"The Rings of Akhaten"

"The Rings of Akhaten" is one of those stories that justify my decision not to have a ratings system. It is disorganised and scrappy and is one of the very few stories made this century that cries out for a few more drafts. However what it certainly is not, is boring or clichéd. Whatever else one may say about the story, Neil Cross is clearly a writer of great ability and possesses a great imagination. How he channels that ability into producing a workable script for a 45-minute episode of Doctor Who is a more complex issue.

The story contains a number of intriguing concepts – the god that must be propitiated by song and the religious rite that has become a tourist attraction. Living stars. The nature of memory and story. Cross is attempting to reach the imaginative heights of Olaf Stapledon or David Lindsay for a Saturday teatime audience and has more success than most. The skeleton of the plot is sound, as are the basic revelations. Beyond that, however, things start to get messy. This occurs with smaller details – the 'secret song' to open the secret passage that Merry suddenly remembers is a blatant cheat by the writer. However, this messiness becomes more serious when it affects the entire resolution of the plot. The use of the 'most important leaf in the universe' should have capped the Doctor's use of his memories and tied up well with the (apparently disconnected) teaser. However, such is the lack of tightness, it could seem that the Doctor's stand-off with grandfather was clumsily patched in to bulk up the episode. The meaning of the leaf and the infinite potential it represents, the stories told and untold, is not properly explored, so that makes the leaf feel like it was clumsily patched in, even though it blatantly wasn't. Characterisation also suffers somewhat - the story of Clara's parents aims for an Up style impact, but fails. However, this does not affect the story disastrously.

The realisation of the story, however, is nothing short of spectacular. From the moment Clara opens her eyes to view the titular rings, we are treated to one gorgeous image after the next. Monster fans are in for a field day with enough bizarre alien species to put the Mos Eisley Cantina to shame (including a namecheck for everone's favourite super-intelligent shade of the colour blue). There is the terrifying threat of the Vigil and the utterly intoxicating operatic section where Merry and the Chorister sing to 'Grandfather' – who, it turns out is the star at the centre of the system, with a terrifyingly evil grin. Farren Blackburn outdoes himself in making this story a visual feast from beginning to end – note the subdued, almost desaturated colours in the flashback scenes contrasting with the vibrant colours of Akhaten (great work from cinematographer Dale McCready). Character, as I said before, is not the episode's string point, but Blackburn makes sure every performer gives his or her all. The regulars are as good as ever and we are given our first peek at what makes Ms Oswald tick, which is very welcome.

"The Rings of Akhaten" is well worth watching, despite its many flaws, which are all due to the writing. The story does work on a basic level, so the plot doesn't completely fall apart – it is, however, frustrating to imagine just how great story it could have been, had the script been given a few more drafts.

NEXT: "Cold War"