With five episodes gone, what do we make of the new Doctor Who, his companion Amy, and this two-episode story? The story was what we've come to expect: set up a scary situation, which plays on a typical childhood fear (in this case, fear of the dark); plant Amy (and a couple of others) in dangerous/vulnerable situations so that viewers can empathise with her fear; have the Doctor rush around madly making decisions at a moment's notice; and have the situation rescued at the end by an event that's scientifically barely plausible. Oh, and keep the special effects low-budget.
All the above makes the story sound dreadful. In fact it was pretty good, partly through some well-handled plot twists, and partly by designing antagonists who can be thoroughly scary with no more special effects than a few flickering lights. There's also a character from a (much) earlier episode who re-appears, who is more than a match for the Doctor in the banter stakes. Oh, and there's a 'surprise' scene at the end, which I did expect to occur, but not this early in the series -- and the exit line from that scene is once again implausible, yet unexpected enough to make the story engaging.
The new Doctor is ... in short, he's manic-depressive, with the odd bout of compassion. Matt Smith is therefore rarely in danger of over-acting! Matt pulls it off well, but there are times when I just wish the Doctor would calm down and think about a decision for at least ten seconds before making it.
Amy comes across as a good mixture of feisty and yet fearful. She joins in the banter, and hasn't let out any spine-chilling screams yet, so if/when she does, I think they'll be very powerful.
Terry Pratchett recently described the science in Dcotor Who episodes as "paper-thin", and regretted that it was classified as "science fiction". I would prefer to see less wildly implausible scientific events in Doctor Who. But all in all, not bad at all.
All the above makes the story sound dreadful. In fact it was pretty good, partly through some well-handled plot twists, and partly by designing antagonists who can be thoroughly scary with no more special effects than a few flickering lights. There's also a character from a (much) earlier episode who re-appears, who is more than a match for the Doctor in the banter stakes. Oh, and there's a 'surprise' scene at the end, which I did expect to occur, but not this early in the series -- and the exit line from that scene is once again implausible, yet unexpected enough to make the story engaging.
The new Doctor is ... in short, he's manic-depressive, with the odd bout of compassion. Matt Smith is therefore rarely in danger of over-acting! Matt pulls it off well, but there are times when I just wish the Doctor would calm down and think about a decision for at least ten seconds before making it.
Amy comes across as a good mixture of feisty and yet fearful. She joins in the banter, and hasn't let out any spine-chilling screams yet, so if/when she does, I think they'll be very powerful.
Terry Pratchett recently described the science in Dcotor Who episodes as "paper-thin", and regretted that it was classified as "science fiction". I would prefer to see less wildly implausible scientific events in Doctor Who. But all in all, not bad at all.