Doctor Who Prom (2008) - Reception

Reception

Writing in The Times, Caitlin Moran called the event "the hottest ticket in town this week," and added, "As a child’s introduction to orchestral recitals, it is peerless." Moran also noted "a moment of squirming shame" at the realisation that composer Murray Gold has not won a BAFTA. Matthew Rye of the Daily Telegraph called the production "fluently staged" and called Gold's music "evocative"; he also described "The Torino Scale" as "a visceral miniature".

Bruce Dessau, writing in the Evening Standard, felt that the classical compositions "jostled for attention" with Gold's work, and called "The Torino Scale" "cacophonous". Of the Doctor Who pieces, Dessau singled out soloist Melanie Pappenheim for her performance of Doomsday describing it as "haunting" and that it "hoisted the emotional level to a peak unsurpassed even when the team saved Earth, accompanied by the soaring Song Of Freedom." Dessau's sole complaint was that the concert gave insufficient attention to the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and that the programme's conclusion with the Doctor Who theme "felt more like an afterthought than a climax."

In The Guardian, Nicholas Lezard praised the idea behind the concert: "One can imagine no better way to get children interested in classical music than by plonking them down in front of an orchestra belting out music from Doctor Who." Lezard noted that the non-Doctor Who music "was received with baffled tolerance"; he said that the BBC Philharmonic played "Montagues and Capulets" "crisply and excitingly", but felt that "Ride of the Valkyries" "tends to sound a little underpowered unless played by two orchestras at once". Lezard called Gold's work "a little derivative" but "perfectly suited to the task"; however, he complained that Gold's orchestration of the Doctor Who theme "drowned" Delia Derbyshire's original arrangement. He wrote that "the hundred-strong choir and soloist Melanie Pappenheim performed flawlessly," and also praised the technical execution of the complex programme.

In a review of the Doctor Who Series 4 soundtrack, Abigail Sanderson mentioned that although some had objected to the Doctor Who Prom, even "fearsome critics" agreed that it "was an excellent forum for introducing younger listeners to concert music."

Covering the event for Doctor Who Magazine, David Darlington noted that the stated aim of the Proms is "to encourage an audience for concert hall music who, though not normally attending classical concerts, would be attracted by the low ticket prices and informal atmosphere" and concluded that if the children in the audience had such a love for Doctor Who "that they have come all this way to spend an hour or two listening to the music from the show, and that they will happily also sit through a formal, experimental and rather abrasive piece of modern classical music and then enthusiastically applaud at the end, then all concerned can be happy with their day's work."

Michael Beek, who wrote the programme notes for the concert, called it "a very theatrical experience", but suggested that it was "a small shame" that the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who record the music for the television programme, had not been invited to perform. Beek also said that the performance of "Song for Ten" by original vocalist Tim Phillips "left a lot to be desired".

Reviewing the highlights from the concert shown on television, Paul Byrne of Dublin's Evening Herald called the concert "a delightfully silly idea" with an "irresistible charm". Anna Lowman of TV Scoop noted that some of the power of the featured Doctor Who music came from the audience associating the themes with powerful scenes from the television series. She added, "It was a joy to watch it on the TV, so I can only imagine that it was magical to be there on the night itself."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Gillian Reynolds listed the Doctor Who Prom as one of several successful elements in the 2008 Proms season. Jenny Abramsky, the BBC's former Director of Audio and Music, praised Proms director Roger Wright "for creating such a wonderful and exciting event that clearly grabbed children's imagination." Anna Picard, music correspondent for The Independent, included the Doctor Who Prom as a highlight in her year-end review of classical music in 2008. However, by April 2009 a journalist for The Sunday Times said that "there have been complaints that the Proms need no more gimmicks – such as David Tennant hosting a Doctor Who prom for children last year" (although Tennant did not host the Prom).