Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut (A Review)

Early yesterday evening the first episode in the sixth series of Doctor Who aired on BBC1 - The Impossible Astronaut - the first of a two-parter...

Last night's episode of Doctor Who, TIA, made me emit so many audible gasps one could be forgiven for thinking I was having serious trouble breathing. The Silents/Silence literally had me whimpering - in fact, if my sofa wasn't right up against the wall, I would have been well and truly behind it!

The comedy and the dark elements of the episode felt well-balanced. The episodes opening sequence - scenes of the Doctor (Matt Smith) drawing attention to himself through history - made me chuckle, but the apparent significance of the sequence wasn't lost, even if I'm still not entirely sure of the significance of everything that happened.

As for the darker elements of the episode - The Silence - were very creepy. Seeing this alien for the first time was a real treat as they did look intense; but, like every great Doctor Who monster, it's the psychology of the way this Who villain affects the Doctor, his companions and the Whoniverse as a whole which I find the most unsettling (in a good way!).

Steven Moffat seems to have a penchant for creating fantastically scary Who monsters/villains: the Vashta Nerada, Weeping Angels and gas-mask children - all of which give me the chills more than any horror movie ever could!

Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) work brilliantly alongside The Doctor. Amy is still a bit of an enigma, which - for me - makes her character all the more intriguing; and her flaws make her a character who isn't completely unrelatable. The increased involvement of Rory as a companion pleases me to no end as I feel he brings the heart to the group dynamic.

Smith is brilliant as the Doctor; he had me convinced he's an alien, a Timelord, The Doctor(!), less than five minutes into The Eleventh Hour - his performance as an alien from Gallifrey has not failed to impress me since. His performance in The Impossible Astronaut was, in my opinion, consistently first-rate. Smith showed his range, going from being slightly goofy and pulling off the more slapstick elements, to being serious and cold with River (Alex Kingston) in the TARDIS when she asks for his trust and he responds to by inquiring into who she really is.

Mind you, when it comes to the question: Who is River Song? I would give my right arm to know the answer! But, as it stands, I wont have to do that, so I'll keep watching and wait patiently as the mystery of River starts to become clear.

All-in-all, I would have to say that I thought TIA was a great series opener and a fantastic opener for a two-part episode. It raised many questions, and answered very little - this, coupled with the teases of what's to come, have certainly wet my appetite for more!

Roll on part two, Day of the Moon!!!

Day of the Moon airs on BBC One at 6pm BST/GMT+1 Saturday 30th April 2011.