"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"

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"

Another year and another Doctor Who special to lighten up Christmas Day and again, Steven Moffat’s takes a well-known Christmas story and reinterprets it. This time it’s C.S. Lewis’s beloved piece of High-Church Anglican propaganda, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Again the scene is set by an utterly awesome pre-titles sequence that manages to evoke the first scene of Star Wars and the first scene of a Bond film. This is, however, Doctor Who and the Doctor’s dashing escape is in a space suit that he has put on back to front, in which less than dignified situation, he is discovered in a crater by Madge Arwell, who immediately leaps to the rescue. She returns to her humdrum provincial life, but this is the eve of the greatest war the world has yet known and the lives of the Arwell family will be shaken forever. The father will be taken away from them and, it seems, Christmas will forever be the time that they lost him. However, the Doctor is determined to repay the debt and, as the ‘caretaker’ of the house they are staying at, he is determined to give the Arwells the best Christmas ever.

Moffat takes striking pieces of imagery from Narnia- the winter forest through a portal, the forbidding castle in the snow, but the resulting story is very much his own. It is a story without villains, but there is enough going on for the plot not to need them. We have a population of sentient trees trying to flee from deforestation, we have the peril of children lost in the snow and, above all, we have the love of a grieving mother. It is Madge’s grief and love which drives the story, which makes her the heroine, whether ensnaring the Androzani foresters with her tears or piloting their tripod to the castle. Some might baulk at the resolution of the story, but it makes perfect sense and leads the Doctor to an important conclusion- there are people closer to him who will have a grief-filled Christmas. All this is wrapped up in an irresistible package of Moffat’s imagination. The forest world is so inexplicably alien that it can only be understood in the way a child sees it- a world of Christmas trees and wooden kings and queens. The story is, as always, brimming with Moffat’s delicious dialogue ranging from the hilarious to the poignant.

Newcomer Farren Blackburn directs with great energy and the production is uniformally excellent, with a battle cruiser that makes a Star Destroyer look like a Trabant and the aforementioned tripod (I love tripods). The supporting cast is led by the wonderful Claire Skinner who is fantastic as Madge. The children are very well played by Maurice Cole and Lily Arwell. I was thrilled to find out that Bill Bailey, one of the finest stand up comedians in the world would be appearing and, although his role could have been bigger, his ageing puppydog-ish look is unmistakeable. Matt is wonderful as ever, especially in this new phase as a more carefree Doctor. He realises, however that he does have some responsibilities and the brief scene with Amy and Rory is very welcome.

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" is fine yuletide entertainment and is worth revisiting- a good thing, as we are in for the longest wait since 2005...
  
NEXT: "Asylum of the Daleks"