Doctor Who: Village Of The Angels Review - 8 Ups & 4 Downs
The world didn’t want to blink this week…
The Angels have landed, making their first appearance as the villain of the week since 2012’s heartbreaking The Angels Take Manhattan almost a decade ago - feel old, yet?
Chibs has brought in his only guest writer of the season, Maxine Alderton, to presumably assist with laying down the spooky vibes. Alderton penned The Haunting of Villa Diodati, which was, in your scribe’s humble opinion, the best episode from Whittaker’s first two series. Lots of fans were very excited going in to this one.
The question on everyone’s mind this week: was the wait for the Angels going to be worth it? Well, we’re not saying anything yet, but you’ve read the title…
12. UP - A Spooky Set-Up
The episode drops us into a slightly dilapidated town in Devon in 1967, in the dead of night. Professor Jericho is running tests on Claire, a psychic, who we already met in The Halloween Apocalypse. We also have disappearing people, a man-hunt for a missing ten year old girl, and, of course, a graveyard for good measure.
This weeks cold open sets the tone very well, evoking classic horror movie vibes off the bat, hitting very similar notes as the equally creepy The Haunting of Villa Diodati. It’s clear that we’re in for a darker, less light-hearted episode, and, to the writers’ credit, this tone is consistent throughout. You love to see it.