NuWho Review: Series 5 Episode 7 "Amy's Choice"

By: Simon Nye

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

         Anybody who ever says that Amy doesn't deserve Rory because she doesn't love him needs to watch this episode again because - basically - that is what it is all about. Along with a few Inception-type references and Toby Jones as the deliciously smarmy and evil Dream Lord. You know...the little things in life.

         Believe it or not, whenever this episode first aired it was received with mixed reviews. Some critics praised its inventive twists, strange sense of humor, and utterly surreal story. Others took issue with the sitcom-style dialogue and focus on Pond domestic affairs rather than on aliens.

         Personally I had no such issues with this episode and found it a delightful little delve into The Doctor's psyche as well as a much-needed resolution to the sort-of Amy/Rory/Doctor love triangle that had been going. It is no secret here on this blog that I am not the biggest fan of Steven Moffat and the work he has done on Who of late and, though I have defended him in the past, the more I see of him the more evidence we are given that there is little worth defending. THAT BEING SAID, the man did do right with the Ponds in his run. Maybe he can only write one type of female character now...but as far as Amy and River went, he created a pretty darn good mother-daughter duo. Maybe we're all getting tired of the relentless innuendo and flirting aimed at The Doctor...but, as far as the Ponds went, it never felt out-of-character or tasteless. Maybe the Rory/Amy situation did start out looking almost identical to the Mickey/Rose one...but Moffat fixed the mistakes of THAT disastrous situation and allowed one of the greatest TV couples of all time to be formed. So yes, I do have issues with the man, but you can't deny that he did right by the Ponds and it was that foundation that this episode beautifully built on and expanded.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

        

- If nothing else this episode gives us a look at Arthur Darvill in a ponytail...

- "Oh God...I had a TERRIBLE nightmare about you two! Don't ask. You don't want to know."

- I love the way The Doctor's braces keep changing colors, depending on whether they're in Leadworth or in the TARDIS. It's one of the little, subtle details that

- One thing that really made the whole Pond Family arc so compelling was the perfect way that Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill played off of each other. They had picture-perfect chemistry, comedic timing, and all of their personalities fit together like pieces of a puzzle. We can clearly see that in this episode as many of the scenes have to be carried by virtue of the actors alone because most of the tension comes, not from killer possessed grannies, but from the psychological twists and turns that the whole dreamscape mystery takes the characters and us on.


- "There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick." And there's the tagline for the show's poster! Seriously. That just describes The Doctor's MO all too well.

- And then the single best thing about this episode happens in the form of Toby Jones as the Dream Lord. Oh my GOSH is that character wonderful! Just the right mix of condescending and menacing that makes any great oily villain so great. He simpers, he smirks, he insinuates...he even flirts in a creepy kind of way. "I've seen your dreams, Amy. Some of them twice. And, blimey, I blush!" Toby Jones is obviously having WAY too much fun with the role. But when it's so entertaining, can you blame him?



- "Ask me what happens if you die in reality." "What happens?" "You die, stupid, that's why it's called reality."

- You know? I'm not entirely certain why the whole 'Amy goes into false-alarm labor' scene was just plopped right in the middle of the episode. It didn't exactly add anything. But is it ever funny! Normally I find jokes of that sort to be in rather bad taste and awkward and, sometimes, downright offensive...so I'm not really sure what works about this one. Maybe because of the actors? Maybe because the rest of the episode is so great? Maybe because it was just Amy's way of proving that her 'dull' Leadworth life actually does scare The Doctor? Or maybe because it's just so funny to see The Doctor and Doctor Rory go into absolute panic while Amy shouts and rolls her eyes at them. (It could also be that I'm just an uncultured, immature swine after all...but I'd really like to think that isn't the case.)

- We have the opposite of the Creepy Kids trope in this episode. We have the Creepy Elderly.

- The Doctor in a goofy, half-finished knitted sweater has to be one of the most hilariously adorable things ever. Like the puppy who gets his nose caught in a box after going in for the last doggie treat.

- It hurts me heart to know that, even back then, Rory really wanted to have a child.

- One thing that I really love about the Pond Era was The Doctor and Rory working on the TARDIS together because The Doctor is just so organised and Rory just more-or-less rolls his eyes and goes with the flow of it all. To be honest, I think Rory impressed The Doctor a bit by looking up the 'bigger on the inside' theories and knowing about them before ever setting foot inside Sexy and so that's why he's allowed to help with repairs. But it's just a nice little almost domestic scene with the two of them working together and cheerfully bickering and making fun of each other's quirks the entire time. (Have we seen any other companions actually work on the TARDIS like this?)

- "Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well...she THOUGHT she was the first."

- Whenever The Doctor said that he knows who the Dream Lord is because nobody hates him as much as the Dream Lord does...I honestly thought that somehow they had managed to bring The Master back again. And I was groaning because I HATED all of the stories featuring John Simm in the Davies era.

- Attack of the Geriatric Army (I'm not making an 'old' joke, I swear. That's just the best name I can think of.) was extremely well-planned-out and bizarre. In any other episode I would probably be complaining about how they were underutilized and not explained better, but because here they exist merely to be an obstacle in a dream world, I think we can let that slide. Besides...the focus isn't on these secondary villains. The focus is on The Doctor, Amy, and Rory vs. the Dream Lord.

- Somehow Rory whacking a little old lady with a piece of fence while Amy cheers him on is one of the funniest things I've EVER seen.

- "Ice can burn, sofa's can read, it's a big universe." Was that a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference?

- There are SO many special little touches put throughout this episode in order to tell the story very visually. Like The Doctor turning his coat collar up to let us know that it's finally gotten so cold that even a Time Lord is affected. Or the fact that Amy starts the episode out always standing really close to The Doctor and then, as the story progresses, moves to between him and Rory and then finally standing close to Rory as her choice is solidified.

- "Oh great, a poncho. The greatest crime against fashion since lederhosen!" "If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band." Gotta love Amy dressing her boys up to keep them warm.

- The 'frozen star' looks disturbingly like the way a bacterium looks under the microscope. I wonder if that was intentional...

- I love the way Rory drags Amy up the stairs, apologizing every time she bumps into something. It makes me want to cry (especially in retrospective) at the way he smiles and plays with the mobile above the crib, though.

- The talk with the Dream Lord and Amy is such a brilliant piece of writing that...gah! How even to explain it? It's a prime example of how to weave the story of Companion and Doctor and emotions and conflict together and make it into the magic that is inherently Doctor Who done right. Some people might take issue with this episode being primarily about Amy needing to get her personal life sorted out, but it was such a wild, innovative ride (and Amy and Rory are compelling enough characters) that I don't really have a problem with it.

- It has occurred to me that this episode is the only time we ever get to see the 11th Doctor sleeping. He didn't get the traditional 'post regeneration nap' that most do and I think the only other time he's ever out is after being electrocuted or receiving a blow to the head.

       This episode is a lot of fun. It's witty and mind-bending and very touching in places. I certainly enjoy it every time I go back and watch it over again. If you're not a fan of the Ponds then it's probably not for you, as it does focus pretty heavily on Amy and Rory's relationship, but if you don't mind that then you're in for a quirky, wonderful ride. Amy's Choice is a 5/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?