Sarah -
"The Eleventh Hour" is one of my favorite new Doctor stories. The slate has been wiped clean and a new era has begun!
Harry -
I forgot how good this one is. It starts with the Doctor's arrival (literally a crash landing) in the life of a new companion. After the initial confusion and a comedic sequence about food, it's a wild pacey adventure that doesn't let up until Matt Smith's inaugural I am the Doctor speech. "The Eleventh Hour" is great fun!
Sarah -
It’s so much fun! But I still can’t buy into fish fingers and custard. Ick!
Harry -
I keep meaning to try it someday, but it's been over ten years and counting...
Also, I semi-dread the fact that the musical theme created for this Doctor by Murray Gold will be running through my head ceaselessly in the coming months, but I can live with it.
Sarah -
It’s quite jaunty, isn't it?
Harry -
So much jaunty!
The new production team led by Steven Moffat reboots the show flawlessly. Doctor Who was the very first TV show to reboot itself, and has done repeatedly over the decades while maintaining perfect continuity, best of both worlds.
Sarah -
It’s a whole new world and comfortably familiar at the same time.
Harry -
"The Eleventh Hour" offers opening moments of mystery to draw in first-time viewers while giving a nod to longtime fans. I love that the TARDIS swimming pool makes an audible cameo, but it doesn't take away from anyone who hadn't seen the show before. A former work colleague had never watched Doctor Who until she checked out a holiday-time marathon of Season Five. She became hooked and Matt Smith will forever be her Doctor.
Sarah -
That’s lovely! This was also the season my daughter started watching NuWho. She was raised on Classic Who and will always love Tom Baker, but Matt Smith was the first real-time Doctor she watched. She and her brother were young when Doctor Who came back and we thought it would be too intense for them. By the time Matt Smith became the Doctor, she was older and ready for action. My son maintains his allegiance to his favorite Doctor, Peter Davison, but his sister is all about Matt Smith to this day!
Harry -
It's hard not to get pulled along by the energy in this story. Smith is practically bouncing off of everything he comes into contact with. Before long, his new friends are running to keep up.
Sarah -
He had me from the moment he popped out of the TARDIS. Everything was there from the beginning.
Harry -
Two challenges that the Doctor must face up front are the mysterious thing in Amy's house, and the consequences of having left Amy behind when she was a child. For the Doctor it was a matter of minutes, but for Amy, the Raggedy Man's appearance/disappearance caused lasting issues.
Sarah -
It all happens so quickly, but the Doctor’s disappearance leads to years of trauma for Amy. How horrifying to grow up in a town where everyone knows all about your trauma and mostly thinks you’ve made it all up. It’s a wonder Amy manages to function at all!
Harry -
It did seem troubling that everyone in the village seemed to know about Amy's Raggedy Man. She could barely revel in being right all along, what with the monster in her house, which turns out to be a shape-shifting alien fugitive, which has drawn a galactic police spaceship to the planet Earth in pursuit. The most horrifying thing, besides the snake creature and the barking man, which were both well done, was the complete indifference of the Atraxi voice coming from the spaceship. It declared with total banality that if Prisoner Zero did not surrender, it would simply annihilate the entire planet and move on. There's some cosmic horror for you!
Sarah -
Shape shifting is something that always creeps me out, so this story always hits an effective horror note for me. The moment that really hits me is when the mother with the twins says, “Oh, I'm getting it wrong again, aren't I? I'm always doing that. So many mouths.” It makes me want to hide behind the sofa.
Harry -
After lots of climbing and running, the new TARDIS team saves the day and Matt Smith cements his place at the end of a lovely past Doctors montage. Hurray!
Sarah -
I’m such a sucker for these moments. Smith’s, “Hello. I’m the Doctor. Basically, Run” makes me want to cheer every time. I also appreciate the Doctor stealing clothes from a hospital doctors’ dressing room for the third time in his career.
Harry -
You will probably agree that the best and worst thing about this episode was the guest appearance by Olivia Colman. Future Oscar Winner and all-around superstar Olivia Colman (best)! Given barely a half dozen lines and about three minutes of screen time (worst)! What a terrible waste!
Sarah -
You may recall that Olivia Colman was my dream Doctor before Matt Smith was announced, so it was exciting to have her in the opening story, but so very disappointing that it was for little more than a cameo. I demand she be brought back in a proper baddie rold. Do you hear me, Chibbs?
Harry -
Let's rally and press on, a whole new era awaits!
Best Line: "Carrots! Are you insane!" (Nice callback to the Sixth Doctor's last words onscreen.)
Favourite Moment: Olivia Colman's creepy cameo.
Lasting Image: the Doctor meeting Amelia for the first time.
8/10
Sarah -
Best Line: “I'm the Doctor. I'm worse than everybody's aunt. And that is not how I'm introducing myself.” It makes me laugh every time.
Favorite Moment: The Doctor popping out of the TARDIS to meet Amelia.
Lasting Image: Little Amelia Pond sitting on her suitcase, waiting for the Doctor.
8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #204: The Beast Below...
