Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone

At least they've got comfy chairs!

In last week's episode, the Doctor, Amy, River and a group of soldier-clerics were hunting down a lone weeping angel through a series of caves. Now the hunters become the hunted, and the Doctor and friends are being pursued into the Byzantium Ship. The use of the gravity globe to lift the team to safety was a fairly predictable resolution to last week's cliffhanger, even if they hadn't given it away last week. Fortunately, the rest of the episode gets better. The Doctor, Amy, River and the soldier-clerics  are able to withdraw into the wreck of the Byzantium spaceship. They soon discover a crack-in-time aboard the ship, which may turn out to be more of a threat than the Angels.

Flesh and Stone is a little more fast paced and action-oriented than last week's slower and creepier horror atmosphere, but at least this episode keeps up the tension. Moffat continues to find new ways to make the Weeping Angels seem threatening, by draining ship power. There is also the idea that a person who looks into the eyes of an Angel can become an Angel. It takes the idea that you must not blink at an Angel and makes it scarier int hat you have to be careful what you see when your eyes are open.

It's good to see that the mystery of the cracks is being addressed so early on. In previous years, the story arcs would just involve one word tacked on to otherwise stand alone episodes.  This time we know that the cracks were the result of an explosion and the Doctor knows the date when it will occur. It's nice to see Moffat weaving his arc in to the individual stories.

Matt Smith continues to be a superb Doctor, getting several wonderful moments during the death of Father Octavian, and losing his patience with River. We also see how confused his Doctor gets when a woman comes on to him!

Karen Gillian gets to show more emotional range as Amy is faced with iminent death. This new vulnerable side makes her much more relatable than she was before. Of course, Amy's most famous moment comes at the end of the episode. I have mixed feelings about this. I don't mind the idea that the companion fancies the Doctor, and it's understandable that a former kissogram might be less inhibited, but it does seem jarring compared to the horror that comes before. I guess after facing danger, her mating instincts kick in.

Faced with a dangerous situation, River Song shows her more serious side, allowing Alex Kingston to imbue depth into the character. We now know that she killed someone, but who is it? Could it be the Doctor? Personally, I can't wait to find out more.

So, that's three episodes of Series Five that are great and two that are slightly poor. Things are looking okay so far.

Next Week: Vampires in Venice...nuff said. Looking forward to it.