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That episode was most entertaining and did wrap up the season with a big bang. It starts as the universe is gone with only a remnant of Earth left at it’s core. The Doctor is locked within the best prison ever built, Amy is gone and River is trapped in a dying TARDIS. Can the Universe be restored?
It starts with the young Amelia saying a prayer to Santa, similar to the first episode of this series. A quick shift in gear and some discussions about the stars not really existing at all except in Amelia's imagination and artwork. Amelia finds some mysterious notes directed to her, which instructs her to see the Pandorica exhibit at the National Museum. So she does, and and finds another note telling her to stick around. One sees some Dalek artifact displays by-the-way in the museum. Anywhoos, when everyone’s left the museum, the most amazing thing happens. The Pandorica opens and out comes ... the older (current?) Amy! wait, what?
Cut back 1894 years, to 102 AD. Rory is talking to Amy’s corpse when the Doctor appears, tells Rory to get him out of the Pandorica, and then disappears and reappears multiple times. What the heck is going on? So after Rory helps the Doctor out, the Doctor puts Amy in the Pandorica, where it will revive her in 1894 years time. Aaaah, right. After Rory saying he won’t go with the Doctor to the future, there’s another jump cut back to 1996. Amy discovers that Rory is probably dead, after protecting the Pandorica all those years. Random Dalek encounter, and the Doctor jumps into action and hides the Amys behind the Pandorica, when suddenly the Dalek gets shot. By who - yep - plastic Rory who ditched his centurion garb for the museum security uniform - he's still alive after all this time !
The plot after this takes quite a few crazy tuns. After time travelling various times using River's time vortex manipulator timey-wimey thingy, he meets his dying self who passes along a message. Then he rescues River, who is stuck on a time loop in the TARDIS (smart machine is trying to save itself and occupant. The random Dalek shoots the Doctor after the rescue and he travels back in the past to meet himself and give a warning, and then River kills the Dalek while Amy and Rory check on the Doctor. His corpse is gone. He wasn’t really dead at all, apparently, and was using them as a diversion so he could get to work to effect the second Big Bang happen to recreate the universe.
After lots of discussion, he lifts off in the Pandorica into the TARDIS, and is starting to be wiped from existence. The Doctor then travels through to the past several times and finishes with meeting young Amy and tucking her in bed. The Doctor now enters the quickly closing crack and is popped from existence. The scene now shifts to Amy and Rory's wedding, where suddenly, several things assist her memory of the Doctor. She now quite amazingly imagines him back into existence. Not sure how this really happens but we're certain fans liked it anyways.
The episode ends with Amy and Rory joining the Doctor in the TARDIS, there is a call from the Queen and then they prepare to investigate an issue with a Sphinx (?) on the Orient Express in Space.
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Things are really starting to heat up with 'The Pandorica Opens' début just right around the corner on BBC One and BBC HD. Make certain you have your priorities in order this Saturday evening.
Righto - onto the title of today's post . . .
We have some additional tidbits as to what to expect during the next show from a recent (Wednesday 16th June) screening of 'The Pandorica Opens' at The British Academy of Film and Television Arts. BAFTA hosted this special preview screening of the episode yesterday which was followed by a question and answer session with members of the cast and crew including Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.
Matt Smith has suggested that The Doctor may wear a new outfit when Doctor Who returns next year. Matt also made these comments after the press screening, when he was asked who came up with the jacket-and-bow-tie combination he has sported in the past series.
Next up . . .
Some teasers from Digital Spy from the screening -
1. Hello sweetie writ large. Literally.
2. "This is royal collection and I'm the ****** *****!
3. Cleopatra's comin' atcha!
4. Drahvins, Zygons, Draconians, oh my!
5. A nifty new Cyber-feature is revealed.
6. An unlikely alliance is formed.
7. The Pandorica opens. And closes.
8. We finally find out where those pesky cracks are coming from.
9. Death. A whole lot more death than you probably anticipated.
10. But don't despair, the last word of the episode is "love".
While we are on teasers, we might as well have some from SFX :
1. Steven Moffat’s on top form with a brilliantly crafted episode – the perfect start to a two-parter.
2. The Doctor and Amy visit the oldest planet in the universe, where the first words in history have a familiar ring to them.
3. The stakes are every bit as high as in an RTD season finale.
4. Characters from earlier in the series make surprise appearances before the opening titles – and we’re not just talking about the series recap.
5. There’s something funny going on at Stonehenge.
6. If you thought “The Lodger” looked like a money-saving episode, you soon realise where all that spare cash went.
7. There’s a scene in a bar rather reminiscent of the Star Wars cantina.
8. There’s an armada of alien spacecraft.
9. The Doctor gets to deliver one of his “Get out of here!” speeches.
10. There’s a brilliant scare involving a human skull.
11. You could market an entire range of action figures on the back of this episode alone.
12. Amy’s engagement ring is crucial.
13. It’ll make you want to go back and watch the whole series again.
14. Someone other than the Doctor pilots the TARDIS.
15. The Doctor and Amy face a foe reminiscent of fembots.
16. There’s a fantastic nod to The Thing.
17. The Pandorica does indeed open.
18. It also closes.
19. The episode ends in a cliffhanger so devilish that it seems utterly inescapable. It’s going to be a very, very long week.
20. 26 June 2010 is a very important date indeed – and not just because it’s the day of the series finale.
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Hello my pickles,
We have from Popping Vicodin, some very interesting images from the upcoming Doctor Who season finale. These images are from episode 12 (The Pandorica Opens) and episode 13 (The Big Bang). If you do NOT want to see these Doctor Who Spoilers, we suggest that you pull the chute now.
What will happen ?
(from a variety of sources such as TV Times, Radio Times, What's On TV, etc.)
The Doctor takes Amy to the very first planet in existence where they find a message from River Song.
The couple find River Song is dressed as Cleopatra.
A painting by Van Gogh, found in Winston Churchill's bunker, reveals something about The Doctor's fate, a "desperate message." It has been passed along by Churchill through River Song and Liz Ten - who all return in the finale.
Dark forces gather at "under Henge"; returning monsters include: Daleks (the new kind), Cybermen, Sycorax, a Blowfish (originally from Torchwood), Weevils (originally from Torchwood), Autons, a Hoix, Sontarans, Judoon, a Kudlak (originally from The Sarah Jane Adventures) and Silurians (new series).
Lets go . . .
That's some crowded real estate above Stonehenge - looks like an inter-galactic party and every one of the Doctor's nemesis has come.
Who exactly is invited ? Looks like the Silurians and the Weevils (from our other fav show, Torchwood). Oh right - might as well have the Romans come too.
Speaking of Romans, we see here that Rory (who we thought took a dirt nap after being hit by a Silurian weapon in 'Cold Blood' has made a miraculous recovery and has acquired some spiffy wardrobe.
Also - a blast from the recent past - the Sycorax ! These critters were last seen during the Christmas Invasion special.
And who could not invite the Daleks, now available in red, white and Kill Bill jumpsuit.
And finally, it looks like Amy Pond (the child version) is rather enthralled by the Pandorica thingy.
Looks like this season finale is heating up to be epic . . . don't blink, don't miss it.
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The Lodger, 5x11
Synopsis
There's a house on Aickman road, and a staircase that people go up, but never down, as the time-travelling drama continues.
To solve the mystery of the man upstairs, the Doctor faces his greatest challenge yet – he must pass himself off as a perfectly normal human being, and share a flat with Craig Owens.
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Mini-Plot
The Doctor lands the TARDIS in present-day Colchester but before Amy can emerge, the TARDIS dematerializes due to the Doctor forgetting to lock the time settings; this causes the TARDIS to abort the landing and continually re-try but fails to do so as some unknown interference is causing issues.
Left temporarily stranded in Colchester while he determines the source of the interference, the Doctor needs somewhere to stay. The Doctor decides to crash at Craig's main-floor flat (played by James Corden), where he proceeds to be a less-than-welcome houseguest.
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Vidcaps
Clearly what we can see here is a very clever reference to the 'Vincent and the Doctor' episode.
Hello - I forgot to put the parking break on my TADIS and it's rolled away somewhere (erm - I mean sometime). Anyways, can I crash at your pad and spy on your neighbour upstairs ?
Odd things are afoot upstairs - apparently it might be like an apartment full of sticky flypaper except for humans - they go up and never come down.
The Doctor is rather brilliant at whatever he tries his hand at, much to the envy of his flat-mate Craig who is really starting to dislike the Doctor.
Have you ever done this ? Taken a sip of a lovely rosé only to have to spit it back into your wine glass on account that it was so absolutely horrid. Here the Doctor shows his contempt for Tesco Brand wine while he entertains his flat-mate and his (almost) girl-friend.
After too much wine Craig is bedridden for the day - actually he just touched the radio-active indoor mould which seems to have originated upstairs.
Apparently, the Land Lord has not been charging appropriately for the lovely space-age flat upstairs.
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For those in the UK (or slithering on-line), you watched another great episode (The Lodger - 5x11) but were also treated to the 'Next Time' preview at show's end . . . let's have a look.
(if you don't want to read Doctor Who spoilers, we suggest heading somewhere else now)
“The Universe is Cracked” says the voice over for the ‘Next Time’ trailer for Doctor Who as two-part finale is right around the corner. We will be able to finally discover about those mysterious cracks in time, which have haunted the Doctor and Amy since The Eleventh Hour.
We will also learn just what the Pandorica is, mentioned by River Song amongst others, and we think it will not likely be very nice for the Doctor. The trailer for the next episode does look great and we are certainly filled with anticipation. Here's the vid . . .
A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years, communicating a disturbing prophecy to the Doctor, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years. In 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge conceals the Pandorica, a prison-box of legend. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens above. The fates are drawing close around the TARDIS – is this the day the Doctor falls? But there is just one certainty: Silence will fall...
Stay tuned Whovians.
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Season 5, Episode 8 - The Hungry Earth
Written by: Chris Chibnall
Directed by: Ashley Way
Original Air Date: June 12, 2010
SYNOPSIS
2015: the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper below the Earth's crust than man has ever gone - but now the ground itself is fighting back. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village and find themselves battling a deadly danger from a bygone age. Meera Syal, Stephen Moore, and Neve McIntosh guest stars.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory have landed in the near future in a small Welsh village. It's beautiful, but danger is just beneath the surface (rather literally) ... the Silurians are back! The Silurians (Homo reptilia) were Earth's first intelligent inhabitants, cold-blood reptilians with a lifespan of over three centuries who developed a civilisation at least 300 million years before human beings evolved.
The Silurians last appeared in the Doctor Who episode, “Warriors of the Deep” and their motives do not appear to have changed very much since their debut story “Doctor Who and The Silurians” from 1970. They apparently are the original inhabitants of Earth and resent the ape like humans for invading their planet, and now they would like it back, thank-you very much.
Anywhoos - The story is set in a small mining village in Wales where a drilling team led by Dr Nasreen Chaudray and Tony Mack have drilled further into the Earth than anyone else in history. However in doing so they have disturbed the ancient race of The Silurians. These reptile-like creatures themselves happen to be drilling themselves as wll but upwards towards the surface. In this enterprise, they kidnap some of the local villagers, as well as the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond. When these good folk are taken, it appears as if the earth is devouring them, hence the episode name 'Hungry Earth' (rather clever that was).
What happens next - The village is then trapped in a force field and plunged into darkness where the Silurians begin to attack, however during the course of this the Doctor and Rory are able to kidnap a Silurian in return for Amy. This then allows the Doctor to try and broker a peace, and when that fails with the hostage Silurian he decides to go and visit the rest of the species under the Earth; however there appear to be more of them than he bargained for.
The BBC's Doctor Who page has a lorry-load of rather entertaining extras - you may wish to print off a Silurian Mask and send your knee-biters off to school with it on - check out this LINK.
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Things are wrapping up to quite a big bang with the finale almost in sight for Series 5 of Doctor Who. In fact, the 13th episode is called 'The Big Bang'. This being part two and final episode of the season and the previous 12th episode properly named The Pandorica Opens (no surprises really with the name).
Back in February it was reported that the season's finale would feature a whole host of the Doctor’s deadliest enemies. Well, it looks like Whovians will not be disappointed.
The embargoed publicity photos for the episodes confirm the monster line-up as; Cybus Cybermen with Cyberleader; Black-robed pilot fish; the new Daleks (red, white, and yellow flavours); Sycorax; Silurians; Judoon; the Hoix; Torchwood’s Weevils and Blowfish; and an Uvodni from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Not pictured but also apparently appearing are the Sontarans and Autons.
Let's have us a closer look . .
The Pandorica Opens will be the twelfth episode, and first in a dramatic two-part story of Series 5 and is written by Steven Moffat.
Synopsis
A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years, communicating a disturbing prophecy to the Doctor, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years. In 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge conceals the Pandorica, a prison-box of legend. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens above. The fates are drawing close around the TARDIS – is this the day the Doctor falls? But there is just one certainty: Silence will fall...
“There was a Goblin. Or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. Nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it – one day it would just drop out of sky and tear down your world.”
The Big Bang is the thirteenth episode, and second in a dramatic two-part story of Series 5.
Synopsis
The cracks are meeting, and silence has fallen. The Doctor and friends face the ultimate challenge as secrets are revealed and the true power emerges. Whilst the Doctor discovers a message, Amy faces a great terror. Is this the day the Doctor falls?
~Some rumours about the origin . . .
Pandora was an ancient female Time Lord that existed early in Gallifreyan history and was the first female President of her people.
According to legend, she sought to overthrow the traditions of Rassilon, to lead Gallifrey to war and attempted to use the power of time travel to reshape the Web of Time to suit her own design. She was also known to have taken an offworld bodyguard who killed all those that opposed Pandora's will. To this end she declared herself Imperiatrix. In time, however, the High Council managed to convince the bodyguard to betray her master on the condition that the Time Lords would help improve her people's livelihood. However, once Pandora was betrayed, the High Council took the bodyguard back to her planet where she was placed in an eternal 6.8 second time loop from which there was no escape.
The captured Pandora was dispersed and executed in such a thorough manner in that she never existed in the first place. This was why she existed only in legends and not in history. The dispersal chamber itself was located in the old Capitol where it was destroyed in Gallifrey's civil war. The new Capitol was built over the ruins which became the Vaults. The legends said that Pandora's dying screams still could be heard in the Vaults where she eternally cries out for vengeance.
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Season 5, Episode 7 - Amy's Choice
Written by: Simon Nye
Directed by: Catherine Morshead
Original Air Date: June 5, 2010
SYNOPSIS
It's been five years since Amy Pond traveled with the Doctor, and when he lands in her garden again, on the eve of the birth of her first child, she finds herself facing a heartbreaking choice - one that will change her life forever. Toby Jones guest stars.
Simon Nye has described his upcoming Doctor Who episode as a “scary romp”.
The Men Behaving Badly creator penned the script for this week’s ‘Amy’s Choice’ and told DS that the episode was influenced by his own dreams.
When asked if the episode’s themes might be too complex for the show’s audience, Nye quipped: “I’m a very mainstream, dumbing-down kind of writer and I wouldn’t inflict anything too intellectual on the audience!
“It’s a mixture. There are monsters in this episode, there are creepy old people. There are chases. There’s a world which is freezing. I think the thrust of the episode is quite visual and quite accessible.”
He added: “But Doctor Who‘s just great at being very teasing about interesting concepts – in this case the subconscious, alter-ego, a little bit about ageing, the answer to fear and nightmares about old age and things – but at its heart it’s a scary romp.”
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Twelve Teasers from SFX !
1 It’s a very clever (cleverer than you might think at first) and unusual script, slightly let down by some pedestrian direction that doesn’t always achieve quite the right tone for what could be a much darker, creepier tale…
2 The Doctor wears the kind of jumper you hope your nan won’t buy you for Christmas
3 There are no plot holes
4 There’s an interesting use of a hover mower
5 You’re probably tired of hearing this every week, but it’s Matt Smith’s best performance yet. He really seems to thrive in quirky episodes
6 You get a good chance to study the new TARDIS set
7 There‘s a great “we’ve second guessed you” moment with the Doctor waving his hand
8 There may be complaints that it encourages spitting
9 Amy’s second false alarm amusingly sends up the Doctor’s arrogance
10 Once again it’s packed with quotable one-liners, especially the sentence that begins, “If we’re going to die, let’s die looking like…” (which could also spark a whole new trend in cosplaying)
11 The Doctor opens a black box that has some information written on it which will have fans hitting the freeze frame
12 Toby Jones has about a zillion costume changes (and he’s great)
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Season 5, Episode 6 - The Vampires of Venice
Written by: Toby Whithouse
Directed by: Jonny Campbell
Original Air Date: May 22, 2010
Dessicated corpses, terror in the canal and a visit to the sinister House of Calvierri – the Doctor takes Amy and Rory for a romantic mini-break, as the Tardis touches down once again. But 17th-century Venice is not as it should be. The city has been sealed to protect it from the Plague, although Rosanna Calvierri may have other plans...
The city is protected by the House of Calvierri and bodies are being found with all their fluid drained out of them. There's something odd in the Canal, and the beautiful Calvierri gals cannot be seen in mirrors . . . . so Vampires and Venice - just a great mix not matter which way you slice it.
The Doctor seems to be back to his gleeful self after a dark two-parter featuring the dreaded Weeping Angels, though his opponents this time around still have pointy teeth. This time, they're vampires; not the vampires you see in Twilight and The Vampire Diaries; those are watered-down versions of these creatures, who resemble creepy young girls and appear to have some sort of hive mind going on. And when they don't like someone, they hiss and bare their strange teeth, which are strangely aligned… and presumably razor sharp. Thankfully, the Doctor's roguish charm and their slow movement allows him to state, but not before telling them how interested he is in what exactly they're doing in Venice.
Of course, that's after he stops to admire himself in a mirror and tell himself what a handsome fellow he found himself. Of course, that led into the revelation that the vampires couldn't be seen in mirrors, but the little inclusion of his vanity was quite a nice touch. After all, the Doctor does find himself good-looking — remember when he made Sky Sylvestry tell him that in "Midnight"?
"Vampires in Venice" will air this Saturday, May 22, on BBC America / Space Chanel.
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"The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall"
If you had studied any 
Greek mythology, one would immediately link this interesting Doctor Who season 5 sub-theme, 'Pandorica' with Pandora of legend. In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth, created and endowed by many of the gods (Pandora means 'all-gifted'. Long story short, Pandora had a jar which she was instructed not to open under any condition. Impelled by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the jar, and all evil contained escaped and spread over the earth. The Pandorica or crack we have seen to date in this season's episodes also have something rather ominous about it.
The Eleventh Doctor first meets his new companion Amy Pond in "The Eleventh Hour", when she is seven years old. She complains about a crack in her wall, which the Doctor realises is actually a crack in the "skin of the universe". During its recapture by the Atraxi (big-eyed things they are), after escaping from one of their prisons through the crack, Prisoner Zero warns the Doctor after he had suggested Prisoner Zero open another crack to escape. Prisoner Zero replies the cracks were not its doing, but cracks in the skin of the universe, and taunted the Doctor over his lack of knowledge before warning "The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall".
Further cracks, unseen by the Doctor or Amy, appear in the monitor on the TARDIS at the end of "The Eleventh Hour", on the hull of Starship UK in "The Beast Below" and a wall in the Cabinet War Rooms in "Victory of the Daleks". In "Flesh and Stone", a crack appears inside the control room of the starship Byzantium, and both the Doctor and Amy recognize its shape as that of the one on Amy's wall; Amy worries that the crack is following her in time and space. In "The Vampires of Venice", the alien cites the cracks as a reason for fleeing her home planet, as well as the means to do so. She also warns the Doctor "Through some of them we saw silence"
So what exactly is this crack, now named Pandorica ?
The answer had not been fully explained, but it appears we are additional clues with each new episode. This is certainly the epic stuff that this season's finale is likely to be constructed of. To date, there appears to be only one singular crack, which can appear anywhere in time and space. We also know that when the crack widens, it releases "pure time energy", which can remove individuals and events from history. We also know from from the "Flesh and Stone" episode that there may exist a possibility of closing it by "feeding" it a complicated space-time event (like a Time Lord, or an army of Weeping Angels - which by the way was great !).
Chime in on your local fav forum or drop a comment here as to your speculation.
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