BBC 1
When Doctor Who has several of its characters make reappearances in the same episode, despite the slight suspicious of fan manipulation, there’s something special about it. The conclusion of ‘The End of Time’, for example, brought back all of the Tenth Doctor’s friends, and that made Tennant’s farewell all the more poignant. ‘The Pandorica Opens’ refers back to previous occurrences of the season, and brings back the Doctor’s most prominent foes (except for the Master). One may wonder if Stephen Moffat is doing this as an attempt to top Russell T Davies, but it still feels as if everything is coming full circle, and ‘The Pandorica Opens’ is still a clever, entertaining beginning of an end.

The episode is off to a good start as the viewer finds themselves in the setting of one of the season’s best episodes, where Van Gogh (Tony Curran), suffering from mental illness, has drawn a very striking painting. River Song (Alex Kingston) hears of this and escapes from prison to make sure the Doctor sees what Van Gogh has painted. The Doctor (Matt Smith) and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) are lead to Roman England, where they see the painting is of the Tardis exploding, and find a strange object known as the ‘Pandorica’ lying under Stonehenge. The arrival of some alien marauders only serves to complicate matters.

Despite being the epic meant to finish off the season with a bang, ‘The Pandorica Opens’ focuses more on character than action. There are some scuffles to be found, in fact, a highlight of the episode involves the Doctor outsmarting a disembodied Cyberman arm, but the main thrust of the story is the characters solving the mystery behind the Pandorica and how they react to it.

A common theme of the most recent season’s episodes have been how some things are not always as they seem. ‘The Beast Below’ wasn’t as malevolent as it was thought to be and the Dreamlord of ‘Amy’s Choice’ used lies and illusion to his advantage. Here, the Pandorica may not be as simple as an enhanced version of an object from a Greek legend, and the return of Rory (Arthur Darvill) everybody was expecting is something more complicated. It is that confusion stemming from Rory’s identity that makes his scenes with Amy all the more touching.

A character-driven story needs good characters if it is to work, and if there’s one thing Doctor Who can be counted on, it is to deliver fine characters played by fine actors. Matt Smith is always a joy to watch as the Doctor, but, this being a special episode, he puts on a special performance. His relationship with Amy is eloquently showcased through Amy questioning the engagement ring in his pocket, he creates another brilliant speech when faced with the myriad alien spaceships, and gets a hilarious line when confronted with the Cyberman arm. Gillan gives Amy the right amount of uncertainty, confusion and determination, and Kingston is more enjoyable here than she was in ‘The Time of Angels’ two-parter.

Being the big finale, the crew also made sure not to skimp on the mise-en-scene and special effects. The scenes in Roman Britain look both mysterious and convincing, and the Pandorica itself is an imposing creation. There are times when the special effects fail, like when special writing is found in a place resembling Alice’s Wonderland, but those few moments don’t distract from the story.

At times it may seem trying too hard to be epic, but overall ‘The Pandorica Opens’ is intelligent, fun and even surprising. While it may not be as gripping as the two-parter involving the Weeping Angels earlier this season, it is more satisfying viewing than ‘The Hungry Earth’ two-parter. It truly makes the viewer care for the characters it portrays, so the ending should successfully leave them concerned about the fate of their hero. With Doctor Who, season finales are usually something to look forward to, and hopefully, this should be no exception.

Reviewed by Gareth Barsby June 2010

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