DW: 6.4

Not sure about that title. Sets up certain expectations that aren't entirely delivered by the episode. Technically correct in a way, but... so, was that Neil or Steven who came up with it?

Would be interested to know how much Neil came up the ideas, and how much Steven inserted. Certainly Neil's Babylon 5 script was linked in heavily with the rest of the series... although, again, how much influenced by JMS? While I'm sure Neil was more than slightly interested in Doctor Who, enough to shove in the babble about outside the universe? Use an Ood? Certainly the idea of making a human being type of thing out of the TARDIS isn't an entirely original idea (I had it!), but clearly Neil does his own thing with it. (And there is certainly Steven inserted moments, with that reference to a river (or rather River?) in the forest...)

Anyway, thinking of the episode itself... the Doctor is trapped and someone nicks the TARDIS... huh... Neil spins that out to an episode in a fantastic way that eats up time before you realise (although the last few minutes slow down a lot). And we finally see the inside of the TARDIS, and it's... a small stretch of corridor that's shoot again and again and again... um... not that exciting. We get tempted with 'delete those rooms', but what rooms? The closest we've seen to another room was in a computer game! And several moments in the trailer finally come to fruition, but as they are from the end of the episode, kinds spoils it if you remember them.

Michael Sheen has a lovely voice, doesn't he? And Suranne Jones gives a wonderful performance as Helena Bonham Carter. Her and Matt give an amazingly moving performance at the end (although the Doctor should have totally called her 'sexy' one last time). It says a lot for Rory that Arthur Darvill only really gets something to act to when doing his 'old man' bit.

This is an episode that will be very re-watchable, although I think more for the fans than the 'norms'.


Next week: looks like it might start explaining some of the arc elements...

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