The Eleventh Hour

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