Episode 2 of the new series of Doctor Who aired on Saturday. It was titled The Beast Below and was again written by Steven Moffat.
I have to say that any Moffat episode is packed with ideas. This one had a 29th Century UK roaming the stars (probably influenced by James Blish's Cities in Flight books). Add to that the detail of a police state controlled by "smilers" (spooky fairground-booth mannequins) plus a voting system that lets you choose to "protest" or "forget" every five years.
I'm liking Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor. Maybe its because he mentioned favouring the second Doctor in interviews, but he does remind me of Patrick Troughton. I'm quite fond of Troughton's version of the Doctor so that's no bad thing.
Karen Gillan gives another feisty performance as Amy Pond, even when she is forced to spend the episode running around in her nightie. We learn that she's been having doubts about her impending wedding.
My favourite moment of the episode involved the Doctor and Amy escaping from the beast's mouth by the Doctor triggering it's sick reflex. "This isn't going to be big on dignity," offers the Doctor apologetically.
Added to that a hint of the next episode, Winston Churchill phoning the doctor with the shadow of a Dalek visible on the wall...
