Doctor Who (TV Series) The Pandorica Opens (2010) User Reviews

Box Clever...

[Xstal · 10/10 · 10 December 2021]

They came from far and wide, all the guilty who had tried, to observe the boxes opening, so it could not be denied.

Came from past and present, there would not be a lament, to observe the boxes opening, to ensure that time was spent.

They came from future wars, in their hundreds and some more, to observe the boxes opening, the one thing that they all abhorred.

A phenomenal start to the finale

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 1 September 2015]

Some nice links back to the Series, Vincent, Liz ten etc find a painting which is intended for the Doctor. River pulls out all the stops to get hold of it. The Doctor tracks River back to an Ancient Roman settlement. The painting depicts a vision Vincent had, the destruction of the TARDIS. A date and map reference sends The Doctor, Amy and River to an ancient stone circle. Underneath lays the Pandorica, which is opening, and nobody knows what may lay inside. A secret underground opens and the three travel to an underground vault, where lays 'The Pandorica.'

First test for Steven Moffat, it's all about the finale, they had so far been a little hit and miss, The Stolen Earth was rather fantastic, The Master story a little off.

So many little elements are brought together, there is so much going on at the same time. Alien invasion pending, Romans, Pandora's box, Amy's ring, disembodied Cyberman, Amy's empty rooms.

We had been spoiled in previous finales with huge effects, but as I mentioned in my review for Vincent and the Doctor I've never needed to be overwhelmed with effects and stars, sometimes it's all about the story. I actually love the Pandorica opens, it just works, there is mystery, suspense, fear, tension and lots of surprises. The cliffhanger is totally amazing. The alliances at the end were a little dubious.

So many mentions of the show's mythology, talk of daleks, cybermen, sontarans, nestenes, attraxi, drahvin, zygons, slitheen, sycorax had me thinking we were in for something enormous!! It felt like they were building up for a huge finale.

A great opening to the series finale

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 20 June 2010]

As Matt Smith's first series as The Doctor comes to an end things are looking bad for The Doctor and his assistant Amy Pond. This opening episode of a two part story refers back to previous episodes of the series; Vincent van Gogh has painted a new picture, it is discover in war time London and Churchill calls River Song and she in turn contacts The Doctor and shows him the picture which depicts the Tardis exploding. The then set off to discover the Pandorica, a mysterious box which contains the most dangerous creature in the universe and is about to open. This is to be found at Stonehenge in Roman occupied Britain. As they wait for the Pandorica to open River goes to bring the Tardis to The Doctor but instead of going there it takes her to Amy's house where she makes a surprising discovery, two of Amy's childhood books are strangely linked to their current predicament and it appears that nothing is quite what it seems. As the box opens many of The Doctor's greatest enemies appear and he makes a shocking discovery about the contents of the box.

This was an excellent episode with several nice surprises which I've tried to avoid mentioning here. I liked how the opening sequence linked to previous episodes in the series and brought The Doctor and River Song together once again. There were some good scares, the best of which was when Amy was attacked by a disembodied Cyberman's head. Amy also gets the best emotional scene when she meets a Roman soldier who's identity might surprise some people, if not everybody. Karen Gillan once again did a great job as Amy showing a range of emotions in a believable way. The only scene I was unsure about was when most of the Doctor's major enemies appeared together although I'm sure this will appeal to younger viewers. I can't wait for next week's series finale to learn how The Doctor, Amy and River get of of their current predicament who at the end of this episode looked doomed... I'm sure The Doctor will sort things out though!

Tears of the Universe

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 15 February 2016]

"Warning do not read unless you've seen the episode" This is one of my favorite two parters of the show, it's a strange plot but that's what makes it all the more interesting. Part one is also one of the darkest episodes ever as we see for once the good guys actually lose.

I really like the design of the Pandorica, which is basically a giant version of the Puzzle Box from "Hellraiser". Just like the nature of the box we are puzzled as to what's going on, where the hell they are, and most importantly why.

There of course is one big surprise as we see Amy in a very bad situation with one of the Cybermen shoots a dart to her making her rather woozy. But then of course we see a single sword is run though the Cyberman and it's done by a single Centurian solder whom turns out to be Rory. Seeing that I thought yeah, it really teed me off that his character died in that other two parter, how the heck it's possible he is back to life we're not sure but somehow fate or God decided to bring him back from the brink.

I really like it when both Rory and Amy interact again. Of course Amy regards Rory as a complete stranger since her memories of him have been wiped out but then it results in a moment that is touching as we see Amy produces tears but doesn't know why. Despite her conscious mind without memory of Rory, her own subconscious remembers which correlates with the old saying "the heart remembers"; Amy is crying because he is happy that Rory is back in her life.

And as the plot goes further we then have two rude awakening which I personally didn't see coming. River goes back to Amy's house and there is a reveal that is similar to the reveal in the film "The Usual Suspects" when we see in Amy's room there are books of Rome, the Pandora's box myth, and a picture of Amy and Rory at a Halloween party and Rory is in a Centurian costume. It appears some alien forces have taken whatever is in Amy's mind to construct an elaborate trap.

This of course leads to the second rude awakening as we then see every type of nemesis of the Doctor surrounds him and for once actually outsmarted the Doctor. In a way this sort of gets at the subconscious fear every hero has of their enemies one day finding a way to overcome them, that day has unfortunately came for the Doctor.

The last minutes were just heart sinking as we see the Doctor is slowly getting dragged to the Pandorica. Seeing that just shows how truly hopeless the situation the Doctor is in really is as he is surrounded on all sides by his worst enemies and getting dragged to his doom, we know there is no way he can outwit his way out of this one. The situation is even more dire as the universe is collapsing, and we know the Doctor is the only one that can stop it. Wesee a dramatic moment when the Doctor is practically begging for them to release him and let him help them out of the predicament all existence is in but that doesn't stop them from making the mistake their making but simply they just don't care. As that pandorica was closing I remember thinking "Nooooooooo!" it was just so unreal and heart sink where for once the Doctor actually loses.

It's goes even more downhill as we see River in a dire situation with the Tardis that is breaking down and despite her efforts and getting out their fruitless and the Tardis self destructs.

There is a really dramatic moment with both Rory and Amy as we see Rory is fighting off the Cyberman programing with all of his might as the programing is trying to override his will. But then suddenly Amy's memories of Rory begin to finally surface and it was great as Amy was staying by his side no matter what and Rory goes as far as to show her the ring he has for her a symbol of their love which she has always kept just showing that their love never died even when he was gone. But then we see the Cyberman programing for a moment overcome Rory's will as his weapon is draw and Amy is shot. Just seeing it was shocking and completely heart sinking it really made me tear up as we see Amy die.

The tragedy really correlates with what is happening to the universe as the stars are going out, we then see Rory agonizing and crying over Amy, the light of his life now lost. The loss of someone we love is one of many tears of the universe.

Rating: 4 stars

Just when you thought the shocking conclusion of "Cold Blood" couldn't be outdone

[The-Last-Prydonian · 9/10 · 20 June 2010]

It would have seemed after Russell T. Davies and his amazingly overblown finale for season four with "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End" that such a story on a massive scale could be outdone. How wrong we were and It's to Steven Moffat's credit that he delivers a far superior and shocking opening part to Matt Smith's first series which is not only a very emotional one that beats the denouement of " Cold Blood" hands down it leaves you breathless and unable to await next weeks conclusion, so astonishing is the cliffhanger.

It's safe to say that the Doctor has not been challenged quite as much as he has now and he may quite have easily met his Waterloo, but this is the Doctor of course and he's never himself without his surprises but here, well we're left even our selves doubting if he can manage to get out of this scenario that is not only so unexpected but unnervingly chilling and emotional to say the very least. It's safe to say that Moffat has really outdone himself. The story ultimately seeing so many of the Doctor's old familiar enemies joining forces could have been seen as being terribly contrived but in fact, it doesn't feel that wait at all! Within the context of the story, it is a masterstroke of inspired genius on the Scots screen scribes part. Who really are the villains and who aren't are not quite so clear by the episode's sublime cliffhanger denouement.

Right from the story's grim opening where we see a crazed, ill Vincent Van Gough who was portrayed with absolute magnificence by Tony Curran in "Vincent and the Doctor" Moffat manages to immediately capture our attention as we eventually go on to see a few fleeting cameo's by Ian McNeice as Winston Churchhill and Bill Pattison who both featured in "Victory of the Daleks" and Sophie Okonedo as Queen Elizabeth X previously seen "The Beast Below". Each in some way meets or is contacted by Prof. Riversong played once more by Alex Kingston, who needs to get in touch with the Doctor to deliver a message in a painting created by Van Gough. A tortured soul who has seen a terrifying image that will impact greatly on the Time Lord. Having managed to contact the Doctor and leaving co-ordinates in ancient Britain during the occupation of the Roman Empire, Riversong takes him and his human traveling companion Amy to Stonehenge where from there they discover the secret where about's of the Pandorica. An ancient artifact that the Doctor has insisted up till now is nothing but a fairy tale, which tells of a box from the very dawn of time that contains the most feared thing in the universe, but which even he himself has no knowledge of. It however has also raised the interest of fleets of Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, etc. With the discovery that the Pandorica is slowly opening, and armies of the oldest and deadliest of his adversaries to contend with. It looks like he's more than got his work cut out for him but the surprises don't end there when an old friend makes an unexpected appearance. But it is not the last as more are yet to come and nowhere near as pleasant.

If you thought you had seen the best of Moffat then you haven't seen anything yet with, "The Pandorica Opens" which dazzles our senses with some of the best visuals seen in the series to date. This includes fleets of varying alien space crafts filling the night sky over stone henge as well of some good old-fashioned, ingenious storytelling with an emotional drama that could rival the very best of the BBC's more "serious" television programmes. Everyone involved in the starry cast acts their socks off with Smith impressing us with a Doctor who himself for once seems way out of his depth and even shocked, more so than ever before. And with a conclusion as shocking as it is you can't help asking yourself how everything will be resolved and with questions that have yet to be answered and will leave you scratching your head in wonderment. It's safe to say that Moffat is something of a one-off, and if this is anything to go by then this is set to be a golden era in the age of one of TV history's most iconic and beloved shows. With some amazing dialogue and amusing exchanges that aid to relieve some of the more dramatic moments in the story(a moment where an alien looks in a box containing a time manipulator is priceless), this is one to be cherished which leaves me somewhat bemused by some of the more negative reviews seeing as this is the start of what might possibly the best finale to a series of NuWho yet. A script as inspired is one that Russell T Davies himself could only have dreamt of coming up with.

Sublime, emotionally draining, and with an edge-of-year-seat cliffhanger preceded by an almighty twist that you won't see coming at all "The Pandorica Opens" is a hallmark and a testament to a brave new step Moffat has taken with NuWho and I can only predict that the best is yet to come. Although how he could even follow on from this shock-fest leaves me wondering how he will achieve it.

I Thought it Was Brilliant!

[mommytorres · 9/10 · 20 June 2010]

I would like to start my review with some answers for "doorsscorpywag" who wrote a review before mine.

"(#1) why if Rory was erased from time can the Doctors foes use him in a scenario to trap him? (#2) Surely he does not exist anymore? (#3) And how can Rory remember how he died, because Amy doesn't and all this came from her memories?"

#1: If you have already seen Victory of the Daleks, then you should already know from Professor Bracewell that an artificial person can have memories implanted. Professor Bracewell had no reason to think that he was anything other than human before it was revealed that he was actually a bomb. He believed that he lived through all of the memories that had been put inside of his 'brain'.

#2: That is correct. Rory the human should not exist at this point in time.

#3: If the Daleks had scanned Amy (or her home for Amy's memories) BEFORE Rory had been sucked into the crack, then Rory would have been present in those memories. It's all about the timing. Plus, since the Daleks (and other foes) can travel through time, they could have been inside the crack (?) when Rory was sucked in and could have stolen his memories from him to then place into the fake Rory.

Now, onto my own review!

I thought it was brilliant! I have never been as excited for the 2nd part as I am right now! The Doctor has been painted into a corner, and all hope seems to be lost! I own several seasons & series of Doctor Who and re-watch episodes over and over. This series though, has had clues sprinkled into each of the episodes...or perhaps little things to throw us off. Either way, it's been so exciting to go back and re-watch the episodes looking for those clues! Like the time a 'future Doctor' revisited Amy during Flesh and Stone. In a scene *after* the Angels took the Doctor's jacket, Amy was laying down with her eyes closed and the Doctor walked off with River. Then, suddenly the Doctor is there again, only this time he was much more loving than when he dismissively walked off with River. AND he had on his JACKET! The jacket that he wore in following episodes, but not the same jacket that would have been anywhere near that set! He was acting in an entirely different manner, which leads me to believe that this was not a continuity error. Also, what about the shadow that crosses Amy's kitchen window in the Eleventh Hour? Are we to believe that Prisoner Zero popped down for a snack? There are so many clues, it's been such a wonderfully written series that has captivated me, my husband, our 3 children (ages 13, 11, and 8) not to mention our friends and neighbors that come over to watch Who with us each week!

So, wonderfully brilliant episode...fantastically written, acted, and directed! I am at the edge of my seat and am very much looking forward to Big Bang!

The Greatest Threat The Universe Has Ever Faced

[boblipton · 10/10 · 18 July 2010]

One of the things that I enjoy about this season of Doctor Who is that Moffat and his crew established from the very first episode that there was a big full season-long story going on, re-establishing the essentially serial nature of the stories. Oh, yes, Davies had thrown in little hints, catchphrases in his series, but it was impossible to tell whether they were important or an inside joke. They gave no hint as to what was actually going on. They seemed meaningless memes until they were suddenly made important in the seasons' two-part finales.

But anyone who saw Episode One, The Eleventh Hour, knew that those cracks were important. They kept on appearing, and little bits of information were dropped, all leading to this episode and the issue at hand; because to give size to the series, the entire universe must be threatened and what is the threat that confronts us?

Well, I'm not going to come out and tell you in case you haven't seen this episode yet, but it was certainly a surprise to me. Moffat has taken this series, cajoled a great number of varied scripts out of his head and other writers' -- some better than others, of course -- and made of it a whole, with some excellent writing and actors who are up to playing the characters. And he has tied it all together in the first five minutes of this episode and given us a heck of a cliffhanger!

There have been attempts to tie together seasons more tightly before. Some, like the Keys of Time sequence worked. Some, like THE TRIAL OF A TIME LORD did not. But this episode fills me with coincidence, but leaves me with one infuriating question.

How is the doctor going to get out of this one? I'll discuss that next week.

The Box of Tricks Opens and Explodes

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 14 January 2019]

This is the excellent first part of the two part story which forms the season finale of Matt Smith's first series as the Doctor and Steven Moffatt's first series as Showrunner. I am reviewing them separately because I have a lot to say about the second part, The Big Bang, which I find problematic. The Pandorica Opens episode though is great fun.

Moffatt wrote this two parter and both episodes include his strengths of exciting, interesting storytelling. Whilst I feel The Big Bang goes over the top and throws away some of the clever build up that doesn't detract from my feeling that The Pandorica Opens is a superb episode when viewed on its own merits. It has a LOT thrown into it and it is rather convoluted but there is so much fun, excitement and interest that make it really pleasurable to watch.

In the story we see (for reasons that are not revealed) the TARDIS is going to explode and the Doctor is led along a convoluted journey to find the Pandorica, a mythical 'prison cell' which appears to have some role in averting disaster. It turns out this is an even more convoluted trap set by many of the Doctor's enemies. Amy and her exposure to the crack in time turn out to have a large part in events.

Acting, script, action and effects are all very strong and the ambition of such a complex story is admirable. It is very thrilling, emotionally engaging, intriguing and epic. Having so many enemies and so many threads all coming together is impressive and the cliffhanger is superb.

My Rating: 9.5/10.

The pandorica amazes!

[dkiliane · 10/10 · 17 March 2019]

This is how to set up a season finale!! The pandorica opens is riveting from beginning to end, and even knowing the plot beats, rewatching it is still a joy. Moffat is an expert at setting up the Doctor and then turning the tables on him. This episode has so many dazzling moments - full of humor and drama and spectacle. Even if the plot is a bit convoluted (but that's Doctor Who) it's still a wild and thrilling ride. Sensational heights and emotional drama. And what a speech from the Doctor! Probably the defining moment of the Matt Smith Doctor. Thoroughly entertaining from the beginning right up to when the Doctor is locked inside the Pandorica at the end. 10/10

Nearly

[warlordartos · 9/10 · 22 March 2021]

Probably the best episode of season 5 thus far but not perfect. The whole pint of the cybermen is to keep the human inside alive, having the robot part work by itself is a little far fetched.

Every single enemy of The Doctor working together however was very far fetched. Particularly the Daleks and the Cybermen who would never work with others as they both believe they are the superior race. Yet I'm sure we all kinda secretly wanted to see them all together too.

The rest of the episode though was very well done. The acting and directing very well done. Especially the great acting done by Matt Smith at the end, definitely some of his best work. The writing...eh I will decide after the finale.

The Pandorica Opens

[MrFilmAndTelevisionShow · 9/10 · 8 April 2021]

The episode's ending where almost all the villains the Doctor has faced group up or rather form an alliance is brilliant, it's weirdly compelling seeing the Dalek's, Cybermen and Sontaran's all fighting for the same cause, the lock the Doctor inside the Pandorica. I have watched these episodes before, I long while ago, but they've been *deleted* from my mind so I have no idea what will happen next and am excited to see the conclusion of this two-parter.

Veers Wildly From Awful To Great

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 19 June 2010]

This is the climax to season five of NuWho , , a season that I've found rather disappointing . I wasn't sad to see either Russell T Davies or David Tennant leave and was both open minded and intrigued as to how Steven Moffat would produce the show and how Matt Smith would interpret the title show . My disappointment of season five revolves around the fact we're watching something little different than what we've been seeing from the previous regime . We get a historical story , we get an oddball story and we get a two part story featuring old monsters and unfortunately we get a two part season finale where everything including the kitchen sink gets shoehorned in to mix regardless weather it fits or not

Every aspect of The Pandorica Opens veers wildly from wildly from the awful to the brilliant . Perhaps it's personified by Smith's performance . Several times in the episode he comes across as somebody impersonating David Tennant even down to the way he squeals elongated vowels as a mockney style geezer but at the climax where he's imprisoned he gives a quite remarkable performance so why was he so poor throughout the rest of the episode . There's three people who can take the blame : The writer , the director or the actor . Throughout the season Smith does seem to be trying to come across as " An old man stuck in a young man's body " so he's probably not to blame . . Possibly the director ? Maybe ? But it'd be very difficult to believe anyone thinks each Doctor is a clone with no idiosyncratic mannerisms which leads me to believe Moffat should take the blame . Indeed throughout the season you're often left thinking that Moffat's contribution to the series is to find some rejected scripts by RTD featuring the 10th Doctor and film them

The story itself is very similar to the more excessive finales by RTD . All the Doctor's enemies form an alliance to correct the crack in time and fearing interference from the Doctor imprison him for all eternity . Oh dear that's going to somewhat incredible to realise on screen . To be honest it's both brilliant and dreadful . Brilliant for the child in all of us who'd like to see an on screen monster cavalcade but dreadful in the way it crosses the border in to overkill with even the Silurians turning up to get in on the fun alongside the Autons who have the lion's share of the story even though the audience don't realise it at the time

The unfortunate thing is like RTD did with the cliffhanger of The Stolen Earth Moffat has painted himself in to a very tight corner here , especially since the whole Universe is at stake which will almost certainly mean we'll have a cop out ending where not only will Amy magically come back to life but the whole season will be revealed as either

1 ) Having taken place in an alternative universe

Or

2 ) Amy has dreamed the whole thing up

Either of which will be a bigger cop out than anything we've seen under RTD . Actually there's only one scenario that sets up next season being worse than the one preceding it and that is next week the Doctor goes back in time and finds himself back in the season opener with Amy Pond as a child . He stands in the kitchen and hears footsteps and turns round to find himself facing Chris Hansen

( NB THe following will only makes sense or be amusing in a sarcastic way if you know who Chris Hansen is . Google him if you don't )

Hansen : Don't you think there's something wrong with a 920 year old man turning up to meet a ten year old girl home alone ?

The Doctor : I just came to get something to eat

Hansen : I just came to get something to eat ? So you just thought this remote house with a ten year old girl home alone was a Mcdonalds ?

The Doctor : I was confused . There's something wrong with the space time continuum .

Hansen : Right so you're just casually flying around in time and space and suddenly there's a rip in the laws of the universe that causes you to materialize in the house of a ten year old child left home alone . Can you see why it's difficult to believe ?

The Doctor : But I'm looking you in the eye and I'm telling you the truth

Hansen : .Well I'm looking you in the eye and I'm going to tell you the truth . I'm Chris Hansen and you're on Dateline To Catch A Predator and we're doing a feature on men who visit children home alone for sex . Now if you've nothing else to say you're free to go

The shock causes the Doctor to collapse . There's a blast of golden light and Matt Smith regenerates in to Paterson Joseph

The Doctor : Cor blimey , ain't this regeneration lark great fun I feel like a new geezer and hope to live for ever and ever ( The Doctor proceeds to fall over his feet amongst other zany hilarity ) Cor blimey guv , ain't I a geeeeeeeezer ?

This is the only scenario that would make me believe season six could be worse than the present one

Average end to a poor series

[doorsscorpywag · 5/10 · 20 June 2010]

I think this pretty much sums up the series as a whole. Some decent ideas but nothing that good in the execution of these ideas. Matt Smith shows a few flashes of talent but mainly just seems to stumble through. The writing not that great and some of the stories bordering on utterly awful. This final 2 parter seems to be a watered down rehash of the two parter with David Tennant and Davros. Universe threatened old enemies arrive companion might die blah blah blah. This time they have ALL turned up. Plot holes abound.....why if Rory was erased from time can the Doctors foes use him in a scenario to trap him? Surely he does not exist anymore? And how can Rory remember how he died, because Amy doesn't and all this came from her memories? The Daleks now look like plastic parodies of themselves and are not at all menacing and the rest are even less so. It's like a Dr Who convention in an insane asylum. God knows what nonsense will be trawled out next week to save the situation but whatever it is it cannot save a very poor season. So far only the Angel 2 parter and the Van Gogh tale minus the daft monster are worthy of note. the rest has been mainly stupid. Matt Smith needs to up his game a lot if he wants to challenge the decent Doctors. The elements are there but it needs some decent writing. Doctor Who classic began well and continued until Tom Baker left then pretty much went downhill fast. This new 21st century Doctor began well got better and better but seems to have stalled in average mode with Matt Smith. He is a likable enough actor and can probably do a good job in the part given some decent material to work with. The Angel episodes showed that. Last nights episode was pretty poor. Next week will see if the series can be redeemed.

Who is who?

[AleksandrBelenko · 7/10 · 2 September 2019]

So there are romans that are very strange and all the characters that we have seen before. And they all want Doctor. I gonna review the season next time, but now just few thoughts to share. It is not that I do not like season 5 or new Doctor or Emilia/Amy. But whole season is a mess and this episode mirrors it. Everything feels scrambled and all the effort to hype up the finaly just do not work. Season 4 finale was amazing, I could feel the stake, moreover it was a close up of 4 seasons. Probably events of 2 last episodes of s5 should have been in s8 or so.... There are interesting moments but I do not feel scared, attached or anything. And I will expand my thoughts after next episode.

An unholy mess

[Tractator29 · 2/10 · 21 June 2010]

So this is what the season has been building up to ? We have had the crack in time as the theme running through the season, akin to Bad Wolf in season 1. Unlike the episode Bad Wolf this is a let down primarily for a few reasons.

I do not wish to give any spoilers away. The return of various faces from the past made little sense. The episode started off trying to link strands from the previous episodes, then we had some padding in and around Stonehenge which felt rather laboured, then we had a bit of a fan overload with the assembled monsters from the past. A few namechecked were not there. The story carries on the theme from Human Nature about the Doctor being the threat. It also re-emphasises the point about the Doctor not being put into a trap. However it is rather clumsily done. I like Moffatt's work. Compared to the drivel from his predecessor his stories are well constructed but this just felt like it was a tick box of various elements to appeal to hardcore fans and new series junkies alike. All well and fine but that does not make good TV.

The twist about what was inside the Pandorica was interesting, indeed the best thing about it and no I am not going to tell you even though this review is spoiler marked. You will need to watch it. You can then suffer as I did.

Steven Moffat Ruins A Great Show

[Robsnide · 1/10 · 6 July 2010]

Just pretend for a moment that, back in the days of Patrick Troughton, 'Romana Mark 2' mysteriously appeared, and said: "Hello, Doctor. We've never met, but one day we'll have some great adventures together!". It would have been terrible, wouldn't it? Well, Steven Moffat has more or less done exactly that to the present 'Dr.Who' series. In 'The Silence Of The Library/Forest Of The Dead', he introduced the character of 'Professor River Song' ( Alex Kingston ), about whom we know little except that one day she is destined to play a big role in the Doctor's life ( possibly a new companion or even...a wife! ). At one stroke, Moffat has negated any suspense in the show, as we know now the Doctor must survive in order to meet 'River' in the future. One of the great things about 'Who' is ( or rather used to be ) that you don't know what's coming up. Thanks to Moffat we do. Rather than this being an inspired idea on his part, he has effectively tied the programme down, meaning that whoever replaces him as show-runner ( and I sincerely hope it is soon ) has to include 'River' for continuity reasons. It is like reading the last chapter of a book before getting round to the first.

'The Pandorica Opens' was the much-trumpeted first part of the season finale. The Doctor and Amy follow clues that lead them to Roman Britain where River is posing as 'Cleopatra'. Underneath Stonehenge is the Pandorica, guarded by a dismembered Cyberman. One of the centurions is Rory, last seen in 'Cold Blood'. Only he's not Rory - but an Auton. So how did River manage to live amongst these Romans without realising they were not human? A fleet of spaceships lands, containing almost every one of the Doctor's arch-enemies ( we had to take River's word for it - we only saw a few Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, and Judoon ). The notion of a 'Coalition Of Monsters' is one of the oldest fan-fiction plot devices in the book. I'm sure that when Moffat was in short trousers he was churning out stuff like this. The thing is, fan-fiction rarely works when adopted by so-called professionals. Just imagine a 'James Bond' movie featuring an alliance composed of 'Blofeld', 'Dr.No', 'Goldfinger', and 'Scaramanga', and you'll get the idea. The monsters put the Doctor inside the Pandorica, feeling him to be a threat to the universe. Why not kill him instead? It makes no sense for the Daleks to regard the Doctor as a threat to the universe when in 'Journey's End', they had tried to end it themselves! This story is full of more inconsistencies than any I can remember.

Unlike the season finales of the Russell T.Davies era, there aren't even any flashy special effects on display. Where did the budget for this season go to? On bacon rolls and coffee for the cast? 7.57 million tuned in - a respectable figure, admittedly - but 1.45 did not come back for 'The Big Bang', giving it a low rating for a finale - 6.12 million - whereas 13 million tuned in two years ago for 'Journey's End'.

If 'Dr.Who' is to endure, I suggest the B.B.C. hires a replacement for Moffat as soon as possible. He is that most tragic of figures - a man fooled by his own publicity. He presumably thought the Hugo awards he picked up for his earlier 'Who' efforts confirmed him as a great writer, incapable of making mistakes. Well, he is not and this episode ( along with 'The Big Bang' ) proves it.

The Pandorica Opens

[studioAT · 4/10 · 14 April 2022]

Oh joy, River's back...

That huge con aside this is a decent if unspectacular episode, in which Moffat in his wisdom seems to be trying to make everything seem bigger and better than ever before and it doesn't quite work.

The emotion in the Amy/Rory storyline are the best bits really.