The Rings of Akhaten (2013)

In the introduction we see the Doctor watching over Clara’s mom and dad in 1981 when they meet. There is some drivle about if a leaf hadn’t fallen and gone into his face then they wouldn’t have met and blah blah blah. I would be lying if I said I was getting somewhat bored with it but that was all before the titles so once that was out of the way we get back to the main story and its Clara’s first adventure in the TARDIS. Whereas I felt that the previous story had familiar vibes to it then the same could be said for this story. When I was watching this story I couldn’t help but feel like this was ‘The Beast Below’. The story sees the Doctor take Clara to the Festival of Offerings and they whilst wandering through the market meeting many aliens they soon become involved in events. There was a nice moment when the Doctor confesses to Clara that he has been there before with his grand-daughter which must have made other people squeal with excitement.

This is definelty Clara’s story as it deals with her family and gets a lot to do. Clara encounters a girl (called Merry Gejelh) who has to sing a song to a being known as ‘Grandfather’ which seems to scare her and she’s worried about getting it wrong and the scene of the two of them together was a nice one as Clara encourages Merry to sing the song and convince her that everything will be alright. However the Godfather is actually after a soul and Merry is expected to make a sacrifice. The look of the ‘Godfather’ was rather well done and very effective, as were the Vigil’s that appear towards the end and even though there was a hint of those masks from ‘Underworld’ they too were effective and well realised. I liked the twist where the Grandfather is not the Mummy but it is infact the planet Akhaten.

All the performances are very good with Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman giving top rate deliveries. JLC in particular shows how you follow up someone who is as well liked as Karen Gillan’s Amy. Clara isn’t a character that is stereotypical but manages to hold her own yet manage to come across as caring. Smith’s best scene comes when he is making his sacrifice to the planet and as he is telling his story and telling what he has seen and done you can’t help but wonder whether Hartnell or Tom Baker could have pulled that off. I suspect not and that shows why Smith is such as good Doctor. Emilia Jones is very good as Merry Gejelh who sings. I don’t know how old she is or whether she was actually singing but she did well in that she played a young ‘kid’ but was annoying and you actually connected with.

If there is one thing that I love about the Moffat era is that music has taken a even more significant hold of the stories and this story is one of the best examples of it as there is some beautiful singing. It’s not just a brief moment but a good amount. This story is certainly one that dares to be ambitious and basically my opinion of this story is that it’s perfectly fine but it’s nothing more than that. It’s a unusual story that is directed with a certain amount of gusto. Next week a long overdue return, should be sssssspectacular.