by Kenneth Andrews

Created on: April 06, 2010   Last Updated: February 18, 2011

Easter 2010 saw a miraculous resurrection, as Matt Smith starred in his first full episode of Doctor Who. Given just enough time in David Tennant's bloated swansong to complain about not being ginger, Matt Smith must have known it was crunch time for Doctor Who. With a new Doctor, new showrunner (Steven Moffat replacing Russell T Davies), new titles, new props and even a new TARDIS, this could have been the moment at which the general public tired of the BBC's 47 year old science-fiction epic, regardless of Smith's performance. With over 8 million viewers according to early estimates, this does not seem to have been the case.

With so many new elements to introduce in the course of the episode, Moffat chose to play safe with his opening story, opting for the time-honoured trope of the hunt for a shape-shifting alien. You can't really go wrong with shape-shifting aliens, but Moffat put his own twist on the procedings with the emphasis on perception filters. Blink and Silence in the Library showed that he is a writer interested in exploring childhood's primal fears, and The Eleventh Hour's terror is the thing moving in the corner of your eye that you really do not want to look at.

Not just the story was familiar territory to the eight million viewers. To help you get used to a new Doctor, familiar faces like Annette Crosbie, Patrick Moore, Sophie from Peep Show, and a former star of Goodness Gracious Me (and now Eastenders) all wandered through the action, grounding it firmly in BBCland.

Although in the hands of a lesser team the episode might have ended up being hackneyed, The Eleventh Hour was constantly exciting drama, with the Doctor saving the Earth in twenty minutes with none of his usual props in place (TARDIS, psychic paper, sonic screwdriver). The pace of the show was amazing, considering that it still found time for great character moments surrounding new companion Amy Pond.

Other great moments between the action sequences included the Doctor's first meeting with the young Amelia - a Tigger pastiche sequence where a brand new Doctor tries out different kinds of food to satisfy his cravings before settling for fish fingers dipped in custard. Jaded viewers will look at it as the 2010 equivalent of Time and the Rani's 'costume scene', but you can't please everyone. Smith had great chemistry with the young Amy Pond and his performance in this sequence was delightful.

Matt Smith's 11th Doctor reveals himself fully for the first time in this episode,

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