Here we are, more or less mid-season, and as someone who’s recapping this block of episodes week in and out, as well as someone who’s been deconstructing this series for years now, I’m frankly a bit flummoxed by Steven Moffat’s inaugural year. It’s starting to feel as if the season is only going to make total sense once it’s over and done with. Some time ago, long before the season began, Moffat was saying that he wanted the season to be referred to as Season One, rather than Season Five, and that’s starting to make a whole lot more sense. Aside from the occasional references to the past, everything about this year feels as if some kind of reset button has been hit, and yet it remains difficult to watch without bringing the baggage of the last five years into the equation, even though I’m fairly certain Moffat would prefer that we didn’t. I mean, it’s hard to picture a character like Mickey Smith, for instance, fitting into any part of this narrative in any kind of believable manner, and yet you almost want somebody like him to turn up in a scene just to remind you that you’re still watching the same show.
I continue to want to compare this material to stuff from seasons’ past, and yet this nagging feeling keeps telling me that’s just an unfair thing to do. I wonder if Moffat’s even got some kind of grand master plan that extends beyond this block of 13 episodes? None of this means I’m not enjoying the season, just that it’s a much different kind of enjoyment than what I’ve become accustomed to during the Davies years, which began feeling predictable about three years in. Say what you will about this season, but, at least at this stage, it is most certainly not predictable. In some ways watching this season is as disorienting as the predicament in which our heroes find themselves in this week’s episode. As viewers, we’re experiencing a new reality of the series, while we keep thinking back on what we came to know prior to this season’s start. Which is the real “Doctor Who?” The Davies or the Moffat era? Both, or maybe neither? I’ll likely elaborate on all of this further during the final recap of the season.
Moving on to “Amy’s Choice,” which is a story that seems primarily designed to screw with your head. It seemingly takes place in two different realities – one is set five years in Amy and Rory’s future, and the other is set in the TARDIS of the present, assuming the word present can ever be used in relation to the TARDIS, anyway. In the future storyline, Amy and Rory have long since left the Doctor behind, and they’re living in Leadworth, married and expecting a child. A surprise visit from the Doctor leads to bad things, as is to be expected, and the trio discover that an alien race called the Eknodine are disguised as the elderly townsfolk, and these creatures have the ability to kill simply by breathing on people. In the other reality, the trio is stranded in a dead TARDIS, which is drifting toward a burning, frozen star.
The Dream Lord appears, played by Toby Jones, an actor who’s becoming a ubiquitous screen presence, which is odd to say the least, as he’s a very funny looking little man, whom one might assume would have trouble finding work based on his appearance alone. That doesn’t seem to be the case though, as he even managed to land a villainous role in the upcoming “Captain America” movie. The Dream Lord, who at first is dressed like the Doctor, appears to be operating on several levels. On the surface is the dilemma of the two realities which he’s presented to the crew, but beneath that resides something more sinister and complex. He seems hell bent on causing a rift amongst the TARDIS trio, by exposing the weaknesses of each character.
Once again, the idea that either the Doctor or Rory is an interloper in Amy’s life is a theme, although this is clearly the hardest the point has been hit home yet. It’s certainly an interesting proposition, because even though the Doctor is the main character of the series, and the one with whom our sympathies naturally lay, I think we want to believe he’s the “gooseberry,” since he’s the one who’s interrupted Amy’s life time and again since she was a child. And again, because we know the drama of this series in a way that Amy does not, we as viewers are well aware of how south events could possibly go for Amy should she continue on with the Doctor and his travels. But then again, hasn’t the Doctor been a more important part of her psyche for a longer period of time than Rory? Why isn’t Rory the interloper here? The conundrum is much like the episode itself. Surely the Leadworth storyline is the false reality, and the TARDIS scenario is the truth? Or is it? Both scenarios fit in equally well within the universe of “Who,” and both are presented as equally real. Eventually, the Dream Lord turns the situation into Amy’s choice, hence the title. Which reality would she rather live in? Soon enough, the decision is practically made for her when Rory is turned to dust in the Leadworth scenario, and she chooses the TARDIS reality in lieu of losing Rory forever, based on the idea that life isn’t worth living without him.
Back in the frozen TARDIS – which, by the way, is a lovely sight to behold – all three characters wake up. Clearly this was correct choice, right? Well, assuming you’ve seen the episode, and I can’t imagine you’d be reading this if you haven’t, you also know that there are two final twists in “Amy’s Choice.” The first is that both realities were the result of some psychic pollen that got stuck in the TARDIS console, and the second is that the Dream Lord was some sort of psychic projection of the Doctor himself, an idea which really takes the entire episode to a whole different, malevolent level: Some twisted, self-loathing part of the Doctor’s persona caused all of this.
This is an idea that was previously explored back during the Colin Baker era, in the “Trial of a Time Lord” season, with the character of the Valeyard, who was said to be an amalgam of the darkest sides of the Doctor’s persona, that came from somewhere in between his twelfth and final incarnations. Of course, the new series has yet to ever mention the previously established 12-regeneration limit, and since the term Valeyard was never used here we can’t be sure it’s the same creature, but the Dream Lord sure seemed comparable to the Valeyard, and even the way he flitted around by disappearing and reappearing was identical to how the Valeyard moved in the final episodes of the Baker serial. Further, the fact that the Doctor knew who the Dream Lord was all along would seem to lend the idea that they’re one and the same some credence. I’d like to see more of this being and hopefully this isn’t the last of him, as the idea seems ripe with possibility. Hopefully Toby Jones doesn’t become so immensely popular that he doesn’t have time to return to the part should the situation arise.
“Amy’s Choice” is a deceptively tight episode. How good it is doesn’t really come home until the final moments. It was written by Simon Nye, who’s best known in the U.K. as the creator of the classic sitcom “Men Behaving Badly.” Of course you wouldn’t know that this was written by a comedy writer any more than you’d know that “Blink” was written by the same man who wrote “Coupling,” such is the versatility of the people who work on this show. While “Amy’s Choice” does have some humor (all the stuff with the old folks was hilarious), it remains a fairly dark and disturbing, highly emotional episode, loaded with character. Granted, the birdsong that signaled the switching of realities as well as the crew falling asleep and waking up got a tad repetitive after a while, but such is the nature of a piece of TV like this. The overall idea behind the episode isn’t terribly original and in fact when it was all over and done with, I couldn’t help but think back on it and feel that the whole thing smacked of fanfic (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but ultimately the execution of it was done well enough to justify having made the episode in the first place.
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NEXT TIME: It’s the return of a classic “Who” race known as The Silurians, in “The Hungry Earth.”
Classic “Who” DVD Recommendation of the Week: Do I or do I not recommend “Doctor Who and The Silurians”? I think I do. It stars Jon Pertwee and it rocks, even at seven episodes.
(Thanks as always to Sonic Biro for the screencaps.)
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Posted in: Doctor Who, TV, TV Action, TV Sci-Fi
Tags: Amy's Choice, Arthur Darvill, Coupling, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Blog, Doctor Who Season Five, Karen Gillan, Matt Smith, Men Behaving Badly, Simon Nye, Steven Moffat, The Dream Lord, The Trial of a Time Lord, The Valeyard, Toby Jones
So I have actually turned off this episode twice already because of other thing I had to do. The sad thing is is that I need not return to see the ending ever.
Something mildly off-topic that I’ve been meaning to say for a LONG LONG time about Doctor Who:
I’M REALLY REALLY TIRED OF THE SONIC SCREWDRIVER!!!
I’m surprised that, as decent a writer as Mr. Moffat is that he doesn’t hold a similar disdain for the “device” that John Nathan Turner did.
I’d like to point out to the morons who run this site that their protection codes suck. This will be my third attempt at getting a comment in to the review – I won’t make a fourth.
Anyhoo…
Well done Ross – to tell the truth, I think this is one, if not the, best reviews ever. I can’t think of anything to add.
You do hit on something though that I think explains my unease with this “season” – the giant cosmic reset button. I agree that it would be hard to imagine Rose, Martha, Donna, Mickey – all the previous main characters fitting into this universe – almost as if Moffat has, or is, trying to reinvent the Who universe. It would seem that this is the first sojourn into that premise. The framework is still in place, the content has been changed. I have a feeling that this Dr. Who universe is filled with sand and the winds will bring constantly shifting dunes and features.
Not sure I like it, but that’s the way it is.
Hell of a point and a good one.
Okay I have to agree with Ross, with a couple comments. I thought that the episode was not as predictable as some here and on other sites have posted.
One comment that the Doctor mad a couple times was the he didn’t just leave companions behind. I found this odd, and then the man (who we later learn his true id)shows up…Maybe I am just twisted by my first thought that it was Adric, somehow all grown up and out for revenge on the Doctor. Yes it would have been a rip off of Kes’ revenge on Star Trek: Voyager. Ross just how many companions have been killed off in the series? Was’t there one in the Troughton era?
Owen –
That’s a pretty nebulous comment. Would you care to elaborate?
Anon –
I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the comments. If I may offer a tip – and this is what I do frequently with websites, Facebook, etc. when I composing something lengthy – write it in Word and then copy and paste it. That way you don’t lose what you wrote if things go kerfluey.
Bob –
Aside from Adric dying, there were two deaths in the Hartnell era – both from in the same story even, “The Dalek Masterplan,” and they were both short-lived companions – Katarina and Sara Kingdom.
Mike:
I know what you’re talking about- There are too many times the sonic screwdriver just “does” what needs to be done. As a result, the Doctor comes off not so much as clever as just lucky to own such a magnificent device. It’s kind of like reversing the polarity- an all purpose, can’t think of anything else deus ex machina that keeps the story moving.
Ross:
One of the things I really enjoy about this season is that it doesn’t feel like any of the previous shows. The Dream Lord nails it when he’s talking to the Doctor in the van about how the companions aren’t really his friends. This is a guilty conscience of a man who has lived many lives, each somewhat different from the other. When do you think the last time was that he checked in on Tegan?
Anonymous was me Ross. ~~ mutter ~~ :>)
I noticed, as have others, that there was no ‘crack in the universe’ image. Since Moffat has established how closely Amy’s life is related to it, and that the Doctor knows this, it’s odd that it didn’t turn up in at least one of his dreams.
I enjoyed it. Didn’t see the double twist coming.
Well if I remember correctly the reason that Nathan Turner had the sonic destroyed was because he felt that Tom Baker’s Doctor had become the kind of character where very little suspension of disbelief was needed and certainly by SHADA it wasn’t really a surprise anymore that the Doctor would make it past the cliffhanger.
As a writer it’s easier to write:
“INT. SHIP STORAGE COMPARTMENT
The DOCTOR points his sonic screwdriver at the the door. We hear a latch snap.
THE DOCTOR
A ha!”
————————————
Way too easy and at this point is as surprising as seeing the Daleks again. MORE interesting to me is:
“INT. SHIP STORAGE COMPARTMENT
The DOCTOR hears a CREW MEMBER walking by.
THE DOCTOR
OY! Get your bloody mits offa me eh? Shhhh! Shhhh!
P.O.V. THE DOCTOR’S View through the storage compartment’s slats. The CREW MEMBER is looking confused at the compartment’s door and begins to walk towards it and the DOCTOR. We HEAR the crew member punching buttons to a keypad that will unlock the door. The door opens and the crew member looks astonished to see the DOCTOR sitting there. The DOCTOR holds out a small waxed bag toward the CREW MEMBER.
THE DOCTOR
Jelly Baby?”
——————————————-
Now THAT is an example of writing taking more thought than having the Doctor wave about this device for no apparent reason that can eventually do anything that the story calls for. Even igniting swamp gas was a stretch when Pertwee did it!
John…not to disprove anything but…
http://www.bigfinish.com/87-Doctor-Who-The-Gathering
Now of course…not canon…blah blah blah
OK…let’s go down the list here…
John N. – You encapsulated the problems with the screwdriver quite eloquently, but (and really this is directed at Owen), bitching about the sonic screwdriver is sooo 2007. The device has been so overused and abused at this point that I don’t even think about it anymore. It’s there and I’m used to it. It’s just one of those things I’ve come to accept with the new series. There was the great moment in “Vampires” when the Doctor shrieked, “It doesn’t work on wood!” I liked that bit.
Tom – I thought Anonymous might be you, as there are few I know who’d so flippantly throw out a term like “morons.” But I wasn’t sure because the rest of your post was rather reasoned in regard to the season, and up until now you haven’t been nearly as kind. In any case, I’m glad you enjoyed the review.
Peel – Now unlike the screwdriver, I actually am rather bored with the crack at this point. I’m sure I’ll feel differently come season’s end, but for now it’s become all too intrusive, and somewhat tiresome. With all this build-up, there’d better be one helluva payoff. And yeah, I didn’t see the ending coming either, which was real nice.
Owen – Yeah, the audios don’t count as canon. Sorry dude.
Also, you completely missed what I was saying when I said your comment was nebulous. I wasn’t referring to the screwdriver, I was referring to “I’ve tried to watch it twice and now I don’t have to see the ending.” Why on earth not? It’s a good episode. You’re missing out.
…oh….
lol
Well I’ve watched it over 3 sittings already…still haven’t finished it. I don’t think it’s all that interesting.
I think can still gripe about the sonic screwdriver b/c it’s old. I’m not one to stop complaining about something b/c it’s been done.
Not complaining about the screwdriver so much as missed opportunities in the stories. Mike’s example is pretty good. I can accept the idea of a fabulous multitool, of course. It’s just the “bat shark repellent” aspect of it that tends to bother me. I’ll live though.
The identity of the Dream Lord had me stumped, as arguably the Doctor’s greatest “single” enemy is the Master. Then I remembered “The Mind Robber”, whose chief villain was also called “the Master”, and he controlled the Land of Fiction!
Upon sober consideration, um…yeah, your thing is better. (I really need to bone up on my Colin Baker seasons.)
Just a theory on my part, Spazmo, and I’m not entirely sure it’s even a terribly solid one. I *am* sure that it’s incredibly fanwanky, though.
No, yours makes sense both plot-wise and character-wise. (And only faintly fanwanky-wise)
Last night I watched the next three episodes after this, and I CAN’T WAIT for your reviews.
OK, late to this party and I watched it while multi-tasking (it was either laundry or dishes, I can’t remember which) — anyway: hated it. Do you seriously expect me to believe that, after 900 years, at least half of them among humans, the Doctor doesn’t know how to deliver a baby? Stuff like that pulled me out of the story, repeatedly.
I found the character work was quite good but I was annoyed by the space pollen explanation. The whole episode, its structure and outcome, reminded me of “That Old Black Magic” with a little “Dream a Little Dream” thrown in. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for an extended dream-story — that isn’t always the case, I thought that Skiffy’s “Alice” adaptation was pretty charming.
My question is how the writers came up with this one. I honestly never expected the antagonist of the episode to be POLLEN. I love Doctor Who, but that’s the stupidest explanation I’ve ever seen. It could have been an alien that cloned the Doctor if they wanted to go for the whole ‘Oh,he’s the Doctor.’ Line at the end of the episode. But no, let’s make it Space Pollen.