Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour – The Starstore Review
The eleventh Doctor is here at last, debuting properly with his first full episode, ‘The Eleventh Hour’ over the Easter weekend in the UK. The hour-long first episode of Doctor Who series 5 was written by new series runner Steven Moffat, and if it is a good example of things to come with this series, then fans of the longest running science fiction show in history are in for a great ride. Matt Smith is instantly likeable as the Doctor, who, despite his youth, carries with him a great deal of that all-important gravitas and genius that the character always needs.
He’s immediately all over the part, and commands every scene he’s in. Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan, is going to take a little more getting used to, and I’m already sick of everyone going on about how attractive she is. Hopefully the focus will shift to her acting and the stories once she’s not running around in a kinky policewoman’s outfit. This first story in the new Doctor Who series is a pretty standard earthbound SF tale, but it is in how things are brought to a head that the beauty of Moffat’s script lies.
The way in which the Doctor overcomes the latest threat, and saves the world in just twenty minutes, is excellent. The episode is beautifully put together, and while the effects are a little dodgy here and there, it is possibly the best ‘New Doctor’ episode we’ve had since the show came back in 2005.
The direction and editing are brilliant, but the music lets the episode down in a few places, most notably the horrible new version of the theme tune. I do like the new title sequence though. The new TARDIS is excellent, the new Doctor is very promising and Amy shows potential. In all, it’s a great start to what will hopefully be a momentous series of this true institution of genre television. Geronimo!!!