• Home
  • Podcast
    • Specials
  • Interviews
  • Movie Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • DVD Reviews
  • Columns
  • News
    • TV News
    • Film News
    • DVD News
    • Online Entertainment News
    • Space News
    • Music News
    • On Stage
    • Geeky, Funny & Weird

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Writers, After Dark
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Charlie Jade Verse
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
TV Review: “Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint Johns”

TV Review: “Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint Johns”

April 1, 2013 By Michael Hickerson Leave a Comment

Comparisons between classic Doctor Who writer Robert Holmes and current series runner Steven Moffat have been inevitable ever since Moffat’s first story “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances.” But these comparisons were even more inevitable (at least for this fan) on a weekend in which BBC America aired both “The Bells of Saint John” and the classic third Doctor serial “Spearhead from Space.”

Both stories find Earth under threat of invasion by aliens who are willing to use something mundane and turn it into something scary. In the case of Holmes, it was using plastics. In Moffat’s case, it’s wi-fi.

Of the two, I can tell you I vastly prefer the Holmes invasion story and not just because I’ve seen it multiple times.
It’s because the Holmes story didn’t feel like a mash-up of greatest hits from other successful installments of Doctor Who.

I think part of the problem is that “Bells of Saint John” had some huge expectations placed on it. It’s the first story of the fiftieth anniversary year, it’s the story in which new companion Clara joins the TARDIS crew and it’s the story that is supposed to start pushing forward the mystery surrounding Clara. Oh yeah, and it’s also supposed to show the Doctor battling a new alien invasion from the Spoonheads, a group of aliens who take over the wi-fi and suck the consciousness of unwitting victims inside it. And yet as intriguing as the Spoonheads were, I never really felt like they were fully established as a threat in the same way that the Weeping Angels or the Silence were. (And before you argue that both had multiple appearances, I will say that the Angels were effectively creepy in their debut story as were the Silence. So it can be done.)

In many ways, “Johns” felt more like a list of things to check off instead of a fully realized episode. I did like the chemistry between Matt Smith and Jenna Louise-Coleman and the big set pieces of the Doctor flying a plane and driving his anti-grave motorcycle up the side of a building were impressive. But in between, the story never really quite connected with me in the way that it that other returning episodes have.

I think part of this may be that unlike “Asylum of the Daleks” this story wasn’t necessarily meant to be a season premiere but instead a mid-season story.

In fact, the only moment that had me sit up and really take notice was the reveal of who is behind the Spoonheads. It also made me say, “We’d better see the Yeti return later this year or I’m going to be very, very annoyed.” The fact that the Great Intelligence is behind this was a nice touch and a great tie-in not only to the Christmas special but also to the Troughton years.

It just wasn’t quite enough to justify the forty or so minutes leading up to it. Hopefully this is a foundation placing episode and we’ll build on it for the next seven weeks. But for now, I liked it, but didn’t necessarily love it.

Share on X (Twitter)Share on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Email

Filed Under: TV Reviews Tagged With: Doctor Who

About Michael Hickerson

Michael was a contributor to Slice of SciFi, as both a news curator and assistant editor, under the tutelage of former News Director Sam Sloan.

Related Posts

What Will #12 Be Like?
Doctor Who World Tour Starts August 2014
Doctor Who: City of Death
Reviewing “Doctor Who: City of Death” by James Goss

Trackbacks

  1. Doctor Who: The Bells of St. John (2013) | An American View of British Science Fiction says:
    April 4, 2013 at 2:48 am

    […] “Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint Johns” – A Slice of SciFi Review (sliceofscifi.com) […]

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Slice

Follow Slice of SciFi

  • twitter
  • youtube
  • facebook

Listen to Slice of SciFi

  • iheartradio
  • playerfm

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsiHeartRadioPodchaserTuneInRSS
  • Movie & TV Reviews

Father's Day - Deals on 4K UHD Collections

Recent Comments

  • Summer Brooks on “The Eagle Has Landed”: About the “Space: 1999” Documentary: “I definitely want to keep tabs on their progress in getting this one finished, too!”
  • Tim Callender on “The Eagle Has Landed”: About the “Space: 1999” Documentary: “While I’m sorry the Kickstarter didn’t fund, Jeffrey says that the interest generated by the Kickstarter has attracted the attention…”
  • Tim Callender on “The Eagle Has Landed”: About the “Space: 1999” Documentary: “What a great conversation! I’m looking forward to seeing the final film.”
  • Lou Tambone on Finding “The Joker”: Rich Handley and Lou Tambone on a complex villain: “Thanks! Always a pleasure!”
  • Sean on “Oppenheimer” is a cinematic tour de force: ““Tour de Force” is exactly what I said to the buddy who invited me to this as we left the…”
Tweets by Slice of SciFi
death to humans 160x600
Save 20 on all pre-order statues at TFAW.com!

Slice of SciFi
415 Pisgah Church Rd #302
Greensboro NC 27455
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo designed by Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
The Babylon Podcast
Charlie Jade Verse
Slice of SciFi TV

Slice

Copyright Slice of SciFi © 2005–2023 · WordPress · Log in