Hello there! I began watching 2005’s rebooted Doctor Who from the very first airing of the very first episode, at the impressionable age of nine years old. I’ve since rewatched various seasons at various times in my life, but with the arrival completion of season 11 and Jodie Whittaker I’ve decided to (perhaps belatedly) rewatch seasons 1-10, providing short reactions to each episode. I’ll make one post per season and, just a warning, full spoilers are inbound.
Back in 2011, season 6 was the first season in which Matt Smith truly won me over as a Doctor who was every bit as good as Tennant. Say what you want about the scripts, or how much sense they made, or how the direction they took with this series was bad, sure, we’ll agree to disagree. But in season 6 Matt Smith continued to build upon the Doctor’s image as an old and complex traveller, and I did like Moffat exploring the idea of a large (perhaps too large) time gap in the Doctor’s history between the start and the end of the season.
Episode Fishmas: A Christmas Carol
It gets a bit nippy out around Christmas
Without a doubt, the best non-vital Christmas special in the history of the show. Funnily enough, I don’t remember particularly enjoying this in my previous viewings, but holy hell did the ending hit home for me this time around. Michael Gambon played a fantastic Scrooge-like character, and Katherine Jenkins was brilliant as well, especially for her acting debut. And her voice is beautiful. Ah. Ahh! What a great modern take on a classic story.
Episode 1 and 2: The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon
That’s an awful lot of footprints for four people
A fantastic start to season 6, even if it is a lot of setup for another overly confusing and slightly nonsensical narrative arc. I’m having fun with this one though, I have very fond memories of this season. The Silence are a compelling villain, the episode starts with a legitimately great hook and the setting marks another increase in production value.
Episode 3: Curse of the Black Spot
WHAT IF AMY BUT PIRATE? HO HO, HIJINKS
I wasn’t looking forward to this episode because I remember it as being basically filler, but I actually really enjoyed it. It wasn’t overly ambitious or overly dull, but was instead a well thought out story which explained itself amicably and presented a unique take on an old myth. Maybe having a pirate who had “gunned down thousands of innocents” as a protagonist in the Doctor’s company was somewhat questionable, though.
Episode 4: The Doctor’s Wife
The sound effect for this chomp made me think she’d ripped his bleeding ear off
Bloody fantastic episode that touches on many of the things which are taken for granted as simply being the DNA of the show. For the first time ever (or at least in New Who) we’re treated to glimpses of other parts of the TARDIS, as well as touching on the trauma of being the last Time Lord in depth for the first time in Matt Smith’s run. There’s so many good moments here, such as Rory dying (as he does), House’s malevolence and the creation of the ragtag TARDIS. I also appreciated them providing an explanation behind the TARDIS always landing in adventurous situations.
Episode 5 and 6: The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People
All right, where are the horcruxes?
Ah, cloning ethics! For a sci-fi show that’s run as long as this one, it’s remarkable that it took them this long to make a story regarding cloning ethics. And as far as stories go, this one was alright. Two Doctors made for some fun scenes, and there were the usual cloning switcheroo shenanigans that I didn’t see coming in 2011 (but which made a second viewing very interesting). Interestingly, this story sees a break in tradition from usual Doctor Who seasonal structure, as it was created to be a lead-up to a big story in the show; the big story is usually the double-episode, not a single one, and what’s more, that episode is a sort of semi-finale before the show took a mid-season break.
Episode 7: A Good Man Goes to War
You got there, mate.
This pivotal episode begins explosively, and as being entirely too pleased with itself. And that would be a problem if that wasn’t exactly what this episode was created to address. The episode is built around the idea of the Doctor being this powerful, mythological thing who can make armies turn and run at a single word, which is what his character was honestly shaping up to be. But, spoilers, it turns out that an entire trap was built around this hubris, and on reflection that makes this episode rather fantastic. Plus we finally learn the identity of River Song, and while there’s a lot to be said about flaws in her character throughout the show, I’d be lying if I said that this reveal didn’t completely throw me (and the rest of the world) for a loop at the time. It’s the kind of reveal that couldn’t really occur on any other show, and I love it.
By the way, I think River’s reaction to Rory at the start of the episode is more about season 7 events than season 6 ones, and that’s a fantastic touch, too.
Episode 8: Let’s Kill Hitler
“Shut up, Dad, I’m focusing on a new dress size” have to be the worst words ever uttered before a regeneration. EVER.
Hmmkay. Mixed feelings about this one. After a successful bamboozling in the previous episode, it turns out we weren’t done quite yet and that there was even more to be revealed about Melody’s early life. But the way in which this is revealed leaves a lot to be desired. The reason episode 7’s reveal worked so well was because the foundations had been set since three seasons ago, but in this episode, “Mels” turns up out of the blue and we’re expected to believe that she’s Amy and Rory’s best friend, and has been for their entire lives. If she’d been introduced last season or even a few episodes ago this would have been amazing, but as it stands things felt… less than genuine.
The Teselecta was certainly an interesting concept, though.
Episode 9: Night Terrors
My least favourite character in the entire show, ech
Bleh, filler episode. I don’t have much to say about this one. It was alright? I wrote this description before and WordPress failed to save it, but it wasn’t much more detailed than this.
Episode 10: The Girl Who Waited
That age-up looks damn realistic
This episode uses the dynamics of time travel to create a truly tragic scenario that is performed expertly by all actors involved, and the work of the makeup artists in this episode is not to be sniffed at with their aged-up Amy. This was an episode that really allowed Rory to shine, and reinforces the strengths of Amy and Rory’s marriage.
Episode 11: The God Complex
Can’t say I blame you, Royston.
Without a doubt, one of the best episodes of Doctor Who there is. It follows the show’s formula to a tee – monster of the week, entertaining side characters, a mysterious setting and a unique science fiction plot, with opportunities to explore the characters and relationships of the main TARDIS crew in ways which ensures the episode’s strength as more than a simple short story. Plus, this is a pivotal episode in the larger narrative of the show as it marks the (first) departure of Amy and Rory from the Doctor’s life. I love the themes explored here, and the fact that it all makes logical sense. I could write an essay about this episode. Just… bravo.
Episode 12: Closing Time
Have you… changed your clothes at all in 200 years…?
Ah, no double-parter finale this time, though more on that later. This episode does serve as a lead-in though, and features a Doctor who’s lived nearly 200 years since we last saw him. Attempts to make him seem older are successful thanks to Matt Smith’s brilliant acting, and the scene where he sees Amy and Rory is made all the more poignant with the knowledge that this is his first time seeing them in an astonishingly long time.
As an episode in its own right, it’s great fun. Of all the characters to get a second story I’m glad Craig was chosen, as his dynamic with the Doctor lends itself to highly comedic situations. Plus, the terrestrial setting once again emphasised the Doctor as an alien being, albeit one whose eccentricities are typically viewed fondly by those around him.
I am a little confused as to the timeline, though. The Doctor mentions that his date of death is “tomorrow”, making this episode set in 2011. But Craig’s got a child already and his relationship is portrayed as being a few years old… but it’s feasible that this could all have happened since 2010. What’s always confused me about the show though, is that when the Doctor regenerated from Tennant to Smith, he must have gone 20~ years back in time as he crashed, for adult Amy to exist in 2010. But in the next season when he (spoilers) meets Amy and Rory again, time appears to have passed for them, meaning that those episodes can only take place in the near future. I’ll be keeping an eye out for any dates set during those episodes and call out any discrepancies which appear.
Episode 13: The Wedding of River Song
Ah Christ, again with the beard?
Alright. I remember being disappointed with this finale because it was too similar to last season’s finale (oh look time’s broken again) and because it felt squished into a 45 minute episode. But watching it back this time around… it was fine. Actually, I find myself impressed that they managed to fit as much in to a single episode as they did! What was I complaining about?
Man, I really hope I have this same change of heart for Capaldi’s era.
OH! Actually, I have a nitpick. When the Doctor gets shot, he’s shown as starting to regenerate. I’ve no doubt the Teselecta can reproduce that effect, but… as we’ll be exploring next season, the Doctor is in his final possible incarnation. But this, as well as numerous references to “no regeneration if I die this way” “regeneration disabled” etc from earlier in the season points to the fact that the Doctor having a limited number of regenerations is an old plot point from Classic Who that they only decided to pursue when season 7 rolled around. Which is a shame really, because they could have really built the last incarnation thing into Smith’s Doctor if they’d thought of it from the start. But hey, writers don’t have TARDISes.
Season 6 Summary
Yep, I still prefer season 6 to season 5. And while I’ve come around to understand why people dote on season 5 so much, I still don’t see why they hate on season 6. It had some of the best standalone episodes in the show, and the over-arcing narrative, while perhaps needlessly complex, is nothing worse than what occurs during season 5’s finale. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that a lot of this season revolves around River Song, and I can kinda see that.
River Song is a problematic character in a few different ways. Firstly, as a character, she is the ambitious concept of attempting to tell a story in reverse, with some exceptions. While this initially makes her sufficiently mysterious, it eventually adds up to inconsistencies and false expectations as the years go by. Secondly, as a woman, she is entirely too infatuated with the Doctor, coming across more as his gloating number-1 fan than the femme fatale she is so obviously intended to be. And yet, I don’t dislike her. Despite these issues, I find them easy to overlook because… I don’t know, does there have to be an academic reason? I just enjoy the show.
Now, once again, all of our characters have their lives intact and are very much not dead, so erm… onwards, to Amy and Rory totally being fine and persisting throughout all of season 7!!!
Perpetually Perturbed 