My assessment of that time delay: acceptable.
My review of the episode: OMGWTFBBQ.
My opinion of Moffat: rising.
Number of times Mr Pedia has watched it already: at least 2.
Way to raise the stakes right away, Moffat. Wow. That episode slams into action and doesn't let up. Great economy of storytelling, too. It doesn't explain anything in those first scenes. By the time it bothers to explain anything, it's in sequel to the boat-burning scene, when the viewers need a second to recover from that shock.
The companions with a secret to keep from the Doctor and responsibility to solve the problem themselves: yes, good, wonderful, a nice redistribution of power.
Matt Smith was solid. The distinction between his 1109-year-old self and his 900-whatever self was clear. Every time I watch him I think that we're watching the best Doctor in modern Who, by a long shot, and that Eleven will be a Doctor for the ages like Four. The banter with River was faboo and non-stop rapid-fire, which he's great at. Alex Kingston is a lovely foil for him.
God, River Song's story. We know how it ends. We've known how it ends all along. She doesn't. She's going backwards. The tragedy of it was right there, even as she's making flip comments about how people shouldn't put locks on things if they don't want her opening doors. And lines like: "We do what the Doctor's Companions always do. What we're told." Wonderful commentary on the relationship from somebody who's more of an equal to him than most. Which, by the way, is painfully necessary. All the hero worship had started to make the Doctor more of a goopy Gary Stu than usual, and he's a Gary Stu to start with.
Mark Sheppard doing an American accent was disconcerting at first. All the American accents were a bit off. I suppose this is the reaction our cousins overseas have to things like James Marsters attempting to sound British. (Though his accent was so bad it bothered even me.) Hugh Laurie and Peter Sellers get gold stars here and pretty much nobody else.
Nixon was... hmm. American reactions to Nixon are so complicated. It is amusing to see the British use of him, is all I'll say.
About the puzzle: it'll be the least interesting thing about the episodes at the end of the season, won't it? It's a lot of fun trying to guess right now though. One thing I love about the writing even before I know the solution is the time-travel aspect of it. Moffat writes time-travel stories. The box travels in time and space both and using that is good. Good, good.
My guesses about the puzzle? Mr Pedia & I said this as we watched: You can't change the incident. What you have to do is change the meaning of the incident. And there's a space suit sitting in a packing crate in that warehouse. The Doctor put the helmet on and flipped up the visor, just to underline it.
Who is River Song? You better tell us soon, Moffat.
