On First View: Series 5
Guest contributor Ruth Long shares her first viewing experiences on the 2010 series.
Until recently, I’d never seen Series 5. I’d heard great things about the 11th Doctor’s debut adventures: heralded by many as one of the finest runs since the revival, the story tight, the characters lovable, the writing stellar. Despite this, for reasons that are beyond me, I never took the time to watch it. After years of having only a casual interest in the show, I became fully immersed in Doctor Who and its universe back when Series 7B was just about to air on television. Thus, Steven Moffat’s first jaunt as show-runner was a complete mystery to me. Two years on, I decided that it was about time this was remedied.
Spoilers: I wasn’t disappointed.
The Raggedy Doctor
Having enjoyed the Series 7B and the specials that followed in 2013, I was no stranger to Matt’s Doctor. At that point in time though, he had been in the role for a number of years; fully established and loved by the audience. Seeing his beginning as the 11th incarnation was fascinating to watch, but more importantly, it allowed me to truly appreciate the brilliance of his character.
I’ll start off with what goes without saying: Smith’s acting was phenomenal throughout. Within minutes of popping out of his crashed TARDIS he had already begun to make the role his own. His delivery as the Doctor is breathlessly fast, lively and quirky, with a slightly eccentric edge that makes for some excellent humor; especially the frequent expressions of bemusement he invokes. Furthermore, he manages to maintain the Doctor’s unbelievable intelligence and concurrent tendency to miss the really obvious.
However, this youthful, silly demeanor juxtaposes a fundamental air of age and world-weariness. Funnily enough, almost more than any other the 11th Doctor feels truly ancient; perhaps because of the clear contrast that exists between the outward and inward. His disarming manner and approachable appearance is also punctuated at times by moments of rage and ferocity that I found genuinely alarming. He’s fun, energetic and compassionate, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.
Come Along, Pond
Before seeing Series 5, I’d equate my knowledge and opinion of Amy Pond, Rory Williams and River Song to that of mutual friends I’d heard amazing things about but never properly met. Fortunately, all three managed to exceed the expectations set by such extensive praise, especially when it comes to the incredible performances from Karen, Arthur and Alex.
Amy is gutsy, brave and adventurous, with an amusing helping of Scottish dry wit. She’s also a character with clear vulnerabilities: the loneliness born of growing up in an empty house, and the cynicism and fear of abandonment owed to a life of waiting for the Doctor. Yet she still possesses that remarkable, near-indefinable quality present in all great companions: the profound insight that pushes the Doctor to ‘be better’, that finds another way in the face of an impossible situation, that looks beyond the superficial and delves deep into the hearts of humans an aliens alike.
Rory too, though at first he might seem like a peripheral to Amy, the ‘bumbling boyfriend’ who can’t quite compete with a Time Lord, comes into his own as a selfless, perceptive and courageous member of the TARDIS team. Something quite special about his character is his ability to observe things that many companions (particularly the likes of Rose, Amy and the current companion – whose name escapes me) easily overlook. On a number of occasions he calls the Doctor out on the dangerous influence he can have on the people who travel with him.
Rory’s absolute devotion to his soon-to-be wife (and visa versa) is also incredibly moving, and the relationship between the two feels very believable. In fact, the whole ‘team’, or to use a more appropriate term, ‘family’ dynamic between The Doctor, Amy, Rory and at times River is brilliantly utilized. Speaking of River, her role is considerably less complicated than in the series that follows, but she still proves to be an invaluable part of the story. She’s wonderfully cheeky, badass and tantalizingly enigmatic.
Cracks in Time
Without a doubt, Series 5 has the most cohesive, well-written and effectively paid-off arc that I’ve seen in the show. Not only did it quickly and effectively introduce the concept of the cracks, but as each episode progressed it was an ever present, looming threat; expertly woven into the overall narrative. Furthermore, it wasn’t a passive menace. In contrast to something in the vein of Series 8’s ‘Heaven’ plot, where our leads were barely aware of it until the finale (one could argue that the real arc there was almost entirely character based), here it regularly made its presence known, and worked actively as a sinister, haunting omen of what was to come.
Continuity is something I really appreciate in a series; it enhances one’s immersion in a story when events or details of the past (and indeed the future) are mentioned where relevant, and not jarringly ignored (*cough* most of Series 7B *cough*). Series 5 does this wonderfully. Like a finely crafted (if immensely complicated) jumper, the narrative is knitted together to form a plot which nods to what came before whilst hinting at mysteries to come. You are thus left with a series that feels immensely satisfying to watch.
This is exemplified in the stunning finale. ‘The Pandorica Opens’ begins with revisiting characters and locations from earlier episodes; effectively building up the scale of the unseen dangers the Doctor and his friends are about to face. Then in ‘The Big Bang’ we return to previous moments seen and unseen; including an especially clever conversation in ‘Flesh and Stone’, which at the time seemed rather out of place, but beautifully comes together as the true context is revealed to us. This is Steven Moffat’s genius at its very best.
Favourites
Quite honestly, there wasn’t an episode I didn’t enjoy in this series. Of course I preferred some of them to others, but it’s a testament to their quality that the whole run was so consistently impressive.
My favorites included ‘The Lodger’: entertaining and brimming with heart, it flourished under a fantastic script by Gareth Roberts and some charming performances by Matt Smith and James Corden. It also had a cat, so additional brownie points there. ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ was a beautiful, poignant piece that handled its themes and characters with a real maturity and sensitivity, whilst simultaneously providing a compelling ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. The devilishly smart, character-driven episode ‘Amy’s Choice’ played on an intriguing premise that was used to full effect. Full of twists and turns it succeeded in confusing both the viewer and our main trio alike.
And how can I not discuss ‘The Eleventh Hour’? An exhilarating, explosive and exciting introduction that successfully handles the challenge of being a series opener, Doctor and companion debut rolled into one; all whilst masterfully establishing the ‘fairy tale’ tone synonymous with the Smith era. The touching tale of Amelia Pond and her raggedy Doctor soon proves to be the linchpin of the entire series (and beyond); the finale’s resolution (and later Amy’s farewell) coming back to the events of this pivotal episode.
In addition to their function as an excellent culmination of the Series 5 arc, ‘The Pandorica Opens’ and ‘The Big Bang’ are incredible episodes in their own right. Not least because of the intense three-way cliffhanger that leaves each of the main characters in an impossible, seemingly inescapable situation. Fortunately with the help of a vortex manipulator, young Amelia and some clever timey-wimeyness the universe and everyone in it is saved, the Doctor himself rescued by the powerful memories of the girl who waited for him.
To Conclude
Series 5 is a complete package. Its unwavering excellence is ingeniously constructed into a 13 episode adventure that gets everything it needs to just right. Is it perfect? No, but to be honest, my attempts at finding significant flaws amounted to little more than nitpicking. There are weaker stories, and I don’t think it quite reached the pinnacle of characterization present in the most recent series, but it still excels in so many ways. It’s a fantastic showcase of Doctor Who storytelling, and its strong plot sets a standard that I hope will be met again in Series 9. Safe to say, I absolutely loved it, and I’m immensely glad that I finally got to see it.
Oh, and let’s not forget the real reason this series is so great…
