Next Who Sunday: The Eleventh Hour, Steven Moffat

The first time I saw this, I was still bitter about losing Ten, so I didn’t give it the fair shot it deserved. It’s by the best Who episode writer of all time, Steven Moffat (“The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances,” “The Girl in the Fireplace,” “Blink,” “Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead”), but it also starts his tenure as showrunner, about which I am less enthusiastic. But I have weeks to be grumpy about that; this week I’m just loving Matt Smith making his smashing entrance as Eleven, doing his usual stellar job of acting with a child, who is also stellar. Since Eleven is demented but enthusiastic (how this happened, I do not know, since Ten was sane but morose), the entire episode is demented but enthusiastic and also funny as hell, even with a really creepy antagonist or maybe because of it. Also Amy and Rory debut. And the Tardis has a library and a swimming pool.

I really love this episode.