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 Page Update: 14th October 2012

Our Series 7 page has been updated.

I have re-arranged the Guest Stars section, added rumours to the Aliens, Monsters and Villains section, updated the writers section and added some slight spoilers on Episode 6.

So head on over there now to find out the latest news, spoilers and rumours about upcoming Series 7 episodes and also trailers, pictures and episode synopsis of previous Series 7 episodes.

Pond's Most Memorable Moments

So now that the Pond's have gone, I'm going to take a look at 5 of there most memorable moments. So lets begin...

5. Fish Fingers and Custard

Episode: The Eleventh Hour

This scene will be with us Whovians for a while as it is very bonkers but also very funny! It has been mentioned throughout the Pond era most recently in The Power of Three.

4. 'Where is my wife?'

Episode: A Good Man Goes To War

With Amy taken by Kovarian and the Silence, the Doctor and Rory go looking for her and this scene shows that Rory is no longer just the comical husband but can also be quite the hero!

3. 2000 Years

Episode: The Big Bang

This scene is very memorable as it is mentioned many times throughout the Pond era as Rory waits 2000 years to keep Amy safe and this starts of Rory's nickname as the Last Centurion.

2. The Girl Who Waited

Episode: The Girl Who Waited

The title says it all as in Episode 10 of Series 6, Rory's love for Amy is put to an almighty test.

1. A Pond Farwell

Episode: The Angels Take Manhattan

The exit scene of the Pond's was one of the most heartbreaking scenes in Doctor Who history and will stay with us forever.

So thats it for the Ponds and thats my most memorable Pond moments. I hope you agree with me and will remember the Ponds dearly.

Series 7: P.S. Clip

A fitting farewell to Brain has been released by the BBC where the much loved father finally finds out what happened to his son and his daughter-in-law.

Chris Chibnall wrote the heartbreaking scene which was sadly never filmed however thanks to storyboards and the voice of Arthur Darvill the scene can now be brought to life and seen in the player below.

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: Part 1 DVD Official Details

With Series 7 over, are you ready to relive it all over again? Well if the answer is yes, then it's good news as Series 7: Part 1 is due to be released at the end of the month on DVD.

Official Description:

The Doctor, Amy and Rory are back for the first five blockbuster episodes of series seven. The trio encounter the Daleks, Weeping Angels and even Dinosaurs on a Spaceship as the series builds to the departure of The Ponds in one of the most heartbreaking episodes in the history of Doctor Who.

Special Features:

• The Science of Doctor Who

• Doctor Who at Comic Con

• Pond Life

• Asylum of the Daleks Prequel

• The Making of The Gunslinger Prequel

Potential buyers should take note that the DVD is rated '12'.

There will also be a Limited Weeping Angels Edition that comes with a poster, featured below.

The Series 7: Part 1 DVD is due to be released in the UK on 29th October 2012.