The Rings Of Akhaten

... turned out to be less Egyptian than I was expecting from the title and the pyramid and the Mummy-ness of the monster.

First episode from Neil Cross, who created Luther and is therefore responsible for the Evil RPG Fans story, but I’ll try not to let my prejudices get in the way...


So, Clara’s just an ordinary girl... or at least this Clara is...

(Her mum, incidentally, died three weeks before Rose was broadcast. Bad luck!)

And then off to an alien market where items with memories attached are more valuable (a bit Echo Bazaar?) and it all looks nice, very Platform Five, naturally rather Mos Eisley, and Hellboy II’s Goblin Market.

It’s the Festival of Offerings. Watching this at my mum’s, this caused her to remark “oh dear...”

Lots of Merry, like she was a surprise third party member for the week. A living history (song)book and Dalai Lama type chosen-at-birth leader. Very good she was too, but an odd choice for Clara’s first regular non-introductory adventure, although she does make the key decisions.

She manages not to die all week, by the way.

Even though the TARDIS seems not to like her - it won’t even translate every language...

And she adds Empathy to her character sheet.

The sonic is even more magic wand-y than usual due to some “force feedback” with the Doctor struggling under the weight of a door it’s holding open and then having to keep going forwards as he fends the Vigil off with it.


I liked it by and large. Ending was a bit outta-nowhere though. It is nice that a show as big as Who can afford to be slow-paced and deeply weird sometimes, though.