Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh (Review)

A solar tsunami sends the Doctor, Amy and Rory, within the TARDIS, to a futuristic factory where doppelgangers are being used to mine dangerous acid...

This was an enjoyable episode, even though it felt as though not much happened. But there was some great exploration of relationships between the three core characters, as well as great introductions setting up the characters of the miners working in the factory so that we, as an audience, can relate and maybe even care about their fate.
I'm still absolutely loving all the mystery, with all its accompanying "clues" and/or "red herrings":

• The "Doctor's death" - does he die? Who shot him..?
• Amy's negative/positive pregnancy scan - what's going on..?
• And; Who is the eye-patch woman..?

The interactions between Rory and Jennifer, and those between the Doctor and Cleaves, struck me as the most interesting. The development of each of these relationships made the recently introduced characters (Jennifer and Cleaves) easier to relate to.

Interestingly, the Doctor seemed to know more than he was letting on in terms of his knowledge of the acid being mined, which was then being used to create the doppelgangers from a technology referred to as "the flesh". He referred to the flesh as "the technology."

I thought this was an entertaining episode and I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen next time.

Could the intriguing cliffhanger ending have anything to do with the Doctor being shot on the beach..?

Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife (Review)

The TARDIS matrix (it's soul) is pulled into a human body and she finally meets her "thief" face-to-face...

The fourth episode in the sixth series of Doctor Who 'The Doctor's Wife' was alive with references to the series' themes and mysteries, so it probably would have been really difficult to not pay attention.

I'm almost certain there were many red herrings amongst the "clues" we were given, but I'm completely uncertain which of the "clues" could have been aimed at throwing the viewer off course. As I've mentioned before, I love mystery, and good writing would have all questions answered in the end - which I'm more than confident will happen in the case of this series of Doctor Who (albeit probably a few loose ends to tie-over until next series).


The transportation of the Doctor's TARDIS matrix into a human body brought us wonderful interactions (and flirtations) between the Doctor and his TARDIS in human form, played by Suranne Jones, as Idris, or 'Sexy' (his name for the TARDIS when they're alone). The inevitable parting of the Doctor and Idris made the exploration of their relationship rather poignant.


There were many moments to love within the episode; for example, Idris telling the Doctor 'I always took you where you needed to go' and her referral to him as her 'thief'.


Amy's pregnancy is a complete mystery; with the "negative/positive" scan, Amy being kidnapped by the Silence, and, now, possibly, the Doctor and his TARDIS planning to make it possible for them to interact again..?

Idris's expression becomes thoughtful when the Doctor tells her 'We are going to build a TARDIS.'

The Doctor also mentions to her, 'Wouldn't it be amazing if we could always talk, even when you're stuck inside the box?!' 

Was this a clue or possibly a "red herring"?


House messing with Amy's head, and making her believe Rory was dead (again) was fun. I also thought both Amy and Rory running from House was fun. These two are easily my favourite companions since the 2005 reboot.


Overall, the episode was highly enjoyable, and fun. I thought the Doctor's TARDIS in human form was brilliant. And; as Idris's body burnt-out, I felt genuinely sad the Doctor would never be able to interact with her again...

Doctor Who: Day of the Moon (Review)

Day of the Moon was the second half of the opening two-part episodes in series six of the BBC's Doctor Who...

Episode two of series six of Doctor Who - Day of the Moon - added more questions to the viewers mind, whilst the already existing questions remain all but answered.

Is Amy pregnant, or not?

Who is the little girl?

Who was in the spacesuit, and who shot the Doctor?

Also; who was the eye-patch lady behind the hatch? 

All of the "clues" and possible red herrings left me confused, but most certainly intrigued.


I loved the interactions between the Doctor and River in this episode. And wouldn't be completely opposed to a romantic type relationship between these two characters.

The Doctor's "You've just ordered your own execution" speech was brilliant and fun, especially when he follows the speech with "Oops. Run. Guys, I mean us, run!"

Day of the Moon posed many more questions and answered none, but I do love a mystery!

Anyway, I'm off to paint my walls "TARDIS blue..."

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.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vs. Being Human

For those who don't remember, either because they were too young or living in a cave, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) was a television show about a strong woman (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) with super strength whom had a calling to fight vampires and evil demons, as well as having to deal with life problems and angst. Buffy was a show that spoke to many people; young and old; female and male; and it was for this reason that the show acquired a large fan base. And, as the makers of the show stayed true to and listened to the fans, the fan base grew and stayed.

Being Human is a relatively new show, having only two seasons to date. Being Human is based around three characters; a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost, whom are all living together whilst they deal with the transition from being human to being something else, and how they now fit into this world.

Initially, my reason for wanting to compare these two TV programs was due to the similarities and, interesting differences, between the mythologies of the shows. Obviously, they are both in the same genre of fantasy, so, they are similar in context. In both television programs, vampires are "made" in the same way - the vampire drinks the victim until almost death and then the victim feeds from the vampire - in Buffy this is known as "siring" and in Being Human it's called "recruiting". In BtVS it's like family. In Being Human it's more like a job. Werewolf and ghost mythology is also pretty much the same in both shows. There is even a werewolf called Nina in Being Human as well as a werewolf in the also popular Buffy spin-off show Angel, and Being Human's Nina even name checks Angel's Nina in an episode.

One of the main differences between the mythologies of the two programs is that in Being Human vampires can go out during the daylight. Whereas, in Buffy and Angel they cannot. Another noticeable difference is that, in BtVS, vampires supposedly have no reflection, but they show up on camera (which, of course, uses mirrors); however, in Being Human, vampires don't have a reflection, neither in a mirror directly, nor on camera. This mythology error first came up in the season two Buffy episode 'School Hard' and was used as a joke in the season seven episode 'Storyteller'.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Being Human also have, sort of, similar characters - the obvious comparison is that both shows have a werewolf called Nina in their universe. Comparisons can also be made between BtVS's Caleb (the priest played by Nathan Fillion in season seven) and the priest from season two of Being Human (an easily forgettable character - Kemp - played by Donald Sumpter). Okay, to be honest there aren't many similarities between these two characters apart from they're both priests. But I wanted to compare these two characters because Caleb was a memorable character that you loved to hate. He was evil and merciless, but with a small charm, and it was easy for us to believe that he tricked girls into following him before killing them. However, it was hard to believe that Lucy (Lyndsey Marshal) in Being Human would betray Mitchell for Kemp. Therefore, in my opinion, Caleb from Buffy was a much better character; he was well-written, better acted, and would blatantly win in a fight!

My second character comparison is between The Master (BtVS) and Herrick (Being Human); played by Mark Metcalf and Jason Watkins, respectively. Both characters are leader vampires who are followed by other vampires (their minions). The Master was an odd looking vampire in season one of Buffy who was trapped beneath Sunnydale, and Buffy had to face him in the season finale and, after she downs and then is brought back to life, she kills him. The Master actually rarely comes face-to-face with the characters he opposes. Herrick was the ring leader of the vampires in season one of Being Human and, like The Master, he is disposed of in the season finale. However, unlike The Master [spoiler alert], Herrick is brought back to life in the season two finale. Vampires do try to resurrect The Master at the beginning of season two of Buffy, but they fail. Personally, I prefer Herrick as a vampire villain, he is twisted and fun, and I look forward to seeing more of the character in series three. Although, if these two characters had a fight, I believe The Master would win.

My third, and final, character comparisons are between Being Human's Mitchell (Aidan Turner) and BtVS's Angel (David Boreanaz). Angel is a vampire with a soul, as well as the love of Buffy's life. Both Angel and Mitchell are brooding vampires who do not want to feed from humans; Angel because he has a soul and this makes him feel guilty, and Mitchell because the burden when they kill and are forced to relate more with humanity. As for who would win in a fight? I believe that would be Angel.

Admittedly, Being Human is still in it's early stages, but  if you ask me: 'Do I think Being Human will be better than BtVS, or ever have the same fan base?' My answer would be 'No'. Buffy, like I said, always stayed true to it's fans and its fans paid the same courtesy as the show. And Buffy, along with spins-offs have continued in comic book form, keeping the show almost as popular today as it always was.

What are your opinions on these two television shows?