April 6th, 2013
306 comments
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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.
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James marshall
April 10th, 2013 - 11:53pmI loved this the rings of akhaten I have now watched it 18 times its that good
Dalek The Supreme
April 12th, 2013 - 1:36pmI originally thought it was good concepts with a lackluster execution, but after a second viewing, I think it was much better than I originally thought
MekaGojira
April 10th, 2013 - 12:38pmDoctor Who != Harry Potter
They need to put more science back into this science fiction show.
jay abbs
April 10th, 2013 - 7:54pmhi my name is jay Abbs i love doctor who my best doctors are David tenant and Matt smith are the best. i think doctor who should be watched thanks for reading
Dalek The Supreme
April 12th, 2013 - 1:37pmUm, jay abbs, this is a Doctor fan site… EVERYONE here watches Doctor Who…
bow ties are cool xxx
April 12th, 2013 - 9:31pmhey,Meka Gojira,
im not being rude but doctor who is no were near like harry potter
hear r points on doctor who:
doctor who is about time travle and stuff about space
the doctor travles in a space-ship called THE TARDIS
here r points on harry potter:
harry potter is stuff about magic and ……..stuff
harry potter has nothing 2 do with time and space and harry potter hasnt got a space-ship to travle in
but i get wit u r saying but yeah read my points and when we think about it DOCTOR WHO AND HARRY POTTER R NOT THE SAME by the way im not being rude to u xxxooo 🙂
bow ties are cool xxx
April 12th, 2013 - 9:37pmand jay abbs i think the same lol xxx and yeah i loved david tennant (and still do)
and i love matt smith 2 he so funny x
Scott Mitchell
April 9th, 2013 - 6:22pmI thought the episode was good but some parts of it could have been better like the start of the episode was boring until the Doctor and Clara got to Akhaten Market and after that it was good. I would have to say the Bells of saint John was better than the Rings of Akhaten but I liked the Mummy and Vigils. Can’t wait for the Cold War with the Ice Warriors returning.
Katie
April 9th, 2013 - 5:03pmI loved the episode it is always good when he brings his new companion on to the scence and that Lullaby was sooo sweet i loved how he said ‘we never walk away’ and it is so true it’s the best i never also get tired of a impssiable thing like Clara she cant be so that is one of the best things as well
Stuart Morrison
April 9th, 2013 - 9:56amThe Rings of Akhaten…after initially being pretty impressed with the special effects and the Mos Eisley Cantina feel of the aliens, I started to feel a little bored waiting for something to happen, then the special effects took a hit on the scooter journey to the pyramid and it started to go downhill fast.
I was considering going to make a cup of tea, but then we had a hint of what was to come, the touching speech the Doctor gave to Mery was excellent, with Matt Smith apparantly channeling Brian Cox! I found a lump in my throat for the first time in a long time.
Really good performance from Matt Smith here, I don’t paticularly like him, but he was on top form in this episode.
But what an ending…….The ending was genius and really emotional. The sillouete of the Doctor standing in front of the “parasitic god” a perfect cue to the audience that things were about to get epic.
The fact that in his heart he knew he didn’t have “enough in the tank” to stop a creature of this power, he was out of ideas, but wouldn’t turn his back on those he had promised to protect. And then the speech, better than the speech in the pandorica opens, better than any speech that has come before possibly, delivered with real emotion by Matt. I think The Doctor has an idea at this point he dosent have enough but has made a decision to go out fighting.
A tweak of the bow tie……Come on then! again from the Pandorica opens a phrase the Doctor seems to use when he is aware that there is a very real possibility of death, and he always seems more aincient, more dangerous when his back is to the wall.
And then Clara showing her worth in the rescue! Despite only being in the tardis for 1 day she has enough courage to stand up to a god
I didn’t have an issue with the whole leaf stops giant floting sun thing to be honest.
For long time fans of the show like me the suspension of disbelief is something we had to do on a regular basis, when sets wobbled when aliens bumped into scenery…you pretend you dont see it, your here for the limitless possibilities, the performances.
In my mind the leaf represents the future that Clara was robbed of…a future that she has imagined over and over again, in her mind. Imprinting the leaf with a universe of infinite possibilities, that was enough to cause the god a bit of indigestion….
Felt a bit of an anticlimax after the ending, I would have preferred to see how the aliens reacted to the loss of their god instead of…Tardis goes home ending that we got. But hey I was blown away….anyone else feel the same as me? Because I’ve read a lot of negative reviews and my friends hated it lol.
I thought the refrences to Susan, the Mind Robber and Utopia were exactly what the 50th anniversery needs more of, more refrences to the shows past to reward long time fans of the show for their loyalty through the years.
To Sum up in my opinion epic moments like this define the show and the character. Clara is shaping up to be an excellent companion and next week the Ice Warriors return, bring on episode 3!
PedroPete
April 8th, 2013 - 9:11pmThe doctor was reading the beano! yay!
run you clever boy and remember
April 8th, 2013 - 7:09pmmy mates were dissapointed, but i fought that it was great. definatley (to me) one of the best episodes since 2005, the bells of saint john was great as well, as im expecting hide, journey to the centre of the tardis,the crismon horror, nighmare in silver and especcialy the finale. Clara is the best companion to me even though she has only been in 4 episodes so far. I loved the leaf scene at the beginning and the knew tardis
Joethewhovian
April 8th, 2013 - 6:49pmThought the singing in the gunfighters was better than this. I cringed all the way! How could 1 insignificant leaf stop a massive, sentient star? If the real enemy was a burning ball of gas, what was the point of the vigil and the mummy?
run you clever boy and remember
April 8th, 2013 - 7:10pmdid u actaully watch the episode
the astronaut of death
April 9th, 2013 - 2:44pmwell first of all the god had just took in all of the doctors memories and that would have made him very full because the doctor has 1 thousand years worth of memories . so the god only needed one more thing that would make him so full and go BOOOM! so Clara gave him the most important leaf in human history and the god took it then BOOM!
and the point of mummy was like an alarm clock it would wake the god up when needed
Anonymous
April 11th, 2013 - 10:38amHe wasn’t paying attention. It is not an insignificant leaf. The reason it stopped the real god (not the mummy) was because it is such a significant leaf.
PedroPete
April 8th, 2013 - 4:33pmMy top five BEST episodes (in order) since 2005:
1) The end of the World
2) Love and Monsters
3) The Bells of Saint John
4)The End of time
5) Amy’s Choice
My top five WORST episodes (in order) since 2005:
1) The impossible Planet / The Satan Pit
2) The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
3) The Rebel Flesh / The almost People
4) Blink (NOT SCARY AT ALL!!! – JUST STUPID)
5)Fear Her
What Do You Guys think?
Dalek The Supreme
April 8th, 2013 - 7:08pmMy best 5 since the show’s return:
1. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
2. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
3. Vincent and the Doctor
4. A Town Called Mercy
5. Dalek
My worst 5 since the show’s return:
5. The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End
4. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People
3. The Curse of the Black Spot
2. Fear Her
1. Love and Monsters
the astronaut of death
April 9th, 2013 - 2:45pmhow can you find blink not scary it has been voted the second best ep of all time
the eternal doctor
April 10th, 2013 - 10:37ammy 5 best episodes since it returned in 2005 are
.angels take Manhattan
.rings of akhaten & end of time part 1/2
.the fires of Pompeii
.smith and jones & blink
the power of 3
my worst 5 since 2005 are
there are no worst episodes for me
also I disagree with curse of the black spot and stolen earth and journeys end also rebel flesh and the almost people being on the bottom 5 the other two fear her and love and monster probably around 30-34
Geronimo2605
April 11th, 2013 - 8:39pmMy 5 best episodes since 2005 (not necessarily in order) are:
1. The empty child/The doctor dances
2. Blink (it is scary)
3. The power of three/the angels take Manhattan
4. The stolen earth/Journey’ s End
5. The parting of the ways
My 5 worst episodes since 2005 (again, not necessarily in order) are:
1. The doctor, the widow and the wardrobe
2. Fear her
3. The rebel flesh/the almost people
4. Planet of the dead
5. Gridlock
bow ties are cool xxx
April 12th, 2013 - 10:01pm(from 9th doctor-11th doctor
my top 5 good episodes (in that order)
1. the reble flesh/the almost people
2. end of time 1&2
3. partners in crime
4. the unicorn and the wasp
5. the stolen earth and journeys end
my top 5 not so good episodes (in that order)
1. rose
2. the library or silence in the library i think its called.
3. fear her
4. The doctor, the widow and the wardrobe
5. the empty child 1&2 xx 🙂
bow ties are cool xxx
April 12th, 2013 - 10:07pmyeah hi me again
take away the 3rd good episode in my list and replace it with the power of 3 xx
so u r taking away partners in crime and replacing it with the power of 3
Lizzy
April 8th, 2013 - 4:21pmI’m fairly disappointed so far…Everything seems to be getting sorted and over with very quickly…there’s no danger, no fear, no excitement. You think they are building up to something, then its all over and nothing actually happened…I love Matt Smith and think he is a really great Dr, definitely living up to those before him, however the story lines are just no that great…Please bring back the action! I miss hiding behind the sofa! :'(
PedroPete
April 8th, 2013 - 4:35pmwhich episodes did you hide behind the sofa?
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 6:58pmThe episodes feel rushed and over the top now.
the astronaut of death
April 8th, 2013 - 4:08pmguys have you heard the news Kate Stuart from the power of 3 is going to be in the 50th !
PedroPete
April 8th, 2013 - 4:39pmThanks for telling us!!!!!!!!! 🙂
bow ties are cool xxx
April 8th, 2013 - 2:49pmyeah not bad i loved the singing it was just so peace-ful and relaxing aswell
PedroPete
April 8th, 2013 - 4:39pmIt was! 🙂
THE ERGON
April 8th, 2013 - 12:28pmDisappointing after last weeks opener. Overblown. The singing was sleep inducing. Even all those wonderfully strange aliens couldn,t detract from this lacking in scares or tension. Looking forward to mark gatiss’ story. Hopefully a return to form next week.
Anonymous
April 8th, 2013 - 12:22pmAm I the only one who’s bothered by the fact that the only thing the Doctor could think to do when faced with a huge parasite was to give it what it wanted? I mean, really? The people on the planet had already thought of that one.
Dalek The Supreme
April 8th, 2013 - 2:12pmHe’s travelled through time and space for 1,000 years. He’s seen the beginning and end of the universe, Daleks, Cybermen, Time Wars, godlike beings, and many more things beyond what anyone on that planet could imagine. He assumed that he could overload the Old God, and thus, destroy it.
Dont Dis The Bow Tie And Fez
April 8th, 2013 - 4:31amso what do u all think about clara she’s a bit confusionb but still she gr8 reply to me of what u think xxxx xxx 🙂
ilovedoctorwho
April 8th, 2013 - 4:21amrose was the best companion by far they should bring her back she was gr8 this might be sad but i cried when i watched the episode doomsday and ( aww sad times) reply back to me if u love rose and want her back and if u dont tell me why as well xx
Dont Dis The Bow Tie And Fez
April 8th, 2013 - 4:29amso what do u all think about clara she’s a bit confusionb but still she gr8 reply to me of what u think xxxx 🙂 xxx
Dont Dis The Bow Tie And Fez
April 8th, 2013 - 4:34amyeah rose was gr8 i love her i cried aswel i want her to come back a be with matt smith or even martha or donna oh wait donna cant because if she remembers the doctor her mind will burn and she will die so best not her but yeah bring bach rose xxm i super loved her xx
Dalek The Supreme
April 8th, 2013 - 7:12pmThey are bringing her back, unfortunately (Sorry, I can’t stand Rose), along with David Tennant and the Zygons. Hopefully we’ll see the 4th and 7th Doctors and the Daleks as well.
ilovedoctorwho
April 8th, 2013 - 4:11ami thought the singing was peaceful but yeah it was a gr8 episode and i thought the story line was gr8 it was funny when the doctor trapped them self in the temple thing but yeah gr8 episode bring on more doctor who yeah!!!!!!!!!
daleksean
April 7th, 2013 - 11:45pmi do not mean to be offensive to opera fans by this but i thought that this was aspost to be doctor who not songs of praise
Dont Diss The Bow Tie And Fez!!!
April 8th, 2013 - 2:24pmha lol but i get wit u r saying but i thought it was peace-ful xx 🙂
Klyen565
April 7th, 2013 - 9:48pmI think it’s a mistake to have a ‘special’ companion like Clara. Rose and Martha were amazing because they were SO normal when they met the Doctor. Clara’s identity plot is vaguely interesting but the whole point of the Doctor having a companion is to make the audience relate to them. After having Donna and Amy, it would have been nice to have a companion without the ‘attitude’ (and I’m sorry, but no human faced with this alien world would have just run off like Clara did. Rose and Martha were so much more believeable). Episode-wise, there were so many bits that were not explained! I am really disapointed, Smith and the Coleman are good actors but the plot was terrible.
Joanne D
April 7th, 2013 - 9:36pmAwful. The quality has really gone down since RTD left.
TheSontaranTrooper
April 8th, 2013 - 7:26amI second that! However it’s the Ice Warriors next week so let’s all hope that it goes well, unlike the silurian’s comeback. I’m just annoyed that it stares The 11th Doctor and Clara, neither one of them has impressed me.
You Know WHO
April 8th, 2013 - 2:01pmAgree with you completely.
All of the doctors through the years have been fantastic for different reasons, but the 11th is the worst ever. I only liked one or two episodes from series 5, hated series 6 and was very disappointed by Asylum of the daleks, ( where was all the classics?)Most of series 7a was not very good either. BBC sack the writer and make the 11th doctor grow up.
Dalek The Supreme
April 8th, 2013 - 2:16pmI disagree, I think the show started spiraling into something that wasn’t quite Doctor Who since Series 2 (Farting aliens, aliens made from fat…), but Series 5 made me start to get back into Doctor Who. Also, Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor.
RORY DOCTOR RIVER POND
April 8th, 2013 - 3:31pmAgree with Joanne D
Dalek Sec
April 9th, 2013 - 3:52pmAgree with you no who.
NigelM
April 7th, 2013 - 9:33pmMissed it yesterday, just watched on iPlayer. This was terrible, truly awful for an episode that seemed to have had a lot of effort put into it. Even the name Akhaten is a rip-off of the Egyptian pharoah Akhenaten who declared himself a living god. Not impressed.
The TARDIS
April 8th, 2013 - 8:25amIt’s not actually a rip off of the pharaoh. Akhenaten means living spirit of Aten, so Akhaten actually means living God, which I think is really clever!
NigelM
April 8th, 2013 - 11:03amEr, thanks but I know that, how do you think I knew the name to begin with ?
Don’t diss the sonic!!!
April 7th, 2013 - 8:51pmThe Rings of Akhaten was an amazing episode; the numerous aliens you see in the market will make sci-fi fanatics happy. The look into Clara’s past before the title sequence was a good thing to do and was done well; one of the reasons being that we see her live a full life in modern day earth and yet she has somehow lived two other lives in two different time periods, so this intensifies the mystery of Clara. My only real complaint, was that the whole time spent wondering the market and the conversations they had that doesn’t affect anything in the story, took too long; if they had made it a bit shorter, they could have spent more time with the battle to save Merry. The CGI was first class, makes me realize how much i will miss the mill. The finest moment of the episode was the amazing speech the doctor made to “grandfather”, combined with the beautiful singing, music by Murray Gold and CGI made for a classic moment in doctor who. Also the moment when we truly understand how important the leaf is to Clara and when she finished grandfather off after the doctors memories made it “full”, and what this represents is quite big. Finally, it is in the first two proper episodes of a companions adventures with the doctor that they prove they are worthy to travel with him and we get a better understanding of their character; despite Clara’s big mystery that means we struggle to find out a lot about her, she still manages to pass with flying colours and I’m sure captured many peoples hearts. If i had to rate it, i would give it 8/10.
MAXP
April 8th, 2013 - 2:17amWhat is happening with the Mill? Are they no longer doing the CGI?
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 7:54pmwhat did you think of the rings of akhaten booboo
booboo
April 7th, 2013 - 7:55pmhaven’t watched it yet, will do this evening
iPhil
April 7th, 2013 - 7:20pmWorst episodes sine 2005 return are…
1. Fear Her
2. Father’s Day
3. The Beast Below
4. The Rings if Akheten
In that order
iPhil
April 7th, 2013 - 7:21pmThe best is obviously Blink
ReleaseTheKraken
April 7th, 2013 - 7:41pmBlink is a Doctor-lite episode with some stupid flirting jokes, wonky timelines and some jump scares thrown in. Midnight and Amy’s Choice are genius works.
alex
April 7th, 2013 - 7:46pmI quite enjoyed the beast below, but apart from that I agree
outnumbered
April 7th, 2013 - 7:54pmno fathers day would be in my top 20
outnumbered
April 7th, 2013 - 7:56pmand no this ep was not that bad. gridlock and the doctors daughter were not that good and this ring of akhaten was better then them
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 8:14pmI agree for the top 3. Definitely.
MAXP
April 8th, 2013 - 3:56amWhat about Love & Monsters? Surely that’s worse than the ones you’ve listed by a long shot!
ilovedoctorwho
April 8th, 2013 - 4:14ami enjoyed the beast below 2 and fathers day come to think of it but apart from that ur right
LS
April 7th, 2013 - 7:06pmSorry if I have missed something but if you take the fancy sets away (which we did not have when I started watching aged 6 in 1963)this story had no substance at all – this has to be the worst episode since the programme returned in 2005. It is as if the heart has gone out of the series. Is this how the story lines are going to be from now on in -wonderful visually but poor storyline! I watch episodes ad infinitum but never want to watch this one gain. Sorry.
Ian c
April 8th, 2013 - 5:10pmI couldn’t agreed more, easily the worst episode of the modern era!
Reob Worlandin
April 7th, 2013 - 3:35pmVery poor episode. Relationship between Doctor and companion becoming repetitive and unbelievable, where is the reality in their interaction? They banter like two young teenage girls. The Doctor companion relationship is now as real as Colin Baker’s costume. Painful.
Also how did the Doctor and Clara travel across space on a Matt Levine 1970′ s water ski with no breathing apparatus!!!
Also, why can a being be defeated by the infinite possibilities of a leaf. Every previous experience it had feasted on was one of infinite possibilities. So essentially it was defeated by having pointed out to it something that was true but had not occurred to it before!
Please, please don’t let Dr Who go rubbish again.
Anonymous
April 7th, 2013 - 4:32pmI think the remaining episodes will certainly not disappoint, at least hope not, but the look very good indeed! Also you could say about the people on the rock planet thing the pyramid was on has had breathing equipment , so maybe the whole of the planets and everything surrounding the star had air, but I think from the whole episode that is the least important thing, like you said about the leaf destroying the god!
Rikki Krystal
April 7th, 2013 - 5:59pmI’ve watched Dr Who,since the very first episode in 1963,and last nights episode was TOTAL RUBBISH..
pathdw98
April 7th, 2013 - 3:13pmForgot to add wasn’t too sure about the singing and the mummy could have been better. but it was good.
pathdw98
April 7th, 2013 - 3:10pmI thought it was good, not the best but good anyway. Thought Matt Smith was amazing in the scene with his memories. And Jenna was just fantastic in this. The back story of the leaf and her mum I thought was brilliantly written.
The Flying Shark
April 7th, 2013 - 2:59pmI was a bit dissapointed by this. I found Merry annoying, good monsters were overused, and Matt Smith’s acting was terrible, plus it was full of plot holes.
outnumbered
April 7th, 2013 - 7:58pmthe monsters were not used another the mummy should of hang on the bike as they were flying back
The Flying Shark
April 8th, 2013 - 8:21amSorry, my mistake, I meant to say underused. Also, good idea there, Outnumbered!
outnumbered
April 8th, 2013 - 3:46pmyeah the monster should of hand on the bike and grabed the little girls leg and clara saved her by kicking the monster of the bike
Geronimo2605
April 11th, 2013 - 8:49pmA three year old could have made those monster names up, unbelievable
Harold Saxon
April 7th, 2013 - 12:58pmIt was okay,not as good as last weeks but interesting all the same,alien races & more about clara’s life! The doctor mentioned his granddaughter too!