WITH every new Doctor comes a story that welcomes back old elements of the show to help settle the new boy in. Just as the Daleks were used as a familiar helping for the Second Doctor and the Master was at his devious best to welcome more than one new incarnation to the universe, this time we had not just one returning enemy, but also a future (or is that past) ally in the form of River Song as she helps the Doctor and Amy battle the chilling Weeping Angels for two weeks of terror, frights in the dark and sinister two-parter that has surely put people back behind the sofa where they belong.
The opening scene is like no other in the show’s long history. There is a mix of Indiana Jones and James Bond in space, guest starring The Streets! It’s a hectic blend of intrigue and two worlds colliding, fluxing back together at the wrong end, the Doctor knowing how River Song meets her end but not knowing how he knows her or why she will play such a huge part in his history and River knows this man very well indeed, an maybe even better than he knows himself.
The Time of Angels is also the first episode in which Amy really comes alive as a companion. Up until now she has been a slightly vague creation, as if there is a big story just waiting to be told about her but one that until now has held her character back. Yet as soon as she is possessed by the Weeping Angels and she is rubbing stone from her eye it adds another dimension to her narrative and one that places her in the worst danger imaginable.
As we learn a little more about River Song as the story continues, her story is just as wibbly-wobbly timey -whimey as the Doctors and something tells me we have not seen the last of her this series and while the inclusion of the Fathers of the Church and a forest within the Byzantium in the second part is an inspired idea, and the haunting walk through the Maze Of The Dead heaped more mystery and terror upon us fans for a whole 45 minutes.
Unfortunately though, Mike Skinner was not the only guest star as another well known personality made an unexpected appearance as the Doctor made his speech to Angel Bob. Graham Norton has now invaded the who-niverse for the second time now since the show’s 2005 revival, the man must be really desperate for a part! However his minimal part in the story became a big story in the press the next day but for me it did ruin a truly fantastic episode.
The following part Flesh and Stone naturally continues where The Time of Angels left off, but is ultimately more intense with the scene where Octavian meets his maker and Amy’s blind walk through the forest makes for chilling viewing, and when the Angels turn menacingly to our shock they are more than just statues! And surely their presence as one of the greatest Doctor Who monsters ever had been cemented and they have burned themselves into the long term memory of young children, who will look twice when they walk past churches with sinister gargoyles peering down upon them!
The story has all the makings of a modern day classic – an iconic monster, memorable moments, convincing performances from all involved and a Doctor at the top of his game so early into his reign. Matt Smith displays the full range of emotions during both episodes, and we see a rage we have not seen the Doctor possess for a long time.
However the final scene in Amy’s bedroom was a radical departure from the rest of the story but a necessary one as it explained the significance behind the base code and the crack in the wall, it’s all about Amy and just as she was evolving into a classic series companion, she may just be the most important one since Rose as her story progresses. Matt Smith’s awkwardness to her advances were also a welcome departure from all the romantic inclinations we have been exposed to recently, though it did take a couple of viewings to get it and who knows, maybe even the Doctor will between now and next week!
So then overall The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone is a fantastic showpiece for the writing and creative imagination of Steven Moffat and now all the elements of the new series are fusing together, but that crack in time maybe gone for the moment but what is the significance of Amy’s wedding day? And will the Doctor manage to keep away from Amy’s charms for long? See you next week to find out!
9/10
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