Doctor Who (series 5)

The fifth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after Russell T Davies, who ended his involvement with the show after The End of Time. The series comprises 13 episodes, six of which Moffat wrote. Piers Wenger and Beth Willis served with Moffat as executive producers, while Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett served as producers. Though it is the fifth series since the show's revival in 2005 and the thirty-first since it began in 1963, the largely new production team led to the series production codes being reset.

This is the first series to feature Matt Smith as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. It also introduces Karen Gillan as the Doctor's new companion Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as her fiancé Rory Williams, who is in seven episodes and travels with the Doctor and Amy. Alex Kingston returns as River Song, a mysterious woman from the Doctor's future who summons the Doctor twice in this series. The main story arc concerns a pattern of cracks in the universe which appear over several episodes, sometimes going unnoticed by the characters. It is discovered that they have the power to erase things from existence, and this happens to Rory, causing Amy to forget him. In the series finale it is revealed that the cracks were caused by the TARDIS exploding and the Doctor is forced to reboot the universe to the state which it was in without the cracks.

The seven episodes of the series which were not written by Moffat were penned by guest writers. Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Simon Nye, Richard Curtis, Gareth Roberts each wrote one episode each, while Chris Chibnall wrote a two-episode story. The series was meant to be fantastical to stand out among other science fiction and fantasy shows and the production team pushed a fairy-tale quality because Moffat believed media aimed at children was some of the most popular among adults. The episodes were directed by directors who were all new to Doctor Who. Filming started in late July 2009 and lasted for approximately nine months and was filmed mostly in Wales with the exception of "The Vampires of Venice" and "Vincent and the Doctor", which had scenes filmed abroad in Trogir, Croatia. There were design changes from the previous series including a new logo, title sequence, variation of the theme music, interior and exterior of the TARDIS, and version of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

The series premiere was watched by 10.085 million viewers, the highest watched premiere since "Rose" of the first series, and also broke records on BBC America in the United States and BBC's online iPlayer. Though overnight ratings had declined compared to other series, one writer calculated that viewership had not changed significantly when time-shifted ratings were taken into account. The series received generally positive reviews, with praise going to Moffat's story arc as well as the acting of Smith, Gillan and Darvill. However, many reviewers noted that Amy lacked character development and the series did not contain as much heart and emotion as previously in the show. The series gained many awards and nominations; "Vincent and the Doctor" and the two-part finale were both nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) with the award going to the latter. Smith also became the first actor portraying the Doctor to be nominated for a BAFTA award, though he did not win. The series was accompanied with a soundtrack as well as tie-in books and video games; four of the latter were released episodically on the BBC's website and advertised as additional episodes of the series.

List of episodes
All viewing figures taken by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. The table consists of the final ratings on BBC One with the BBC HD simulcast  ratings added in.

Supplemental episodes
Two additional scenes were specially filmed for "The Complete Fifth Series" boxset which reveal what occurred between selected regular episodes. The first installment is set between "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Beast Below", while the second is set between "Flesh and Stone" and "The Vampires of Venice".

Casting
The series introduced a new incarnation of the Doctor, the Eleventh, played by Matt Smith. This followed the departure of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, who left the role to help ease the transition from Davies to Moffat's showrunning. Smith's agent had called him and suggested that he try out for the role. Moffat was looking to cast a middle-aged actor, who was "young enough to run but old enough to look wise". However, Smith, who was only 26 when cast, was the third person to audition and the production team knew "[they] had their man". The producers were cautious about casting Smith because they felt that a 26-year-old actor could not play the Doctor adequately; BBC Head of Drama and executive producer Piers Wenger shared the sentiment, but noted that Smith was capable enough to play the role. Moffat also stated that Smith did not appear to be youthful at all. Smith's casting in the role was revealed during an episode of Doctor Who's companion show Doctor Who Confidential, during which he described the role as "a wonderful privilege and challenge that I hope I will thrive on".

Karen Gillan was cast as Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion. Andy Pryor, the casting director, suggested Gillan to Moffat after her performance in the fourth series episode "The Fires of Pompeii", in which she played a soothsayer, but Moffat originally thought she was "short and dumpy". Later, however, he stated that she was "exactly right for the role" though she portrayed the character differently from how he originally wrote. Gillan auditioned for the role in both her natural Scottish accent and an English one, and it was not until after she was cast that it was decided Amy would be Scottish. Gillan commented that she felt the Scottish accent better suited the character. For the first and last episodes, a young version of Amy, known as "Amelia", was played by Gillan's real-life 10-year-old cousin Caitlin Blackwood. Though the two actresses had not met until the set of the show, Gillan recommended Blackwood for the role, although Blackwood still had to undergo rigorous auditions first. Blackwood and Gillan did get to act together in "The Big Bang", which Gillan initially found "weird", though the two actresses became used to it quickly.

Alex Kingston, who played the character River Song in the fourth series episodes "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead", reprised her role in the two-part stories "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone" and "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang". Kingston did not expect the return, but Moffat always intended for River to return to the series. Arthur Darvill appeared in seven episodes as Rory Williams, Amy Pond's fiancé, and was also a companion in six of those episodes. Darvill had previously worked with Smith on a play entitled Swimming with Sharks. For his audition, Darvill received two scenes from the first episode and one from the sixth, but beyond the fact Rory was Amy's boyfriend he was not informed of details of the character. Moffat stated that what stood out about Darvill's audition was "just how funny" he was. Darvill felt "privileged" to be part of the show, and was pleased with Rory's storyline.

Notable guest stars included James Corden, Annette Crosbie, Tony Curran, Iain Glen, Daisy Haggard, Terrence Hardiman, Toby Jones, Helen McCrory, Neve McIntosh, Ian McNeice, Stephen Moore, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Bill Paterson, Meera Syal, and Nina Wadia.

Costumes
During the first episode, the Eleventh Doctor still wears his previous incarnation's costume, but costume designer Ray Holman stated that the costume was broken down and distressed. Over the course of the first episode, he would find his own identity and pick out his defining costume. Smith tried on a wide variety of things to find a look he would feel comfortable and confident in and would identify his Doctor. Smith brought in braces and a tweed jacket; Holman believed that the tweed jacket was "a bit old for him" but showed that he was a "professor and student at the same time" and gave him "that quality that the Doctor's still learning, but also has some authority". Smith suggested a bow tie, which Holman and others did not approve of, but once he had put it on they decided they had the costume. Smith stated he was inspired by the Second Doctor's costume after watching The Tomb of the Cybermen. Other influences included the "element of a professor" and "big, dusty boots like Indiana Jones". The men's clothing store Topman reported that their bow tie sales had risen 94% for the month of April 2010, connected to when the series began airing.

Gillan had substantial input into Amy's costume, as well as her hair and make-up. In the first episode, Holman stated that Amy's identity was not clear and she wore her own clothes later on. Gillan thought that Amy had inner confidence to wear clothes that showed "a bit of skin from time to time". She tried on many things, but when it came to short skirts she "just thought it was right" and showed that Amy was "comfortable and confident about her look". She believed that the skirts reflected what young women typically wear at her age. Executive producer Piers Wenger also noted that Amy's 1970s flying jacket, which she wears "quite a lot", reflected Gillan was a "born adventurer" and Amy developed a love for travel and adventure.

Crew and series numbering
Doctor Who was renewed for a fifth series in September 2007. Russell T Davies was succeeded by Steven Moffat as executive producer and head writer, and Julie Gardner was replaced as executive producer by Piers Wenger, who had previously replaced Gardner as Head of Drama for BBC Wales. Beth Willis also serves as an executive producer, and the series is produced by Tracie Simpson and Peter Bennett. However, Murray Gold stayed on as composer for the new series.

When Doctor Who was relaunched in 2005, the new series was marketed as series 1, although it had been on BBC television for 26 years from 1963 to 1989. When this series was confirmed by the BBC in September 2007, it was referred to as "series 5", following on from series 4 in 2008. In August 2009 Doctor Who Magazine announced that this series was to be produced and marketed as "Series One". The January 2010 edition featured an interview with Moffat, in which he called Series One "exciting", Series Thirty-One "awe-inspiring" and Series Five "boring and a lie". In the same issue, he jokingly referred to the season as "series Fnarg", an ongoing joke in subsequent issues. The March edition, referring to it as Series Thirty-One, confirmed production codes in the range 1.1 to 1.13. However, BBC Programme listings, the BBC iPlayer and DVDs refer to it as "Series 5".

Writing
With the changes to the show, Moffat wanted to reassure the audience that "nothing has really been lost" and it was the same show and the same character of the Doctor. The story arc of the cracks in the universe was inspired by a crack in the wall of Moffat's son's bedroom. Moffat wanted to make sure the show appealed to even young children; if they could not follow the plot, there would be "big pictures" to entertain them. Moffat believed that Doctor Who was fundamentally for children but it was something everybody loved, comparing it to Star Wars and Toy Story. He considered the "most popular form of entertainment" to be a children's story. Of the series, he said they "pushed the fairytale side of it" as Doctor Who "now has to be the most fantastical of the fantasy shows" to be more vibrant and "bonkers" than any other fantastical show.

Moffat wrote six episodes for the series. The rest were penned by guest writers, as Moffat believed that Doctor Who benefited from different voices. However, he stated that the concepts of the episodes were mostly supplied by him, as he had a "pretty good idea" of what would happen in each episode slot. Moffat knew all of the guest writers "to some degree" and called meeting with them "quite joyous". However, Matthew Graham, co-creator of Life on Mars and writer of the second series episode "Fear Her", was not able to write an episode as he was slated to because he did not believe he would have enough time. Moffat later contacted him and asked him to write a two-part episode for the next series, which became "The Rebel Flesh"/"The Almost People".

With the first episode, Moffat intended to introduce the Eleventh Doctor and have him establish his new identity while the second was intended to show the Doctor's need for a companion and Amy's importance to him. For the third episode, he asked Mark Gatiss to write an episode concerning "Churchill versus the Daleks". Moffat wanted to incorporate the popular Daleks into the new series and was also considering redesigning them. Gatiss and Moffat as well as the production team worked together to create Daleks that were big and more colourful, similar to the Daleks found in the films of the 60s.

For the fourth and fifth episode, Moffat planned a two-part sequel to his 2007 episode "Blink", which featured the Weeping Angels. These two episodes, "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", were intended to be a more action-oriented than "Blink", and also showed the Angels had a plan rather than scavenging. He also decided to flesh out the Angels as villains themselves and show more of what they can do. "Flesh and Stone" ends with Amy attempting to seduce the Doctor; Moffat believed this was consistent with the character that had been built up from the first episode.

Toby Whithouse originally planned to write a different episode, but Moffat and Wenger thought it was too similar to other episodes in the series and Whithouse wrote "The Vampires of Venice" instead, while his original episode was pushed to the next series. Whithouse was asked to write "a big bold romantic episode" that would be a "good jumping off point" for new viewers to Doctor Who. Moffat figured that in the middle of the series a viewer could "start watching it again" and that it should be "something romantic and funny". For the next episode, Moffat asked comedy writer Simon Nye to write a story that challenged the relationship between Amy and the Doctor. The episode, titled "Amy's Choice", was intended to be Amy's decision between excitement with the Doctor or life with Rory. The scene in which Rory dies in the false reality was intended to be when Amy realised her feelings for him. Nye wanted to stress that Amy really did love Rory and he was not "just a cypher boyfriend or fiancé".

Moffat contacted Chris Chibnall to write a two-part episode involving the Silurians, villains who had not appeared in the show for over 25 years. As the Silurians were not as well known as other monsters, Moffat instructed Chibnall to reintroduce them. The Silurians featured were intended to be a different branch than those previously seen and bore a different design, which used expensive facial prosthetics and eliminated their third eye. Richard Curtis, who had previously worked with Moffat in the 1999 Comic Relief special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, was contacted by Moffat to return the favour and write an episode, which became "Vincent and the Doctor". Curtis had the idea of an episode about van Gogh for "a long while" and was interested in the fact that van Gogh never knew he was famous. Gillan noted that there was a different approach and style to the episode, and it was more character-driven.

Neil Gaiman had written an episode, but it was pushed to the next series due to budget constraints and was replaced with "The Lodger" instead. "The Lodger" was adapted from a comic strip of the same name writer Gareth Roberts had done for Doctor Who Magazine, although he said most of it started "from scratch" The story was inspired by wishing to see the Doctor in normal, every-day human circumstances, as well as Roberts' enjoyment of stories set on Earth rather than in space. Roberts was interested in doing a television version of the story, but he never mentioned it. However, Moffat was a fan of the comic story and immediately asked to adapt it into an episode when he became showrunner.

Aspects of the finale came to Moffat as he was planning the story arc for the series, though he left room to improvise as the story developed. "The Big Bang" ends with the wedding of Amy and Rory. Moffat stated that he had always intended for them to get married "from the off". The finale also left many questions that would be answered with the next series, concerning the identity of River Song and "The Silence" which appeared to cause the TARDIS to explode.

Design changes
The series introduced a new logo, which was announced in October 2009. According to the BBC, it is the eleventh version of the logo to front the show. Moffat stated that the insignia of "DW" in the shape of the TARDIS was "something really new". The logo was incorporated in a new title sequence, which was not revealed to an audience outside of the BBC until first transmission of "The Eleventh Hour"; prior press screenings and previews had used a variation of the previous sequence. Moffat wanted a new version of the theme tune, and composer Murray Gold wanted it to "sound a bit reckless". The new variation, composed by Gold, incorporated a new melody played by electronic trumpets and a faster tempo. The new theme angered some fans, with the BBC receiving 70 complaints as of 18 April 2010. In response, a Doctor Who spokesman stated,

""The arranger has made alterations to the music four times since 2005, so change is nothing new. It is important for the regeneration of the show to keep revisiting the score while always retaining the haunting and ground-breaking essence of the original.""

A new TARDIS prop was used, featuring the St John Ambulance logo that had been used in the early days of the show as well as in the Peter Cushing films of the early 60s, of which Moffat was a fan. Moffat said it was one thing he "really wanted to do" and it was for "no other reason than that [he] thought it was prettier" and he wanted the St. John Ambulance sticker on the front. It is also a brighter blue like Cushing's TARDIS.

A new set of the interior of the TARDIS was also designed, which Moffat estimated was three times bigger than the previous set. Moffat did not decide to create the new interior specifically for the new Doctor, but the brief to the set designer was to create a design that would suit Smith's Doctor. Though he loved the old set, Moffat thought it was time for a new one to "surprise people", and believed that the spirit of a new era was to change everything. Piers Wenger said that it took "quite a long time to get the design right" and they were careful not to make it too futuristic-looking, as "futuristic" meant nothing to the Doctor. The set was designed by Edward Thomas. The previous TARDIS interior was shown at the beginning of "The Eleventh Hour"; the Time Rotor on console had to be rebuilt due to the explosion special effects that were used in The End of Time. In "The Eleventh Hour", the sonic screwdriver is destroyed, and a new version, featuring a green light and metal claws, was created. Smith liked to keep the prop with him at all times "twirling it around and flicking it" which resulted in him breaking four of them. The noise made by the screwdriver was added in post-production using a synthesizer. Moffat described the changes as starting with a "clean slate" which made sense after the previous cast and crew had left.

Filming
All of the directors of the series were new to Doctor Who. Moffat commented that he wanted to "shake things up" and it was "never too early to get rid of the safety net." Adam Smith directed the first episode as well as the fourth and fifth. Andrew Gunn, Ashley Way, Jonny Campbell, Toby Haynes, and Catherine Morshead each directed two episodes.

Filming of the series lasted approximately nine months. Production blocks were arranged as follows:

When rehearsing episodes four and five, the first episodes to be produced, director Adam Smith suggested that Smith and Gillan "have an adventure" where they could experience something exciting and laugh and scream. He took them to a "real white knuckle ride" on a boat in Cardiff Bay. Filming began on 20 July 2009 on Southerndown beach, Vale of Glamorgan in scenes for "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone". Moffat wrote that typically with television the first day of filming "will probably be something fairly inconsequential and involve a minor character getting shot, or a close up of a hand or something" which differed from the "iconic" scene involving the Doctor, Amy, River Song and the TARDIS. Forest scenes in "Flesh and Stone" were filmed at Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean over nine nights in July 2009.

Episodes two and three made up the second production block. Scenes in "The Beast Below" were filmed in an orangery at Margam Country Park, Port Talbot during a night shoot on 22 September 2009. Half of a scene in "The Pandorica Opens" featuring Liz 10 (Sophie Okonedo) from "The Beast Below" was filmed there as well. Scenes for Amy and Rory's town of Leadworth in the first episode, "The Eleventh Hour", were filmed in the village of Llandaff in Cardiff over various dates in the autumn of 2009: 29 September, 5–7 October, and 20 November.

The fourth production block, consisting of "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood", was filmed in October and November 2009 with location filming done in Llanwynno, Wales. Scenes for "Cold Blood" were also filmed at the Plantasia botanical garden in Swansea on 13 November 2009 as well as in Cardiff's Temple of Peace and other locations and unusual sets for the Silurian city. "The Vampires of Venice" and "Vincent and the Doctor" were filmed mainly in the town of Trogir in Croatia, which was used as Venice and Paris respectively. However, a small crew did go to Venice to take wide shots of coastal buildings; the episode was not filmed there because it would take too long to cover up the modern shops in present-day Venice. Scenes in "The Vampires of Venice" were also filmed at Atlantic College, Caerphilly Castle, Castell Coch, the Town Hall of Trogir, and Llancaich Fawr Manor.

The grounds for the estate at Margam Country Park was then used for the placement of "Foamhenge", a lightweight replica of Stonehenge for "The Pandorica Opens". Several other scenes from "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang" were also filmed there during the first few days of February 2010. The Pandorica chamber was filmed on set in the Upper Boat Studios, the largest set ever built there. Additional scenes in "The Big Bang" were filmed in Brangwyn Hall and Miskin Manor. "Amy's Choice" was partially filmed in Skenfrith, Wales to represent "Upper Leadworth".

Promotion
The first trailer for the fifth series was shown on television and released online shortly after the broadcast of the second part of The End of Time on 1 January 2010. On 17 February, a new promotional image was released. A second teaser trailer was released on 20 February, a 3D version of which was shown in cinemas with Alice in Wonderland. Moffat officially confirmed the start date of 3 April on BBC Breakfast on 19 March. Also on 19 March, a trailer shown at the press screening of episode one was released online. BBC America, who would show the series in the United States, released an extended trailer on 21 March. Promotional touring for the series began on 29 March and ended the two days later, with Smith and Gillan presenting their first episode in Belfast, Inverness, Sunderland, Salford, and Northampton. Touring in New York City took place on 14 April, where the first episode was screened in the Paley Center for Media and the Village East Movie Theatre.

Broadcast
The fifth series of Doctor Who debuted on BBC One on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour", an extended 65-minute episode. It concluded with "The Big Bang" on 26 June. The sixth episode, "The Vampires of Venice", was broadcast at 6:00 p.m. (BST), the earliest start time for an episode of Doctor Who since its return in 2005.

International broadcast
The series was shown in Australia on the ABC's iView service, launching at midnight on 16 April 2010 before airing on ABC1 on 18 April 2010. It began airing in the United States on 17 April 2010 on BBC America and in Canada on the same date on Space. This was the first airing of a full series of Doctor Who on BBC America first, with the first four series premiering on the Sci Fi Channel, with only reruns on BBC America. The gap between UK and US airing was also shortened considerably. In New Zealand, the series began airing on Prime from 2 May 2010.

DVD and Blu-ray releases
On 7 June 2010, the first volume of Series 5 was released on DVD and Blu-ray format in Region 2, containing the episodes "The Eleventh Hour", "The Beast Below" and "Victory of the Daleks". The second volume of the series was released on 5 July on DVD and Blu-ray, containing the episodes "The Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone" and "The Vampires of Venice". "Amy's Choice", "The Hungry Earth", and "Cold Blood" followed on the third volume, which was released in DVD and Blu-ray on 2 August 2010. The fourth and final volume, containing "Vincent and the Doctor", "The Lodger", "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 6 September.

A complete collection of the series' episodes was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 2 on 8 November 2010. It was released in Region 1 the following day on 9 November. In Region 4, the boxset was released on 2 December 2010. The boxset contained the two "Meanwhile in the TARDIS" additional scenes, profiles of various enemies in "The Monster Files", cut down versions of Doctor Who Confidential, out-takes, in-vision commentaries, video diaries, and trailers and promos for the series. The commentaries were a departure from the previous releases, as it only had six instead of a full thirteen.

Ratings
Final consolidated viewing figures showed that the premiere, "The Eleventh Hour", was watched by 10.085 million viewers, the highest-watched premiere since "Rose" and the eighth highest figure for an episode of Doctor Who since it was revived in 2005. In the US, the first episode set a record for BBC America, with an average of 1.2 million viewers and 0.9 million in the adults aged 25–54 demographic. Within one week of broadcast, "The Eleventh Hour" received 1.27 million hits on BBC's online iPlayer service, the record for most requests in a week. It went on to become the most requested episode of 2010 with 2.2 million views; Doctor Who was also named the most watched programme of the year on the service.

"The Hungry Earth" received the lowest overnight ratings since the series had returned in 2005 with 4.4 million viewers but in terms of final consolidated ratings, "The Lodger" received the lowest of the series. The episodes were also given an Appreciation Index, a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The BBC considers a score 85 or above "excellent"; "Victory of the Daleks" and "Amy's Choice" were the only ones to come below that, with 84. "The Time of Angels" and "The Lodger" both scored 87, which was subsequently beaten by "The Pandorica Opens" (88). The finale, "The Big Bang", scored 89, the highest for the series and for the four main channels on the day it was broadcast.

Based on overnight ratings, the series was reported as averaging six million viewers, a drop of 1.2 million from the previous series. However, managers at the BBC claimed that overall viewing numbers had not declined as more people watched it online or after recording it. Stephen Bray of Den of Geek decided to "put things straight" and figured that, with final ratings taken into account of the first eleven episodes of the series (the final two ratings not having been released when the article was published), the series averaged 7.8 million viewers, beating the average of all the episodes of the second series (7.5 million), the third series (7.7 million) and the first eleven episodes of the fourth series (7.7 million).

Reviews
Series 5 has received generally positive reviews from critics. Matt Wales of IGN gave the entire series a "great" rating of 8.5 out of 10, saying that it "mightn't have been perfect" but rebooted the show "with a burst of creative energy" and "got bold, exciting, witty, smart, home-grown event television back on the small screen". He praised Smith for "[dazzling] with a performance that painted the Doctor as thoroughly alien" and the "effortless" character development of the Doctor, but was more critical of the character of Amy Pond. He thought that she was "thoroughly watchable" with Gillan's acting abilities and chemistry with Smith, but criticised the character for being "frequently painted in largely two-dimensional strokes that made for a brash, sometimes irritating turn" and the series as a whole for lacking "heart to ground the elaborate sci-fi trimmings". Of the story, he praised Moffat's "beautifully conceived" story arc and the complexities of the narrative.

Zap2it's Sam McPherson gave the series an A and thought it was the show's strongest series since its revival in 2005. He praised Smith and Gillan, though he noted that Amy did not have much character development, and considered Darvill "might just be one of the best actors on television currently". However, he noted that most of the episodes took place on Earth or spaceships, and wished to see the Doctor, Amy and Rory "branch out more in the future". Dave Golder of SFX gave the series four out of five stars, noting that it looked "very promising" though "there was a tentative, slightly awkward feel to the series", similar to the first series. He also labelled Smith as "magnificent" and Gillan as "lovely, although so far Amy's character has been so dictated by the requirements of the arc plot that it's difficult to feel that we've really got to know her yet".

In a review of the first six episodes, Dan Martin of The Guardian thought that they were strong and it was "generally funnier [and] appears to have rewritten the rule that said Doctor Who had to out-epic itself every year". However, he was critical of the lack of emotion that had previously inhibited the show, and did not yet empathise with Amy. When reviewing the first eleven episodes, Martin noted that the series had been put at a high expectation due to the quality of Moffat's previous Doctor Who episodes, which may have caused disappointment to those who expected "dark, adult versions of Who every week" as Moffat took more of a fairy-tale approach and his dialogue was "less soapy and more spiky" than that of Davies. Revisiting previous issues, he noted that there was less emotion but "when someone did die ... it ploughed heavy into the heart" and Amy was "a revelation", though she sometimes "felt a little one-note".

Gem Wheeler of Den of Geek gave the series five out of five stars, particularly praising Smith's Doctor. Wheeler noted that Amy "seemed a little underwritten at first, but the series finale helped to fill in the apparent gaps in her personality" and also praised Darvill. Slice of SciFi reviewer Michael Hickerson praised Moffat's "fascinating" story arc which made the series seem more consistent, as it gave the audience answers as it went along and also explored its impact on the characters. He called it "the best season of the new series" though "there has yet to be a perfect season of the show. This one just comes closer than a lot of others". However, Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph, while optimistic that it would "go from strength to strength next year", called the series "something of a curate's egg, and perhaps not quite as strong as previous years overall". Radio Times Patrick Mulkern praised Moffat for "[rebooting] the series with an ambitious game-plan, a delightful fairy-tale vibe adults can enjoy too, and [finding] stars in Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill". However, while he praised Moffat's other episodes, he considered "The Beast Below" a "turkey".

The A.V. Club ranked Doctor Who the 25th best show of 2010, saying that it "lacked a truely weak episode" and highlighting "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone", "Vincent and the Doctor", and "The Lodger" as the best episodes. Digital Spy ranked the programme the third best of 2010, commenting that it "gave us some terrific episodes — the beautifully tragic 'Vincent and the Doctor', the wonderfully-paced opener and the well-imagined finale ... but also the multi-colored monstrosity 'Victory of the Daleks'. Overall, a decent enough start for the new team, but with such a strong pedigree, we couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed."

Criticism
After the broadcast of "The Eleventh Hour", which introduced Amy as a kissogram in a skimpy policewoman outfit who watched the Doctor undress and change into his new costume, it was reported that several viewers had criticised the character and her occupation online and that it was "not fitting for a family show". Wenger defended the character, saying that, "The whole kissogram thing played into Steven's desire for the companion to be feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn't promiscuous." Gillan also defended her character, claiming that girls Amy's age often wore short skirts and Amy was a "strong female" and a "normal girl with normal impulses". The BBC received 43 complaints over the scene in "Flesh and Stone" in which Amy attempts to seduce the Doctor. A member of pressure group Mediawatch-uk also commented that the scene seemed "slightly out of place in a children's programme".

Awards and nominations
"Vincent and the Doctor" and "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang" were nominated for the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), with the award going to the latter. This was the fifth Hugo Award for Doctor Who and the fourth for Moffat, after "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances", "The Girl in the Fireplace", and "Blink". "Vincent and the Doctor" was nominated for the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation at the 2010 Nebula Awards, but it lost to the film Inception. The Mill, Doctor Who computer-generated effects team, won a Royal Television Society Craft and Design Award for their work on "The Pandorica Opens".

In Canada's Constellation Awards, Doctor Who fifth series received six nominations. Smith and Tony Curran (Vincent van Gogh) were both nominated for Best Male Performance in a 2010 Science Fiction Television Episode, while Gillan was nominated for Best Female Performance for "Amy's Choice". Doctor Who was nominated for Best Science Fiction Television Series but lost to Stargate: Universe. Moffat and Curtis were both nominated for Best Overall 2010 Science Fiction Film or Television Script for "The Eleventh Hour" and "Vincent and the Doctor" respectively. Gold was the only winner, nominated for his music in the Best Technical Accomplishment in a 2010 Science Fiction Film or Television Production category.

Smith was nominated for Leading Actor in the television division of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, becoming the first actor portraying the Doctor to gain a BAFTA nomination. He lost to Daniel Rigby for his work in the television film Eric and Ernie. At the BAFTA Cymru awards, Mark Hutchinson won the "Lighting" category for his work on "The Eleventh Hour", while Barbara Southcott was nominated for "Make Up & Hair" for "Vampires of Venice" and William Oswald was nominated for the "Editing: Fiction" category for "The Time of Angels".

Soundtrack
A two-disc soundtrack containing 63 tracks of the score from this series (from "The Eleventh Hour" to "The Big Bang"), as composed by Murray Gold, was released on 8 November 2010 by Silva Screen Records. It was the second "double album" following the previous release; Gold stated that the previous "double album" had been popular and Silvia Screen allowed another one. The tracks are presented in episode order, which Gold said "should give a sense of roaming through this gigantic scope".

Books
In the BBC Books Doctor Who New Series Adventures line, a range of spin-off novels that began in 2005 with the Ninth Doctor and revitilisation of the television series, six novels were released corresponding to the series. On 22 April 2010 the first three, Apollo 23 by Justin Richards, Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn, and The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin were released, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy. On 8 July 2010 three more novels were released, Nuclear Time by Oli Smith, The Glamour Chase by Gary Russell, and The King's Dragon by Una McCormack, each featuring the Doctor and Amy with Rory.

Science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, who had watched Doctor Who since the beginning, also wrote a novel. Entitled The Coming of the Terraphiles, the novel was an extended 345 pages and was released 14 October 2010. On 16 September 2010, BBC Books released their first Doctor Who graphic novel, The Only Good Dalek, featuring the Doctor and Amy. They also released The Brilliant Book of Doctor Who 2011, a guide to the series that featured behind-the-scenes information. The book was made available in the UK on 30 September 2010.

Video games
In March 2010, it was reported that Nintendo had signed a £10 million contract for Doctor Who games for Wii and DS. The games were marketed to Nintendo as the brand was known for being family-oriented and the Wii in particular was something families played together. The BBC also was certain to monitor the games and make sure they did not contain anything too violent. Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth was released for the DS and featured the Daleks, whereas Doctor Who: Return to Earth featured the Cybermen and was released for the Wii. Both games featured the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond, voiced by Smith and Gillan respectively. Evacuation Earth was released 12 November 2010, while Return to Earth followed on 19 November. Additionally, Wii remotes and DS styluses modeled after the sonic screwdriver were released to accompany the games.

In April 2010, the BBC announced The Adventure Games, four interactive episodes available free-to-download on the BBC Doctor Who website featuring the Doctor and Amy voiced by Smith and Gillan. Piers Wenger referred to them as four extra episodes in the series and everything included was part of the Doctor Who universe. The game was developed by Charles Cecil and Sheffield-based game company Sumo, while the games were written by Phil Ford and James Moran and overseen by Moffat and the producers of the show. Cecil was contacted by BBC Wales Editor of Interactive Iain Tweedale, who asked him about developing a Doctor Who game. Smith and Gillan's movements and actions were captured by rotoscoping.

As the Doctor is a pacifist and did not use the guns commonly found in video games, The Adventure Games untilised a more strategy and puzzle-based gameplay. Much of the first game was based around stealth, exploration, and puzzle-solving. The Doctor was also equipped with his sonic screwdriver, but as this was often used as a skeleton key in the show the game employs the solving of puzzles to advance instead of simply using the screwdriver.

The first installment, "City of the Daleks", was originally scheduled to be released 5 June 2010, but was made available two days earlier. The BBC explained the early release as a testing procedure, and final tweaks were expected to be made prior to official release. Within the first twelve days of availability, the game was downloaded over 500,000 times, and the traffic on the site had increased as a result. The second game, "Blood of the Cybermen", was released on 26 June, after the airing of the series finale. This was followed by the third game, "TARDIS", on 27 August and "Shadows of the Vashta Nerada" on 22 December.

Additionally, a mobile game app was developed by Tag Games for BBC Worldwide. Titled Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time", it allowed the gamer to play as both the Doctor and Amy and involved time travel, defeating enemies, and solving problems. It featured over 100 puzzles, seven locations to travel to, music from the show, and the enemies being the Daleks, Cybermen, and Silurians. The app was released for Apple IOS devices on 16 December 2010 and for Android on 17 August 2011.