Picnic at Asgard

Beware the spoilers. A quick one today lads! 3/5

At first, I found this story a little dull and did not enjoy the writing style, but as I progressed through, its disapproval of capitalist greed for profits over people and its engagement with a key moral quandry (to close the park, or to not close the park - which would protect/help more people? The classic greater good dilemna) captivated me. However, it rather lost me once more at the end with the person behind the trouble being revealed to be - what a shock! - that one moody teen we met earlier. Cliche and too simple -a real let-down.

I also felt like the story could have revolved a little more around River's decision over whether or not to start a family - I was promised River Song stories, and instead, this felt like a story with River in, and then the whole "to-have-a-child-or-to-not-have-a-child" part tacked on. It was an interesting idea that fell flat in the execution. On the other hand, the tension with the Doctor not being what River needed him to be for the serious conversations and her not being able to communicate that with him was done well. Also, there were a couple moments towards the end with the meditations on the responsibility and *magic* of having a child, and the possibility that the Doctor was already a father, had kids, no longer had kids, lost his kids... that did make me shed a tear.

If that level of engagement with the big questions and exploration of the premise of the Doctor (and of the Doctor and River's relationship) had been present more consistently throughout the story, I would rate it much higher than a 3/5, for it certainly had potential.