Two storey.
The Doctor's Case:
- A Good Quotation:
- "No, Amy, it's definitely not the fifth moon of Sinda Callista. I think I can see a Ryman's."
- "Have some rent."
- "Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?"
- "It's a one-story building. There is no upstairs."
- The Doctor convincing Sophie to believe in herself and follow her dreams through reverse psychology is perhaps the quietest scene with the Doctor this episode, and also the best. It's a short, nice and little sequence but very sweet and clever on the Doctor's behalf.
- The Doctor leaving the keys to slip away and then being given them by Craig was another tender moment.
- After losing Rory, Amy proved to be a pretty decent companion (with a single hiccup) in Vincent and the Doctor and it seems that this decency has continued, with her being so much more bearable than she was for most of the series. However, this might have something to do with her barely appearing in this episode.
The Valeyard's Case:
- A Bad Quotation:
- "I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor. I don't know why. I call me the Doctor too. Still don't know why."
- "I am the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm."
- This episode tries to make the Doctor as quirky and weird as possible, and whilst it's more endearing than the caricature he became in series 7 it's not the Doctor at his best. It comes across as trying too hard. Putting the Doctor in the modern day is fine but giving him ridiculous lines and acting stupidly makes for an episode that's frequently difficult to watch. Matt Smith is at his best in The Eleventh Hour or The Time of Angels/Flesh of Stone, in neither of which is he entirely without quirk.
- Given the building up to the finale and the reveal of the source of the cracks in time, why is The Lodger set before The Pandorica Opens? It would be much better placed early on, before The Time of Angels, perhaps.
- If the Doctor flies the Silent ship the solar system will be destroyed, because he's apparently too much for it. Firstly, it's a ridiculous idea. Secondly, this level of threat isn't necessary and feels out of place in this small episode.
- Why does the Doctor take so long to go upstairs and confront what's been killing people? To give us scenes of the Doctor trying to be normal, of course, but that seems to be it. He says it's so that whatever's upstairs won't get suspicious of him, but when was he intending to deal with the foe on the first-floor?
- Eww. Craig and Sophie's kisses at the end are unusually squelchy.
The Universe is Cracked: There's another crack in time in Aickman Road, behind Craig's fridge.
Silence will Fall: Although we won't learn until Day of the Moon, 79B Aickman Road is a Silent time-ship.
This Reminds Me...:
- A mysterious room harbouring an alien villain in an otherwise normal house describes both 79 Aickman Road and the Ponds' house in Leadworth.
- The Silent ship is looking for a pilot that wants to leave, the same as the sentient oil that claims Heather in The Pilot.
I'll Explain Later:
- Craig has a photo of the Doctor on his fridge by the end of the episode. How did he get that up so quickly? Who was taking photos and why were they so desperate for them that they got them printed off and distributed in so short a space of time?
NEXT TIME: What will come of Amy finding her engagement ring?
The Inquisitor's Judgement: Quiet episodes aren't objectively a bad thing (Love & Monsters is a decent episode) and this episode isn't entirely without merit, adding some freshness to this series and Eleventh's tenure as a whole, but it's not one that's going to stay in your mind for long after you've watched it. It's mostly fluff and the resolution and (lack of) explanation was far too rushed. E
Doctor Who (Series 5)
Vincent and the Doctor | The Lodger | The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
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