The story is one of those that takes a while to sink in and once it does you get to see the brilliance of it. The first story for Amy in space takes place on a colony ship that left Earth after it was devastated by solar flares and it contains the whole of the United Kingdom. The Doctor’s interest is started when there is a girl crying. The Doctor suspects something is not quite right and his concerns are confirmed when he does the simple test of putting a glass of water on the floor and noticing that there are no ripples which there would be if the engines were working. There are booths with faces that start as nice and then turn to frown before turning again to angry.
There is a figure which hides behind a mask called Liz 10 who turns out to be Queen Elizabeth X. She uses the mask to walk around and not be noticed. Quite how she thought she would do this is never really examined in any great detail. People who are in the voting booths have the chance to protest or forget what they have seen and know. Amy is put in one of these booths and chooses to forget.
The ship is moving however due to the fact there are no signs of the engines working there is a mystery to solve and find out what’s going on. The Starwhale is helping the ship move to find another but he is being effectively tortured by some people on this spaceship. The fools!! Seriously though this is quite a big plot point because they were all accomplices to this horrible treatment and they choose to obey the Queen but the Queen chooses to forget and this continues the cycle of misery for the Spacewhale. This forces the Doctor to faces his biggest dilemma so far. He could either leave the whale to live in pain and torment or kill it and allow the humans to survive. Thankfully it falls to Amy to work it all out and forces Liz 10 to press the Abdicate button and nothing happens because the Whale is a willing carrier. This brief moment of defiance to the Doctor solidifies her part in the history of Doctor Who. Quite unusually for a story at the beginning of the series we have a lead into the next episode. Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister from May 1940 to July 1945) calls the Doctor. In the shot of Churchill there is a shadowy figure of a Dalek. The Doctor is oblivious of the Dalek but is going to visit Churchill.
One of the final shots of the Colony ship shows a crack in it like we saw in Young Amy’s wall. The ‘silence will fall’ storyline is continuing just a little bit in this story. I am really trying to work out where this is going but at least it’s got my attention.
Matt Smith is getting on very well in this story. As his first proper story as the Doctor it’s nice to see what his Doctor is like without the drama of regeneration. He buzzes around the story with a certain freshness and I found the moment when he got angry with Amy and threatened to take her back home showed that he is still a very serious character. Karen Gillan steals the show in this story as she is the one who works out what is going on and makes the connection between the Doctor and the Starwhale. Of the guest cast the biggest name is Sophie Okonedo (Liz 10). It was weird seeing her as a cockney Royal. Almost a bit too weird that it became distracting. After a while got toned down and her role in the story is what will be remembered. She is quite an established actress having just recently played Winnie Mandela. She also starred in 2003 play Scream of the Shalka.
This is another fine episode from Steven Moffat. His tenure as ‘Showrunner’ has started off well. Knowing what is set to come I think that this could be the best series since the show returned. The show looks fresh and there is a different feel to the whole series that is needed when we have a new Doctor.
There is a figure which hides behind a mask called Liz 10 who turns out to be Queen Elizabeth X. She uses the mask to walk around and not be noticed. Quite how she thought she would do this is never really examined in any great detail. People who are in the voting booths have the chance to protest or forget what they have seen and know. Amy is put in one of these booths and chooses to forget.
The ship is moving however due to the fact there are no signs of the engines working there is a mystery to solve and find out what’s going on. The Starwhale is helping the ship move to find another but he is being effectively tortured by some people on this spaceship. The fools!! Seriously though this is quite a big plot point because they were all accomplices to this horrible treatment and they choose to obey the Queen but the Queen chooses to forget and this continues the cycle of misery for the Spacewhale. This forces the Doctor to faces his biggest dilemma so far. He could either leave the whale to live in pain and torment or kill it and allow the humans to survive. Thankfully it falls to Amy to work it all out and forces Liz 10 to press the Abdicate button and nothing happens because the Whale is a willing carrier. This brief moment of defiance to the Doctor solidifies her part in the history of Doctor Who. Quite unusually for a story at the beginning of the series we have a lead into the next episode. Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister from May 1940 to July 1945) calls the Doctor. In the shot of Churchill there is a shadowy figure of a Dalek. The Doctor is oblivious of the Dalek but is going to visit Churchill.
One of the final shots of the Colony ship shows a crack in it like we saw in Young Amy’s wall. The ‘silence will fall’ storyline is continuing just a little bit in this story. I am really trying to work out where this is going but at least it’s got my attention.
Matt Smith is getting on very well in this story. As his first proper story as the Doctor it’s nice to see what his Doctor is like without the drama of regeneration. He buzzes around the story with a certain freshness and I found the moment when he got angry with Amy and threatened to take her back home showed that he is still a very serious character. Karen Gillan steals the show in this story as she is the one who works out what is going on and makes the connection between the Doctor and the Starwhale. Of the guest cast the biggest name is Sophie Okonedo (Liz 10). It was weird seeing her as a cockney Royal. Almost a bit too weird that it became distracting. After a while got toned down and her role in the story is what will be remembered. She is quite an established actress having just recently played Winnie Mandela. She also starred in 2003 play Scream of the Shalka.
This is another fine episode from Steven Moffat. His tenure as ‘Showrunner’ has started off well. Knowing what is set to come I think that this could be the best series since the show returned. The show looks fresh and there is a different feel to the whole series that is needed when we have a new Doctor.
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