Poll: Favourite Series 7: Part 1 Episode

As Series 7: Part 1 has drawn to a close, I have put up a poll so you can decide what your favourite episode was.

We had five big blockbuster episodes, but which one was your favourite?

• Were the Daleks 'eggs'cellent enough to claim the top spot in Asylum of the Daleks?

• We had DINOSAURS in SPACE but were they on top form in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship?

• Did the Gunslinger, sling to the top of your list of favourite episodes in A Town Called Mercy?

• Were the cubes POWERful enough in The Power of Three to gain the top spot?

• Finally, we had a Pond Farewell in The Angels Take Manhattan but will the angels also TAKE the top spot in this poll?

So if you want to vote in our poll, it is on the top right of this page.

Voting closes on 23rd December 2012 and results will be revealed on Christmas Eve.

Series 7: Behind the Scenes - The Angels Take Manhattan

A behind the scenes video has been made available by the BBC for The Angels Take Manhattan.

It includes interviews from Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

The Angels Take Manhattan Review

With The Angels Take Manhattan came the finale of the 2012 run of Doctor Who. But what did I make of the mid-series finale? Time to find out...

Overview

Moffat's best episode yet with a great mix of sadness, horror and excitement. The return of the angels saw them at their best and most deadliest yet and also the return of River Song meant we got more great dialogue between her and the Doctor.

Continuity (and plot holes)

The Angels Take Manhattan was a mixed bag when it came to Continuity. Below are the continuity points.

• The Eleventh Hour was referenced as the final scene led back to the Pond's first episode
• The Series 6 arc was mentioned between the Doctor and River
• The episode happens in River's timeline somewhere between being pardoned from jail to The Library
• Companions aging while the Doctor doesn't is mentioned again twice, with the first being the Doctor noticing line's on Amy's forehead and also with the Pond's being sent back in time so by the Doctor's time they are dead

Now for the plot holes...

• With all the people that were trapped in Winter Quay, it seems hard to believe that in all that time nobody tried to escape/commited suicide
• Also in Winter Quay, how did the people stay alive? I doubt the angels came round and fed and gave them water every day
• The Statue of Liberty can't be a Weeping Angel as it's not made of stone but sheets of copper over a steel framework...
• It seems weird that River doesn't want to travel with the Doctor as she loves him!

Story Arc

Excellent use of Story Arc in this episode with the 'Doctor Who?' theme subtly yet wonderfully mentioned by River and obviously the big Pond exit arc came to a close in this episode with Rory getting zapped by an angel and Amy sacrificing herself to the Angels just so she can be with her husband

Story

Maybe not so simple but definitely wonderfully thought out. Basically Rory gets zapped back in time, the Doctor and Amy find out where he is using River's book which tells of the Angel story but they read ahead and Amy learns a vital lesson, her last from the Doctor... From there on, its basically a race against time to save Rory and in the end they do, only for him and Amy to be cruelly snatched away from the Doctor (and us!) by the angels. Beautiful, sad but brilliant!

Problems

Despite the plot holes above, I loved this episode to the core and it has to be one of my favourite episodes of Doctor Who ever with it tying with Asylum of the Daleks (which coincidently is from Series 7 also plus also penned by Moffat!). So basically can't think of any problems apart from the few plot holes which are forgiven for a fantastic story and brilliant send off for the Ponds.

A Pond Farewell

The departure of the Pond's was heartbreaking yet I didn't shed a tear which was what I was expecting, maybe because they died twice in the space of five minutes... I'm still making my mind up about whether I think they should have died from the jump of the roof or the Graveyard snatch, but Amy's final scene was brilliant and a great performance from Karen. Finally, people say they are upset that Rory didn't get a farewell with the Doctor scene, but when the angels took him away so unexpectedly, I think that added to the shock.

River's Return

The return of River Song saw great scenes between her and the Doctor including another one of Moffat's great quotes:

The Doctor: “How’s prison?” 

River Song: “Oh, I was pardoned ages ago, and it’s ‘Professor Song’ to you now.”The Doctor: “’Pardoned‘?” 

River Song: “Turns out the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently there’s no record of him. It’s almost as if someone’s gone around deleting himself from every database in the universe.” 

The Doctor: "You said I got ‘too big.'"

River Song: “And now, no one’s ever heard of you. Didn’t you used to be somebody?” 

The Doctor: “Weren’t you the woman who killed the Doctor?” 

River Song: “‘Doctor’ who?”

Conclusion

Monsters - 5/5 - The Weeping Angels really do scare!

Story - 5/5 - Slightly complicated but what can you expect from an exit/Weeping Angel story. Still, absolutely fantastic!

Doctor - 5/5 - Another faultless performance from Matt Smith showing the pain of letting go of his best friends

Companion - 5/5 - Karen Gillan's greatest performance EVER with her final scene a stroke of acting genius! Arthur Darvill pulling of another great performance still managing to pull of comedy moments when he knows he's about to die!

Arc - 5/5 - A great reference to 'Doctor Who?' as mentioned above and also the finale to the Pond's tenure on Doctor Who wrote/directed/acted beautifully

Continuity - 4.5/5 - The continuity can't be faulted it's just the few plot holes that let this episode down a little

The Angels Take Manhattan (overall) - 29.5/30 - Fantastic

So with Series 7: Part 1 over, there will no more reviews from me until the final week of 2012, with the 2012 Christmas Special coming under the spotlight. So will it fare well with past Christmas Specials and also companion introduction stories (sort of, if you count Jenna's appearance in Asylum of the Daleks)? Only time will tell...

Next Time - 2012 Christmas Special

Overall Mark Comments

30 - Outstanding

25 - 29.5 - Fantastic

20 - 24.5 - Great

15 - 19.5 - OK, nothing special

10 - 14.5 - Bad, very poor

5 - 9.5 - Shocking, turned off after 10 minutes

1.5 - 4.5 - Worst thing to be shown on TV ever

0 - 1 - Doctor Who is over

Series 7: The Last Day of the Ponds

Below you can watch the special tribute to the Pond's, The Last Day of the Ponds, which serves as The Angels Take Manhattan's Behind the Scenes video.

It features interviews from Matt Smith, Karen Gilllan, Arthur Darvill, Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner.

Unfortunately our video services were down at the point of posting this video, however you can watch it at the address below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z4cw2

Series 7: Part 1 Is Over

So after the heart-breaking but gob-smackingly good The Angels Take Manhattan, Doctor Who has departed our screens after it's ever so short run.

However, don't fret, Doctor Who will be back on our screens at Christmas and below is a teaser trailer for the episode featuring a glimpse of the new companion, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.

Plus after that, Doctor Who will be back with another 8 episode for Series 7:Part 2!

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Clip 2

The BBC have released another clip for The Angels Take Manhattan.

The three friends share some carefree moments in New York. What could possibly go wrong?

Series 7: 3 More Angels Take Manhattan Pictures

The BBC have released 3 new pictures for The Angels Take Manhattan. You can see them below.

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Clip 1

A clip has been released by the BBC for The Angels Take Manhattan.

A lone figure in the night visits the place ‘where the statues live’…

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Pictures

7 new pictures have been released for The Angels Take Manhattan. You can see them below.

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Teasers

Digital Spy has released 10 teasers about The Angels Take Manhattan.

1. The episode's opening words? "New York - the city of a million stories…"

2. The New York location filming has paid off - expect impressive visuals aplenty.

3. "That's an awful lot of locks for one door."

4. The Doctor's new-found anonymity has had a few surprising side effects.

5. "You embarrass me!"

6. River's back and her marriage to the Doctor is a little rocky this week...

7. "Just a moment - final checks!"

8. The Doctor reveals a previously undisclosed passion.

9. "Who else could do that?"

10. You'll probably cry. At least twice.

Kingston: River and Angels

Alex Kingston has spoken about reprising her role as River Song in The Angels Take Manhattan, and the character’s future beyond the episode.

She told The Daily Beast: “River is basically seeing her parents die, seeing them go. God, Steven could have written a whole episode just about that, about the complexities and psychology of that, but he didn’t.

“It is about Amy saying goodbye to the Doctor… and [River] stays much more in the background. But, oh my gosh, I found it hard. I didn’t think I would, just observing them. It was quite emotional.”

However, Kingston thinks the end of the Ponds doesn’t mean it’s the last we’ll see of River.

“Whether River’s journey will come full-circle, I don’t know. How many more episodes or seasons River has, I don’t know that either, but the way that Steven writes, he lays out threads that can be picked up way down the line. For her just to not reappear would be a little strange,” she explained.

So looks like River will be around for a while! What do you think? Do you like River or do you hate her? Leave your comments below if you wish.

Series 7: The Last Day of the Ponds

The BBC has announced that a special farewell video entitled “The Last Days of the Ponds” will premiere on the official site after The Angels Take Manhattan concludes.

Details follow:

The Last Days of the Ponds is a touching, 12 minute video that features Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, head writer and Executive Producer Steven Moffat and Executive Producer Caro Skinner. Poignant and insightful it tells their story, from the very start to the teary goodbyes. 

With exclusive backstage material from their early days together right up to behind-the-scenes footage of their final shots, The Last Days of the Ponds gives you unprecedented access to an era of Doctor Who, but more than this, it reveals how the people involved feel about their characters and their friends, their time on the show, what they’ll miss and remember and how Amy and Rory’s swansong moved them all. 

Karen, Arthur and Matt recall meeting each other for the first time and share anecdotes about their friendship. What did they think of each other at first and what did Arthur consider to be a nightmare? Which days does Karen call the craziest of all, and how was Matt feeling when it came to shooting the Ponds’ departure?

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Titles

The title changes for The Angels Take Manhattan have been released by the BBC. You can see it below along with the rest of the title changes for this series.

Asylum of the Daleks

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

A Town Called Mercy

The Power of Three

The Angels Take Manhattan

Series 7: Next Time - The Angels Take Manhattan

Next Saturday on Doctor Who, it's The Angels Take Manhattan.

With Rory’s life in danger, the Doctor and Amy must locate him before it’s too late! Luckily, an old friend helps them and guides the way.

The Angels Take Manhattan airs Saturday 29th September, 7:20pm, BBC One and BBC One HD in the UK, BBC America in America and Space in Canada.

Below are the trailers for the episode.

Next Time:

TV Trailer:

BBC America Trailer:

SPACE Trailer:

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Space Trailer

The first exciting trailer has been released online by Canadian sci-fi channel, Space.

You can see it below but we warned it does contain quite big spoilers.

Series 7: Angels Take Manhattan Time, Pictures and Details

Lots of new information has been released for The Angels Take Manhattan.

The time for the episode is confirmed as 7:20pm on Saturday 29th September.

Also 26 new pictures have been released for the episode but be warned they do contain small spoilers.

Finally, new details of the episode have also been released in this months issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

The synopsis was revealed:

“The Doctor, Amy and Rory visit modern-day New York. But the Weeping Angels are lurking here too. When one of the TARDIS crew is zapped back to 1938, Amy discovers that time can’t always be rewritten, not once it’s written in stone”.

A quote was also revealed:

River Song: “It’s like they’ve taken over every statue in the city.”The Doctor: “The Angels take Manhattan! Because they can. Because they’ve never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps”

Series 7: The Angels Take Manhattan Synopsis

The BBC has released the official Doctor Who synopsis for The Angels Take Manhattan, the fifth episode of Series 7. The last of this short run and the last episode for the Ponds.

The Doctor’s heart-breaking farewell to Amy and Rory – a race against time through the streets of Manhattan, as New York’s statues come to life around them… 

With Rory’s life in danger, the Doctor and Amy must locate him before it’s too late! Luckily, an old friend helps them and guides the way.

It’s written by Steven Moffat and guest stars Mike McShane, Alex Kingston and Rob David.

It will air Saturday 29 September, with the time to be confirmed.

Series 7: New Posters

Movie style posters have been released by the BBC for episodes 2-5 of Series 7. They can be seen below and the other released about a week ago for Asylum of the Daleks can also be seen.