Doctor Who Series 7 Review

Series 7 is a much more consistent series of Doctor Who over the previous one, however, it is consistently good rather than spectacular.

There are lots of enjoyable episodes, but none that truly stand out to me. So let me take you on a Doctor Who series 7 review journey, from Skaro, all the way to Trenzalore, via submarines, Manhattan, haunted houses and Russian subs.

First off, it feels weird writing this now. Watching two episodes a week has made me feel like Amy and Rory were never in this series. I know this was how it was broadcast, but it really does feel a little bit like two miniseries.

We also get two Christmas specials, which is always nice. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe sets the tone, it is a decent special, but not one of the most memorable ones. It certainly didn’t hit the heights of A Christmas Carol. Which then leads me to the elephant in the room - the divorce. Where the fuck did that come from? Everyone was all lovey-dovey last time I checked in the Pond residence. As I have mentioned a fair bit, Amy and Rory just weren’t a couple I could root for, so I was kind of disappointed they got back together, not that it felt like they were ever apart anyway.

Asylum of the Daleks was good though. It was fun seeing Clara pop up early, and Jenna Coleman stole the show in this. 

Then we had Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, an episode that is often ridiculed, and I have no idea why. The supporting cast are all amazing, Solomon is a great villain, we have dark moments, funny moments and sweet moments. I always dream of a world where Mark Williams ran throughout the entire 11/Pond era, but alas, it is just a dream.

A Town Called Mercy and The Power of Three are decent episodes, but pretty forgettable, and then just like that the Weeping Angels have taken Manhattan and it is bye bye Ponds. Again, this was a good episode, but I honestly think the Amy I had seen throughout two and a bit series would've just seen Rory vanish, shrugged her shoulders, called Rory stupid and then walked off to the TARDIS to try and mount the Doctor. Maybe I am doing them a disservice, but Amy really was a bit of a dick to Rory.

The Snowmen is the stand out episode of this series, a magical, atmospheric, mysterious Christmas special with one of my favourite scenes in the entire show.

The Bells of Saint John was our third introduction to Clara, and is another episode I really liked. Some of the visuals were amazing, the plane scene and the Doctor riding up the Shard were two moments. Shout out to Murray Gold of course, who puts some bangers in here. I cannot mention Gold without talking about the next episode as well, The Rings of Akhaten is beautiful to look at, but even more beautiful to listen to.

That fucking leaf drove me mad though. The Doctor gave the God planet thing his lives, all of his past and all of his present, but it was actually a leaf that worked. Hmm!

Cold War was the first major flop of the series for me, it wasn’t to be the last. A pretty boring episode with an annoying bugger chatting about Ultravox a lot.

We had another couple of decent episodes in Hide and Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - episodes that didn't fully reach the potential of their ideas perhaps? The Crimson Horror is a great little episode, made gold by the return of the Paternoster Gang.

Nightmare in Silver though was anything but great, a chaotic plot with lots of things going on, two irritating children, the Doctor and Clara making baffling decisions, Clara being elevated to leader of an army with nobody batting an eyelid, and that is before I mention the new Cybermen. No, Nightmare in Silver was very much not for me.

Just like that we are at the finale. The Whisper Men were creepy but not in it enough. A thread about the impossible girl ran through the back end of this series, and whilst I think it was a good resolution, it is also quite weird that Clara plays such a major part of the Doctor’s life after being in the show so little. Clara choosing the TARDIS felt a bit like sacrilege to me.

Having only one episode for the finale never really works for me, it felt very rushed. The Great Intelligence didn’t have mush motivation to do what it did, and no sooner had Richard E Grant stepped in Clara had followed and then the Doctor was in double quick to resolve it all with, checks notes, that fucking leaf again.

So that was series 7, a series with no real identity I guess, the big stand alone episodes were a nice idea, but it led to a pretty forgettable, yet not bad, series. 

Does anyone else despise the leaf? What did you think if series 7 of Doctor Who? Let me know in the comments below.

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