WRITER: Steven Moffat[SPOILERS] Any concerns about Steven Moffat's creative direction that's arisen these past few weeks (thanks to two post-premiere episodes of middling quality), were swiftly erased by Moffat's own "The Time Of Angels", a suitably adrenalized sequel to his superb, award-winning episode "Blink".
DIRECTOR: Adam Smith
GUEST CAST: Alex Kingston, Iain Glen, Simon Dutton, Mark Springer, Troy Glasgow, David Atkins, Mark Monero, Darren Morfitt, George Russo & Mike Skinner
Reunited across time and space, The Doctor, River and Amy (Karen Gillan) immediately fell into an adventure when the Byzantium crashed on the alien world Alfava Metraxis. The Doctor was told that a deadly Weeping Angel resides in the bowels of the ship, which itself has become embedded in a cliff-side labyrinth known locally as the "Maze Of The Dead". River and her team of paramilitary priests, led by Father Octavian (Iain Glen), need The Doctor's help in capturing the "dormant" Angel, which has now awakened...
Well, what can you say? This was absolutely great. Undoubtedly one of Doctor Who's most filmic episodes, it oozed expense with its cavernous underground location and sweeping score (particularly the use of that excellent new track that's been used as the series trailer.) The story also contained three gripping sequences: River's aforementioned airlock escape, Amy coming face-to-face with an Angel via a video-feed (a terrifying ordeal, playing like something from The Ring), and the realization that all the existing statues inside the maze are actually dying Angels who are stalking River's team whenever their lights flicker out.)
Kingston was clearly having great fun with the irrepressibly River, who's already one of the most fascinating recurring characters because she has so much future knowledge (or "spoilers") of The Doctor's life. Whenever she's around The Doctor becomes somewhat demoted, and it was fun to see Amy immediately sensing a marital vibe between them – although the truth behind River's identity appears to be more complex than simply being his wife, and would apparently result in her imprisonment if she ever told him. Did she do something terrible that he'd be obliged to punish her for?
The only slight disappointment about the return of River, but something I hope next week's conclusion will tackle, is the fact we know The Doctor's previous adventure with River ("Silence In The Library"/"Forest Of The Dead") resulted in her death, so there's a bittersweet element of him seeing her alive again. And he ultimately has the biggest "spoiler" he can't possible reveal to her. Nothing here reminded us of that fact, but we'll have to see if it's mentioned next time.
Overall, with new facets of the Weeping Angels introduced to make them even deadlier (they cause hallucinations if you look in their eyes, for instance), and a compelling action-based tone throughout (Moffat says this was designed as the Aliens to "Blink"'s Alien), "The Time Of Angels" was a real treat and a definite success. The only negative is that it had to end so soon, yet it's always fitting when a cliffhanger's involved.
Asides
- I love the witty, playful dialogue and banter Moffat crafts: phrases like "what if our dreams no longer needed us?"
- After he was killed and his consciousness recreated by the Angels, wasn't Sacred Bob essentially a "data ghost" of the type seen in "The Silence In The Library"? Moffat seems to like certain ideas he's had, and has reused a few already. I just hope this means he won't run out of new ones.
- Did you notice that the St. John's Ambulance sticker on the TARDIS door was missing when it materialized on the beach? The production designer must have added that detail later, ready for the premiere.
- The "crash of the Byzantium" was referenced by River Song during her debut in series 3's "The Silence In The Library".
- While on the subject of River Song, I wonder how far her character will be taken. It was risky of Moffat to include someone like her in his series 3 episode (a character whose entire premise begs reuse), but despite the fact Moffat's now in charge of Doctor Who and can bring her back, River Song's "back-story" seems to demand that she become a hugely significant presence. A companion at the very least, right? Is Moffat going to keep threading River into his era? Is Alex Kingston able to keep returning, or becoming a regular one day? I somehow don't think Moffat will risk leaving all of River's questions unanswered on his watch, as his successor in 4-5 years time may not pick up the ball, so I'm hopeful everything will be answered and a distant eighth series adventure will loop back to "Silence In The Library".
- You may recognize Iain Glen (or his distinctive voice) from Hollywood action movies like Resident Evil 3, Kingdom Of Heaven and Tomb Raider.
- Did The Doctor really read an entire book in a second, or was he just joking?
- The iconic whirring sound the TARDIS makes when it appears/disappears isn't supposed to happen, it's just because The Doctor leaves the "handbrake" on! Indeed, he appears to even fly the TARDIS badly because it's just more fun that way, as there are buttons (or "boringers") that make the ride a lot smoother!
- Yes, that was The Streets singer Mike Skinner as the guard who'd been kissed by hallucinogenic lipstick.
Next time...
