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Best series opener yet? Debatable, but "The Impossible Astronaut" definitely benefited from, for the first time since 2005, not having to establish a new status quo (which even "New Earth" had to do given Tennant's comparatively brief screen time in "The Christmas Invasion," but I digress…).
Where was I? Oh, yes — a series opener that, freed from having to Explain New Things, leaped straight into a story of heft and dread that will surely catch the attention of new viewers. Tick boxes were checked, and checked well — although there is ONE thing I'm disappointed about…
The timey-whimey aspect of Moffat's writing is starting to become too predictable for me. In "Blink" it was something new, but I worry that if his timey-whimey instincts continue unchecked that ultimately his era of the program will become too insular, which means that it will not appeal to a casual viewer.
You have my sympathies re the sensitive child. I am letting my 10 y.o. watch it this week but my now 15 y.o. didn't watch "Blink" until last year and, at 9, "The Impossible Astronaut" would have been out of the question. Different children have different thresholds and the key as a parent is understanding where that line is for *your* child. (FYI – the 10 y.o. is a girl and the 15 y.o. is a boy. This is so *not* a gender issue.)
Our son is 9, and we recently started letting him watch "Doctor Who." And, alas, yes, the bad guys in this one were a little too creepy. I think we'll go back to previewing before letting him watch — and, frankly, I think he wants us to! He's a good kid about knowing what his limits are. I do think he wants to see how the story ends, however, so I hope Part Two won't have anything so drastic as Joy's disintegration (if that scene hadn't been included, he maybe could have handled it).
Great review, Chip. I look forward to hearing your thoughts as the series unfolds.
My wife and I talked about the "kid-friendly" factor of Moffat-Who, and we really think that the show has become too scary for many young kids. We don't have our own children yet, but I'm looking forward to passing on the Doctor Who virus, but I would be highly uncomfortable starting a young one on Moffat's era. I think this is one area that RTD excelled in. It was almost always kid-friendly.