She might be smiling here ... but this is a scary episode
Rating: 
I’ll let The Doctor set the scene …
“A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced. Right now one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I’m supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch … and assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn’t just blow up in my face, do something incredibly clever … which I haven’t actually thought of yet … that’s what I’m up to, that’s my day … any questions?”
Steven Moffat reprises his screenplay writing duties with what is one of the most scary, intriguing and exhilarating Doctor Who episodes of the post-McCoy era.
Time is a fragile thing, and it’s out of control. Although The Doctor confidently asserts “I can run away from anything I like, time is not the boss of me” very soon it becomes apparent he may have met his match in the topsy turvy 51st Century with The Weeping Angels (or are they The Lonely Assassins) on his tail.
River Song returns, proving she can not only grind the gears of the Tardis, but lubricate The Doctor’s Medulla Oblongata with ease … but is she just a potential love interest for the timelord’s future … or is there something she and her band of religious soldiers are not telling him? Why do the army have religious titles? “It’s the 51st Century Amy, the church has moved on.”
Have The Doctor and companion Amy finally met their match?
Ms. Pond has at last found a situation that genuinely scares her, and although she attempts to keep up appearances with jokey lines like, “I don’t need you to die for me Doctor, I’m not that clingy”, in her eyes you can see she has begun to wish she’s just got married and left old two-hearts-one-screwdriver to continue touring the universe alone.
This genuinely creepy episode starts a little like Star Trek, but very soon descends into a dark Gothic horror with hints of Dracula and The Da Vinci Code.
The most exciting development is the end, it has a fantastic cliffhanger, something that has sadly lacked in the first three episodes. Despite River Song’s excitement at being told her own future in the episode,“I’m going to be a professor one day, how exciting … spoilers!”, I know most of you won’t thank me for telling you what happens, so you’ll have to tune in for yourselves.
All you need to know is that this is back to basics Doctor Who with an ending that will keep you on the edge of the seat until next Saturday.
Well done Mr Moffat, well done BBC … this is the Doctor Who we’ve all been waiting for.
First preview of the next episode, Flesh and Stone, is available now
Learn more about the new Doctor Who video game and watch a sneak preview here
