Doctor Who "Silence in the Library" (2008)

Well we're passing the mid-point of the fourth season of the new Doctor Who series and I must say over the last two episodes the pace has seemed to pick up. Last night's episode was written by the heir apparent Steven Moffat who is take over from Russell T. Davies as show runner and head writer at the start of season five. I have been impressed with all of Moffat's episodes, the Blitz two-parter of season one being my favorite of that season. He is able to successfully create an air mystery and suspense befitting such serious circumstances while still maintaining the fun and childlike nature of the Doctor as opposed to Davies himself who can sometimes go a bit over the top in terms of comedy and easily cross the line from the dramatic to the melodramatic. Moffat is an excellent choice to take over the show because he seems to get it: the Doctor can be campy and fun but when thrust into situations that call for his attention he is the perfect man to investigate and draw up the solutions to save as many people as he can.

Sometimes you can unfortunately figure out where the plot is going and how it will be resolved but I have to say I'm am at a loss for this episode. I'm not sure exactly how the little girl whose consciousness roams the library in her imagination will tie into the overall episode nor if we will learn anything more regarding the relationship between Professor River Song and the Doctor, but I look forward to part II with great relish. I might say I'm a bit on the fence regarding the Doctor as a romantic figure. Obviously with such a young (and handsome) actor in the role of the Doctor this premise is going to become more a possibility than in the older series when the doctor was generally played by middle-aged men and the fact that television shows of late need some kind of love interest between the characters to keep audiences hooked. Think about it, what topic usually comes up with regards to shows? Will they or won't they? Audiences love it and therefore makes it a guarantee for the new Doctor Who series, post-TV movie where the Doctor actually kissed one of his companions. However I do find it a bit more palatable when the romance is not with one of the companions (I fear for Donna going the way of Rose and Martha) and it's someone else the Doctor encounters in his travels (we have least seen precedence of this going as far back to the First Doctor in "The Aztecs"). I am especially fond of this character as she is played well by Alex Kingston formerly of ER. Being in a relationship with a time traveler and encountering each other at different stages of their lives is a interesting concept and I hope we get to see more of her after the concluding episode.

Donna really didn't get much to do in this episode after some great moments last week and it looks like she'll need a bit of saving in part II but I have enjoyed her character arc this season. I think her and the Doctor make a splendid team and a refreshing change of pace from the co-dependent Rose/Doctor and lovesick Martha/Doctor teams. Don't get me wrong I loved both of those characters but I've been enjoying this season as (so far) it seems the Doctor and Donna are happy (and adamant) to stay as platonic friends and it makes the journey of the growth of their friendship and trust all the more interesting as you get to see these two very different and headstrong personalities form a bond right before your eyes.

The Vashta Nerada are an interesting concept in and of themselves in that it's entirely plausible that every species in the universe would an irrational fear of the dark. I myself like a well lit house except of course when it comes to movies, like to get that movie theater atmosphere. I wasn't so much a fan of the walking corpse though. I think that was thrown in as it's easier to deal with a physical menace than one that is unseen which is all the more frightening. I actually thought the walking corpse was less scary than the idea of moving shadows. Since I'm nitpicking now anyway I'll also throw in that I wasn't too fond of the cliffhanger ending. It seems like it was set up to be a cliffhanger if you take a look at the closing shots: darkness in front, walking corpse behind, Donna's face on the robotic assistant. Leaving you with all the images you need to know for the beginning of part II. I thought a much better and interesting cliffhanger would have been Dr. Moon's sinister revelation to the young girl that the real world is false and her nightmares are reality. Hope we get more Colin Salmon in part II.

Favorite moment: Hands down, no contest. The Doctor and Donna's ripping of the intellectual property agreement contracts. It's an epitome of the Doctor's anti-establishment, anti-authority stance throughout the series and it shows that even though the Doctor himself can be silly at times, he will not deal with other people's foolishness in such dire circumstances. The attitude he displays immediately prior to the tearing of the contract (Oh right, sure) makes it a perfect Doctor moment and the fact that Donna without any prompt does the exact same thing shows how much alike these characters are even if they would never admit it.