C+Q - The Beast Below (2010)

After a baffling pre-title sequence with a little girl reciting a creepy poem which is never explained or even referenced again, we're treated to a lovely scene of Amy and the Doctor in the TARDIS. It's just a really fun sequence and the image of Amy floating in space outside the TARDIS is beautiful and instantly iconic of Series 5. Like with last week's episode, the fairytale vibes are very strong here. My favourite design choice of the Moffat era has to be the decision to replace the old rusty, weathered looking TARDIS to the much cleaner and happier-looking current model. It's absolutely gorgeous and when Amy steps out of it and into the distinctly British interior of Starship UK, it fits in really well.

Speaking of which, the design of Starship UK is brilliant. From the crowded main street where the TARDIS lands, to Liz 10's grand bedroom, to the brickwork in the tower of London; it all looks unique and unlike a conventional space station episode. It's a bizarre mix of standard British iconography with futuristic technology (which will be why Dr Who's TARDIS fits in so well). Conceptually, Starship UK and the means by which it's travelling through space is a very creative idea and it makes for a good set-up. The Beast Below puts the Doctor and Amy in secondary roles while Starship UK is the real star here.

The script gives new companion Amy Pond a lot to do and separates her from the Doctor very quickly. We get to see how she explores the new world around her and the ways she's different to the Doctor. Unlike Clara who is very caring towards children due to the loss of her own mother, Amy seems to immediately dismiss Mandy, almost acting like a big kid herself. The character of Amy really is a fantastic creation, played brilliantly by Karen Gillan. Unlike Rose, Martha, and Donna during their first trips, she doesn't need the Doctor to act as her tour guide and on her very first adventure with him, she ends up going off on her own, making her own discoveries, and even saving the day at the end when she notices that the Star Whale would never kill the children.

Unfortunately, The Beast Below is far from being perfect. Steven Moffat himself was quoted in 2013 saying that this story was a bit of a mess, and I can see where he was coming from. Take Liz 10 for example. Why does she wear a mask? No really: why? She meets the Doctor and is seen wearing the mask in the shadows, but the Doctor has no idea who she is anyway, so why is the mask necessary? As soon as she meets Mandy, she takes it off and says "It's alright love, it's only me!" So does Liz 10 have some history with Mandy? Or does Mandy just recognise her because she's the bloody queen? And if she's just going to take off the mask anyway, why would she bother wearing it? Was she trying to stay hidden from the government? Okay, I suppose that makes sense. Or rather, it would, if the government didn't literally know where she lives, and have the ability to march into her bedroom at any moment.

Also, are the government with Liz 10 or against her? You'd think they were with her, because they help her at the start by telling her that the Doctor did 'the thing'. But then again, why would she ask the government to keep a lookout for her if she knew that they were keeping secrets from her? The moment you start to think about this story, it completely falls apart, but I still like The Beast Below despite its flaws. Part of that is down to the performances and part is down to the aesthetics. I like all the old-fashioned stuff on a grimy spaceship. I like Liz 10 and her cool mask and cool guns even if wearing a mask makes no sense. I can enjoy the moment to moment happenings of this episode as long as I don't take too far of a step back and end up seeing that the bigger picture is falling apart. The Beast Below is Moffat's weakest 2010 script for me, but it's still great fun to watch (which should be an indication of how well Moffat was doing during this early period of his tenure).

At the end of the episode, we see the Doctor getting a phone call for Churchill, setting up next week's adventure. I love this old style of serialisation, like with the old Hartnell episodes, where each one would end with the TARDIS crew arriving at their next destination. It gives the feeling that the show chronicles the Doctor's aimless wanderings through time and space looking for adventure rather than trying to solve some grand mystery. Again, huge series-arcs are great (in fact, this episode ends with a crack in time on Starship UK, foreshadowing events all the way up to The Time of the Doctor), but I love it when Who does these quieter adventures fuelled only by the desire to have fun and explore the universe.