Doctor Who: 10 Reasons Why The Rings Of Akhaten Sucks

8. Major Characters Are Aliens With Bits Stuck On Their Faces

Almost all the alien characters in The Rings of Akhaten are feasts for the eyes, triumphs of imaginative design and careful, artistic execution. The only exceptions are the ones with the most screen time, because if an episode is going to include a lackluster character design, it's best to make it the one that really counts.

The poorly conceived character design is for the singers, of course. The last time viewers saw a show with aliens that were just humans with bits stuck to their foreheads, they were watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. Doctor Who normally puts more effort into non-humans than that. As far as Merry and her fellow choristers are concerned, viewers could be forgiven for thinking, "The 1980s called and want their sci-fi make-up back".

As a side note, after A Christmas Carol and this episode, viewers have probably gritted their teeth through enough sugary singing. Any more of it and fans will run the risk of getting cavities.

The solution: Instead of putting so much time, effort and money into background aliens that are on screen for only a few seconds, the "monster makers" could have changed their focus to be on Merry and her fellow choristers. Even half masks or a different head shape would have been enough, and would have left enough of the actors' faces free for viewers to see their expressions. And they could still have sung - if that was really, absolutely necessary.

In fact, there was no need to make the singers a different species at all. They could simply have been chosen from one of the species used in the marketplace or in the concert audience. The singing voices could have been dubbed on after filming.