Doctor Who, Series 7, episodes 1-4

I cannot lie, a second, sneaky reason for reinvigorating this blog was as a place for tellyfeelings, because - lo! - it is Autumn, which brings the best of all the television and more and more reasons not to leave the house. Strictly Come Dancing! Downton Abbey*! The Thick of It! Parks and Recreation! Elementary! New Girl! Spy! And a million and one other new and returning shows delighting (and occasionally frustrating) my eyeballs.

Most of my current feelings come, as always, from Doctor Who, which remains the show of my soul. (I wouldn't have it any other way - I honestly hope I never grow out of it.) And so, here's some brief thinky thoughts about Series 7 so far:

Asylum of the Daleks
An interesting season opener, but rife with flaws and frustrations. Really enjoyed the idea of a Dalek asylum, and having other species suffering from PTSD, even a species with famously little emotion. Oswin was a darling, and I am thoroughly excited to see how it works out with her character, timey-wimey-wise. (There were a billion plot holes and things that will need explaining, but - sigh - this is what we are used to.) Regardless, Jenna Louise Coleman is precious, and I'm always excited for a new companion. I just hope Moffat does her justice.

Alas, the episode was thoroughly sullied by the ridiculousness of the Amy/Rory dynamic. It was, in short, bullshit, and made them both look like idiots: Amy for not voicing her feelings, and Rory for playing the martyr card yet again. And, really, in this day and age, would a young couple who can't naturally have children seriously not think of other avenues - adoption, fostering, surrogacy, IVF, or - I don't know - not having children? It cheapened their relationship, and drove me fucking nuts. A shame, really, because the rest of the episode was decent.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
I've read mixed reviews of this one, but I am firmly on the 'loved it' side. It was, as Hector puts it, "sheer, calculated silliness"; a good old jaunt full of spacey-wacey, timey-wimey ridiculousness. And DINOSAURS. What's not to love? Of course, the random addition of Queen Nefertiti and silver fox Rupert Graves (who probably had a character name, but it escapes me) was daft, but the whole thing was sweet and fun and lovely. Brian Pond was a delightful addition (how could a character played by Mark Williams not be?), and his mini-arc was absolutely gorgeous, bringing several tears to my eyes. All in all, not a groundbreaking episode, but charming all the same.

A Town Called Mercy
Toby Whithouse is a reliably excellent writer (still not over how awesome The God Complex was), and this was no exception. A really thought-provoking episode with solid plot and characterisation, and a good old moral dilemma. The wild west was gorgeously portrayed, Adrian Scarborough was - again - reliably brilliant, and it tapped into some aspects of the Doctor's psyche (guilt about the Time War, never wielding weapons, what to do when a bad guy's also a good guy, etc.) which have been lately untapped. The Ponds were a little superfluous, but overall it was excellent.

The Power of Three
WARNING: feelings ahead. Absolutely my favourite episode of the series so far. I've heard people criticise it for its lack of plot, so I'll tackle that first. I admit, the resolution was hasty and hand-wavy, but the underlying plot was really solid -- the idea of a slow invasion, one that encourages people to trust the invadee, is excellent, and I thought the whole 'we need to stop humanity before they colonise space' was a brilliant observation (which, I concede, would benefit from being explored properly), and one that reflects cleverly upon our nasty tendency to stick a flag in things and call them ours. (Also, can we have more Kate Stewart in the future, please? Because awesome.)

However, this episode wasn't really about the plot. It was ALL about the characterisation. Oh, and what characterisation it was! In the new series, we haven't explored the dynamic of having the companions gradually fade from the Doctor's life of their own accord; Martha left, but succinctly, and otherwise it has been a swift memory wipe** or banishment to a parallel universe which has signalled the end of a partnership. I liked that Amy and Rory came to realise, enjoy and stand up for the importance of their everyday lives, and build a normality that wasn't based around the Doctor - it's important for their characters.

And the Doctor's reaction was beautifully explored. The scene on the Thames, "you're the first face this face saw, and you're seared onto my hearts" - oh my soul, just gorgeous. He's so used to being the dazzler, the one everybody runs to, that he never quite realised that he runs to people too, that he needs them. And Amy in particular has always been this little girl fascinated by him -- she was the girl who waited, and he's finding it hard to deal with the fact that she doesn't want to wait any more.

And yet, they make such a wonderful team - while Amy and the Doctor have a special bond, Rory is fully integrated into the ~gang, as demonstrated by the badassery of this shot***:

Sauce

Ach, it was just a perfect example of the Doctor/Amy/Rory dynamic - the Ponds and their temperamental space toddler. (To some extent, they really have brought him up!) Of course, this comes but a week before what promises to be a gut-wrenching finale full of woe. But for the moment I'm happily not listening, and am just basking in what was a bloody excellent episode.

*Downton may get its own post, which will mainly be made up of 'WHEN DID THIS SHOW GET GOOD' written over and over again.

**Still bitter.

***Don't even get me started on how good Arthur Darvill looks this series. Your hair looks sexy pushed back, etc.