Doctor Who Review: The Almost People

A good second part, and things might get really interesting next week. Which is a shame, because that’ll be the mid-series cliffhanger and then we have to wait for no readily apparent reason.

Cast and Crew

Matt Smith as The Doctor
Karen Gillan as Amy Pond
Arthur Darvill as Rory
Mark Bonnar as Jimmy
Marshall Lancaster as Buzzer
Sarah Smart as Jennifer
Raquel Cassidy as Cleaves
Leon Vickers as Dicken
Frances Barber as Eye Patch Lady

Written by Matthew Graham

Produced by Marcus Wilson

Directed by Julian Simpson

Originally shown on the 28th of May 2011

Premise

Duplicates everywhere, people trying to kill their doubles and a big load of boiling acid.

High Points

  • The end, where the purpose becomes apparent.

Low Points

  • The holo-call just didn’t look like what a kid would do then.

Scores

Originality: Most of the episode trots along in the vein of the first part. Switcheroo after switcheroo, with a few bits I really didn’t see coming to liven things up. Four out of six.

Effects: Much the same as last week really. Four out of six.

Story: It was a stronger story than the first part, and it does actually link to the main arc. Four out of six.

Acting: Everyone seemed a bit more comfortable in their characters, which is silly because they probably filmed it in random order anyway. Still, it felt that way. Five out of six.

Emotional Response: I got interested this week, and the end is worth it either way. Five out of six.

Production: Big flashing orange lights, oh no! Exploding computer consoles! Actually, some of it reminded me of the interior maps in City of Heroes. Three out of six.

Overall: A better second part than I expected, and it does link to the arc, but I’m still not convinced it needed two episodes to do it. Four out of six.

In total, The Almost People receives 29 out of 42.

4 replies on “Doctor Who Review: The Almost People”

  1. Can anyone explain what’s happening in Canada? Space’s site still lists Doctor Who Saturday at eight, but the last two weeks, they’ve run movies in that slot.

    • Their schedule shows this episode listed for June 4.

      This past weekend was the Memorial Day weekend in the US so it may be that the North American releases were delayed a week to avoid the usual preempting nonsense that goes on then. To further complicate things, it was Victoria Day in Canada the previous weekend which comes with its own boatload of preempting nonsense.

      • That’s exactly what happened. I get the iTunes feed from the Canadian store, and this episode just became available today, with the third part appearing next week. They announced that the US broadcast of “The Almost People” was being pushed back a week for Memorial Day, and the Canadian feeds followed suit to match.

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