Another review...and all in the four or five stars, cant wait:
Listen to me … trust nothing. From now on trust nothing you see, hear or feel …”
So what is real and what is just a dream?
Amy is pregnant and Rory is a GP … they live in the charmingly creepy and sleepy village of Upper Lebworth which has an unusually ageing population … but they’re happy, or so they think? But can you really be happy if things aren’t real, and how do you know what you see is real … and if more than one ‘reality’ is presented to you, which one is true, and which one is just your imagination … if any?
I’ll leave you to dust down your well thumbed copy of Anarchy, State and Utopia (Nozick) before reviewing Discourse on the Method and Principles of Philosophy (Descartes) … and then maybe re-watch The Matrix … OK let’s begin.
After what felt like a ‘holding’ episode last week, Simon Nye is on writing duties this time and has come up with what’s best described as a ‘thinker.’
They're very old ... and very angry!
Serenity is soon smashed when The Doctor arrives in the village and a collective narcoleptic trance descends upon our protagonists (or is one of them an antagonist?) Pretty soon they are living a twin centred life, one “in a dead time machine” and the other being chased by crazed geriatrics through a chocolate box English village … enter the Dream Lord, a mysterious mini-man who can see your dreams. He takes immediate interest in what Amy thinks of her two male travelling companions: “I’d blush if I had a blood supply or a face of my own” he jibes to her embarrassment.
The Dream Lord (who it seems might know The Doctor from somewhere) presents the gang with a challenge:
“Two world’s … here in the time machine and there in the village that time forgot – one is real, the other’s fake … and just to make it even more interesting, in both worlds you are to face a deadly danger … but only one of the danger’s is real … tweet tweet, time to sleep, or are you waking up?”
Tensions run high in both realities as it looks like The Doctor might have finally lost control … after all it’s Amy’s choice … but what is she choosing between … and can she live (or die) with the consequences of her decisions?
A generous helping of whining Lost-esque orchestras in the soundtrack turn the screw as monsters reveal themselves, and all that damned Dream Lord can do is stand around and wind people up. Desperate to make it personal, he taunts Amy (who may or may not be hyper-hormonal, depending on whether her pregnancy is a reality):
Can dreams really come true?
“Which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them … you ran away with a handsome hero – would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail. Pick a world … it’s you they’re waiting for … Amy’s men, Amy’s choice …”
Is this really Amy’s choice? Why is the Dream Lord so interested in her, and who is he, have we met him before? Can you die in reality and survive in a dream? Does anyone really trust The Doctor? These are just some of the questions that need answering as this well crafted piece of television unfolds.
This week’s episode does not scare you behind the sofa, but that is not to say it doesn’t have sinister undertones. It is more a psychological thriller than work of horror, but in true Doctor Who style it is layered with good jokes, wonderful pathos and characters that you care about. In short it is yet another return to form for the series five team.
Here’s one last thinker for you guys to ponder this week … when the chips are down, Amy says to The Doctor:
“What is the point of you?” … Hmm?
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