Previously on Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone.

Erm, ok. Here we are, at Rory’s stag party, which the Doctor has just crashed rather expertly by jumping out. of. the. bloody. cake! Oh, the pictures emerging in my head. ………. Where was I? Right. The episode actually opens in Venice, with a dad trying to get his daughter into the rather fancy “school” the Calvierris are running, but I’ll get back to that later, because, first and foremost, the first few minutes at the party are, one, hilariously funny, two, so wonderfully quotable, and three, setting the tone for the rest of the episode when it comes to outspoken flirtiness.

Previously on Doctor Who: The Time of Angels.

There’s one thing you never put in a trap, if you’re smart. If you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there’s one thing you never, ever put in a trap… Me.

There we are again, on the lovely planet Alfava Metraxis in the Dundra galaxy. Precisely: The Maze of the Dead, underneath the wreck of the Byzantium. Where the Doctor has just shot the gravity globe, thus, turning gravity upside down; the only instruction left: jump! Well, at least that’s a change from “Don’t even blink!” — though Amy seems to have preferred that over “If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die.” Well. As you can see above, the statues from the maze have absorbed enough energy that was made available by the Byzantium’s crash and subsequent radiation leak. The formerly degenerated and weakened Angels are back in action, creeping their way through the forest, all the while messing with Amy’s mind.

Previously on Doctor Who: The Beast Below.

Oh, no! The Daleks are back! What are we gonna do? Oh, wait, let’s get on the phone and call the Oncoming Storm! Apart from getting there a bit late, that part was a smashing success. But then comes the big surprise. Well, shock, really. The Daleks have implanted an Oblivion Continuum on Earth, in the shape and form of a human, a professor. Professor Bracewell is the name, and he’s got all these brilliant ideas — and no idea how the Hell he comes up with them all the time, but who’s he to complain? The Daleks have managed to make the humans believe that they are dutiful soldiers, driven by samatarian feelings to help them to defeat the Germans. Right. Everything’s fine. But then comes the Doctor, picks up a giant spanner (“Spanner-shh!” Metacrisis, anyone?) and starts banging away, taunting the Dalek and shouting at it for what it’s worth. As we have already seen with previous Doctors, e.g. Nine in Dalek (take a look), that nothing brings out the worst in the Doctor so effectively as a Dalek; the worst here being (self-)righteous anger and desperate frustration at having them turn around and bite him in the arse again.

Previously on Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour.

“In bed above, we’re deep asleep, / While greater love lies further deep. / This dream must end, / This world must know: / We all depend on the beast below.”

Another Sunday, another episode of Doctor Who to distract me from my plight (A-Levels, starting on Tuesday, requiring immediate attention, but who cares)! And what an episode it was — creepy, disgusting, with many funny but far more lump-in-your-throat moments, with a discernible shift in mood in contrast to The Eleventh Hour. Where the first episode of the new series was light and revelling in its all-new glory, this one touched a few of the never-ending dilemmas and conflicts of heart, interest and thinking the Doctor encounters everywhere on his travels, never forgetting anything no matter how much he may want to (Time War again); with his companions always landing smack-bang in the middle of it without some extra time to wrap their minds around it. As usual, the companion in question, Amy Pond, recovers quickly and proves to be made of awesome.