Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan – series 33, episode five

SPOILER ALERT: This weekly blog is for those who have been watching the new series of Doctor Who. Don’t read ahead if you haven’t seen episode five – The Angels Take Manhattan Dan Martin’s episode four blog ‘This is not any old future Amy, it’s ours. Once we know what’s coming, it’s written in stone …’ Those who complain that in Doctor Who love always saves the day, please hang your heads in shame. Love just ruined everything! The Doctor will never see the Ponds again, and neither will we. Amy and Rory’s bond was always going to win through – it has done for many months – but it has never been played better than this. From the Doctor’s point of view, however, it tore everything else apart. Amy and Rory left the only way they really could. The Weeping Angels felt like they were created for this very scene: Amy and Rory zapped back in time to live out their long, happy lives without the Doctor. Since the Tardis crashlanded into her back garden, Amy’s story had been one about growing up. At the start, she chose a life of adventure with her Raggedy Man over the prospect of normality with Rory. But now, faced with that decision again, there was no contest. This was a fitting end to a golden era, and bravo to Steven Moffat for telling such an involving, emotional story with such style. That last scene, as the Doctor darted through the streets of New York – grabbing at the final page as it flapped in the wind, speeding toward the ending he’d refused to accept was coming! Here ended Doctor Who’s ultimate fairytale in the way it had begun – in the pages of a storybook. ‘When one’s in love with an ageless god who doesn’t age, one does one’s best to hide the damage’ River returned, free from the shackles of last year’s big mystery and able to wreak havoc as she does best. Yet it’s proper that the story didn’t shy away from the tragedy of her unconventional marriage. And it’s nice to know that she can still return. But I’m now rather flummoxed by where we’re supposed to be in River’s timeline. She has long since been pardoned (the man she killed “never existed”), so we should be further along in her timeline – probably somewhere between The Time of Angels and Silence in the Library. But in our timeline, this is after the events of Demon’s Run and she is already “married”. Should she not be getting younger? Surely, from her perspective, the astronaut shooting hasn’t happened yet? Have we done away with the reverse-timeline thing? Or, as we shall get to – is there all together more going on here? Fear factor It’s a marvellous play to put the Angels in New York, feeding on time energy off the city that never sleeps. But it also gives a new sphere to their terror; a new time and place. The gangster stylings play nicely against their very gothic horror, and of course the Statue of Liberty is the mightiest Angel of all. Fear that they would become less effective with each appearance seems unfounded – this was easily this year’s scariest episode. As for those cherubs … There’s nothing worse than an evil baby. Not since the dancing babies of Ally McBeal have I been more freaked out by a child . Mysteries and questions We’ve spent the last month coming up with endless theories about flickering light bulbs and eggs and Christmas. In the end, none of it factored at all – or not yet, at least. But one theory that is still a goer is the that these adventures have happened in an order that’s different from the one we’re watching them in. River’s confused timeline would support that, as would the references to the phone charger in Henry VIII’s en suite. And the Doctor’s tortured manner for much of this year. When he told Amy last week that he’d known for a while they would stop one day (and you could definitely read Amy’s sacrifice as a decision to stop), is that because this adventure happened before a lot of those other episodes? That maybe, sick with grief, the Doctor’s done something reckless with time and gone back to see them? Could it be his fault that new companion Jenna Louise-Coleman appears to be fractured across space and time. I may be reading far too much into events, but there’s still one thing I don’t understand. The timelines are so scrambled that the Tardis can never go back to New York, meaning Amy and Rory are trapped. But couldn’t they just travel to Washington or Boston and see him again that way? Time-space debris • Some nice New York references scattered throughout here. Voiceover guy Mr Garner tells Mr Grayle that for $25 a day, plus expenses, he’ll believe anything you say. That’s an echo of Winston in Ghostbusters. And Amy’s round glasses are surely a nod to Diane Keaton’s in Annie Hall. • The New York shoot was the final proof that Doctor Who is now officially a Big Deal in America. There were 1,000 onlookers watching in admiration, and mobbing the cast. • Did you recognise Mike McShane from 1990s late-night improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? • “My lipstick was primed and ready, and I was packing cleavage that would fell an ox at 20ft.” Would the Doctor not have known that this was River talking? • Think I could’ve done without Englishman in New York. Bloody Sting. • “You think you’ll just come back to life?” “When don’t I?!” Good to see they’re remembering how many times they’ve killed Rory off.” • Hopefully the events of this episode mean Daleks in Manhattan never happened too. Next week! Nothing. Nothing until December. We’ll just have to watch The X Factor live shows. See you all at Christmas! Season 2 Episode 1: The Robot Revolution Episode 2: Lux Episode 3: The Well Episode 4: Lucky Day Episode 5: The Story and the Engine Episode 6: The Interstellar Song Contest Episode 7: Wish World Episode 8: The Reality War Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2: Space Babies / The Devil's Chord Episode 3: Boom Episode 4: 73 Yards Episode 5: Dot and Bubble Episode 6: Rogue Episode 7: The Legend of Ruby Sunday Episode 8: Empire of Death Christmas special: Joy to the World 60th anniversary specials Special 1: The Star Beast Special 2: Wild Blue Yonder Special 3: The Giggle Christmas special: The Church on Ruby Road Flux / Series 13 Chapter one: The Halloween Apocalypse Chapter two: War of the Sontarans Chapter three: Once, Upon Time Chapter four: Village of the Angels Chapter five: Survivors of the Flux Chapter six: The Vanquishers New Year's Special: Eve of the Daleks Spring special: Legend of the Sea Devils BBC centenary special: The Power of the Doctor Series 12 Episode 1: Spyfall part one Episode 2: Spyfall part two Episode 3: Orphan 55 Episode 4: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror Episode 5: Fugitive of the Judoon Episode 6: Praxeus Episode 7: Can You Hear Me? Episode 8: The Haunting of Villa Diodati Episode 9: Ascension of the Cybermen Episode 10: The Timeless Children New Year's special: Revolution of the Daleks Series 11 Episode 1: The Woman Who Fell to Earth Episode 2: The Ghost Monument Episode 3: Rosa Episode 4: Arachnids in the UK Episode 5: The Tsuangra Condundrum Episode 6: Demons of the Punjab Episode 7: Kerblam! Episode 8: The Witchfinders Episode 9: It Takes You Away Episode 10: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos New Year's special: Resolution Series 10 Episode 1: The Pilot Episode 2: Smile Episode 3: Thin Ice Episode 4: Knock Knock Episode 5: Oxygen Episode 6: Extremis Episode 7: The Pyramid at the End of the World Episode 8: The Lie of the Land Episode 9: Empress of Mars Episode 10: The Eaters of Light Episode 11: World Enough and Time Episode 12: The Doctor Falls 2017 Christmas special: Twice Upon A Time Series 9 Episode 1: The Magician's Apprentice Episode 2: The Witch's Familiar Episode 3: Under The Lake Episode 4: Before The Flood Episode 5: The Girl Who Died Episode 6: The Woman Who Lived Episode 7: The Zygon Invasion Episode 8: The Zygon Inversion Episode 9: Sleep No More Episode 10: Face The Raven Episode 11: Heaven Sent Episode 12: Hell Bent 2015 Christmas special: The Husbands of River Song 2016 Christmas special: The Return of Doctor Mysterio Series 8 Episode 1: Deep Breath Episode 2: Into The Dalek Episode 3: Robot of Sherwood Episode 4: Listen Episode 5: Time Heist Episode 6: The Caretaker Episode 7: Kill The Moon Episode 8: Mummy on the Orient Express Episode 9: Flatline Episode 10: In the Forest of the Night Episode 11: Dark Water Episode 12: Death In Heaven 2014 Christmas special: Last Christmas Series 7 Episode 1: Asylum of the Daleks Episode 2: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship Episode 3: A Town Called Mercy Episode 4: The Power of Three Episode 5: The Angels Take Manhatten 2012 Christmas special: The Snowmen Episode 6: The Bells of Saint John Episode 7: The Rings of Akhaten Episode 8: Cold War Episode 9: Hide Episode 10: Journey to the Centre of the Tardis Episode 11: The Crimson Horror Episode 12: Nightmare in Silver Episode 13: The Name of the Doctor 50th Anniversary special: The Day of the Doctor 2013 Christmas special: The Time of the Doctor Series 6 Episode 1: The Impossible Astronaut Episode 2: Day of the Moon Episode 3: The Curse of the Black Spot Episode 4: The Doctor's Wife Episode 5: The Rebel Flesh Episode 6: The Almost People Episode 7: A Good Man Goes To War Episode 8: Let's Kill Hitler Episode 9: Night Terrors Episode 10: The Girl Who Waited Episode 11: The God Complex Episode 12: Closing Time Episode 13: The Wedding of River Song 2011 Christmas special: The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe Series 5 Episode 1: The Eleventh Hour Episode 2: The Beast Below Episode 3: Victory of the Daleks Episode 4: The Time of Angels Episode 5: Flesh and Stone Episode 6: The Vampires of Venice Episode 7: Amy's Choice Episode 8: The Hungry Earth Episode 9: Cold Blood Episode 10: Vincent and the Doctor Episode 11: The Lodger Episode 12: The Pandorica Opens Episode 13: The Big Bang 2010 Christmas special: A Christmas Carol