The Eleventh Hour - Jones

And finally the two year wait rolls past and a new series of Dr Who starts. Of course you could be forgiven for accepting the rollercoaster of 'events' that you have seen but in reality nothing beats a weekly delivered 13 episodes of real Who around this time of year.

So be warned now. Spoilers abound.

Short version.

Was it good?

Yes.

Long Version.

Was it good? And if yes please elaborate.

Yes. It was good because of Matt Smith. Unsurprisingly they did not select a Muppet to carry the torch for Dr Who. I would have been immensely surprised if even one of the 'criticisms' of the casting had been even remotely true. After all these are the writers and producers that recreated Dr Who into a modern cultural phenomenon and provided some of the best hours of entertainment overall, let alone in the Who genre. So they knew what they were doing and somehow we were all proved 'wrong'. Bollocks. I know a Manufactured Dissent when I see one. My cynicism for the media aside, this was better than I hoped for and I expected it to be good, possibly even great.

So right out of the gate Matt Smith has presence, not written and not acted but just there. the sort of person you can feel entering a room. Can't say I feel the same of Amy Pond, but the companion was never supposed to be more of a presence than the Doctor, that's just the way it is.

The first story is a bit recycled - it's similar to the Alien Prisoner Escape template used in many sci-fi shows including Who and Sarah Jane (Both previously used with the Judoon, now with the unseen Atraxi). It was also similar to Rose - exposition and introductions abounding. What I liked was the use of Time Travel, the Doctor being years late at a time (also done before with Rose) but in this case using it to skip the usual growing obsession with the Doctor and set it up from episode 1 (with possibly a throwaway to the Runaway Bride as well). There's a fairly standard 'look me up' threat, but it's delivered with some backbone that David Tennant could only dream of and Ecceleston had used in the past.

The use of Amy Pond was pretty standard and her job as a 'not policewoman' was noticeable from the get go - as that's a very short skirt. I assumed Stripper but Kissogram will do as this is after all, a family show. I thought that Patrick Moore looked very old and in failing health, and while I appreciated seeing him again it simply accentuated his mortality. The inclusion of Olivia Colman was inspired she was both approachable and distant enough to be really menacing and for someone I am so used to seeing in comedy this was a nice effect, though as she is always David Mitchell's straight man, maybe this is not a stretch at all. Point being I liked it, I liked her in it.

Not fussed about the new TARDIS, is it me or does it look too new on the outside? Plasticky. The inners are all new and different but in all honesty it doesn't feel that different. The traditional roundels to the organic twists of the RTD interiors were different, as was the Edwardian model used before in the original show and the TeleMovie. This is a variation on a theme rather than a whole new look.

It's probably indicative of the level of plotting and pacing that I've spent most of this post talking about the minutiae and design rather than the core of the episode. That's a good thing though as that's what a new Doctor and a new Show runner and a new series is going to attract. Don't waste your big guns in episode one.

They didn't.

From the look of the preview - they have some very nice morsels to bring a taste of what's to come. It's hard to believe that the trailer that we saw last year is related to the trailer we saw at the end of episode 1. That's a good strategy. Feint with the left, punch with the right.

New Logo and titles and new theme. Don't care. A sandwich is still a sandwich whether you like the crusts or not.