'World enough and Time' was fabulous and succeeded on so many levels: obviously, it was well-written; the direction was clearly superior to that of most episodes and just seemed to be on a higher level of sophistication; there were some fantastic performances, especially by John Simm; the special effects (particularly on the outside of the spaceship) were probably the best I've ever seen on Doctor Who; and even the musical score for this episode was innovative, strongly enhancing the texture and mood of the show. It's like they went from amateur hour to professional all at once. The story itself was wonderful in large part because it was very evocative of classic Who: darker, edgier, more surreal, more sci-fi. Of course, I don't want to get too excited, since this is a two-parter, and it wouldn't be the first time Moffatt totally ruined something that he began well. Anyhow, as a stand-alone episode it was superb. Which however raises the question (as other reviewers have rightly done here): If Moffatt is capable of delivering such an amazing episode of Doctor Who, why the heck has he been subjecting Who fans to such utter garbage for the last umpteen (it feels like forever) years? It's like he just checked out, returning only to put in an effort for his final episodes in an attempt to salvage his legacy. For comparison, just look at the previous episode, 'The Eaters of Light', which had to be one of the worst ones of all time. No, he didn't write it; but as show-runner he's certainly responsible for it. To leap from a run of 7.5 rated episodes to one that is (currently) 9.6 on IMDb surely indicates something is really wrong in Who-ville. Let's hope this gets addressed before the upcoming series...
Review of World Enough and Time
