The Eleventh Hour [TV/2010.4.3]

★★★★☆

  I keep coming back to this one. It's like a lingering dream, beckoning me into the fantasy long after I've had a taste of what the world outside is like. I know it back to front, beginning and end, and yet I'm still transported to such a wonderful moment in the times of both my life and the show. It's not talked about as much as it used to be, but The Eleventh Hour is (certainly in my eyes) one of the new series' most important milestones. After a change of showrunner and a clean sweep of all involved, Steven Moffat had the task of proving to the audience that his vision for Dr. Who would work. Out comes this hour-long fairy tale, full of mystery and excitement, adventure and horror, hope and dreams -- and the show has been all the better for it.

  The Eleventh Hour is what I'd call a quintessential hour of Dr. Who as smart, pure entertaining television. In a razor-sharp script, Moffat incorporates so many of the Doctor's core values and traits (talking out of his ass, frantically making up clever plans, being incredibly charming & effortlessly caring all the way), and adds a new layer of an imaginary friend from a young girl's boundless curiosity about the universe. This is Who as a fairy tale, and Moffat's sensibilities shine as his script is brought to life by director Adam Smith. There's a refreshing confidence to the directorial side of the episode (as in, it feels much more concerned on how to portray the entire piece in a visual medium than how to "tell a story through a camera"), and the sleepy town of Leadworth is the perfect setting for shape-shifting aliens, late-night fish fingers and custard and a dream becoming reality. Prisoner Zero may not be the most memorable villain, but he cleverly acts as a parallel to the newly-regenerated Eleventh Doctor himself; one's changed for escape and the other's in the process of self-discovery from change. In the midst of it all is Amelia (Amy) Pond, a little girl whose whole life is a mystery. Her story may not be completely resolved in this first chapter, but she still gets a wealth of lovely moments showing her heart and her justified confusion over a man she was oppressed into believing was her imagination showing up twelve years later and proving that he is, indeed, real. I feel for a lot of companions in Dr. Who, and yet Amy's initial predicament is something I can relate to very dearly.

  Matt Smith and Karen Gillan really must be commended for their acting chops. They're iconic, sure (in that they're seared into a whole generation's minds as the standout Doctor/companion pairing), but I was once again blown away by just how good they are at embodying their roles. Gillan plays the hurt young woman so beautifully, displaying just as much anger as she does tenderness and vulnerability. As for Smith, it's an electrifying first glimpse at the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor. Boundless enthusiasm, goofiness, a childlike sensibility shrouding an incredibly clever and deeply scarred man... he's got it all, and The Eleventh Hour displays everything so effortlessly. The icing on the already enormous cake is Murray Gold's music, entirely different from his efforts during the Russell T Davies era with a much subtler implementation to the episode as a whole. The music enhances the mood, the ever so mysterious and fantasy-like mood, and I find the finished, polished product absolutely wonderful. There were confidently-made fresh starts before (Spearhead from Space), and this isn't my absolute favourite post-regeneration adventure (that would be The Power of the Daleks), but The Eleventh Hour excels as a mission statement and a bold new beginning. Above all, it's extremely fun to watch, and it's one of my most-watched comfort stories. Series 5 as whole has some wonderful installments, but without the fairy-tale sensibilities imbued to the run by this opener, I don't think I would love it quite as much -- it's an important landmark for all the right reasons.