In one word: brilliant.
Since many won’t have seen it yet – this review will be very light on the spoilers. It’s a roller coaster ride of an episode – which we’ve come to expect from Doctor Who. However, it’s all completely different.
I’ll admit that when I heard the plot synopsis of the episode – something involving the Doctor saving the world in 20 minutes – I rolled my eyes and thought “just like very other damn episode.” Far from it.
He’s never saved the world like this before and it was brilliant. The basic plot point is that our Doctor has just regenerated and he stumbles into Amy Pond’s back garden when she’s a child. I won’t give away more than that but it comes down to the Doctor finding an alien prisoner before the Earth gets incinerated.
The Doctor runs around manically – as we’ve gotten used to – he’s still a little unsure of himself as he’s not yet comfortable in his own skin. But he quickly gains his composure for the task at hand.
The verdict on Matt Smith?
He’s an EXCELLENT Doctor. It was always going to be a crapshoot replacing the brilliant David Tennant – but Matt is a perfectly able replacement and I really look forward to seeing him grow in to the role. My lovely wife, who is still mourning the loss of David, initially refused to even consider watching a new Doctor – but I got her to watch the 11th Hour with me. She did not hate him and will give him a few more episodes – so that’s encouraging.
The verdict on Karen Gillan?
I’m in love. She’s brilliant, feisty, beautiful, smart… I cannot wait to see what the writer’s have in store for her. Though I’d watch her act out the phonebook. Very excited to see the launching of her career and seeing where it takes her. I love the village she lives in and the people she knows – quite a change from the Council Estate… And that Scottish Accent. Oh man.
The New Tardis set is cool – but we really don’t get that much of a look at it. The Doctor spends most of the episode saving the world without his Tardis – which is brilliant in itself.
Matt Smith, Stephen Moffat and Karen Gillan all lived up to the hype. Let’s hope they can sustain it and I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the series.
Author Info - Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis. He keeps Anglotopia running in his spare time, always dreaming of his next trip to England, wishing he lived there - specifically Dorset - and is always trying to figure out a way to move to England. It will happen one day. Keep up with him on Twitter here. Read more from this author
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dream of living in the UK a reality.
I think this episode was amazingly Good. Very different, but still maintains the feel and look of the classic series and the david tennant and christopher elecceston era. I hope alot of people watched it, and loved it, as i did.
Brilliant review, i just watched the episode myself as a dutch fan (we still get bbc in holland for free) and i loved it. I myself also was scared nobody could ever replace David, but watching matt taking the part of the Dr there was just one word and you said it: “Brilliant”
Overall liked it, Amelia Pond, brilliant (same name as my niece). New title sequence looks great, BUT THE MUSIC!?!? what have they done to it, its rubbish.
Matt Smith BRILLIANT! Brilliant aspect of the Dr, great delivery and mix of wise and kooky.
Little girl was good, as was the woman who used to be in “One Foot in the grave”.
Plot was promising but I lost context due to Karen Gillan mumbling her lines. Before anyone thinks i’m anti-Scottish, I’m not, my wife is Scottish but speaks clearly. I really believe Gillan was hired on how she looked in a mini skirt ’cause so far she has little emotion / acting going on.
The lived in look of the TARDIS in Davies’ era was realistic whereas this new shiny, metallic expanse was so alien it’s alienated me. It is exactly the kind of clinical look that put me off the Baker – McCoy eras and Star Trek.
Due to Smith’s greatness I will continue watching next week, hoping that his mumbling assistant is disposed of in a shock storyline along with the morgue-style TARDIS and a true actress / actor replaces her. Gillan, Stick to flashing your knickers in modelling.
am i the only person who thinks they saw David Tennant in the series preview? prosthetic makeup to make him look older. im sure twas him it was the eyes i think i recognised?
I don’t hate him. I’m still making my tshirt that says “He’s not MY Doctor.” I’d like to see him with just a touch more oomph into some of his lines, so I really believe he’s a madman with a box and that aliens who mess with earth should fear him. But he made me laugh when he was trying the food, and there was a little hop over a chain in the park or something that was a tiny thing, but it was one tiny thing that gave me a clue to the new Doctor’s personality.
It just so happened I was in UK at the time of the episode – or else I would’ve had to wait TOO long for it! I was a bit nervous about what Matt Smith would bring – David Tennant is definitely my favorite still, but Matt Smith did make a good start. I think the episode was average, leaning on great but it was an excellent episode to start with! As for the companion so far she’s impressive but will she live up to Rose, Martha and Donna? They left pretty big shoes to fill.
I was presently surprised with Matt Smith’s performance of the Doctor. It was much better than I envisaged it would be. I would certainly give Karen Gillan more time to grow into the role, after all, it is only the first episode.
There were some similarities with Jon Pertwee’s first outing as the Doctor in the first episode of ‘Spearhead in Space’ (The Auton invasion of the Earth). In that episode, the Doctor had recently regenerated and was struggling with his new regeneration. There was also a main scene around a hospital where the Doctor stole clothing belonging to others. Matt Smith even looks a little like Jon Pertwee (if you look carefully, you will see what I mean).
I actually liked the new Tardis look, but wasn’t thrilled with the music. Let’s hope strong storylines for the coming episodes make up for this.
I am looking forward to the Weeping Angels, Daleks, Cybermen etc (will the Master return – I’m not sure?)
Looking forward to next week.
Howard Gough
I thought the whole episode was brilliantly woven to create a delicious storyline (more delicious than fishfingers and custard, anyway!) Mat Smith’s debut couldn’t have been more different and perfect for the Doctors new character. Especially when finding his outfit (but for those who haven’t watched it yet I will keep quiet about that part).
The companion is feisty and seemingly less ‘Damzel in distressish’ but then again, it was set on earth and it is the first episode. However I loved her attitude towards everything and I adore the fact she’s Scottish, because that attributes to her brilliant attitude (along with the beautiful fiery red hair of course)
Overall, brilliant TV and a wonderful introduction to the new ‘Who’ reign of writing genius Steven Moffat. It really gives us an insight to his style and I see how it differs from the always amazing RTD.
Great Dr and new companion. This episode started off well, with a welcome slowing down of pace for a change; but then got too manic for its own good and tried to cram in too much in a short amoount of time. Most of the Drs opening stories have been mediocre anyway, so nothing new there. Amy’s boyfriend was a plank. A truly irritating waste of screen space. No more characters like that please, Mr Moffat.
As for Matt Smith; well he’s brilliant as the DR and knocks the socks off the two previous imposters.
I was very happy with Mr. Smith’s portrayal of The Doctor. I was less enthused about the new theme music. I can only hope it is temporary.
England here. Just a quick line to say that at last Doctor Who has arrived. Having worked in Film and TV extensively in the UK, including with Russell and Chris Eccleston on many a drama I will always have a soft spot for the very first ‘new’ season. However though I got used to Tennant I never did get over the disappoint of Eccleston lasting one season only. Especially as it is obvious in the first episode Rose, that Eccleston has just regenerated from McGann (watch it..he makes some comment about his appearance to Rose). Though there were some great Tennant Episodes: Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Waters Of Mars, there were too many melodramatic, corny ones. The whole season with Martha, especially the Master..very poor. I never liked Russell’s big big story arc style where everything linked into one another. Nor did I like the parallel universe idea. It felt too American (sorry guys and gals..I love shows like Life and Madmen by the way). In the UK Russell worked alot with a production company called RED productions who made Queer As Folk, Clocking Off, Linda Green etc. I just felt that Dr Who was becoming like those dramas, it was more Russell’s slant on Dr Who. Now however it is BBC’s Dr Who once again. Lets hope for some great stories to match, Talons, genesis of the daleks, Pyramids of Mars etc.
Mr. Moffat was the only shining light of the new series, so I am very much looking forward to see in what direction he takes Who. I hope we get a better Master (they need to go back and watch some Roger Delgado for inspiration).
My verdict??? I felt that the lines were originally written for Tennant’s Doctor then altered a little to fit, the Doctor seems very wordy but somehow that doesn’t fit his look. I thought that the actors did well to find their niche but found the script had a bit too much OBVIOUS stuff in it. Oh boy, how many of us had already guessed that she was getting married BEFORE the wedding dress panned into shot (yawn – not again!)! So, the “Silence” is this years story arc is it – try to be a little bit more subtle scriptwriters. The adult jokes were a wee bit too adult for family tv, but were funny all the same…. I love Who, and thought Matt did well, and was a bit 2nd Doctorish so that was great, but unlike others here I can’t forget David Tennant who won my heart after a couple of minutes, with Matt it may be six or seven episodes….I just hope that the writing improves!! Oh, not keen on theme, graphics, TARDIS, it was all “new brush sweeps TOO clean” for me. Moffatt has made his mark firmly, but a bit too firmly for me….sorry folks!
Tennant too won my heart within a few minuets, he was truly brilliant. I loved the episode but it will take a LONG time before I am used to him and I may never think of him as the true Doctor- this is why. I am a DROSE shipper, so hey, I am always going to be a harsh critic on anyone but 10 or Rose but though he was great, I thought that he was a slightly faded copy of tennant, simply because of the lines and his mannerisms. I thought the jokes were funny, but too old for family tv and the were a lot of obvious facts that everyone but the newborn baby in the corner had already guessed. However I was pleasantly surprised by Matt Smith. Karen Gillan… she is beautiful, a great actor, and the show has potential. Rubbish tardis, rubbish music, rubbish titles and EVIL sonic screwdriver.
Since David Tennant left I wasn’t going to bother watching the new episode with Matt Smith, but I did and I wish I didn’t
It was boring and predictable, Oh no the worlds going to end in 20mins
I’m the doctor of courses I’ll save planet earth!…for the hundred time
Matt Smith over played his role of the doctor too much and i felt like he was trying to be alot like the previous doctor, he was to excitted about everything, nothing about it was interesting, I kept watching hopeing that it might just get better, but it didn’t, not for me anyway, I mean Russell T Davis is a brilliant writer/producer and I’ve loved all the previous series but this episode sucks and it looks like the rest of the series will fail too, I mean being back all the old monsters? sure the cyberman are great as are dalaks but not in every series! it gets so boring, and you know in the end everything will be fine, as it always is. At the start of the episode when the docter was falling out of his TARDIS i was thinking, It’d be so cool if he actually fall out and died
I liked Matt, but he was really let down by a terrible script and a Director with a desire to just make changes for change sake!
1) The Music was terrible.
2) The Script was a dumbed down version of what I have become use to.
3) The whole “Lets get younger viewers idea” was terrible. As I feared, and because Matt is so young they decided to make him Crow his greatness way too much, something that the old Doctor did only when he was truly brilliant.
4) The Scene with the Aliens at the End was just Childish and Dumb, their reaction to the Doctor was the kind of thing that gets my 10 year old pumped up but was just very cartoon like to me.
Overal I will keep watching because Matt does have potential but if the scripts are going to be written at this level I think most fans interest will diminish and the craptastic new tardis look and terrible sound track are not going to help.
There’s a clip out there of the Doctor facing some vampires which is pretty good. I want to see more of that goony in the face of danger side than the “I have to make a big speech because I’m still the defender of Earth” side.
I think that matt smiths first outing as the doctor was a hit . I dont think he’ll replce tennant but i think he was quite immpresive . Now on to the companion shes beautiful a great actress and over all i think she will go far. My personal opinion is that doctor who had become a little bit rubbish when russel t davies was producing it (near the end of the tenth docs run only though) but i think it will be better than ever with steven moffat at the helm .
I thought the episode on the whole was not one of the best but was pleasantly surprised by Matt Smith. I had decided to keep an open mind and was glad I did. Am looking forward to seeing where they rake him.
At the moment am not a fan of the new companion, but will keep watching and see if she grows on me. I at first thought they were insane bringing in Catherine Tate but Donna became possibly my favourite companion ever, and I have been watching the series since the 70s. So my initial reaction to this new one I will curb for the time being!
And I actually love the new design of the tardis, wasn’t particularly fond of the old one.
i think the story was brilliant. i didnt think the new doctor could live up to the bench mark that david made but i was willing to give him a go. i was actually suprised at how well he acted but he does need to put abit more oomph into his lines. the only part that i dont get is why the ep is called eleventh hour? theres nothing relating to the eleventh hour in the ep at all so im dumbfounded can someone please tell me? and as for the new tardis it looks okay but i dont really liek how spread out it all is and how it also isnt a circle liek davids tardis. but over all epic first episode for matt smith.
It’s a play of words…he’s the 11th Doctor, and the ep is an hour long, so…
The term 11th hour refers to something that needs to be done quickly before time runs out. Which is of course what the whole episode is about, he’s got 20 minutes before the world ends and has to mad dash to the finish line. Also it’s a nice play on the fact that he’s the 11th Doctor.
Very poor in my eyes. Came back expecting that Moffat may raise the game but was highly disappointed.
While Matt Smith gave a credible performance it did just seem like and extension of Tennant – feels very much like a ‘that was a success, let’s stick with it’ type arrangement as opposed to actually taking the docotr in a new direction like they did with Eccleston (who I still wish we’d seen more of to this day!)
The storyline was a joke – and a bad one at that. The monster was poorly designed (why on earth did we never see it’s rear end – how could it have existed if there was not a ceiling above it?!) and while it had a degree of menace, it never really felt like a threat to anyone. The fact that ‘the whole world’ was in danger just exploded the scope unsuccessfully as well – Dr. Who works much better when it focuses on isolated incidents, as opposed to working beyond its limitations and attempting to be epic when it has neither the budget nor the scriptwriters to achieve this. There were a lot of pointless annoying characters – the boyfriend, the ‘handsome’ porn viewer…really did not get why they were written in.
The actual solution to the jeopardy was ridiculous as well and made no sense (the whole virus being transported instantaneously around the world by some bloke in his bedroom with a laptop) – I understand a certain level of disbelief is needed for sci-fi but the plot line here was just beyond fathomable. Are we to believe that satellites would not have picked up a load of orbiting crystal eyeball ships?
Karen Gillan was brilliant – probably the best thing to come out of the episode
i luv doctor who it is so cooland now an eleventh doctor genius but i miss david tennint