Series 6 is off and running. Time to deliver my verdict on Episode 1. WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER HEAVY, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

FIGURES AND MORE REVIEW

EPISODE TITLE: THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT

SHOW: DOCTOR WHO

SEASON: SERIES 6

Never let it be said that Steven Moffat isn’t a man of his word. He stated in an interview that one of the main characters would die in the first 10 minutes of the series’ opener. And, true to his word, 8 minutes in, someone does. But, I don’t think anyone expected it to be THE DOCTOR! This gasp out loud moment caps the otherwise feel good opening scene, in which we see that the Rory (Arthur Darville) and Amy (Karen Gillan) have taken a break from traveling with the Doctor in the TARDIS to settle down to married life. They now have a house together and have not seen the Doctor for two months. Meanwhile, the Doctor(Matt Smith) has been inserting himself into history in various compromising positions, as Amy says “waving to us out of history.” In face, the Doctor is naked in the first scene we see him in, although you don’t really see that much of him. This sequence is hilarious, reaching the height of humor as the Doctor, in a fez, dances alongside Laurel and Hardy. Nothing in this opening sequence belies the horror to come. Suddenly, Amy receives an “TARDIS blue” envelope, which contains a card with a date, a time and a map reference. Cut to the Stormcage Prison, where our favorite archaeologist, Dr. River Song (Alex Kingston), receives a similar envelope. Suddenly, alarms are going off. She tells the guards she’s going to a planet called “America.” By the way, this is the third time she’s escaped, how secure IS this prison?

After an absolutely beautiful panoramic establishing shot of Utah. Rory and Amy arrive in America via school bus, which is a great nod to a uniquely American mode of transport. As they get off the bus, they here a voice intone “Howdy” As the turn around, they see the Doctor, sitting on the hood of a car, wearing a cowboy hat. Amy acknowledges him and pleasantries are exchanged between the Ponds and the Doctor. Amy remarks about the Stetson, to which the Doctor replies “Stetsons are cool.” But, the Stetson has an even shorter life than the fez, as River makes her presence known by shooting it off his head, blowing the smoke off her gun, and slyly exclaiming “Hello Sweetie.” This scene also serves to introduce some of the new wardrobe choices. Matt Smith is still in the same basic costume, but the jacket has been upgraded to the one from the Christmas special. Amy is wearing a red checkered “tablecloth” shirt and jeans. Yes, sorry to all the fanboys, Amy has dropped the short skirt. I like the new “tomboy” look though, it suits Karen Gillan nicely. Alex Kingston’s River Song is a vision in jeans, with a denim jacket and a real leather “gunslinger” holster. After meeting up, the four go to a diner, where River and the Doctor “sync” their diaries, a process Karen has to explain to Rory.  The Doctor explains that they are there for a picnic, and then a trip to “Space 1969.” The Doctor says he has been running all his life and now it is time to stop. These opening scenes do a fantastic job of resetting the status quo and the dialogue really serves to show how comfortable these characters are with each other. The performances by the actors really do an incredible job of effortlessly slipping back into these characters.  After the diner scene, we cut to the picnic, on the beach, which features some more great dialogue. Most importantly for the story though, the Doctor mentions he is 1103. Amy says  he was 908 last they saw him. Suddenly, Amy sees a strange figure up on the ridge. Although it is quick and somewhat blurred, this is our first look at the Silence, and it is an appropriately spooky introduction. Though, in just a few minutes, they will go from spooky to downright terrifying. A pickup truck drives up to the top of the beach and an old man(William Morgan Sheppard) gets out. The Doctor waves to him with a sad expression on his face, as the others begin to question his arrival, an astronaut rises from out of the water. After warning the others that they should neither approach nor interfere, the Doctor approaches the astronaut. He seems to have a sense of what is going to happen. He stands across for the astronaut, in a confrontation mostly viewed from the point of view of the others further up the beach. After some words are exchanged, most notably the Doctor saying “I know it’s you.”, the astronaut raises a gloved hand and fires two energy blasts at the Doctor. The Doctor jerks and spasms and fall to his knees. He begins the regeneration cycle, telling the others he’s sorry. Just as he explodes into full regeneration, the astronaut fires again and the Doctor collapses to the ground. As the astronaut leaves, River uses her data pad to confirm the worst. The Doctor is dead. He was killed in the middle of his regeneration cycle, so he didn’t make it to the next body. Karen Gillan is given a chance to really shine here, and she gives an incredibly emotional performance, as Amy mourns the Doctor. Amy refuses to believe he’s dead. Suddenly, the old man comes over with a can of gasoline, which the Doctor told him they would need. River understands. Because of a value of a time lord’s body, even a dead one, the Doctor’s body must be burned. Rory spies a boat nearby, and the Doctor is given a Viking burial. The sadness conveyed by the sunset shots as the Doctor’s body burns is incredible. After the burial, River asks the man why he came and he tells them he too was invited. He says his name is Canton Everett Delaware III and that, although he won’t be seeing them again, they will be seeing him. But, hold on, we are less then 10 minutes into the first episode of series 6 and THE DOCTOR IS DEAD! What? Where do we go from here?

The answer is, back to the diner. In the diner, River realizes that there is one envelope missing from the four the Doctor sent out. So, River asks, who got number 1? Amy is still grief stricken and the other two try to get her to focus. They spy the missing envelope on a table. At that moment the door at the back of the room opens to reveal …THE DOCTOR!? They are all shocked. River is so angry she slaps him. Amy asks the Doctor his age, to which he replies 909. This is the Doctor from the present, meaning they have just witnessed the Doctor’s death in the future. They also now understand that it is that future Doctor who sent out the envelopes. River makes up a story that they have been recruited for a mission involving Space in 1969 and Canton Everett Delaware III. The Doctor asks who they have been recruited by, to which River answers “someone who trusts you more than anyone else in the universe.”

In the TARDIS, the Doctor begins searching for the time and place they need to go, but everyone is distancing themselves from him. He asks Rory why everyone is cross with him. Underneath the console room, River explains the situation involving the future Doctor’s death and warns of the repercussions were he ever to learn. The whole situation must be kept secret from him. This is the enormous secret promised by Steven Moffat. these three companions have seen the Doctor die in the future. And, they can never tell him. How this changes the dynamic between the characters of the Doctor, Rory and Amy will be very interesting to see.We also get the first hint about River’s past as she says “There is a far worse day coming for me.”

Meanwhile, the Doctor suspects something is up and refuses to go in search on Delaware until he has more information. He is very cross about being kept in the dark, and that anger shows in the dialogue: “Don’t play games with me, don’t ever think you’re capable of that.” This is darker dialogue than we are used to from the Doctor and this side of the Doctor will be further explored this series. River asks him to trust her, but won’t answer any of the questions he puts to her. Amy tells him to trust her. He asks her to swear on something that matters. She answers “fish fingers and custard.” He decides to trust Amy and the TARDIS points them to Washington DC on April 8, 1969.

Now we meet the younger Canton Everett Delaware III (Mark Sheppard). He is an ex-FBI agent who got kicked out. Six weeks after he got kicked out, he is summoned to the White House for a private meeting with President Richard Nixon (Stuart Milligan). It is that meeting which the Doctor is about to crash. Nixon explains to Delaware that every day he gets a direct phone call, no matter where he is.  Meanwhile, we discover two new abilities for the TARDIS. The Doctor, with River’s help, puts the engines on silent and turns the outer shell invisible. However, since the scanner doesn’t work while cloaked, the Doctor sneaks out to survey the situation. Delaware is skeptical at first, but Nixon plays him a recording of one of the calls. A child’s voice is heard on the tape, talking of her fear of the spaceman. The Doctor has exited the cloaked TARDIS to find himself in the Oval Office. This set is a spectacular recreation of the room in the White House and the portion covering it’s creation is more than enough reason to watch this week’s Confidential. The Doctor sneaks up and begins taking notes as the recording plays. Suddenly Delaware and Nixon spot the Doctor , as he tries to back pedal and escape, he crashes into the doors of the cloaked TARDIS. Nixon has called security in and they subdue the Doctor. Inside the TARDIS, River gets the scanner working and drops the cloak. This is the scene from the trailer with the TARDIS shimmering into existence in the Oval Office. After a wonderful dialogue gag involving Americans and guns, the Doctor takes control of the situation. He tells Nixon he is an undercover agent from Scotland Yard, and he has brought with him his top operatives: “The Legs” (Amy), “The Nose” (Rory) and “Mrs. Robinson” (River). The Doctor tells Nixon he can find the child. Delaware persuades Nixon to give him five minutes, much to the consternation of Nixon’s security. Pouring over maps of Florida, the Doctor explains that he is looking there because that is where the spacemen live, since that is where NASA is. Meanwhile Amy thinks there may be a connection to the spaceman that kills the Doctor in the future. Suddenly, in the doorway, we get out first full proper look at The Silence. It is a pretty hideous monster, with a huge skeletal head and oversized hands, dressed in a suit reminiscent of the “Men in Black” movies. Amy remembers seeing it when teh Doctor died, but as Rory steps into her line of sight, it disappears and she forgets seeing it. Suddenly, Amy feels sick and asks to got to the restroom. This next scene is truly terrifying.

Entering the ladies room, she again encounters The Silence. It is standing at the end of the room. A closeup of the face reveals sunken eyes and no mouth. Suddenly a woman comes out of one of the stall. Amy warns her to get back and she turns to see The Silence. She screams and thinks it is a joke. When she turns her head to look at Amy, she forgets that she has seen it. She looks at it again and syas the same things as before. She turns back to Amy and forgets again. Suddenly the Silence raises it arms and the lights begin to blink. The Silence fires a bolt of lightning at the woman, a circular open mouth appearing on it’s face as it begins to howl. The woman is frozen in place as the energy pours into her. Finally, the woman explodes and the lights return to normal. Amy takes a picture of The Silence with her phone. She asks it why it had to kill her. It tells her that her name was joy and that her name is Amelia. It tell her to tell the Doctor “what he must know and what he must never know.” This is a truly scary scene, which sets The Silence up as a major player in the Doctor’s Rogues Gallery. The casualand callous nature of the attack is enough to jar even the strongest person.

Shaken, Amy exits the ladies room. her phone still in her hand, mumbling that she has to tell the Doctor, but she can’t remember what. Back in the Oval Office, the phone rings as the Doctor discovers the origin point of the call. The Doctor tells Nixon to tell her that help is on the way and tells Canton to follow him into the box. The TARDIS dematerializes as Nixon looks on, shocked. While en route, Canton, assisted by Rory, comes to terms with the reality of the TARDIS. the Doctor explains that the girl was telling Nixon where she was. They land at their destination and the Doctor leaves canton in Rory’s care, because, as Amy explains “you’re the newest.”

They land in a warehouse five miles from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at the intersection of Jefferson, Davis and Adams Street. The little girl read the names off the street signs as she looked out the window. River tries the phone, but it’s dead. The Doctor states that it is almost certainly a trap. Canton and Rory have emerged from the TARDIS, with Canton doing a bit better. Suddenly we cut to a shot of the spaceman watching them explore. The find some gruesome looking alien tech. But alongside it, they find cutting edge NASA tech. There’s some sort of slime all over the alien tech. Amy and River discuss the possibility of stopping the spaceman in 1969, so it can’t kill the Doctor, but River says that would create a paradox.

Rover finds a hose leading to manhole cover. Opening the cover, she discovers a network of tunnels which she decides to investigate. River enters the tunnels and happens upon some Silence that are asleep. Training her flashlight on them, they wake up. Startled, River quickly comes back up, but forgets what she has seen. She wants to take another look, so she goes back down. Worried, the Doctor sends Rory with her. At the bottom of the ladder, Rory finds River breathing heavily. She says she’s feeling a bit sick. As they begin to explore the tunnels, we see one of the Slience coming up behind them. The tunnels are coated with the same alien slime as the tech above. At the end of the tunnel, they find a door, which, of course, River has to open. As she does so, Rory talk to her, and a few more pieces of her puzzle come out. She says that she and the Doctor are travelling in oposite directions and she makes reference to the events of Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead. Walking inside the door, they see THE TARDIS FROM THE LODGER! An alarm goes off as River approaches and she tells Rory to see if anyone is coming. He shines the light outside the door and sees The Silence. But, when he turns away, he forgets. River approaches the machine and discovers that the tunnels are under the entire planet and have been there for centuries. The lights in the hallway behind Rory begin to flicker and, as the camera cuts to River’s face. Suddenly a huge flash of light crosses River’s face and she shouts Rory’s name.

Up top, Canton, Amy and the Doctor are still exploring. It is revealed that Canton got kicked out of the FBI for wanting to get married. Canton asks Amy about the Doctor and she remembers she wanted to tell him something. Suddenly, the child’s voice is heard screaming “Help Me.” Canton goes off to find her, but as Amy tries to follow, she doubles over in pain. The Doctor rushes over. Amy says she has to tell him something and it’s important. HE drags her with him as they follow Canton, whom they find unconscious. Amy tells the Doctor she’s pregnant. BIG SECRET NUMBER TWO! I wonder: DOES RORY KNOW? So, now, for those keeping score: Amy, Rory and Rover have a secret from the Doctor, River has a secret from everyone and Amy and the Doctor MAY have a secret from Rory and River. And, at last, the spaceman appears. As it points at the Doctor, Amy grabs Canton’s gun. As the astronaut lifts its visor to reveal the little girl’s face, AMY FIRES!

THE VERDICT: This episode brings Doctor Who to a narrative height never seen before. The script is tight, the dialogue fresh and the story gripping. There are several shocking moments in this episode. I think Steven Moffat should get a great deal of credit for being brave enough to show the death of the Doctor 10 minutes into the episode and building the suspense to the explanation. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are also to be congratulated for their extraordinary performances in this episode. Each of them have added a new dimension to their characters and I cannot wait to see these new dimensions expanded on as the series continues. It was also nice to see the balance between drama and comedy in this episode. In particular, I loved the flirting between River and the Doctor. Alex Kingston and Matt Smith did a spectacular job playing out the bizarre relationship between the two characters, and I can’t wait to see more of this as the series progresses and we get closer to the moments where all of the questions about River are answered. The Silence look ready to take their place among the great Doctor Who monsters. I’m looking very forward to the backstory behind these terrifying creatures. I believe Steven Moffat has a creation on his hand to rival his other masterpieces, the Weeping Angels. The visuals in this episode were wonderful, with the Utah desert scenes coming out gorgeous. Also, special praise must be given to the set building team for their absolutely extraordinary recreation of the Oval Office. It is exact in every detail. The story introduced plot threads and subplots that we will likely be guessing about right up to episode 13, and I will happily be on the edge of my seat for all 12 remaining episodes. The scope of the show has changed so dramatically with this episode, feeling less like television and more like cinema. I LOVE it! I have so many questions already: What are the Silence? Where did they come from? Can the Doctor’s death be prevented? Who is the little girl? What happens to Rory? Does Rory know Amy is pregnant? and What is the “Lodger TARDIS” doing in that tunnel? This was one of the best episodes of Doctor Who I have ever seen. I have found myself dying to watch it again and again, to make sure I haven’t missed any details. It is going to be a very long week waiting for next Saturday. But, if teh next episode is anything like this one, I think the wait will definitely be worth it.

Series 6 continues with Episode 2, Day of the Moon, on Saturday, April 30th at 6:00pm on BBC One and BBC ONE HD and at 9:00pm on BBC America and BBC America HD