The returns just keep on coming. This Episode, Episode 4 of the series and, Part 1 of the first two-parter of the Matt Smith era, sees the return of the enigmatic River Song, again played by Alex Kingston. This episode also sees the return of the monsters from one of the most popular Doctor Who episodes ever. The Weeping Angels from 2007’s “Blink” have returned. And, this time, they’re a bit deadlier.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A FULL PLOT SUMMARY AND IS SPOILER-HEAVY.  READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK!

SPOILERS AHEAD…SPOILERS AHEAD…SPOILERS AHEAD…SPOILERS AHEAD…SPOILERS AHEAD

The Doctor discovers a message in Old High Gallifreyan engraved on the side of a ruined flight recorder from the starship Byzantium 12,000 years in the past by Doctor River Song. With Amy Pond, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to meet her before the ship crashes on the planet Alfava Metraxis. After reuniting with the Doctor, whom she has had extensive contact within his relative future, Dr. Song warns the Doctor of a Weeping Angel, creatures that cannot move when observed but otherwise can move incredibly fast, that the Byzantium was carrying. Dr. Song calls for Father Octavian and his troops to join her on the surface to recapture it before it becomes too powerful from the radiation leaked by the ship and to protect a large human colony on the planet. Dr. Song shows the Doctor and Amy a four-second loop of security footage of the Angel as the soldiers set up base camp. The Doctor and Song review a book written by a madman about the Angels which warns that any form of image of the Angels become Angels themselves. Simultaneously, Amy finds, when she looks away, the Angel from the footage moves and begins to emerge from the screen, further trapping her in the viewing room. As the Doctor and Song attempt to free Amy, Amy is able to freeze the image on a loop break, causing the Angel to disappear and saving herself. As the Doctor and Song verify Amy is safe, she continues to believe she has something in her eyes.

To access the Byzantium and locate the Angel, the group must travel through a “Maze of the Dead”, a stone labyrinth with numerous statues erected by the planet’s natives that the Angel could hide among. The group splits up, with some soldiers left to guard the entrance. As they explore, the Doctor and Song come to recall that the native species of the planet have two heads, while all the statues have one; they quickly realise that every statue is a Weeping Angel. Each is presently slower and weaker than the captured Angel due to lack of beings to consume over the centuries but they are now absorbing energy from the crashed ship; the Doctor surmises that the Angel purposely crashed the Byzantium to rescue its kind. As the group tries to escape, Amy believes her hand to have become stone and cannot move, but the Doctor points out that her perception has been influenced by the Angel, and she is still fine, allowing her to flee. The group soon finds that the Angels have killed their rear guard and are using their consciousness to speak to the Doctor. The Angels reveal they have lured the group in the trap at the highest point of the maze directly under the crashed ship, and are planning to use their essences to further regenerate. The Doctor threatens that the Angels should have never put him in the trap, and prepares the group to act once he fires at the globe of light providing the only illumination the maze; the episode ends on this cliffhanger.

This episode marks the return of both the extremely popular River Song character, played again by Alex Kingston, and arguably the most popular original monsters created since the programs revival, the Weeping Angels.Incidentally, both of these characters were created by new showrunner and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat.

River Song, first seen in Series 4’s two part episode Silence in the Library/ Forest of the Dead, is an archaeologist with some sort of past connection to the Doctor. She keeps a diary of her adventures with the Doctor, which is said to contain pictures of all of his various incarnations. She keeps meeting the Doctor in the wrong order. In this episode, she is working with Father Octavian to track down the last of the Weeping Angels on a ship called the Byzantium, which crashes on a planet.  But, there is more to River’s story that meets the eye. What is the secret she is hiding from the Doctor? Alex Kingston and Matt Smith have some great scenes in this episode, with river even FLYING THE TARDIS! The Doctor is afraid of River because she represents his future.

Also back in this two-parter are fan favorite monsters, the Weeping Angels. First introduced in Series 3’s Blink, which has been voted on of the most popular episodes of all time, the Weeping Angels appear as stone angel statues as long as you alooking at them. The instant you avert your gaze, they gain the ability to move. If they touch you, they transport you into the past and feed on the energy of the days you would have had. The Weeping Angels in Blink are scavengers, the ones we meet here are a bit deadlier.

This is also an episode that allows Karen Gillan to shine, as this episode has Amy playing a critical role in the overall plot. Karen perfectly embodies Amy’s fear as, in an absolutely amazing scene, a Weeping Angel jumps out of a recorded video playing on a screen. And, Amy’s slow descent into madness as the Angels mess with her head is very well acted. Also, the discourse between river Son and Amy is very entertaining, especially as it seems particularly unnerving to the Doctor.

The cliffhanger to this episode, with the Doctor surrounded on all sides, and firing a gun, sent shockwaves through the fan community. How does the Doctor get out of this one? We’ll all find out next episode. And I, for one can’t wait. This episode, while slow in parts, is another strong entry in this fantastic series.

The Time of Angels gets a 4 out of 5.

Next week, the Weeping Angels are on the march, Amy’s mind is under siege, River’s motives are revealed and the Doctor learns the origin of the cracks in time…all in 40 mins!

For more information on this or any other episodes, visit www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho or www.bbcamerica.com/doctorwho.

Here is a gallery of images from the episode. Click on an image to enlarge it.

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