A Good Man Goes to War

Good men don’t need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many.

The Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor assembles an alien army to fight the Battle of Demons Run, and we finally discover who River Song really is…

Review

A Good Man Goes to War wraps up part of the mystery around River Song and is perhaps the culmination of finales getting bigger and bigger. It does effectively wrap up some of the plot lines from the first half of Series 6, whilst leaving some plot threads dangling for the second half.

A Good Man Goes to War sees Steven Moffat develop the idea of the Doctor becoming a figure of legend and attempt to show that he is capable of making mistakes and deeply flawed. It’s almost an attempt to counter the fact that series finales under Russell T Davies and even The Pandorica Opens that they had to keep getting bigger and bigger. As the Doctor triumphs, his reputation increases and Moffat then cuts him back to size here. The schemes of the Silence can be seen to be an extension of the Pandorica Alliance at the end of the last series. The Doctor turns up to Demons Run, having cashed in various favours he is owed, with an army of Judoon and Silurians, along with Vastra, Jenny, Strax and Dorium. Despite initially being shown to win, and the musical score sweeping and soaring away to reflect the same, this turns out to be a defeat. Frances Barber’s Madame Kovarian manages to best the Doctor, tricking him by using a Flesh duplicate of Melody in order to escape with the infant, who is a weapon in the ongoing war against our hero. I’m not entirely sure I buy the fact that this is the Doctor’s greatest fall though, given that presumably, events like his exile to Earth and forced regeneration by the Time Lords at the end of The War Games could be seen to be a bigger defeat for him.

Hello, Melody Pond.

Melody Williams.

…is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero.

The Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams and Amy Pond

This story gives us some answers to who River Song is by revealing her parentage: she is, of course Amy and Rory’s daughter. I will admit that I did not pick up on the immediate reveal in the cold open when this story was first broadcast, but instead, finally cottoned on when Rory goes to Stormcage to try and get River to join the Doctor’s forces. There is something in Kingston’s performance as River in this scene that clued me in, and the way she speaks to Rory initially that made me realise that there was something more here, as there is a feeling that River knows that this is the last time she will see Rory without her realising who she is. Equally, it is almost childlike, a daughter speaking to her father.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the introduction of three characters in this story who will recur going forward and now have their own spin-off; namely Vastra, Strax and Jenny. This trio have such easy chemistry from their first appearance, but the absolute standout is the disgraced Sontaran nurse Strax. From reassuring a child that he looks forward to meeting him in future on the battlefield, to boasting about the magnificent quantities of milk he can produce for Melody, Dan Starkey is a complete hoot.

Whilst we’re on the subject of Rory, this is a really strong story for him and Arthur Darvill really steps up to the mark. The opening sequence, in which Amy talks to baby Melody about her father is set up to make the audience believe she is talking about the Doctor, whilst in fact speaking about her husband. Rory leans into his Lone Centurion persona here, fighting amongst the Doctor’s allies. It is only when Strax is dying and points out that he is not a warrior, but a nurse that Rory really realises how far he has come. Amy has less to do in this story, but Karen Gillan does a good job with what material she has. Amy is a mirror to the character of Lorna Bucket; both Amy and Lorna met the Doctor as children, but the Doctor came back for Amy, whilst he doesn’t even remember meeting Lorna in the Gamma Forests.

The Doctor manages to make his presence felt despite the fact that he doesn’t appear for 19 minutes, outside of his silhouette when the TARDIS appears to Dorium. I think that the TARDIS really cleverly substitutes for the Doctor, which almost mitigates his absence, and is cleverly done by Moffat and director Peter Hoar. Throughout these early 19 minutes, we hear about how the Doctor is a figure who should be feared, and then from that point onwards we are shown why his enemies are fearful. It’s a really well-executed way of doing this, even if I don’t feel like we needed the Fat One and the Thin One to do this. The idea that Moffat presents in this episode that the word ‘Doctor’ comes from the Doctor is an interesting one, and this is made more so when the story reveals that Doctor means different things on different planets, depending on how his actions are interpreted.

I am trying to be delicate. I know how you can blush. When did this baby begin?

Oh, you mean…

Quite.

Well, how would I know? That’s all human-y, private stuff. It just sort of goes on. They don’t put up a balloon, or anything.

But could the child have begun on the Tardis in flight, in the vortex?

No! No! Impossible! It’s all running about, sexy fish vampires and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn’t even there at the beginning. Then he was dead, then he didn’t exist, then he was plastic. Then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically the first time they were on the Tardis together in this version of reality, was on their w…

On their what?

On their wedding night.

Madame Vastra and the Eleventh Doctor

When Smith does show up on stage, bizarre depiction of an airplane aside, he does truly shine. He gets to tackle an angrier side of his Doctor, only previously glimpsed briefly, when he orders Colonel Manton to withdraw his troops from Demons Run and confronts Madame Kovarian. That’s not to say that the Doctor is completely humourless in this story. He’s great when he’s talking to Vastra and Dorium about when the baby was conceived and both Smith and Kingston are superb when River’s identity is finally revealed.

Verdict: A Good Man Goes to War brings the first half of Series 6 to a strong close. 8/10

Cast: Matt Smith (The Doctor), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams), Alex Kingston (River Song), Frances Barber (Madame Kovarian), Charlie Baker (Fat One), Dan Johnston (Thin One), Christina Chong (Lorna Bucket), Joshua Hayes (Lucas), Damian Kell (Dominicus), Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Jenny), Richard Trinder (Captain Harcourt), Annabel Cleare (Eleanor), Henry Wood (Arthur), Dan Strax (Commander Strax), Simon Fisher-Becker (Dorium Maldovar), Danny Sapani (Colonel Manton), Hugh Bonneville (Henry Avery), Oscar Lloyd (Toby Avery) & Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Cybermen).

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: Peter Hoar

Producer: Marcus Wilson

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 4th June 2011

Behind the Scenes

• The story was originally called Demons Run. Other titles considered were His Darkest Hour and An Angel Goes to War.
• The TARDIS console room does not appear in this episode, and this is the first time that this has happened since Planet of the Dead.
• A Good Man Goes to War is the 777th episode of Doctor Who. This was only noticed after the story had been shot.
• Russell T Davies is credited as creating both the Judoon and the Ood. The Ood did not appear in this story, however, there was originally an appearance for Ood Sigma assisting the Doctor’s army. Malcolm Hulke gets credited for creating the Silurians, which did not happen for The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood and The Pandorica Opens.

Cast Notes

• Neve McIntosh has played female Silurians since the species’ reintroduction in The Hungry Earth. The role of Madam Vastra became a recurring one, earning appearances in The Snowmen, The Crimson Horror, The Name of the Doctor and Deep Breath, as well as in the Big Finish spin-off audio adventures.
• Dan Starkey has portrayed Sontarans since their reintroduction in The Sontaran Stratagem. He is probably best known for portraying Strax.
• Hugh Bonneville also appeared in the Big Finish audio play The Angel of Scutari, playing Tsar Nicholas I and Sir Sidney Herbert.

Best Moment

The Doctor’s eventual appearance in this story, disguised as a Headless Monk, kicks off a great sequence in this story.

Best Quote

Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw.

No. Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away.

You what?

Those words. “Run away.” I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you “Colonel Run Away.” I want children laughing outside your door because they’ve found the house of Colonel Run Away, and when people come to you and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love…is in any way a good idea… I want you to tell them your name. Oh, look, I’m angry. That’s new. I’m really not sure what’s going to happen now.

Commander Strax, Colonel Manton and the Eleventh Doctor

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