The Time Of Angels

[HStorm]

Hasn't the new series been refreshing in that we haven't had a single scene to this point set in a run-down London Council Estate? It's also been refreshing in not being gratuitous melodrama or lazy contrivance. This episode shows that it can really be scary and exciting, instead of just telling us that it's scary and exciting.

Can't avoid it, the Weeping Angels are a terrifying creation aren't they? They and the Ood are probably the only really interesting aliens the revived series has invented so far, and let's not pretend now; we were all quivering during that scene when Amy was trapped inside the derelict, weren't we? There really is something far more petrifying about the way the Angels only move when we can't see them. Just a brief loss of light and suddenly they've changed entirely. It's far scarier than watching a fleet of Daleks swooping around on those silly hoversled things, isn't it? Much as it pains me to agree with something Russell T Davies has to say on the subject of Dr Who, he was right about one thing; Steven Moffat really is the master of writing scary Who.

It's a very solid and exciting first half of the story, with plenty of plot and suspense packed into forty-odd minutes. The return of River Song raises some continuity questions - consider her references to knowing the Tenth Doctor when he must've been a lot older than at the time he regenerated - but with the two of them meeting each other out of sequence all the time, we have to anticipate that their history is going to alter somewhat.

Performances are generally excellent here. Karen Gillan yet again uses those absolute gems of eyes to the most spectacular effect, especially when cornered by the projection of the Angel - the terror she conveys as she creases her brows is so palpable that you really believe she's in fear of her life. Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman could never compete with that, and don't get me started on Catherine Tate. This scene also benefits from excellent direction work from Adam Smith, who accomplishes the tricky feat of getting an actress to talk to the camera without breaking the fourth wall. Matt Smith is back on form after a slightly shaky display in Victory Of The Daleks, keeping a high level of eccentric energy in his performance while showing the Doctor's petulant edge throughout. The Doctor really is uneasy about River, probably because of the predeterminism factor; he feels like his future is no longer his to choose. Alex Kingston is really settled as River, timing her sarcastic jibes at the Doctor to perfection.

River herself once again comes across as a bit too smug in this to be a completely likeable character, but you can't help enjoying the effortless way she keeps showing the Doctor up. It recalls some of the friendly competition between the Fourth Doctor and the First Romana. The contrast with Amy helps, as it subtly highlights that, although there's a mild attraction, the Doctor and his companion are definitely not lovers this time, more like teasing siblings. That's definitely for the best, as the sexual tensions in the TARDIS over the last five years have really got in the way of many of the stories. There's also a good rapport between the two ladies, with Amy almost becoming an unannounced protege of River in the art of lowering the Doctor's ego.

The idea of the Anglican Church having its own army is another clever bit of satire on the growing militancy of the Radical Right in the USA. However, before Christian groups start complaining about being picked on, it should be noted that the Bishop, even with his evident dislike and resentment of the Doctor, is quite a sympathetic leader. His snarls about the Doctor departing in his blue box while everyone he leaves behind has to inform the families of the deceased had me nodding sadly.

To the plot itself, it's generally very good, with some marvellous tension in the scenes when the hunt is on in the Maze for the Angel. I also have to big-up those scenes for being the moment when Murray Gold finally realised that incidental music is at least as effective when it's subtle. There's a spell of about ten minutes when we don't get hit over the head with a single much-too-loud chord of music, just a soft, ominous underscore that emphasises the dark, sombre setting and mood of lingering death. The sequence when Amy thinks her hand has turned to stone is very chilling, and is well performed indeed by the two leads.

"An image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel..." Ooooooooh boy. I have a suspicion that an Angel is actually going to emerge from Amy's eyes in part two, because the Angel was reflected in them while she was staring at it! That could be very creepy to see.

And the cliffhanger is terrific! Hemmed in on all sides by the Angels, the Doctor's decision to destroy the only thing holding them back is remarkable, and still has me puzzling over what exaclty he has in mind. His "never-put-me-in-a-trap" speech was perhaps a little over-the-top, but Matt Smith delivers it a lot more subtly than David Tennant ever would have; DT would scream every word of it at the top of his lungs.

There are some noticeable jokes lifted from The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy. As a couple of examples, a distress signal fossilised for an eternity and picked up by a time-travelling acquaintance eons later was in the second Hitch Hiker Radio Series, while references to two heads are a probable nod (pun intended) to Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Couple of things I didn't like. "POWER!!!" was a very Tenth Doctor loud-revelation-moment that Matt Smith's interpretation could do without. And people who've just died talking to the Doctor sounds like another bit of unhealthy recycling, this time straight from River Song's previous appearance in Silence In The Library.

But these are very brief and slight niggles again, and they never quite took me out of the story. The Time Of Angels is a very effective bit of horror-television that harkens back to Doctor Who's heyday in the mid-70's. All of which means it's three wins out of three from the pen of Steven Moffat, whose quality hasn't noticeably diminished at all with all the extra workload he has now he's Executive Producer.

8.99999999999-recurring out of 10. I am definitely looking forward to part 2.

[BBrooks]

I loved it from start to finish. For me the episode really picked up when they first stepped in to the Maze of the Dead, and we were treated to that wonderful effects shot of the Cave Interior with the Stones Statues dotted around here, there and everywhere.

The best scene without a doubt was when The Doctor asked everyone to turn their torches off and discovering that all of the Statues were Weeping Angels too , it's nightmare-inducing scenes like that, that make you wonder how on earth they can get away with showing something that scary at a pre-watershed timeslot, and the whole idea of The Weeping Angels starving to death for years in the Maze, losing their image and becoming more evil because of it, is just brilliant. In "Blink" they were a relatively harmless race, but now they're cold blooded killers and 100% evil.

Matt Smith has really hit his stride now as The Doctor, River Song is as mysterious as ever and Alex Kingston is obviously having a lot of fun playing her and Karen Gillan churned out another amazing performance as Amy.

Can't wait for Part 2, where hopefully we'll learn exactly who River really is (The Rani ?.............. well you never know,she could be).

[HStorm]

Can't wait for Part 2, where hopefully we'll learn exactly who River really is (The Rani ?.............. well you never know,she could be).

Interesting thought, but I wouldn't have said so. The Rani was a clinical biologist and a Time Lord, whereas River's an archaeologist, and doesn't appear to be a Time Lord; surely she'd have regenerated in Silence In The Library otherwise.

[HStorm]

Here's a thought. She mentions prison, so might she be Lucy Saxon? She might have inherited some of the Master's power of regeneration, which would explain why she looks so different.

Also, Ruzl has suggested to me that she might be that shape-changer from The Eleventh Hour, which is another interesting idea.

[Pooka]

Blink was better. In it, the Weeping Angels were a completely unknown quantity, and the Doctor-lite aspect of the episode made it much better, insofar as we were given an introduction to, story featuring, and the defeat of, the Angels, with basically no interventions from the Doctor whatsoever. In fact, I think one of the major points that made Blink work so well was that the Doctor didn't actually meet the Angels either - the story belonged to Sally and Larry, and they made it theirs. Not knowing what the Angels did made them a genuine, terrifying threat.

However, this episode worked better than I thought it would.

Thanks to Moffatt for not making a hokey rehash of the same story again. We've got Angels breeding, we've got slow ones and faster ones, and we've got the Doctor, two assistants, and an army of clerics trapped in the bowels of a crashed ship. Fantastic! The Angels aren't as scary as last time, though - we know that they're coming and we know what they look like. The stuff that had my girlfriend screaming during Blink isn't there any more, because we're almost waiting for the half-second flash of an Angel's snarling face, but nevertheless, there's more of a threat there. Less of an immediate, unexpected threat, but a consistent, looming threat.

I liked the scene with the video Angel coming out to get Amy too. I knew she'd get out of it somehow, but I'm glad she managed to do it herself, rather than holding it off by not blinking and the Doctor just bursting in and casting the Avada Kedavra with the sonic screwdriver. Good that there's no cop-out there. In fact, Amy's been very good this episode, something that both the Doctor and River have noted. She's becoming more and more heroic, and that works for her strong personality.

One final point... I'm glad that River's back too. Not that I particularly like the character - I think that in some ways she's too perfect - but she was introduced in series 3 (or was it 4?) and it was hinted that she'd return over and over again - be a big influence in the Doctor's life. So I'm glad she's back otherwise that storyline wouldn't have any more to it. Abandoning the character to one appearance in Silence In The Library wouldn't have helped. Although I do quite like not knowing exactly who she is - she works better as a mysterious character who pops in and out of the Doctor's life than one who could end up being overdeveloped.

So, yeah. Good episode even though I don't think these villains should have been used again. I don't think I'll have trouble sleeping this time around, but I will be watching on Saturday and hope to find out exactly what happens.