Production on Doctor Who's sixth series officially started today in Cardiff, with filming on episode 3 (written by Neil Gaiman) and episode 4 (written by Mark Gatiss) both underway, directed by Richard Cook. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are back for more adventures, in a 13-part series that will be split asunder for spring and autumn 2011. But what are your hopes for next year's return?
It's safe to say that series 5 had a mixed reception. Most people seemed to like Matt Smith pretty instantly (with a few caveats), but Karen Gillan became a more divisive addition as the series got into its stride. There were also concerns about the strength of Steven Moffat's showrunning abilities, because series 5 had less cohesion and emotional wallop compared to Russell T. Davies' era. There were also understandable concerns about The Doctor and Amy's relationship as a duo aboard the TARDIS (what was it?), not to mention a feeling that the non-Moffat episodes were noticeably much weaker -- with a few exceptions.
It was far from a disastrous return, particularly considering the huge difficulties of relaunching the show in the wake of the beloved David Tennant, but it generally didn't live up to admittedly stratospheric hopes. Will series 6 be an instant improvement, purely because expectations will be lowered? Will Amy become a better character in the present-day; freed from the fact her character's most interesting trait was her childhood back-story? Is the promise of an explanation about The Silence reason enough to be excited? How long will Rory tag along in the TARDIS? And what gamechanging mid-series cliffhanger does Moffat have up his sleeve come episode 7? The death of a companion? A shocking reveal about River Song? My guess is River killing The Doctor (as vaguely alluded to already), which will look permanent enough to have us worried.
However you prefer to approach this show, what can series 6 do to make you forgive series 5's slips? Or do you think series 5 was underrated genius?
