C+Q - The Hungry Earth (2010)

Up until The Day of the Doctor, Doctor Who was still in the process of reactivating after its first cancelation. Series 1 brought back the Daleks, Series 2 brought back the Cybermen, Series 3 brought back the Master, Series 4 brought back the Sontarans, and then Series 5 brought back the Silurians. The basic plot of The Hungry Earth is a fairly simple base-under-siege story where the base is an old country church. There's also the added tension of a ticking clock counting down to the Silurians' arrival, but simplicity is all that's needed here. All this two-parter needs to do is bring back the Silurians and it did that just about as well as it could've, by highlighting their similarities to humans rather than their differences.

I do have to wonder if the new Silurian designs are really for the best. On the surface, it seems like a good idea to allow us to see the actors' faces clearly through the prosthetic masks, allowing them to emote and give a performance. It allows us as audience members to get attached to individual Silurians, something that becomes very important when Madame Vastra is introduced as a major recurring character in Series 6 onwards. But I can't help but feel like an opportunity is being missed to make the new Silurians properly monstrous. Sci-fi has trained us to see things that are different from us as evil and things that are more recognisably human to be sympathetic. Having a species of sympathetic scientists and artists and warriors who just so happen to look repulsive would've added something to this two-parter. As it stands, redesigning the Silurians so the ugly first impression is actually just a mask that comes off to reveal a more recognisably human face feels like cheating.

What really makes this episode special is Chris Chibnall's ability to write ensembles, as well as the consistently amazing material he gives companions. Amy and Rory get a lot to do here and you really feel like they've become more experienced travellers by now (it's also very easy for me to connect with Amy given how she shared my disappointment at being back in the British countryside for yet another adventure). Like last week, this episode hints at Amy and Rory's future together, this time by showing a future version of Amy and Rory waving to their previous selves. It's a nice little moment that sets up the way the timeline changes in the next episode, but it ultimately feels heavy handed after last week's marketing scheme of 'are Amy and Rory still together in the future?' The rest of the ensemble is good too, the stand-out for me being Nasreen, who comes dangerously close to being future companion material.

The core of the episode is trope-tastic, the biggest offender being the door that jams right when someone needs to get in to escape the attacking monster, but the strength of the episode is the character stuff that's built around that core. It's fun watching Amy and the Doctor break into the big mining thing together, it's fun watching the Doctor having a quiet, sympathetic discussion with a Silurian, it's fun watching Rory and Elliot investigate the missing graves. When I think of Chris Chibnall, I think of stories that don't necessarily push the envelope or throw in any unique twists but are elevated by a well-written ensemble of colourful and memorable characters, and in that sense, The Hungry Earth delivers. All this episode has to do was bring back the Silurians, and it does that beautifully. It isn't really until part two that the cool stuff happens.

Next: Cold Blood