During the first half of this 7th Series of Doctor Who, it seemed like the Doctor’s biggest battle would be against the Silence — Weeping Angels-level creepy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s The Gentlemen-esque villains who need to kill the Doctor (Matt Smith), lest he reveal his terrible secret: Doctor Who? A secret so dangerous, it would cause utter silence to fall. But now, after the tragic death of the Ponds and the introduction of Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman), the gears seem to have shifted. If the new trailer below is any indicator, the latter part of this series, which will debut on Saturday, March 30, will focus on the following question: who and what is Clara Oswald, “The Impossible Girl?” (Not to be confused with Amy Pond, “The Girl Who Waited.” Why didn’t Rose Tyler ever get a cool title?)
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Though the action-packed teaser shows plenty of exciting adventures to come (hello, Cybermen!), the main gist is that Clara has the Doctor severely rattled. So rattled, in fact, that she may even rival Rose Tyler in the affect she has on the Time Lord. (Don’t crucify me! Rose Tyler forever!) So, who is this mysterious woman, and why is she Doctor Who’s version of South Park‘s Kenny? We have absoutely no idea, but we sure are excited to find out. Check out the posters for the upcoming episodes below, with spoiler-ish details included:
Episode 6: “The Bells of St. John”
From BBC: “The Doctor’s search for Clara Oswald brings him to modern day London, where humanity lives in a wi-fi soup. But something dangerous is lurking in the signals, picking off minds and imprisoning them. As Clara becomes the target of this insidious menace, the Doctor races to save her and the world from an ancient enemy.”
From Me: Modern-Day London episodes have never been my favorite, and this “picking off minds” with technology angle sounds a lot like the first reboot appearance of Cybermen, the two-parter “Rise of the Cybermen”/”The Age of Steel” from Series 2. (The last time I found them to be truly frightening, if we’re being honest.) Still, I have high hopes for Clara’s first appearance — and if it is our favorite Cyberboys, let’s hope for a serious revamp to up their scary ante.
Episode 7: “The Rings of Akhaten”
From BBC: “Clara wants to see something awesome, so the Doctor whisks her off to the inhabited rings of the planet Akhaten, where the Festival of Offerings is in full swing. Clara meets the young Queen of Years as the pilgrims and natives ready for the ceremony. But something is stirring in the pyramid, and a sacrifice will be demanded.”
From Me: The awesome Indiana Jones feel of this poster — plus the creepy villains — has me very amped for episode 7. Also, there’s a child Queen, and everyone knows that children are terrifying.
Episode 8: “Cold War”
From BBC: “The Doctor and Clara land on a damaged Russian Submarine in 1983 as it spirals out of control into the ocean depths. An alien creature is loose on board, having escaped from a block of Arctic ice. With tempers flaring and a cargo of nuclear weapons on board, it’s not just the crew but the whole of humanity at stake!”
From Me: Admittedly, I much prefer trips to other planets and the distant future to history-based episodes, but the claustrophobic setting and alien invasion angle sounds cool, kind of like bow ties.
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Episode 9: “Hide”
From BBC: “Clara and the Doctor arrive at Caliburn House, a haunted mansion sat alone on a desolate moor. Within its walls, a ghost hunting Professor and a gifted psychic are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition appears throughout the history of the building, but is she really a ghost? And what is chasing her?”
From Me: This is my favorite of the bunch. That ghost reaching out looks like a force to be reckoned with, and the “hide” title alone is creepy. WHY must they hide? What are the secrets of this haunted mansion? For some reason, the setting has me hopeful that this might have a “The God Complex” feel to it — one of my favorite episodes of the series due to the creepiness factor.
So, what do you think of the trailer/upcoming episode synopses? Which episode looks the best to you? Are you psyched for more Clara, or are you missing the mighty Ponds? Shout out in the comments, and be sure to check back weekly for Hollywood.com’s Doctor Who recaps!
Follow Shaunna on Twitter @HWShaunna
[PHOTO CREDIT: BBC America(4)]
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