Doctor Who Project - Catching up

Wow I'm rubbish at this. I did honestly watch the remaining episodes and I watched them several months back too, just didn't get round to writing about them. I'm so bad with this blogging lark that we've had a 50th anniversary special which introduced a new Doctor, Captain Grumpy aka "The War Doctor" and Matt Smith's Doctor has aged several hundred years and regenerated into Peter Capaldi. Which reminds me... KIDNEYS!! Sorry, it's like tourettes, love that opening line especially as it was delivered in Capaldi's native Scottish accent and with a manic frenzy. Really can't wait to see more of the "13th" Doctor. Hmm not sure I agree with that title, he will always be the 12th in my eyes as John Hurt's Doctor was explicitly referred to as the "War Doctor". Anyhoo I digress.

Series 4

By far Tennant's best series in the role (before RTD ruined it all with the overdrawn farewell tour of the specials especially "End of Time"). As I have so many episodes to get through I think I'd best do a quick review for each one:

• Partners in Crime - Great fun little opener and Donna's back this time full time! Wish Adipose existed, I'd happily take it. RTD's time on Doctor Who is littered with social comments from the over reliance on Sat Navs, cosmetic surgery (the Lady Cassandra) etc and this is no different with Davies mocking the diet industry and get slim quick schemes. Reminds me of Peter Kay's sketch "14 stone in a day!".
• The Fires of Pompei - Karen Gillan and Peter Capaldi in the same episode! Ok episode mostly memorable for the mention of specific events like Pompei being "time locked" as well as The Doctor playing God and saving Capaldi's family. Bit of foreshadowing for the "Time Lord Victorious"? More of that to come. Good Donna story.
•  Planet of the Ood - The Ood make a welcome return (as if the title didn't give it away!) although we may have grown tired of seeing them before series 5. Plenty of character development for the Ood here although they're a race rather than just one singular character (then again they are very interchangeable). Quite a good story with a serious point to make but not one of my favourite Tennant stories.
• The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky - The return of the spudlike warmongering minute clone race. The first time I saw this episode was the first time I'd come across the Sontarans. I've since seen a few 'Classic Who' Sontaran stories and this is quite a weak one in comparison especially compared to their debut in 'The Time Warrior'. Martha's back too and now she works for UNIT who again pale in comparison to their 'Classic Who' counterparts. Boy genius Luke Rattigan is annoying and the point of us all being over reliant on sat navs (including a scene where it drives itself into a pond which in itself seems to have become just as associated with sat navs) and pollution is a bit heavy handed. The Sontarans come off as stupid and comedy villains although unlike the Cybermen it kind of suits them given their diminutive stature. Moffat however has proven with his use of the recurring Sontaran character Strax that the Sontarans work better as single characters played for laughs rather than some evil race intent on taking over the planet.
• The Doctor's Daughter - Featuring an actual Doctor's (Peter Davison) daughter Georgia Moffat (no relation to Steven Moffat) and now mother to another Doctor's (David Tennant) child, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. Interesting concept exploring the possibility of The Doctor being a Father (although his first ever companion Susan was his Grandaughter!) even if she was produced from his DNA rather than the traditional method of err being produced from his DNA. You know what I mean! Just a shame we never get to see the eponymous daughter "Jenny" again. Oh and Martha's in this episode too.
• The Unicorn and the Wasp - Continuing the theme of The Doctor meeting celeb history figures (Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens et al) this story sees The Doctor and Donna in the middle of an Agatha Christie style 'whodunnit' plot with wait for it Agatha Christie, cue references and gags centered around Agatha Christie's work. The story is supposedly a straight out comedic episode but mostly fails to deliver on that part. Additionally the story and the monster are also quite weak it's no wonder Agatha Christie forgets the events (although The Doctor shows Donna that she subconsciously remembers parts of it by brandishing a copy of one of her books with a wasp on the cover).
• Silence in the Library/Planet of the Dead - RIVER SONG! I should end the review of this story right there but that would be an injustice. One of the all time greatest 'New Who' stories ever. This story introduces the character of River Song, a character like no other as she knows The Doctor (quite intimately it's implied) but he's never met her before. She has her own sonic device that The Doctor gave her and she even knows his name. Just as well Moffat took over as showrunner because with a build up like this we needed to know more about her. The story also features the creepy spacesuit villians in the form of the Vashta Nerada as well as an alternative (digital) world where people are "saved" once they've been bumped off by the Vashta Nerada. This is a brilliant story that allows Donna to explore her own story whilst The Doctor is introduced to River and ultimately the two come together when he saves her in this digital world.
• Midnight - Another great story that is atmospheric and creepy yet so simple. The Doctor decides to go on a little space tour which of course breaks down before some being gets onboard and possesses  one of his fellow travellers. The idea of the "monster" repeating what everyone is saying before saying it simultaneously then speaking before them is so simple yet so brilliant. It evokes childhood memories of repeating what people say to wind them up then takes it to another level. It very quickly moves from annoying to scary. Oh look out for another Doctor's (the 2nd Doctor) offspring in this episode ie David Troughton as well as Merlin (Colin Morgan).
• Turn Left - A 'what if?' story. Another simple idea and suprisingly a Doctor light episode (this along with Blink actually works) exploring the idea of Donna never meeting The Doctor. The Doctor dies and subsequently Earth is attacked several times with no one to defend it. The story proves to Donna what The Doctor keeps on telling her that she isn't just some temp from Chiswick, she is incredibly important. Of course all this building up can only mean one thing and with a series finale on the way you can guess what it will be! Rose also makes a return in this episode which I'm sure they could've gotten around, why keep bringing her back. Her story is finished, just let it rest.
• The Stolen Earth/Journey's End - Yet another example of RTD going for the epic finish to a series then cocking it up with the concluding part. Why does every series under Russell T Davies have to go for the bigger is better spectacular ending? Why always the Daleks too?! Hated seeing all the companions and hanger ons (Torchwood, Harriet Jones etc) all coming together like the bloody Scooby gang. This story is also the reason why Matt Smith is supposedly the 13th incarnation of The Doctor (because 10 had vanity issues! LOL). The Doctor/Donna idea is a bit silly as well as the extra "handy" Doctor grown from the hand of the 10th Doctor lost whilst battling the Sycrorax in the 'Christmas Invasion'. Of course the extra Doctor means that Rose can go and have her happy ending in a parallel universe. Pass me a sick bucket! To add to the misery The Doctor then has to wipe Donna's mind so she no longer remembers him or their adventures. FFS RTD! Worst series finale since the reboot.

As I said earlier Donna is a great companion, ok I've not exactly sold her very well above but she's awesome. Firstly she's not pining over The Doctor unlike Rose and Martha, she's not even remotely interested in him (get the impression she prefers guys with a bit more meat on them! LOL). She's intelligent, funny and definitely more than a match for him. There's something about the older companion that definitely works in this case. There just best mates seeing the universe together and she helps him get over Rose (something Martha could never really do), just a shame they bring her back again at the end of the series to spoil it all!

Ok now that's done, let's have a look at the specials.

The "Specials"

After 4 years in the role David Tennant decided to take on a new challenge in the form of Hamlet amongst other roles. As a result he couldn't commit to the role full time and filmed several 'specials' throughout 2009 before regenerating into the excellent Matt Smith.

• The Next Doctor - Playing with the idea that we don't yet know who the next Doctor will be David Morrissey's "Doctor" even has Tennant's Doctor going for a bit before he works out what has happened. This is a fun episode ruined only by the crap (yet again) Cybermen.
• Planet of the Dead - What a great companion The Lady De Souza would have made. Also Lee Evans as Bernard, brilliant. The story and the villains are a bit crap which is a shame. Oh and he will knock 4 times.
• The Waters of Mars - Now this is more like it! Another 'time locked' event where the Doctor intervenes this time it goes wrong and still results in the death of Adelaide (after she gives him an ear bending. The monsters are great too although the Ood make another appearance at the end.
• The End of Time - Oh dear God, why? This could've been so much more better though to be fair RTD didn't have a great track record with finales. Yet again he goes for the epic spectacular and then overdoes it with sentiment. The Master is awful in this story. Firstly they bring him back with magic potions then he develops super powers and a flashing skull face. The Naismiths are bumbling idiots as are the cactus aliens. There's a massive fall from a spaceship that doesn't even affect Tennant's Doctor yet a fall from a much smaller height killed off Tom Baker's Doctor! Just as things couldn't get any worse RTD throws in the kitchen sink and brings back the Time Lords with some mystery woman who may or may not be The Doctor's Mum (it's never explained) however it's not The Doctor that saves the day but The Master by taking out the Time Lords. This story isn't all bad, The Doctor sacrifices himself to save Wilf (Donna's Grandad) and there's a great scene with them chatting in the cafe as well as on the spaceship however all this is undone with the ending. As I said above RTD overdoes the sentiment as Tennant goes on a farewell tour, saying goodbye to all his former companions before uttering "I don't want to go", get over yourself! Four years on and this line still irks me! Tennant's farewell could've been handled so much more better but instead we get this crapfest. Kind of sums up Tennant's era all over, some moments of brilliance ruined with some cringeworthy scenes and awful series finales.

So there it is the whole RTD era covered. Of course Matt Smith's run has come to an end so I have the option of covering that too, maybe later. Re-watching these episodes has made me realise just how "fantastic" Christopher Eccleston was and that David Tennant wasn't as great as I once thought (ok Matt Smith's awesome portrayal may have slightly influenced this!) not that he was bad in the role. I think a lot of  the downsides with Tennant's Doctor were the quality of the stories (particularly series finales) and the relationship with Rose especially as this should've been tied up at the end of series 2 instead of bringing her character back time and time again. There's also the whiney emo side to Tennant's Doctor too that's perfectly encapsulated in the line "I don't want to go". Yeah because you really were the centre of the universe, so much so that your regeneration almost destroyed the TARDIS. FFS. The minute or so of Matt Smith at the end of 'End of Time' was such a welcome relief. It really shouldn't be like that, I should be sad to see a Doctor go not happy (although  it's always great to see a new Doctor). In my eyes Tennant isn't the worst Doctor (he's still above McCoy and Colin Baker as well as poor McGann due to limited TV stories - thank you so much Moffat for the Night of the Doctor) but he's far from my favourite. I'm sure that last line will upset a few fan girls and boys. Oh well.

Doctor Who Project - 'Voyage of the Damned' aka the Kylie Christmas Special

Martha's gone, The Master's been defeated and The Doctor's left holding a life ring from the Titanic screaming "What? What? What?". The next thing we know David Tennant is chatting away to Kylie Minogue who's dressed in a maid's outfit (think a lot of men's Christmas wishes came true right there).

To be honest that was probably the highlight of this episode, that and Bernard Cribbins cameo. Richard Bucket from Keeping up Appearances was annoying with his off the mark Earth facts. The rest of the supporting cast were just as bad. There was the 'big' couple who were there just to make fat jokes, the red conker and the smarmy rich guy who ended up making money out of the whole catastrophe. Sums it all up. Even the baddie was crap. Some bald eye-patched guy's head on a steam punk version of Davros' life support system. His big plan was to crash the Titanic and claim the insurance (or something like that, I stopped paying attention by this point to be honest) and live in luxury for the rest of his life. Yeah it was that bad!

Oh well series 4 to come.

Oh one last thing, The Doctor trying to save Kylie after she fell to her death felt a bit like how he rescues River Song in 'The Silence in the Library' (the 1st time The Doctor meets River and the last time she 'meets' him, whilst alive anyway!). Oh wait that hasn't happened yet has it? Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey and maybe a little foreshadowing for next series (4 aka the Donna series that is).

Onwards and upwards. Alons-y!

Had to be done!

Doctor Who Project - Series 3 finale - Blink, Utopia, The Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords

Okay, it's been a while since I last watched a Tennant episode. So much for my project! With an afternoon and no plans I decided to put the Series 3 Volume 3 DVD and finally re-watch 'Blink'. This was after I'd re-watched 'Genesis of the Daleks' and before I knew it it had turned into a marathon ending with the 2007 Christmas special 'Voyage of the Damned' aka the Titanic/Kylie Christmas special.

So without further delay here's my thoughts on the last few episodes of series 3:

Blink

Classic episode and for good reason too. This is one of the few if only times a new Who monster warrants a return. It's hard to believe that The Doctor is hardly in this story. 'Blink' is one of those stories that have now been affectionately known as a 'Doctor light episode'. On top of that you've got Carey Mulligan, yes that Carey Mulligan as well as some classic lines like "The angels have the phone box. I've got that on a tshirt." and of course "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey". 'Blink' is clever, well written, well acted  and well err just brilliant all round. It's definitely one of the best episode since the show's return and was probably the main reason why Moffat got the big job. Go and watch it if you haven't seen it yet.

Utopia

Captain Jack's back. Meh. Never really cared for Captain Jack anyway but RTD couldn't just leave him alone. Also do face tattoos, dodgy teeth and body piercing now make you non human? Then there's Chan - Can't say anything without it being bracketed by the beginning and end of her name which becomes really annoying after the 2nd or 3rd time you hear it - tho. What saves this episode though is the excellent Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana (You Are Not Alone) and Martha's realisation that he has a fog watch just like The Doctor's ie the Chameleon Arch pocket watch. After hearing a few recognisible terms Professor Yana becomes so curious that he opens the watch and lets Hell loose. Just like opening the fog watch in 'The Family of Blood' the professor is restored to his true Time Lord self only this time it's not one of the good ones, it's only The Doctor's arch nemesis (well one of them anyway) The Master. There's also the small matter of the last humans boarding a rocket to utopia. Like I said small matter but thought I'd mention it as it plays a role in the finale.

The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords

Possibly one of the worst series finales since 2005. Here's why: Martha's family, references to 'The Lazarus Experiment' and 'The Christmas Invasion', the Toclafane (WTF?!), the perception filter working on everyone but The Master, The Master's bad taste in music, the Americans coming in and stealing our (Brirtish) thunder, Martha walking the Earth, the resolution (who would have thought everyone thinking the same word at the same time would have that effect), a flying aircraft carrier, the big reset at the end so that the past year didn't exist (the effect with the Earth reversing seemed a bit Superman 2) and worst of all the old (Dobby) Doctor. Awful awful episode. Think The Doctor sums it up best when he says "What? What? What?" at the end of this story (albeit because he's just been struck by what appears to be the Titanic!).

Doctor Who Project - 'Human Nature/The Family of Blood'

So here it is the first of three excellent new Who episodes in a row and what a start. The Doctor's rewritten his DNA, hiding his Time Lord self in a pocket watch we're reliably told is a chameleon arch (RTD sowing the seeds for later episodes). He's also (unknown to himself) disguised himself as an early 20th century boys boarding school teacher, falling in love with the school's matron (aka Fat Cheryl from The Royale Family). Of course there's a reason why The Doctor's gone to such lengths, the family of Blood.

What makes this story so compelling is the Doctor/John Smith conflict. As the human John Smith, The Doctor has fallen in love with the school's Matron Joan and has a happy life. There's no reason why he should believe the things that Martha tells him, despite his dreams that he's logging in a scarily accurate journal. I mean it all just sounds too fantastical but then the baddies show up and what baddies. The young lad with the creepy stare is brilliant. the scarecrows look fantastic (such a simple idea, realised so brilliantly). On top of that The Doctor is ruthless on how he deals with the family. He doesn't kill them, that's not The Doctor's way. Instead he gives them what they desire, a long (immortal?) life. There's a lesson in there, be careful what you wish for.

I don't think I can even begin to explain just how brilliant these two stories are. As well as the above, there's a nod to the First World War (the story is set the year before war breaks out) and there is definitely a sense of foreboding. There's also the sense that this war isn't the only war on the horizon. There's a storm coming. The best thing I could say is to just go and watch these two episodes. It's the only way to experience just awesome it is.

Doctor Who Project - 42

Like the last review, I've put off reviewing this episode. I saw it weeks ago and to be honest it was so forgettable I've just had to look it up online. I honestly confused it with the story that has The Hoth and The Doctor's daughter in it (isn't that called 'The Doctor's Daughter'?!). Made a commitment to this project though and I really want to watch some of the next episodes especially as we're getting towards the end of this series and have series 4 to look forward to which was easily Tennant's finest point.

Like the last episode we see another soap actress cast in one of the major support roles (last time round it was Mavis from Corrie now it's Cindy Beale from Eastenders). RTD stunt casting aside this episode is most memorable for the "burn with me" line muttered by the baddie. I would imagine this bad guy would be scary to younger viewers especially when The Doctor becomes 'infected' and turns on Martha muttering the baddie mantra of "burn with me".

There's the obvious pun on '24' in the title, especially as they only have 42 min to save the ship from falling into the sun but having never seen '24' that's where my comparison to that ends.

42 isn't that bad of an episode, it's still filler but at least it's not 'The Lazarus Experiment' or others I care not to mention. It has the benefit of not being set on Earth (although most of it is on the ship) and you get the sacrifice at the end, the ship's Captain putting right to her wrongs whilst dying in her partner's (who is infected with the Sun's energy) arms which gives a far more satisfying conclusion than ringing a bell and hoping a giant primordial genetic throwback falls to his death.

Yet again at the end of the story we see the obligatory Saxon mention, this time around it's more heavy handed with Saxon's people doing an FBI listening in on Martha's call to her Mum. The story also parallels the previous story as The Doctor gives Martha a key to the TARDIS (previously had told her she's ok to carry on travelling with her).

Oh well onward and upwards the 'Human Nature/Family of Blood' double followed by 'Blink' next!

Alons-y

Doctor Who Project - The Lazarus Experiment

Ok, I'll admit I'm slacking. I haven't watched any New Who (apart from The Bells of Saint John the other night) for ages and it's been even longer since I wrote a review. I actually watched this episode and "42" weeks ago and have been wanting to watch the next DVD (mostly because they are probably the 3 finest episodes produced the RTD era if not since the 2005 comeback) but have had to restrain myself otherwise I'd end up having to review way too many episodes at once! Doesn't help that I have never really liked this episode.

The idea is interesting enough ie old guy tries to reverse the effects of time and in turn becomes a monster (quite literally) however the monster he becomes looks crap. Not a fan of Mark Gattis either, whether it's as an appearance as an actor or as writer. Hopefully he'll be a better showrunner (as well as deliver the goods with the early days drama he's producing for the 50th in November). This episode features Martha's family more than previous and there's a few mentions of Saxon. It almost feels like a filler episode, dropping in hints for future stories as well as taking up space in the series. Honestly I'm starting to warm to the split series format seen over the last 2 series (6 and 7) as we seem to be getting all killer and no filler therefore there's no need for episodes like this one, 42, Love and Monsters or Fear Her.

The ending to the episode is crap ie Lazarus is defeated by falling from the top of the bell tower as The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to amplify the bell rings. I get the impression that a fall like this wouldn't kill off a monster like the one Lazarus has become, although it did the trick for the 4th Doctor!

The best part of the story though is when Tennant's Doctor stops being a dick and finally accepts Martha. He finally tells her she was never really just a passenger along for one ride.

FINALLY!

Doctor Who Project - 'Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks'

Ok time for another live review I think. This time I'm going to take on a 2 parter! Think I might have to take a break inbetween. lol

Ok here goes:

Daleks in Manhatten

• Lights, music, showtime oh and a bit of love interest.
• Oh what was that rushing past the screen? ;)
• Oh look a great big man pig. This Lazlo guy's lucky it's just a pig slave and not a weeping angel as we now know they were in New York around this time.
• Martha "where are we?" Nope it's not New York, it's actually Cardiff (the team cheated by filming against a wall that looked like the wall underneath the statue of liberty.
• Oh Martha just made a valid point, New New York to (old) New York.
• What's Hooverville? A Doctor Who convention in Derby isn't it? ;)
• People living in poverty due to the recession, would be interesting if they made another episode like this now!
• 'How can they build the world's tallest building yet people are starving?' Exactly!!
• Ooh love that art deco light that lining up perfectly with the Dalek stalk. Brilliant.
• Yay Dalek. Daleks are always best when they're being sneaky.
• Missing people, the plot thickens.
• Dalek panels on top of the Empire State Building?
• This Mr Diagonal or whatever his name is is a bit of an arse.
• Yeah more Daleks. His loyalty will be rewarded by Daleks? Hmm don't like the sound of that.
• Nice close up of the black Dalek there.
• Dalek Sec, yay the Cult of Skaro are back.
• Basically RUN!! lol love it.
• Hauuns in the air and no funnny bizzniss. Dodgy accent.
• lol Lazlo's not a pig. You sure about that Tullulah?
• Oh dear Martha's pining over the Doctor. Why did they have to go down this route again?
• Liking all this Dalek experiment business.
• This whole musical performance is a bit unnecessary.
• Skaro! The Doctor's worked it out.
• Why is it she doesn't recognise his voice but she recognise him with a pig's snout?
• Like how Martha doesn't know what a Dalek is.
• lol Dalek Sec looks like a washing machine on full spin!
• Human Dalek - Interesting.

Time for a quick break before the next episode. So far so good. Not quite 'Dalek' or 'Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways' but so far one of the better Dalek stories in New Who.

Evolution of the Daleks

• Ok here we go again. No pre title action just a catch up on the last episode.
• Emergency temporal shift? What all 4 of them? To the exact same point and place in time?
• Oh oh the Dalek's feeling humanity.
• Now that Dalek Sec is no longer in his Dalek case does that mean he's no longer connected to the hive (see Asylum of the Daleks)? Bit of a weakness for a Dalek don't you think? As well as losing the protective shell which Davros designed for them to survive the Kaled/Thal war. Not much of an evolution. The only positive things I can think of for a Dalek would be that they now have little Dalek bits and could reproduce.
• Putting his gun down and trying to reason with a Dalek, big mistake.
• EXTERMINATE! lol That was pretty funny after that moving speech.
• Daleks never change their minds. They never seem to be able to kill The Doctor when they get the chance to either. They're a bit like Bond  villains in that sense.
• Ooh this looks like a scene out of The Matrix or the blood bank in Blade.
• So the final experiment is to wipe the minds of humans and fill it with Dalek ideas. So what was the point in the Human/Dalek hybrid?
• Ah right, so they need a Human/Dalek hybrid's DNA to re-write the DNA of the human captives.
• Davros was wrong? Why do they go back to him at the end of series 4 then? Saying that the other Daleks just disagreed with him, maybe he inspired Dalek Khan to pop back into the Time War and get Davros.
• So now this Human/Dalek hybrid is redundant as they're changing the DNA structure now Dalek SEC has decided they need to be more human.
• Surely if the DNA feed is now 100% Dalek it will change how the humans will look?
• Looks like the Daleks have finally cottoned onto the fact that Sec is now redundant. Could've told them that 10 min ago.
• Why is Dalek Sec all chained up? The Daleks gone soft in their old age? Exterminate him FFS.
• Bit confused, how does a solar flare affect lightening? Also lightening hitting a rod to generate enough power to feed advanced technology, deliberate nod to Back to the Future? Probably not.
• So how many sonic screwdrivers is that now? He bust one in 'Smith and Jones' and has just dropped another.
• Ok so The Doctor can survive a bolt of lightening (strengthened by solar flares) but he can't survive a fall from a satelite dish or a little bit of radiation (although he can shake it into his left shoe?).
• "I am a Dalek", you sure about that?
• This whole Daleks as masters and Dalek Sec in chains is a bit BDSM. Kinky Daleks!
• I like how the Daleks only move they're heads and eye stalks rather than wobbling around all over the place like they're on speed.
• Oh you're not a Dalek now. Make your mind up!
• Why didn't the Dalek just exterminate The Doctor just then instead of shooting at the Dalek-Human who stood up to them.
• Especially when they can just kill on mass like that.
• Nice parallel with the Dalek and The Doctor there, just 1 in the universe.
• Just thought is the guy playing Frank, Andrew Garfield from The Amazing Spiderman?
• Just IMDB'd him, yes it is.
• Yep The Doctor will see that Dalek again.

Well that wasn't too bad. It had it's flaws, the whole thing with the DNA was a bit silly and confusing as well as pointless but it wasn't the worst episode. It's not even the worst Dalek episode (That's probably Victory of the Daleks). Not a big fan of the next episode, should be interesting to see how I interpret/enjoy it this time around.

Doctor Who Project - New Who roundup

Ok I've been a bit lazy recently. I've watched a few episodes lately and haven't bothered to review them. Probably because I've been hankering for a bit of Classic Who after OD'ing on RTD era Who. Having refreshed my palette with the excellent 'Caves of Androzani' and 'Earthshock' here's my roundup of the next few Who stories:

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday

We finally get to see Torchwood, they're messing around with forces they don't understand (no change there then) and have let the Cybermen cross over from Pete Tyler's alternate universe and in doing so also release the Daleks. Way to go Torchwood! The Doctor saves the day, loses Rose (yay) and has some big overdrawn emo goodbye to her on Bad Wolf Bay (boo). Cybermen are made to look like a joke (no change there), getting their arses handed to them on a plate by just 4 Daleks (albeit there are considerable more later). Genesis Ark is a clever idea harking back to 'Dalek' as well as the TARDIS ie bigger on the inside. Final shots of the story DONNA!!

The Runaway Bride

Our first glimpse of the best companion in RTD's era (some would argue since the 2005 return), Donna Noble. Donna's a bit shouty in this story though although to be fair she has just been swept up from the wedding aisle and dumped in the TARDIS. Great chase scene with the TARDIS and taxi. Loved the scene where they travelled back billions of years too to see the creation of the Earth (so that's the creation and destruction of the planet that RTD has covered now) just to find it was a Racnoss ship. The Doctor saves the day and it snows (as always). One of the best New Who Christmas episodes yet.

Smith and Jones

Oh look it's Martha Jones, she looks familiar. The Doctor using his pseudonym John Smith, think this may be the 1st use of it in New Who. They end up on the moon whilst the silly brutish Judoon search for an alien. What they're really looking for is an old women with a straw that sucks human blood to disguise herself as human. Nice resolution sucking The Doctor's blood so the Judoon recognise her as alien. My problem is how Martha revives him with just CPR when he's had his blood sucked dry. Other than that it's a good intro to the character of Martha, let down by further appearances.

The Shakespeare Code

I quite like this story as it's playful. There's loads of Shakespeare references and even plays with the stuffy image of the Bard that is in this story he's not bald (though The Doctor warns him he'll go bald) and The Doctor gives him a big collar to use as a neck brace at the end. The villian just had to be 3 witches with it being a Shakespeare story! Of course because it's Doctor Who it's not magic it's the science of words. Loved the references to Back to the Future and Harry Potter. Experliarmus!

Gridlock

The Doctor returns to New New York but this time it's different, there's drug pushers selling mood enhancers and everyone wants to join the motorway, a place where people literally spend a lifetime in traffic (know that feeling!). Turns out New Earth is this way because of The Doctor's previous actions. He set the disease ridden people free, New Earth was quarantined, nothing survived but the people on the motorway which was sealed off to protect them. Before saving everyone again the Face of Boe (Captain Jack?) informs The Doctor that he is "not alone". The Doctor shoots Martha down when she says he's got her (arse!) by telling all that he's the last of the Time Lords. Tennant's Doctor is so emo!

So there's my brief synopsis of the end of series 2 and the beginning of series 3. No spectacular episodes (The Runaway Bride is prob the best of them) but no bad ones either. Once again Russell T Davies goes for the spectacular in his series finales and for once the 2nd part doesn't completely let the promise of the 1st one down too much. It's probably his best series finale after the series 1 finale. Put it this way it's no 'End of Time'. So far Martha is likeable (to be honest I always did like Martha but that might be because Freema Agyeman is hot!) but I know in hindsight they're going to ruin that.

Doctor Who Project - Love and Monsters

I've just realised that in all my excitement to review 'Fear Her' I missed out reviewing the other stinker of series 2, 'Love and Monsters'. I did watch it honestly, of all the episodes to skip in this series I'd have much rather have passed on 'Fear Her'.

The problem with 'Love and Monsters' which a lot of critics have pointed out is that it's not really Doctor Who. Ok the Doctor does briefly make an appearance at the start and the end of the story but really this is what's come to be known as a 'Doctor light episode' ie one that features The Doctor and companion sparsely so that the main cast can have a break. This would happen quite a lot during the Classic Who days but is a little more subtle due to the structure of stories lasting 4-6+ episodes long, you could afford to lose one or two of the main stars for a week or two whilst the rest carried on with filming.

The story also suffers from a main cast that we've never met before and apart from them all being fans of The Doctor there isn't any real connection between this story and the rest of the series. If anything this story is a love letter to fandom (could be any fandom not just Doctor Who), friendships and relationships being forged through a mutual love of The Doctor and then comes the big bossy know it all that every message board I've ever frequented seems to have to spoil it all. The gang were all having fun until Victor Kennedy comes along and I think that one of the characters remarks that since he came along it's become hard work. I think it's funny that the villain of the story is called an Abzorbaloff as this is exactly what happens when you delve too far into fandom, it takes over your life, absorbs you in and I guess it can feel like an extension of work coming home after work then spending several hours in front of a computer to the point where you feel it compulsory to log in everyday to do this. Yep been there before years ago which is probably why I tend to shun large forum communities. With this in mind Abzorbaloff is a fitting title to something which takes over your life and absorbs you into itself.

To be honest 'Love and Monsters' has a lot going for it: a nice little love story, great use of music (who doesn't love 'Mr Blue Sky'?!), a nice little critique/celebration of fandom including a very clever use of a villain and it gives  the main cast a welcome break. Unfortunately it doesn't all quite work. Like I said before it just doesn't feel like Doctor Who which is quite some feat considering how flexible and durable the format is. The story also suffers from some pretty awful stunt casting in the form of Peter Kay. Marc Warren works as Elton probably because he's an established actor. Peter Kay however is a comedian and for me he just doesn't fit into this story. He comes across as hammy and over the top but then again I think that's his persona as he seems to be the same in every other role he's played. To be honest I'm not a fan of anything Peter Kay's done since Phoenix Nights. I saw him a few years ago doing his standup routine in Manchester, it was pretty much recycled jokes from his routine 10 years earlier. Rant aside Kay's performance is easily the worst thing about this story.

Oh well onwards and upwards now that I've watched and (finally) reviewed 2 of the worst New Who episodes ever (which unfortunately were aired back to back!).

Doctor Who Project - "Fear Her"

Well here it is, the moment I've been avoiding since I started re-watching New Who, the worst (in my humble opinion at least) Doctor Who story ever made (yes I'm including Classic Who too); 'Fear Her'.

Aside from the rubbish conclusion (Rose throws the pod into the Olympic flame and Chloe and her Mum sing to get rid of the scribble monster Dad), the crappy monster (the only real supposed threat other than some little brat with magic crayons is a 2D monster Dad coming to get her) and the cheese factor reaching extreme levels (The Doctor running with the Olympic flame and "no-one wants to stop him", come off it) the most annoying thing about this episode is the obnoxious Chloe. Ok she's playing a girl possessed by an alien being but she still comes across as rude and annoying, for such a vital part in the story they should've probably casted a better actress.

Rant over. When I was little my Mum always tried to get me and my brothers to come up with compliments for each other when we were constantly arguing, was always a challenge! As such I'm going to try (try being the optimal word here) to come up with 5 nice things to say about this episode.

1) The Olympic feel. Considering that this episode was broadcast 6 years before the actual London 2012 Olympics games the Doctor Who producers didn't do too bad of a job. There was the stadium (which is supposedly the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff but looked more like the Manchester Council stadium used for the Commonwealth Games), the torch carrier (funny thing is current Doctor Who star Matt Smith carried it too!) and the general hope and excitedness for the games which did mirror the real thing 6 years later (although most of us Brits half expected it to be crap). The fireworks at the end were not a patch on the real thing though. The Beeb might have been better off using footage from New Year's Eve!

2) The foreshadowing at the end of the episode. A storm is coming but nothing's going to split the Doctor and Rose up. ;)

3) The next time round trailer, Cybermen are back plus we get to see Torchwood after so many hints alluding to it. Oh and is that a Dalek death ray in action? ;)

4) The cat entering a cardboard box and disappearing. Reminded me so much of Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline'. Whether it was a deliberate reference or not doesn't matter to me as I love Gaiman's work (even his non Doctor Who work. lol).

5) Err it was only a one episode story. Told you I'd struggle.

Next time round Cybermen vs Daleks, the fall of Torchwood, Martha Smith (oh wait it's not her it's her cousin conveniently played by the Freema Agyeman) and the 'death' of Rose Tyler. Yay.

Doctor Who Project - "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit"

The Doctor and Rose find themselves on a planet orbiting a black hole, the monster of the week is potentially the biggest (quite lierally) threat he's ever faced  and there's the introduction of the Ood, what's not to like about this story.

The story also features some genuinely scary scenes particularly the scene where Toby hears the voice of the Devil but isn't allowed to turn around. If I was much younger I'd have been hiding behind the couch!

Aside from being a tad scary these episodes have a moral point (slavery is bad), visual spectacles (the beast and the black hole), the mystery (The TARDIS can't translate the ancient writing), a cracking cliffhanger oh and there's the obligatory Torchwood reference.

Like so many of these re-watches I couldn't see what all the fuss was about, now I can see why this story is rated so highly.

Definitely the highlight of series 2 so far. To be fair though so far Tennant's debut series has been a bit below par, not a patch on series 1. The good thing is I know it's going to get much much better and this seems to be the start of it.

Doctor Who Project - "The Idiot's Lantern" (After)

"Are you sitting comfortably? Good then we'll begin". Loved how they worked that in.

If low expectations are anything to go by I can't wait til 'Love and Monsters' and 'Fear Her', easily two of the worst Doctor Who stories ever (and I'm including the 40+ years before them too!). As it turns out 'The Idiot's Lantern' wasn't as bad this time round. The TV as a villain is still crap and it still reeks of style foremost but I quite enjoyed the story of the Father (Derek Branning from Eastenders, yes I did have to look up his character's name) and Son. A misogynistic Father and is son's coming of age and taking over his Father's mantle is well played out and definitely the highlight of the story.

The resolution was a bit pants, climbing a TV aerial mast and reversing the signal, yawn. What puzzled me about this though was what happened to the Gran? Everyone's faces returned yet the Gran was nowhere to be seen by the end of the episode. Also in Magpie's shop The Wire knocks out The Doctor, Tommy and the Policeman but only the Policeman has been turned into one of the faceless creatures. WTF? Ok I can understand The Doctor not changing, higher intelligence and all that too great for The Wire's control, but Tommy?! Confused.

Like I said this was better on re-watch (though still a little bit crap) and had a few nice little sub-plots most notably the Father and Son struggle for dominance and the speech about how Mr Connelly (The Father) fought in the war against narrow minded facists yet he's becoming one himself.

Another highlight was the coming up next trailer! Lol it wasn't that bad of an episode really. Next time round we're getting Oods! I quite like the upcoming 2 parter but can't understand why it's so revered. Maybe the lesson I took from this story (ie go into it with expectations lowered) may help me to fall in love with it.

Until next time, "Alons-y!"

Doctor Who Project "The Idiot's Lantern" (Before)

Ok for this review I'm thinking of a before and after review.

From memory this episode is set in the 50s with The Doctor and Rose investigating a mysterious electrics company and a clipped English accent TV presenter literally stealing the faces of her viewers. I'm sure there's supposed to be a comment on how people waste their lives in front of the TV, hammered home of course with the episode's title (strange point to make when Doctor Who is predominately a TV show).

From the few times I've seen this episode I can't remember being blown away. The story is very meh, the point being made is redundant and the overall feel of the story is (retro chic) style over substance, The 10th Doctor on a scooter anyone?! It's like a half arsed version of 'The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances' from the year before. I hope that there's no truth in the rumours that writer Mark Gatiss is going to take over from Steven Moffat as show runner. Based on this story and his other efforts (Victory of the Daleks, Night Terrors, The Unquiet Dead) it doesn't look too promising for the future of Who post Moffat. To be fair though 'The Unquiet Dead' wasn't too bad and he has co-produced Sherlock with Moffat so I guess you never know what he'd really be like as a producer. As far as this story goes I'm going into the re-watch with low expectations, I'll prob think it's amazing now!

Oh well I guess I'll see you on the otherside.

Doctor Who Project "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel"

Several episodes and a series after we first see a Cyberman referenced in "Dalek" we finally get a Cyberman story and on top of that we get a whole new Cyberman design. It's this new design that has come into all sorts of  criticism amongst fandom. The Cybermen are now 'robot-like', 'slow', the way they move is 'stompy' and 'deafening'. I however quite like the way they look.

I like the art deco styling and the way they move reflects their new bodies ie all heavy metal and moving parts. Ok there's less human parts on show. In the classic series you could see the jaw moving behind the mouthpiece which was cool as it showed that there was a human body that formed part of the Cyberman skeleton. There was also the suit they wore, in the Troughton story "The Invasion" which was basically a scuba diving suit with bits and bobs glued on. OK costume design and budgets have improved in the years to come but this scuba outfit design was kinda endearing and worked as it allowed the Cybermen to move quite easily as well as covering up the delicate human flesh. In fact you could argue that this material could be a more sophisticated soft metal that allows the Cybermen to move more freely. Anyhoo this new Cyberman has 2 handy get out clauses. Firstly The Doctor points out to Mrs Moore that the Cyberman body has an organic as well as a human brain and mostly importantly an emotion inhibitor which prohibits the Cybermen from feelings (not sure how that also stops them thinking freely?). Secondly these Cybermen were created in a parallel universe.

This last point is quite interesting as the new look Cybermen have cropped up again in the Steven Moffat era minus the Cybus Industries chest logo. Can't really get around that unless you were to say they sneaked through the cracks in the universe and fancied a re-brand. Should be interesting when the next design arrives in the Neil Gaiman penned episode sometime this year. I'm also really looking forward to seeing this episode as Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite authors although I would like to see Moffat tackle a Cyberman story. I want them to become scary villains again not comedy villains that they've been since the 70s/80s. Try as he might and to be fair this isn't a bad stab at trying to rectify that RTD fails in trying to make them a serious threat. This isn't a bad story and for the majority of it they are a credible threat, it's the series finale that dooms them to the fate of being comedy villains. An army of Cybermen put to waste by just 4 Daleks, it's not hard to see which bad guy Davies prefers. I'm surprised the Cyber Leader doesn't fist pump and say "Excellent!". Speaking of Cyber Leaders, what's the point in them? Cybermen are supposed to be uniform, why would they need someone commanding them if they all think the same? Oh well cyber rant over.

Anyway back to the story. I like how this story is set in an alternate universe. It reminds me so much of the Pertwee story "Inferno" although in this story there isn't a parallel threat to our world. It does however play with the idea of a parallel world via the support cast: Mickey/Ricky, Pete Tyler still being alive, Rose never being born and Mickey's gran (who hasn't even been mentioned until now) is still alive. The story also has a (not so) subtle sub-plot of how media communications controls our life. On top of that there's the point of clinging onto life via surgery or upgrades in this case.

I also like how this story gives Mickey something to do, he outgrows the 'Mickey the idiot' and becomes an integral part of the story, effectively saving The Doctor and Rose as well as destroying the Cyberman threat. This sudden character development seems a bit out of the blue but it allows Mickey to leave the TARDIS crew and have a happily ever after, fighting Cybermen and being able to see his beloved old gran.

Mickey drives off to Paris in a white van with his new best mate (RTD's gay agenda?) never to be seen again. Or is he? I'm sure that's not the last we'll see of Mickey the Idiot.

Doctor Who Project - "The Girl in the Fireplace"

Ok, going to try something different for this review, you may have noticed that my last few reviews have been a little different in format from the ones that proceeded them and I guess it's my way of being creative and finding a way of keeping the idea fresh (especially when you've got 50+ episodes to review). It's a mighty task but an enjoyable one (although not looking forward to the DVD that contains "Fear Her" and "Love and Monsters" on the same disc. Anyway back to the task in hand. I think for this review I am going to write it live as I'm watching the story, no edits (apart from grammatical ones) so what you'll probably get is unadulterated gibberish! I guess in a way it's kinda like a DVD commentary only in text format!  Nevertheless here we go.

Ooh space, oh nevermind it's a big state home. Madame de Pompadour, quite fancy her. Mistress? Queen? Shouting The Doctor's name into a fireplace, all the mystery!

Opening titles, STEVEN MOFFAT! Yay. Ok at this stage in time he's only written one Doctor Who story albeit one of the best so far.

lol Had to laugh at Mickey's first line, "Yes, spaceship on my first go". Funny that, Rose got one too. Well a space station at least.

Ooh fireplace on a spaceship and a girl on the other side of it.

TARDIS translation, bit of Doctor Who folk law thrown in there and a joke at Mickey's expense.

The Doctor finally meets the girl in person and it's weeks in her future, altogether now "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey". Scary monster time and under the bed too! Moffat is going to terrify a generation! Once again he's made everyday things scary, in this case a ticking clock.

Fire extenguisher that looks like a gun. Another Doctor uses a gun but doesn't joke (see "Dalek" from the 1st series eg hairdryer that looks like a big gun).

Quite like Mickey's tshirt in this episode, old school Nintendo NES joypad. Ok that was a bit random.

Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey time again, Reinette is now fully grown. Ding dong.

Ah Reinette has known The Doctor since she was 7 years old and it's a Steven Moffat story too. Hmm where have I seen this before? Amy Pond anyone? I can see why people say the Amy Pond story arc is a more fleshed out tale of  "The Girl in the Fireplace".

Human body parts hard-wired into the spaceship, this shit got serious!

Wonder what the horse is called? Susan (series 7 joke)?!

Repair droid 7? Doesn't sound very threatening. The repetition of "we did not have the parts" sounds very similar to the "we are in a car" line (by K9) in the previous story. Why 18th century France indeed? Nice question by Rose, "why her?".

Haha the horse is called Arthur and he's allowed to keep the horse because Rose is allowed to keep Mickey.

I like how Mickey is referring to women in The Doctor's past. Jealous boyfriend, funny that he seemed to have come to terms with it in the last story although he's obviously trying to point out to Rose that he's (The Doctor) not perfect.

Nice little memory scene there with Reinette and The Doctor. Not sure about the whole 'Doctor Who?' line again. Another thing that Moffat seems to have revisited recently.

Haha The Doctor is pissed (drunk for all you non UK readers)! Or appears to be at least. "Always take a banana to a party", good advice! And The Doctor has figured it all out, the repair droids are after Reinette's brain to install into the spaceship and it has to be the same age as the ship, that's why she's not compatible yet.

Funny how the droids are all retro with the clockwork action but they can beam right out of the ship into an exact period of time in 18th century France. Convenient!

Interesting analysis, The Doctor and the monsters, can't have one without the other.

Madame de Pomadour is very composed in what may essentially be her last moments. Love how she's building up The Doctor, the nightmare returned and here he comes on horseback. Didn't David Tennant do that in Casanova?

How is The Doctor going to get back? Well pointed out Mickey. Rose on the overhand is devastated. Ooh nice pun there by the good Doctor, "I'm not winding you up". Do bad guys stop when they have no purpose? I suppose villains like the Cybermen and the Daleks can never stop as their purpose is to make others like them and destroy anything unlike them respectively.

The Doctor, the 'lonely angel' stuck on the slow path (love Moffat's way with words). He clearly knew there was no way back, do you think he did it out of love for Reinette (there is a lot of suggestion in this story after all that The Doctor could fall/is in love with her) or was he just being entirely selfless. Conveniently though the original fireplace has been transported brick by brick to this palace and it's The Doctor's way back to the TARDIS.

Once again The Doctor meets a young lady he wants to take onboard the TARDIS and she winds up dying (see Lynda with a Y). This time he just misses her, her coffin being taken to Paris to be buried.

Wonder what Reinette said to The Doctor in her letter? Hope it's explained as I can't remember it at all.

The Doctor is clearly upset, I'm guessing he could've loved her. Never did buy the whole he loved Rose thing but Madame de Pompadour definitely.

Just heard what she said in the letter, so sad and the light going out in the fireplace too very fitting.

And with the last shots of the episode we see a portrait of Reinette and the name of the ship clearing any confusion as to why they (clockwork repair droids) needed her at all.

And that's it my first (and possibly last! lol) live commentary review. Hope anyone reading this enjoyed it and didn't just read it as mindless drivel. Such a great episode and at this stage that's two great stories in two attempts from Steven Moffat. Someone should give him the show runner job. ;)

Next up the Cyberman 2 parter! Exciting times.

Doctor Who Project "School Reunion"

The return of Sarah-Jayne Smith and K9 (mk3) in Russell T Davies' biggest nod to the classic series. You have to love how RTD melds the new and old with direct comparisons throughout the episode from Rose and Sarah-Jayne to Mickey and K9 (I also love Mickey's realisation that he's the tin dog!). Then there's that great conversation between Sarah-Jayne and Rose about what it's like to travel with the Doctor (including pointing out his idiosyncrasies) and of course Sarah-Jayne and The Doctor's catch up in which she finally gets the chance to confront him about leaving her in Aberdeen and not coming back for her. In fact that's what is the heart of this story, reminiscing, exploring the relationship The Doctor has with his companions and of course what happens to the companions when they step out of the TARDIS for the last time. The monsters in this week even take a back seat to the characters in what can be described as RTD's love letter to Sarah-Jayne Smith.

Also worthy of note is the schoolboy fantasy played out in this episode ie the awkward kid who has a hand in saving the day being lauded by his school mates after the school blows up. There's also loads of little jokes like Rose believing the teachers sleep at school (and being proved right), the teachers and dinner ladies being monsters.

Oh and after sacrificing himself K9 returns at the end, a replacement from The Doctor and a nod to classic Who again ('The Invasion of Time' - I'm sure there's other instances but only really know of this one). I'm sure this was done deliberately, setting both Sarah-Jayne and K9 for their own spinoff shows. As well as providing a happy ending of course.

All in all another great story. The monsters are pretty forgettable, they could be any monster in fact and Anthony Stewart Head's character even alludes to the fact that they (the Krillitines) adopt new features everytime they conquer a race. Not that any of this matters as it's all about the TARDIS crew new and old coming together and talking about what it's like to travel with The Doctor (and to suddenly stop doing so - foreshadowing?!!).

Brilliant episode, easily one of the best of the series and a modern classic. Love it.

Doctor Who Project - "Tooth and Claw"

Unlike most of the episodes I've re-watched so far I think I actually like  "Tooth and Claw" a little less the second time around. It just seems a bit dull, the "we are not amused" joke comes across as forced and the wolf in Rose line was last series.

On the plus side: David Tennant's natural (Scottish) accent, the psychic paper is back, the wolf looks good and the BBC One ident inspired monks in red outfits intro. Kinda reminiscent of this:

There's also more references to Torchwood, far more blatant in this episode what with the Torchwood Estate being the backdrop for the story and the creation of the Torchwood Institute.

Overall, pretty meh. It was ok but not spectacular. Guess kids will find it scary.

Next the return of one of The Doctor's  greatest companions Sarah-Jayne Smith.

Spot the difference!

Doctor Who Project - "New Earth"

The first thing I noticed about this episode is that it's the first story since the show's return to be set on another planet (OK we came pretty close with the Platform 1 and Satellite 5/the Gamestation but they were in orbit around Earth). Seems odd that I've only just picked up on that but maybe the first series was set predominately on Earth deliberately. OK not like a Pertwee banishment to Earth but more of a BBC budget restriction and the success of that first series allowed them a bigger chunk and the freedom to create new worlds?

Interesting point over. This episode is probably most memorable for the return of Cassandra and The Face of Boe from "The End of the World". Not sure why either warrants a return to be honest.

I guess "New Earth" is Russell T Davies commenting on colonialism (the human race expanding into the stars and naming new places after old places back home ie how many places in the US are named after towns and cities from the UK, Ireland etc? Even New York's name comes from York so what better than to add another new to the name. Of course it could just be a reference to Futurama!) and stem cell research (bodies grown for the purpose of infection in order to find cures). The morality of the latter being questioned in the story.

This story is also memorable for Cassandra possessing Rose. Finally Rose is sexy! Billie Piper's performance in this story (playing Cassandra possesing her body) reminds me of Billie Piper's post Who job 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl'. Also there's the further nod to cosmetic plastic surgery being taken too far. I like how it's resolved at the end with Cassandra (in Chip's body) telling her past self (ie when she was more than just a fold of skin and and a face) how beautiful she is. This was revealed earlier in the episode to be the last time that anyone told her she was beautiful. Very fitting, the last time she was told she was beautiful was when she was completely or fairly natural. Funny thing is it's  Cassandra herself that tells her that she is beautiful! Hmm self fulfilling?!

Doctor Who Project - "The Christmas Invasion"

Ooooh the first Christmas special of the new era (probably one of the better ones too) and David Tennant's first episode as The Doctor (the last minute of "The Parting of the Ways" doesn't count) although he's not around for large chunks of it. That's right it's more of the extended Tyler family drama. Woo.

"The Christmas Invasion" isn't too bad too be honest, it's camp and it ticks off all the required Christmas elements: turkey, brass band, Father Christmas, the Queen's speech (or at least a nod to it with Harriet Jones, Prime Minister advising it's been cancelled) and even snow albeit ash from the destroyed spaceship.

For me this episode has more in common with Castrovolva than any of the Christopher Eccleston episodes. Saying that I always found The 10th Doctor to be more like the 5th Doctor than any other. No surprise they teamed them up for the "Time Crash" special. Getting ahead of myself though.

All in all not a bad episode, not the worst but certainly not the best. It was a bit Torchwood though with all this blood control and threatening to kill a third of the world's population. Maybe Russell T Davies is subtly introducing us to it? After all Harriet Jones mentions knowing of Torchwood, the destruction of the Sycorax ship is done in a very Torchwood-esque fashion and in 2 episodes time we get to see the Torchwood Estate. Anyway more of that to come.

One thing I noticed on re-watching this episode is that David Tennant is credited as'The Doctor' in the closing titles whereas Christopher Eccleston was always 'Doctor Who', that's something that's bugged me upon re-watching these episodes.

Oh well onward and upward, so many classic 10th Doctor stories (and quite a few duds too!).

ALONS-Y!

Doctor Who Project - "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways"

And here we go the first series finale in the new series era and the team find themselves waking up in futuristic versions of current TV programmes: The Doctor in Big Brother, Rose in The Weakest Link and Jack in What Not to Wear only something's different  (aside from the robot programme hosts), these are TV shows where the winner gets to live!

There's also something else that's familiar, the Gamestation itself. We've seen it before and The Doctor knows he's been there before it's Satellite 5.

The Doctor escapes the Big Brother House with his fellow housemate Lynda with a Y (aka Tanya with a Y from Eastenders) whereas Jack escapes his programme by using a well hidden mini gun - not going to guess exactly where it was hidden. Rose however isn't so lucky and gets shot by the Anne-droid after losing out in the final of The Weakest Link. However as we find out later Rose isn't dead, she's merely been transported (What confuses me about this is how the Anne-droid manages to clearly destroy the Daleks later on and not transport them?) to the Dalek mothership.

Saving Rose by landing the TARDIS around her he then sends her back to 2005 whilst he and Jack work on a bomb that will destroy everything living within the area. Not content with being left out of proceedings Rose tries her best to think of a way to return, figures out that Bad Wolf is a clue and decides that staring into the heart of the TARDIS would  be a good idea. Hang on a min didn't the last person to try this revert back to being an egg?! Far from turning Rose into a 5ft egg the TARDIS gives Rose super powers complete with glowing eyes kinda like how Jean Grey turns into the Phoenix in X-Men. Rose aka The Phoenix then goes onto destroy the Dalek empire and save the day but of course people shouldn't look into the heart of the TARDIS and it's killing her. The Doctor being the guy he is absorbs all the energy from Rose, being a Time Lord won't save him from death though but of course The Doctor has a little trick up his sleeve regeneration and it's the first regeneration of the new series. This also means the end of the 9th Doctor which is a shame because I love Eccleston's Doctor and I feel given another series or 2 he would be just as loved as Tennant, Baker, Davison et al. In his own words  he was 'fantastic'.

This series finale will mostly be remembered for the 9th-10th regeneration (as well as being the first series finale of the New Who era) but it can also be remembered for being a half decent series finale too. Unlike the series finales to come it's not a big sprawling epic that has to be bigger and better than the previous one (although to be fair there is no previous series finale in the new era) and that's why I like these 2 episodes. Fantastic!