Unbelievably we are already three episodes into the latest run of Doctor Who and after the momentous events of the first two episodes it was sensible for the show to have its first stand alone episode in a while so we can all take a bit of a breather.
Therefore 'Curse of the Black Spot' had the potential to be a good old fashioned pirate romp on the high seas with lots of fun. Unfortunately it fell a little short. The central premise of the Siren was nicely done and very well realised through CGI in a similar way to the Gelth from 'The Unquiet Dead'. The idea of tissue samples causing the eponymous black spot was also a nice touch. However there was never any real sense of threat and the idea of reflection being the portal for the Siren to transfer to the ship seemed a little woolly in a slightly inconsistent piece of storytelling.
The pirates were also a very uninspiring bunch although Hugh Bonneville did give Captain Avery a nice air of gravitas, especially when conversing with a fellow captain in the form of the Doctor.
The idea of the two ships occupying the same space has been done before in Doctor Who but there is no harm in that. And the twist that the Siren was actually a nurse was interesting as there was no real villainy intended here.
There was a fallibility to the Doctor this week as some of his theories proved wide of the mark. Rory and Amy's marriage strengthened as YET AGAIN Rory appeared to have died until Amy saved him. This motif has now been repeated enough times and should be avoided in future episodes.
Not all story arc strands were ignored. The Tardis once again could not get a clear picture of whether Amy is pregnant. The woman with the eye patch appeared again and seems to be keeping watch over Amy. Could she be some sort of Midwife from an alternative dimension overseeing Amy's strange pregnancy?
We also saw flashbacks of the Doctor's death at the hands of the Astronaut and Amy wrestling with the notion of telling him until Rory dissuaded her. This theme will run throughout the entire series.
So although this is not a classic episode of Doctor Who it is still better than anything else on TV. And it appears things get much more series next week in 'The Doctor's Wife'. The stakes are about to be raised once more!
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