Jayne Gudkov Review: A Good Man Goes To War

Demons run when a good man goes to war,

Night will fall and drown the sun,

When a good man goes to war,

Friendship dies and true love lies,

Night will fall and the dark will rise,

When a good man goes to war.

Wow, where to start with this mid-season finale? This episode had all kinds of craziness, from the physical manifestation of the Headless Monks, what I (and I am sure most everyone else) thought was a quite funny throw away line at the beginning of “Time of the Angels” about their final resting place being the Delerium Archives, to the Doctor basically destroying the 12th Cyber Legion (lots of death and destruction there – even if it's cybernetic – unless all of those exploding ships were empty) to Sontaran nurses with breast feeding capabilities to the solution of the mystery of why Jack the Ripper stopped killing the prostitutes of White Chapel in 1888 (who would have known there was a Silurian stalking the streets of Ye Olde London Towne?) to both an in your face gay couple (one member of which was sacrificed to the Headless Monks – some sort of statement Mr Moffat????) and a suggestively lesbian inter-species relationship between human and Silurian (OK – maybe not so suggestive).

Which is where we'll start this week - with what I liked:

Vash “Was I being insensitive again? I don't know why you put up with me?” (tongue flick knocking out cleric). Jenny just (suggestively?) smiles. That and there is just something hot about a woman dressed in a Victorian shirt, tie and vest. For more on that check out H G Wells in an American show "Warehouse 13" (purrrrrrr)

The Papal Mainframe of the Headless Monks is a chick.

Pirates! And Spitfires!!!!

The sound of the Tardis in Vash's drawing room harkened back to the old series sound of the Tardis console room. That good old console room hummmmmmmm.

Rory to the Cybermen - “Don't give me those blank looks!” Sorry, but that totally cracked me up.

Stevie Wonder singing under London Bridge in 1814. “But don't tell him.” I guess he was singing his version of “Happy Birthday” - a very cool version.

River calling the guards to tell them she was breaking back in.

Now onto what I didn't like:

The Doctor participating in mass murder (of the Cybermen) then making a point of defeating those who were holding Amy without bloodshed using simple logic.

That the reveal of who River Song was – it was such a non-surprise – I think most of us had it figured out just based on putting 2 and 2 together at the end of “The Day of the Moon”.

The Doctor takes off to go after the baby, leaving everyone else to be dropped off in their own time zones by River, my point being that he knows how River turns out, to the point that he knows how she dies, but he still goes off after her. What's the point??? Granted, he doesn't know that this kid supposedly kills him in the future, but still, as I said, he knows what will happen to River, so why fly off to save her? (More on the basic “essence” of River later in my “Halftime Report”)

The whole description to the baby by Amy who her father was, the misdirection making it sound like she was talking about The Doctor – when it was really Rory - that was silly.

Silly

Calling a baby crib a “cot”. A cot is barely a bed – basically a bunch of sticks with some material stretched over it that boy scouts sleep on in a tent out in the woods. What the Doctor provided for baby Melody was a proper crib (yeah – I know it's a battle between the Queen's English and the language now known as American) which brings me to . .

That whole Tardis Translation Matrix thing. Evidently either the baby's name or the Doctor's (which River has said she knows) had been inscribed on the sides of the crib. I get that the Tardis won't translate Gallifreyan into English (actually it's a bit of a stretch since it translates every other bloody language in the known universe into English – but I guess they need an excuse to either not give away the Doctor's name or the fact that it would have said “Melody Pond”). Anyway, the whole scene didn't really make any sense. If the viewer of said Gallifreyan language's normal language was English it should have shown itself in English.

Maybe, since River knows that the bunch of circles inscribed in the sides of the crib are Gallifreyan script, that's how she found out the Doctor's real name.

Granted, this is a season long arc, but I guess it would have been nice to have had a bit of an ending instead of having it drag out over the summer.

Anyway, To Be Continued in “Jayne's Season 6 Halftime Report”. What, you thought it would be titled “Let's Kill Lowtide”???? Actually . . . . . . . [Well I wouldn't have been that surprised - Editor Lowtide]

Jayne Gudkov Review: The Rebel Flesh

The Rebel Flesh – Episode 6.5

Episode 5 of Season 6 (I am American – we have seasons – as is natural), on the face (no pun intended) of it, seemed like a straight forward ripping off of a story that's been done over and over, in my mind I think of Heinlein's “Starship Troopers”, the story being that of “natural” humans versus clones and whether clones are actual beings or merely easily disposed of copies. I mean in the opening scene we see what they think of clones when they let D C Chris Skelton, I mean, Buzzer's clone just melt away in a vat of acid while making jokes about his lack of balance.

Anyway – onto my likes and dislikes.

What I liked:

A dart board in the Tardis. There seems to be an effort to make the Tardis more of a home, from the bunk beds in Amy and Rory's room to

Crazy Eye Patch Lady!!!!!!!

“What are you doing down there?” to the Tardis slowly sinking into the acid soaked ground.

Rory finally finding a damsel in distress that he could be a knight in shining armor for (Jennifer). I mean Amy has totally emasculated Rory from making him take her surname at their wedding (not that there's anything wrong with that) to her boldly going wherever she wants to go and dragging him along no matter how dangerous the situation. It was in interesting study in their roles versus the standard roles of women and men (men defenders of women).

What I didn't like:

That this story has been done 1000 times, but it does set up a moral dilemma for the Doctor, so maybe the story will redeem itself in Part 2, “The Almost People”. The moral dilemma here is whether, after making his stand that Clones are People Too, does he allow the clone of himself to live? (more on that in the Theory section).

That I knew from the second that the vat of “Flesh” blathered on with a “Trust Me” I knew that a clone of the Doctor would be showing up.

“I have very wide feet.” Something tells me that that statement was the Gallifrey version of the “Big Shoe Theory”, that if a guy has big feet he is well endowed in other areas. Wide feet on Gallifrey meant the same thing???? For a guy who's not all that into kissing, he's making penis size jokes?? This would have been funny from Captain Jack, not the Doctor.

The Overall Story of the Season:

We had a “blink and you missed it” appearance by the Crazy Eye Patch Lady, the story starting with The Doctor wanting to drop Rory and Amy off for some fish and chips so that he could go do things, evidently I assume, related to either Amy's pregnancy or The Girl In The Space Suit.

I am going to go out on a limb here, and this is NOT based on any spoilers that I have read. I have actually been trying to stay away from spoilers for a change this season, so this is totally supposition on my part.

My going out on a limb is that I am going to make a prediction here, the prediction being that The Doctor that we saw being killed in the very first episode, “The Impossible Astronaut” is the clone we saw made in “The Rebel Flesh”.

THE CRACKPOT THEORY

I'm sure that like most of the theories and predictions I made over the course of the run of “LOST”, where 99.8 percent were wrong (the one I got right was that Hurley would eventually become the “Jacob” of the island), this will probably be wrong, but I have a strong feeling about it. Something down the line, be it nature, the universe, the Guardians, whatever, may manipulate the companions to Utah and the killing of the clone, for while the universe is a better place with The Doctor, having two is a problem.

So the basic theory is that the clone of the Doctor we saw at the end of “The Rebel Flesh” was the Doctor that was killed in Utah.

Yes, I know this raises questions, like why did Canton Everett Delaware III need to be there to identify the Doctor and assure River, Rory and Amy that it was actually him is a bit of a mystery, and how the clone was about 200 years older than the real Doctor. It's just a gut feeling, but I think that with all of the effort that River, Amy and Rory are making to be sure that they don't tell the Doctor about his future, I get the feeling that it's the Doctor who is actually holding out on them and Delaware is in on the scam.

That's my theory and I'm stickin' to it (probably until next week LOL).

Jayne Gudkov Review: The Doctor's Wife

Doctor Who – 6.4 – The Doctor's Wife

Wow, where to start on this one? I had my misgivings when I had heard that Neil Gaiman was writing an episode of “Doctor Who”, I always have misgivings when established television series have episodes written by people better known for their novel writing skills than their TV skills. I call it “Stunt Writing”, a way to boost the show's ratings for an episode. It's like fan-fiction by established writers who happen to be fans of the show they wrote the episode for. Granted, it would be better written, grammar wise at least, but fan fiction nonetheless.

That's what I was expecting with “The Doctor's Wife”, but I was , if I am being totally honest, when I really shouldn't have. This is Neil Gaiman we're talking about, someone who is weird enough to treat “Doctor Who” with the reverence that it deserves and still write a story that abounds, at times, with total silliness, while being totally scary in some sections.

This was, to use an American-ism, fan fiction on steroids and I loved it. The only down point is that you can tell that this story just didn't fit into the current overall story arc, with the Crazy Eye Patch Lady popping up, but they had to throw that line in about the river in the forest, which, to me, harkens back to River Song in the Forest of the Dead. Was Idris/The TARDIS reminding him of River's death for some reason? It's interesting that both the Doctor and River both know how each other will die but, quite obviously, can't tell each other.

What I Loved:

That this was obviously a love story, the love between the TARDIS and The Doctor and that love, of course, triumphs over all, even maniacal disembodied former asteroid sized spirit known as “House”. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's some sort of reference to fellow Brit Hugh Laurie's character on American TV.

Yeah I got kind of teary eyed near the end as the Doctor said his “good-bye” to Idris/TARDIS

Sexy! Only Neil Gaiman would have that as the Doctor' secret name for the old girl. Dare I hope that there will be an episode where the Doctor brings Sexy back??? (sorry - just had to).

Bunk Beds!!!!! That was too funny and totally believable that the Doctor would give a married couple a room with bunk beds because, of course, they are cool. I had them as a kid for when my cousin would come for sleepovers.

That the TARDIS chose the Doctor as much as the Doctor chose the TARDIS

Type 40's were museum pieces 700 years ago, meaning that the Doctor was about 200 years old when he “borrowed” the TARDIS.

The last, we assume, appearance of the “Eccleston/Tennant Era” console room. It was VERY cool to see that again. It would have been an old series fan's wet dream if Idris/TARDIS had directed “the cute one” (evidently the TARDIS is a heterosexual lady LOL) to maybe the Sylvester Mc Coy console room (no, not the one from

the movie, though that evidently laid the groundwork for a non-white, full of roundels, console room)

The reference to “Time Crash” and the “desktop themes” of the TARDIS console rooms, knowing that even the concept of a “desktop theme” when the original series ran would make almost no sense to the audience at that time.

“I take you where you're needed.”

Almost coming full circle, he landed in a junk yard, granted a TARDIS junk yard, but there is a poetic sort of symmetry there.

I saw a comment on the message boards today that some one was disappointed that the

TARDIS halls all looked the same. I'll grant you that I was a little disappointed that we didn't see the now legendary TARDIS swimming pool, but the TARDIS hallways have always had that “sameness” about them. Go look at Peter Davison stumbling around in the halls of the TARDIS, letting out the famous 23 foot long Tom Baker scarf as he stumbled around trying to get his head together after his regeneration in “Castrovalva” while roaming halls that all looked exactly the same.

The Doctor tricking “House” into getting them all back

into the Console Room and then sicking Idris/TARDIS on him, showing that he still has a bit of a mean streak in him.

There's not much more I can say about this episode other than:

What I hated:

Actually, there was nothing I hated in this episode, other than it was too short and we have to wait another week for more

I didn't see any kind of trailer for next week's episode, “The Rebel Flesh” another 2 parter.

See you next week,

Jayne

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon Review!

The Jayne Gudkov Review – The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

The Doctor and crew come to the United States once again, but this time they are actually running through the Utah Desert as opposed to reanimating a Dalek in a museum beneath Salt Lake City... jumping out of a building in Manhattan instead of fighting off Daleks in the sewers beneath the island. Our heroes are visiting Cape Kennedy, the former (and present) Cape Canaveral - renamed in honor of the American President who had the vision that America could put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's.

In fact, the Doctor had visited America on a few other occasions throughout the show's history. The first Doctor visited Tombstone in the Arizona Territory just in time to witness the famous Gunfight it the OK Corral, as well as the Seventh Doctor landing in San Francisco on the eve of the new Millennia only to be shot in another gunfight and regenerate into the Eighth Doctor in San Francisco.

I have to say that I was proud that the BBC, in conjunction with BBC America, came here to the US to film this story. To the best of my knowledge (and that of Wikipedia), this is only the third time that the show has been filmed outside of the UK, the first being the Fifth Doctor story “Arc of Infinity” filmed in Amsterdam and the second being the 10th Doctor story “The Fires of Pompeii”, filmed in Rome [Tom Baker's "City of Death" is another, Planet of the Death another again - congratulations Wikipedia - Ed].

OK, enough of that and on to the story.

What I loved (other than the story being filmed in the US):

- An enemy that is forgotten as soon as they are out of sight

- Canton Everett Delaware III (the home of the American Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, the State of Delaware, no sure about what the “Everett” means) - the character played in 2011 by William Morgan Sheppard, father of Mark Sheppard, who played him in 1969 – very cool

- Stetsons – always cool – even when being shot off of your head.

- A 9 year old girl regenerating in the streets of New York in January, 1970, thus setting up the BIG MYSTERY for this season as in “Who is this little girl”?

- That the cell they were building for the Doctor in Area 51 was made of Dwarf Star Alloy, something not heard of since the 4th Doctor's travels in E-space

- River's line about being quite the screamer – VERY saucy

- The Doctor telling Richard Nixon that he needed to tape everything that went on in his office, which he did, as history tells us

- Slipping in the subliminal message in the static burst in Neil Armstrong's historic “That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” quote. It does explain why there was static break in the middle of his famous quote

- That they used actual American TV footage from the broadcasts of the moon landing featuring iconic American news anchorman Walter Chronkite


What I hated:

- After all the build-up last season with the “Silence will Fall” silliness with Prisoner 0 and Rosanna Calvierri spouting about it in a threatening way, it ended up being a prediction that the Doctor would defeat The Silents, at least that's how I take it now, in hindsight

- Yet another appearance by the Tardis-like console room first seen in “The Lodger”. I don't think The Silents in 1969 had any more to do with it than whoever dropped it on top of Craig Owens' flat in 2011, both alien forces trying to use it for their own means.

- That the Doctor tells everyone that The Silents need a spacesuit and that the only place to get it is in Florida in 1969 – what do they need it for and why only then? And what did they use it for? Spacesuits built like that are still being used by American astronauts to this day and the whole thing with trapping the little girl in there, what's that all about?

Here's what I think:

- There has been much speculation out there in Internet Land that The Rani, last seen during the Seventh Doctor days, is set to make a comeback, much the same way The Master did during the Tenth Doctor's time. What with the Universe basically being re-created last season, I guess it's possible for The Rani to be re-created, or some other Master-like female enemy to come on the scene.

- At first I thought that maybe Amy was River's mother. That would have been cool in a kind of timey-wimey, yet symmetrical way. Things seemed to be heading that way, for me at least, until the girl goes on regenerating (6 months later and in an alley in New York City, some 930 miles away) something she evidently has some sort of knowledge of since she says, “I'm dying, I have to fix that, it's easy really. See?” To me that tells me she has some previous knowledge of regeneration, not something that we have ever heard River talk about in relation to herself.

- I think there was a huge clue about the nature of the little girl when Amy was babbling about being afraid of the effects the Tardis could have on the embryo, something about having a “time head”. I think that the Doctor's scan of Amy lends credence to this one theory of mine, that her unborn child is time traveling as a result of its exposure to the Tardis. Remember that the Tardis is a living being and might be reaching out to this new life in some way we don't know yet and it would explain why she has a knowledge of regeneration

- Whoever this child is (the lady with the eye patch????), it will not become evident until the very end of this season, some time in the Fall

Two last points to make you all nuts, if you are into trying to figure out the bigger mysteries of the season. In a “Confidential”-like special shown after the second episode called “Dr Who in America” there were two statements made regarding the upcoming season:

1) that the crew who came over here were given a scene to shoot that made no sense, but they were told it would make sense later...

and

2) there was something that happened in “The 11th Hour” that would be explained in either the 11th or 12th episode this season.

That's one serious story arc!

Review: A Christmas Carol by Jayne Gudkov

“A Christmas Carol” - the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special – a review

By Jayne Gudkov

A poor family who “just wanted one day” to enjoy Christmas with an ailing relative and who enjoyed Christmas even though they were poor – check.

A curmudgeonly old rich guy who had no time for Christmas and those who celebrated it – check.

Victorian outfits – check.

Delving into the curmudgeon's past to see why he was the crabby bastard that he was – check.

At it's root, it's a love story – CHECK!

All those plot points of the classic Dickens story, “A Christmas Carol”, were there and then some, in this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, which shared its name with Mr. Dickens' classic.

Some things that I am sure that Dickens never thought of were a planet with a foggy/crystalline atmosphere where fish and sharks swam and got down to Christmas tunes, even with his having met the Doctor in a previous incarnation.

I laughed, I cried, I thought that it was cool that we over here in America actually got to see the Christmas special actually on Christmas, like our fellow British fans.

After a long day of traveling to see a friend in the hospital and back again (with a stop for some Chinese food thrown in) this very Christmas Day, I sat down to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special and, I have to say that “A Christmas Carol” might just be Stephen Moffat's best story since “Blink”.

All in all it was, in some ways, a typical Doctor Who Christmas special. The story started with a crisis and ended with snow, but this was different. I didn't cry when Astrid gave her life to save the few left alive on the Titanic, I didn't cry when Torchwood blew up the Sycorax at the end of “The Christmas Invasion”. I came close to bawling in “The Next Doctor” when the Doctor recreated what had happened to Jackson Lake at the hands of the Cybermen and I remained totally dry eyed during “The Runaway Bride” (which I think may have been the weakest of the 5 Christmas specials story wise – effects wise it was great – with the TARDIS chase scene) but I did cry twice during “A Christmas Carol” and if you didn't you're either a guy or just not human.

I am not going to go into a total recap of the episode – you've seen it and you can recap it for your own self.

To see the look of amazement on Abigail's face as she stood in the TARDIS doorway and seeing her standing at the end of the story singing into the broken half of the Sonic screwdriver while looking lovingly into the eyes of the older Kazran, knowing that it was her last day of life. Katherine Jenkins, in her television acting debut, was incredible. While I am sure she has wowed audiences with her amazing voice in an opera setting, pulling it off in a TV show is totally different. And pulling in Michael Gambon in, as far as I know, in his first post “Harry Potter” role, total genius, he was amazing as both the older Kazaran and Kazaran's bitch slappin' father, not to mention the young man who played the youngest Kazaran.

The cynical side of me looks at the guest stars in these specials and think that the BBC, as well as Moffat (and Russell T Davies before him), pander to their American audience a bit too much... and I am American!

While we had no clue who Catherine Tate or David Morrisey was, we knew Michael Gambon and Kylie Minogue and their little stop in California for the Doctor's duet with “Frank” and his heading off to Vegas with “Marilyn” for a quickie wedding was, if I am being honest, a bit much. I get it, but I like Doctor Who for it's British-ness, if you will. That and it kind of didn't make sense – do Time Lords not know how to kiss????? (“How do you breathe?” - come on!!!!)

I took a bit of a poll at The Traveller's Rest in New London and the general consensus from the people there was that the episode deserved an 8 out of 10.

I know that a lot of the fans out there have had a hard time in this, the 5th season (series), since the return of the Doctor - what with the change in show runners, a change from an amazingly popular Doctor (Tennant) and the previous year's run being not quite a real season due to Tennant's commitments to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

On top of that, Amy has taken quite a beating from fans as well. While I don't find her as annoying my British counterparts, I think both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill did nicely in their limited appearances in this episode.

Just a bit of trivia as I close, in the preview for Season 6 – which starts its adventures right here in the good old USA - we learn that Stetsons are "cool"... and they are. I own one in real life, a genuine, blue fitted in Texas, Stetson, but the original Stetson factory, where they made more classic fedoras as well as cowboy hats, was right here in Philadelphia, where I am writing this review. So yeah Stetsons are cool, that's right mo fo – Stetsons are cool!!!!

Jayne OUT!!!!!!!

End of Time Reviews from Test Screenings!

Non-spoiler review based on the recent test screening for End of Time. Very positive it seems. Encouraging from both sources. Shouldn't be any spoilers, but watch out if you're avoiding all details on this episode!


BBC review (UPDATE!)
LifeofWylie review
SFX review

Plus.. The Sun enjoys revealing in the pictures of the Master we put up yesterday.

DWZ Review: Water of Mars by Aunxant Verwood

As promised, a second review from Second Life. This one from Doctor Who fan Aunxant Verwood. Hope you enjoy Aunxant's take on Water of Mars! If you want to add a review, email Harold Saxondale at wznewlondon@gmail.com!

Well, only two episodes left until the end, eh? It's hard to believe, but there it is, the truth of the matter. Proof in the pudding, as it were.

Or rather, the Flood.

Never before has an episode of Doctor Who been so inundated, so filled to bursting with fresh ideas in the form of new emotional reservoirs for cast and crew to draw upon, to better flesh out the characters we know and love, or love to hate.

Waters of Mars is a monumental episode in the history of the series, not only because of the special effects, the acting, the writing. The cast.

It itself is an epic idea, simply because of the sheer amount of new storytelling substance that it incorporates, not in terms of creative fodder, but emotional; and, as we all know, it has been quite a while since the Doctor has really taken a hard look at himself, an instance of fact that is conveyed beautifully by the entire production.

As we see in the final frames, David Tennant's Doctor demonstrates the character's growth as a psychologically imbalanced hero in a moment of deep mental disturbance, while Lindsay Duncan's strong-minded Captain Brooke provides the sane and selfless counter to the Doctor, who is in the throws of a psychotic break.

The whole of the episode, from Andy's infection in the bio dome to Steffi's in front of the vids of her children, is leading up to the Doctor coming to terms with his survivor's guilt, the struggle between what he knows he should do and what he feels he must.

He walks away, like a good little mortal, but then he returns as a god and interferes.

Just as the Doctor tries to bend the universal laws he has tried to uphold in a fit of grief and madness, Captain Adelaide Brooke sees this, and decides to preserve those laws for him, taking her own life to ensure the survival of the correct course of history.

And, as in many good stories before it, Waters of Mars leaves us wondering what just happened, while providing a new depth of character to the lead and new creative fodder for the writers and supportive cast that has not yet been seen.

Has the Doctor lost his mind, sacrificing his sanity and sense of self on the altar of the Flood's victims?

Or is something else about to happen?

All in all, the episode deserves some kudos, for its failings as well as its successes.

Character development of the supporting cast was possibly designed to be shallow, to point a shining attention towards the main leads... if one can call that expert use of technique a failure, then... the show is doomed.

In other words, not many failings to be seen, the way I see it, but who am I? Just another fan.

And speaking of failing the fans, how many will appreciate that the Doctor has finally lost it?

We've been waiting for him to break, though. Can't be that much of a surprise. It's the logical course of events for the character, after so much trial and hardship, not to mention the denial and avoidance that has been such a prominent staple in this incarnation's life.

Perhaps now, in the wake of the Waters of Mars, we can see how the character will grow into his new role of madman.

Or will he learn to live? Will he remember to be humble in the face of his own destruction?

Like the man said, "I live in hope."

note: Reproduction is allowed by the author of this review.

DWZ REVIEW: Dreamland

With Dreamland having just enjoyed its full airing today, it seemed a perfect time to look back at this animated event and use it to kickstart our DoctorWhoZone reviews. We have a few more reviews coming up next week, so look out for them! In the meantime - keeping looking right here. Yes that's right, keep reading. Ready for the next paragraph? Good.

Dreamland is the second animated Tennant Doctor Who adventure. The TARDIS lands in Nevada, home to the non-swinging, post-war communist fearing 1950s. Upon a chance meeting with an alien artefact on display in a local diner, the Doctor is whisked upon another exciting adventure that will take him to Area 51 - Dreamland - and the dark secrets it harbours within....

Dreamland sports a very different style to the last animated story - The Infinite Quest - taking it away from the two dimensional roots and into something a little more dynamically three dimensional. For those of you without amnesia, you will no doubt remember guest star Georgia Moffett from Series Four. Here she plays Cassie, an American waitress and one of the Doctor's sidekicks. Also in the cast is British acting legend David Warner (who has been in pretty much every sci-fi franchise known to man) and he plays the arch-alien-antagonist, Lord Azlok.

So what do we have here? Well in some respects, its Who-by-numbers; we have the Doctor immediately getting into trouble; a big monster threat; a misguided military archetype; some aliens who need defending and some sidekicks to be rescued.. the list goes on. But in a way, this isn't bad -you watch a show for certain structural expectations, and I'd say this delivers on those elements - aspects that many viewers would consider quintessentially part of the "Doctor Who formula".

So yes, the story has a good pace, the usual and necessary structural ingredients. The overall direction and visuals are impressive - and of course, Murray Gold's music gets lots of airing. But is it brilliant?

Is it? Probably. For kids - I imagine they loved every minute. For me, the one quintessential element of the "Doctor Who Formula" they missed was the really colourful script. The script isn't bad, it just never ignites. The Doctor never says anything that really catches you; nothing that you'd remember after watching this story. The story perhaps runs too fast a pace to allow the dialogue to do anything spectacular.

The other downside for "yours truly" was the model work for the main character. While aspects of Tennant come through in the Doctor's visuals, the animation never truly captures Tennant's energy or body language - that's a tall order for any animation I know - but the fact is it doesn't feel like the Doctor, even if it sounds like him. And what's up with his receding hairline there? If I was Tennant I'd be very self conscious of that!

But the cast do a good job. As a Brit, I couldn't fault Moffett's accent (but then I am a Brit), though with Sandra Dickinson as a mother, that must have been a great help. David Warner does a great job with Azlok, oozing power and commanding attention. So one cannot fault the cast.

Really, one cannot overly fault Dreamland at all. It's fast paced, its well produced and full of talent. For an adult, I just found the script a little bland compared to the main show and the model work for the Doctor a little distracting. I'd certainly recommend a watch and would definitely consider it as a future present for any nephew's birthday.

Better than the Infinite Quest for me, though not quite to the quality of the New Series. But given the standard of the live action show, I wouldn't say that's a bad place to be.

Grade: B

Laredo Lowtide