We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
What Did You Think of The Rings of Akhaten?
What Did You Think of The Rings of Akhaten?
Having found himself a new companion in the shape of Clara Oswald, the Doctor asks where she wants to go first – and her request for somewhere awesome takes the pair to the rings of the planet Akhaten, inhabited by all manner of amazing creatures.
Clara meets the young queen, who is about to take part in a ceremony called the Festival of Offerings – but what begins as a happy sing-song soon turns very grim. Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman star.
Now that the 2nd episode of series 7b has aired in the UK what did you think?, was it the best episode ever or just average.
outnumbered
April 7th, 2013 - 12:36pmrip off of star wars and i saw a human neck in the market scene
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 12:27pmWhy Didn’t the TARDIS translate for Clara?
iPhil
April 7th, 2013 - 7:16pmbecause it doesn’t like her
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 9:33amMaybe it knows she can’t exist or that and is asort of paradox!
Sebatron
April 7th, 2013 - 12:03pmIt was a bit strange with all the singing but I basically enjoyed it. I was actually worried that the Doctor would loss his memories.
clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias
April 7th, 2013 - 10:50amby clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias December 25th, 2012. I’m voting from the past becaese I am scretly the Doctor
TheMadManWithABox1
April 7th, 2013 - 10:47amThis episode was much better then I expected but still needed improvements still rated it fantastic though
clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias
April 7th, 2013 - 10:40amI have to say someone must have blown Steven Moffet’s brains out. Even that would be a better story than the the rings of akfetpan. See it even has such a silly name hardly anyone can slpell it.
clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias
April 7th, 2013 - 10:41amp.s the doctor’s glasses look really silly
Clocky
April 7th, 2013 - 9:30ambefore the titles I was actually quite excited about this episode. The Doctor was using the time machine to travel through Clara’s life with some accuracy (glad he’s learned to fly it now) and I thought, oohh!!! this is going to be a good one. How wrong I was, Rubbish!!!!!
The writing team have CLEARLY run out of ideas. COME ON MOFFETT, sort it out or leave. Blink was ages ago and nothing has equalled it since. Here’s hoping for a better show next week.
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 9:50amIt wasn’t Moffat who wrote it though, none of this series is by him unless TBOSJ and the final!
Clocky
April 7th, 2013 - 10:04amSteven Moffat is head writer so must ulitmately be responsible for the whole writing team.
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 3:02pmMoffat didn’t write it, so don’t blame him! Moffat is one of dr who’s best writers!
Nom
April 7th, 2013 - 6:32pmBorn in 64, watching since 67. Blink & Girl in the fire Place were superb stories. I and my DW friends like Matt as Doctor, and agree that Moffat has to go. I personally feel I can’t just sit back and enjoy it any more. Change is one thing, but Moffat’s gone too far!
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 7:39amI though Steven Moffat wrote Bells of St John?
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 9:43amHe wrote the bells of st john and the finale, but the rest are other writers, he didn’t write this story and there always has to be some episodes that are not as good as others.
I don’t see what everyone is going crazy about, it was meant to be a introduction to Clara and about her first adventure, if they are all almost killed on their first trip, a normal person may not continue travelling with him, as she has people she cares about at home
Also Dr who is meant to be just a tv show to entertain for 45 minutes, it’s grown to be so much more but at heart it’s still just a tv show and you can’t expect a perfect, movie style epic episode every week that everyone will love! And it did just that, entertain, if you moan about every episode, than don’t watch!
obeythewhispermen
April 7th, 2013 - 8:14amBecause of all the singing i thought it was a songs of praise special.
clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias
April 7th, 2013 - 10:47ammabe
The Supreme Dalek
April 7th, 2013 - 7:38amDid anyone think they heard one of the Vigils hissing Clara’s name? And couldn’t they just talk instead of hiss? We didn’t even get an alien that talked. But anyway, not complaining.
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 9:44amIt’s much more menacing and creepy hissing, I would have preferred them not to be guards of the mummy ad then they can return!
Mr Evil Fez
April 7th, 2013 - 7:15amI voted average. I didn’t really like it and the plot was boring. Although I did very much like the Doctor’s speech at the end.
bill
April 7th, 2013 - 6:53ammy favorite episode was “blink”,
though emilia jones was a treasure.
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 6:42pmEmilia jones is actually older than me and she’s eleven!
Geronimo2605
April 11th, 2013 - 8:55pmShe’s younger than me by just less than a year
Anonymous
April 13th, 2013 - 12:20amShe’s younger than me by 13 months.
yelloitsabanna
April 7th, 2013 - 6:24ami have a theory about clara the doctor leaves her in the fanale and picks her back up in the past befr he picks her up in bellsofsaintjohns and then he leaves her again and she joins starship alaska
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 3:00amI think of this episode what I think of Paradise Towers: a good idea, but a disappointing execution. It was still good, but it did disappoint at some places. I’m not sure if it deserves a 5/10 or a 6/10.
That Ice Warrior Over There
April 7th, 2013 - 6:52amThe lowest i ever rate a Doctor Who episode is 5/10.
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 2:19pmThen you must see something in stories such as Delta and the Bannerman, Fear Her, Curse of the Black Spot and Love and Monsters that I don’t.
Levi Maes
April 7th, 2013 - 2:09amI thought it was a great episode, love that the doctor mentioned his granddaughter. Hope to she her in the 50th anniversary episode
That Ice Warrior Over There
April 7th, 2013 - 1:14amVery good episode – 8/10
Cold War look good. Only saw a glimpse of the Ice Warriors arm which was dissapointing. Of course we’ve seen the full new look of the Ice Warriors but they’re probably saving the actual televised reveal for the episode so they don’t spoil the new episode.
tendernipples
April 7th, 2013 - 12:56amtotal letdown, very poor!
clom hates raxicoricofalipitorias
April 7th, 2013 - 10:22amI agree, how could a big giant alien, god eat a tiny leaf with apparently has an infinite future die from it. Silly!!!
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 2:20pmThe idea was that if the leaf hadn’t fallen from the leaf, or fell off at a different time, or never even existed in the first place, any number of things might have happened.
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 3:03pmClara wouldn’t be born, so she won’t have met the docotr and couldn’t have found where miss kizlet was in TBOSJ and the docotr couldn’t save the world! And that’s just one possibility!!!!
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 12:13pmYes, but by that logic, if anything, didn’t happen the way it did, the world wouldn’t be the way it was. If everything is cause and effect (and let’s just forget about quantum physics and progability waves for a moment) then everything that happens is a tiny, equal part of dictating what futures do or do not happen. There was nothing special about that leaf (or more special than anything else, anyway) except the symbolic meaning that Clara and her parents gave it, and that’s only to them.
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 12:14pm*probability waves. Terribly sorry.
BadgerCo
April 7th, 2013 - 12:30amThis episode was more about finding out little bits about Clara than the actual story, the only bits I liked were the opening and the ending, the story was terrible.
ForeverDalek2313
April 7th, 2013 - 12:00amIn my own personal opinion this episode was beautiful, I know there is a lot of singing. BUT, when listening to it it seemed to transmit something powerful. I had the chills when they sung near the end of the episode.
ForeverDalek2313
April 7th, 2013 - 12:13amAlso am I the only one who thinks that the Doctor mentioning his granddaughter is foreshadowing something.
That Ice Warrior Over There
April 7th, 2013 - 12:49amYes, lol.
MyLittleTripod
April 7th, 2013 - 12:46pmBit brief for an Episode Though,
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 2:21pmSounds possible, but it could be just a nice little reference for the 50th Anniversery.
Scottinblack
April 6th, 2013 - 11:42pmThe story was good, the occasional tugs on heart strings were great, the ending was extraordinary. In parts, monumental TV and one of the greatest episodes ever. I think sometimes that people forget that this is an early evening time slot – so how lucky are we to be gifted on such a regular basis this mesmeric combination of fun and drama! As for Matt Smith – awesome!
47
April 6th, 2013 - 11:19pmI quite enjoyed last weeks, it did have a ‘familiar’ feel to it, but I didn’t mind cos I liked it ! This weeks; again a familiar feel, and I applaud the idea of doing something very different with the singing being part of the story. It was filled with a bit too much pappy sentiment for my taste, however it was an ok episode and I didn’t mind it overall. Ta.
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 10:24pmIt reminded me of the beast below with the companions first trip to space, the little girl and the companion saving the day and exploring themself
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 10:00pmThis episode was ok it wasernt good but then again it wasernt bad. Lets just say I’ve seen better.
Plus the ice warriors are returning 😀
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 9:34pmthe rings of arkhaten was in my opinion the worst episode ever. the reason i think this is because there was no threat in the entire thing. the episode fetures singing and talking to a sun. honestly, i was like what the hell. it was boring and you can tell moffat and the team are really running out of ideas. some of the episodes with tennant were great but this was just shocking. the first one wasnt that bad but this, it was boring, nothing happened, not one person died or was put in any harm. i normally love doctor who and have watched it since 2005. i hope the other episodes arent as bad as this or i will actually kill the writers, producers, all of them. if theyre like this i will probably stop watching doctor who.
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 9:37pmI totally agree with you 🙂 @) why does everybody think this episode was amazing. maybe there was somthing in the WI-FI 🙂
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 9:55pm@doctorwho there was a threat. The threat was that once the god (the sun) had awoken, it would consume everything in existence unless it was fed something massive, just to keep it in control or put it to rest.
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 9:55pmp.s. do you even listen to the dialogue in the episodes?
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 10:01pmThis episode was boring all it was about was singing
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:03pmi agree
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:07pm@some bloke really? the sun was going to kill us all. im quivering in my boots. also i mean there was no direct threat. it wasnt believble. if the thing in the box (vampire mummy thing) had escaped and tried to kill them then that would have been a threat. the only threat in this was just talked about. Oh and there was also the threat of being bored to death by the long, tedious dialogue.
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:09pm@some bloke i didnt listen to the diologue becaues i was in an immediate threat of being bored to death.
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:10pmAnd I reserve that right for my geography teacher.
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 10:20pmwell I’m sorry doctorwho but thats what you get with a show like this, lengthy dialogue. Not only are the actors actions important but also there dialogue. At least it made an understandable story. Just one question to eveyone else reading, in ‘The Wdding of River Song’ the Doctor and River Song got married in an alternate dimension, where the Doctor didn’t die, but are/were they still then when everything went back to normal?
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 10:20pm*wedding
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:26pmhave they got rid of the “river song and doctor meet backwards thing” because they could remember they were married? probably more plot holes.
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 10:28pmi think that the doctor and river have gotten to a point where they are sort of in the middle of their meetings, and I don’t think they are married anymore, cus if the alternate universe never happened, then really they never got married, surely?
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:30pmthis is confusing.
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 10:31pmalso in angels take manhattan she calls him her husband so they are married but only the doctor should know because of reversing timelines
Some bloke
April 6th, 2013 - 10:38pmI’m not sure anymore 🙂
ForeverDalek2313
April 7th, 2013 - 12:07amDoctor Who is about changing direction, taking new routes and exploring new possibilities. But mostly it is about the imagination. Moffat is trying something new with this episode.
OODSIGMA
April 7th, 2013 - 8:46am@doctorwho you dont understand that it doesnt have to have lots of killing and action in to be great, it can have emotions in mainly. If you dont like that fact maybe your watching the wrong show…
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 2:24pm@doctorwho: The only thing you’ve said that I agree with is that it would’ve been better if the Vampire was the main threat. And honestly, if you can’t get over the fact Tennant left, why don’t you watch a show with him in it. Doctor Who isn’t all about Tennant, you know!
A really OLD fan
April 7th, 2013 - 4:30pmI have watched virtually every single episode of Dr Who since the first was broadcast in 1963, with William Hartnell. I really loved Tom Baker and Peter Davisons’ Doctors but think that Tennant was the best, however the dynamic between Matt and Jenna-Louise could make them the most enjoyable ever. This episode, although vey different in style was tremendous.
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 12:31pmWhile I can agree that this is among the worst episodes yet to be churned out, I don’t think that the lack of a big scary guy in a rubber suit was the deciding factor. For me, it was more the gaping plot holes that were the problem. Why not start with the fact that the Doctor has condemned all those people to die because without that planet/sun (that was a but unclear) they have nothing to orbit around, and therefore they will drift off into space without its gravitational pull and die of hypothermia when they get too far away from the nearest heat source?
Tommy
April 6th, 2013 - 8:53pmWas really good
Sugardoc 5
April 6th, 2013 - 8:29pmOne word sums this up
MONSTERIFIC !!!!!
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 10:14pmI don’t know if that is gd or bad :P….I LOVED this episode
the eternal doctor
April 6th, 2013 - 8:25pmone of my favourite episodes ever my top 10 are
1.angels take Manhattan
2.the rings of akhaten and end of time part 1&2
3.the fires of Pompeii
4.smith and jones
5.power of 3
6.the wedding of river song
7.a good man goes to war
8.midnight
9.rose
10.guieniss of the daleks
Anonymous
April 6th, 2013 - 9:22pmUnusual, but hey, everyone’s got their own opinion. Only thing I really dislike is the spelling of Genesis lol XD
doctorwho
April 6th, 2013 - 9:41pmand blink?
ForeverDalek2313
April 7th, 2013 - 12:08amMust agree with midnight, gives me the creeps every time.
the eternal doctor
April 7th, 2013 - 8:44amyes I love blink to in fact that joins with power of 3
HITCH66
April 6th, 2013 - 8:22pmI appear to be in the minority who thought last week was trash and that this week was good! Must be right then….
The Cyber Squirrel
April 6th, 2013 - 8:04pmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p017b9yf They’ve released another trailer for cold war. The ice warrior no longer have whispering voices!
Dalek The Supreme
April 7th, 2013 - 2:26pmThat voice… just creepy!
the astronaut of death
April 6th, 2013 - 7:54pmwhat did you think of this episode booboo
QWERTY
April 6th, 2013 - 7:51pmDid anyone think all the aliens walking around was like the market of mythical creatures in Hellboy 2?
McGann is teh Doctor
April 6th, 2013 - 11:04pmYeah ! I love that film, also the sound of the lasers in some scenes reminded me of Beast Wars transformers, and the last song (which was beautiful) sounded very similar to something from the 1985 film Dune, though which piece I can’t recall.