Amy (is about to be) in Wonderland

Doctor Who Series 5 Episode 1: The Eleventh Hour

I don't usually write Doctor Who reviews since (i) so many people have done this and there is really nothing original I can add and (ii) this will take too much time. Instead of writing a coherent article I will just write down some random points.

• As usual Steven Moffat has a remarkable ability to turn everyday objects creepy. From stone statues in Blink, to cracks in the wall this time (by the way, there is plenty of that in my flat...), and invisible (or rather unnoticeable in this case) room in your very own house. Enough to scare any kid. This also taps directly into kids' terror, like the "monster under the bed" thing in The Girl in the Fireplace.

• At the same time, as the Grand Moff and many others have said so many times, it was indeed also very "fairytale", not just the story concept but also the visual effects and music.

• Moffat has created a complex character in Amy Pond; there is much more to analyse then her skirt length. Unlike most other stories, time travel is always an integral part of Moffat's plot, and it is "The Girl in the Fireplace" all over again. This time the little girl was disappointed by the doctor, and her personality was consequently shaped in subtle ways while she grew up, which are all very reasonable when you think about it, and gives a more natural explanation as to why she is willing to go with the doctor, comparing with previous companions (a kid believing in a time machine is much more plausible; and she waited 14 years...)

• The heart of little Amelia, though, was still inside the grown-up Amy. The doctor's return allowed Amy, and the viewers, to let out their "inner child" again. This is best summed up in the dialogue:
  

  "I grew up."
  "Don't worry, I'll soon fix that."

  Moffat is in fact the one who fixes this for every grown-up viewer!

• I was skeptical about Karen Gillan's acting, but it seems so far so good. The "then why did you say five minutes!" speech was quite powerful. And the girl who played young Amelia deserves special mention; her performance was so excellent it is hard to believe she had no prior acting experience.

• Murray's Gold's music for the episode is once again superb. (Sometimes you have to wonder why these people are working for the BBC; surely they are destined for bigger things?) From the scene where Amelia packed her little suitcase waiting the doctor to come back; to the TARDIS left Amy behind for the second time; to Amy finally walked into the new TARDIS; all are accompanied with little sequences of music that are exceedingly simple but very effectively conveys the emotion and that are also, once again, very fairytale, very Tim Burton, very Alice in wonderland (never in my life have I thought of writing these words in my blog! "Alice goes down a rabbit hole" is the first and last thing I know about it. I know the other Alice, the one who cryptographically communicates with Bob, better...)

• The alien plot was somewhat disappointing. Although many would say this is not the main point in this episode, one would expect Moffat to pull out something better than this, given the quality of all his previous contributions. Still, you never know; numerous mad conspiracy theories are already being rumoured, based on (quite reasonable) observations like contradictory signposts on which years the events happened and the crack pattern shown on the TARDIS console etc. In the past it was always fans reading too much into these, but this is Moffat, he never put things in for no reason. The "silence will fall" etc are far too straightforward, clearly Moffat is up for something more twisted than this?

• Nobody seem to question why this is called the eleventh hour? Even this makes sense, in three different ways at the same time!