Doctor Who (Series 6)

The sixth series of Doctor Who began again this evening, with a cast headed by Matt Smith. I didn't actually watch any of Series 5, bar the recent Christmas episode, generally because I kept forgetting it was on...and in part because I loved David Tennant as the Doctor as well.

This episode begins with the death of the Doctor (Matt Smith), whose wake is attended by companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), fellow time traveller River Song (Alex Kingston) and an old man named Canton Delaware III (William Morgan Sheppard). Although this seems like a rather morbid beginning, Amy, Rory and River soon discover a younger Doctor in a cafe. From there begins a journey back to 1969, the year of the moon landings, when Richard Nixon (Stuart Milligan) requires help solving a mystery of a young girl who keeps ringing him saying that she's scared of a spaceman.

First off this episode, written by Steven Moffat who also created Sherlock, was pretty dark, and pretty mature for the young audience that are typically viewed as Doctor Who's target age group. This was primarily due to the rather creepy monsters; reminiscent of the Ood from a couple of seasons ago, the person who sees them forgets about them as soon as they look away. Plus, the rather complicated plot involving a dead Doctor and an alive Doctor, could be a little complicated for young viewers. However, it's not without some humour; primarily around different forms of head ware and the opening sequence.

Matt Smith is different Doctor to David Tennant and Christopher Ecclestone, and is all the better for it. He's a awfully English doctor, right down to the bow-tie and he combines this with the same frenetic energy that makes the Doctor the Doctor; he's certainly a compelling screen presence. It also really proves his versatility, to think that he recently starred in Christopher & His Kind, and is playing a rather different role here. I also enjoyed Alex Kingston as a rather spunky older companion. To be honest, I'm yet to be convinced by Karen Gillan; to me she doesn't seem to have been cast for a reason other than a) being pretty and b) being able to look scared-but I will probably warm to her as the season progresses.

The only issue I had with this was that I worry that I missed out on some of the action because of my lack of seeing Series 5. I get the feeling that there are numerous themes that have been carried over that I didn't really understand, although I'm hoping they too will become clearer.

I think I'll definitely be trying to fit in Doctor Who on my Saturday nights from now on.