Just What the Doctor Ordered

We've watched the first episode of the new Doctor Who and what do we think? Well, the general consensus seems to be that he's too young, looks a bit funny and no-one has ever heard of him. Also, I wasn't that fussed about the whole giant robot thing - it looks like Sarah Jane and the usual UNIT cast are merely coasting but I did like the Harry character. Oh, hang on, that was Tom Baker wasn't it. I know that when my Doctor, a somewhat sprightly white haired old man, changed into a younger quirkier version it took me a few episodes to like the new Doctor and this was the position we found ourselves in last night as my son, Raymond (age: 8), myself (age: middle) and wife, Nina (age: classified), settled down to watch the new series of Doctor Who.

The first episode of a new series is always hard to judge. More often than not, there are new characters to introduce and the story is usually a McGuffin to allow the new cast to establish themselves. This is something that Russell T Davies was very good at - so how would Steven Moffat cope? I think the answer is surprisingly well. The story in The Eleventh Hour was slight but it did stand out in it's own right. However, the whole feel of the show has shifted - not dramatically, but sufficiently to make it quite clear that a new crew is in charge.

First of all, there was the new title sequence. Visually, this is a progression of the time tunnel used for the last 5 years and is now suitably enhanced with lightening flashes and a blue tinge hinting at the classic 1970's opening titles. But what have they done to the title music? Delia Derbyshire's original musique concrète version from the 1960's still sounds other-worldly and Murray Gold's orchestral treatment of this for the last 5 years has been the closest anyone has come to match it. The new version sounds like a pale imitation of this - what were they thinking?

But on to the episode. The opening ten minutes were wonderful as our quirky new Doctor introduced himself to a young Amy - a fantastic performance from Caitlin Blackwood. Some great one-liners flew between the two as the Doctor tried to find something he liked the taste of, including the classic "You're Scottish, fry something!". That was about the most post-regeneration trauma we had from the Doctor - quite refreshing as, usually, he spends his first episode moping about feeling sorry for himself.

12 years on and Amy is now a kiss-o-gram. I wasn't quite sure whether I liked the character at first but we then discover that Amy has layers - a traumatised orphan haunted by the strange memory of The Raggedy Doctor and something unpleasant hiding behind the bedroom door. This is wonderful dark fairytale stuff. I noticed a quote from Steven Moffat saying that he wanted to aim for a Tim Burton feel to the show and I think he is achieving this - and no bad thing either. I also felt the setting of a quiet English village was harking back to the shows 70's heyday.

The monster itself was a rather derivative thing - part eel part Ridley Scott's Alien. However, I thought the alien Atraxi guard with it's enormous eye was a great piece of dark fantasy. Nina noticed that the whole plot had a strong nod towards Douglas Adams and I think there was a good deal borrowed from the first Hitchhiker's story. As ever, money was saved by having the monster morph into human (and canine) form but the muddling of the voices was a useful device to make this believable.

The supporting cast were of the highest quality, as ever, but I did think that Annette Crosbie and Olivia Coleman were criminally underused. It was nice to see Sir Patrick Moore getting a cameo appearance. I'm wondering if he has ever been on before - well, better late than never. I can't quite tell how Amy's extended family fit in. Jeff and Rory appear to have some romantic interest with her but I'm not sure whether Annette Crosbie is meant to be a relative (two Scots in the same village? I didn't think she was the Aunt.) This is one area where I think Russell T Davies may have done better.

So what of Matt Smith? First of all, panic over. He IS the Doctor. Whatever he did in his audition that made Steven Moffat take notice it was obviously the right choice. I had hoped for someone markedly different from David Tennant - I had my hopes up by the rumours that a much older man or a black actor had been cast in the role but I needn't have worried. Matt Smith is going to make this part his own. He is quirky but quite natural with it and, as he has been allowed to use his own accent, he can worry about just how he is going to portray this strange bizarre man that we all know and love.

Karen Gillan took a little longer to grow on me. I was so enchanted by Caitlin Blackwood that I was a little disappointed when the older Amy showed up. But there is more to the character and her performance than meets the eye. I was also pleased that they let Karen keep her Inverness accent. I thought Raymond would like this but I don't think he noticed that she had an accent - possibly given that it isn't a million miles away from his own she just sounds "normal" to him. I also approved of the short skirts that Karen was wearing but that's another story!

So, all in all I was delighted. Raymond says it was OK - it's still not his Doctor. Nina enjoyed the episode but thinks Matt is "a bit ugly". I'm sure he will grow on them. Doctor Who had started to become a bit stale over the last year so a new writer and a new cast is just what the Doctor ordered.