Doctor Who: Step Back in Time - Series Six

With Peter Capaldi materialising on our screens in just under a month, it's time to up our game of this run-down through the previous series of our favourite bigger-on-the-inside programme. Earlier this month, we covered Matt Smith's first foray into the TARDIS in Series Five and now - anyone good at maths out there? - we come to Series Six. So join us as we sing Melody's Song...

Starring: Matt Smith (the Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) with Alex Kingston (River Song).

Produced by: Sanne Wohlenberg, Marcus Wilson and Denise Paul

Executive Produced by: Steven Moffat, Beth Willis and Piers Wenger

Best Episodes

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon by Steven Moffat

No other Doctor Who series opener sets up the episodes ahead quite as well as this one. In a year full of twists and turns and complex plots that keep you at the edge of your seat, this two-parter delivers a unique take on the classic extraterrestrial incursion ('we're not fighting an alien invasion, we are leading a revolution'). some terrific monsters and a Doctor Who explanation of a famous historical event. When, just ten minutes into the new series the main character dies, you know you're in for a quite a ride. 

The God Complex by Toby Whithouse

In a series full of gems, this thrilling, slightly surreal offering from Being Human creator Mr Whithouse is often unfairly overlooked. With a spellbinding premise - a creepy hotel with a different horror in each room - and an interesting collection of supporting characters - Rita is one of the best companions-who-never-was - as well finding time to look at the relationship between the Doctor and Amy, this is one of the bravest and most accomplished of its year. In fact, in a near-quote from the episode itself, praise it. 

Closing Time by Gareth Roberts

I've spoken before on Mr Roberts' reliability to produce the funniest Doctor Who episode of the year every time but here, a sequel to his tremendous The Lodger, he outdoes himself, creating possibly the most outright hilarious Who story ever told. Even if the Cybermen are underused, Matt Smith and James Corden simply crackle with comic chemistry and the humorous set pieces and one liners never let up. An episode to please the Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All, in all of us. 

For more on my other favourite episode of Series Six, see here. 

TARDIS Team

For the first time in the modern series, the regular cast of Series Six were exactly the same as the previous year. And the growing familiarity between the Doctor and his companions, arguably to a level not seen since the Tenth Doctor and Rose, shines through as surely never before had the TARDIS Team felt so much like a family unit. There's Mum and Dad and their two kids. However, here's a question for you, which is which? 

With Series Six, Rory is promoted to full-time companion and, now that Mr and Mrs Pond have tied the knot, there is a greater emphasis on the love story of Amy and Rory, and how it is stronger than their, in particular Amy's, ties to the Doctor. In the reverse, a character who's ties to the Doctor increase this series is River Song. Previously their timey-wimey relationship had been rather strained but over the course of the series it burgeons into a fully-fledged romance. Despite the reveal that River was raised a perfect assassin for the Doctor. Well, what other kind of woman was the Doctor going to fall for?

Our four heroes begin the series as a group of friends but end it as a pair of married couples travelling through time and space (though only occasionally with River - one psychopath per TARDIS, unfortunately). However, every story has to end sometime...

 Story Arc

While Series Five introduced us to the story arc of the series being, rather than a few peppered references, like a rolling stone, building and building until it got to the finale, Series Six takes this one further. If Series Five was a rolling stone then the overall arc of Series Six is a boulder crashing down a mountain. Doctor Who was more of a serial show than ever before, with plots interweaving all over the place (and time).
In content, this series revolved around the Doctor discovering the mythic Silence who had been mentioned throughout the previous year and their new plot to ensure the Doctor dies. And at the centre of all this, as hinted above, is River Song - who it is not only revealed as an agent of the Silence but also the daughter of Amy and Rory. This marks the evolution of the story arc revolving around the main heroes to actually being about the heroes themselves (the mystery of Clara in the next series continues this).
Series Six, then, combines the show's classic story-a-week philosophy with modern television's penchant for ongoing storylines. As such, the result was a winner and overseas interest for the show increased, laying the path for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary which turned out to be an international extravaganza. In short, Series Six sees Doctor Who bigger, brighter and boulder than ever before.

Next Month: Series Seven - Putting the Who Back in Doctor Who

My Top Three Doctor Who Stories: The Doctor's Wife by Neil Gaiman

In the lead-up to Doctor Who's fiftieth birthday - it's only David Tennant days away, folks! - I'm penning a trilogy of posts concerning my three favourite Doctor Who stories ever. It's a tough choice, to boil down (debatably) 238 stories down to just three but, after much deliberation, I have made my choice. First up, we go to the scrapyard at the end of the universe to meet a very important woman to the Doctor, his soul mate, his significant other, you might say, his... well, his TARDIS.

It's quite hard to describe Doctor Who to someone who's never seen it before. The main character,you might say, is an alien. Oh, they reply, what kind of alien? Actually, he looks human. Who plays him? Hmm, several people. Okaaayy, well, where is it set? Oh, boy...

The one way you can sum it up is about a man and his blue box, with the occasional stray, who go travelling around time and space. That broadly encapsulates every Doctor Who story under one (question-marked) umbrella. Every story, that is, apart from 'The Doctor's Wife'.

In this episode, acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman takes this core idea of Doctor Who and completely turns it on his head. What if the TARDIS wasn't a police box but a woman? Landing in a bubble universe outside our own, The TARDIS' internal matrix - it's soul - is ousted by the machine and put in the body of human woman. The episode involves a wonderful subplot with Amy and Rory trapped in a dangerous TARDIS (complete with CORRIDORS - trust me, corridors are exciting) but its core is the relationship between the constant companions, the Doctor and his TARDIS. What exactly are they to each other? Who owns who? Are they mother and son? Husband and wife? It's left suitably undefined but we see that they are perfectly matched for the other. The Doctor's loneliness as the last of the Time Lords is here temporarily lifted; until the eventual heartbreaking end. TARDISes aren't meant to live in human bodies... 

A great strength of this episode is its use of Doctor Who continuity that, rather than seeming superfluous and shoehorned in, adds another layer to the story. References go from The Doctor's leaving from Gallifrey (untouched in the series up that point but recently seen in 'The Name of the Doctor') to the Eleventh Doctor's first episode (in his calling the TARDIS 'sexy') and many others in between. Other stories have chucked this many references to earlier episodes in, making the whole feel like its desperately trying to please fans but merely ends up alienating most of the audience. Gaiman, on the other hand, handles the kisses to the past beautifully in a way that celebrates the legend of the show. The upcoming 'The Day of the Doctor' could do far worse than to take its lead from this story in how to commemorate Doctor Who's long and illustrious history.  

Away from the excellent script, Gaiman's words are brought to life by some tremendous acting. While Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are of course endearing as Amy and Rory they are secondary characters, although Darvill does get to do some frightening crazed Rory acting and Karen, the horror of believing that she's lost her husband (again). Also, a nod must be made to the talented Michael Sheen who lends his voice to House, the sentient asteroid that eats TARDISes. It's a shame you can't really hear its him but there's still a certain gleeful maliciousness to House that makes him a memorable villain. 

However, there are really two stars of this show. Suranne Jones as Idris gives a great turn in a very difficult role. All the backwards-words and predictions of the future the TARDIS babbles about could have fallen flat if delivered by a different actress but Jones pitches the role expertly, playing Idris as a quirky, mad woman - a perfect foil for Matt Smith's madman without a box. Speaking of which, Matt Smith, as ever, is tremendous. His distilled anger and hurt when he discovers that the Time Lords he hoped he would find are, in fact, dead is only trumped by the Doctor's breaking down into tears at the episode's close. When Matt Smith cries in a Doctor Who episode it is always sad. And, here, his acting and the sentiment of the scene arguably make this the most affecting moment of his era. 

A funny, touching fairy tale of a Doctor Who story, 'The Doctor's Wife' is a seminal adventure that is simultaneously strong enough as a piece to have its own identity as well as being a wholly celebratory affair of the entire story of Doctor Who. However you look at it, though, 'The Doctor's Wife' certainly deserves to go down as one of Doctor Who's stand-out stories.

Who's telling the truth?

A few weeks ago, Karen Gillan confirmed in an interview that she would be staying on for the seventh series (her third) of Doctor Who. When I heard this, I cheered. Amy is a fantastic companion. Feisty, funny, sexy and, for those who think she's too full of herself, she has a vulnerable side. Ms. Gillan herself also plays the part brilliantly; delivering the comic lines perfectly and all managing to make us feel with her (e.g. her terrific performance in the Doctor's death scene in 'The Impossible Astronaut'). Equally excellent is Amy's long-suffering husband, Rory. A character who could have easily stayed as a comedy figure, Rory has developed into a proper, bonafide companion with his own stories (becoming the Last Centurion) thanks to great writing and Arthur Darvill's portrayal. Together with Matt Smith's truly endearing Doctor, you have the best TARDIS crew ever.

However, yesterday, I read (spoilers, you just can't ignore them) that Amy and Rory are leaving at the end of this series. Such conflicting reports! We don't have to long to find out. Personally, though, I hope Karen was telling the truth!

The Coat, the Astronaut and the Pyramid

Doctor Who Series Six: Part Two is just around the corner. And it seems the BBC has only just realised this as Iin the past day, we've suddenly been bamboozled by tonnes of preview items, each presenting tantalising new hints about the new episodes. The new promotional image above, for example, shows the Doctor in a new coat! With Silent and Astronaut! All in front of a Pyramid!
And there's also the lip-smacking brand-new trailer containing Hitler, River Song, Silence, Cybermen, The Doctor snogging Craig from 'the Lodger', Cybermen and Weeping Angels. Did I mention the Cybermen?
Also, a preview clip, over a minute long, taken from episode 11 'The God Complex has been released showing a horrible-looking horned creature and a depressive clown amongst other things.
But wait. That's still not all.
The BBC have also revealed the names of two more episodes coming up. Joining Steven Moffatt's 'Let's Kill Hitler' and Toby Whithouse's 'The God Complex' in the run wil be 'Night Terrors' by Mark Gattiss and 'The Girl Who Waited' by Tom MacRae. This leaves only the top-secret final two episode titles unknown.
And that's still not all.
Karen Gillan has confirmed that she will return for Series Seven next year. Hooray for Pond!
That's all.

Phew, after all that I'm a bit exhausted. I may need a Doctor...

His Darkest Hour

Argh! It's here! Doctor Who's mid-series finale, A Good Man Goes To War, is only one more sleep away. As my bow tie is positively buzzing with excitement I thought I'd compile a list of things we know about Doctor Who's 777th episode ever so far - not sure this will calm me down though, in fact it will most likely have the opposite effect, but I'll still carry on with it.

1. A revelatory rhyme

The Doctor Who homepage reveals a chilling nursery rhyme-esque poem read by River Song - presumably to feature in the episode tomorrow - read at your peril.

Demons run when a good man goes to war
Night will fall and drown the sun,
when a good man goes to war
friendship dies and true love lies
night will fall and the dark will rise,
when a good man goes to war.


2. The crackpot cast list

Several characters to feature in AGMGTW have been revealed in some official photos:

Of course, newly-mummed Ms Pond will presumably be at the heart of this story and so will her baby daughter who, it has been revealed, is named Melody. Whether she's a Willliams or a Pond has yet to be discovered.

These mysterious men of the church are largley unknown to us as of yet other than that they are the Headless Monks. Although, I'm sure its save to say their not on the Doctor's side.

Ah, that enigmatic Eye Patch Lady who has been plaguing Amy over the past few weeks with her whispered words of "Push" and "Breathe". At last, we find out who she really is and what the heck she wants with Amy and her child - is she in league with the Silence who also seemed to have an unhealthly interest in the young Pond. For now, all we know is her name: Madame Kovarian.

This one's really got me. We don't know much about this eccentricly-dressed young woman, apart from a few short glimpses in the trailer. However, her name is what's really grabbing my attention: Jenny. If the Doctor's going into war, at the Battle of Demons Run, would he reconnect with his estranged daughter - in her second incarnation - first? We'll find out tomorrow. Hopefully.

He's back! Dorium Maldovar, proprioter of the space bar, the Maldovarium, where we saw Doctor Ten say goodbye to Jack in 2010s The End of Time, was previously in the series when River came to him to buy a Vortex Manipulator ("fresh off the hand of a handsome Time Agent") in last year's penultimate episode The Pandorica Opens. Looks like ol' Dorium always shows up when things get tough.

Weee! Those lovable potato - heads, the Sontarans, have returned! Well, at least one has in the - very minute - form of Commander Strax.

Aaand finally, to round up the Doctor's motley crew, helping him to save Amy and her child are...the Cybermen! I know, not the first species you'd expect to come to the rescue. Apparently, they're the 12th Cyber Legion. Maybe that's a rogue group of nice Cybermen?


3. Precious Prequel

The BBC have released a prequel to Good Man which shows Dorium visited by those mysterious Headless Monks. He gives them a warning not to get the Doctor angry. One I'm sure they'll not heed to. On the same link you can also find two one miute clips taken from the episode one of Dorium (again) being arrested by Kovarian and her men and the second is perhaps more intriguing as it shows a desperate Rory trying to plead a reluctant River Song to join the Doctor and he on their quest to find Amy. But that's all we're getting till tomorrow. Spoilers!


4. Super synopsis!

And to see you off, here's a tantalising synopsis of tomorrow's episode from Doctor Who Magazine:

'Hanging among the stars in the far distant future, an asteroid - and a bleak grey fortress built into the misshapen rock. This is Demons Run. In a prison hospital, Amy Pond kisses her one-month-old daughter goodbye. "Wherever they take you, however scared you are" she tells her, "I promise you, you will never be alone."
Twenty thousand light years away, the Doctor has a message for the Twelfth Cyber Legion. The Last Centurion has a question that consumes his every waking moment.
And at Stormcage Containment Facility, in the fifty-second century, River Song is preparing to escape for what may be the very last time...  '


5. And Finally...

Well, all these eye-popping, gut-wrenching, heart-tugging, teeth-clenching teasers have hopefully got you in thr mood for Episode 777 tomorrow but to ensure you don't stay awake all night, humming with excitement, here's a nice puzzle to ensure you get some sleep tonight. Enjoy!

And remember, His Darkest Hour has come, the Battle of Demons Run is about to commence and a good man, the best man you've ever known, may just die. Please, be there for him.

Cheerio!                                         

Spoilers!

A breif synopsis of the Doctor Who mid-season cliffhanger, A Good Man goes to War, has been released. It was so great I'd thought I'd post it.

Rory (in his Roman costume, Arthur Darvill-fans) faces the Cyberlord and his Cybermen

   --------------------------------------------------------

Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her as the drama continues. But as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap.

In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last – today will mark the Battle of Demons Run and the Doctor's darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor.

   --------------------------------------------------------

Exciting stuff, eh? Only 3 weeks to go - but then that means no Who for 3 months. Sob, we can't win.

Who's the best!

As the new Doctor Who series is well underway I think it's time to celebrate that with the top 5 moments of Doctor Who Series Six so far...

                                                                                 

 5. The Eleventh Doctor in the 'Coral' TARDIS.

                The Doctor's Wife

This scene deserves its place for pleasing the fanboy/girl in everyone (well, me anyway). It's Eleven! In Nine and Ten's TARDIS! Did I wish really hard?

4. Amy swashes her buckle!

      The Curse of the Black Spot

Amy Pond to the rescue! When the Doctor and Rory are being made to walk the plank by Captain Avery and his blagard crew, Amy dons a pirate hat, coat and cutlass and saves them from certain death! Go Pond!

3.The Glowing Girl

        Day of the Moon

For sheer shock value, this scene must make my top five. The mysterious little girl who the Silence had hidden away in a Apollo 11 spacesuit (for reasons best known to the themselves) staggers into a New York alleyway. She's dying but, apparently, it's alright. She can fix it...(cue volcanic whoosh)

2. I'm Sexy!

      The Doctor's Wife

She's the TARDIS. And she's a woman! The Doctor and his constant companion through time and space finally get to talk - and they argue!

While building a TARDIS out of junk parts to rescue Amy and Rory from House, the Doctor accuses the TARDIS of never being very reliable. The cheek!

1. Death of the Doctor!

         The Impossible Astronaut

Amy, Rory and River all receive a summons to Utah in the good ol' US of A in 2011. There they meet the Doctor - in a Stetson - and have a picnic alongside the beautiful Lake Silencio. However, this picturesque scene is interrupted when an astronaut emerges from the lake. The Doctor, seemingly expecting such a confrontation, warns his friends not to interfere as he walks over to the figure.
Suddenly, the astronaut raises a hand and several bolts

 of green light blast the Doctor. Teary-eyed, he starts to regenerate but another blast of light stops the process and he falls to the ground. A dead man.

A phenomally shocking scene of the highest WTF variety, this forces the viewer to sit up and pay attention only 10 minutes into the new series. Perhaps, Doctor Who will never be safe again.

Tune into the next episode of Doctor Who tomorrow on BBC1 at 6.45, entitled The Rebel Flesh.