Day of the Moon

"You've just raised an army against yourselves and now for a thousand generations you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 30th April 2011

Series: 6.02

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory, River

Synopsis 

The day of the moon landing has come. After a 3 month undercover mission to find out all they can about the Silence, the attempts to launch a world wide revolution are put into action. Along with President Nixon's help, can the TARDIS crew defeat beings they can't remember, and who've been on Earth since the time of the wheel?

Verdict 

Day of the Moon is just an outstanding conclusion to the story already started in The Impossible Astronaut and I just love the contrast between the two episodes despite them joining as one story. In the previous episode, despite the Doctor dying, it was kind of a happy reunion set in the basking sunshine of Utah. But here there was a complete contrast. Canton was out hunting for the Doctor's three companions whilst he was maintained in a straight jacket. I loved the subtle reference to The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang with the Doctor mocking the fact a perfect prison was being built for him, and even that wouldn't be enough to hold him. The use of markings on the skin when encountering the Silence was terrific and really showed just how dangerous they are, and their mass numbers too! River's plunge off the building was a shock but then of course, "she does that" so the Doctor would just open the doors and catch her. I loved the idea of a cover up investigation to get the TARDIS team and Canton alone, after three months of investigation over the States. It advanced the story on excellently with the emotional and shocking cliffhanger not being resolved immediately. I liked how Amy's pregnancy was made a mystery at the end which thankfully made the resolution of Amy thinking she was but wasn't much better. The appearance of Kovarian was nicely placed and I loved Amy's reaction to seeing a picture of herself with the astronaut girl as a baby in the creepy child's home. Speaking of reactions, the Doctor's to discovering he'd finally met the Silence was outstanding and massively reflective of why Matt Smith is my favourite Doctor. He's just incredible. The reference to The Romans was lovely and I really liked the conversation between the Doctor and Rory about him remembering the two thousands years of waiting and guarding Amy. The method of defeating the Silence was just too clever. It really was. The moon landing is such a significant moment and there's not one person with an ounce of intelligence who couldn't quote you the words of Armstrong. And smack bang in the middle of that infamous phrase the Silence gave their execution orders. Just amazing. People would be defeating the Silence without even knowing it. Captured on a video phone and I wonder, with the Silence being in 1969, did they even know what one was? It didn't seem so. Watching back, I adore and applaud Steven Moffat for how this ties in with The Name of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor with the question which must never be answered. They wanted silence, of course meaning they didn't want the Time Lords to return. So here they are, attempting to prevent the Doctor from reaching Trenzalore, and failing. The chemistry between Smith and Kingston was at a peak here and the flirting between the Doctor and River when shooting the Silence dead was wonderful. Perfect, almost. I really wished Amy hadn't intervened! I loved how the Doctor referenced Aickman Road from The Lodger with the Doctor recalling an abandoned similarity of an attempted TARDIS. And I loved how he said he was going to provide it. After frightening moments with hand messages and Amy being alone, the Silence were finally defeated. People everywhere were killing them without even knowing. Just amazing! The ending was quite sad with River fearing her days were up as the Doctor always seemed to be getting younger for her. The reference to what was to come in Let's Kill Hitler was beautifully added in also. Overall, a quite staggering of a series opener and it's set up quite a series arc hasn't it? Joining with The Impossible Astronaut, this is one of my favourite revival stories. 

Rating: 10/10