"Amy’s Choice"

Simon Nye’s debut for Doctor Who is based, as many great Doctor Who stories are, on a simple premise- what if we couldn’t tell what was dream and what was real? There is one reality where the Doctor visits Amy and Rory 5 years after their parting, with Amy heavily pregnant and Upper Leadworth about to face an attack by possessed pensioners. In another, the incapacitated TARDIS is drifting inexorably towards a ‘cold star’. Seemingly in control of both realms is a seemingly unassuming, yet ultimately frightening figure of the Dream Lord. Nye presents us with exciting threats in both scenarios, but he uses the story to delve into the structure of the human unconscious- how do our dreams reflect our desires and our personalities? The quiet domesticity of Upper Leadworth is clearly something Rory wants, yet even that is invaded by the type of menace that the Doctor is usually involved with- perhaps the kind of menace that the Doctor needs to operate. The fact that all this is wrapped up in a very entertaining and funny story is fantastic. As befits Simon Nye, there are some fantastic comic touches- Rory’s (truly awful) pony-tail, Amy’s pregnant running and her false alarms, facing death ‘looking like a Peruvian folk band’, the Doctor as Mr Cool, with some excellent one-liners. The shift towards the sinister is very skilfully done, helped, in no small respect, by Catherine Morshead’s direction. Although the camera is rather static, the scenes in Leadworth and the Drift towards the cold star are both impressively handled, with great special effects and cinematography. Crucially, the attack of the Eknodine in the bodies of the old people comes off as both sinister and ridiculous, with shades of Shaun of the Dead and the Father Ted episode "Night of the Nearly Dead". This sets us up for the very emotional scenes at the climax- Rory’s apparent death and Amy’s willingness to risk her death (without a thought for her unborn child’s) to be with Rory again.

The Dream Lord is brought to life by the wonderful Toby Jones, who, wisely, never overplays, making the character funny, yet menacing. His true nature is simple, but, fanboy that I am, I was too busy thinking of the Celestial Toymaker or the Trickster to notice. The Dream Lord is a manifestation of the Doctor’s own darkness, his guilt and self-loathing (how is unimportant- the criticisms levelled at The Space Museum and The Edge of Destruction do not apply here, as the situation is not the most important aspect of the drama). However, the story is called "Amy’s Choice" for a reason- while the desires of the menfolk are obvious, what is it that Amy dreams of, or desires? It is Amy’s choice which, indeed, is the decisive step in solving the crisis. The Dream Lord has many choice words for the Doctor, but in the end it is Amy’s simple ‘Then what is the point of you?’ which is the most devastating criticism of the Time Lord. Matt Smith improves with every episode and Arthur Darvill is hugely likeable. However, it is Karen Gillan who is the biggest standout- her playing of Amy’s grief over Rory’s death is subtle, never going into histrionics- and all the more heartbreaking for that.

Simon Nye is most famous for writing Men Behaving Badly, a sitcom that was far cleverer than it appeared to be, so there were a few raised eyebrows when he was announced as a writer for Doctor Who, just as there were when another comedy writer was announced as a writer. This is a story of real subtlety and sophistication, an absolute joy from beginning to end.

NEXT: "The Hungry Earth"/ "Cold Blood"