Doctor Who: Series 7 - Hide

This was a creepy and yet sweet story at heart.

This story held the classic images and aspects of a haunted house story including lightning, candlelight, ghost-like apparitions, writing on the hall and a spooky house. The image of the ghost and its appearance made it look like a classic portrayal of a ghost, with I supposed was used to try and reinforce the possibility of it actually being a ghost. Although it later turned out to be a time traveller trapped in a collapsing pocket universe reaching out to her empathic ancestor.

More continuity and development appeared in this episode as the empathic Emma Grayling warned Clara to not trust the Doctor while also declaring that Clara was an ordinary person to the Doctor as he really wanted to try and find out more about her. Also it's interesting to see how they are using the TARDIS to show that something must be wrong with Clara as it doesn't seem to like her. It was then good how the TARDIS and Clara worked together to save the Doctor from the pocket universe.

I like how Clara questions the Doctor, especially in this episode as they watch Earth from birth to death to get images of the ghost and Clara realises that she can be seen as a ghost to the Doctor. In addition. I thought that the scenes between Emma and Major Alec Palmer are really sweet and it was good how these two lost souls were able to find each other.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman were superb, with guest stars Jessica Raine, Dougray Scott and Kemi-Bo Jacobs gave great performances, making it a strong episode.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - Cold War

A good story with a great return for an old enemy.

This episode saw the long awaited return of the Ice Warriors and their first appearance in the new series format. It really worked well to give to the classic image with the design of the suit, while adding new elements with the reptile inside leaving the suit to attack the crew of a Soviet Union submarine in the middle of the Cold War. This use of the creature outside the suit allowed for it to be seen as something more scarier and dangerous, while not showing too much of it to ruin the mystic of what could be inside. Similar to the reintroduction of the Daleks in Dalek, this episode combines old and new to create and re-imagine a classic enemy.

Meanwhile, I liked how this episode saw Clara trying to deal with the danger that travelling with the Doctor brings to her and other people. Her relationship with the Doctor remains strong as Clara discovers more about him and the TARDIS. In turn, I like how the Doctor is very strong in the face of the lone Ice Warrior Skaldak, especially when convincing him to not fire the nuclear weapon that would change history and also gave a little bit of humanity to Skaldak when he hesitated and allowed them to live.

I also liked the character of Professor Grisenko who added a good bit of comedy that worked well to make the episode more diverse and at the same time not taking away from the tension that is built through the shots used. Moreover, I thought how Lieutenant Stepashin tried to negotiate with Skaldak like how would use to happen in the classic series before being killed.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Lousie Coleman are great and carried the episode well, while Liam Cunningham, David Warner, Tobias Menzies and Spencer Wilding also gave good performances and the voice of Skaldak provided by Nicholas Briggs was really good and creepy.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Rings Of Akhaten

This was a great and interesting futuristic episode.

I like how the episode was used to establish a lot of character development for Clara, through the Doctor trying to work out what makes her so special for him to have met her in three different times. This allowed me to see how Clara seemed to have a normal life, shown through the meeting of her parents Dave Oswald and Ellie Davenport, them playing in the park with her and the funeral of her mother, which were all observed by the Doctor. This allowed for a lot more depth in Clara's character and allowed for the story to become more stronger and empowered.

As the Doctor and Clara arrived for the Festival of Offerings, it felt like a really good 'first trip' story as the appearance of various new and strange aliens allowed for me to empathise with Clara's wonder and excitement. Meanwhile, the story also explored the importance of history and treasured memories and items, as these were used as currency on the planet. Clara was then able to take centre stage as she had to give up her mother's ring in order to save Merry Gejelh, known as the Queen of Years, and then when she used the leaf that caused her parents to met in order to defeat the awaking god that feed on history and precious memories. The idea that the creature was defeated by the potential of the what could have beens and the possible future that Clara's mum should have had, was an interesting aspect to explore.

Furthermore, I also liked the use and possible power of song and storytelling and how it is often used to comfort or unity people. Murray Gold's soundtrack really added to these aspects to make a big and strong episode. In addition, the use, look and filming of the Vigil did well to add a bit of a creepy sense to the story, giving it a good mix of light and shade throughout.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman were superb in showing the continuing chemistry between the Doctor and Clara and their further development. Guests stars Michael Dixon, Nicola Sian and Emilia Jones gave great performances and supported the main characters and development of the story in really good way.