Doctor Who S7 review
Instead of retreading Moffat's classic season long adventures Doctor Who's seventh installment into the modern era takes an interesting turn as it is split in two. The first half shows the closing adventures of the Doctor with Amy and Rory, and the second half deals with his latest mystery of a girl who keeps dying and popping up across time. Dealing with more stand alone episodes than epic arcs this season may not have the bombastic gravitas of "A Good Man Goes to War" or "The Pandorica Opens", but it'll leave a nice impression as it gets back to a simpler time in the Doctor's life.
Starting off the season with a Christmas special, the Doctor finds himself rescuing a family that accidentally traps themselves on a world destined to be destroyed. The story is ridiculous, though what great episode of Doctor Who isn't, but it's fun and focuses on the heart of the story. In this case it deals with a family that lost their father. The mother has to come to terms with his death, is forced to tell her kids the truth, and in the end is tearfully reunited with him as they save him from the timeline. The episode drags and doesn't have enough content to make it one of the better Christmas episodes, but the heart and emotional arc will always get you.
"The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" sets up the season well as it doesn't contain the best episodes, nor memorable ones, but it does have the heart and emotion you'd come to expect out of this show. Similarly, "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" is about Rory and his father Brian's relationship. It's sweet and tells an emotional story for a middle of the road episode. When it comes to the Ponds leaving the show it sticks to this formula again. Their swan song revolves around one of Moffat's infamous creations, the Angels, and while it's the worst Angel episode he has penned he certainly stuck the landing at controlling everyone's aqueducts as Amy and Rory take their bow, and how it affects Brian in the most painful, yet joyous, moment of his life (in a mini episode).
Oddly enough this season had another Christmas episode, setting up the next half season "arc" as the show not only brings back Clara, previously introduced in a dalek episode, but also reintroduces the Great Intelligence, both of which will loosely tie the season together. New companion Clara is a wonderful addition to the Doctor Who universe, especially after the somewhat confusing triple introduction is explained by the end of the season. Her chemistry with Matt Smith is off the charts and the two have incredible moments together as they go adventuring across the cosmos.
The rest of the season with Clara acts like one and done episodes more so than the first half. There are some solid jolly episodes that continue to bring back old enemies like "Cold War," while other episodes try something new and struggle to be memorable, such as "Hide." With Clara going over Time Lord 101 this season with classics such as "It's bigger on the inside," and "Can I trust the Doctor," the one off episodes act more as a hindrance than taking it easy as most of the drama is regulated to scenes we've been through, and have been more effective, with previous companions. An overarching tale would have balanced it well instead of flipping the switch and starting from scratch each episode.
Inevitably, the season came to a close and capped everything off with an emotional send off to an okay story. The finale started strong, but half way through it takes a dip as the Great Intelligence comes again and talks, incapacitates the Doctor, and does his evil scheme. Clara's "impossible girl" shenanigans are revealed and everything is right in the universe and back in place. A special tease is also introduced to lead into the Doctor's 50th anniversary, and as a whole season 7 struggles, yet has its moments when it comes to the emotional core that is Doctor Who.
2.5/5
Favorite Episode: The Rings of Akhaten
