To save tedious repetition I’ll just go ahead and say right now that I found “The Eleventh Hour” to be completely and utterly brilliant, amazing and magical. I just thought I’d give you the tone of this review up front so you’d see where it’s going. I think this is the best post-regeneration episode since “Robot” Part One and possibly the closest the show has felt like true Doctor Who since 1984. Everything is new again and the grimness has given way to the magical and whimsical.
The TARDIS, carrying the just-regenerated Time Lord and itself falling apart, crashes in a Leadworth backyard and into the life of Amelia Pond, age ten. The Doctor is going through a bit of post-regenerative trauma and, after repairing a crack in Amelia’s wall, runs to his damaged ship and promises to return in five minutes to prove to the young one that the rackety police box really does travel throughout time and space. As with all things involving the Doctor and the need for the TARDIS to be dead accurate, the plan doesn’t work out so well. Instead, the Doctor returns to Leadworth twelve years later to a cynical Amy Pond and an imminent threat to the planet Earth. Hi-jinks definitely ensue and by the end of the story this new incarnation of the Doctor is firmly in control.
Matt Smith may have been born to play the Doctor. There is something instantly otherworldly about him and he throws himself through the episode with a sort of manic urgency that is as quirky as his dialogue. There are moments while the regeneration is still in flux that Smith sounds like his predecessor, but by the end both the regeneration and the new personality have settled into something new and unique. Steven Moffat has said that Matt Smith was able to portray a Doctor that was both youthful and ancient and he displays both traits easily on screen. Also, he’s more than just a bit mad and that’s just a bit perfect. Whenever I’m asked to pick my favorite Doctor I always answer with the current one. This time I’ve once again chosen wisely.
I’ll admit that I initially thought it a bad choice to pair the youngest actor to play the Doctor with a companion that is just as young. There is the threat of things turning into TARDIS 90210, but I needn’t have worried. Karen Gillan is in turns smart, sassy, strong headed and not altogether sure of herself in equal measures and she manages to pull all of that off in amazing fashion. She’s a different kind of companion, perhaps one we’ve never seen before. Her whole life has become enhanced, yet also jaded due to one broken promise from the Doctor. She’s pined for the Time Lord, but not in a lovesick sort of way. Even as a little girl she is nearly his equal and one gets the sense that the adult Amy isn’t going to be the type of companion to meekly follow. She’s the Doctor’s mate, in the British sense of the word, and a whirlwind of determination.
As wonderful and perfect as Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are they are both nearly upstaged by Caitlin Blackwood, who plays the younger Amelia Pond. If this is truly her first acting gig then I am doubly stunned by her performance. She makes this story shine and is the key to bringing back a basic precept of Doctor Who, that it is a children’s series for the child in all of us. Basically, this episode had me at “Dear Santa” and never let go. My only hope is that we get some more flashbacks featuring Caitlin as she just lights up the screen. Speaking of the young version of Ms. Pond, there is a scene towards the end of the episode that is sort of presented as a dream, but I firmly think it will become important at the close of this series.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the newly regenerated TARDIS. The outside now looks like it did in the middle of William Hartnell’s run of episodes, but the part that still has me grinning is the interior. It is vast, multi-levelled with stairways leading to doorways and other rooms. That is much more like how I think the TARDIS should look like on the inside. It’s supposed to be infinitely large so it is time that we got a look at more than the console room. I look forward to the Doctor and Amy exploring some of these side rooms.
I think that Steven Moffat is possibly not only the best British television writer, but most likely also the best television writer period right now. He is truly imaginatively creative and has captured all the most wonderful and essential bits of Doctor Who. He seems to have the best view of what the show should be. At the same time, despite all the changes, the format is still the same. Thirteen episodes with a central theme/mystery running through it all. There are cracks in the universe and the silence will fall. Ominous? You betcha. Of particular note, the story does get serious and dramatic at times, but without any truly grim moments of angst and despair. I find this the best change of all. And in case there was any doubt that this was the same character as portrayed by the previous ten actors there is a wonderful scene near the end that will make you punch the air with glee. You’ll know it when you see it.
My favorite show is back again, same as it ever was and yet completely different. And that is as it should be for Doctor Who.
“The Eleventh Hour” makes its US debut on BBC America Saturday, April 17th at 9:00 PM.
