And following on from the first 3 episodes of the second half of Dr Who I rated a few weeks back, here are my ratings and mini thoughts on the last 3 of series 6.
The God Complex
A story of two halves. On the one hand its about the Minotaur and why the creature has been wandering around the maze for years. Which couples with the story about faith and how we fall back on certain things subconsciously when presented with our worst fear. On the other hand its a story about Amy and Rory and how they affect the Doctor even though he tries to hide just how he feels about his companions. They are his best friend and her one true love whom the Doctor respects and also cares for. How he has a God complex about being the one who has to save everybody regardless of the situation. The scene where the Dr finally decides to leave the Ponds to the life they deserve is touching but feels a bit tacked on and tries a bit to hard to tug at your heartstrings (and the Dr doesnt even say goodbye to Rory! Although he does get him his dream car). Otherwise the writing is good and the acting from some of the support characters is spot on (especially from the companion who could be Rita and the nerdy Howie). David Walliams on the other hand is just David Walliams in mole make up. He really started to grate on me nearer the end and I wasn't pleased that out of everyone trapped in the hotel he survived. If the Ponds leaving scene was longer and more emotional I would have rated this one higher.
7 OUT OF 10
Closing Time
Shock all round! Episode 12 isn't the first of a two parter! This is the first time that this has happened since the series returned in 2005 and sadly, I think it wasn't the way to go. But here we have a stand alone episode that is both fun, excellently acted and well written with some witty and sharp dialogue. Closing time is a semi sequel to the Lodger (episode 11 from the last series) featuring the returning characters of Craig and Sophie and an old enemy. Now married, living in a new house with a new baby, Craig finds the Doctor once again on his doorstep. This time he is on his farewell tour before his death by Lake Silencio. 200 years have passed between The God Complex and this episode, but you would never guess as the Dr is his usual faux cheery self (apart from some very nice scenes where the Dr tells himself that he must "stop helping them" i.e us and where he watches Amy and Rory from behind a clothes rail. All acted superbly by Matt Smith). What follows is a funny, touching and rollicking adventure that really plays to the talents and comedic strengths of both Smith and Corden as Craig. Matt Smith has never been more like Troughton then what he is in this episode. Stand out scenes are any featuring the Dr, especially when talking baby to Stormageddon aka Alfie, the Dr working in a toy department of a huge shop and Craig and the Dr acting as "partners" (with the Dr innocently remarking "I always thought of them as companions but maybe partners is a better word"). To top it all off is a fantastic scene finally revealing just who is the Astronaut who kills the Doctor. Tick tock goes the clock.....
8.5 OUT OF 10
The Wedding of River Song
Like the episode before it, the series finale is a stand alone episode that really should have been part two a two parter. This is mostly down to the fact that all of the questions that needed to be answered should have been given more room to breathe, with the other plot details having a bigger presence. Whilst most of the questions have been answered once the credits roll round, it just leaves you with even more un answered questions that tease at things that will no doubt still be unanswered come the end of series 7! At Lake Silencio, the astronaut is revelaed to be a controlled River Song who is forced to kill the man she loves. Although this is a fixed point in time, River decides not to kill the Doctor and causes a paraell universe where time is stuck at 5.02 pm on the 22/04/11 and everything has happened at once. The Romans never left, Churchill is the Emperor and theres an Area 52 in one of the Pyramids at Giza that is connected to the Orient Express. Ok that last one is pretty cool isnt it? To cut the story short, the Dr and River have to touch to restart time and fix things by having her kill the Dr. The resolution (or cop out as others have called it) is a bit lazy and pretty obvious from the "previously on" clips at the start of the episode. The writing is snappy, quick and moves along at a speedy pace. Which is pretty much standard Moffat when he does a single episode. All of the main actors are well settled in their roles and all seem to have a little bit of fun with their characters. Smith and Kingston are especially good, with some nice flirty dialouge and their usual characters chemistry. The wedding of the title is a nice touch with the hand fasting (although a friend of mine argues it never counted due to the special circumstances... and I'll leave it at that!), the Silence are both scary and sadly underused, as is Kovarian, who feels a little bit of an after thought. Im hoping due to the other timeline not happening that she is still out there causing trouble for River and the Doctor. Smith is his usual excellent self and his tour of the universe finding out all he can about the Silence is fantastic. The scene with the Dalek being a particualr highlight. The scene with the Doctor calling on the Brigadier was touching and just the right amount of emotion. The fact he always poured a whisky just incase his friend showed up was a lovely sentiment. There are some problems other than the speedily resolved plot. Mainly the pretty obvious green screen effect at Lake Silencio, the questions that the resoloution presented and as mentioned before, the baffling amount of information thrown at you in the episode. I was ok with following the plot, but a few of my friends had to re watch it a few times to get what exactly was happening. All in all a good episode, but I still think it really should have been a two parter sweetie ;)
8 OUT OF 10
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