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Tantalising titbits and downright obscure references to next Saturday’s episode
1 It’s 99.9% arc plot free
2 It’s a small-scale, intimate, claustrophobic episode. The main stars are the shadows
3 It’s a very simple tale. Perhaps too simple for some tastes. There’s little in the actual plot that hasn’t been done in telefantasy before a number of times before
4 On the other hand it’s rich in atmosphere, and the monsters are freaky
5 It has the best use of sound design in the show since “Midnight”
6 The direction and lighting make even the most mundane settings look eerie and otherworldly
7 The Doctor does something he hasn’t done in a while
8 There’s a twin dilemma
9 Amy’s hair makes her easy to spot
10 If you listen carefully to the soundtrack, you’ll discover that the episode isn’t quite as contemporary as it may seem (though this could just be the production team hoping we’re not sad enough to Google these things)
11 Somebody doesn’t want to be Sherpa Tenzing
12 “Maybe it was junk mail?’
13 The Doctor has a post-modern rebuttal for his real world critics
14 Daniel Mays is excellent – he forms a very watchable partnership with Matt Smith and delivers one of the best, “Eh!?”s in the show’s history
15 The biscuit agenda is back!
16 Somebody gets floored
17 There’s a genuinely creepy transformation
18 Somebody can’t plump for Brian like he normally does
19 The show does something it was criticised for back in 1964… and does it big time
20 Listen carefully at the end
