Day of the Moon (30 Apr. 2011)

Still in 1969, the Doctor has come to the conclusion that the alien creatures are only seen when they directly look at them. As soon as you look away, any memory of their presence is wiped ... See full summary »

Director:

Toby Haynes

Writer:

Steven Moffat

Stars:

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Smith	...	The Doctor
Karen Gillan	...	Amy Pond
Arthur Darvill	...	Rory
Alex Kingston	...	River Song
Mark Sheppard	...	Canton Delaware
Marnix Van Den Broeke	...	The Silent
Stuart Milligan	...	President Richard Nixon
Kerry Shale	...	Doctor Renfrew
Glenn Wrage	...	Gardner
Jeff Mash	...	Grant
Sydney Wade	...	Little Girl
Tommy Campbell	...	Sergeant
Peter Banks	...	Doctor Shepherd
Frances Barber	...	Eye Patch Lady
Ricky Fearon	...	Tramp

Storyline

Still in 1969, the Doctor has come to the conclusion that the alien creatures are only seen when they directly look at them. As soon as you look away, any memory of their presence is wiped clean. The aliens are also able to leave suggestions in people's minds, and aren't invaders per se, but have been on Earth for a very long time. While the Doctor works to ensure the success of Apollo 11, the others try to solve the mystery of the little girl in the space suit.

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Plot Keywords:

apollo 11 | writing on a wall | u.s. president | washington d.c. | memory erasure | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Bear Lake, Idaho, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Cymru Wales

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the Doctor is confronting the Silence at the moment Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon, one can hear the words "You got a bunch of people about to turn blue..." spoken by one of the NASA ground controllers (CAPCOM). This was actually said several hours earlier, when the lunar lander touched down on the moon.

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Quotes

Canton Delaware: Are you armed?
The Silent: This world is ours. We have ruled it since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons.
Canton Delaware: Yeah?
[unholsters gun, shoots and wounds the Silent]
Canton Delaware: Welcome to America!

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Soundtracks

"Doctor Who Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Ron Grainer
Arranged by Murray Gold
Performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales

User Reviews

Too much hustle and bustle in too little time

After last weeks underwhelming opening episode to this two part story which lifted the curtain on the latest series as I was left a bit deflated by what was a very average instalment. Needless to say with it being Steven Moffat, a man who I know who can do much better given what his previous writing skills have produced I hoped at least he would not continue to disappoint and would pull something out of the hat with "Day of the Moon". How wrong was I.

Continuing three months after last weeks "The Impossible Astronaut" left off, Moffat barely gives us time to breathe before the action goes in to overdrive once more. The Doctor has been detained by the U.S. Government while Amy, Rory and River Song are being pursed by American agents, why this is, is anyone's guess but Moffat works with such hustle and bustle that we're given time to sink in what's going before he throws one plot point part at us after another with such speed that ultimately it begins to trip over itself. Yes, there is a great opening hook that draws you in to the story and quickly opens with Amy and Rory having seemingly been killed off which lends a dramatic verve but It's undermined all far too quickly with the "Surprise surprise, they're not really dead after all" revelation. The pace also falters as a result and It's frankly a case of Moffat throwing everything in but the kitchen sink in what is too short a time to adequately fill out the story which means that he is forced to arrive at a conclusion where it merely degenerates in to a tawdry final showdown against the Silence, a alien threat which potentially ominous are defeated far too easily for my liking which pretty much undermines the lethality of the threat they impose.

The whole "love triangle" angle with Rory's insecurity over Amy's feeling for him and the non-platonic feelings that he thinks she has for the Doctor is also something that personally I could do without. It's something to some extent we all saw before back in the RTD era and while it was all fine and well in fifth series as the relationship between the pair of them was being delved in to, It's really about time that Moffat steered away from this as it's already been done to death. This all culminates in a drawn out coda which although does hint at the makings of future plot points that will arise later in the series, I found it really had to care. But primarily what I had a problem with is how Moffat has begun to portray Smith's eleventh incarnation. Much of the gravitas which is something that I will at least credit to RTD for lending David Tennant's Doctor has become absent from Smith's. Not that It's Smith's fault, as wonderful as he has been in previous outings he Isn't being given anything serious to working with here and I get the feeling that Moffat seems more concerned with creating a two- dimensional, quirky clown that when faced with insurmountable odds just taunts and jeers without counter-balancing it with the darker and at times more philosophical nature of the character. Throw in what I can only think is supposed to be a tired joke of President Richard Nixon making an entrance to the strains of an oft heard presidential tune and It's all of a let down and the weakest of Moffat's episodes to date. A shame given what he has delivered before.