Depending on whether you’re a Whovian who has been recently indoctrinated into the world of Doctor Who (post David Tennant) or a long time follower dating back to the first Doctor, you may either love or hate the new season.
The season opener, “Asylum of the Daleks,” had its good points. Strong dialogue, infamous Dalek tension and a few playful moments presented a quaint story with a few delightful turns. They weren’t surprising, per say, just entertaining. Also, returning to the Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) – aka Rory Pond – soap opera strengthened our love for the two companions.
However, long time fans were probably not too thrilled with all the Dalek confusion. Daleks hating other Daleks was presented as something radically new – when it’s not. Also, the Oswin Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) end reveal was overtly predictable.
One thing was reaffirmed.
Executive Producer Steven Moffat really loves lots of twists and turns – even if it means ditching a few moments of Doctor Who canon.
[Episode 7.1 & 7.2 Spoilers ahead]
Oswin may have been turned into a Dalek, who eventually got destroyed. But, she will be returning in some form – probably supplanting Amy and Rory as companions at the mid-season break. Amy and Rory are slowly on their way out. The only real question is, will the current Doctor – Matt Smith – also be leaving when the change goes down. As of this season, Smith will have been in more episodes of Doctor Who than his predecessor Tennant. Doctor Who Season 6 ended with a single question. Doctor, who? It was reiterated in “Asylum of the Daleks,” which could mean that we may indeed be edging closer to this Doctor’s end.
But, enough of that. There are dinosaurs to talk about.
The latest episode of Doctor Who, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” was aptly titled – much like Snakes on a Plane, minus Samuel L. Jackson.
The goofy premise harkened back to “The Curse of the Black Spot” (Episode 6.3) – a huge misstep in Season 6. Much like the start of Season 6, several questions and plot threads were introduced in the season opener, only to be diffused by a filler episode.
“Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” did little more than give us a chance to see to Harry Potter stars appear in a single episode of Doctor who – Mark Williams as Rory’s dad Brian and David Bradley as Solomon, a space pirate.
Hold the phone.
Did someone say space pirate?
Yes, indeed. Just like “The Curse of the Black Spot,” Doctor Who followed up its season opener (season 6 was a two-part episode) with a pirate tale. It even had two whimsical robots that looked like a dilapidated Bumblebee from Michael Bay’s Transformers’ movies.
The story focused on a Silurian ship that had been commandeered by Solomon. The ship was used as an ark to protect the dinosaurs before their inevitable extinction. Sadly, the Silurians suffered for their good deed. It was revealed that Solomon killed them off systematically.
The story didn’t have much depth to it. Queen Nefertiti (Riann Steele) found a suitor in Riddell (Rupert Graves), which can be filed under the category of “who cares.” And, we saw that The Doctor and Amy Pond are slowly drifting further apart. Queue Oswin.
Mark Williams will return for at least one more episode in “The Power of Three.” He had fun on his first adventure with the Doctor. Let’s hope his next adventure won’t be a filler episode.
