Re-watched this recently with a friend to introduce her to DW. Her boyfriend and I are on a mission here.

Man, this was my first episode all those years ago! My Doctor! I’ll try to be critical, but honestly, how can I when this is why I’m even here in the first place? 

This is such a good intro episode to the show. The plot is quite simple, but already plays with the key elements of the show, aliens and time travel (of course). Prisoner Zero is not really menacing as a villain (does it even do anything harmful to anyone?), but the Atraxi threat is clear and appropriately high stakes. But that’s not really the important thing here, is it?

Matt Smith (and Steven Moffat, the new showrunner) had gigantic, immense shoes to fill. David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor was an icon, there’s no way to deny it. His last episodes were a big, emotional farewell not only to Ten, but to the whole RTD era. Looking back, I can help but feel like they overdid it with the drama of Ten’s regeneration. I mean, he goes through the stages of grief for like half an hour of television, and his “I don’t wanna go” tells us he doesn’t quite reach acceptance. That probably made Matt’s and Moffat’s work here harder than it had to be, as the new men who were “sauntering away” with the Doctor and the show. But yeah, DT was a tough act to follow: a fantastic actor with huge charisma. Matt Smith does not have huge charisma. He is, and I believe this can be scientifically proven, the source of all charisma in the universe. I really think it’s impossible to not like this guy within 30 seconds of seeing him. And he’s also a fantastic actor. Eleven, much like Ten, has a motormouth, but his performance still manages to keep the dialogue grounded and interesting. The whole way he moves is just fascinating to watch. He talks with his hands, he’s never still. I’ve seen it pointed out that he never just turns left or right, he spins 270 degrees, and that’s true! Oh, and he can deliver badass Doctor veeeery well. Ten was usually either silent, cold fury or yelling outrage; Eleven is more boastful, more prone to big speeches, to open-armed “come and get me” stances. His speech to the Atraxi in this episode already shows it. I remember when I first watched it. The combination of the outfit reveal (another hit), Murray’s ICONIC “I’m the Doctor” (best Doctor theme, no contest), and his delivery of “I am the Doctor. Basically, run” gave me honest to God goosebumps. And didn’t even properly grasp the context of what was happening there, because it was my first ever episode! Apart from the ditzyness, motormouth, “uncoolness”, and unexpected authority, the rest of Eleven’s main traits don’t show up yet, but that’s fine. It is only a 45min episode after all, and he has a whole series ahead of him.

Getting the companion right on the first episode was also important. Our last companion was powerhouse Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, after all. But Amy was also an instant hit. A little girl praying to Santa to help her with the crack in her wall? Loved that. From the start we see that she’s clever, resourceful, rebellious, and brave. And then comes Karen Gillan, and gives us a perfect grown up version of her who is still all those things, but also without purpose or prospects, seemingly settling for the uncomplicated childhood friend Rory more due to inertia than true love (at this point in time, of course!). So when adventure presents itself in the form of her long lost “imaginary friend”, she confronts him for abandoning her, yes, but of course she goes with him. As another reviewer said, we could have done without the kissogram aspect, although Amy is consistently a very flirty character.

Okay, Doctor is check, Amy is check. The last thing they had to nail is their chemistry. Tennant and Tate worked so well together that they’re friends to this day. Could Matt and Karen match that energy? Yes. Yes, they could, and they did.

I wrote too much already, but yeah, in the end, this episode and everything it represents have a very special place in my heart, and I don’t think it’s nostalgia talking. Hat’s off to Moffat. He really hit a homerun on the start of his reign as showrunner by showing solid and fun characters with a solid and fun story, with a great cast to back it up. 

I will be as honest as I can: this is not an ideal episode of Doctor Who. But it was one of the first episodes I ever watched. And I love it for it. Nothing too special, simple premise, but a really good time (and also really effective Clean Break for new Whovians). And... Yes... My review is shamelessly written for the sake of getting the new badge! Although I truly rewatched it, don't think I'm trying to fool you

I thought this episode was boring as sin when I was a kid and 11 was my favorite doctor based on cultural osmosis alone.

'How do you begin a new era of a popular TV show when it has just seen arguably its most popular lead actor go?'

That was the question Steven Moffat was faced with for The Eleventh Hour. You would think it would be a challenge to introduce not only a new Doctor and companion in a single episode but an entirely new era too. Yet Moffat does it effortlessly.

The plot is relatively straightforward compared to previous Doctor Who stories (and of course the majority of Steven Moffat's future ones) but with so many new elements to the series to introduce, it had to be. The most complicated it gets is The Doctor (Matt Smith) meeting Amy (Karen Gillan) first as a child, returning 12 years later and eventually picking her up as a companion two years after that. Otherwise, the plot is basically an alien convict resembling a snake has escaped from a crack in Amy's wall and intergalactic police the Atraxi (think a giant eyeball and you're correct) are prepared to incinerate the Earth if they don't find him. In order to blend in, Prisoner Zero takes on the form of various coma patients however Amy's boyfriend Rory (Arthur Darvill) is a nurse at the local hospital and alerts the Doctor and Amy about it. This is probably the most simplistic a Moffat story gets and it helps considerably to introduce this new Doctor and companion.

This is such a great introduction story to a new era that arguably it's as good as the excellent Rose by Russell T Davies - and believe me, to have as good an introduction as Rose is going something. It feels like we've always known Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as the Doctor and Amy; both or them slip into their parts immediately.

Matt Smith is so good, in fact, that he has his defining Doctor moment in his very first episode. There's this wonderful scene where the Atraxi shows the Doctor's incarnations in order scanning at the Doctor's request on whether the Earth is protected...and he steps through and says just four words.

'Hello, I'm the Doctor'

Immediately, you know who this Doctor is. It is only beaten in terms of the Matt Smith Era by another moment later on in series 5 known as the 'Pandorica speech'. The thing is, Matt Smith was so great here that I was disappointed when he didn't seem as comfortable in the following episode The Beast Below. In fact, his performance in series 5 never quite reached the heights of how he played the Doctor here. I feel he was better in series 6 and 7 overall but I suppose that's to be expected considering he would have been more comfortable in the part by then.

As for Karen Gillan, she sold me straight away as the feisty Amy Pond. Her no nonsense approach is brilliant, especially when she traps the Doctor's tie in a car door or wracks him over the head with a cricket bat. She quickly became my favourite companion for a while until the excellent Jenna Coleman came along as Oswin/Victorian Clara/Clara.

Oh, and I can't write this review without mentioning Caitlin Blackwood. I'm sure many fellow Whovians will agree with me when I say she is without a doubt the best child actor they have ever had in the show. She's a smart casting choice, looking exactly like a young Karen Gillan (helps that they are cousins, of course) and also coming across incredibly believable in the part to the point where you wouldn't mind if she ended up playing the new companion rather than Karen Gillan.

Overall, The Eleventh Hour is exactly how to do an era introduction story with fantastic acting from the new stars of the show and a brilliant simplistic plot from Steven Moffat that was just what this episode needed.

The Eleventh Hour, Spearhead from Space and Power of the Daleks are the clear frontrunners for "best debut story" across the (currently) 13 Doctors. But as this is the story that caught me at the tender age of 17, this is the one I have the most powerful connection to. I teared up a couple of times on my most recent viewing - it had the biggest emotional impact of anything from the marathon so far. So much praise needs to be heaped on Adam Smith for his direction of this story. Bar from Skins, then a couple of Doctor Who credits, his CV is fairly minimal. How that could be based on the monumental introduction to Matt Smith's Doctor is beyond me.

Matt Smith, Karen Gillen and Arthur Darvill just work. Inspired casting. Steven Moffat's trick with the time jumps adds a sentimental longing to story which gives it an spooky fairy-tale vibe.* Amy, the girl who waited, twice. And now she's waited long enough. The scenes with child Amelia are so sweet, so perfectly acted, and a great introduction to the new Doctor. You can see the instant connection between the two characters, then the psychological impact that being left behind has on Amy . And how the impact of having to live up to the whirlwind presence of the Raggedy Doctor impacted Rory.

Plot wise proceedings are thin but it doesn't matter in the slightest. You have to introduce two new companions, a new Doctor and the re-energised tone of the show. The future of the show has never looked so bright, so hopeful.

The only thing I'd change in 2023 is the "kiss-o-gram" theme. I'd have had Amy in "fancy dress" when she is reintroduced to The Doctor. Having Karen Gillian in a short skirt is one thing, but then immediately sexualise her on arrival as an adult is a bit icky. The flaw in the Persian rug.

*I know Moffat said the whole "fairy-tale" tag was just nonsense branding, but I think he is wrong. Series 5 is a fairy-tale through and through. So there