All I can say about this episode is "Wow!" Moffat once again delivers a magnificent story that fluently continues onward from where the previous episode left off. During the course of this second part, the pacing never feels like it's stepped up to force a resolution. Everything about this episode is rich with classic Who flavor, that it's practically one of the few times where I should have jotted down notes about good points, unlike what I'm accustom to doing - jotting notes of un-Who like moments.
Some of the things that I just wanted to applaud Moffat for in this one:
1) The interior of the Byzantium, with its minimalist design, similar to the Dalek ship in Gatiss' "Victory Of The Daleks."
2). The Doctor always at the forefront of the episode, constantly working not only to escape the trailing Weeping Angels, but to work out the implications of the bigger threat - the crack in Amy's bedroom wall that seems to follow them everywhere.
3) The sonic screwdriver gets a plausible use for once, used as a homing signal for Amy via her communicator.
4) Probably one of the most clever uses for a forest location shoot in a long time. An interior greenhouse aboard the Byzantium? Brilliant. When the hatch first opened, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Fourth Doctor story "Nightmare Of Eden."
5) The console design in the Byzantium was very reminiscent of the bulky, blocky consoles used in the original series, complete with toggle switches and round display screens.
6) Moffat thickens the plot to the likeness of molasses when Marco immediately "forgets" who Phillip and Crispin were after they ventured into the blinding light of the crack.
The Doctor was superb in this episode as well, most notably once he and River reached the forward control room, and he yells at her in a fit of frustration about the situation. Moffat also has a knack for leading us viewers to overlooking the obvious. When The Doctor surmises that a complicated time space event can close the crack temporarily, our immediate thoughts are either The Doctor or River Song, who are certainly both complicated events. The notion of the Weeping Angels never crossed my mind. Finally, The Doctor leads the way into the resolution of this story, by hinting to Amy and River that the drained Byzantium would lose its artificial gravity, thus causing the approaching Angels to "fall" into the crack behind them.
The music was once again ideal, subtle and sparingly used. The only exception being the scene when the Angels fall.
The farewell scene between The Doctor and River was done extremely well. No teary goodbyes, but more of a "until next time" attitude, which is quite true in their cases, since they both know from each others' pasts..err..futures... that they will see each other again....err...before this...umm...River apparently sees the Doctor BEFORE the events of the Byzantium when the Pandorica Op
ens, and she will see him AGAIN when she reaches The Library during the Tenth Doctor story, "Silence In The Library." Got it? Yeah, I know. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.
The only things at all I noticed that seemed unworthy of Whoscale points were the short scene of a teary-eyed Doctor face to face with a doomed Father Octavian, and of course the final scene in Amy's bedroom. However, I do have a different perspective on how Moffat handled that.
During the days of the Davies era, infatuation with the good Doctor was welcomed with open arms, if not encouraged. However, Moffat made it clear in interviews soon after he took of production that there would be no romance between The Doctor and his companion in Series 5/Season 31. In the final scene of this episode, Moffat makes it clear how he was going to handle that subject in this season. The Doctor quickly rejects Amy's advances, and soon swings our attention back to the date The Doctor discovered while scanning the crack on the Byzantium. This revealed that the date the cracks were created were the same day that Amy gets married.
Another masterpiece from Moffat, and thus far his vision for the show was knocking the past five years out of the park when it comes to solid Doctor Who.
Some of the things that I just wanted to applaud Moffat for in this one:
1) The interior of the Byzantium, with its minimalist design, similar to the Dalek ship in Gatiss' "Victory Of The Daleks."2). The Doctor always at the forefront of the episode, constantly working not only to escape the trailing Weeping Angels, but to work out the implications of the bigger threat - the crack in Amy's bedroom wall that seems to follow them everywhere.3) The sonic screwdriver gets a plausible use for once, used as a homing signal for Amy via her communicator.4) Probably one of the most clever uses for a forest location shoot in a long time. An interior greenhouse aboard the Byzantium? Brilliant. When the hatch first opened, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Fourth Doctor story "Nightmare Of Eden."5) The console design in the Byzantium was very reminiscent of the bulky, blocky consoles used in the original series, complete with toggle switches and round display screens.6) Moffat thickens the plot to the likeness of molasses when Marco immediately "forgets" who Phillip and Crispin were after they ventured into the blinding light of the crack.The Doctor was superb in this episode as well, most notably once he and River reached the forward control room, and he yells at her in a fit of frustration about the situation. Moffat also has a knack for leading us viewers to overlooking the obvious. When The Doctor surmises that a complicated time space event can close the crack temporarily, our immediate thoughts are either The Doctor or River Song, who are certainly both complicated events. The notion of the Weeping Angels never crossed my mind. Finally, The Doctor leads the way into the resolution of this story, by hinting to Amy and River that the drained Byzantium would lose its artificial gravity, thus causing the approaching Angels to "fall" into the crack behind them.
The music was once again ideal, subtle and sparingly used. The only exception being the scene when the Angels fall.
The farewell scene between The Doctor and River was done extremely well. No teary goodbyes, but more of a "until next time" attitude, which is quite true in their cases, since they both know from each others' pasts..err..futures... that they will see each other again....err...before this...umm...River apparently sees the Doctor BEFORE the events of the Byzantium when the Pandorica Op
ens, and she will see him AGAIN when she reaches The Library during the Tenth Doctor story, "Silence In The Library." Got it? Yeah, I know. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.The only things at all I noticed that seemed unworthy of Whoscale points were the short scene of a teary-eyed Doctor face to face with a doomed Father Octavian, and of course the final scene in Amy's bedroom. However, I do have a different perspective on how Moffat handled that.
During the days of the Davies era, infatuation with the good Doctor was welcomed with open arms, if not encouraged. However, Moffat made it clear in interviews soon after he took of production that there would be no romance between The Doctor and his companion in Series 5/Season 31. In the final scene of this episode, Moffat makes it clear how he was going to handle that subject in this season. The Doctor quickly rejects Amy's advances, and soon swings our attention back to the date The Doctor discovered while scanning the crack on the Byzantium. This revealed that the date the cracks were created were the same day that Amy gets married.
Another masterpiece from Moffat, and thus far his vision for the show was knocking the past five years out of the park when it comes to solid Doctor Who.
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