An Hour of Who a Day: June 24: "The Rings of Akhaten"

June 24: "The Rings of Akhaten"

This is one of those stories that doesn't seem to get much love from fandom (233 out of 241 in the most recent Doctor Who Magazine poll), and I have to confess that I'm not certain why. It's not like it's incompetently made or offensive or anything like that. So why are people so down on it?

Merry the Queen of Years talks to Clara. ("The Rings of Akhaten")
©BBC

Is it to do with Clara's story, specifically the stuff before the titles? What I mean by that is, the cold open shows the Doctor investigating Clara's history -- watching her parents meet, have Clara, followed by her mother's funeral²⁴⁶ -- and concluding that there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about her -- and yet she was also on a space cruise ship in the future and a Victorian governess in the past. As the Doctor says, "She's not possible." But then, after the titles run, this isn't touched upon again; the focus has completely shifted to Clara's first adventure in the TARDIS. That's not to say that Clara doesn't do well with her first trip to a different time and place -- in fact, all things considered she copes astonishingly well -- but rather that the majority of the episode drops the exploration of the ongoing plotline in favor of the story around Akhaten. If you were hoping for more revelations regarding the Impossible Girl, you would have been sorely disappointed. But still, that's not the worst of problems, and it can't have been the deciding factor for everybody. So what is it about the main story that people dislike?

Perhaps it's just the nature of the episode. It isn't an action story, but it's not about the characters of our heroes either -- which does mean that quite a bit of time is spent exploring the environment, which I suppose can be dull if you're not in the right mood for such a thing. And once we arrive at the threat, it does sometimes seem like it takes a while to get anywhere -- characters talk about what they should and shouldn't do rather than just doing it (which is an oddly retro style of television). So perhaps you just wish they'd get on with it.

If that's the case then I suppose there's not much to be done, but what, for me, makes "The Rings of Akhaten" work is that this is the least cynical Doctor Who story we've had in years. Neil Cross's debut script for the show (well, sort of; he actually wrote "Hide" first, but this was broadcast ahead of that) is unabashedly about beauty and wonder and just experiencing things, and even when things are going wrong that philosophy pervades everything. The people of Akhaten placate their god (which they refer to as "Grandfather") by singing to him (rather than anything more violent -- although I guess they do occasionally sacrifice people to him as well), and "Grandfather" is defeated via stories -- not just stories that happened, but the stories that will never happen, the potential left untapped. It's a charmingly lyrical piece of storytelling.

And even beyond that, we're encouraged to look at this new world through Clara's eyes -- but not to stare; rather to experience the wonder of all these different peoples, to immerse yourself in the culture (prized possessions as currency, communal singing as prayer), and to marvel at how beautiful and wonderful the universe can be.

So yes, it's a bit slow at times, and it's hardly a strikingly original resolution, but "The Rings of Akhaten" is so invigoratingly optimistic and beautifully uncynical that it's hard not to be caught up in it. It's not a standout story, but it's definitely a refreshing change of pace.

²⁴⁶ Clara's mother Ellie died on 5 March 2005, which happens to be the date that the ninth Doctor and Rose fought the Autons in "Rose". Is there a suggestion that Ellie was killed by the Autons, or is it just a coincidence?