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.

The Power of Three Review

On Saturday, we saw another Lodger-type episode with a hint of the RTD era in The Power of Three. But did this fair well with me? Time to find out...

Overview

An extremely good episode in terms of emotional themes but the alien threat wasn't tied up enough. Whether, this was deliberate or not, I think a hint about this would have faired well.

Continuity

The Power of Three was almost faultless for continuity, although for this type of an episode, there wasn't actually that many continuity points. However, here are the ones I noticed:

• The Doctor stayed on Earth with humans for a while (The Lodger)
• UNIT returned but played a background role, which I liked (The Christmas Invasion, The Sontaran Strategm, The Poison Sky etc)
• A slight error I noticed was in Asylum of the Daleks, the Pond's got divorced but in this episode they are seen celebrating their wedding anniversary... So did they get re-married off screen?
• The Zygons were mentioned.

Story Arc

The 'Doctor Who?' arc remained absent throughout this episode but the episode was overall, a prequel to The Angels Take Manhattan so were we given clues as to how the Ponds leave, but we just haven't noticed them?

Story

The Cube story was fairly average and we were all waiting for the big point of the story but sadly it never came. Also, the cube threat was destroyed by a wave of the sonic screwdriver?! The most poor resolution to a story I have seen in a long while.

Problems

Along with the problems I mentioned above (rubbish conclusion, Pond marriage error, too many loose ends), although I did say I quite liked UNIT taking a back seat in this episode, I feel the soldiers could have made more of an appearance.

Shakri

The Shakri were a great invention by Chibnall and I liked the reference to Gallifrey in their background but with a great actor playing the Shakri I feel they could have made more of an appearance and to be honest, the Shakri were wasted in a way in this episode.

Emotional Impact

This episode wasn't really about the alien threat, more about emotional impact and the lead up to the Pond's exit in The Angels Take Manhattan. I liked that part and I think it will make their exit even more dramatic and saddening.

Conclusion

Monsters - 3/5 - Alien threat took a back seat in this episode but the concept of the Shakri was liked by me.

Story - 2/5 - Felt quite rushed towards the end and the conclusion was rubbish, and it could have been more fully explained if bits like the Pond's anniversary gift adventures were left out. However, the beginning of the story was great.

Doctor - 5/5 - Yet another faultless performance from Matt Smith and he finally got to play 'pain' in this episode, which he is very good at.

Companion - 5/5 - Amy and Rory were fantastic characters in this episode and I really don't want to see them leave now...

Arc - 4.5/5 - Great as the episode was a lead up to the Pond exit arc but no reference to 'Doctor Who?' let it down a little bit.

Continuity - 4/5 - Good but the Pond's marriage error and not including many continuity points in an episode like this wasn't a great move

The Power of Three (overall) - 23.5/30 - Great

So that's it for my The Power of Three review. I hope you enjoyed reading it and agreed with me on most points.

Next Week - The Angels Take Manhattan

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: Power of Three Behind the Scenes

A behind the scenes video has been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

It features interviews from Chris Chibnall, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Jemma Redgrave.

Series 7: Power of Three Chatty Man Clip

Matt Smith was a guest on Alan Carr: Chatty Man last night and during the interview, a new clip for The Power of Three was shown.

You can see the whole interview below but if you just want to see the clip skip to 3:04.

Series 7: Power of Three Clip 3

A third clip has been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

Brian shares a few ideas about the mysterious cubes...

Series 7: Power of Three Spoilery Pictures

Several new pictures have been released by the BBC for The Power of Three. But be warned, they are fairly spoilery.

Series 7: Even More Power of Three Pictures

Another batch of photos has been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

Series 7: The Power of Three Clip 2

A second clip has been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

There’s a mystery to be solved, so who is involved?

Series 7: The Power of Three Clip

A clip for The Power of Three has been released by the BBC.

Amy Pond reflects on her life as a part-time adventurer.

Series 7: Power of Three Titles

The title change for The Power of Three has been released by the BBC. You can see it below along with the titles for the previous episodes of Series 7.

Asylum of the Daleks

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

A Town Called Mercy

The Power of Three

Series 7: Power of Three Hints

Digital Spy has released 10 hints about the next episode of Doctor Who, The Power of Three.

1. "Oh, the Ponds - with their house and their jobs and their everyday lives…"

2. The Doctor is amused by Rory's pants.

3. "I don't know - and I really don't like not knowing!"

4. Someone gets married.

5. "Patience is for wimps!"

6. Remember the Doctor planting a smacker on Rory in 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship'? This week Mr Pond returns the favour.

7. "All these muscles and they still don't know how to knock."

8. We hear about an unseen adventure that fans will be clamouring to see!

9. "What happened to the other people who travel with you?"

10. We've been told that the Ponds' exit will be emotional, but prepare to be choked up this week too...

Series 7: More Power of Three Pictures

More pictures have been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

Series 7: The Power of Three Pictures

3 new pictures have been released by the BBC for The Power of Three.

Series 7: Next Time - The Power of Three

Next Saturday on Doctor Who it's The Power of Three.

The Doctor, Amy, Rory and his dad must confront one of the world’s strangest invasions… What are the mysterious cubes, and what secrets do they hold?

Next Time Trailer

TV Trailer

Series 7: Power of Three Famous Cameos

Sir Alan Sugar and Professor Brian Cox are to make a cameo appearance in The Power of Three. They will both appear as themselves.

Cox will be seen on a BBC news broadcast stumped by the invasion of the black cubes.

Sugar, meanwhile, will appear on a broadcast of The Apprentice disappointed with the results of a task involving the cubes.

Series 7: The Power of Three Time and Pictures

The BBC have confirmed the date and time for Episode 4 of Series 7, The Power of Three.

It will air on Saturday 22nd September at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC One HD.

Three new pictures have also been released for the episode.

Series 7: The Power of Three Synopsis

The official synopsis for The Power of Three has been released by the BBC.

The Doctor and the Ponds puzzle an unlikely invasion of Earth, as millions of sinister black cubes arrive overnight, almost like presents falling from the sky. 

But what are they, what’s inside them and most importantly, who sent them? With the international community at a loss, it’s left to the Doctor to unearth who is behind the mystery.

The Power of Three will air Saturday 22nd September, with time to be confirmed.