TV Series > Doctor Who - Season: 06 > The Impossible Astronaut

Like lots of Doctor Who fans, I have been waiting a long time for full episode of Doctor Who again, and I am glad to say I am not disappointed. This episode is incredible and seems more like a finale, not a series premier; it has lots of action, the events are massive and it ends with a great cliffhanger. The previews and rumors of what this episode was going to be like didn't do it justice.

The episode begins with Amy, Rory and River all receiving tardis blue envelopes to meet The Doctor in Utah. Having the current companions all together and comparing events is great to see and seems to add a lot of character to this group. The events that immediately follow this serene picnic by the lake is shocking threw out almost everything I was expecting from this episode. The acting of all the companions is very well done and make the events seem completely realistic. The introduction of the old man is ingenuous and his comments to the companions really sets up the story for the rest of the episode. The Doctor also seems to of evolved his personality since the last season to be a bit more of an older and wiser doctor now that he has a few years under his belt, which is very welcome compared to the new kid thing they had going last season.

The events within the Tardis afterwards was a bit awkward and the secret meeting with The Doctor just a few feet away wasn't very convincing. The Story gets much better when they finally arrived in 1969. Mark Sheppard seems like the perfect fit for his role as Canton Delaware and his interaction with Nixon and the Doctor is fantasitic.The joke about American's and guns was very well placed and said in a way that hopefully wont cause complaints from their American viewers.

The introduction of the new big bads of the season was fantastically done and is something truly out of nightmares. Their abilities and appearance is a great fit with the rest of the Doctor's adversaries; it is nice not see a rehash of past villains for a change. The interaction with the companions that have met these new enemies is believable, which makes them even more terrifying. It seems like a good start and I can't wait to see how these new enemies evolve throughout the rest of the season.

The emergence of new abilities for the Tardis now is a bold move. Many fans are used to the old staple of what the Tardis is, and now adding all these new tricks might alienate the fans of the old blue box. I am hoping that they will not be just a one time thing to make this episode more interesting, but I am also afraid it will be overused like the sonic screwdriver.

The big gripe that I have in this episode, is that the amount of questions that are brought up and left unanswered, will surely be forgotten as the series continues on. Many viewers are still disappointed that the crack in the wall was never explained last season, and now we have all these new questions and hints of what yet is to come on the first episode, combined with a cliffhanger that dropped even more questions, may make it too much for many to enjoy. Hopefully many of these will be handled in next weeks episode or brought up in again the later episodes so that we don't forget about them so that it doesn't fizzle out events that are supposed to be huge.

I can't wait to see how the events of this episode unfold and will be waiting very impatiently for the continuation.