It's bigger on the inside. That is the constantly running gag whenever a new person steps into the big blue box. This episode was what every Doctor Who fan has wanted to see. This episode was set to explore the inside of the TARDIS.
A story that took place almost entirely inside of the legendary blue box. What a great idea for a story. But did it deliver? Answer: Sort of. The episode surely did take us on a ride and adventure through the TARDIS. But it did seem like there was a lot more that could have been done. The episode did not completely live up to the huge hype that surrounded it. But could it have really? Doctor Who fans are notorious for creating hype that can not be lived up to. This failed to reach the lofty goals set for it, but it still succeeded in making for an interesting story.
We got to see a lot of corridor shots, a la The Doctor's Wife. More than that, we got to see actually rooms of the TARDIS. We got a look into the library, a huge expanse filled with what I assume is every important work of literature. The library included a copy of "The History of the Time War" and a set of Encyclopedia Gallifreya. I enjoyed that the Encyclopedia wasn't written, but instead was filled with voices and was spoken when opened. We were also treated to the inside of the Eye of Harmony, the power source of the TARDIS, and to the engine room. Although the engine room was only seen in pieces, literal pieces floating around, keeping open the secrecy around the workings of the engine.
The support cast really did nothing in this story. They were basically just there to give a reason why the TARDIS was broken. Their acting was sub-par and could have done with less of them. Even Matt Smith's acting was below where it normally is, not a bad performance, but nothing too special. I did however enjoy Jenna-Louise Coleman's performance. She gave off a air of fear, anger, and worry that helped bring the viewer into the story.
The Doctor-Clara relationship was not totally forwarded in this episode. We didn't learn anything new or anything that we really needed for the story. We do learn however that Clara has no memory (or least none that she wishes to share with the Doctor) of her other selves (Oswin from Asylum of the Daleks and Clara from The Snowmen). We also get a confrontation between Clara and the Doctor near the end about her finding the Doctor's real name. The Doctor is very visibly shaken and angered by her finding out his name. This sets up intrigue for the Series 7 finale, The Name of the Doctor.
Some other quick notes: In the library, why was "The History of the Time War" written in English? It had to be since the TARDIS does not translate Gallifreyan. Or if it was written in Gallifreyan, then how could Clara read it? And why would the Doctor (who I assume wrote the book) put his real name in the book if he did not want it to be known. I don't quite understand the motivations behind the charred monsters. The explanation given was that they were the salvage crew, Clara, and the Doctor burned and melted by the Eye of Harmony. If this is the case, then why would they be attacking their past selves?
I am beginning to become very tired of the sonic screwdriver being able to do basically everything. It is becoming a magic wand (term coined by Tom from The Doctor Who Podcast). Instead of being a tool, it is now used to push the plot along and get the Doctor out of any situation. That needs to change.
I thought that this episode was very well directed. I loved the shots and the colors shown. It made up for the lackluster writing. The writing I felt was done by someone who had a sort of idea for what they wanted to do, but couldn't fully get it together or come up with a good enough conclusion.
The ending was a cop out, but did not detract from the enjoyment of the story. It is a good stand alone story used to show the inside of the TARDIS. For those that say they were not satisfied with what they showed of the TARDIS in the story, well too bad for those people. Those are the people that will not be happy with anything less than a 6 hour extravaganza. This showed enough to make the viewers happy while also keeping enough hidden to show at a later time. 8 out of 10.
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