Is it really Dr Who?

With the fourth week of the latest Dr Who series a couple of hours away it’s worth reflecting on what we’ve seen so far.

The first episode was so exciting I nearly woke up. The whole scene with Hitler could have been eliminated without too much trouble. I was staggered to hear Dr Who Confidential admit that it was one of the largest (and most expensive) sets they’d constructed. Shame on you. It was a complete waste of time, filming and licence payer’s money. The only plus was that 3 or 4 other actors got some bit part work and a collection of WWII vehicles had a starring role.

The Mark Gatis inspired episode was a great improvement sadly let down by the inability of the actors to interpret their roles. Perhaps I should qualify that remark - two of the actors. Thank heavens for Rory and River, when she’s around. Matt Smith is actually improving, though he’s a long way to go to convince me he’s Dr Who and not the guy I saw on the One Show juggling his sonic screwdriver.

Karen Gillan, on the other hand, has managed to remain static from the start. At least she's able to retain her expressionless, slightly lost, staring eyes routine - no matter what the situation - which would be even more disconcerting in real life. Whoever voted her ‘Best Actress’ recently had clearly never seen anything more inspiring than a primary school play. In the last episode (September 10) I thought her +36 years image was not a lot different – slightly dumpy, but easily recognisable by the staring eyes. If I was Rory I’d have left them both behind and checked out the talent on the next alien world.

It would be a miracle, if I could hear it.

Well I was ready for the new Torchwood ‘Miracle Day’, as the trailer asked, but I was sorely disappointed. While I’m not a lover of Cardiff as location for the original Torchwood, I was certainly in the ‘bring back the old times’ mood by the end of this episode. Sorry Russell T, but I wasn’t convinced this time round. Whether it’s your writing, which I doubt, or the director’s interpretation, but this was typical US TV noise - lots of garbled dialogue, huge amounts of flashing electronics, explosions, gunfire and dramatic music - signifying absolutely nothing.

There were more betrayals, guns and double dealing than an episode of 24 (choose any series for info). Gwen seems to have more potent hardware than an ARV, while the guy on the crutches was less convincing than Daffy Duck. Of course I’ll be watching the next episode with ‘fatal fascination’ – meaning I don’t really want to see any more, but it has the same effect as toothache - it’ll get better eventually, but at the moment I can probably stand the pain.