The episode, picking up many years in the chronology of the Ponds, sees them balancing their domestic and working life with that of their life with the Doctor, all against the backdrop of small cubes appearing over the world, shown through RTD-era news bulletins and CCTV footage. The Doctor, with the Ponds, has to work out what this slow invasion means before it’s too late.
So why did I enjoy this episode? Well it’s the first large-scale episode we’ve had in a while with a global impact, reflected well in their choice of locations. There is also plenty of humour scattered through the episode from cameos from Brian Cox and Alan Sugar’s Apprentice team – both well inserted in – alongside a very ‘Cabin In The Woods’ style situation under the Tower of London as UNIT also investigate the cubes, and find that each one has their own unique personality including one very musical one. In fact, I would have liked to have seen this idea explored more but there is only so much you can compress into one episode.
Matt Smith was as excellent as the Doctor once more, flipping between emotions, even if the hammy acting after one of his two hearts stopped was a tad unrealistic. His scene with Rory’s dad – played by Mark Williams in a far better and more enjoyable appearance than his last episode – was very touching and hints at what could be to come in next week’s Angels-focussed episode. Plus, he had a more rounded personality throughout the episode and added lots to the piece.
It was also nice to see the Pond’s life expanded upon and we finally get to see Rory working and that Amy actually has a job and the episode balances the normal with the abnormal well.
Then there was the scene with the Doctor painting, mowing and hoovering, alongside Rory's Dad and his log, and some creepy grill-mouthed men to add to the mix.
That’s not to say the episode isn’t without its flaws. Though the CGI of the cubes was mostly impressive some of the moving shots broke the illusion, and there were a few too many convenient plot strands, such as one of the wormholes to the “big bad” being present in the hospital where Rory works and the rushed conclusion to the episode with a motivation for the events of the slow invasion still a little bit muddy in my memory after a first watch. Again, like the other episodes, there is scope for at least getting two episodes out of each story to allow things to develop, but this mostly succeeded in its self-contained one episode.
Throw in a neat throw-back to the Brigadier, lots of clips of older episodes, the tear-jerking musical theme near the end and the nice little scenes of how the cubes are taken in by the humans, and you get an enjoyable, funny but also foreboding episode that is my favourite of the series so far, though that’s not saying much in a series that has yet to really make a huge impact on me.
(7/10)
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