Some non-spoilery thoughts (since Matt Smith basically pinky-swore the audience not to spoil) on last night's screening of "Asylum of the Daleks" in New York...
First, American
Who fandom has turned into Beatlemania. It's something that Matt Smith himself remarked upon in the Q&A; he'd love it if
Doctor Who filmed in New York permanently because of the reaction that
Doctor Who gets over here.
Corollary to the first, in my completely unscientific opinion, I'm pretty sure that I was at least two standard deviations above the mean age of the audience.
Tangent to the first, I'm curious to see how BBC America will cut together the line footage they shot. Several times in the three hours before they began seating the theater, guys came down the line with cameras and mics to get footage of the crowd being rowdy. I wondered if Matt and Karen would arrive
before seating (so that there would be a genuine reaction from the line to their arrival) or after seating (so that any legitimate crowd reaction would be from people who didn't score tickets and simply showed up to gawk). BBC America went with the latter.
Second, when the grading poll opens, "Asylum" is getting a "Very Good." It's one of Moffat's best scripts in years (probably since "A Study in Pink," possibly since "The Girl in the Fireplace"), but it's not without its niggles. "Pond Life" will, undoubtedly, resolve a major issue (I didn't buy the place Amy and Rory were at in their lives in the way it was presented). But there's also a first act narrative thread that doesn't go anywhere, there's some business with (SPOILERS) that doesn't make any sense, and, frankly, I'm not entirely sure what the Daleks' problem was that they required the Doctor to solve it for them. That said, the episode was hugely enjoyable. It has some genuine surprises. It is a tearjerker (the waterworks spouted at, I think, three different moments). And, like a
Sherlock script, it pays to pay attention.
Third, as I said on Twitter last night, I think this episode can "break the Internet in half."
For some random things...
Karen thinks she and Matt should do the Scottish Play together. However, she actually called it by name, and Matt made her run off the stage, spin around, and run back to ward off the evil spirits.
Karen's dress was gorgeous.
The theater itself was awesome, except for the traffic flow. To get from the lobby to the theater you can to walk through the souvenir line, the concession lines, and the line to the women's restroom.
You're in for a treat next week.
