Dr Who’s underwhelming love Song

I have previously expressed my mixed views of Doctor Who on these pages. I’ve been a regular viewer since the show’s revival in 2005 and honestly I’ve found, over the years, that the show’s episodes can be split into three categories. A third are good and entertaining in their own right, a third disappoint me at how they squander the show’s amazing premise, and a third are so bad that they’re fun to watch and laugh at. I’m entertained two thirds of the time, and so keep watching, but under no circumstances could I say that the show has been consistently good.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that I genuinely enjoyed all of the first five episodes of the new series. After much controversy about the apparent overuse of long term story arcs, all of the episodes so far this series have been standalone. I had, honestly, been indifferent about the issue. While the long term Doctor Who storylines were hardly masterworks, I found some of the worst episodes, such as the abominable ‘The Curse of the Black Spot’, to be standalones. The change in format, however, seems to have worked in the show’s favour. While there have been some missteps, the episodes so far have all had a wonderful feeling of freshness to them. Both the regulars and the guest stars have been on fine form and the stories themselves have covered interesting, if not entirely original, themes. There was plenty to interest both the younger viewers, such as the eponymous creatures from ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’, and the older, such as the discussion in ‘A Town Called Mercy’ as to what sacrifices should be made in the name of justice. The emotional departure of regular companions Rory and Amy was particularly well done, being at the same time tragic and unexpected as well as the culmination of a long running plot strand of the two gradually growing more distant from the Doctor.

My biggest complaint about the series would have to be the use of, or rather lack of use of, River Song. Introduced years ago in ‘Silence in the Library’ as a mysterious stranger, she was eventually revealed to be Rory and Amy’s daughter who, in the final episode of the previous series, married the Doctor. Unlike many others, I don’t have any serious problems with the character herself, though her relationship with the other three main protagonists has been rather disturbing at times; but I believe that, given how much the writers of the show have made of her, she really has been underused. Despite being the Doctor’s wife, she wasn’t even mentioned this series until her appearance in episode five. There were precious few scenes between her and her parents, and none showing any significant emotional development in the aftermath of the many traumatic situations they have faced together. The audience has been left guessing why the Doctor fell in love with her after remaining romantically aloof for so many series, and her limited screen time means that there simply has been no time to show her and the Doctor acting as a couple. All this makes her refusal to stay in the TARDIS with the Doctor for the flimsiest of non-reasons at the end of the latest episode even more frustrating. The writers made a bold, if controversial, move in having the Doctor get married, but unless they can develop the Doctor’s and River’s relationship and show it having some consequences on the story, they should just abandon this particular plotline. Rant aside, this really is a good start to the series. Episodes one to five should still be on iPlayer for a day or two after this review comes out and you should certainly catch the show when it returns this Christmas after the mid-season break.