Caves and Twins: The Impossible Astronaut

It would be dark, they said. SOmeone would definitely, definitely die, they said. River Song is in it, they said. The Silence will make grown men shit themselves, they said.

So, was The Impossible Astronaut any good or was it as fucking abysmal as every RTD opening episode ever?

Caves

The regulars were OK.

The Silence. They get a pass for now – monsters wearing suits always do – but they’re a tad ‘Moffatt greatest hits’.

Murray Gold’s music was not annoying. Beyond that, it was actually quite intriguing at times. Thanks fuck.

Twins

No Nick Courtney tribute. I understand that two on-screen tributes might start to look excessive, and Lis Sladen’s death would have had far more resonance with younger fans but, really, this left a sour taste from the get-go for me.

Death. I’ve talked before about the dramatic impact – or otherwise – of having regulars dying and not dying. In light of the real-life deaths of Nick Courtney and, particularly, Lis Sladen I wonder how this sort of thing affects youngsters. Is it wise to portray death as something that doesn’t really happen? Whatever the case, all the monkeying around with characters dying and not dying and being reborn felt rather sour in light of the previous week’s events.

Pacing. All over the shop. Stop-start, like a car in a traffic jam.

Plot. Time travel weirdness and confusion and too many elements.

River Song. Used sparingly, River could have been quite interesting, but she’s got dragged down in some tedious, portentous storyline that has even The Doctor baffled as to whether he thinks she’s a charming sexpot or death on legs.

Timey wimey. Boring oring. Stop it, already.

Patented wackiness. And to think this was even mocked in last year’s Dreamlord episode.

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Overall, a pass. But this was confusing and felt over-familiar and too busy. Maybe it needs the second part to make more sense.

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