Doctor Who: "The Impossible Astronaut" Review.

Doctor Who is back! To inject some intelligence and entertainment into an otherwise stale and boring Saturday Night schedule. The last series of Doctor Who, which was the first series of Matt Smith's tenure as The Doctor and also Stephen Moffat's as the head writer and executive producer, was fantastic! It took Who to levels it hadn't been before. The two-part series finale, in particular "The Pandorica Opens" was masterful to say the least.

"The Impossible Astronaut" picks up a few months after we last saw The Doctor, Amy and Rory. We see Amy and Rory as a happy couple awaiting a visit from The Doctor. They, along with River Song receive an invitation from a mystery person. With only date, time and coordinates on it. We next see Amy and Rory in America. Where they meet The Doctor and River Song. Everything seems fine until The Doctor is killed by an Astronaut who has crawled from a lake. Confused? Yeah me too. But that's the best thing about this opening episode. Many questions and mysteries are thrown out at the audience that will hopefully structure the first half of this new series.

If I was to try and explain the episode I would be writing this for a while. What I will tell you is that this episode is a perfect opener. The tone is much more serious and dark, but also has the fun moments we've became accustomed to when we think of Doctor Who. The scale of this episode is something we have never seen in Who before. We see various monumental American landmarks, with The White House being my favourite. The episode features Richard Nixon which is just cool. A new character in the form of Canton Delaware, played by the awesome Mark Sheppard. That's Romo Lampkin for all you Battlestar Galactica fans out there. Like in BG, he plays the character greatly, adding a swagger to the ex-FBI agent.

Another interesting thing about this episode is the links it gives to the 1969 Moon Landing. Who has always been great at taking actual events and putting fun twists on them. So I can't wait to see what Moffat has in store for us. The alien in "The Impossible Astronaut" is probably the best looking alien/villain I have seen on Doctor Who. In an age were CGI dominates films and TV. BBC's Doctor Who uses practical effects and makes "The Silent" look brilliant and believable. The way the head sits in the suit is mind blowing. It just looks awesome. There aren't many things wrong with this series opener. Its near perfect. The only downside is that is wasn't longer. But that is just a testament to how engaged I was.

So after a brilliant start, I have to say I'm extremely happy and excited for the rest of the season. Doctor Who has always been a fun and entertaining science-fiction show for Saturday night television. But I think that doesn't explain best what the show is and has become. Ever since Moffat took over, he has gave the show a serious and intelligent gravitas. Doctor Who is not only the best British TV show out right now. In my opinion, it's the best television out right now, period! "The Impossible Astronaut" proves that!

9.5/10

Thanks.

Chris.