The Doctor and dinos

After a long hiatus, everyone’s favorite madman with a blue box has returned for the seventh season of the revamped “Doctor Who.” Ever since the season six finale, the fandom has been awash with speculation over the Doctor’s new companion, as well as the fate of his current companions, the Ponds. During the hiatus, a series of shorts entitled “Pond Life” have left fans in various states of worry over the Ponds’ relationship status.

The season premiere, “Asylum of the Daleks,” picked up where “Pond Life” left off; namely, with the Ponds’ relationship problems. However, the details of their strife are barely given before they, along with the Doctor, are whisked off into outer space by their longtime enemies, the Daleks. The episode gave viewers their first glimpse of the actress slated to be the new companion, Jenna-Louise Coleman. However, Coleman does not take the role of a companion, but rather plays a mysterious woman who helps guide the Doctor and the Ponds through their ordeal. 

As a whole, the episode was a wonderful start to the season. Coleman’s performance as Oswin was impeccable, and the way she carried the plot twist at the end was heartwrenching. Not to be outdone, Matt Smith’s portrayal as the Doctor was spot on; at times he’s been the man we have come to adore as the 11th Doctor, and at times he was the same character from his past 10 incarnations. If I have one criticism of this episode, it’s that the final reveal regarding the Ponds’ relationship problem seemed contrived. 

The following episode, “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” takes place months after the last Pond/Doctor adventure. This time, they’re spirited away to a Silurian spaceship full of dinosaurs, along with Queen Nefertiti of Egypt and Edwardian explorer John Riddel. To be honest, this episode’s story was a mess. Don’t get me wrong. It was fun, what with the Doctor riding around on a triceratops and all, but the characters of Nefertiti and Riddel didn’t get enough screen time to make them truly interesting characters. In many ways, the episode seemed just like a cheap ploy to get a bunch of famous characters together on the same screen at the same time. 

All in all, the return of the world’s longest running sci-fi series has been a positive one, and I look forward to the rest of the season with great anticipation.