Doctor Who is Back With Asylum of the Daleks!

The Asylum of the Daleks marks the return of Doctor Who. You might think my exclamation in the title is due to my excitement that series seven has started. You would be partly right in that assumption, but that's only a small part of my joy. I am ecstatic about the opening credits. Yes, the part with the theme song, TARDIS flying through the time-vortex and the actor's names. What could be so great about the opening credits? Finally, the show is back to Doctor Who. I don't know who to blame for the previous seasons credits, the ones where the show went from being about the Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, arguably the most powerful person in the universe, in all of time, to being about Amy Pond's childhood imaginary friend. Whomever is guilty needs a powerful kick in the throat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being disparaging of Karen Gillan. She is a fine actress, in all meanings of the word fine. But it is criminal that someone decided to sublimate her and relegate the Doctor to her childhood play thing. I'm all for more strong, women-centric characters and stories, but not at the expense of well-established ones. My problem is more than just the typical geek you-can't-change-my--and-get-away-with-it hissy fit. First and foremost, I understand the necessity of change. It would be ridiculous to think that a show that's been running as long as Doctor Who has would not change. More over, the fact that there has been so much change, and the show has managed to continue to be engaging, is one of its most endearing features. I would like to present an analogy, one which I partially borrow (read butcher) from Andy Ihnatko, to illustrate my argument: Coca-Cola. Coke had a formula for it's soft drink. It used this formula for years. Consumers bought it, consumed it and through repeated use came to love it. Then Coke decided to try something different, namely New Coke. It wasn't dreadful, but at the same time it wasn't what consumers had come to think of when they want to drink a Coca-Cola. New Coke tanked, miserably. Rightfully so. In the same way, I have been fretting Doctor Who€™s demise because of a fundamental change that started with the Amy Pond intro. By changing up the focus of the show, even though it wasn't the worst thing EVAR, it wasn't what loyal fans had come to love. And, even though there are new fans being made, just like with the New Coke formula, there just is not enough good stuff, i.e. that original formula that made Doctor Who so good, to keep the show going. Let€™s think about another example. Anyone remember Lois and Clark? No? Exactly my point. If yes, again, you understand my point. They took a well-established character, the superhero of superheroes, and demoted him to the mundane day-to-day of his alter ego, Clark Kent, and his sappy romance with Lois Lane. Sure, she's a great reporter. Surely there's a great story to be told about her. Yet when Superman is involved, that's really were the focus needs to be. Back to Doctor Who, how did the first story stack up? It is the Doctor versus the Daleks, 'nuff said. It's like Batman versus the Joker, Jack Burton versus Lo Pan or an enraged Pantomime Princess Margret versus a breakfast tray. Steven Moffat's stories can be hit or miss, just like Daleks' poor aim, which can only be explained by "it was in the script," but overall this was an enjoyable episode. For an in-depth review, check out Tom Salinsky's review. I would like to mention one thing. Because I'm looking forward to Amy Pond going her merry way, I was confused by Jenna-Louise Coleman's character, Oswin, who dies when the planet explodes. This threw me for a moment, as I was under the impression Coleman was going to be the Doctor's new companion. Then I remembered this is sci fi, and with sci fi nothing is ever impossible, so long as one can write it into the script. I guess Oswin becoming Clara somewhere down the road is a hook to lure us in to the new series. That and next week's dinosaurs on a spaceship. Sam Jackson had it so easy on that train. In closing I want to admit to one guilty pleasure in this episode, cheesy as it is. To help the Doctor get to where she was held up, Oswin erased him from the Daleks hive mind. Not just those Daleks in the asylum, all of them. So, when the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS on the Dalek command ship none of the Daleks remember him. Having thousands of Daleks asking, "Doctor who?" when the Doctor introduced himself was nerdgasmic.