My Minimal Reviews of 'Doctor Who': 2011 Series (aka series 32, aka series 2, 7, whatever?)

Score Out Of 10 (10 being the highest)

There is so much going on in these episodes but they do not feel as cluttered as, say, Big Bang or The Wedding of River Song.

Although the 'revelation' about who River Song is was hardly a surprise it was nicely handled. Aside from this the episode was a bit flat; the episode builds up to the Doctor's appearance then, once he appears it comes across as business as usual. There's some anger displayed, but not enough to live up to the title.

I really liked the Silurian and maid, they would be welcomed back should they ever appear again. The Sontaran, much as I winced at first when I saw he was almost a jokey character, I also grew to like a lot and he, for me, is second only to the great Lynx from The Time Warrior.

Negatives about this episode: establishing the background of a married couple only to have one of them killed virtually straight away. The point being? The other main negative is that the episode seems only to exist to establish who River Song is, it is not a particularly epic episode with which to take a mid-series break. My thoughts at the end of watching it seemed only to consist of the words 'So what?'

DW Confidential shows the filming of the scene where Mels lays 'dying' and contains extra lines (in black below):

Mels: When I was little I was gonna marry you

Doctor: Oh. Good idea, let's get married. You stay alive and I'll marry you, deal?

Mels: Cross you heart and hope to die?

Doctor: Yeah, yeah, of course, twice.

(which would then presumably be followed the the next line as broadcast:)

Mels: Shouldn't you ask my parents' permission?

(I mention this mostly because I liked those lines and wish they'd been left in.)

The Cybermen were yet again defeated oh-so easily but, for once, this does not jar too much as this is a story about the Doctor and Craig, and of the Doctor's last day.

The Silence are one of the most interesting enemies in the history of Doctor Who and whilst they are sparingly used yet again, they were effective when used.

Amy's very real response to allowing the kidanpper of her daughter, Kovarian, to be killed by the species she works for was also very effective and showed that River got some of her characteristics from her mother.

Due to the jumble of assaults on the senses one or two things do almost pass you by. The death of The Brigadier for instance. Had this been the focus of the episode at the start it might have come across as more than a throwaway scene that you forget the moment the next assault on the senses comes along. It was a nice idea to do something to mark the passing of The Brigadier though, and I'd like to think that, whilst the 11th Doctor only got to hear about his death, in a former incarnation the 7th Doctor had been by his bedside when it happened.

So the Doctor tricked River into 'marrying' him just so he could reset everything (again)? Great stuff. I really like the relationship though, and look forward to more encounters.

As for how the Doctor got out of his own death, whilst not wildly surprising, it was still deftly handled.

I was hoping we'd find out about how photos of Amy and a baby end up in an orphange in America but this, like the explanation for the exploding Tardis from the last series, are yet to come.

Overall, I thought everything had been thrown into this one, that there were too many unecessary distractions and that a simple battle against Kovarian and The Silence would have been more effective.

The corresponding Doctor Who Confidential was a good one to finish on; I liked the section with River telling her history so far but as per her timeline, it was a nice Coda to the last three series, and was as much a mini episode as Death Is The Only Answer, the Script to Screen episode written by school children.

Farewell Confidential, we'll soon be bidding farewell to The Sarah Jane Adventures too, and Torchwood, well, who knows? Doctor Who will return however, and even though it's over 40 years since I first started watching the series, this is something to look forward to.

The audience figures and appreciation index show how popular this special was, and it's pleasing that, even if I didn't particularly enjoy it, that I seem to be in the minority.