Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *****
Cast: Matt Smith, Karen Gillian, Arthur Darvill, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Anamaria Marinca, David Gyasi, Naomi Ryan, Nicholas Briggs, Barnaby Edwards, Zac Fox.
It is the stuff that legends are made out of and then there is Doctor Who. The nights are beginning to draw in and what better way for the B.B.C. to showcase the autumn schedules than by the re-materialising of the blue box, two of the great companions of the modern and any era, the Doctor and an introduction to a new companion that might just be the best since Janet Fielding as the Australian flight attendant Tegan Jovanka.
In the world of Doctor Who, especially since the re-launch in 2005, nine months without a sniff of a story for the millions of fans is too much to bear, yes there is of course Big Finish and the incredible audio dramas they produce but the real reason for fans’ devotion to the Time Lord is what they see on the screen. The tales of good versus evil brought real and the absolute power to thrill not just one generation but the next and the next and the next.
The B.B.C. have been rather sneaky with their lead up to the new series, releasing on the Doctor Who website a five part series of vignettes titled Pond Life, a look at the life of Amy and Rory Pond-Williams. Although a welcome distraction and in parts amusing, it’s not every day that the sight of an Ood sitting patiently on the toilet can cause a smile panged with regret for these interesting creatures, it only served as an appetiser for the starving masses. Devoid of any real contact with their favourite alien since the disappointing The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, the opening segment of the first episode in the new series was the exactly what the Doctor ordered.
People may still hark back to David Tennant’s portrayal of the Doctor and quite rightly so, very possibly the best incarnation of the Doctor there has been, however Matt Smith has a charm that is endearing, a fan of the series like Mr. Tennant, he has the ability to be much darker than David managed. Whilst Mr. Tennant broke hearts, Matt Smith is sometimes just as frightening, just as calculating in his manipulation as the abundance of battle scarred and insane Daleks that are locked away in the Asylum.
Written by Executive Producer Stephen Moffat, The Asylum of the Daleks shows the fear of enemies and friends perfectly. Coerced by the Daleks to find the source of what they fear most from their lunatic fringe, aside from the Doctor himself who is revealed to have a much more disturbing name given to him than the Oncoming Storm, on the planet where, like post Victorian times liked to forget those that had lost their reason, they dumped them in one place, able to neglect but never quite ignore.
In possibly one of the strongest openings of series for many years, the introduction of Jenna-Louise Coleman as the flirting pseudo heroine is at times joyful and utterly heart breaking, the banter between the two characters was the counter point between the destruction that both the Daleks were wreaking and the Ponds were inflicting on each other.
Although Amelia and Rory, having been played by the great Karen Gillian and Arthur Darvill, will be missed, there is the thought that Jenna- Louise Coleman will be a perfect foil for Matt Smith. If anything her performance in this opening episode will make sure of that.
A brilliant opening to the new series, more Daleks than can ever inhabit the deepest of nightmares, a departure in waiting and the return of the Doctor, do Saturday evenings get any better than this?
Ian D. Hall