Doctor Who, The Impossible Astronaut Review

I had fallen out of love with Doctor Who. There I said it.

The Christmas special stays on my Sky+ unwatched, simply recorded. The mountain of trailers and promotional pictures released in recent weeks have only drawn a whimper of excitement in my house. Yet after watching the series opener last night, I am hooked again.

The wibbly-wobbly nature of time that gives the writers of Doctor Who so much creative license once again was the backbone of the story, with River Song, Amy and Rory witnessing the death of the future Doctor at the hands of a water-loving astronaut.

The Doctor's death was certainly shocking but the outcome somewhat obvious, they couldn't kill off the title character in the series opener!

The present day Doctor made his humurous Matt Smith-like return in Utah and the rest of the episode was centred on the companions' inability to tell real-time Doc the truth about what will happen to him.

The mystery element to the episode which focused on finding a creepy child who keeps calling President Nixon in 1960s America took a backseat to the character-driven turmoil.

Amy was unable to tell her beloved Doctor the truth about his death and then revealed to him she was pregnant whilst River reflected on how her and the Doctor's paths will cross in the future.

We were also introduced to the Doctor's scary new foe, The Silence. One of the main issues I have head with Doctor Who of late is the lack of seriously scary enemies, not since the weeping angels back in 2007 have I felt slightly nervy on a Saturday evening.

And whilst they over-sized hands may have been a bit silly, The Silence's rather scary looking heads and ability to pop up unexpectedly in the corner of my screen make for exciting new villains for the weeks to come.

The episode definitely raised many confusing questions but this is how Doctor Who should be and yesterday's excellent opener and a teasing trailer for what has to come makes me desperate to know the answers.

Did you enjoy last night's Doctor Who?

Picture from doctorwhotv.co.uk

Doctor Who, The Eleventh Hour

Slipping on a tweed jacket and twiddling his bow tie Matt Smith bounded brilliantly onto the screen for his full debut as the new Doctor in last night's Doctor Who series opener The Eleventh Hour.

His quirky, witty and energetic Doctor will quickly dispel any fond memories from the David Tennant era and last night's showing promises great things from the youngest ever (yet still as mad) Doctor.

And Amy Pond showed herself to be an able sidekick for the Time Lord. Brash, confident yet still with a slight innocence and awe at his presence Karen Gillan slotted perfectly next to Smith in the role.

The episode started with the Tardis hurtling towards Earth eventually landing in the garden of a young Amelia Pond. After getting through a few regeneration hitches involving apples, yogurt and custard-covered fish fingers the Doctor soon finds an alien-related mystery waiting for him in the shape of a large crack in Amelia's bedroom wall, the mysterious Prisoner Zero and a giant eye.

One of Doctor Who's many strengths has always been the ability to mix emotion amongst the madness and in this episode this came when young Amelia sat on her suitcase, waiting for the mysterious Doctor and his Police box to return in what he said would be five minutes.

What was just over five minutes for the Doctor turned out to be 12 years for Amelia, now grown-up kissogram Amy by the time the Doctor returned. Meeting up once again Amy and the Doctor had time for a brief re-introduction and a little banter before coming face to face with the monster (Prisoner Zero) that had been scaring Amelia through her bedroom wall all those years ago.

Whilst the concept of a scary shape-shifting eel-like creature with piranha teeth escaping through a crack in the wall isn't Doctor Who's best scary alien story it facilitated the connection between the Doctor and his future companion nicely.

As with Doctor Who the end of the world soon loomed (in 20 minutes to be exact) and the Doctor had to save the day before the giant eye ship, known as the Atraxi incinerated Earth. The Doctor, with the help of Amy and her boyfriend Rory finally managed to defeat Prisoner Zero in a way only the Doctor could understand.

A final confrontation between the Doctor and the Atraxi culminated in a fitting look back at the Doctor Who legacy, from the Daleks and Cybermen to Tom Baker and David Tennant. But this episode was all about Smith and his wonderfully weird new Doctor, heralding in a new, fresh and younger era for television's best-loved franchise.

Picture from BBC

Ant and Dec, Doctor Who triumph at NTAs

There were few surprises at the National Television Awards last night with TV favourites Ant and Dec and David Tennant both winning 2 awards.

The event, held for the first time at the O2 arena and hosted by Dermot O'Leary celebrated a fantastic year of television across all the terrestrial channels.

Television's favourite duo Ant and Dec won Entertainment Presenter and Entertainment Programme for Saturday Night Takeaway. After winning the Entertainment Presenter award for the last nine consecutive years the pair still managed to look shocked as their names were read out.

The now departed Doctor Who David Tennant triumphed as he won Drama Performance and Most Popular Drama for the iconic BBC1 show.

One of the largest celebrations of the night came when Loose Women won Factual Programme, beating Top Gear, Come Dine With Me and The Apprentice.

Gavin and Stacey, which recently aired its third and final series won the award for Comedy Programme whilst X Factor triumphed over Strictly Come Dancing in the battle of the talent shows.

The multi-talented Stephen Fry won the first ever Star Travel Documentary award for Stephen Fry In America and later was surprised with the Special Recognition Award for his contribution to television.

The surprise of the night came as Coronation Street triumphed over EastEnders in the serial drama categories, winning Serial Drama and Newcomer for Craig Gazey's portrayal of Graeme Proctor. But EastEnders did win one award as Lacey Turner won the Serial Drama Performance award for her brilliant performance as troubled Stacey Slater.

For a full list of winners click here
Picture from Now

Doctor Who, 'The End Of Time'

Every avid Doctor Who fan knew the moment was coming but as the much-loved David Tennant took his final bow as The Doctor, before regenerating into Matt Smith, you could not help but sit back it shock and amazement, a small tear in your eye as The Doctor proclaimed that he "didn't want to go". I did not want David Tennant to go either but the also departing Russel T Davies and the team behind Doctor Who managed to improve on a disappointing part one to give him an emotionally powerful and enjoyable final showing in part two of 'The End Of Time'.

It came as some surprise, that part one of the final installment was such a disappointment. The story seemed dis-jointed, lacking direction and the spark in the script that David Tennant can wonderfully portray on screen. Despite this all the cast played their part, Bernard Cribbins gave a heartwarming performance as The Doctor's make-shift companion Wilf and John Simm recreated the captivating Master for both part one and two.

Two striking similarities between the parts was how they both only managed to kick-start as the climax approached. Part one failed to ignite until the final moments, where The Master quite wonderfully created the so-called 'master race' as he changed every human (minus Donna and Wilf) into him, while part two managed to grab the audience for David Tennant's final 30 minutes. Hurtling towards Earth on board the Vinvocci Spacecraft with Wilf and two cacti like characters that added nothing to the storyline, The Doctor lept through a glass roof and straight back into the action once more.

While The Doctor's tedious gun-wielding indecision on whether to shot The Master, the returning Time Lords or nothing at all was probably necessary in the showdown that the Time Lords return was there to create, it was not until Wilf and The Doctor began their dialogue that I was properly engrossed. There was an eerie silence as I watched Wilf bang on the glass four times, the four knocks that The Doctor had been warned about. The Doctor's inevitable decision of self-sacrifice and the whole scene itself only worked so well because of the great chemistry and empathy the pair create on-screen together.

David Tennant's blistering performance as The Doctor over the last few years could quite easily have merited a barn-storming finish filled with action, explosions and enemies but Davies decided on an emotional farewell as The Doctor briefly visited old friends Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Rose and Captain Jack. Returning to the Tardis alone the transformation begun and as we said goodbye to David Tennant and hello to Matt Smith and his energetic and promising cameo, it is fair to say that after a slow start, one of the best ever Doctors just about got the send-off he rightly deserved.

Picture from Digital Spy

Doctor Who - The Waters of Mars

Doctor Who made a triumphant return to our screens in superb special 'The Waters of Mars' last night, a poignant and eerie episode that saw the Doctor face more of his inner demons rather than scary aliens.

The 'Waters of Mars' began with The Doctor landing on Mars in 2059 to find the Bowie Base One Crew in a situation only he could foresee. In a series of flashes (unnecessary after the fourth or fifth one) it was revealed that every crew member died that day, leaving the Doctor in a terrifying predicament as to whether to walk away from the doomed crew or stay and help.

David Tennant captured The Doctor perfectly, the guilt and anguish of such a decision evident as he battled with his conscience and the laws of time. But after deciding that he would leave, the crew's death an event fixed in time, Doctor Who moved into what it does best.

The episode's main battle combined two elements of tried and tested Doctor Who magic; a crew and base under attack and an unknown threat, one only The Doctor could defeat. 'The Waters of Mars' cleverly used water as the simple yet deadly enemy, turning ordinary crew members into scaly wet messes as the water started to seep into the crevices.

David Tennant could single-handily carry an episode alone but he was supported by an excellent cast, especially Lindsay Duncan as the strong-willed Captain Adelaide Brooke. She was in no-way The Doctor's companion or follower, a feisty Captain determined to lead and eventually save her crew but at the same time intrigued, as most are, by The Doctor's presence.

Her tough persona comically bounced off Tennant's witty Doctor in the opening sequences. Duncan's further exchanges with Tennant were just as memorable; the desperation as she begged for the Doctor to do something after he informed her of her and the crew's demise was powerful yet heartbreaking.

As crew members started to fall to their watery foe The Doctor battled with his own predicament. Whilst walking away from the doomed base The Doctor listened to the cries of the stranded crew as one by one they perished, a sound so agonising that we saw The Doctor stroll back to save the day.

But in doing so we saw a different Doctor emerge, one almost bordering on egotistical as he became convinced that the laws of time were his in his bid to save what was left of the crew and re-right time. David Tennant's flamboyant brilliance helped portray The Doctor's sudden change in attitude as he defeated the water and managed to save Captain Brooke and two of her crew.

But The Doctor's heroics would come at a cost. Back on Earth the cocky Doctor revealed in his achievement but his mis-guided joy was soon cut-short by the suicide of Captain Brooke. We had watched Duncan portray Adelaide for only around 50 minutes by this point but you wanted The Doctor to succeed in saving her, even if it had sent the Time Lord slightly nutty in the process.

Duncan portrayed Adelaide's demise heartbreakingly perfectly, the horror and almost pity for The Doctor's power and position that soon turned to acceptance of what she had to do as she pulled the gun out and shut the door behind her.

This episode needed no over-sized enemy or epic battled because it was The Doctor himself who was the most chilling element in this episode. His collapse under his own wayward desire to control time and then sudden realisation and guilt as he heard Brooke's suicide shot took the audience and David Tennant on an emotional roller coaster as we saw sides of The Doctor that inevitably were there but had always been well hidden.

We may be missing out on a full series this year but with one-off specials of this quality Doctor Who fans can hardly complain. The writers even managed to throw in a mention of Ice Warriors and a chilling dalek-encounter for a young Brooke to please the avid Doctor Who fan base.

The Doctor's superb maniac turn may yet be a snippet of things to come as The Master is soon to make a return in the next special episode. If last night's episode is anything to go by the next will be more eagerly anticipated than its predecessor, the only downside being that with each episode we are moving closer to David Tennant's immanent departure.

Picture from Sci Fi Pulse