I think a big part of why Amy does not question traveling and why she does not take danger seriously is how she met the doctor. She was a child and a magical man fell into her yard. Of course she instantly wants to hang out with her imaginary friend, and as a child, the magical adult is supposed to keep her safe. Epitomized with her "what is the point of you" statement after Rory's first death, the doctor is the magic man that came on a call to protect her from the crack in her wall.
Great points, but I think it even goes further. Amy spent her entire childhood being told she was crazy and/or lying, and in The Doctor she has concrete proof that what she saw was real, and she's as sane as anyone else. She is going to cling onto him with everything she has got. Additionally, because of the one-two punch of not having parents and being constantly called crazy, I think it's safe to say that Amy probably missed out on a regular childhood, meaning that in a lot of ways, she's still quite immature and not ready to grow up yet - she wants a chance to experience the childlike wonder and adventure that she was always denied. Literally the entire series revolves around her running from her adult life - represented by her marriage to Rory - ultimately resulting in his death - representing her ultimately destroying her future by running from it. Through this lens, the ending of The Big Bang represents Amy coming to terms with the events of her life and committing to moving forward as an adult, while remembering that her inner child - represented by The Doctor - is still an integral part of who she is. Amy feared being an adult because she worried that she would be forced to give up on her dreams in order to live in reality, but ultimately realised that she can be an adult and still have dreams. Her speech at the wedding is her firmly reconciling both halves of her identity, and allowing herself to live authentically as a whole person.
@@BambiTrout Exactly, to both. Compared to other companions, Amy was quite broken. She'd lost family, and those around her constantly told her she'd also lost her mind. It'd be less believable if she *wasn't* unconventional in her attitude to travelling and danger.
Series 5 didn’t have the best episodes, but it was beautiful and it encapsulates the fairytale vibe that even if Moffat didn’t want, it was just amazing . Some episodes did fall flat but the characters were very well written and I like how he’s able to link everything together. Matt smith really made the role his own in one episode.
Moffat has said that he didn’t want a ‘fairytale’ vibe. If anyone tells you that rtds era was quite fairytale like and you hadn’t seen it you’d believe it after seeing it
I really loved how Matt seemed to combine Doctors 2 and 3 with his occasional tetchiness. At times he really seemed like the Jon Pertwee Doctor. I wish Moffatt had gone less goofy with him though. I felt Smith was always best when playing the Doctor mostly straight. His gravity, phrasing and timing were excellent when the scripts allowed.
I enjoyed this series, but the RTD scripts felt like all your best family and cousins were coming over for Christmas. Moffat scripts felt more like hanging late night with friends on a Wednesday night. Both great, but very different in weight and connections.
I will just always love series 5. It holds a special place in my heart and always will. 11 is MY Doctor and this era came along at a point in my life where I really needed it. Maybe I am blinded by nostalgia or life trauma but I don't care. If that makes me bias then I am bias. It is my fave series and 11 is my fave Doctor. That's the long and short of it.
I think more people are to biased towards russell t davies era cause despite it having good moments most of the bad moments were under Russell’s time as show runner like love and monsters and fear her for example Steven made the show fun unlike Russell who romanticized being with the doctor sort of like twilight romanticized being with Edward and I think that is what people who left the show under Steven moffatt didn’t like he took that away from the show but I think doing that made the show better cause it showed who were actually fans and who were just watching cause it was popular and they wanted to be in a romantic relationship with the doctor I maybe biased in Steven’s favor but I started my journey in the tardis with Matt and Steven and to me Steven picked the right person for the role cause to me it was like Matt was born to be the doctor cause he played the doctor so well but I have gone back and watched season 1-the specials
03:12 Had to laugh at that, to be fair, Chibnall literally told her not to study so he would basically make her his "Tabula rasa Doctor", if she had studied previous Doctors she would have called his B.S. out all the time. Quite interesting to see Moffat top and bottom the selection, shows how much dimensions Moffat has.
I can't really agree that Amy's lack of doubt over travelling with the Doctor in series 5 is a problem. The whole premise of Amy's character, as you point out, is that she wants to run away with him because she isn't ready to grow up, so of course she's throwing herself into it without a care. That's the point. Series 6 Amy is a much more well rounded adult who's fully committed to Rory after what they went through in series 5, and it's no coincidence that it's series 6 that introduces Amy having second thoughts about being a companion, leading to her being drawn more and more away from the Doctor in series 7 until she finally leaves him forever. This is a differently structured arc for a companion than RTD's usual formula of giving them an early moment of doubt, but there's no reason why that formula should have to be followed for every companion. In fact I think it's great, even necessary, for the show to mix it up for companion character arcs if it wants to change and evolve. Amy's series 5 character arc is just part of her larger arc across her time on the show, so I don't think series 5 is at fault for just not being up to that part of her arc yet.
It's like Harbo would just prefer to have the same arc over and over. That doesn't lead to unique characters. Martha was basically just another Rose except this time the Doctor wasn't interested. Donna broke from the formula because she had no interest in banging the Doctor but she also had all her character development destroyed. Weird that Harbo complains about Moffat resetting things when Davies did the exact same thing to Donna's entire character.
This is probably my favorite series overall of the modern show. I love the fairytale feel, the inventive story arc, and how many of the episodes are revisited at the beginning of the finale 2 parter. Really feels like a culmination of what came before. While I like this series more than what came later, I also like how series 6, 7, the 50th anniversary special, and the final Christmas special with the 11th Doctor all play a role in the larger storyline of Trenzalore and the question that must never be answered. And then the loose ends of the Doctor seeking out Gallifrey after the 50th anniversary, what becomes of Clara, and bringing River's story full circle are wrapped up with the 12th Doctor. Many may hate it or find it frustrating, but I also like how this crazy story is told all out of order in a way that could only be done in a show all about time travel.
3:23 - I don’t agree! I feel like Ten wasn’t the kind for those grand speeches, he’d most likely technobabble, communicate with his companions in an effort to buy time and then do something with a bit of gadgety stuff and escape. I feel like Eleven definitely suited these speeches more! :) my opinion
Having been a child in 1963 and seen all the doctors I too originally rejected Matt Smith but I went back to him and can say wholeheartedly that he IS the doctor and I watch his Christmas specials every year.
I can appreciate your own experience off people leaving the show with this series but I saw the opposite. Maybe it was just because of the new HD look but so many people at school only jumped onboard with the Matt Smith era, so I don't think a "reset" of tone bothered them much because they got in a bunch of new fans.
Also, the beginning of the Smith era was the height of the show’s international popularity. Many folks I knew in the US found fish fingers and custard to be endearing and quirky, as opposed to childish.
It’s important to note that by the time Amy becomes the companion she’s spent most of her life dreaming about the day the doctor would come back for her. I think having her second guess the decision or even decide to leave would have been weird since this is literally what she’s always wanted.
Yeah, I agree. I was going to type something similar. The Doctor was a towering prescience in her life from a very young age. Of course she didn’t have any doubts about going with him. She idolized him as children tend to do with their heroes. I was a huge Spock fan when I was a little girl. If I had met him then and he asked me to go travel on the Enterprise, I would have had no reservations about going. Beam me up!
I suppose the other benefit of returning monsters for a new era means that you don't need to develop villains while trying to develop new doctor and new companions
Series 5 to me was Moffat's more consistent series before it began to go wild in consistency with Series 6 and 7 going all over the place. What I enjoy about series 5 is the atmosphere and energy it oozes as it is so unlike what came before yet familiar. For me it was a needed breath of fresh air and I respect it for doing thay while also making itself apparent (at the time) that the show can survive without Tennant and RTD. What series 5 also had me discover is I like overarching storylines that are more apparent and have an influence in the plot such as the cracks and the Silence. Along with that I adore Murray Golds music from series 5 - 7, I own the soundtracks of Matts era and I always find them to be a bop.
You keep talking about how this finale supposedly doesn't make sense after the reveal about the Silence and their motivations in series 6. But it does make sense. They clearly want to protect the universe from the Doctor answering the question on Trenzalore (which we find out later is broadcast by the Timelords who want out of the pocket dimension, so the Silence probably fear the Time War coming back as the Doctor did in The End of Time), so they go into the 11th Doctor's past & try to prevent him from ever going there by blowing up the TARDIS. Obviously they wouldn't have done this if they knew it would cause the cracks in time and they themselves would now be responsible for destroying the universe. Whether or not he's in the TARDIS at the time is irrelevant to them, as he'll be prevented from going to Trenzalore all the same. After this attempt fails, they go to plan B which is to brainwash someone to take out the Timelord permanently. Since they were already keeping an eye on the Doctor and his companions, I guess they decided Amy & Rory's child was an easy target. Of course this attempt also fails, as we know. So it doesn't bother me.
Also, as a side note, when Moffat took over we lost a lot of the behind the scenes stuff from the DVD box sets. RTD series' had commentaries on EVERY episode (sometimes two commentaries) plus separate commentaries on the Doctor Who site. Maybe it was budgetary reasons but we were lucky to get 3 commentaries for the entire season of Moffat's Who. The box sets gradually became more sparse for extras and I stopped buying them before Capaldi took over. Still haven't picked his run up.
@@VeracityLH Also this, yes. I do have Capaldi's first series on my TV's external hard drive but I never watch it and gave up keeping the episodes after that series as my interest waned, severely, with Moffat's handling of the show. I prefer the classic series for rewatching.
Agree, it’s a good series made up of mostly average episodes. I’m 100% a Moffat fan, but never had any issues with the criticisms for this series. It’s been a great run of reviews, looking forward to Series 6.
Yeah, it's not even close. The RTD years did have some darker stories too (albeit mostly courtesy of Moffat) but it was easily the most geared towards kids considering what we've had since then.
I think that Amy was try to combine Rose and Dona, which is absolutely bad combination. Both have good qualities (one more), but they combination doesn't make them better.
@@mayotango1317 not saying, that she didn't love Rory or loved doctor, but there were flirting elements and some love drama (+ other things, like how she has Rose "seeing new things as naive girl from Earth" Not sure, if that was right description. Combined with Donna's "I don't care who or what you are, you will not be disrespectful! "
@@mayotango1317 yeah, they are all different and have different stories (Amy's origin story, how she meet Doctor, is probably best). But her character seems to be experimented of mixing two good characters. It wasn't great idea. She became more like 'herself' later, but when introduced, it wasn't really good. (At least, I think so. Maybe I am minority)
I disagree BUT watching your series 5 reviews was waaaay more entertaining for me! I've never actually met or encountered many fans who don't like series 5 so it's always a fascinating perspective to hear! I can't argue with your criticisms as they are true, but for some reason it really works for me, more than series 1 or 2 does for me, I think series 3 and 4 are better than series 5 but overall all I think series 5 is moffats best and most consistent season (I do think series 10 is better than series 5 but I think it looses casual audiences whereas I think anyone can watch series 5 which is better for the show itself) Can't wait to see what series 6 reviews will be like! ;D
Matt's tenure as the Doctor is odd to me because I don't like the overarching plots of any of his seasons, but I think they each have some great individual episodes housed within them. I have no nostalgia for series 5 and thus have never been part of the "series 5 is one of the best" crowd. That said, I think it does a solid job of setting up Matt as the Doctor and establishing several running threads for his incarnation. I'll be curious to see your coverage of series 6, as it's another series marked by some very high highs and some truly bizarre lows.
yesssss i agree bro if steven moffat hadve pulled a rtd and had every episode apart from the finale work as a standalone matt smith's era easily couldve been the best
The big issue with the current Doctors Who series is the constant companion falling in love with the Doctor angle. The classic who focused more on storyline and did not deal with that
Honestly although series 5 onwards being all in HD and cinematic looking was cool I really think the standard definition of RTS’s gave it an interesting edge, it made it feel real and gave it an edge that other sci-fi shows don’t have that I really appreciated
I have problems with the Moffat era myself, however your critique of Amy seems to boil down to "She's not an audience surrogate like the RTD era companions were." It's like you pointed out, she's not the audience surrogate... Rory is. I do agree with the idea she should have been a one season companion, though, and that way Rory could be the rock that doesn't change while Amy realizes she needs to grow up.
Except that is kind of the point - growing up IS the companion arc for the Amy-era seasons. Amy's character evolves in a way none of the previous characters did - and that's the real division in the fanbase. If you WANT companions to be cut-outs that let the Doctor say clever stuff, Amy is a bad companion (as is Clara). But if you want both your Doctor AND your companion(s) to have their own arcs of evolution, Amy is great (as is Clara).
@@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg Moffat actually understands human psychology. There are differences in how every single human thinks and interacts, so portraying Amy and Clara as very different to the previous companions is exactly what makes them realistic. Compare them to Martha for example. She's just another Rose with the only difference being that the Doctor wasn't interested. If Rose had stuck around for Season 3, nothing would have changed except for the "this is me, getting out" scene because Martha was just the rebound, not a unique character on her own. Rose would absolutely have looked after the Doctor while he was disguised as John Smith or walked the Earth for a year to stop the Master, so Martha isn't special for doing what a previous companion would have done anyway. Granted, Moffat could fall into the trap of writing the same character twice too - Tasha Lem was just River Song played by a different actress - but he was smart enough to never make that mistake with the companions.
I think that the whole ‘Companion keeps throwing out one liners’ thing they did with Amy worked better with Donna because it was in her character to be a bit defiant in the way that when she was captured in Fires of Pompeii, she didn’t scream for help but kept insulting her captors and threatening them instead of them threatening her. I think if Amy was there instead (Which she was but as a companion not one of the sisters) would have said things like “Oh I don’t want that knife in me. Looks painful”
I hadn't enjoyed the Moffat era much on my first viewing, but I found it far more enjoyable on a recent rewatch with my daughter, who's just now old enough to follow it. I just think Davies and Tenant were a tough act for anyone to follow.
I have been binging your serious reviews and as someone whose first doctor was smith and my first series was 5 I would just like to say sir. I agree with you on almost everything. I still think Vincent and the doctor deserves one letter grade higher.
Yeah, I think having an ongoing story throughout an entire season is a great idea, and really adds to the idea of the end of season threat actually being larger than life (more so than just the Master turning up at the end out of the blue to mess with people). The issue for me mainly arises in how this format means EVERY episode is important to the overall story - meaning that lack lustre episodes are harder to ignore overall. In the more episodic seasons led by RTJ, if an episode was a dud, more often than not you can skip it in a season rewatch, as an odd episode wouldn't really be that important to the general arcs. For example, season 2 isn't really that good overall - but because I can watch The Girl in the Fireplace, School Reunion and The Impossible Planet (1+2) as contained adventures, that isn't really an issue, as the way they flow together doesn't matter too much from story to story. Because season 5 is so intertwined with itself from episode to episode, returning to the better episodes isn't nearly as satisfying as the previous seasons, as it feels like this season revels in constantly reminding me of its shortcomings at every turn (The weird Liz 10 stuff, The Silurians, Amy and her choices) ; because every corner has to be remembered to get out of the maze that is Moffat's style of writing. Having all the episodes interconnect also derails the momentum of some episodes in my opinion, because of their need to fit in with the others - Vampires of Venice has a good 5 minute interlude of the Doctor and the fishlady setting up 'the end of all things', and Rory being eaten by the Crack really comes out of nowhere and is then brushed off, because it has to be (not that the episode his death is in had much going for it anyway - but it still doesn't really fit in with the rest of the episode, and it's annoying that to fully comprehend season 5 you have to sit through the rest of those episodes). There are a handful of standout moments in the season for me - the angel forest, Rory's death, Vincent in the Gallery, the Doctor being taken into the Pandorica - but I find it harder to appreciate them as moments because the way they all join together in the end is rather muddled, which isn't an issue I can say I had with 10 or 9's seasons (as questionable as some of those finales may have been). Outside of this, I feel like a lot of the episodes have pacing issues - mostly in how they wrap up at the last minute almost every time - the Angel's get vacuumed up by a crack, the bomb that the daleks planted is unarmed by the power of love, and the Dream lord is literally brushed off the Doctor's shoulder and blown out the window, damn man.
@@mayotango1317 True, it's definitely one of the more uneven episodes, but I enjoy it as a campy romp (with a lot of fun fanservice - I am a big fan of K9).
I find it ironic when people complain about "I am the Doctor" considering Series 3 and 4 had "The Doctor Forever" in almost every episode. Also, do note most the time you hear those overused versions "The Doctor Forever" or "I am the Doctor", it's not Murray Gold's conscious decision. Often times, directors will track in music they think fits or music they like. Tracking-in music also saves time and money as it gives Gold time to focus on other compositions and they can record less music with the orchestra. Now, that said, 11's era was filled with a TON of variations of "I am the Doctor" which Murray Gold wrote (which in my opinion kept the theme fresh as these variations often only occurred once); however, I think most the hostility towards this theme comes from the iconic string setting "I am the Doctor" track getting edited and tracked-in to almost every episode of 11's run.
Had to stop watching as soon as you said Amy was unlikable because even in season 5 i thought she was the best companion so far (and I'm almost caught up on the series and still think her and Rory outrank all the others for me) so clearly there was no point in me continuing the video.
Great video! I do like the larger thematic arcs in Series 5 tho. Every episode deals with the power of belief and the mind in some way, culminating in the belief of the Doctor. I really love that idea, because it makes the whole series feel really cohesive.
Ur whole review is justified don’t worry at least for me (who does prefer the rtd era over Moffat I still love the Moffat era) I agree w most if not all ur points! Moffat’s story telling is a little worse or less consistent than rtd was but that’s not saying Moffat is a bad writer just a different one w different strengths & weaknesses. I always love ur reviews their honest even if that puts you in hot water w ppl who think every episode In their favorite era is perfect.
"Don't talk to me about 2000 years because that is nothing compared to what I'm giving up" I hate Amy so much and hated her twice as much the second she started saying that line. 2000 years, no pleasures, not even sleep. His injuries wouldn't even heal. But boo hoo I refuse to adopt children so breaking your heart hurts me more than 2000 years and this current divorce could have put you through. Boo hoo my feelings matter more than yours... I could keep mocking how childish that line is but I think everyone gets it by now And I know its not season 5 but I wanted to jump on the Amy hate with the quote that put the final nail in her coffin for me
You've clearly misread that. Rory has always wanted children and Amy feels that she isn't worthy of him because she can't give him children. She didn't put her feelings above his, she's doing the opposite. It's quite for women to do this when they find out they can't have kids purely because society imbeds it into young girls minds that to be happy, you have to have a husband and babies and to be a good wife, you have to give your husband a baby. So when a lot of women find out they can't do that, they push their husband or boyfriend away out of guilt because they can't give them a child
@@mrdr0161 ok but that trope fucking sucks and Asylum reproduced it completely uncritically, which makes it maddening from a completely different angle. I'm not saying you can't have people bring in flawed real life perspectives, but the story doesn't challenge Amy's assertion that being sterile makes her less of a person in any meaningful way, she and Rory are just back together at the end with no real thought given to the issue.
The show explains why the Silence would want to destroy the TARDIS. They're idiots. It's a bootstrap paradox. They wanted to stop the Doctor speaking his name into the crack on Trenzalore and bringing back the Time Lords. They blew up the TARDIS to stop the Doctor ever coming to Trenzalore, and inadvertently created the cracks by blowing up the TARDIS. When that fails, it brings forth series 6's storyline, where they decide to kill the Doctor instead. Which is what they should have done in the first place, really.
I wouldn't say that makes the Silence idiots. It's more about them simply not understanding the laws of time as intimately as a Time Lord does. They have the necessary technology but that doesn't mean they had all the information about the nuances behind time travel. Remember, Time Lords had an entire civilisation spanning millions or even billions of years that was based around the Time Vortex. The Silence were relative newcomers to the whole thing but that doesn't make them stupid. Hell, Madam Kovarian outsmarted the Doctor TWICE with the exact same trick, so she must be able to rub a fair few brain cells together.
I grew up with the RTD era. While I think that Series 5 was (and still is) very good, I still hate to this day how they changed *everything*. It felt like an entirely different TV show to me. I remember being ready to sit down and watch the new Doctor, and was immediately thrown off by the new title sequence and music. It just felt wrong to me. It all threw me right off. Obviously I still watched the show, but the fact that it just felt like everything of RTD's era had been stripped, and it feeling like an entirely new show, just left such a bitter taste in my mouth at the time
I thought the idea behind the Silence blowing up the TARDIS was that they didn't realise that doing so would destroy the entire universe. Maybe that's just me...
ABSOLUTELY A SUCCESS ! Since I don´t get to watch Doctor Who on t.v.as I live abroad, it was the first series of the re-boot collection that I bought on DVD. I was IMMEDIATELY HOOKED and only stopped watching the modern doctors when that bloody awful "Flux" came out.
Hey man I might not completely agree with everything you’ve said about series 5 but I can see every point you are making and can totally understand it, keep doing what you’re doing :) some criticism is always needed not everything is perfect
All that stuff about easing the audience in to the new showrunner and doctor by providing a familiar structure? Bravo! There's one of the ways Chibnall failed 😅 the guy expects us to see the new doctor, showrunner, episode structure, episode length, companions, number of companions, AND composer and expected us to still see it as doctor who. Literally the only thing slightly familiar was the tardis. For me that was the only indication whatsoever that it was doctor who. I'm mean dude, put your own spin on it but don't push us straight into the deepened without armbands.
Tbf we don't know what was and what wasn't chibnalls choice. The BBC higher ups could've told him to have 10 50 minute episodes rather than 12 45 min episodes. And the composer change was out of anyone's control other than Murray gold. He left of his own accord to focus on his family.
@@mrdr0161 True on both accounts. But what he _did_ have control over were things like what stories were told, what monsters were used, how many companions there were, etc.
I've warmed up to Smith as the Doctor in his absence, but I still maintain that Series 5 is wildly inconsistent between it's highs and lows, coming out below average as a whole. I've never liked Amy, and she's only gotten worse as time has gone on. And Rory basically got snuffed the entire season. Smith is a good Doctor, but you live and die by the quality of the stories, and Season 5 just doesn't have that consistent level of quality. And it's only downhill for Smith from here...
Series 6 is more inconsistent in my opinion. There are great episodes like The Doctors Wife, A Good Man Goes to War, The Girl Who Waited and the God Complex. But then ere are terrible episodes like Rebel Flesh 2 parter, Let's Kill Hitler, Closing Timg and Night Terrors
@@mrdr0161 Personally I would consider The Doctor's Wife, The Impossible Astronaut, and maaaaybe The Girl Who Waited to be above average. Everything else in series 6 is easily a 4/10 or lower.
I’m watching on doctor who Christmas special a day until Christmas and I’m watching the next doctor and thought imagine if an episode like this happened but the doctor actually did meet the next doctor. It would be kinda cool
My problem with this series is that it doesn't feel as exciting or engaging as the previous ones. I found it hard to believe that the characters were facing some kind of threat or danger most of the time. And when it felt like they were in real trouble, the resolution was too fast or too weird to be satisfying. I hated specially when "the power of love" saved the day. I just started watching the show for the first time a few months ago, starting with the 9th Doctor. I instantly loved him and the tone of the show. It was never boring. Series 2-4 had good and meh episodes, but overall they felt as exciting and entertaining as the first one, Series 3 and 4 more even. But this one was kind of boring... Maybe I'm being too harsh, but that's how I feel. However, I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor. I believe his portrayal of the character... It is the writing (and Amy Pond) that doesn't work for me.
You think Moffat's era is...boring?? I love Moffat's run of the show, but I know it's not perfect. I would expect virtually any criticism but "it's boring." How on earth could it be boring? Jodie Whitaker & Chris Chibnall's run is boring (I couldn't get myself watch after just 2 episodes it was so dull). But Moffat's era? What???
For me Matt Smith doesn’t hit his stride until series 6, up until then I struggled to connect with him. Series 5 it felt too similar to the Tennant era, which I suspect is partly down to the fact that the first series draft was written with Tennant in mind, they didn’t quite switch it enough, which left me with a feeling in too many episodes that David Tennant could have done this (and better). And the arc, especially the conclusion felt almost like it was written to say "look, isn’t the new Doctor awesome! He’s so great that the only way to beat is for all the villains to team up against him." Having every villain show up in a episode may seem cool on paper, but in practice it is underwhelming and screams of a writer not fully confident with his own material. Could have just made it a Nestene/Auton story, that’s all I’m saying. And it’s made worse by them repeating the trick for his final episode. This is not to hate on Matt Smith too much. I think he does fine with the material he’s given, and really makes the role his own in his next two seasons. I just don’t think it’s quite there in series 5. Series 5 is mediocre. I don’t care for the arc, the leads aren’t quite there yet (I like them much better in 6 and 7), and I can only think of one or two episodes that I would happily go back and rewatch (as opposed to other seasons where I can only think of one or two that I wouldn’t bother with). The only redeeming thing is Rory, he’s the best thing about this series, and I was so glad when he was promoted to full companion status for the next season.
Matt Smith sold me in The Eleventh Hour. Apart from John Hurt, Patrick Troughton and MAYBE David Tennant, no other performer who's played the Doctor before or after Smith could have carried the weight of an episode that was completely disconnected from the Russell T Davies era. Tennant's stupendous popularity meant that Smith was stepping into the shoes of a giant and on top of that, the closest thing he had to a safety net was Karen Gillan's sex appeal because nothing familiar was there to prop him up if he failed. It all rested on Smith managing to pull off the Doctor.
Series 5 is like a really good album. Whilst series 6 might have stronger individual stories, there’s something so cathartic about how well 5’s episodes flow from one to the next
Seeing you put 12 as your favorite new who doctor makes me so excited for when you get to Capaldi's episodes. Great video, and I honestly have always felt like S5-7 were the weakest of New Who.. until Chibnall showed up that is...
I have very important question. Probably now I understand why watching seasons 1-4 in original sound is far more enjoable than 5-7. Did they changed in some way sound recording? Started to use more sophisticated sentence structure? Or the whole problem is with Matt accent? Sometimes I need to watch big parts of episodes with subtitles on. It's very taxing and exausting. It SHOULDN'T be this way. I watch yt near only in english. It's not the problem with quality of writing, because watching it with lektor (post soviet country thing, idk if other countries than Poland still do it) first time and while rewatching is way more enjoyable. (I had no problem watching season 1-4 in english, but without "one more episode syndrome" of course - but I don't do it pretty often anyway) I first spotted it in season 11 with Jodie accent. Like bs script was way more acceptable with lektor.
By 5 minutes we've already alreadu hit the the crux of the 'problem' - you, personally, just don't like Amy. Which is fine, she's not my favorite companion, either. But that doesn't mean the show is bad.
Nice to see someone being critical of Amy's character and arc. So many moffat fans give her a complete free pass despite how badly she treats everyone around her
I hate moffat but like Amy. Yeah, she treated Rory bad at first in series 5 but she changed into a good person. Her biggest trait is her commitment issues. At first it was her relationship with Rory in series 5, then having a baby in series 6 and then her career in series 7 and her development concerning these issues is brilliant because in the end, she did finally settle down and overcome her issues. She settled down to normal life with Rory, found her career in writing and had adopted a baby
@@mayotango1317 I don't see it. She treats Rory far worse than Rose treats Micky. I wouldn't say it's a deconstruction at all it's just a similar situation where Amy chooses to go with the bf whereas Rose chooses the doctor
Series 5 i shay i dont pay naysayers of (any) current who much mind. Let it breathe, come back to it and see if opinions change. Time mellows out episodes.
Can't help but feel that nostalgia plays a big part in why the RTD era issues are often glossed over in these videos while something like this is dissected a little too harshly. Still love the content, but feel there's a heavy bias. Tbf untill recently I was biased toward the moffat era and have only recently started to genuinely love the Davis era. I'm very happy that they are so different yet so similar where it counts. The chibnall era feels like it's got it all backwards, copying the Davis era but not understanding what made it work. Just IMHO.
Controversial option, I don't like the moffet era. I also hate Clara. I don't like the current era either. I'm not going to pretend the Davis era was perfect, but t it was my Doctor who.
Agree with you. Moffat was actually a poor writer if you look away from his long story arcs. His stories under RTD were amazing and outstanding but his writing when he took over the show became quite bad. I didn't really like the Moffat era.
doctor who has always been bad. we watch the show because of the immense potential it has. once in a blue moon that potential proves itself with an amazing episode, but it's incredibly rare. it's the world building and general lore that's good - not the writing or individual stores (outside of a few exceptions).
> I'm not going to pretend the Davis era was perfect, but t it was my Doctor who. So are you basing your love for the RTD era mostly off of nostalgia? That's what I don't get. Most people prefer David Tennant and RTD to Matt Smith and Moffat, but it really makes no sense to me. In my opinion, it is very clear that Matt Smith is better in almost all aspects to Tennant. His acting is way better. His personality is way more fun. Tennant tries to be funny and goofy, but it just comes much more naturally to Matt Smith. Moffat had huge story arcs that spanned multiple series, and (for the most part) had really satasfying conclusions. RTD had utterly terrible resolutions to some of his series finales, and Moffat was a big improvement. In my mind, Matt Smith is just plain better than David Tennant; same with Moffat and RTD. The only explanation I've come up with is that most people just have nostalgia for the RTD era, and prefer it for that reason.
Not sure why this one is so fondly remembered as a Series, outside of maybe Amy's Choice nothing stands out as good nor memorable as stand alone episodes or as part of a series arc. Definitely one that’s more often than not viewed through the nostalgia lens. Also but this might be a me thing but I hate the very cheap digital teal look this series had which the RTD era never did.
Because it feels like a breath of fresh air after Tennant's dreary final years, no more RTD cliches, no more contemporary 21st-century Earth stories, companions that feel like travelers and not a melodramatic soap opera like Rose and Martha.
@@frde2190 Maybe only Series 8 with Danny Pink, but even he is a better character that The Fam. The whole love triangle in Series 2 is so painful, even Martha feel more like a third wheel with the shadow of Rose.
The problem with moffat era is mainly that when an episode is not good then it is usually boring as hell and they were a lot. Davies era had many meh to bad episodes but they weren't boring
Exactly. RTD era episodes had better pacing in my opinion. Even the mediocre ones were entertaining. Love and Monsters, and Fear Her were weak, but still managed to keep me engaged.
I hated the cracks even back then. Previous seasons had subtlety about its arch, especially Bad Wolf where it took several episodes to even realize it was there. Meanwhile, this season gave us a big glowing crack the camera would make sure to focus on once an episode at least. It was all so "Look, look, over here! Look here! Mystery! Here, mystery, look at it!"
@mayotango1317 But the bees weren't the main mystery, they were just a subtle part of it. It's the same whith the losts planets, they're mentioned in such a way that you're not supposed to think too much about it, whereas in this season, the cracks are made relevant everytime they appear. Indeed it's like: Hey, look!! This is the plot!! And it harms the final resolution, it's not surprising or mysterious anymore.
@@mayotango1317 at the time, bees disappearing was actually a headline and spoke about. People talking about it IRL didn't feel forced so it didn't feel forced in the show, more like a pop culture/news reference.
After the titles for the previous Series reviews I was kind expecting something like “How Series 5 is a good series despite my criticisms XD” It’s gonna become a running gag isn’t it?
I just want to make it clear that the problems I have with you criticism of the Moffat era is essentially that you’re “forcing” it. It’s obvious that you’re actively seeking out and inventing issues that don’t actually exist within the writing in order to justify your personal preferences and biases, and it comes off as deeply transparent and childish.
I agree with your sentiments about Amy pond But if you do look at it from a different perspective you could also see it as a form of Stockholm Syndrome waiting forBecause she is alone and the only person she has any real true connection to in all senses of her being is the doctor he was only there for such a short time but it already is like a father figureWhich makes it weird and creepy and for more reasons than are said here But there's also the clear romanticized versions it's very similar to the Christmas Carol store where Amy is the person in the Kryotube The doctor is young young teenage scrooge the only thing is is that is that the love is only comes from depression who has locked up and feels alone and if if you think about it it's a brilliant way of making someone tracked but not by the person there's a person who's come to save them but was too late becoming They're the face of what what keeps them locked away because because a crack does not do that Justice a giant floating eyeball does not do that Justice a human face does that Justice or or the face of time Lord
I said it before and I’ll say it again, the moving angels make sense! They’re not sure if she can see them so move towards her but hold their angel form just in case
![The BEST Series Opener? [Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon REVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/37QkwG_NKfk/mqdefault.jpg)
It'd be pretty epic if you could support me on patreon:
www.patreon.com/harbowholmes
why do you hate moffat tho?
I think a big part of why Amy does not question traveling and why she does not take danger seriously is how she met the doctor. She was a child and a magical man fell into her yard. Of course she instantly wants to hang out with her imaginary friend, and as a child, the magical adult is supposed to keep her safe. Epitomized with her "what is the point of you" statement after Rory's first death, the doctor is the magic man that came on a call to protect her from the crack in her wall.
Great points, but I think it even goes further. Amy spent her entire childhood being told she was crazy and/or lying, and in The Doctor she has concrete proof that what she saw was real, and she's as sane as anyone else. She is going to cling onto him with everything she has got.
Additionally, because of the one-two punch of not having parents and being constantly called crazy, I think it's safe to say that Amy probably missed out on a regular childhood, meaning that in a lot of ways, she's still quite immature and not ready to grow up yet - she wants a chance to experience the childlike wonder and adventure that she was always denied. Literally the entire series revolves around her running from her adult life - represented by her marriage to Rory - ultimately resulting in his death - representing her ultimately destroying her future by running from it. Through this lens, the ending of The Big Bang represents Amy coming to terms with the events of her life and committing to moving forward as an adult, while remembering that her inner child - represented by The Doctor - is still an integral part of who she is. Amy feared being an adult because she worried that she would be forced to give up on her dreams in order to live in reality, but ultimately realised that she can be an adult and still have dreams. Her speech at the wedding is her firmly reconciling both halves of her identity, and allowing herself to live authentically as a whole person.
@@BambiTrout Exactly, to both.
Compared to other companions, Amy was quite broken. She'd lost family, and those around her constantly told her she'd also lost her mind. It'd be less believable if she *wasn't* unconventional in her attitude to travelling and danger.
Series 5 didn’t have the best episodes, but it was beautiful and it encapsulates the fairytale vibe that even if Moffat didn’t want, it was just amazing . Some episodes did fall flat but the characters were very well written and I like how he’s able to link everything together. Matt smith really made the role his own in one episode.
Moffat has said that he didn’t want a ‘fairytale’ vibe. If anyone tells you that rtds era was quite fairytale like and you hadn’t seen it you’d believe it after seeing it
I really loved how Matt seemed to combine Doctors 2 and 3 with his occasional tetchiness. At times he really seemed like the Jon Pertwee Doctor. I wish Moffatt had gone less goofy with him though. I felt Smith was always best when playing the Doctor mostly straight. His gravity, phrasing and timing were excellent when the scripts allowed.
You make such an effort to try to express an opinion, and end up with no opinion at all.
Rory: *exists*
The Universe: "He's too dangerous to be left alive!"
Rory: Oh, no. Anyway-
Me Benevento beneficence Becca smithereens antenna antebellum been slightly then
I enjoyed this series, but the RTD scripts felt like all your best family and cousins were coming over for Christmas. Moffat scripts felt more like hanging late night with friends on a Wednesday night. Both great, but very different in weight and connections.
you have put into words exactly how I personally feel about the two eras ! I could never find the words but that's exactly it !
It's curious since the TARDIS feels more like a home and welcome in the Moffat era. In the RTD era it was more "I pick the best, I pick Rose."
And now RTD scripts feel more a gay bar.
@mayotango1317 🤸🏼ooo hello!
"The Series 5 tier list is not so different from the Series 1 tier list." An average difference of a full grade is statistically a huge difference.
I will just always love series 5. It holds a special place in my heart and always will. 11 is MY Doctor and this era came along at a point in my life where I really needed it. Maybe I am blinded by nostalgia or life trauma but I don't care. If that makes me bias then I am bias. It is my fave series and 11 is my fave Doctor. That's the long and short of it.
I think more people are to biased towards russell t davies era cause despite it having good moments most of the bad moments were under Russell’s time as show runner like love and monsters and fear her for example Steven made the show fun unlike Russell who romanticized being with the doctor sort of like twilight romanticized being with Edward and I think that is what people who left the show under Steven moffatt didn’t like he took that away from the show but I think doing that made the show better cause it showed who were actually fans and who were just watching cause it was popular and they wanted to be in a romantic relationship with the doctor I maybe biased in Steven’s favor but I started my journey in the tardis with Matt and Steven and to me Steven picked the right person for the role cause to me it was like Matt was born to be the doctor cause he played the doctor so well but I have gone back and watched season 1-the specials
"On the whole Series 5 is a stunning series" - Harbo Wholmes
You heard it here first folks!
03:12 Had to laugh at that, to be fair, Chibnall literally told her not to study so he would basically make her his "Tabula rasa Doctor", if she had studied previous Doctors she would have called his B.S. out all the time.
Quite interesting to see Moffat top and bottom the selection, shows how much dimensions Moffat has.
Is that true? If it is, it’s terrible.
The awful Amy part makes sense to me because Karen Gillian said that she was also dissatisfied with her acting in Season 5.
Her acting actually makes the character
I made a parallel universe with Karen Gillan as the Eleventh Doctor
I can't really agree that Amy's lack of doubt over travelling with the Doctor in series 5 is a problem. The whole premise of Amy's character, as you point out, is that she wants to run away with him because she isn't ready to grow up, so of course she's throwing herself into it without a care. That's the point. Series 6 Amy is a much more well rounded adult who's fully committed to Rory after what they went through in series 5, and it's no coincidence that it's series 6 that introduces Amy having second thoughts about being a companion, leading to her being drawn more and more away from the Doctor in series 7 until she finally leaves him forever. This is a differently structured arc for a companion than RTD's usual formula of giving them an early moment of doubt, but there's no reason why that formula should have to be followed for every companion. In fact I think it's great, even necessary, for the show to mix it up for companion character arcs if it wants to change and evolve. Amy's series 5 character arc is just part of her larger arc across her time on the show, so I don't think series 5 is at fault for just not being up to that part of her arc yet.
It's like Harbo would just prefer to have the same arc over and over. That doesn't lead to unique characters. Martha was basically just another Rose except this time the Doctor wasn't interested. Donna broke from the formula because she had no interest in banging the Doctor but she also had all her character development destroyed. Weird that Harbo complains about Moffat resetting things when Davies did the exact same thing to Donna's entire character.
Is because Rory Williams is the real companion. And Amy dream for years to travel in the TARDIS.
This is probably my favorite series overall of the modern show. I love the fairytale feel, the inventive story arc, and how many of the episodes are revisited at the beginning of the finale 2 parter. Really feels like a culmination of what came before. While I like this series more than what came later, I also like how series 6, 7, the 50th anniversary special, and the final Christmas special with the 11th Doctor all play a role in the larger storyline of Trenzalore and the question that must never be answered. And then the loose ends of the Doctor seeking out Gallifrey after the 50th anniversary, what becomes of Clara, and bringing River's story full circle are wrapped up with the 12th Doctor. Many may hate it or find it frustrating, but I also like how this crazy story is told all out of order in a way that could only be done in a show all about time travel.
3:23 - I don’t agree! I feel like Ten wasn’t the kind for those grand speeches, he’d most likely technobabble, communicate with his companions in an effort to buy time and then do something with a bit of gadgety stuff and escape. I feel like Eleven definitely suited these speeches more! :) my opinion
Agreed. I don't know why people expect 13 to have a speech like that when most doctors haven't had a speech like that
@@mrdr0161 some do have good lines
@@mrdr0161 yep agreed 👍🏾👍🏾
Agreed.
Having been a child in 1963 and seen all the doctors I too originally rejected Matt Smith but I went back to him and can say wholeheartedly that he IS the doctor and I watch his Christmas specials every year.
I can appreciate your own experience off people leaving the show with this series but I saw the opposite. Maybe it was just because of the new HD look but so many people at school only jumped onboard with the Matt Smith era, so I don't think a "reset" of tone bothered them much because they got in a bunch of new fans.
Also, the beginning of the Smith era was the height of the show’s international popularity. Many folks I knew in the US found fish fingers and custard to be endearing and quirky, as opposed to childish.
It’s important to note that by the time Amy becomes the companion she’s spent most of her life dreaming about the day the doctor would come back for her. I think having her second guess the decision or even decide to leave would have been weird since this is literally what she’s always wanted.
That why Rory Williams feel a real companion for me.
Yeah, I agree. I was going to type something similar. The Doctor was a towering prescience in her life from a very young age. Of course she didn’t have any doubts about going with him. She idolized him as children tend to do with their heroes. I was a huge Spock fan when I was a little girl. If I had met him then and he asked me to go travel on the Enterprise, I would have had no reservations about going. Beam me up!
I suppose the other benefit of returning monsters for a new era means that you don't need to develop villains while trying to develop new doctor and new companions
Series 5 to me was Moffat's more consistent series before it began to go wild in consistency with Series 6 and 7 going all over the place. What I enjoy about series 5 is the atmosphere and energy it oozes as it is so unlike what came before yet familiar. For me it was a needed breath of fresh air and I respect it for doing thay while also making itself apparent (at the time) that the show can survive without Tennant and RTD.
What series 5 also had me discover is I like overarching storylines that are more apparent and have an influence in the plot such as the cracks and the Silence. Along with that I adore Murray Golds music from series 5 - 7, I own the soundtracks of Matts era and I always find them to be a bop.
You keep talking about how this finale supposedly doesn't make sense after the reveal about the Silence and their motivations in series 6. But it does make sense. They clearly want to protect the universe from the Doctor answering the question on Trenzalore (which we find out later is broadcast by the Timelords who want out of the pocket dimension, so the Silence probably fear the Time War coming back as the Doctor did in The End of Time), so they go into the 11th Doctor's past & try to prevent him from ever going there by blowing up the TARDIS. Obviously they wouldn't have done this if they knew it would cause the cracks in time and they themselves would now be responsible for destroying the universe. Whether or not he's in the TARDIS at the time is irrelevant to them, as he'll be prevented from going to Trenzalore all the same. After this attempt fails, they go to plan B which is to brainwash someone to take out the Timelord permanently. Since they were already keeping an eye on the Doctor and his companions, I guess they decided Amy & Rory's child was an easy target. Of course this attempt also fails, as we know. So it doesn't bother me.
It doesn’t make sense but it makes as much sense as something like the series 4 finale which he praised it’s completely hypocritical 🙄
Also, as a side note, when Moffat took over we lost a lot of the behind the scenes stuff from the DVD box sets.
RTD series' had commentaries on EVERY episode (sometimes two commentaries) plus separate commentaries on the Doctor Who site.
Maybe it was budgetary reasons but we were lucky to get 3 commentaries for the entire season of Moffat's Who.
The box sets gradually became more sparse for extras and I stopped buying them before Capaldi took over. Still haven't picked his run up.
We bought the first Capaldi boxset before giving up. When we can stream all the episodes on HBOMax, what's the point?
@@VeracityLH Also this, yes.
I do have Capaldi's first series on my TV's external hard drive but I never watch it and gave up keeping the episodes after that series as my interest waned, severely, with Moffat's handling of the show.
I prefer the classic series for rewatching.
Agree, it’s a good series made up of mostly average episodes. I’m 100% a Moffat fan, but never had any issues with the criticisms for this series. It’s been a great run of reviews, looking forward to Series 6.
One point that baffles me is that the Moffat era is more geared towards kids than Davies 1
Hellooooo? Farting aliens? Killer quiz shows? Living fat?
Yeah, it's not even close.
The RTD years did have some darker stories too (albeit mostly courtesy of Moffat) but it was easily the most geared towards kids considering what we've had since then.
@@arch1017 hey, that's not fair, the Chibnall era is exclusively geared towards toddlers and recent victims of head trauma.
@@junker-f3m😂😂😂😂😂😂 sick burn
I'm Hoping Matt Smith reprises his role as the eleventh doctor in the realm of big finish
I think that Amy was try to combine Rose and Dona, which is absolutely bad combination. Both have good qualities (one more), but they combination doesn't make them better.
No, because Amy loves Rory while Rose only loves the Doctor.
Amy is Helga Pataki.
@@mayotango1317 not saying, that she didn't love Rory or loved doctor, but there were flirting elements and some love drama (+ other things, like how she has Rose "seeing new things as naive girl from Earth" Not sure, if that was right description. Combined with Donna's "I don't care who or what you are, you will not be disrespectful! "
@@liborohanka5010 But they no had the traumas that Amy had.
@@mayotango1317 yeah, they are all different and have different stories (Amy's origin story, how she meet Doctor, is probably best). But her character seems to be experimented of mixing two good characters. It wasn't great idea. She became more like 'herself' later, but when introduced, it wasn't really good. (At least, I think so. Maybe I am minority)
@@liborohanka5010Well, what you think about Ruby Sunday.
I disagree BUT watching your series 5 reviews was waaaay more entertaining for me! I've never actually met or encountered many fans who don't like series 5 so it's always a fascinating perspective to hear! I can't argue with your criticisms as they are true, but for some reason it really works for me, more than series 1 or 2 does for me, I think series 3 and 4 are better than series 5 but overall all I think series 5 is moffats best and most consistent season (I do think series 10 is better than series 5 but I think it looses casual audiences whereas I think anyone can watch series 5 which is better for the show itself) Can't wait to see what series 6 reviews will be like! ;D
Matt's tenure as the Doctor is odd to me because I don't like the overarching plots of any of his seasons, but I think they each have some great individual episodes housed within them. I have no nostalgia for series 5 and thus have never been part of the "series 5 is one of the best" crowd. That said, I think it does a solid job of setting up Matt as the Doctor and establishing several running threads for his incarnation. I'll be curious to see your coverage of series 6, as it's another series marked by some very high highs and some truly bizarre lows.
yesssss i agree
bro if steven moffat hadve pulled a rtd and had every episode apart from the finale work as a standalone matt smith's era easily couldve been the best
@@alientranslink6764The Smith era is the best.
I wonder if I’m still gonna be alive by the time you get around to reviewing Peter Capaldi’s episodes.
The big issue with the current Doctors Who series is the constant companion falling in love with the Doctor angle. The classic who focused more on storyline and did not deal with that
Honestly although series 5 onwards being all in HD and cinematic looking was cool I really think the standard definition of RTS’s gave it an interesting edge, it made it feel real and gave it an edge that other sci-fi shows don’t have that I really appreciated
I have problems with the Moffat era myself, however your critique of Amy seems to boil down to "She's not an audience surrogate like the RTD era companions were." It's like you pointed out, she's not the audience surrogate... Rory is. I do agree with the idea she should have been a one season companion, though, and that way Rory could be the rock that doesn't change while Amy realizes she needs to grow up.
Except that is kind of the point - growing up IS the companion arc for the Amy-era seasons. Amy's character evolves in a way none of the previous characters did - and that's the real division in the fanbase. If you WANT companions to be cut-outs that let the Doctor say clever stuff, Amy is a bad companion (as is Clara). But if you want both your Doctor AND your companion(s) to have their own arcs of evolution, Amy is great (as is Clara).
@@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg Moffat actually understands human psychology. There are differences in how every single human thinks and interacts, so portraying Amy and Clara as very different to the previous companions is exactly what makes them realistic. Compare them to Martha for example. She's just another Rose with the only difference being that the Doctor wasn't interested. If Rose had stuck around for Season 3, nothing would have changed except for the "this is me, getting out" scene because Martha was just the rebound, not a unique character on her own. Rose would absolutely have looked after the Doctor while he was disguised as John Smith or walked the Earth for a year to stop the Master, so Martha isn't special for doing what a previous companion would have done anyway. Granted, Moffat could fall into the trap of writing the same character twice too - Tasha Lem was just River Song played by a different actress - but he was smart enough to never make that mistake with the companions.
I think that the whole ‘Companion keeps throwing out one liners’ thing they did with Amy worked better with Donna because it was in her character to be a bit defiant in the way that when she was captured in Fires of Pompeii, she didn’t scream for help but kept insulting her captors and threatening them instead of them threatening her. I think if Amy was there instead (Which she was but as a companion not one of the sisters) would have said things like “Oh I don’t want that knife in me. Looks painful”
It was also clearly a coping mechanism for her insecurities.
I hadn't enjoyed the Moffat era much on my first viewing, but I found it far more enjoyable on a recent rewatch with my daughter, who's just now old enough to follow it. I just think Davies and Tenant were a tough act for anyone to follow.
I disagree with you about Amy. Also cracking jokes when you're scared is not uncommon
I have been binging your serious reviews and as someone whose first doctor was smith and my first series was 5 I would just like to say sir. I agree with you on almost everything. I still think Vincent and the doctor deserves one letter grade higher.
Yeah, I think having an ongoing story throughout an entire season is a great idea, and really adds to the idea of the end of season threat actually being larger than life (more so than just the Master turning up at the end out of the blue to mess with people).
The issue for me mainly arises in how this format means EVERY episode is important to the overall story - meaning that lack lustre episodes are harder to ignore overall.
In the more episodic seasons led by RTJ, if an episode was a dud, more often than not you can skip it in a season rewatch, as an odd episode wouldn't really be that important to the general arcs. For example, season 2 isn't really that good overall - but because I can watch The Girl in the Fireplace, School Reunion and The Impossible Planet (1+2) as contained adventures, that isn't really an issue, as the way they flow together doesn't matter too much from story to story.
Because season 5 is so intertwined with itself from episode to episode, returning to the better episodes isn't nearly as satisfying as the previous seasons, as it feels like this season revels in constantly reminding me of its shortcomings at every turn (The weird Liz 10 stuff, The Silurians, Amy and her choices) ; because every corner has to be remembered to get out of the maze that is Moffat's style of writing.
Having all the episodes interconnect also derails the momentum of some episodes in my opinion, because of their need to fit in with the others - Vampires of Venice has a good 5 minute interlude of the Doctor and the fishlady setting up 'the end of all things', and Rory being eaten by the Crack really comes out of nowhere and is then brushed off, because it has to be (not that the episode his death is in had much going for it anyway - but it still doesn't really fit in with the rest of the episode, and it's annoying that to fully comprehend season 5 you have to sit through the rest of those episodes).
There are a handful of standout moments in the season for me - the angel forest, Rory's death, Vincent in the Gallery, the Doctor being taken into the Pandorica - but I find it harder to appreciate them as moments because the way they all join together in the end is rather muddled, which isn't an issue I can say I had with 10 or 9's seasons (as questionable as some of those finales may have been).
Outside of this, I feel like a lot of the episodes have pacing issues - mostly in how they wrap up at the last minute almost every time - the Angel's get vacuumed up by a crack, the bomb that the daleks planted is unarmed by the power of love, and the Dream lord is literally brushed off the Doctor's shoulder and blown out the window, damn man.
Sorry but School Reunion had the Rose melodrama and Mickey as a Tin Dog crap.
@@mayotango1317 True, it's definitely one of the more uneven episodes, but I enjoy it as a campy romp (with a lot of fun fanservice - I am a big fan of K9).
I’m watching the series for the first time now. Series 5 is decent, I just finished it a few days ago. So far 9th doctor is my favorite
I find it ironic when people complain about "I am the Doctor" considering Series 3 and 4 had "The Doctor Forever" in almost every episode.
Also, do note most the time you hear those overused versions "The Doctor Forever" or "I am the Doctor", it's not Murray Gold's conscious decision. Often times, directors will track in music they think fits or music they like. Tracking-in music also saves time and money as it gives Gold time to focus on other compositions and they can record less music with the orchestra.
Now, that said, 11's era was filled with a TON of variations of "I am the Doctor" which Murray Gold wrote (which in my opinion kept the theme fresh as these variations often only occurred once); however, I think most the hostility towards this theme comes from the iconic string setting "I am the Doctor" track getting edited and tracked-in to almost every episode of 11's run.
Had to stop watching as soon as you said Amy was unlikable because even in season 5 i thought she was the best companion so far (and I'm almost caught up on the series and still think her and Rory outrank all the others for me) so clearly there was no point in me continuing the video.
Great video! I do like the larger thematic arcs in Series 5 tho. Every episode deals with the power of belief and the mind in some way, culminating in the belief of the Doctor. I really love that idea, because it makes the whole series feel really cohesive.
I love Matt Smith great doctor was funny aswel.
Matt Smith's whole time was pretty fantastic.
Ur whole review is justified don’t worry at least for me (who does prefer the rtd era over Moffat I still love the Moffat era) I agree w most if not all ur points! Moffat’s story telling is a little worse or less consistent than rtd was but that’s not saying Moffat is a bad writer just a different one w different strengths & weaknesses. I always love ur reviews their honest even if that puts you in hot water w ppl who think every episode In their favorite era is perfect.
I've binged S1-S5 of Harbo's DW retrospective over the course of two weeks. What do I do now!?
"Don't talk to me about 2000 years because that is nothing compared to what I'm giving up"
I hate Amy so much and hated her twice as much the second she started saying that line. 2000 years, no pleasures, not even sleep. His injuries wouldn't even heal. But boo hoo I refuse to adopt children so breaking your heart hurts me more than 2000 years and this current divorce could have put you through. Boo hoo my feelings matter more than yours... I could keep mocking how childish that line is but I think everyone gets it by now
And I know its not season 5 but I wanted to jump on the Amy hate with the quote that put the final nail in her coffin for me
You've clearly misread that. Rory has always wanted children and Amy feels that she isn't worthy of him because she can't give him children. She didn't put her feelings above his, she's doing the opposite. It's quite for women to do this when they find out they can't have kids purely because society imbeds it into young girls minds that to be happy, you have to have a husband and babies and to be a good wife, you have to give your husband a baby. So when a lot of women find out they can't do that, they push their husband or boyfriend away out of guilt because they can't give them a child
@@mrdr0161 ok but that trope fucking sucks and Asylum reproduced it completely uncritically, which makes it maddening from a completely different angle. I'm not saying you can't have people bring in flawed real life perspectives, but the story doesn't challenge Amy's assertion that being sterile makes her less of a person in any meaningful way, she and Rory are just back together at the end with no real thought given to the issue.
The show explains why the Silence would want to destroy the TARDIS. They're idiots.
It's a bootstrap paradox. They wanted to stop the Doctor speaking his name into the crack on Trenzalore and bringing back the Time Lords. They blew up the TARDIS to stop the Doctor ever coming to Trenzalore, and inadvertently created the cracks by blowing up the TARDIS.
When that fails, it brings forth series 6's storyline, where they decide to kill the Doctor instead. Which is what they should have done in the first place, really.
I wouldn't say that makes the Silence idiots. It's more about them simply not understanding the laws of time as intimately as a Time Lord does. They have the necessary technology but that doesn't mean they had all the information about the nuances behind time travel. Remember, Time Lords had an entire civilisation spanning millions or even billions of years that was based around the Time Vortex. The Silence were relative newcomers to the whole thing but that doesn't make them stupid. Hell, Madam Kovarian outsmarted the Doctor TWICE with the exact same trick, so she must be able to rub a fair few brain cells together.
This has always been my favourite as well as others I think every episode except victory of the Daleks is fantastic.
That's your opinion
@@the-scamp yes it is
I grew up with the RTD era. While I think that Series 5 was (and still is) very good, I still hate to this day how they changed *everything*. It felt like an entirely different TV show to me. I remember being ready to sit down and watch the new Doctor, and was immediately thrown off by the new title sequence and music. It just felt wrong to me.
It all threw me right off. Obviously I still watched the show, but the fact that it just felt like everything of RTD's era had been stripped, and it feeling like an entirely new show, just left such a bitter taste in my mouth at the time
So you hate the classic series too?
The show always change.
is it bad that i relate to amy and would do the same snarky comments in a serious situation because comedy is my coping mechanism
Am I weird for loving vampires of Venice?
yeah
Yes
No you're allowed to like something even if it's bad lol
I want to watch Series 5 after surfer with The Flux.
Series 13 was miles better than Series 5
@@justsomerandomguyonline1144 No..... it wasn't
@@bottomman9 yes it was.
@@justsomerandomguyonline1144 reasoning?
@@bottomman9 this guy hates Moffat every doctor who comment he makes is abput him hitting Moffat
To me Russel T Davies era has the most replay value.
And the replay clichés.
Reminder Rory is the only person who can give permission to and I quote "Kick the doctor's Ass"
That mean he's the one that gave permission to Nardole :D
I always thought the cracks in time came from the crash in the 11th hour
I thought the idea behind the Silence blowing up the TARDIS was that they didn't realise that doing so would destroy the entire universe. Maybe that's just me...
I personally loved season 5
ABSOLUTELY A SUCCESS ! Since I don´t get to watch Doctor Who on t.v.as I live abroad, it was the first series of the re-boot collection that I bought on DVD. I was IMMEDIATELY HOOKED and only stopped watching the modern doctors when that bloody awful "Flux" came out.
Hey man I might not completely agree with everything you’ve said about series 5 but I can see every point you are making and can totally understand it, keep doing what you’re doing :) some criticism is always needed not everything is perfect
But Chibnall era is crap.
@@mayotango1317 I never said anything about the chibnall era?
@@mayotango1317 where did you get that from?
All that stuff about easing the audience in to the new showrunner and doctor by providing a familiar structure? Bravo! There's one of the ways Chibnall failed 😅 the guy expects us to see the new doctor, showrunner, episode structure, episode length, companions, number of companions, AND composer and expected us to still see it as doctor who. Literally the only thing slightly familiar was the tardis. For me that was the only indication whatsoever that it was doctor who. I'm mean dude, put your own spin on it but don't push us straight into the deepened without armbands.
Tbf we don't know what was and what wasn't chibnalls choice. The BBC higher ups could've told him to have 10 50 minute episodes rather than 12 45 min episodes. And the composer change was out of anyone's control other than Murray gold. He left of his own accord to focus on his family.
@@mrdr0161 True on both accounts.
But what he _did_ have control over were things like what stories were told, what monsters were used, how many companions there were, etc.
The Buckaroo Banzai era.
I have to admit I enjoy 11th Doctor era the most despite the contrivance. Probably just enjoy the tone more than the structure.
Great Video man :D - G
I've warmed up to Smith as the Doctor in his absence, but I still maintain that Series 5 is wildly inconsistent between it's highs and lows, coming out below average as a whole. I've never liked Amy, and she's only gotten worse as time has gone on. And Rory basically got snuffed the entire season. Smith is a good Doctor, but you live and die by the quality of the stories, and Season 5 just doesn't have that consistent level of quality. And it's only downhill for Smith from here...
Series 6 is more inconsistent in my opinion. There are great episodes like The Doctors Wife, A Good Man Goes to War, The Girl Who Waited and the God Complex. But then ere are terrible episodes like Rebel Flesh 2 parter, Let's Kill Hitler, Closing Timg and Night Terrors
@@mrdr0161 Personally I would consider The Doctor's Wife, The Impossible Astronaut, and maaaaybe The Girl Who Waited to be above average. Everything else in series 6 is easily a 4/10 or lower.
@@TheKingMgee That's a bad opinion and I don't like it
I agree with you on everything. RTD is an absolute legend !!
Idk I loved the finale, thought it was a really cool timey whimey episode
I’m watching on doctor who Christmas special a day until Christmas and I’m watching the next doctor and thought imagine if an episode like this happened but the doctor actually did meet the next doctor. It would be kinda cool
My problem with this series is that it doesn't feel as exciting or engaging as the previous ones. I found it hard to believe that the characters were facing some kind of threat or danger most of the time. And when it felt like they were in real trouble, the resolution was too fast or too weird to be satisfying. I hated specially when "the power of love" saved the day.
I just started watching the show for the first time a few months ago, starting with the 9th Doctor. I instantly loved him and the tone of the show. It was never boring. Series 2-4 had good and meh episodes, but overall they felt as exciting and entertaining as the first one, Series 3 and 4 more even. But this one was kind of boring... Maybe I'm being too harsh, but that's how I feel.
However, I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor. I believe his portrayal of the character... It is the writing (and Amy Pond) that doesn't work for me.
No, the only boring era of the show is the Jodie Whittaker era.
You must love the realistic Jodie Whittaker era.
This series was such a huge step down from The RTD era. It felt way too kid friendly.
You think Moffat's era is...boring?? I love Moffat's run of the show, but I know it's not perfect. I would expect virtually any criticism but "it's boring." How on earth could it be boring? Jodie Whitaker & Chris Chibnall's run is boring (I couldn't get myself watch after just 2 episodes it was so dull). But Moffat's era? What???
For me Matt Smith doesn’t hit his stride until series 6, up until then I struggled to connect with him.
Series 5 it felt too similar to the Tennant era, which I suspect is partly down to the fact that the first series draft was written with Tennant in mind, they didn’t quite switch it enough, which left me with a feeling in too many episodes that David Tennant could have done this (and better).
And the arc, especially the conclusion felt almost like it was written to say "look, isn’t the new Doctor awesome! He’s so great that the only way to beat is for all the villains to team up against him." Having every villain show up in a episode may seem cool on paper, but in practice it is underwhelming and screams of a writer not fully confident with his own material. Could have just made it a Nestene/Auton story, that’s all I’m saying. And it’s made worse by them repeating the trick for his final episode.
This is not to hate on Matt Smith too much. I think he does fine with the material he’s given, and really makes the role his own in his next two seasons. I just don’t think it’s quite there in series 5.
Series 5 is mediocre. I don’t care for the arc, the leads aren’t quite there yet (I like them much better in 6 and 7), and I can only think of one or two episodes that I would happily go back and rewatch (as opposed to other seasons where I can only think of one or two that I wouldn’t bother with). The only redeeming thing is Rory, he’s the best thing about this series, and I was so glad when he was promoted to full companion status for the next season.
That's a bad opinion and I don't like it.
You conect to the sixth Doctor or the fourth Doctor?
Matt Smith sold me in The Eleventh Hour. Apart from John Hurt, Patrick Troughton and MAYBE David Tennant, no other performer who's played the Doctor before or after Smith could have carried the weight of an episode that was completely disconnected from the Russell T Davies era. Tennant's stupendous popularity meant that Smith was stepping into the shoes of a giant and on top of that, the closest thing he had to a safety net was Karen Gillan's sex appeal because nothing familiar was there to prop him up if he failed. It all rested on Smith managing to pull off the Doctor.
Answer to your question: Yeah, it's one of the best doctor who series ever made.
Series 5 is like a really good album. Whilst series 6 might have stronger individual stories, there’s something so cathartic about how well 5’s episodes flow from one to the next
Seeing you put 12 as your favorite new who doctor makes me so excited for when you get to Capaldi's episodes. Great video, and I honestly have always felt like S5-7 were the weakest of New Who.. until Chibnall showed up that is...
It's weird, I'm not a huge fan of the stories themselves for 12. BUT I adore his doctor, his performance.
@@itskashkashi To this day I think is best actor to play doctor (has seen 9 doctors so far and probably 5th-8th doctor will not top it)
I have very important question. Probably now I understand why watching seasons 1-4 in original sound is far more enjoable than 5-7.
Did they changed in some way sound recording? Started to use more sophisticated sentence structure? Or the whole problem is with Matt accent? Sometimes I need to watch big parts of episodes with subtitles on. It's very taxing and exausting. It SHOULDN'T be this way. I watch yt near only in english. It's not the problem with quality of writing, because watching it with lektor (post soviet country thing, idk if other countries than Poland still do it) first time and while rewatching is way more enjoyable.
(I had no problem watching season 1-4 in english, but without "one more episode syndrome" of course - but I don't do it pretty often anyway)
I first spotted it in season 11 with Jodie accent. Like bs script was way more acceptable with lektor.
No, you are a weirdo fanboy.
Why am i not subscribed yet ? Oh... i am now !
By 5 minutes we've already alreadu hit the the crux of the 'problem' - you, personally, just don't like Amy. Which is fine, she's not my favorite companion, either. But that doesn't mean the show is bad.
Nice to see someone being critical of Amy's character and arc. So many moffat fans give her a complete free pass despite how badly she treats everyone around her
I hate moffat but like Amy. Yeah, she treated Rory bad at first in series 5 but she changed into a good person. Her biggest trait is her commitment issues. At first it was her relationship with Rory in series 5, then having a baby in series 6 and then her career in series 7 and her development concerning these issues is brilliant because in the end, she did finally settle down and overcome her issues. She settled down to normal life with Rory, found her career in writing and had adopted a baby
Amy is more a deconstruction of Rose.
@@mayotango1317 I don't see it. She treats Rory far worse than Rose treats Micky. I wouldn't say it's a deconstruction at all it's just a similar situation where Amy chooses to go with the bf whereas Rose chooses the doctor
One could argue that one scene in Vincent and the Doctor makes it the best series out there
As soon as you said "I don't really rate it", I liked
i hope the series 6 review is good, i love that series
That's your opinion!
@@the-scamp I’m very aware, I just hope harbo has the same opinion, it’s ok if he doesn’t though
Personally Amy is my favorite companion though that could be because I'm a big fan of Karen Gillan because of Ruby Roundhouse and Nebula
Series 5 i shay i dont pay naysayers of (any) current who much mind. Let it breathe, come back to it and see if opinions change. Time mellows out episodes.
Can't help but feel that nostalgia plays a big part in why the RTD era issues are often glossed over in these videos while something like this is dissected a little too harshly. Still love the content, but feel there's a heavy bias. Tbf untill recently I was biased toward the moffat era and have only recently started to genuinely love the Davis era. I'm very happy that they are so different yet so similar where it counts. The chibnall era feels like it's got it all backwards, copying the Davis era but not understanding what made it work. Just IMHO.
I thought the whole point of S tier is that is so perfect it’s like 11/10. Because I wouldn’t classify a B as 7/10
Controversial option, I don't like the moffet era. I also hate Clara.
I don't like the current era either.
I'm not going to pretend the Davis era was perfect, but t it was my Doctor who.
Agree with you. Moffat was actually a poor writer if you look away from his long story arcs. His stories under RTD were amazing and outstanding but his writing when he took over the show became quite bad. I didn't really like the Moffat era.
doctor who has always been bad. we watch the show because of the immense potential it has. once in a blue moon that potential proves itself with an amazing episode, but it's incredibly rare. it's the world building and general lore that's good - not the writing or individual stores (outside of a few exceptions).
That's not controversial. It's actually quite popular lol
> I'm not going to pretend the Davis era was perfect, but t it was my Doctor who.
So are you basing your love for the RTD era mostly off of nostalgia? That's what I don't get. Most people prefer David Tennant and RTD to Matt Smith and Moffat, but it really makes no sense to me. In my opinion, it is very clear that Matt Smith is better in almost all aspects to Tennant. His acting is way better. His personality is way more fun. Tennant tries to be funny and goofy, but it just comes much more naturally to Matt Smith. Moffat had huge story arcs that spanned multiple series, and (for the most part) had really satasfying conclusions. RTD had utterly terrible resolutions to some of his series finales, and Moffat was a big improvement. In my mind, Matt Smith is just plain better than David Tennant; same with Moffat and RTD. The only explanation I've come up with is that most people just have nostalgia for the RTD era, and prefer it for that reason.
@@oxenford539 Yeah, this is completely true.
Unrelated to this video, but is a Torchwood: Children of Earth review in your plans?
Wheres the Torchwood Children of Earth review Harbo?!?!
Is he saying Davis instead of Davies?
Yes. That is how you say his name
Not sure why this one is so fondly remembered as a Series, outside of maybe Amy's Choice nothing stands out as good nor memorable as stand alone episodes or as part of a series arc. Definitely one that’s more often than not viewed through the nostalgia lens.
Also but this might be a me thing but I hate the very cheap digital teal look this series had which the RTD era never did.
To me I think every single episode is pretty great apart from victory of the Daleks which is just fine.
Because it feels like a breath of fresh air after Tennant's dreary final years, no more RTD cliches, no more contemporary 21st-century Earth stories, companions that feel like travelers and not a melodramatic soap opera like Rose and Martha.
@@mayotango1317 “melodramatic soap opera” you just described series 6, 8 and 9 as well as maybe the RTD era
@@frde2190 Maybe only Series 8 with Danny Pink, but even he is a better character that The Fam.
The whole love triangle in Series 2 is so painful, even Martha feel more like a third wheel with the shadow of Rose.
Me too. Series 5 is actually quite weak imo.
Amy Pond is one of my two favourite companions. She clicked immediately.
Pmsl Amy in the beast below makes the decision at the end
Tbf i would have loved more time with the doctor and rory looking for amy in good man goes to war
The problem with moffat era is mainly that when an episode is not good then it is usually boring as hell and they were a lot. Davies era had many meh to bad episodes but they weren't boring
The Chibnall era is so boring.
Exactly. RTD era episodes had better pacing in my opinion. Even the mediocre ones were entertaining. Love and Monsters, and Fear Her were weak, but still managed to keep me engaged.
Ohh you gonna praise Series 7?
I see, let see if you can change my mind about that.
Cause I have huge distaste for Series 7
see season 13 an you will be grateful for season 5
This is the one i started with
I hated the cracks even back then. Previous seasons had subtlety about its arch, especially Bad Wolf where it took several episodes to even realize it was there. Meanwhile, this season gave us a big glowing crack the camera would make sure to focus on once an episode at least. It was all so "Look, look, over here! Look here! Mystery! Here, mystery, look at it!"
What subtle? In Series 4 everybody talks about bees and feel forced.
@mayotango1317 But the bees weren't the main mystery, they were just a subtle part of it. It's the same whith the losts planets, they're mentioned in such a way that you're not supposed to think too much about it, whereas in this season, the cracks are made relevant everytime they appear. Indeed it's like: Hey, look!! This is the plot!! And it harms the final resolution, it's not surprising or mysterious anymore.
@@mayotango1317 at the time, bees disappearing was actually a headline and spoke about. People talking about it IRL didn't feel forced so it didn't feel forced in the show, more like a pop culture/news reference.
After the titles for the previous Series reviews
I was kind expecting something like “How Series 5 is a good series despite my criticisms XD”
It’s gonna become a running gag isn’t it?
I just want to make it clear that the problems I have with you criticism of the Moffat era is essentially that you’re “forcing” it. It’s obvious that you’re actively seeking out and inventing issues that don’t actually exist within the writing in order to justify your personal preferences and biases, and it comes off as deeply transparent and childish.
Will you review death of the doctor
I thoroughly agree about The Lodger! Despite my dislike of James Corden
I agree with your sentiments about Amy pond But if you do look at it from a different perspective you could also see it as a form of Stockholm Syndrome waiting forBecause she is alone and the only person she has any real true connection to in all senses of her being is the doctor he was only there for such a short time but it already is like a father figureWhich makes it weird and creepy and for more reasons than are said here But there's also the clear romanticized versions it's very similar to the Christmas Carol store where Amy is the person in the Kryotube The doctor is young young teenage scrooge the only thing is is that is that the love is only comes from depression who has locked up and feels alone and if if you think about it it's a brilliant way of making someone tracked but not by the person there's a person who's come to save them but was too late becoming They're the face of what what keeps them locked away because because a crack does not do that Justice a giant floating eyeball does not do that Justice a human face does that Justice or or the face of time Lord
I said it before and I’ll say it again, the moving angels make sense! They’re not sure if she can see them so move towards her but hold their angel form just in case