The Eleventh Hour

All I can say without giving any hints of spoilage is that we're in excellent hands with the new cast and production team. I think Matt Smith makes a delightful Doctor and to be honest, I was a bit wary of him before seeing this portrayal. There's everything a Doctor Who fan can hope for: warmth, humor, suspense, creativity, innovation and much more.

After seeing this first episode, I'm confident our family will be enthusiastic devotees of the new series.

Also, if you or anyone you know is as of yet unfamiliar with the full 47 year history of Doctor Who, this episode is a wonderful place to start!

There have been change of production teams before in Doctor Who. The eleventh doctor era was a huge regeneration for the show.

Steven Moffat was the new head writer and showrunner. He heralded a brand new production team and handpicked Matt Smith as his Doctor.

Adam Smith was chosen as director for the opening episode and he brought in a fairy tale mini movie aesthetic.

The newly generated Doctor is zooming past London landmarks as the damaged Tardis crash lands in the garden of young Amelia Pond. She is afraid of the crack in her wall.

The Doctor still cooking after his change realises that little Amelia has good reason to be afraid. An alien known as Prisoner Zero has escaped from and is hiding in Amelia's house.

However he pops into the Tardis and promises to be back in a few minutes. Little Amelia waits for him, he does show up what he thinks is the next day. Only it is 12 years later. Little Amelia is now Amy Pond (Karen Gillan.) A kissogram girl with a troubled history. No one believed her story of the raggedy Doctor who showed up one night.

However Prisoner Zero is still in the house and his captors, the Atraxi threaten to burn the planet if Prisoner Zero is not returned.

Just as with RTD's opener Rose. The inspiration for the Eleventh Hour is Jon Pertwee's introduction in Spearhead of Space.

Now London is no longer the base. Amy lives in a village which is 30 minutes drive away from Gloucester. The Doctor gets his clothes from a hospital locker, the same as McGann's Doctor as well.

Moffatt has clearly spent a lot of time in the opener. There are some sly call backs to previous Doctor Who episodes from the RTD era. Fleshing out the characters of Amy and her nerdy boyfriend Rory. Also seeding the arc story for the season.

There were some bonuses, a cameo from Olivia Colman. Or as Moffat said, if he had known that she would one day win an Oscar, she would had got more lines.

The real plus was Matt Smith who hits the ground running. Too many times the Doctor is incapacitated after regeneration, here Smith very much hits the ground running. Even Tennant was bedridden for his introductory episode.

The TARDIS crashes towards Earth with newly regenerated Doctor on board not knowing fully what's going on. On Earth a young girl Amelia Pond, who has a crack in her wall, with noises coming from it asks Santa for help, and outside crash lands The TARDIS. The curious youngster tries to help and the unfinished Doctor investigates the crack in the wall. The TARDIS plays up so The Doctor repairs it, and returns to the house, some years later only to be clobbered by a sexy Police Woman, who turns out to be Amelia. A warning comes from Prisoner Zero's guard, Incineration unless the Prisoner gives himself up. The Doctor has to find a way to make him. When confronting Prisoner Zero in one of its disguises, he is told 'The Pandorica will open and silence will fall.' Amy (Amelia) joins the Doctor.....

Some fun effects at the start kick off the new series in big style. The Attraxi ships were good too.

Great to see Annette Crosbie, legendary actress, and even better to see Tom Hopper. I know Olivia Coleman is in everything but she is a splendid actress, she's great, and the hospital looks very creepy when it's been trashed too.

You can see the changes already, it has a different feel, even the credits are new (a definite improvement.) Matt has big shoes to fill, Tennant had made the role his own, a promising start from the fresh faced young actor, he's quirky and has a definite energy, he's very likable. Amy's fun start as a kissogram was funny. Very funny in parts just lacking the emotional attachments that Tennant was able to inject. Some very good dialogue, particularly from Coleman. 7/10

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Welcome to the new Dr Who, Matt Smith. His first episode was reminiscent of the first Jon Pertwee episode, Spearhead from Space, though with a different monster. Not the first part of the show, with a rather creepy scene where the Dr talks to a young girl. But later, he comes back, Amy has grown into a kiss-o-gram! She is in a sexy police uniform and chains him to a radiator.

Towards the conclusion the Dr visits a hospital that is a bit familiar, he changes from his ragged clothes into something he finds in the hospital (Spearhead). The Doctorr is still getting into his new regeneration, and strangely, so is the Tardis!

Pervious Doctors first episodes have had a difficult time, portraying him as a bit crazy. Matt Smith does a good job, but it isn't an exceptional episode. It has some chases, flashes of brilliance and fun with Patrick Moore. He tries out some catchphrases that are a disaster, but done with humour.

Karen Gillan is the new companion, and she is good. A Scottish accent that reminds you of the 10th Dr, an independent spirit that all modern companions have. She has friends in her village but no family, and jumps at the chance to join the new Doctor.

The combination of a new Doctor, companion and Tardis promise some exciting new adventures.

And my rewatch party arrives at Season Five, a new Doctor and a new creative force. I was very optimistic for Steve Moffat taking over, given his track record with the episodes he wrote. My feeling now is that perhaps all of his era wasn't gold, but we're off to a good start here.

Still struggling with his regeneration, The Doctor (Matt Smith) crashes in the garden of young Amelia Pond (Caitlin Blackwood) who asks if he's here about he crack in her wall. Before he can investigate too much, an issue with the Tardis calls him away. He promises to return in 5 minutes but due to those problems of a reforming blue box, he's not back for 12 years. A now adult Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) has been in therapy for her childhood meeting with 'The Raggedy man' who fell from the sky. They learn that the crack leads to an Atraxi prison, and 'Prisoner Zero' has escaped.

So, there is lot of what I remember about the eleventh Doctor present immediately in this episode. Matt Smith looks young - there's still the odd bit of the more frightening character from "House of the Dragon" in there occasionally, but generally he's a warm and funny version of the Doctor, though perhaps more authoritative. He hasn't totally shaken off the confidence that we saw at the end of David Tennant's run and we get the first - but not the last - of this doctor loudly warning off an alien force by shouting at them. This episode establishes a classic season long run through bit "The Pandorica Opens and the Silence Will Fall".

The show establishes Amy and Rory straight away, though at this stage Rory looks a little like he'll be a character like Mickey, who essentially loses his love to The Doctor. Karen Gillen is great from the start, the kissagram police officer outfit feels a bit "for the dads" but she is funny and talented, and not just a pretty face.

The actual episode is good, though perhaps there's still better to come. The CGI effects for the Atraxis and for Prisoner Zero are both a bit underwhelming - though there's a lovely bit of work where the Doctor walks through a hologram of his predecessors. The story is a bit pedestrian though some of the resolution is clever.

I liked it all OK. I liked Amy and 'Eleventh' straight away but I know there's better to come.