In my mind, Doctor Who is the best show on Television. FULL STOP. Sure to an outsider it may seem weird, but for us british folk its practically a national icon now. Heck before even the Show was revamped in 2005 I knew about Doctor Who! I met my first Dalek when I was six-years-old at a DW convention in Longleat Zoo. Weirdly enough we were going on a day out and just happened to arrive there on the last day, which was lucky! Of course then I didn't know anything about the show, I just remembered feeling scared of the Cybermen and the Sea Devils and gawping in awe at Davros. I also remember LOTS and LOTS of Tom Baker impersonators (I've found a video of it HERE). When the show came back in 2005 I was one of those nine million people that sat down by their T.V and watched the first episode 'Rose', and I was just hooked on it from then on. Now Seven Years later Doctor Who is going from strength to strength and I'm just as exited for the new Series as I was when I was eight. So what has the New Series got in store for us? Quite alot, and I can safely say that I don't think I've ever been THIS exited for a New Series.
Episodes 1 & 2 are the ones I'm the most hyped up for as they are apparently really dark (which contrasts alot with the previous Series premieres which were basically fluff episodes to ease people back into the show) and contains one of the best monsters Doctor Who has ever had (aside from the Weeping Angels of course): The Silence. For those of you that aren't aware of the whole 'Silence' arc let me just bring you up to date: The Silence (or Silents) are the alien race that caused the Tardis to explode on the 26/06/10 (Amy Pond's wedding day) thus causing the Universe to implode and creating the Cracks in Time, which were the arc for Series Five. Many Questions stem from this: Why did they blow up the Tardis? Who or What are they and more importantly how the heck did they do it? It kinda made me feel like Series Five had some unfinished business, as there didn't seem to be any 'Big Bad' it was just the threat that the Cracks in Time posed. However it did make for some great hype as I've been eagerly awaiting Series Six so we can finally find out just Who was behind all this. Well that, and we can finally find out who River Song is! Turns out the Silence have a rather genuis trick up their sleeves (SPOILERS here so look away if you'd rather not know): They control us by Post-Hypnotic Suggestion. What, does Post-Hypnotic suggestion feel a bit too complicated for you? Here's the long answer:
Do you remember when you where a kid, and sometimes at night you heard voices coming through your wall, or perhaps a shadow in the corner of your Room? Maybe even the creaking of a Door? Or perhaps spotted something in the corner of your eye? Well every single time that was the Silence, who have invaded everywere and anywere without you even knowing. You see, when you turn the lights on at night just to check if that shadow isn't a monster out to get you...it is. But you don't remember you saw it, because when you look away you instantly forget what you saw, erasing any image of them from your brain. I dare you to LOOK BEHIND YOU, NOW. Didn't see anything, you say? Well how do you know that you DID see a monster except you don't remember you saw it? How the hell can you beat that then? This means children will be now scared BECAUSE they didn't see anything and not because they did! It really is the most genuis fear ever invented isn't it? And these things are everywere, so you see loads of them every day and you have NO way of knowing. This is quite simply the most genuis idea Moffat has ever come up with, its so simple and yet so clever you almost want to bash your head against the table because its so faustratingly obvious. And wait till you see what these things look like:
Creepy looking things aren't they? Must be inspired from the famous 'Scream' painting:
So now that Moffat has us all crapping our pants just because we don't notice anything out of the ordinary (I can see some REALLY paranoid children screaming in fear all the time because of this) lets look at some Silence sightings from Series Five...yes thats right, apparently the Silence have been cropping up more than once in the past Series, off screen but noticed by the Characters nonetheless. Don't believe me? Most of them seem to be just continuity or production mistakes, like curtains mysteriously opening or closing inbetween scenes or shadows in the backround but there are a few which seem suspiciously odd:
Go to the 9.20 mark. After the Doctor leaves Amy she turns around and all of a sudden looks rather scared, her eyes flickering from left to right like she's spotted something chilling. Notice how the scary music kicks in and we then hear a faint gutteral growl (only works if its on high volume). Compare this growling sound with the one at the end of the prequel released a few Weeks back:
At the very end, when it reveals the Silent behind Nixon it plays the SAME sound heard in the Beast Below. Creepy sound effect reused, or a clever little hint of whats to come on Moffats part? The next sighting is in the 'Lodger' episode, and its so blatantly obvious I don't know how we didn't spot it the first time!
Skip to the 6.59 mark now, when the Doctor is talking to Amy in the Tardis. Notice that she is CLEARLY distracted by something else in the Tardis with her, she has a sudden intake of breath like she's trying to stop herself from screaming and she evens crys 'HEY!' and tries to get the Doctors attention but he just ignores her. She then shuts her eyes like she's in the process of having her mind wiped by the Silence. That seemed incredibly out of place didn't it? And incredibly cool at the same time I suppose. I always like it when Doctor Who lays hints out throughout the entire Series of things to come, but this time its a two Series-wide arc and not just one like before. Moffats been playing a very long game here, hinting at so much with River Song and the Silence but will it all pay off in the end? We'll have to see, but according to recent Reviews from the Press screenings (one of which can be found HERE) the upcoming Two-Parter premier will resolve a few questions from the previous Series and will the lay the groundwork for what should be one of the best yet, setting the bar really high and posing perhaps more questions than answering them. Very, very interesting. Here's the synopsis' for the first two eps if you haven't already read them:
Episode 1: The Impossible Astronaut
Four envelopes, numbered 2, 3 and 4, each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue. Who sent them? And who received the missing number one? This strange summons reunites the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song in the middle of the Utah desert and unveils a terrible secret the Doctor's friends must never reveal to him.
Placing his life entirely in their hands, the Doctor agrees to search for the recipient of the fourth envelope - just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third? And what is the relevance of their only other clue: 'Space 1969'? Their quest lands them - quite literally - in the Oval Office, where they are enlisted by President Nixon himself to assist enigmatic former-FBI agent Canton, in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious spaceman.
Episode 2: Day of the Moon
The Doctor is locked in the perfect prison. Amy, Rory and River Song are being hunted down across America by the FBI. With the help of new friend and FBI-insider, Canton Everett Delaware the Third, our heroes are reunited to share their discoveries, if not their memories. For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted. Aided by President Nixon and Neil Armstrong's foot, the Doctor must mount a revolution to drive out the enemy and rescue the missing little girl. No-one knows why they took her. Or why they have kidnapped Amy Pond...
Nixon, FBI and the Apollo Moon landings aswell? I almost feel like we're being spoiled! Also its been confirmed that one of the main characters (River Song, The Doctor, Rory and Amy) WILL die in the opening two-parter. Of course I doubt they'll be dead for long...apparently it occurs in the first 15 minutes and there's a funeral!
Still feeling a bit 'meh' about this Series? Wait til' you see what the rest of it has to offer:
Well that looks spiffingly awesome doesn't it? We got to see Rory and Amy in the 9th & 10th Doctors Tardis (What the hell's going on there? If David Tennant is returning I'd doubt they'll keep it such a secret, and if they are keeping it secret it has to be one of the best kept Spoilers in the history of Doctor Who!), Minotaurs, River Song battling the Silence in the 'other' Tardis from The Lodger, Pirates, creepy Clowns and River Song kissing the Doctor...*GASP*! If you want the full dissection of the trailer then look HERE. Another trailer was released by BBC America aswell, which you can see below:
From what we've seen so far, it really looks like the most cinematic Series so far, its almost as if every Episode is designed to look like a movie...
Okay so after the Two-parter we've got the Pirate episode: 'Curse Of The Black Spot' which despite the really cheesy title (and a complete rip-off from Pirates Of The Carribbean) this looks like an exciting episode. Judging from the on-set videos (it was filmed in Charlestown Cornwall) it looks like its going to give the Pirates franchise a run for its money (HERE and HERE).
And now the Neil Gaiman Episode 'The Doctors Wife' which will apparently 'change the way we see Doctor Who FOREVER'. It stars Suranne Jones who is apparently playing someone called Idris...the Doctors Wife? Hmmm....possibly just a ploy from the producers to grab more viewers but it sounds really interesting. Its set in a bubble universe at the edge of reality and Michael Sheen will guest star as the 'omnious' voice from the trailer, supposedly playing the bad guy. There's an interview with Gaiman (the write of this episode) HERE.
Episodes 5 & 6 will be called 'The Rebel Flesh' and 'The Almost People'. Its set in a monastery on a remote island in the 'near future' and will supposedly feature cloning (hence the title: 'The Almost People').
Episode Seven, 'A Good Man Goes To War' will be the Finale for the first part of the season where we will apparently know the true nature of River Song and the Doctor will face his darkest moment yet. Something about 'The Great Battle Of Demons Run' aswell, and I'm assuming Demons Run is a place. The Cliffhanger is supposed to be nail-bitingly faustrating, and the Doctor will have to make some truly horrible desicions. I wonder if the 'Good Man' in the title refers to the exact same 'Good Man' that River Song killed? If so then part two of this Story (which will air in the Autumn) is rumored to be called: 'A Good Man Dies'.
So the first Part of Series Six looks incredible, that much is for sure. But what apart Part 2 of Series Six in the Autumn? Well we don't have alot yet, apart from the return of The Cybermen, some freakishly scary giant dolls, Nazis and an Amy duplicate! Oh and James Corden will be back as Craig Owens (he was last in the Lodger episode). Also Episode 11 is called 'The God Complex.
Here's the synopsis for the first part of the Season if you're interested (from the DVD/Blu-Ray press release):
'The Doctor returns, alongside newly weds Amy and Rory, to face monsters and mysteries and adventures all across time and space, in a thrilling new series of Doctor Who. Together they'll find themselves in sixties America, battling the invasion the world forgot, then journey on the high seas of 1696 aboard a pirate ship, to solve the mystery of the Siren.
In a bubble universe at the very edge of reality, the Doctor will meet an old friend with a new face, and in a monastery on a remote island in the near future, an industrial accident will take on a terrible human shape. And waiting for them, at the end of all this, is the battle of Demon's Run, and the Doctor's darkest hour. Can even the truth about River Song save the Time Lord's soul?
Only two things are certain. Silence will fall. And a good man is going to die...'
So, with Series Six just over the horizon (THIRTEEN DAYS LEFT? NOOOO!) What are your thoughts on the upcoming Season? It seems to have undeniably great potential. But will it live up to all this hype? We'll just have to wait and see...
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