes childhood memories of watching the classic series. The music through the whole show is evocative, every variation of the Doctors theme is celebratory it makes you want to leap up and punch the air. Over the last few years Doctor Who has become more and more polished and this episode is no different. London looked fantastic as the Doctor and Clara rode through on a gorgeous bike. The new Tardis console is beautiful but simple. It’s fair to say that in this 50^th anniversary year there is very little chance of a wobbly set.

Then we have all the wonderful chances for speculation and coming up with kooky theories. What Doctor who fan doesn’t love to think up an elaborate explanation to the mystery? Even if it’s only to be dashed to pieces when the true answer is revealed. It’s always worth the wrongs for when you get it right. We are told that Clara is given the number for the Tardis phone by a woman in a shop, but who is she? The popular consensus is that its River which is probably the most obvious answer but I’m not sure it’s the right one. It just seems TOO obvious. Personally I think it may be somebody new to be revealed later. It just doesn’t seem Rivers style.

Clara herself is still a mystery but there are a few things this episode made me think about her. Firstly it’s the first time we have seen her in a contemporary setting but it’s the only time she didn’t really fit in. Everything about her seemed old fashioned for 2013, she’s a nanny, her dress sense seems a little Victorian and before she was upgraded by the Wi-Fi she seemed to have very little knowledge of modern technology. All these things are too connected to be insignificant and the Doctor himself does draw attention to it. At the very beginning the doctor is seen with a portrait of Victorian Clara and it’s made me wonder if there is some kind of twist on the picture of Dorian Gray happening here. I’m probably wrong and we definitely are not going to find out any time soon but as I said before it’s always fun to speculate.

I really ought to wrap this up as I’ve rambled on far too long already. Needless to say I loved this episode and it’s got me very excited for the second half of the series. Aside from the things I’ve already mentioned Celia Imrie’s performance was superb as always would be great to see her back but as she’s now regressed to a childlike state that seems unlikely. The swift return of the Great Intelligence was an unexpected and a pleasant surprise as I managed to dodge all the spoilers online. The doctor’s new outfit is brilliant, I’d pay a lot of money for a coat like that and the special reverence for the bow tie was a nice touch. Well that’s it; next episode looks brilliant hopefully I will manage to get a review out closer to its air date.

Thanks for reading.