Move Along Home written by Frederick Rappaport, Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci (three writers – really?) and directed by David Carson

What’s it about: A new species from the Gamma Quadrant visits the Station and they have a little game they want to play…

Single Father: Sisko is the first person who has ever looked pretty damn hot in his dress uniform – forgive me but Picard always rather alarmingly used to look like he was wearing a dress. There are some more wonderful moments between Sisko and Jake here and they share the inevitable moment in every parents life when they have to discuss sex. To Sisko's dismay Nog got there first. If there is one thing Avery Brooks always acts passionately about in the first couple of years it is the father/son scenes, both he and Cirroc Lofton nail this relationship and they have a very natural chemistry. I am perfectly convinced that they have had father/son relationship off screen as well.

Community Leader: The look in Quark’s eyes when he realises he can exploit the first new race through the Gamma Quadrant is priceless. Armin Shimmerman reveals how good his comic timing is as Quark looks distinctly unimpressed by the sticks and almost spits out the alpha currant nectar as wagers for a game of Dabo. Quark is forced into the very uncomfortable position of having to choose one of the players to be sacrificed which Shimmerman has no choice but to overact because the scene is written so over the top. He's still hlarious though, it and it isn't the most OTT we would see the character (that is reserved for season six's Profit & Lace).

Tasty Terrorist: Has somebody told Nana Visitor that her ass looks big in her costume or something because Kira is far more argumentative and fiery than usual in Move Along Home. I do love the scene where she tells Sisko that she didn’t sign up for Federation adventures of exploration – a bit like Neelix’s complaints in season one of Voyager but more convincing because with Kira you get the impression that if you piss her off she will bite your nose of. Neelix would probably just poison the leola root stew. As they start working their way through the Shaps you can tell that Kira is getting a taste of an explorers life. She has a major (geddit) strop during the laughter sequence, pretty much as hysterically angry as we will ever see her. 

GE Doctor: Bashir really is an annoying squirt in the first season isn’t he? Siddig is clearly still settling into the role and his mincing scream attack against the wall is another head in hands moment for the audience. ‘Madam this is no laughing matter!’ – they are still trying to write Bashir as an upper class British toff. How camp does Bashir look when he flattens himself against the wall as the spheres consume him? It's like they don't want us to like him.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘One mans priceless is another mans worthless!’
‘Dad I’m fourteen!’ ‘I’m glad we agree on something.’
‘Oh is that Starfleet policy?’ ‘That’s right!’ ‘Well I’m not in Starfleet!’ – I love Odo!
‘That’s not what you said when you were grovelling on the floor…’ ‘Oh that’s right you were there for the grovelling.’ 

The Good: The Wadi might be another humanoid species with only a tattoo on the forehead to distinguish them from any standard race in the Alpha Quadrant but at least their game offers something uniquely alien an imaginative. I was pretty much sold on the idea of the game because of the incredible pull back of Sisko on the geometrically patterned floor – it’s a hypnotically well executed scene. Nice to see the Doctor Who method of walking down the same corridor and using the same room redressed is still in place in television. Actually to give director David Carson his credit he does manage to convince through some careful camerawork that the corridors are a maze. I love the spheres that attack, the episode should have had far more surprises of this nature. There’s a nice slow motion shot of Sisko, Dax and Kira falling from a cliff edge. 

The Bad: Primmon once again is about as appealing as genital warts. Imagine, if you will, that you first tuned into DS9 during the Allermaraine sequence that sees four of the senior officers dancing and saluting across the screen. The smoking room test is trying a bit too hard to be weird and none of the actors manage a coughing fit very convincingly.

Moment to Watch Out For: The look on Avery Brooks’ face when he has to perform the ‘Allermaraine’ rhyme and hopscotch dance! It might be Nana Visitor who says this is not what I signed up for but the feeling behind that sentiment is exemplified in Brooks’ pained expression. 

Only DS9: I cannot imagine a character in any other Trek show daring to try and bribe an alien species with some nookie: ‘Do you know what a holosuite is? Do you have sex on your world?’ 

Myth Building: The first formal reception for a species from the Gamma Quadrant.

Result: Move Along Home doesn’t quite come off but it exemplifies DS9’s willingness to experiment with some pretty quirky episodes. Visually the story is quite distinctive but none of the tests that the crew are put through would test a five year old so the risk that is suggested is never really felt. Once again the alien characters on this show impress with Odo and Quark providing some great moments and Avery Brooks continues to lighten up as Sisko. The last act descends into a mundanely shot trek through some standard cave sets but you have to admire the sheer cheek of the ‘its only a game’ punchline that proves that nobody was ever in any danger in the first place. It’s a really odd piece, sporadically very good, occasionally risible and incomparable with anything else this series has delivered. Again this is precisely the sort of thing they dropped when the series expanded its mythology: 6/10

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Thanks for listening guys, let's let normal reviewing service continue...

The Girl Who Waited written by Tom MacRae and directed by Nick Hurran

This story in a nutshell: Two Amy’s. You would think it would be Rory’s dream come true but it turns into his worst nightmare…

Nutty Professor: The Doctor looks crestfallen that his happy go lucky adventures have driven such a wedge between his best friends. The older Amy criticises his lifestyle and how he forgets the kind of impact his careless behaviour can have and with results like these you can’t help but agree with her. Is it my imagination or do the Doctor's companions tend to give him quite a hard time in the New Series? I can't remember him ever having quite so much expected of him in the days of old (beyond Tegan's constant, incessant whining). We can deal with the Doctor killing off armies of evil aliens, bringing down villains and even wiping out his own people for the greater good but when he outright lies to his best friend’s face and promises her that she will be able to live knowing it is total fabrication it takes his character into a very dark place that I’m not sure that I like. Paradoxically I really like that I don’t like it because it means he can still surprise me and after nearly 50 years worth of adventures. It opens up the tricky question of how much we can trust the Doctor. Matt Smith could have done with more of this kind of ambiguity to play because it really challenges him, quietly observing the events of this episode and shamefully knowing how it is going to end up. It’s ridiculous to even think that the two Amy’s could travel together (it has plagued many a nightmare of mine) but what really hurts is that the Doctor gives the older Amy, the one whose spirit he has already crushed, hope and then he snatches it away. Ouch. This is an Amy of his own making (although given he crash landed on her lawn when she was a child I guess any version of her is one of his making) and he is willing to sacrifice her. When Rory asks if the Doctor always knew that saving both Amy’s was impossible he gives a cop out of an answer, pushing the attention away from the Amy they killed and onto the one they saved. The final shot of his face as Amy asks where her other self is answers the question far more succinctly. Never mind all that guff about the Doctor being a vengeful alien that can take down armies in A Good Man Goes to War or facing his own (backtracked) death, this is the most interesting (and challenging) the eleventh Doctor has been since Amy's choice.

Scots Tart: ‘If anyone can defy pre-destiny its your wife!’ It's fascinating to see Amy’s central characterisation – the girl who waited – conceptualised in an episode of her own (although to be fair perhaps Rory should take that crown because he waited about 985 years longer for Amy than she did for the Doctor). The make up for the older Amy is incredibly well done, it can be so easily over exaggerated (check out Smith in Time of the Doctor where it literally looks as though his face has melted) which I have seen in so many shows but here the worn lines on her face and wrinkled skin really suggest an age of waiting. Karen Gillen jettisons all the smart alec wit that comes with our Amy and chooses a voice that personifies both weariness and fury and the resulting character is worlds away from what we are used to and thoroughly compelling to watch. The way she curls her hair around her ears, insulted that Rory suggests it has been 40 years by the look of her, is a small moment but heartbreakingly realised. Another is when she has to put on the glasses, another indignity after everything she has suffered and the camera lingers on her looking as ridiculous as possible. It's interesting to note that when Donna had the same choice to make in Turn Left that she agreed without argument because she knows that her other self will have a better life, to the point where stepping in front of a car and committing suicide was the only option. Amy’s embittered refusal to help herself feels a trifle selfish in comparison (whilst still being completely understandable and perhaps more realistic). Having the two Amy’s together suddenly makes the older version the odd one out and there are a few seconds of very awkward silence as our Amy and Rory embrace. I love the older Amy’s honesty that she desperately wants to join them in the TARDIS and if Rory opens the door she will step inside without compunction and her brave decision to tell him not to her in for that very reason. That shows some strength of character. My issues with Amy have ranged from her being treated as a plot device rather than a character, her inconsistent characterisation in her debut season (where she goes from fairytale princess to morally bankrupt vixen from episode to episode) but rarely has it been because of the way that Gillen chose to play the character (actually occasionally she over stresses her attitude ala The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood). This is without a doubt her finest performance in the series and shows what she can achieve when she is given tough material to play.

Loyal Roman: ‘You know when you meet someone so beautiful and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later they’re as dull as a brick. And then there’s other people and you think not bad, they’re okay. And then you get to know them and their face sort of becomes them. Like their personality is written all over it and they turn into something so beautiful. Rory’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met.’ Sometimes I wonder if Rory would have any character at all without Amy because everything about him seems inextricably linked with his partner. That’s a thought better left to episodes that treat him in a superfluous fashion because here the crux of the episode is Amy and Rory’s relationship and how he handles a very difficult situation. When he says that he doesn’t care that Amy is old but that they didn’t grow old together is very sweet and honest. This guy is the King of sweet and honest gestures like that. There is a wonderful moment where Rory realises that the older Amy has named her pet robot after him and I cannot have been the only person to wonder if that was how our Amy sees her husband. We haven’t heard a male companion rail at the Doctor this powerfully since Steven’s dramatic walk out at the end of The Massacre and Rory’s ‘I do not want to travel with you!’ really strikes a chord because he is usually the quiet one. His allegation that the Doctor is trying to turn him into a version of himself has never carried more weight than at the moment he has to choose which of his Amy’s to save. Darvill's performance as an agonised Rory at the climax is very impressive, one of the few times in Moffat's era where I am reduced to a blubbering wreck.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Don’t you lecture me, Blue Box Man, flying through space on whimsy. All I’ve got, all I’ve had for 36 years is cold hard reality. So no I don’t have a sonic screwdriver because I’m not off on a romp. I call it what it is, a probe. And I call my life what it is…hell.’
‘All those boys chasing me but it was only ever Rory.’
‘I’m going to pull time apart for you.’
‘Amy you always say cooking Christmas dinner you wish there were two of you!’

The Good: The Rory cam glasses are a bit too similar to the contact lenses on Torchwood but I love the fact that they are designed with retro 70s black rimmed specs. It's all the peripheral details in the yawn-some opening 15 minutes that I admire – that piece of artwork with the purple gunge dribbling down it and the oversized magnifying glass! For a minute you could be forgiven for thinking that you have stepped into Tim Burton’s re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland as Amy steps out into a lush garden filled with delicately carved exotic bushes. The garden serves no purpose but to add some colour to an otherwise clinical looking episode but this is one superfluous addition that is most welcome. The music as older Amy cuts her way through an army of robots to reach the TARDIS is Murray Gold at his exciting, uplifting best. This episode is all about those last few shattering minutes when older Amy watches Rory carrying her younger self into the safety of the TARDIS and wonders if she should follow before the overwhelming urge to escape takes over and she rushes for the shelter of the ship. There could be no better visualisation of the Doctor’s deception than him literally slamming the door in her face. Amy and Rory are on either side of the TARDIS doors railing at the Doctor and almost cruelly he steps aside and makes the choice there’s. The hand at the window is a tear jerking image. Arthur Darvill will absolutely break your heart during this scene – Simon and I were in tears, so was my mum and my mate Emma. I always associate moments of overwhelming emotion with the Davies era but this is one of best examples of the emotive approach to Doctor Who seen in six years.

The Bad: The stark simplicity of the design and the fact that it just comes down to the press of two different buttons exposes the elementary plotting of this episode for what it is, an excuse to split up Amy and Rory. Nothing more, nothing less. This was never going to be a story in its own right. This location was specifically designed to drive a massive crowbar between our two companions and it has absolutely no use beyond that. I object to that because there are far more imaginative (and less conspicuous) ways to get the same result without completely exposing the worthlessness of the location in any other kind of story. Two rooms running parallel but at different time streams where you can interact with each other at certain points – an idea that is wasted by hoping forwards to the older Amy so quickly. Imagine if they had had the guts to run this entire episode in these two rooms with Amy gaining years every time they spoke to her. Is it just me or are these the cheapest, ineffective looking robots since the Mr Many Claws contraption from Terminus? They shuffle forwards in a not very menacing fashion, holding up their hands because the face ain't listening and look as sparse and unmemorable as the rest of the design. Again there are a couple of nice touches; I love the way they arrive in a blob of quicksilver and the pretty nifty dart reveal as the head opens but in their basic form they make a cheap episode look cheaper. Doesn't the Two Streams facility look awfully like the hospital from New Earth that the Doctor and Rose visited a few years back? Have they run out places to film? It's odd because the classic series managed to film in the same location twice – say Stargroves in Pyramids of Mars and The Seeds of Doom – and yet make it look completely different both times. For some reason BBC Wales cannot make the Millennium Centre in Cardiff look like anything other than the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The trouble is you know that the first fifteen minutes is all set up because not one of the characters shows the slightest sign of characterisation until the older Amy shows up (Rory’s breast obsession aside) – they are simply functions of the plot until it reaches the point where it wants them to emote. I know he was busy feeling up an invisible wall and everything but could Rory really not hear that robot coming up behind him? You know the one with the servos which hiss with every footstep! In this lifestyle you really should develop a stronger sense of self preservation (he should get tips from Turlough, the lad who was always taking a glance over his shoulder). If she had been stuck at Two Streams for over three decades then wouldn’t Amy have acclimatised to her surroundings more than she has? Shouldn't Amy’s hair have gone grey?

Result: Such a weird episode and I don’t know how to judge it. The first third is the most boring 15 minutes of season six because it is all overly complicated set up for the last ten minutes of drama. You can literally hear the plotting gears grinding into place to get the Doctor, Amy and Rory where they need to be to provide that humdinger of an emotional climax. Whether by design (it is supposed to be a sterile medical facility) or because they were saving money for Moffat’s expensive finale) it is also one of the few new series episodes that feels cheap (the bloody Millennium Centre again). Interesting ideas are tossed in the air but jettisoned in favour of the characters (normally I complain it is the other way around - the best episodes of this era are the ones that balance both equally) and there is an awful lot of running around to be had too. However when The Girl Who Waited gets it right it really gets it right and the horrific choice that falls on Rory at the conclusion grabs hold of your heart and crushes it until your eyes bleed with tears. The older Amy is a great character, bitter and angry and unwilling to give the Doctor any more chances. The Doctor has to make the awful decision to slam the door in her face when she tosses all that resentment aside and decides to leave with them in one of the most shocking moments of the season. Darvill, Smith and Gillen have never been better than at that moment and it's great to see them hitting such an emotional high when they are about to be split up permanently. How to rate an episode that tests my patience this much and yet manages to score such a coup with its characters in its closing third? It feels unfair to score an episode that hits the series’ emotional high point (The Doctor’s Wife excepted) this low but there are too many surrounding details that let it down: 6/10

The Passenger written by Morgan Grendel, Robert Hewitt Wolfe & Michael Piller and directed by Paul Lynch

What’s it about: Bashir turned psycho killer…well Duridium shipment hijacker at the very least.

Single Father: When Sisko tells Primmon you have to forget what you learnt at the Academy and not to throw it in anyone’s face I could have kissed him. Academy rules work well on Earth but seem to fall short of being effective as soon as you leave orbit and bizarrely it is only the characters on DS9 who seem to realise that. Janeway is still trying to adhere to the rules and she's 70,000 light years from home. Sisko likes Odo because he likes to know where he stands with people and (without a shadow of a doubt) there is no question of that with him.

GE Doctor: Bashir’s arrogance is unbelievable as he sits there telling Kira just how fabulous he is at his job. ‘Faith has granted me a gift Major. A gift to be a healer.’ No wonder she feels privileged to be in his presence. He's due for a sharp fall. I read something in a David A. McIntee review once which has stuck with me ever since – whenever actors are asked to act possessed they suddenly forget how to act entirely. Whilst there are a few exceptions to that rule it is for the most part entirely accurate and you can include Siddig’s unfortunate turn as Vantika in this episode. I have absolutely no idea who he is supposed to be channelling but his camp, monotonous delivery is inexcusably bad and lacks even a shred of menace. It's one of the few times I would say DS9 is genuinely embarrassing to watch (see also Fascination and Let He Who is Without Sin).

Unknown Sample: Dax seems to like spending most of her time alone which Quark suggests makes her the perfect woman for Odo. Primmon is so instantly unlikable our sympathies are completely with Odo. Anybody who comes onto the station and starts throwing their weight around isn’t going to get anywhere. Mr Worf, please note. Wonderfully flawed, Odo strops into Sisko’s office like a grumpy child to ask who is in charge out of him and Primmon. He needs clear jurisdiction on DS9 or he is out. The wonderful old curmudgeon. 

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Make…me…live…’

Dreadful Dialogue: ‘No more middlemen Sisko! No more delays!’ 

The Good: This is another episode boosted by a strong premise with a criminal who is obsessed with death ensuring that he can survive any attempt to kill him. Kajada stabbing Vantika’s corpse is deliciously gruesome. Trust Quark to be rummaging around on the floor after hours looking for dropped coins. When these are the only positive observations I can make about an episode then we are in trouble. 

The Bad: Later seasons are interconnected so that every story impacts on the overall story arc of the series. If you have what appears to be a standalone episode it usually adds depth to one of the major players be it the Bajorans, Cardassians, Federation or Dominion. To watch these early episodes where the standalone episodes feature alien races that we never hear from again seems…odd. In a hilarious moment of overdone theatrics Kajada turns up randomly at the end of a scene to tell everyone that Vantika is up to his old tricks. What a shame that Primmon turns out to be effective in this episode – I really wanted him to be shown up by Odo at every angle. The Duridium shipment crew seem to have no sense of self preservation. They just stand there looking shocked and waiting to be shot down. 

Moment To Watch Out For: If the plot hadn’t made it obvious enough that Bashir has taken on the conscience of Vantika then the scene where a mysteriously gloved man with a whispery British accent threatens Quark should seal the deal. That and the split second close up on Bashir’s face when he throws Quark to the ground. Oddly despite all these pointers they still dress up the possession as a revelation towards the climax. 

Only DS9: Quark is actively working against the task of the station personnel in a way that we would never see in another series. Whilst he only considers himself the middle man, he is employing criminals to steal something the Federation has pledged to protect. When characters on, say, Voyager act against the interest of the ship it is because they want to avoid having Janeway break the prime directive (Tuvok) or to continue their usefulness (Neelix). To be fair Seska is exposed as a traitor but she is kicked off as soon as they realise. Quark is simply too useful not to have around. He’s a profit monger with connections and proud of it.

Teaser-tastic: Once we get past Bashir basking in his own hubris, this is not a bad hook into the episode, especially Vantika’s creepy dying words.

Result: Such a ridiculously predictable episode I am surprised they bothered to dress it up as a mystery. The Passenger features the oddest performance ever seen in a Deep Space Nine episode in Siddig El Fadil’s take on Ray O’Vantika which is more likely to provoke laughter than chills. Paul Lynch tries to make this as dark as possible but the script is fighting him lacking the scares of a horror or the intensity of a good psychological thriller. Ruining things further is the inclusion of Primmon who annoys from the outset and is so ineffective he only hangs around for two episodes. Odd that the first Bashir episode should be such a flop because pretty much every other episode to highlight the character (Our Man Bashir, Dr Bashir, I Presume?, Inquisition, Inta Arma Silent Leges) would turn out to be absolute gems. Easily the weakest episode so far and exactly the sort of camp old nonsense that was dropped when the series found its stride: 4/10

Dax written by D.C Fontana and directed by David Carson

What’s it about: Jadzia is accused of a murder committed in another lifetime

Single Father: By having an episode that focuses on a misdemeanour on Curzon’s part you have a story that says more about Sisko than Dax no matter whose name grabs the title. Sisko talks about Curzon with such affection that it is a shame that we never got to see the relationship at its height because it sounds to me like he had a lot of character with his crazy cavalier attitude towards life. A flashback to Sisko as a callow youth being taken under the wing of this carefree Trill would have been very welcome. Curzon is what a young Federation officer needs to stop him becoming as arrogant as Picard. Sisko’s attempts to save his new friends life is very touching and would see the foundations build for an equally strong friendship with Jadzia. Until the moment of her death it would be another very strong character pairing that this show casually flaunts. Sisko makes an extremely strong public speaker during the courtroom scenes and it is great to see Avery Brooks attacking the material with such passion. Curzon took a raw young ensign under his wing and taught him to appreciate life in ways he had never thought about – whatever sense of honour Sisko has Curzon nurtured. 

Nine Lives: At this stage in her development Dax is still walking around with her hands behind her back like a serene holy woman at a pilgrimage. By the end of the next season you simply wouldn’t recognise the woman that she is here anymore, as Curzon and the others start to influence her behaviour more. Although it takes you the entire episode to realise the truth Dax’s silence initially makes you want to shake her and force some kind of admission of innocence. Dax’s quarters are full of some truly wonderful items – the set designers have really gone to town. Curzon drank too much and had an eye for the ladies and it won't be too long before Jadzia follows suit. There is a gorgeously nuanced scene between Sisko and Dax that sees him confronting her for not defending herself that develops into the two of them laughing together, her stroking his face and him holding her hand – why can’t all Trek series be this well played? There is a lot of subtle touching and warmth between the characters on this show, supposedly the most dysfunctional crew in the galaxy. The revelation of why she hasn’t defended herself is a lovely spot of development for this character; she is so protective of her past lives and honours her mistakes to the point that she will risk dying for them.

Tasty Terrorist: Kira is so much fun in this episode. I love her cheeky dialogue with Tandro in Sisko’s office and she makes a surprisingly good investigator. Odo should be headhunting. It is nice to see Kira engaged in something other than letting off steam about the political situation on Bajor and showing some humour. 

GE: Bashir is trying to get into Dax’s knickers once again and laying on the sleazy chat up lines. He can think of ways of keeping her up all night, apparently, and they have nothing to do with drinking Klingon coffee. Thanks goodness he is such a slime ball and starts stalking her on her way to her quarters otherwise they wouldn’t have found out Dax was kidnapped until it was too late.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Fugitive Dax is charged with treason…and the murder of my father.’
‘Which not only compromises Bajoran security but also…annoys us.’
‘No its just business…and business is business.’
‘I intend to be here until supper not senility, understood?’
‘When one of my kind stumbles it is a shame that lasts forever.’
‘I know where Curzon was at the exact time that that transmission was sent. He was in my bed.’
‘Live, Jadzia Dax. Live a long, fresh and wonderful life.’

The Good: The first five minutes sees an impressive cat and mouse game between the Klystrons and Ops which allows both sides to appear competent and out manoeuvre the other.

Odo slams shut the airlocks (but they have an override), Kira erects force fields (again they have the correct codes to get through them) before Sisko finally activates the tractor beam that snatches hold of their departing ship and drags them back to make an account for themselves. It's such a little thing but I love the framing of the moment when Dax realises why they have tried to kidnap her - as the camera pans in on her Sisko turns to face her and then Odo. A great moment. Gregory Itzin is a fine American character actor who turns up in all sorts of shows (he has just had a guest spot in Desperate Housewives) and he brings Tandro alive with some real fury. Can we have a Judge Renora spin off series please? She’s just marvellous and treats Tandro like a naughty schoolboy and Sisko like a minor inconvenience (her ‘the penalty for these crimes on your planet is death and that is rather permanent’ made me howl with laughter). It's great to have a character this cynical in Star Trek, we should arrange a sitcom with her and Mullibok from Progress and they can candidly discuss all the issues with the Star Trek universe. The courtroom scenes that discuss the nature of the Trill are well written and interesting and utilises an old Trek standby, the metaphor (this time salt and water standing in for host and symbiont). Klystron is gorgeously brought to life with some superb matte paintings and some subtle lighting suggests day and night in Enina’s quarters. Unlike a good handful of the episodes I have seen so far across the various Trek series the revelation that puts this episode to rest that Curzon and Enina were having an affair springs naturally from the characters and that makes it a very satisfying conclusion. It gives a new dimension to Curzon and Jadzia (who kept her silence) and allows us to view the situation from a completely different angle (the General himself was responsible for the transmission).

The Bad: Whilst it gives the courtroom scenes a memorable look you would have thought there would be a place on the station where they could have held this courtroom other than the local saloon. The ward room is needed, stat. 

Teaser-tastic: Not bad actually. Bashir beaten up and Dax kidnapped…that should get most people interested fairly early on. 

Moment To Watch Out For: The final scene is beautifully acted and caps off a delicately handled episode very nicely.

Only DS9: A new section of the reviews to highlight those moments that DS9 dared to tread where there other series failed to do so. Maybe Meaney was off doing a film or maybe O’Brien simply wasn’t needed in this episode – either way a simple line of dialogue excuses his absence from the episode nicely instead of a pointless cameo. When people are hit in DS9 they like to show that it really hurts and Bashir gets several frightening punches in the teaser. What I particularly like is the question of sexuality that the Trill species throws into the Trek mix. Because a host can skip from male to female it leaves a balanced individual that can find either sex attractive and whilst this isn’t dealt with in this episode (although the expert who admits his first host was a woman has a touch of femininity about him) DS9 would take the brave step towards exploring homosexuality in episodes such as Rejoined and Let He Who is Without Sin both of which see Dax clearly attracted towards women. Whilst you shouldn’t need an excuse for gay characters in Star Trek (and Bashir and O’Brien are the closest we will ever get to a male romance – they clearly dig each other in later seasons) it is great to see this series tapping into this subject in a way that TNG deliberately (some might say insultingly) shied away from.

Myth Building: D.C Fontana is the only writer to have contributed scripts to three Star Trek series (four if you include the Animated Series) and it is great to see her depart on such a memorable piece.

Result: How wonderful to see the character dynamics on this show coming together so effectively and quickly and even if Dax didn’t have a rock solid plot at its heart (which it does) it would be bolstered by some fantastic individual moments. Kira is feisty and fun, Odo blackmails Quark, Sisko builds a firm friendship with Dax, Bashir shows some depth and Odo proves what he is made of plus you also get some fascinating insight into Trill society. Both Tandro and (the wonderful) Judge Renora stand out and despite very few scenes even Enina Tandro makes a great impression. The story has a real drive to it and paints a strong picture of Klystron society and the major players in its most dramatic days without ever actually showing us the events. With outstanding performances all round, superb dialogue and characterisation and an ending that hits all the right notes this is one of the strongest Trek courtroom episodes and another huge win for director David Carson: 9/10

Beneath the Veil written by Kymberly Ashman and directed by Darren Gross, David Darlington & Jim Person

What's it about: Alfie Chapman and Emma Finney, a young English couple, are on a road trip, travelling across America. When their car breaks down, they find themselves having to stay overnight in the small town of Collinsport. And on that night, people start dying. As Alfie and Emma become acquainted with the residents, they discover that there's more to the sleepy little town of Collinsport than they first thought. But will they discover the truth behind the murders before they become the next victims?

Holidaying Couple: Do you know I am not sure that Alfie and Emma are entirely likeable. I found them a little too smug and full of themselves in their early scenes and found myself looking forward to the moment when they felt out of their depth and dropped the loftiness. There's nothing worse than foreigners abroad taking the piss out of the place they are staying. As soon as I heard that they were in to serial killers my spidey senses started tingling...I had the feeling that they were going to get up close and personal with the very thing that the pair of them obsesses about. I have a friend who has a similar interest in serial murderers...perhaps I should give her this story as precautionary tale. Making jokes about never being able to leave the town...they are just asking for trouble. Alfie proves himself to be insensitive as well as mildly racist, making an extreme point about Emma wishing her ex boyfriend dead knowing full well that he committed suicide since then. Wow, what a keeper. Given the degree of jealousy that he shows in this story it is hardly a surprise that Alfie turned out to be Stuart's killer...but it is very satisfying to hear him admit it all the same. After he admits his killing spree in Collinsport I could see him and Danielle as some kind of Myra Hindly and Ian Brady style couple, travelling from town to town on a killing spree.

Standout Performance: I think I preferred Marie Wallace's performance before she was outed as Danielle because it was much more subtly manipulative. Once she is out of the closet she is in full on loony seductress mode albeit with a wizened gravelly voice. I love a panto villainess as much as the next person but a lot of the subtleties go missing with the transition.

Sparkling Dialogue: 'People are complicated, Alfie...'

'I want to find out what it's like to die.'

'You do not ask if it is right or wrong. White or black. You ask why...'

'You're the one in love with a man who is more fascinated by a rotting corpse than his own woman!'

Great Ideas: Opening with a grisly murder in a sanatorium, Beneath the Veil sure knows how to get your attention from the off. The music that Alfie is listening to on the radio sounds like the suspiciously cheesy Creme Brulee tracks from The League of Gentlemen. Beneath the Veil is a very clever introduction to Collinsport for anybody who is completely unfamiliar with the TV series (and given the Tony and Cassandra stories haven't touched on the place yet, despite both characters back story in the town) because you experience the place afresh with Alfie and Emma. They are excited at the prospect of curses, murders and creepy locals but clearly have no idea how in over their heads they are about to get. Imagine travelling across America looking for towns and locations where people have been murdered? What a feverish idea of a holiday. It is an uncomfortable question to ask but are we all capable of murder if the motive was strong enough? I would say yes but it would have to be a so strong as to bypass most people's safeguards for performing such an extreme act. When we have a moment of weakness and wish somebody dead is it a genuine desire or simply an extreme reaction to a stressful moment? Eve is a subtly manipulative character, preying on Alfie and Emma's fears and doubts about each other and their relationship, exacerbating them. Studying crime scenes and visiting the site of a murder that features the blood of somebody you actually knew are two very different things. Suddenly it's personal. This story asks questions about what happens to your spirit once you die - a commonly pondered idea that has so many potential answers. I guess when you witness a murder and see the transition of a functioning person to a dead shell it really drives you to understand the truth of the matter. There is a wonderfully uncomfortable moment when Alfie and Emma are doing their superior, illiberal spiel and the latter starts having a choking fit. Uncomfortable because you start to wonder if they deserve it. Alfie's obsession with finding out what it is like to die is what leads them to setting up a oujia board, something he did when he was younger which led to him seeing a spirit in the room. Since being released in The House By the Sea, the spirit is wandering, murdering, waiting... Eve turns out to be possessed by Danielle hardly a surprise given her manipulative nature throughout the tale. Danielle enjoys killing men because she finds it empowering. There's not always a motive to kill...some people just love it.

Audio Landscape: Clock ticking, squeaking door, thunder, rain lashing, scribbling, pub atmosphere, seagulls, a car horn blaring, crickets, police siren, wind, breaths snuffing out candles, whispering voices, glass scraping on board.

Standout Scene: The terrific surprise when you realise that this story segues into The House By the Sea. I was literally clapping with delight. 

Result: 'Would you like to see beneath the veil?' A smart piece that asks questions about murder, jealousy and life after death that is slightly hampered by two leads that display enough smugness for you to want them to reach an uncomfortable end. I didn't find either Alfie or Emma especially affable and so I couldn't really sympathise with their plight when old woman Evans started to pressing their buttons and exploiting the flaws in their relationship. Kymberly Ashman's script however deserves a great deal of kudos, for not only straying into some psychologically uncomfortable areas and pondering on some of the darker aspects of humanity but also giving the listener a great deal to ponder on once the story is over. The direction is strong too, providing some chilling moments and atmospheric sound effects. As a package it is a very satisfying story and you might even say that Alfie and Emma are deliberately ill-characterised so you are forced into the disquieting position of wanting unpleasant things to happen to them. There might be an element of that but that doesn't stop them from being a bothersome pair; ill-mannered, jealous and with some pretty unusual fixations. I certainly wouldn't want to spend any more time in their company as they are portrayed at the beginning of this tale and fortunately they undergo quite the transition before the end. A huge plus is how this story dovetails into another of the Dark Shadows entries and the extra dimensions it gives that. All told, this is another confident and creepy story and I would recommend it to anybody looking to push the boundaries a bit. The open ending suggests more horror to come: 8/10

Night Terrors written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Richard Clark

This story in a nutshell: The Doctor is on the case to banish the monsters from a little boys cupboard…

Nutty Professor: I love the idea of the Doctor jettisoning universal threats and spending an evening dealing with the domestic fear of a little boy who is scared of monsters in his bedroom. Sometimes he can get so caught up in his adventures he forgets that the most frightening thing in the universe is the terror that exists in a little kids room when the lights go out. It does him good to remember it is the people that make the universe so special and to jettison all the noise and bluster and just help one person. It's nice to see the Doctor can’t quite charm everybody, especially not grumpy old dears with bad knees. Matt Smith has never been more likeable than he worms his way into Alex’s flat and offers to do his best for George. I really like the scene where the Doctor has to convince himself to open the cupboard and uses Alex as a sounding board, changing his mind three times. It reminded me of a similar scene in The Twin Dilemma (don’t flinch!) when the sixth Doctor was all bravado about saving ‘the children’ and then talks himself out of it and then (with a little help from Peri) decides to soldier on regardless of the danger. Smith plays that manic indecision so well – mind you he practically plays everything so well. Ooh he’s still doing those cute air kisses. Love that.

Scots Tart: It was whilst I was watching this episode that I realised that when we aren’t focussing on their domestic lives (marriage and the birth of their daughter which to be fair does account for a large portion of their time on the show) that Amy and Rory are actually quite dull characters in their own right. This is the first time for an age (The Doctor’s Wife) that they have stepped from the TARDIS and had an adventure that doesn’t affect their personal lives and they have very little to contribute beyond wandering around the dolls house and being a little jumpy. There are no character quirks to rely on, it's just two people walking around in the dark. That might sound a tad harsh but when you compare this to Donna who spent much of the first half of The Silence in the Library wandering around in the dark then Amy and Rory just don’t have the personality to compare. It was the same in the Silurian two parter last year…they didn’t contribute a great deal, they were just sort of there. The most memorable thing Amy does is turn into a rag doll, so only interesting after she can no longer contribute anything. Nice one.

Loyal Roman: Was Rory in this story?

The Good: How nice to start an episode without a ‘previously on…’ two minute recap. It’s a small thing but there was a time when these reminders weren't necessary and people were just supposed to tune in and enjoy the story. With this we know this will be a standalone episode or at least for the most part. A good sign. The director manages to make those flats look at once both artistic and stylish in a cubist sort of way and astonishingly mundane and depressing. The long shots are very impressive because it actually looks like some kind of mirrored special effect whereas good lighting and clever camera positioning makes a very normal location look alien and easy on the eye. I love the tiny OCD touch of the light having to be turned on and off five times because it feels very real. I used to have little rituals like that with my mum when I was younger. Looking at very normal occurrences from a child's point of view, seeing an old lady walking home as a hulking shadow breathing heavily past the window is something episode should have done a lot more of because there is incredible creative mileage in it. The old woman being pulled into the bin bags reminds me strongly of Robert Holmes work at its most playful (Terror of the Autons especially) because the sequence is both very creepy and insanely silly. Full marks for those oversized, lumpy, barely finished dolls heads with ragged hair and terrifying slits for eyes. When you add in the dirty clothes, their unnatural jagged movement and speed and you have a very scary monster that can be mimicked in the playground. The transformation scenes are terrifying, the director stressing the wrongness of the change with the creaking of wood, the sprouting of hair and the little girl giggling to welcome their new mannequin.

The Bad: Some child actors have it (Tommy Knight was exceptional from his first moment in The Sarah Jane Adventures and Lawrence Belcher hit all the right emotional notes in A Christmas Carol) and some don’t (Angie and Artie are to come) and it is pot luck choosing the right ones for particular parts. Unfortunately Jamie Oram is definitely a case of being very sweet but not being able to bring anything to the screen (compounded by this episodes Confidential that showed him boasting about how good he is compared to the adult performers but then we were all little tykes at that age, weren't we?). Why exactly was there a glass eye in the draw? I feel like such a bastard saying this because after seeing all the work that went into making it happen on Confidential the effect of Purcell being sucked into the carpet looks decidedly naff. Sorry guys. Having the kid turn out to be lost alien from outer space guts the story of its feeling because now it isn’t a tale about the Doctor being drawn to a lost little boy who is scared of the monster but instead it is two aliens being brought together magnetically. For a second George is the menace and not the menaced which makes a mockery of the early scenes. Watching the Doctor and Alex dance about jerkily like Thunderbird puppets whilst George keeps repeating ‘please save me from the monsters’ like he is trying to memorise his times tables is the antithesis of the rubbish bag scene – it's not funny or scary, it's just a bit embarrassing. Because of their overexposure by the end of the episode all the things that were potentially creepy at the beginning of the episode (the lift, the cupboard) are a little same old, same old. Getting George to face his fears is exactly how the story should have concluded by Gatiss goes one step further by including a woefully smothering dollop of emotional syrup that gets in your every orifice until you are bleeding treacle and retching at the telly. ‘You are my son and I will never, ever send you away!’ What a shame that music didn’t die away and they both turned to dolls. What a farcically twee ending. This is exactly the sort of thing the classic series would never have attempted and they did stage some remarkably tiresome climaxes. Shockingly this isn’t the last time that paternal love saves the day this season and the next example is even more of a joke.

The Shallow Bit: I’m not sure if it is because he playing the very appealing role of a struggling father or just his cherubic, boyish face but there is something very attractive about Daniel Mays as Alex.

Result: This kicks off a run of three relatively standalone high concept episodes and is the weakest of the three because it doesn’t have the emotional kick of The Girl Who Waited or the constant innovation and development of The God Complex. There is a great idea at the heart of Night Terrors (being trapped inside a dolls house) but once that has been revealed it is pretty much all atmosphere and running about and very little substance for the second half of the episode. Low key isn’t always a bad thing but here it feels positively insignificant and matters aren’t helped by the choice of child actor who fails to convince in every scene. The director works overtime to create some suspense and to his credit the imagery is very strong, both in and around the flats and especially once we enter the skewed world of the dolls house. Matt Smith’s Doctor is a joy to watch but Amy and Rory are about as vacuous as they have ever been and are showing signs of having outlived their usefulness. There are some creepy moments in Night Terrors (the dolls are a real fright) but if you skip this one you are hardly missing out on anything special and by the end (especially that vomit inducing injection of syrup at the end) I had lost interest: 5/10