DW: 6.9

So, what ghosts was Mark Gatiss trying to exorcise? Of course, I spent a lot of time thinking "hey, it's that guy from Ashes to Ashes."

Confirm something for me: it is immediately obvious they are in a doll house, right? I jumped straight there when I saw them wake up, so were they trying to make it a surprise? We all saw the doll house in there when the cupboard was opened, and the Doctor is quick to elucidate the point as a throw away moment, but... was it something that was designed to confuse people? Was anyone confused? Other reviews will tell...

As spooky stories go, it was quite good. Nice direction meant that some moments, such as the build-up to the first doll reveal, worked really well, creating a nice tense atmosphere. However, I completely gave up on any worries as soon as Amy became a doll (to give Karen more time to film the next episode?), because we all know the companion will be safe, thus everyone will be brought back to normal. It's getting so it's rare that everybody doesn't live, and even these kid focused episodes could do with a decent killing or two.

And how about that kid, huh? I've yet to watch Confidential, but I'm guessing they'll gush over how good he was. Certainly didn't have to bother with a lot of lines to learn, but again the director did a good job of getting a good performance out of him. [Hmm... google... Richard Clark! Well done that man, hire him again!]

Of course, having a kid, one is reminded of Fear Her, only this was far better. I'm not going to rate this the best episode of the series, but... it's up high on the list.


Next time: Doctor-less?

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