So, let's dive right in, I'm going to review the episode and the prequel in the order that I saw them.
The Episode
I loved it, surprise! The music, Skaro, the sets, the planet was gorgeous, the wardrobe was really well done, the fact that the Skittles Daleks were few and far between, the Dalek Human puppets and obviously the woman who stole the show, Oswin Oswald.
Not sure whether to start in order of how the episode happened or just write about each element on it's own. I'm going with elements and I'm starting with...
The Dalek Human Puppets
They're pretty creepy. Particularly the fact that they are able to access their former selves/memories to go into deep cover. When the first one we see, Darla, responds to "You had a daughter" with "I know, I've read my file." Ooh that was really just awesomely chilling. The man from the Alaska, Harvey, was also great. I love when he goes from deep cover back to Dalek mode and talks about how he, "forgot about dying." It was another great creepy moment. The living or dead aspect definitely worked in their favor as well and I liked that Amy had to make the Doctor realize what he had just said and that they were in a room full of corpses. I think the nano cloud was a clever way for the Daleks to protect the asylum, though I admit that a force field that can only be shut off from inside the asylum may not have been quite as smart.
The Daleks
The Daleks themselves were great. Though I don't know all of the incarnations yet (I'm on season 8 of 26 of Classic Doctor Who) I appreciate the things that remain the same. I watched New Who first and when I saw the first Dalek episode from 1963 I was impressed to hear that one sound effect/background noise had lasted all this time. The vwomp vwomp vwomp one? I love it but, I don't know how to explain it so here, it starts at 3:36 in the video below.
Amy & Rory
As I expressed in my Pond Life review, I was really upset by the prospect of them splitting up and they are already signing divorce papers at the beginning of this episode? How did that happen? With nothing to go on, I started thinking maybe Amy wanted to get back to the TARDIS and Rory was ready to settle down. I was really relieved when I realized that she kicked him out to give him something she couldn't. I know people think it was a quick way out of the situation but, I think things tend to come out when you're possibly about to die and maybe she was doing a really good job of keeping that from him (I mean why she kicked him out) when they weren't under pressure. People say they have a child but, really? River is technically their child but, they didn't spend 9 months thinking and dreaming and hoping for her because they didn't even know that Amy was pregnant and they didn't get to raise her, really. I mean growing up with your daughter as your best friend and trying to convince her, unsuccessfully, to stop getting into so much trouble, is not comparable to a normal parent/child relationship. I know they can adopt and adoption is wonderful but, I think Amy was feeling inadequate, broken and confused and she was thinking for Rory, that it wouldn't be enough. I think they both acted this scene out so well and whether it was cliche or too convenient or not, I'm very glad they reconciled quickly.
Oh also, now we have some explanation as to why Amy has her own perfume line, models do that sort of thing right? That was driving me nuts since Closing Time.
The Planet and Look of the Episode
I thought this episode looked gorgeous. The surface of the asylum was beautiful it was really striking and Harvey's big white coat just was a perfect choice for the setting. It all reminded me of Hoth a little bit and the eye stalk Oswin uses to find the Doctor after he lands on the planet reminded me of Dagobah. The cinematography was stunning. The scene where Amy sees the Daleks as people was so fabulously eerie. It was all wonderful.
Oswin Oswald
I've saved the best for last. I was floored the first time I watched this episode. I definitely did a double take when she came on screen. They did an amazing job keeping her appearance under wraps. I loved her pretty much instantly. The Doctor has had cheeky companions but, he hasn't had a smart one in awhile. Martha is the only one I'd consider smart in the context of traditional intelligence ranking, of that makes sense. Yes they've had moxie, empathy and good problem solving skills but, even Martha was no Zoe Heriot. I think Oswin is that bright and she is cheeky like Donna and a lil sexy like Captain Jack. That's my opinion if her and I loved all of those characters. I am so excited to see how she can be the next companion. I hope it is Oswin we get and not her mother or something. I was hoping all along that she would be Jenny (the Doctor's Daughter) or Susan (the Doctor's granddaughter from the Hartnell era) but she was referencing her Mother so I think Jenny's out of the question, darn!
I just loved her and the Doctor's repertoire. and I know in the Troughton era it was great to see The Doctor say things like, "oh well yes of course, if you do it that way..." whenever Zoe had figured something complicated out before he could. Enough about her brilliance though, she's a Dalek! I had no idea. There were clues everywhere. Her viewing portal, the question of the milk, heck she had a whisk in her belt. It was a very interesting twist if you ask me and making the Daleks forget the Doctor was great. She just rebooted one side of the Doctor/Dalek rivalry for us and the Doctor does want to be forgotten.
Favorite Lines
The Doctor: Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet.
Rory: What color? Sorry, there weren't any good questions left.
Oswin: Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?
The Doctor: Doctor, you call me the Doctor.
The Prequel
I saw the prequel after the episode and I don't have much to say about it. It was great but, it was short. The Doctor got inceptioned! (That's a verb now right? Kidding of course!) I thought it was very well made and it would have been a great way to start the episode but, I know, time limits. You should look for it if you haven't already seen it.
Well, I have two more reviews to write today so I have to stop here. As an opener and a Dalek episode and just an episode in general this was a great piece of television.
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