Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Alex Kingston, Matt Lucas, Greg Davis, Philip Rhys, Rowan Polonski, Robert Curtis, Anthony Cozens, Chris Lew Kim Hoi, Nicolle Smarrt,
Christmas is a time for surprises, for meeting up with those dearest to you and for sharing a laugh or two, perhaps even share an escapade and a kiss with; thankfully The Doctor is attendance to make all these happen, after all he has a lot to lose as one of The Husbands of River Song.
Whilst Jenna Coleman as Clare Oswald has quite rightly taken the plaudits for being arguably the finest companion in the long history, certainly the most influential in the life of The Doctor in his very long existence, Professor River Song is the one to have kept him on his toes, to have pushed his moral centre button quivering. Clare Oswald may have been the work wife however River Song is the one to have married him and it is a marriage that whilst is not perfect, is certainly the one that is the most fun.
After two series in which The Doctor has been pushed, almost battered, to his absolute limit, to the point where madness would have claimed the sanity of lesser men, show runner Steven Moffat brings some much needed relief to the man from Gallifrey and it inspires The Doctor to be completely ahead of his game.
There s something tenacious, almost very driven and perhaps reflective in the soul of Alex Kingston in her ongoing role as Professor Song that complements her superb ability as an actor and the very essence of bright light she brings to the part. In part it is the smile, for who can truly resist the beaming grin, the haunting radiant smile of a woman who is just that little bit psychotic, a woman who makes life that dangerous and who after all has been married to mad man in the box. The other part though has be down to the best of casting when she first appeared opposite David Tennant’s incarnation of The Doctor in Silence of the Library, a character shrouded in mystery played by a woman who knew how to deliver such a beautifully inspired role to perfection; if Heaven does exist then this was the perfect match.
After all it always in the end down to the long con and who better to match The Doctor stride for stride than River Song, diamonds, treachery and a psychotic robot on the loose, it is almost as if someone was peeking at the Whoverians’ Christmas list.
Ian D. Hall