10 years ago I watched The Eleventh Hour. I was 8 years old, and had never watched Doctor Who before, nor did I know what it was, but my parents said I'd like it. It scared the living shit out of me - I couldn't get to sleep for hours that night, but I came back next week, and the same thing happened! By Victory of the Daleks I had it under control, and I've since gone back to The Beast Below many times, but The Eleventh Hour really had a lasting effect on me. I got my parents to scribble images of Prisoner Zero out of Who books I got, and I never rewatched the episode. Even a week ago, if I saw a picture of him, I would click away immediately, and feel this weird feeling of fear. It really fucked me up lol! But I knew longgg before this #FishCustard rewatch was planned that the 10 year anniversary was coming up and I was gonna watch it. And I did!!

Background over, this episode was fucking amazing. It really annoys me that this was the one that traumatised me lol, partly because as soon as Prisoner Zero came on-screen it didn't bother me, and partly because it's so damn good. There was this feeling of dread building up to his appearance (it's quite scarily done!) but he looks so much more gangly and silly on video than in pictures haha. Anyway, I thought it was amazingly written. Steven Moffat manages to cram so much into an hour, and the pacing is fabulous. It constantly feels like we're being thrust forward, that time is running out, that The Doctor is having to do 101 things at once. While all this is going on, we get so much. We get brilliant character moments from Amy and the Doctor, I especially love the little moment where he asks her to trust him, while she's got him stuck to the car. It's this tiny beat in the script where everything stops, and it's a really lovely moment. Similarly, it's so much fun. The Doctor blazing around in a fire engine, or the constant quips darting left write and centre ("get a girlfriend Jeff") make it effortlessly entertaining. And we're introduced to everything - we get our big Doctor moment with him calling back the Atraxi, we get our new TARDIS, costume and screwdriver, a new companion, etc. Amy is a really wonderful character - we know the Doctor has taken her on because of the crack in her wall, which is a lovely detail, and her reaction in the TARDIS at the end, and the fact it starts with kid Amelia, gives the whole episode a very fairytale feel.

The direction is something special too. Adam Smith - it's a real shame he never came back (his career kind of faded it seems, which is sad). Every shot gives so much. The episode looks beautiful, with its intensely blue cinematography. The scenes with Amelia have that fairytale feel, especially with the smoke pouring out of the TARDIS. The direction is also bringing a lot in terms of pace to the episode - it's edited quite swiftly, and with lots of moving shots (the little Sherlock moment when Rory is taking a picture of PZ with dog is especially cool), and the scene on the roof with the Atraxi is just the most badass shit, a lot of which is down to how it's shot. Murray Gold is on top form as well, introducing a lot of recurring themes. The action music is pulsing and exciting, and Amy's music is all beautiful and fairytale like. I love that so much too! And finally, Matt Smith, god he's good! He's so instantly the Doctor - he sells every element of the character, he's got the perfect mix of seeming crazy while also seeming like someone who knows what they're doing. It's just wonderful to watch him do his stuff.

So yeah, I'm glad I got over this one, cause it's just so darn good. I'm looking forward to watching it again in future. The only real issue with the episode now I watch it is the slightly dodgy SFX lol, which really doesn't bother me too much. It's super strong, and the best first ep for a Doctor by farrrr.