212. (5.7) Amy's Choice

This is the oddest episode ever. I didn't really like it when I first saw it. Upon recent viewing, it didn't hate it as much as I initially did. Trapped between two dream states, the Doctor, Rory and Amy battle wits with the Dream Lord for survival. This story builds up the connection between Amy and Rory, show a possible future of them settled and pregnant. Rory's "death" strikes at the heart of the story. Of course knowing what is to come, this episode actually foreshadows a lot of things. But it's still a weird episode.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy%27s_Choice_(Doctor_Who)

211. (5.6) The Vampires of Venice

The Doctor and Amy pick up Rory at his stag party and head off to adventure in time and space! Rory actually starts developing a backbone here in regards to the Doctor but is still a push over for Amy. The conceit of what the "vampires" actually are is clever and in keeping with Who. Helen McCrory is delightful as the villainess and could easily be cast as The Rani. The location filming is gorgeous and feels authentic. The resolution is very Who-y reminding me of the ending of the Daleks take Manhattan with Tennant. The final second tease is ominous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampires_of_Venice

210B. (5.5) Flesh and Stone

The Doctor and company jump to safety, temporarily out of the reach of the Weeping Angels. But they're still after the Doctor and they're getting stronger. The arc of the story is the crack in Amy's wall first seen in the Eleventh Hour and it gets full frontal here. Thankfully the Doctor uses it to suck up all the Angles and save everyone. Which almost seems secondary to the other tidbits of the episode.

We find out River is in prison for killing a good man. Amy has to keep her eyes closed to she doesn't become an Angel. She's also getting married in the morning to Rory. And the next time we'll see River is when the Pandorica opens. Spoilers sweety. And Amy gives the Doctor the obligatory companion kiss of the season. All in all, the best story yet of the season and a treasure trove of seeds for the future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_and_Stone

210A. (5.4) The Time of Angels

Hello sweety! The dead River Song returns to flirt with the 11th Doctor. Moffat hits a high point of the season by bringing his character River Song from season 4's Silence in the Library, who may or may not be the Doctor's wife. We are treated to a wonderful opening intro. Moffat continues to build up River and teases new info about her. 

But not only are we treated to the return of one Moffat creation, we get another Moffat creation with the return of the Weeping Angels. And this time they're out for blood. Crash landing of the Byzantium has them weakened and they're killling everyone. They've laid a great trap and the episode cliffhanger is pretty good. Now everybody jump!

TO BE CONTINUED... 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_of_Angels

209. (5.3) Victory of the Daleks

Daleks. Churchill. WWII. Mark Gatiss. Could be magic? Every good Doctor gets his trial by fire eventually and we get the Daleks 3rd out the gate. We return to a familiar Moffat setting of World War II London during the blitz (see Empty Child). The Daleks in WWII is a cool concept but they're working for the Allies as servants of Churchill. Yawn. This would have been far more interesting if they were working for Hitler and the Axis and terrorizing Europe. Anyways, the borderline travesty of the story is the recoloring of the Daleks into the rainbow Daleks in bigger shells. They threaten to blow up the Earth, again, Amy deactivates the bomb and the Daleks get away scott free. Yawn. There are excellent small Dalek stories (see Dalek), and excellent big Dalek stories (see Stolen Earth). This unfortunately falls somewhere in the middle and is far from excellent. So much potential...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_of_the_Daleks

208. (5.2) The Beast Below

The is the 11th Doctor and Amy's 'The End of the World'. Whisking Amy away in the middle of the night in her night gown, we go to the far future and board Starship UK. This is Amy's episode to roam around in the future and meet weird people and get her feet wet. After RTD did this story to brilliantly already, this version comes off as lesser than and not as stylish. The giant space whale could have been cooler but you never get a sense of its size and magnificence. I think we're starting to see some hallmark Moffat dark and creepy emerge here. I did love Liz 10 though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beast_Below

207. (5.1) The Eleventh Hour

Here we go again! After the heart wrenching end of the 10th Doctor, the new, younger 11th Doctor as portrayed by Matt Smith takes front and center. With no cross over companion or anyone else to bridge the regeneration, the 11th Doctor crash lands in young Amelia Pond's backyard. As the Doctor recovers from his regeneration, Amelia and we the audience learn about his new persona. Jump ahead 12 years, Amy's grown up and the Doctor picks up where he left off. 

I have to say this is one of the better introductory stories for a new Doctor. As opposed to the 10th Doctor who spent half the episode in bed, the 11th Doctor is off and running from the first second. Initially it took a bit for me to get used to such a young actor, with Matt Smith actually younger than Peter Davison at the time of his tenure. But by the end of the episode, Smith has completely embraced the role and made it his own. 

As Steven Moffat's first episode as Executive Director, this also sets the tone for his tenure and starts sewing the seeds for plot lines to come. Spoilers sweety. As the 10th Doctor was a right turn from the 9th Doctor, so too is the 11th Doctor a left turn from 10. And the story continues...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eleventh_Hour_(Doctor_Who)