The Time of Angels

"The Angel killed me too."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 24 April 2010

Series: 5.04

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, River

Synopsis

The enigmatic River Song hurtles back into the Doctor's life, but she's not the only familiar face returning – the Weeping Angels are back! Following River's calling card, the Doctor is recruited to help track down the last of the Angels, which has escaped from the Byzantium starling and into the terrifying Maze of the Dead.

Verdict

The Time of Angels was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Series 5 rewatch! This is a fantastic start to a wonderful story that I’ve been very much looking forward to revisiting. It’s one where Matt Smith clearly comes into his own as the Doctor in his debut performance and it’s just so much fun to see him interact with River Song. The way she goaded the Doctor into saving her from the spaceship was glorious stuff and the home box being in Old High Gallifreyan as a lost language of the Time Lords was brilliant, especially his reaction to it saying ‘hello sweetie’! I loved how vulnerable the Doctor was with River around and Amy just helped heighten that. It was such a fun dynamic. The Doctor lost all control and authority with River around and Amy absolutely loved it. She couldn’t believe that River could fly the TARDIS, although I’m absolutely against the idea of the materialisation sound just being the Doctor leaving the brakes on! That’s just ludicrous. Once River was on board, the story took shape as she followed the ship to the Byzantium and a trapped dormant Weeping Angel. I thought that was terrific and the threat that the Doctor believed there was just from one Angel was sold so well by Smith. The reaction when they realised that all of the statues decayed or otherwise in the Maze of the Dead were all Angels was superb. That really added some excitement and pace to the episode. I thought the atmosphere of the entire story was superb throughout and it was a nice grainy feel which went in well with the Angel presence. Amy’s first reaction to seeing the Angel was magnificent and the concept of the image of an Angel becoming an Angel was terrific. It adds a big threat to the already deadly Weeping Angels and the genius of Amy to pause the loop on the static where the Angel image wasn’t there was fantastic. The Doctor telling River to hug Amy because he was busy was marvellous. I was a big fan of that. I really enjoyed the moment where Bob was communicating with the Doctor after he had died and the way they blamed him after he’d promised they wouldn’t die and that they were actually full of fear was incredible. The reaction of the Doctor was sensational. I’m not a massive fan of the cliffhanger of the episode with the Doctor using a gun to shoot the Byzantium, but his warning to the Angels of not putting him in a trap was fantastic. Despite the circumstances and the predicament with the Angels coming and the power almost gone, the Doctor oozed confidence. I liked that. It’s a stellar performance for the Eleventh Doctor and I love the dynamic with Amy and River. It’s always nice to be watching alongside Gemma, especially in this era as we both adore this time and Doctor. It’s our favourite. We both humorously agreed that we wouldn’t go when the message came through of coming to see as it just wouldn’t be anything good. Overall, an episode full of tense atmosphere and creepiness which was a fine build to the next part to come! 

Rating: 9/10