Thoughts on Doctor Who Series 6 Premiere The Impossible Astronaut

by Amy Yen

I must have really missed Doctor Who. I know because all of the callbacks in “The Impossible Astronaut” — from “Hello sweetie” to “fish fingers and custard” — all elicited the same gleeful reaction from me. And why shouldn’t they? Here’s a show where stetsons are cool.

Part 1 of the series 6 premiere is classic Steven Moffat, packed full of extremely creepy monsters, timey-wimey puzzle pieces & clever, clever lines. And while the spacemen (presumably, although it is never actually said, the Silence from last series) are terrifying (you can’t remember them unless you’re looking right at them) & the Doctor recruiting his past self & his companions to…do what exactly?…is both fun & scary at the same time, the best part of the episode to me was the full fleshed out, completely wonderful relationships between the four leads.

The Doctor & Amy are the same as ever, with a full series of complete trust in each other under their belts. Even as the Doctor flirts outrageously with River, he reminds her that he can never truly trust her (cold, even for him). But he will trust Amy.

“My life in your hands. Amelia Pond.” This is nothing new. His life has been in Amy Pond’s hands before & nothing has changed between them. What is new & surprisingly fun to watch is where Rory fits in to all this. With many complaints that Amy & Rory spent very little of series 5 acting like people about to get married, here, they do. Rory has also clearly grown up quite a bit since the last series…he even catches on quicker than Amy about what has to be done. He & River talk logically, maturely, about the clues in front of them, while Amy is still too devastated to think straight. It’s impressive. He’s impressive. And it’s nice to see him develop as a companion on his own, rather than just as an extension of Amy.

It’s also Rory who gets from River the straight answer about the “far worse day” she’s dreading so much. It’s not just that she & the Doctor keep meeting out of order. It’s that they’re essentially meeting in the opposite order. Which means the day is coming when she will meet a Doctor that has no idea who she is. Of course, we’ve already seen this, their adventure in the Library. But it’s heartbreaking hearing it from her. Because it’s taken a little while to love River Song (her, and not just the idea of her), but as she corrected the Doctor’s movements in the TARDIS (“Just admiring your skills, sweetie”), it is hard not to.

More random notes on “The Impossible Astronaut”:

• I loved Canton Everett Delaware III. I’m a little predisposed to it, having enjoyed genre TV staple Mark Sheppard as Crowley on Supernatural, Romo Lampkin on Battlestar Galactica, Sterling on Leverage, Valda on Warehouse 13 & a million other things, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him so well used here in what is reportedly just a guest role. But Canton is a companion, both officially (he is invited to travel in the TARDIS & even gets Rory’s awkward orientation) & spiritually (he delights, rather than panic, in the face of the impossible). I didn’t think of it until later, but what’s brilliant about him is he is our companion introduction — a plot device that reintroduces the wonders of the TARDIS to the audience (think Ten mouthing along with Martha, “It’s bigger on the inside!” “Is it? I hadn’t noticed!”). Usually this is accomplished when the Doctor invites someone new on board, but since this is the first series since series 2 that does not introduce a new full-time companion, we get Canton as a stand-in.
• “We’re in a box that’s bigger on the inside that travels in time and space.” “Yeah, basically.” “How long has Scotland Yard had this?” HA! I’m really sad Canton is not recurring now. Also, not a bad American accent, Mark Sheppard. It’s kind of funny that he uses his British accent on all his U.S. roles & here, on the quintessential U.K. show, he plays an American.
• So, the Doctor’s “waving” at Rory & Amy through history books was pretty much the most hilarious thing of all time. I mean, the painting, with the cherubs & the trident? SERIOUSLY.
• “What face?” “The ‘he’s hot when he’s clever’ face.” “This is my normal face.” “Yes it is.” So, the Doctor flirts now? This one does, it seems, mostly with River Song (although the line about Jefferson, Adams & Hamilton was pretty funny…wonder which two fancied him?).
• “Human beings. I thought I’d never get done saving you.” Really, so many good lines in this episode.
• Not one, but two “Doctor who?” lines in this episode. Interestingly, neither of them are answered with “Just The Doctor.” Also, Canton gets to say the “bigger on the inside” line. The Doctor wasn’t even paying attention, so it didn’t even make up with Rory not saying it.
• Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Eleventh Doctor’s Theme?
• Nice callback to the Master’s funeral pyre with not being able to leave a time lord’s body up for grabs.
• “A lot more happens in 1969 than anyone remembers.” Right, like Ten & Martha Jones getting stuck for three months while Sally Sparrow fights off the Weeping Angels.
• The spaceman kind of looks like an Ood.
• Utah is gorgeous. Makes me want to go there, which I can say is a new feeling.
• Amy is pregnant. Wait, really?
• So, I’m reading a few reviews that are criticizing the episode for being overly mythology-heavy & inaccessible to the casual viewer. They are not wrong. If you’re watching Doctor Who for the first time, this is probably not the episode to do it. There’s not even a previouslys to catch you up on how the blue box is bigger on the inside, who River Song is, how time can be rewritten, etc. But as a fan of Fringe, the most mythology-immersed show on TV right now, I have to say, accessibility is overrated. The serialization, the mythology, the call-backs, that’s what makes this episode so damn fun. If you want to know what’s going on, go back, start with “Rose,” like I did.
• In memory of Elisabeth Sladen. Goodbye, our Sarah Jane Smith.

PS: So Part 2 of the premiere, Day of the Moon, looks incredible:

Fall TV Premiere Season, Week 3: Glee, Undercovers, Community, Fringe, Supernatural

House (FOX) – Premieres Monday, Sept. 20 at 8pm ET
The Event (NBC, new show) – Premieres Monday, Sept. 20 at 9pm ET
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS, new show) – Premieres Monday, Sept. 20 at 10pm ET
Glee (FOX) – Premieres Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 8pm ET
Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC, new show) – Premieres Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 10pm ET
Undercovers (NBC, new show) – Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 8pm ET
Modern Family (ABC) – Premieres Wednesday, Sept. 22 at 9pm ET
Community (NBC) – Premieres Thursday, Sept. 23 at 8pm ET
Fringe (FOX) – Premieres Thursday, Sept. 23 at 9pm ET
Supernatural (CW) – Premieres Friday, Sept. 24 at 9pm ET

***

by Amy Yen

So first of all, verdict from Week 1: I am already completely in love with Terriers. The dialogue and acting on it is so sharp and it’s really, really funny, but the most surprising thing is how much I already care about these characters, especially Donal Logue’s Hank. He’s certainly not the first messed up, flawed guy we’ve seen on TV, but there’s something so genuinely earnest about him. Like he’s not stupid, he knows it’s a bad idea to buy that house from his ex, he knows it, but he just can’t let it go. The scene in the dark, when he’s remembering him and his wife’s first night in the house, was heartbreaking.

The premieres for Vampire Diaries and Nikita were both solid up until about the last 10 minutes, where they both got awesome. I don’t know that I can stick with Nikita once Fringe is back, but I didn’t see that twist coming & it definitely makes the show about 10 times more interesting to me.

So seriously, guys, is there anything not premiering this week? GAH! Just briefly, I think I will be making my annual try at getting back into House, since I am curious to see how they handle House in love. But I have always found House a continuously solid, occasionally brilliant show that in general, I can tune into about one out of every five or so episodes & not really miss anything.

I’m trying four new shows this week: The Event, Hawaii Five-O, Undercovers & Detroit 1-8-7. Of these, I really only expect to be sticking with The Event, and only then because of a stunningly positive reaction to the pilot from the Comic Con crowd, who I trust because they’re geeks like me. From that trailer, I just don’t believe it can possibly be “the next Lost,” like everyone wants it to be, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the next Flashforward.

I’m also checking out Undercovers and Hawaii Five-O because of the cred behind the shows, Abrams & Orci & Kurtzman, but frankly, Undercovers is in a terrible time slot & has had virtually no buzz & Hawaii Five-O is stuck with Alex O’Laughlin as the lead, although it has a terrific supporting cast.

I do want to say a quick word about Glee. What I actually admire most about Glee is how brilliantly marketed it is. Because it’s actually a pretty flawed show. What it does do is try new things & that is admirable. But I almost feel like Glee would be better if it wasn’t so popular. Anyway, as far as comedy goes, it’s okay, but Modern Family & my favorite, Community, is better.

Finally, probably my two favorite returning shows, Fringe & Supernatural, one show that miraculously got another season despite declining ratings in the worst time slot on TV & one show that maybe shouldn’t have gotten one. The thing is, Fringe is really at the top of its game creatively. It is the only show where I have ever felt anything near as invested and in awe with the mythology and characters as I did with Lost. I don’t think the ratings will improve, if anything, because the producers have finally, FINALLY given up on the idea that they can be a case-of-the-week show with the occasional mythology episode rather than a mythology-based show with a case-of-the-week structure, it will become less accessible to someone who doesn’t tune in every week. And while I don’t agree with Fox’s decision to leave it stranded against Grey’s Anatomy and CSI, as long as they don’t punish the show for ratings it can’t help, I guess I don’t have anything to complain about.

Supernatural…probably should have ended. I mean, let’s just be real here. I love Supernatural, but how are you going to top the defeat of Lucifer & the emotional resonance of that finale? That finale was completely & 100% about Sam & Dean, their relationship, what they mean to each other. It even had the extended flashback sequence where we saw all their greatest hits from the entire run of the show. That’s a series finale move. And then to bring it back? To go back to monster-of-the-week & fighting wendigos? Sorry, skeptical. The only thing is, I actually found Supernatural to be terribly uneven last year. If it had been the last season & that was the great final battle, I thought they missed a lot of opportunities. The Four Horsemen storyline & actually showing the apocalypse leading up to the showdown with Lucifer were poorly handled. I also thought they missed a lot of potential story for Castiel, one of the most interesting supporting characters on TV. I wanted to see his relationship with each of the brothers fleshed out & they chose to really only use him as a plot device & show off how B-A & awesome he is (which we already knew). In the end, I think maybe because they knew the story had to continue, they chickened out of a Sam-as-Lucifer/Dean-as-Michael battle. To me, it wasn’t nearly as compelling to have Adam inserted into the story. So, I am skeptical about continuing on with season 6, but I’m definitely going to watch, because I do love these characters. I would like to be pleasantly surprised.

So, as it turns out, this will be a short blog series because there’s not a whole lot else premiering after there. I mean, a Human Target here, a Stargate Universe there, not much to get too excited over. For a full fall TV premiere dates calendar, go here.