Spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did debate whether to actually do these in order but decided against it after all very few Who fans will have ever watched every single episode in order initially so I shall use Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey and jump back and forth.

Today I am going to look at a newer episode The Eleventh Hour which sees us introduced to the 11th Doctor which seems fitting as in only a few weeks we know he will play the role for the final time.

Story Title; The Eleventh Hour

Doctor;

the Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith

Companions;

Amy Pond played by Karen Gillan

First Aired in the UK:

“The Eleventh Hour” was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 3 April 2010. Overnight figures reported that 8 million watched the episode on BBC One and the simulcast on BBC HD. Final consolidated figures rose to 9.59 million on BBC One and 494,000 on BBC HD, making the final rating for the episode 10.08 million viewers, the most-watched première since “Rose” and the eighth highest rated episode since Doctor Who‘s 2005 return. The episode was second for the entire week on BBC One and number four for the week across all channels. The episode earned an Appreciation Index of 86, considered “excellent”.

The episode was also popular on BBC’s online iPlayer. Within one week of broadcast, “The Eleventh Hour” received 1.27 million hits on BBC’s online iPlayer service, the record for most requests in a week. It went on to become the most requested episode of 2010 with 2.241 million views; Doctor Who was named the most watched programme of the year on the service.  ^{Stats taken from Wikipedia}

The Trailer;

The Story

We ended the previous series with the Tenth Doctors obvious pain at his impending regeneration, many people have divided opinions about whether it was tear jerking or whiny but either way Matt Smith’s comic genius in this episode was the perfect antidote.  There are times where some of the lines do sound a little like the were written for the previous Doctor but overall he imposes his personality onto the role within minutes of climbing out of the wrecked Tardis.  His first human contact is with a little girl Amelia Pond who has something living in her house.  He sets off to take a quick hop to the future but returns years later to find Amelia has grown into Amy, a feisty young lady determined not to take any nonsense.  The monster living in her house can take the form of any person with whom it has formed a bond,

We also see Rory in this episode but there is no hint of his role in episodes to come.  In fact at the end of this episode Amy does the same as Rose and runs off with the Doctor leaving her poor boyfriend behind, not a trait which endeared Rose to me.

I could spend ages discussing this episode in depth but I don’t want to it was a great romp and this clip shows Smith firmly gripping the Doctor mantle

But for this episode I want to talk about something very important to Doctor Who and that is family, the show was designed for family viewing (though some older who fans seem to have forgotten this now and believe it is made solely for their benefit) and in my house this episode marked not only a new Doctor but a new viewer.  My daughter, all grown up was a definite Tennant fan girl, who was determined not to watch it (that didn’t last long and she fell for Smiths Doctor just as much) but my own little monster was at an age where he was beginning to really take notice of things and he fell in love with the show.  For him Smith was his first Doctor and though he loves all the Doctors except number Six but you can’t really blame him for that, he does prefer the new series.  There are so few programmes you can all sit down to and watch as a family where you can all take equal enjoyment from but more than that there is something so heart warming about the first time your child learns to love something you love rather than you just watching along with kids TV.  The monster and I have hours of fun playing with Doctor Who toys, reading his magazines and books, watching episodes together, we even went to The National Media Museum for a Doctor Who day out.  we have been to watch the 50th special at the cinema together and in doing so have shared a part of history.

Fandom is great but sharing your passion with those you love means even more, I know there will probably come a day where the monster decides it isn’t ‘cool’ to watch Who but I know that I have given him a gift that in years to come he will come back to and one day he will sit with his arm round his own little monsters as they watch Daleks exterminate.