Without a doubt one of the best shows on Television right now is Doctor Who. More than just a science-fiction show, it’s a great example of drama, at times horror, but also comedy too, creating one of the most compelling shows out there.
With the departure of David Tennant from the role of the Doctor, Matt Smith has been handed the keys to the TARDIS for the role of 11th Doctor. For a show familiar with throwing everything out the window and changing everything, sometimes because you just can, the introduction of a new Doctor (and this time, mostly a new production team too) is both highly exciting but also highly dangerous as it goes against the idea of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
But thankfully, last night’s showing of The Eleventh Hour showed that there was really no need to worry: and the show is pretty much hitting a high since the 2005 relaunch.
Steven Moffat’s script was suitably comic with Matt Smith showing both a more silly side to his personality as he switches from having a craving for apples to hating them because they’re rubbish within a few seconds.
The plot also used the time-travel element of the show as an actual part of the plot, whereas most of the time it’s just used as a way of setting episodes in different places, but how the story fast forward 12 years later in Amy Pond’s life as the Doctor said he’d be back in “five minutes”. And seeing the 7 year old Amy’s change in emotions as she goes from excitement from escaping her life to the heart-wrenching disappointment as she waits for the Doctor to show up again was fantastic.
Almost every aspect of the show was a stark improvement from much of what we’ve seen in the last few years, with a clever plot, fantastic actors and amazing music – Murray Gold’s score matched perfectly with both the action heavy and more personal moments without being too overpowering, with “The Doctor’s Theme 2010” being a particularly stand out piece.
Changing everything is a risk, but at the same time, as this episode has proved, it’s just what the show needs to stay fresh. The new Doctor is in, and hopefully he’ll be staying for a long time.