Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Alex Kingston, Iain Glen, David Atkins,
Arthur Darvill, Helen McCrory, Alisha Bailey | Written by Steven Moffat & Toby Whithouse
UK certification PG | UK RRP £19.99 | Runtime 120 minutes | Directed by Adam Smith & Jonny Campbell
So, two out of three ain't bad. The new boy (and girl) continue to grow into their roles nicely. And we have our first two-parter for this series, which sees the return of the mysterious and deadly Angels. But the third episode here (and the sixth for the series) doesn't quite cut the mustard.
The Angels – and River Song (Kingston) – are back in the two-parter The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone. River is hunting down the mysterious Angels and somehow May and the Doctor get caught up in her quest. They end up on board a crashed spaceship with a bunch of military priests and a whole heap of Weeping Angels hunting them down. Tense, well paced and exciting, this is the sort of two-parter we really want to see coming from Moffatt. And more River Song next season, please. Whoever she is – a furture incarnation of the Doctor, his wife or even a new incarnation of the Rani – we don't care, she's just so much fun to have around, and Kingston clearly loves playing the role.
On to Vampires of Venice, one of the weaker episodes of this season, it has to be said. Amy, Rory and the Doc land in Venice. And come across a bunch of hot, sexy female vampires? Or are they? Well, no they're not, They're aliens. It's an episode played mainly for laughs – with Smith getting most of the best lines – but overall it's a bit obvkious and not very scary. Oh, and it wasn't filmed in Venice, either.
EXTRAS ★ Just a short featurette: a 10-minute behind-the-scenes look at the Angels.