Doctor Who Series 6 - The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall
There's something about this series that I can't help but really admire, it is unlike anything else Doctor Who has ever attempted and is so impressively ambitious that I enjoy it so much more than Series 5. Whilst the previous Moffat series is muddled, smug and not polished, this series feels more confident and I appreciate it more because of that. The plot is admittedly a gigantic mess, Moffat tangles himself in so many webs and it is far too complicated for what is essentially somewhat a Children's show but I still really enjoy how big the plot is. I think most people can't help but get swept up in the gigantic scale of everything that I tend to be more forgiving with the things I dislike. Moffat knows how to brew a mystery and whilst last series had a mystery consisting of just questions, this one has a more consistent and running plot to it. There are so many brilliant unexplained ideas which somewhat come together, it keeps unravelling rather than the last series that explains its mystery with a literal 'restart' button, this series manages to reveal answers and leave questions in a more engaging fashion. I consider this series as a bit of a guilty pleasure, it has so many faults in its writing but I can't help but adore the feel of the whole thing. However I do have to keep in mind how messy some of the explanations are, the finale lets down the series a lot but I enjoy the atmosphere and the scale of the mysteries much more this time. I admire it for its ambition more than its execution and tonally I adore how bizarre and weird most of the stories are, there are only a couple of dull episodes the rest are at least entertaining. So, let's dive into the biggest, craziest and bizarre series, keep an open mind and bare with me in places this is a big one.
The Impossible Astronaut/ Day of the Moon
On a pure spectacle level I really enjoy this opening two-parter, it is just so captivating with how many ideas and mysteries are brimming throughout. I much prefer the tone of this opening to the previous series, it is darker and less wishy-washy with its atmosphere and ideas presented don't feel as smug to me. The Doctor's death is one of those examples of something this era could only pull off, it is a confident and genuinely quite emotional start to the series, it sets a bar for what we expect going forward and it is done brilliantly. Not much happens in the rest of the first episode, it is sowing the seeds for the mystery but it does an incredible job at building a creepy unsettling tone. The Silence are downright terrifying, I can not get over how brilliantly designed and conceived these creatures are, the idea that they erase themselves from people's memory is something completely unique and their design is undeniably creepy. Smith is a massive improvement this season, he is much less immature and he actually managed to make me laugh at some points, he feels toned down and much more of a character. Amy and Rory are also much more tuned down, the characters, in general, are more mature, Amy feels much less arrogant and unlikable as if she has definitely grown in between series and Rory actually has agency. The comedy is still Moffat comedy, but he tones it down a bit this time, there are a few too many 'Clever quippy lines' that irritate me a bit, often abandoning character to say something clever. 'Day of the Moon' is such a terrifyingly unique story, Moffat leans into his horror strengths and the whole episode has several brilliant elements working at once. The conclusion is a bit messy, It is a bit too convenient and something that is glossed over far too quickly and feels a bit out of character for The Doctor as he commits genocide, I do like how many mysteries are left in the air, The Silence aren't explained only defeated which propels the series forward. I don't love the love triangle bait and Richard Nixon jokes are as old as Nixon himself, but there's a lot to enjoy in this episode due to its scale and enticing mystery.
The Curse of the Black Spot
This is the problem with having a big running narrative for 'Doctor Who', the show is episodic by design and an episode like this just melts into the background and feels forgettable and pointless. It's just a pirate romp that I don't get anything from, I find it to be a bit reductive with its potential. With an episode like this you have got to take it for what it is, there's some charm and delight to get out of a pirate adventure however I do feel a lot was wasted on this episode. The tone is all over the place, Eleven sticks out like a sore thumb and like the previous season nothing is taken seriously and all gravitas and stakes are lost due to the constant prioritising on writing this TARDIS team as quippy and clever. Hugh Bonneville is always a delight and it is no different here, he brings such delight and commitment to Captain Avery and I enjoy every second he is on screen, my favourite part of the episode is definitely is relationship with his son which is charming and empathetic. It's just got far too many tropes in that I have seen so many times, the NuWho format sticks out like a sore thumb and I don't enjoy episodes that waste what should be so much more. It is a base under siege story with extra steps, the villain doesn't have any personality to her and I think it thinks that the reveal she has good intentions thinks it is much cleverer than it is. It is a trope I am so fed up of, the 'misunderstood villain' never has that much of an impact on me especially when the villain isn't given any personality. The twist also feels really predictable and the characters feel a bit silly when they aren't understanding it, the convoluted ways to keep the twist hidden under the veil of a pirate story feels frustrating and pointless. There's not much in this episode except for a wonderful guest appearance and some fun pirate set pieces, best left forgotten.
The Doctor's Wife
Obviously, I'm inherently biased when it comes to this episode as Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite writers of all time and he is a match made in heaven for 'Doctor Who'. I adore this episode, I think it is one of the best stories of NuWho and the best story of Smith's entire run, it is surreal and scary whilst being whimsical and romantic. Gaiman as a writer excels in creating out there mythologies, he is fantastic at creating universes with an eye on attention to detail, his worlds feel realised whilst otherworldly and this is wonderfully demonstrated in 'The Doctor's Wife'. It has this really interesting degree of separation, it takes place in its own universe with its own set of rules and ideas that are separate from anything else in the series. In a series like this pulling off an entirely unique one-off story is very difficult, but Gaiman does it by having a story with a much wider set of ideas and uniquely entrapped in the mythology of NuWho. The TARDIS is one of those so iconic staples of the show that it shouldn't be messed with but what this episode does is create an ode as to why the TARDIS is so iconic and feels so dedicated to adding a new layer to the oldest relationship in the show. Suranne Jones is simply magnificent as the embodiment of the TARDIS, she is written in a way that appears random and nonsensical but is actually incredibly well thought out, she functions above any of our preconceptions and works brilliantly in this story. The universe created throughout is so well designed and so well thought out, I love how House is an entirely unfathomable idea which makes him so much more terrifying with absolutely no physical presence, mostly due to an incredible vocal performance from Michael Sheen. It as a surreal small scale big idea story that I love, the small little additions to the lore are welcomed and well-integrated because they add to the characters and themes of the show. The highlight is definitely when the episode becomes more horror orientated inside the corridors of the TARDIS which are some of the most uncomfortable scenes of the show. I think it is a wonderful little story, with such dedication to a fascinating idea with beautiful environment and tone that I never get bored of.
The Rebel Flesh/ The Almost People
What annoys me most about this two-parter is how it only is here to establish the idea of Gangers in order to pull of the cliffhanger and move into 'A Good Man Goes to War', it doesn't feel like a story written with any other purpose. I find it to be a really messy story with nothing that interesting to grab onto, I don't really understand why this is a two-parter as it feels very similar to 'The Hungry Earth/ Cold Blood' from the last series as a filler two-parter that lacks in confidence and direction. The Gangers are a sort of interesting idea but I find it to be somewhat wasted, often manipulating what should be a set of fascinating themes and moral ideas to maintain tropes of NuWho. This is mostly due to the fact I believe this is one of those stories that doesn't need any action, this could have been the new 'Midnight' but it feels stretched out and irritating with its obsession with bizarre unneeded tropes. A better writer than Mathew Graham could have created something beautiful here, it may not be much of a commercially accessible episode but a story where the real people and Gangers are met at such a brilliant moral crossroads. Instead it feels so heavy-handed, the moments that I want to focus on are rushed and written with this overly simplistic dialogue that is frustratingly on the nose and ironically doesn't feel human. There is also a frustrating amount of faff, this era loves having faff to fill episodes whether it be Moffat doing a clever 20-minute intro to each story or here where we spend so much time on the Two Doctor's gimmick. It feels extremely messy, the supporting cast has hardly any personality, Cleaves is basically just Adeliade Brooke again and the rest are inconsistent and misguided especially the bizarre characterisation of Jenny. The second episode is such a frustrating abandonment of some of the interesting ideas presented before, consistently relying on these pointless action scenes and that ridiculous CGI Jennifer which is a total embarrassment. There are some nice moments I like the subplot around Jimmy and his son and that cliffhanger is one of the most insane things in the show, it is pulled off with such confidence, part of me still loves the feeling of excitement coming from that out of nowhere pullback of the curtain that I just appreciate it so much more than the actual episode.
A Good Man Goes to War
I find this episode extremely difficult to write about, at the start of this review I noted how much fun and insane this running plot to Series 6 was, which makes it really entertaining even when it becomes extremely messy but I do think 'A Good Man Goes to War' is a really muddled story full of so many Moffatisms that I find it equal parts irritating and fascinating. It feels like Moffat attempting to pull off his 'Journey's End' bringing back characters and ideas and combining them for a big high stake episode. But it is a lot less than it thinks it is, the atmosphere of the episode is doing so much work but on a rewatch I find it to be as wide as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. See I have this unique problem with Moffat episodes, he has a tendency to be his own biggest fan and he toots his own horn with his writing so often the episode feels to be much bigger than it actually is. I don't understand why Moffat is obsessed with this idea that The Doctor is the biggest man in the universe and an army would rise in order to defeat him, of course this is retconned in an episode that we will get to another time, but the setup is never really delved into and we never spend time understanding why our villains would do this. The episode feels overblown with ideas that aren't what I'm interested in, the conflict is resolved in twenty-five minutes with such a bizarre amount of faff and the idea isn't as big as the episode thinks it is. Amy is kidnapped by an organisation which are dedicated to destroying The Doctor, they then destroy this organisation and then Melody is taken away and River reveals herself to be Melody, that is basically the only thing we get out of the episode but because of the tone and the dialogue, it feels so much bigger. I want to know more about who Madame Kovarian but we instead dedicate a 15-minute opening that introduces a bunch of supporting characters that I don't care about. I do really enjoy the way The Doctor deals with the army and the Headless Monks are a really threatening force but people tend to just remember the episode for the River Song reveal and nothing else. The reveal itself is well done but entirely predictable and really disappointing due to how much time Moffat has spent teasing who River is, I wouldn't have a problem if we didn't spend ten minutes every episode having the River mystery shoved down our throat. I do enjoy the stakes and the tone, much like the rest of the series, but the plot is so frustratingly muddled and if Moffat would just tone down his own cleverness for ten minutes I would be able to get much more out of this gigantic mess.
Let's Kill Hitler
I'm going to try my best to be fair, to analyse the good as well as the bad in this episode but my god do I hate 'Let's Kill Hitler'. It is the most Moffat story of all Moffat stories, combining every trait of his writing that I hate and becoming such a genuine disaster that I can barely rewatch it. I really enjoy the opening set-up to this series arc but here is where it all falls apart, the entire episode is dedicated to reworking and retconning Moffat's clever plan to make sense. There is barely any plot, barely any stakes and the tone is insufferable self-indulgent and smug. Being complicated isn't clever, Moffat sows mysteries and gives lackluster explanations and people defend him leveling the frustrating argument that I simply am not clever enough to understand it. River's timeline is a genuine mess, it isn't thought through at all, Moffat wanted the big reveals in the opening two episodes that are genuinely enticing but when he has to explain them he seems uninterested and rushes the actual explanation. Melody is captured by Kovarian, put in the spacesuit in 1969, then she regenerates into Mels and grows up with Amy and Rory which would be a cool reveal if we had ever met Mels before. Moffat just introduces a character and says she is important only to immediately reveal she is River in a moment that is treated as a major reveal but in reality, I don't care! This being the next step in River's story feels like such a waste of potential and the whole episode treats this reveal as a joke with no stakes or gravitas. I really enjoy the feel of the first half of this series that honestly the fact this episode spits in the face of that really disappoints me, I want to enjoy this era because I like the plot Moffat suggests he is showing us a lot more than the plot he is actually showing us. The entire episode is full of such faff, the Tesselect are pointlessly included to prove the finale's Deus Ex Machina had some setup, there are boring self-indulgent sequences of The Doctor and River one-upping each other and The Doctor dying is such a pointless fake-out with no purpose other than to move Moffat's clever plot from Point A to Point B. The episode is just to fill the gap between how baby Melody became River Song in a convenient 45-minute character arc, she goes from the set up from the previous episode where she is an engineered super-assassin time lord to The Doctor's best friend in the most convenient fashion. I really dislike this, I would enjoy it more if Moffat hadn't written himself into such an annoying corner and tried to untie these plot threads in 45 minutes.
Night Terrors
From here until the finale we get this weird set of 4 episodes that are almost completely devoid of the running narrative, some of them are amazing and some of them are more than disappointing. Its why I go back and forth with the idea of a running narrative, episodes like Gatiss' 'Night Terrors' would be pretty entertaining but after the disorientating last two episodes, we just want to go back to that. This episode feels like it is trying way too hard, it is a story inherently based around mystery without as focus or a drive to solving that mystery. Gatiss frustrates me as a writer as he never brings anything new to the story except gimmicky ideas, his stories are often incredibly formulaic which is shocking from someone who was behind 'The League of Gentlemen' of all things. It is much more of a return to an RTD era story, with Moffat tropes stuck over the top making a confused nothing script, it tries too hard to be mysterious and scary whilst just coming off as quite goofy and underdeveloped. The dollhouse design and tone is quite interesting but ultimately we don't spend much time with the potential, as soon as the dolls are revealed it becomes just Amy and Rory running from the monsters whilst The Doctor does what Smith does best and acts like a child. I know its unfair to criticise child actors but George is just irritating and incredibly wooden, it makes any horror tone lost because he comes off as goofy and ridiculous. That is a recurring element throughout, Gatiss tries creating some scary ideas but they are trying too hard to be clever and come off as really goofy, the dolls are well designed but laughably underdeveloped and the scene where the landlord gets swallowed by the floor is embarrassing. I also have a real problem with stories that fall under the 'autism as a superpower' trope, I find it to be a bit dangerous and misguided to tell children that if they feel this way they might be an alien, it's reductive and whilst not intentionally malicious makes me uncomfortable. It is another Gatiss story that once again disappoints, I really like some of his work but he is yet to bring anything to 'Doctor Who'.
The Girl Who Waited
I've been clear before that I am not a massive fan of Amy Pond as a character, Moffat writes her as arrogant and selfish in many ways and pretends this makes her a strong character when she consistently treats those around her awfully. However I think this does so much for her character by actually delving into why she is quite an arrogant person by demonstrating the toll of her childhood through a new sci-fi lens. If I had to guess me and Tom Macrae probably agree on a lot of things about Amy's characterisation because this is a very confrontational take on how Amy works, she is far too forgiving and whimsical, Macrae honestly analyses the actual effect on being left through this and I honestly think it is one of the strongest episodes of this era. It is a dark episode, with one of the genuinely toughest moral dilemmas of the show and I'm so glad that an episode tackles the problems with how whimsical Moffat's writing has a tendency to be. I think without this episode I would think a lot more negatively about Amy and Rory's characters and I love it for that, making Amy's motive and strengths much more clear whilst adding a dimension to why she is the way she is. Their relationship is actually developed, Amy actually shows some reasonable love for Rory that isn't brash and mean-spirited, it shows how she keeps motivated and actually explains their relationship. It is my kind of sci-fi, using big 'Doctor-Who' context to tell an ideally human story that couldn't be told in any other context and I appreciate it so much for that especially when I didn't like the characterisation before this. Smith is brought down a notch, his childish whimsical nature actually has some consequences are characters question him on that which is something that is very much needed. The setting and atmosphere of this world are beautiful, serene and unlike anything else but I do find it is somewhat convenient with its design occasionally. It is one of the best stories of this era, with a third act that even the strongest people can't help but shed a tear at, a much needed moment of brilliance.
The God Complex
This episode is genuinely one I appreciate much more than I enjoy, I think it is a conceptual marvel and on a purely technical level, I really enjoy what 'The God Complex' is doing it just has a few little problems that are frustrating and drag what should be a masterpiece down to a pretty average episode. I just adore how this episode feels, Series 6 has a real horror vibe to quite a few of its episodes but this is my favourite example of making a pure horror concept episode for 'Doctor Who'. it combines existential fear with this really thick creepy atmosphere that is so unique and well thought out that it always manages to really creep me out. Toby Whithouse is an inconsistent writer, you never know what you are going to get with the guy and he baffles me how he can create something like this and 'Vampires of Venice' within a year of each other. The success is in its ideas not its payoff, the brilliant concept of a hotel with your greatest fear behind one of its doors creates this beautiful environment, I wish we saw more of these fears but the little things we do with them are so uniquely shot and designed, often genuinely terrifying. The problem is that the fears themselves arent that relevant to the main plot, they have a tendency to become gimmicky when it comes to the third act however I do like how Amy's room is treated with some gravitas and adds a lot to her character and once again breaks down Moffat's whimsical mistakes of the previous seasons. The supporting cast is frustratingly inconsistent, I can not stand David Walliams as an actor 'Little Britain' is one of the worst comedies to come out of Britain and here he saps each scene of any energy by trying to be funny, Joe and Howie play creepy very well but don't add much of an interest to the fame. However Amara Karan is incredible as Rita, she is one of my favourite one-off characters and I think she brings so much to this episode. The third act reveal is interesting if a bit disappointing, I wish it wasn't all a simulation and the creepy ideas were less explained, the minotaur itself is incredibly designed and a really threatening force. Amy and Rory leaving feels a bit confused and tacked on and I wish the actual idea of 'The God Complex' was delved into a bit more but overall I really enjoy what the episode is going for and think it is confident and terrifying if a tad bit frustrating.
Closing Time
Did anyone ask for this? Was there anyone out there desperately asking for a return of Craig? Why was this episode made? I did not enjoy 'The Lodger' and I certainly did not enjoy 'Closing Time' in fact when I started this review I completely forgot it even existed. So Series 6 hits a weird spot of having four episodic stories after the insane 'Let's Kill Hitler' and we have one plot thread we have not concluded which is the fact The Doctor dies that we seem to be wasting time before it is answered. This episode ends with the reveal that River is in the Astronaut suit ready to kill The Doctor setting up the finale and that is the only worthwhile moment in this 45-minute excuse for a piece of television. I don't know, this episode just rubs me the wrong way because it is essentially a highlight reel of things you remember from the atrocious 'The Lodger' combined with a Cybermen story that reduces the Cybermen to jokes and makes them a laughable generic villain. It is the combination of everything I hate about this era in a disastrous 45 minute of nothing, Corden bumbles his way through the script sighing every comedic delivery away and doing a great job of making Craig an idiot with no redeeming factors. If you like watching Smith mess about with a baby for half the episode and say fun quirky things about humans than I'm sure this episode is fine but I can't stand that side of this Doctor, I just find him to be insufferably whimsy and at times inconsistent, he is always clumsy and idiotic when the plot requires it and a genius out of nowhere. The Cybermen are one of this villains that should be treated with some essence of respect, they shouldn't be forgettable one-off villains used for a 'power-of-love' story, they should be scary and a genuine unstoppable force. I always skip it, I find it irritating and such a waste of time.
The Wedding of River Song
Series 6 starts off so strong, it is brimming with so much potential and then the plot shoots itself in the foot and this finale is an ambitious admirable mess. Everyone says Moffat has a habit of making stories too big, whilst I think he makes stories far too small, this entire episode is a roundabout way to get to the reveal The Doctor survived using the Tesselect, genuinely it is a waste of time to try and get to that point. Moffat just answers one question and asks ten more, he delays a satisfying conclusion because he can't come up with one, his plots leave threads unanswered because that is clever and enticing but I find it so frustrating and at this point, it feels like a joke. He toots his own horn, constantly just tripping and falling over his own ideas, this is one of the most fascinating messes of an episode I have ever seen and it is entirely his own fault. Any conflict or actual plot is non-existent, it starts with this 'all of time happening at once' guise that is gimmicky and pointless, it a is a clever set-up that is vastly lacking in anything to clutch on to. Moffat wrote himself into a corner, he has to solve the fact that we saw The Doctot die and he has to survive for the show to continue and his solution was to reveal it was the Tesselect all along but that is a disappointing simple answer to the question so he adds more questions and uses a pointless setting that is so messy. I just wish Moffat would resist trying to one up his audience, he always strives to appear clever which means a lot of his work comes off as nonsensical and irritating. For a finale, 35 minutes of it is inconsequential and the other is a really simple explanation replaced with another question to lead us to the next series, which just comes off as frustrating and lazy for me. It is fun to see the gimmicks of this new reality and I'll never get sick of The Silence but it hardly has any actual plot or stakes to it at all. It's too centred around The Doctor to feel like it has consequences, it essentially revolves around the fact he must die yet the audience knows he must live, meaning any other characters emotional payoff is mute and non-existent and this met with the fact that the way The Doctor survives is honestly way too convenient and annoying. It is such a shame because I genuinely love the mystery he sets up but this is such a messy way to conclude this story.
The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe
At this point I'm just tired. After a series with such dedication to a big mad running story, that is admittedly a mess but is at least entertaining to see the madness for its pure spectacle, an episode like this feels like an absolute waste of time. It is a Christmas special and it is unfair to hold it to the same standards as they are essentially commercial Television events. As a kid, we would always watch the 'Doctor Who' Christmas special and it would be a it of fun, as long as it is Christmassy enough with a story engaging enough to turn or brain of it's fine. This is the ultimate 'turn your brain off' episode of the series, it is mindless, inconsequential and frankly a waste of time, it just feels way too wish-washy and pointless. Now I know that is the point of Christmas Specials but just look at last years 'A Christmas Carol' and tell me that Christmas Specials don't have to be of any value. It's a weird Narnia parody without much of an actual plot, after about 20 minutes of god awful Smith shenanigans we enter an alien forest and we spend the next twenty minutes wandering around trying to find the plot before the plot is revealed and conveniently concluded with another power of love ending just in time for Christmas. There isn't any potential in the story, the production design isn't that engaging and their arent any outlandish sci-fi ideas so I just end up finding it to be really uninteresting. The weird thing is that I really like Claire Skinner, Alexander Armstrong, Bill Bailey and Arabella Weir but I wish they were in a better story, they are more than wasted here which always seems to be the case with Christmas Specials. As Christmas Special's go this is one of the weaker ones. The Amy and Rory moment is a nice moment and the only genuine emotional hook that I appreciated.
So I went into this review with a much more positive perspective on Series 6 but as I went through each episode it got more and more grating, I don't know why but I had much more fonder memories of this Series, I remember it being fun and exciting with its mysteries but the pay-offs are much more frustrating than I remember. I think I and many other people remember this for the stakes, for the cliffhangers and for the 'I wonder what Moffat will come up with next' much more than the convenient endings, squandered potential and filler episodes. The important thing to remember is that I don't think I could have untangled this web of plot, I don't even think I could have come up with it in the first place and that is why Moffat is still an impressive writer. He just has a tendency to be his own biggest fan and consistently set himself up for fail, if this was much more toned down then the reveals would be less disappointing but the mysteries would be much less enticing. That is his paradox as a writer, the bigger they are the harder they fall but I can't help to watch them grow and grow.
Thanks for reading!