"Nothing can get past a Sky Trench. But if just one Dalek made it through, it could destroy this entire city. That's all it would take, one Dalek. One Dalek, acting alone, and we're finished."
Episode #249: The Last Day.
Air Date: 20th November 2013.
A Gallifreyan soldier undergoes initiation in the use of a headcam, as well as the defence of Arcadia. During his training, the impossible happens and Daleks invade.
The Last Day is a short mini-episode similar to The Night of the Doctor except this one does not feature the Doctor but instead shows us the beginning of the Dalek invasion of Gallifrey. We see it from the point of view of a new recruit on the day everything goes wrong.
There is nothing really to report about this one. It is just a little teaser in the run up to the 50th anniversary episode. The BBC could have done better with this but I guess they blew the budget with the return of Paul Mcgann in the previous teaser. It's a nice touch but easily avoided. Just go straight to The Day of the Doctor.
"I'm not running away. But this is one corner of one country on one continent on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond, and there is so much, so much, to see, Amy. Because it goes so fast. I'm not running away from things, I am running to them. Before they flare and fade forever. And it's alright. Our lives won't run the same. They can't. One day, soon, maybe, you'll stop. I've known for a while."
Episode #237: The Power of Three.
Companions: The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date: 22nd September 2012.
There have been many ways to invade the Earth, and the Eleventh Doctor has seen them all – or so he always thought. And then the human race wakes up one morning and discovers the world has been overrun by small cubes, which then proceed to do nothing at all. A plan is afoot, humanity is endangered – but by what and how and, above all, when? Thus begins the Year of the Slow Invasion. For the first time in his world-saving career the Doctor has to call upon one of the least of his virtues: patience. And the Ponds face something possibly more terrifying than any world-ending apocalypse: the Doctor is moving in!
After a good start to the season we once again hit that wall where we get a real duff episode. The Power of Three is quite frankly one of the most boring and dull stories that I've watched for Doctor Who. We sit through probably half an hour of nothing really happening, some laughs as the Doctor tries to not be bored, then a sudden rush of action and a potentially creepy villain from Time Lord fairy tales before... it just ends. No explanation for why the Shakri want to eradicate mankind what so ever. I might have given this bonus points had the Shakri ever reappeared, perhaps as the villain at the end of the season but they have to this date never even so much as be mentioned. It just leaves a really bad negative feeling in me now just as it did when the episode first aired.
About the only good elements are the exposition and the introduction of Kate Stewart. The conversation between the Doctor and Brian mirrors that between the 10th Doctor and Wilfred Mott about what happens to companions who travel with the Doctor. The other main quote is the one I use above which explains again, for those not listening across the series or are new viewers, why the Doctor does what he does. He needs companions to keep him going and see the universe but he can't watch them fade and die. Even he must move on and leave what he loves behind. It may sound melodramatic but I believe it is easy to forget that about his character.
Kate Stewart, our new occasionally recurrent side character, is the daughter of the Doctor's old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and she has taken over UNIT, making it into the force it is for the 21st century. I suppose after it and the Earth have been decimated so many times in the last decade that someone had to. She is a strong feisty character and one, who much like the Doctor, we will learn has a darker side.
Even so, these do not help save an episode that was quite frankly ill thought out and boring. If you liked this story I would love to see your reason in the comments.
"Right, okay, this is big news. This is temporal earthquake time. I'm now officially changing my own future. Hold on to your spectacles. In my past I saw my future-self refuse to help you. I'm now changing that future and agreeing. Every Law of Time says that shouldn't be possible."
Episode #229: The Girl Who Waited.
Companions: The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date: 10th September 2011
The Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams and Amy Pond land on Apalapucia in the middle of a plague. Amy is left behind, and the Doctor and Rory must save her...but time for Amy is running at a different speed.
Every season of modern Doctor Who seems to have that one episode that just doesn't work. In the past we had Fear Her and Love & Monsters, for example. This time around this is that one story. The Girl Who Waited is one of those stories where rather than being action, excitement and strange aliens, it is all about repercussions and choices. The problem is that it doesn't even do it in a good way which is why it doesn't work for me.
Science fiction normally does well when it gives us something to think about. In this case we are looking again at the repercussions of travelling with the Doctor from Rory's point of view. He sees travelling blindly through time and space as dangerous and that the Doctor puts his companions at risk. Unlike previous episodes where we see the repercussions of his travels in this one we don't get the chance to say that what the Doctor did was right or wrong. Everything is seen the point of view of an angry Rory and two versions of Amy separated by thirty odd years.
It is nice character development for Rory after all this time but it lets the episode down being just full of exposition with nothing else to it. It is nice to have a companion who sees things differently than everyone else has. Even Tegan who left because of things that she saw and experienced never failed to see the wonders of time travel. It took me a long time to like the character of Rory and in this episode I go back to how he was he first appeared and I just don't like the portrayal.
Future Amy is also unlikeable in this one. The troupe of the future self who won't save their younger self and has become angry and bitter, is just overdone in science fiction. Amy in this story has become that troupe. It is old and clichéd. It doesn't work and it doesn't do anything to expand her character.
I'm sorry to say that I just don't enjoy this one.
Companions: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones.
Air Date: 5th March 2008.
Gwen Cooper is about to get married to her fiance, Rhys. Only one problem: on her hen night she is bitten by an alien and awakes on her wedding day heavily pregnant with a alien shape-shifter's baby. The alien mother is on the loose and searching for it's offspring. The only way for the alien to get the egg is to rip open the carrier... Gwen.
Something Borrowed is a bit of a silly episode. It focuses on Gwen's wedding to Rhys and the almost carry on style hunt for the shape-shifting alien that is hunting her to rip out the alien child inside her. When the giant gun comes out any sense of realism goes right out of the window. It is a comedy of errors really and just fails abysmally.
Other than the story the effects are just terrible as though the production budget ran out of money for decent effects. Especially Rhys' mother as an alien which just looks like a poor attempt at turning Nerys Hughes (who we saw in Snakedance) into an alien goth. The same can said of the impersonated Jack Harkness.
The only good thing going for this episode is the sense of continuity with us getting to see more of the life of the crew, in this case the wedding of Gwen and Rhys. Even the slow dance between Jack and Ianto is nice and sweet. But it isn't enough to save the episode. If the episode had meant to be played for laughs it may have worked. Very disappointing.
"They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the continent of Wild Endeavour, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. The oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere, only to watch. Children of Gallifrey were taken from their families at the age of eight, to enter the Academy. Some say that's where it all began, when he was a child. That's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the Untempered Schism. It's a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. We stand there, eight years old, staring at the raw power of Time and Space, just a child. Some would be inspired. Some would run away. And some would go mad." Episode #192: The Sounds of Drums / The Last of the Time Lords. Companions: The 10th Doctor, Jack Harkness and Martha Jones. Air Date: 23rd to 30th June 2007. The Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones and Jack Harkness return to present day London, horrified to discover that Prime Minister Harold Saxon is the Master. "Saxon" informs the world about receiving contact from an alien race called the Toclafane. Framed as fugitives, the Doctor, Martha and Jack try to sneak in and stop the Master before he unleashes a wave of terror. But his dark ambitions reach beyond the stars. Wrapping the events of Utopia this storyline brings out time travellers back to Earth to stop the newly regenerated Master from unleashing a dark future on the Earth. Unfortunately, at least for me, it is a very dissapointing story which doesn't fire the enthusiasm nor does it really feel like Doctor Who. It isn't because it is badly written or too dark. It feels too much like Daleks in Manhatten in that it is just a little too surreal for Doctor Who. Jon Simm was a great choice for the Master. He carries the evil madman personna off perfectly and you do get a slight hope that he'll win out at the end of the day. The introduction or retcon of some sort of drumming in his head which is what has driven him mad was an interesting move. Nothing like this had ever come up before in the show to explain why the Master was as insane as he was. It would be some time however before we learn the cause of it. We get some more of Martha's family in this story but by this time I am sick of them. A disfunctional family with no redeeming qualities does not make for good background if you ask me. I especially dislike the mother but that may be because none of this would have probably happened had she had any common sense throughout this season. I'm not a fan of the villains of this piece, the Toclafane either. They tie in nicely to the events of Utopia but we learn nothing else about them other than who they ultimately are. I'd have liked some more info. The whole paradox creation issue doesn't sit well for me either. It works for the story but doesn't really do anything at the same time even as desperate as they are it seems a self-defeating thing to do. The story has another issue that never bothered me but at the time seemed to cause a stir among fans. Ever since the Runaway Bride there has been a bit of "the lonely god" written into the 10th Doctor's character and it seemed to rub many the wrong way. The Archangel network of this story and how it plays out at the end certainly played into that point of view. Ultimately I am not a fan of this adventure. It doesn't seem very well worked out and much like the rest of the current season before it just wasn't very good. I think a better ending could have been made for this season.
Dame Kelly Holmes Close resident: [To the Doctor, who is crouched on his lawn] What's your game?
The Doctor:[Turning round quickly] Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at... squash? I'm being facetious, I... There's no call for it.
Episode 179: Fear Her.
Companions: 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date: 24th June 2006.
In London in 2012, the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler set off to see the Olympics, only to find terror in the most ordinary place.
The Doctor and Rose arrive in London in time for the 2012 Olympics. Landing in an everyday street where children are disappearing they find themselves drawn into a bizarre adventure. A lost alien entity has merged with an imaginative child and draws children into drawings to provide companionship.
Fear Her is a fairly terrible story. The concept is nice but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. I find that I cannot care for the child nor the events shown. Drawings that kidnap children and a scribble monster created from a child's tantrum scribble on a piece of paper are just silly ideas. Unlike the regular threats presented in the show, the Isolus doesn't work. You are supposed to care about what happens but I find that difficult in this case.
There is a scene in this episode where the Doctor lights the Olympic stadium fire with the Olympic torch. When the actual 2012 Olympics took place the organisers really should have had David Tennant as the Doctor light it in the same way.
I don't have a good thing to say about this story. I recommend avoiding it like the plague.
"I told you, girl, to get lost. Or I'll do something 'orrible to your ears"
Episode 154: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Companions: 7th Doctor and Ace. Air Date: 14th December 1988 to 4th January 1989.
The Doctor and Ace head for the Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax, where
they meet a disparate group of fellow visitors including a pompous explorer
named Captain Cook and his companion Mags and a biker known as Nord. The Circus itself is dominated by the sinister Chief Clown and his deadly
troupe of robot clowns, who organise a talent contest in which all visitors take
part. The audience consists of just a single strange family - mother, father and
daughter - seated at the ringside. Although hindered by the treacherous Cook,
the Doctor eventually discovers that the Circus hides a terrible secret: the
family are in reality the Gods of Ragnarok, powerful creatures with an
insatiable craving for entertainment who invariably destroy those who fail to
please them. With Ace's help, the Doctor ends the Gods' influence here and returns the
Circus to the control of its original hippie owners.
The idea of a dark and evil force lurking behind the farcical front of a circus is nothing new but it is a plot element that I am surprised took this long to appear in the show. This adventure for the 7th Doctor and Ace takes that and gives it a rather bizarre surreal twist but not in a way that I find particularly good way. Surreal can be a very good way of dealing with a story concept but this adventure takes it a step too far with robot clowns, ancient "gods" from before the dawn of time and characters that just don't fit the Whoniverse at all. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy hearkens back to the early days when we had stories like The Mind Robber and the The Celestial Toymaker. Those stories didn't really fit in either but dropping such a story in now feels even more out of place.
The 7th Doctor drops back into the mold in which he first appeared on our screens with a clownish behaviour. He seems to be enjoying this dark eerie circus far too much and spends a big chunk of the final part just doing stage magic to amuse the Gods of Ragnarok. Where is the manipulative Doctor who had started to appear over the last few stories?
One interesting note for this story was a surprise for myself. Whilst doing some research on the story I learnt that the actor playing the Ringmaster (Ricco Ross) played the marine Frost in the Aliens movie. Sometimes it really is surprising to see who ends up with a role in BBC television dramas.
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is one of the biggest flops for the show. I recommend avoiding this one entirely.
"You see, I make sweets. Not just any old sweets, but sweets that are so good,
so delicious that sometimes, if I'm on form, the human physiology is not
equipped to bear the pleasure."
Episode 152: The Happiness Patrol. Companions: 7th Doctor and Ace. Air Date: 2nd to 16th November 1988.
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Terra Alpha where the Doctor and Ace
discover a society in which sadness is against the law - a law enforced with
considerable zeal by the brightly uniformed Happiness Patrol. The planet is
ruled over by Helen A with the aid of her companion Joseph C and her carnivorous
pet Stigorax named Fifi. The penalty for those found guilty of unhappiness is death in a stream of
molten candy prepared by Helen A's executioner, the robotic Kandyman, and his
associate Gilbert M. The time travellers help to foment rebellion amongst the
downtrodden population and the subterranean Pipe People - the planet's original
inhabitants - and Helen A is overthrown.
This is the worst story in Doctor Who from the 1980's. It really is just so bad. The whole look of the sets, the acting, the plot and then there is the utterly ridiculous Kandyman. The whole combination is just a bad surreal dream sequence that should never have been.
The whole story is meant to be a take on the age of Margaret Thatcher though personally I don't see it. However it can be seen perhaps, as how governments try to control their population but you have to look hard to see it.
The most infamous issue with this story is the character of the Kandyman - a half robot half confectionery creature with psychotic issues. This for me really was a low point in the show back then. This sort of figure might have worked in the old black and white days but by the late 1980's the show had progressed past such things.
I am afraid I don't have a single good thing to say about this story and I recommend avoiding it.
Borusa :"You have access to the greatest source of knowledge in
the universe."
The Doctor :"Well, I do talk to myself sometimes."
Episode 97: The Invasion of Time. Companions: 4th Doctor, K9 and Leela. Air Date: Six episodes. 4th February to 11th March 1978.
After a meeting in space with a group of unseen aliens the Doctor returns to
Gallifrey and claims the presidency of the Time Lords. Leela meanwhile tries to
work out why he is behaving out of character. At his induction, the Doctor is
'crowned' with a device giving him access to the Matrix. He then arranges for
the transduction barriers around Gallifrey to be put out of action by K9. When
this is done, his alien 'friends' materialise. They are telepathic invaders
called Vardans. The Doctor finally springs his trap and the Vardans are banished. Then, however,
Gallifrey is invaded by Sontarans who, unknown to the Doctor, were using the
Vardans to enable them to conquer the Time Lords. The Doctor uses knowledge
extracted from the Matrix by K9 to construct a forbidden de-mat gun, activated
by the Great Key of Rassilon. He then uses this to kill the Sontarans, although
his memory of recent events is wiped in the process.
The Invasion of Time is in my opinion one of the worse if not THE worst story in the classic series. The production values are just truly shocking in this one. The Vardans appear initially as floating sheets of tin foil and then solidify into space age British colonial soldiers complete with pith helmets. Then the Sontarans arrive and the make up for them is absolutely terrible. Finally, during a chase sequence through the corridors and rooms of the TARDIS brick corridors and warehouse looking sets are used, completely destroying the mystique. Just shockingly bad.
The only positives that come out of this adventure are more information on the Time Lords and their political ways, more time with Borusa - setting him up for his next appearance and some hints about Rassilon, the founder of Time Lord society on Gallifrey. But that is it.
Sadly we see the departure of Leela and the K9 mark 1 at the end of this. Leela elects to remain on Gallifrey to marry someone who hardly knows and K9 decides to remain with her. It does make me wonder why Leela is allowed but the Doctor had to abandon Sarah Jane Smith at his last visit. I do miss Leela though. As the primitive/noble savage type companion I felt that she added a bit to the show that more capable companions lack.
The Invasion of Time is so dreadful that I recommend avoiding it altogether.
"The Age of Man is over. The Age of the Virus has begun!"
Episode 93: The Invisible Enemy. Companions: 4th Doctor, K9 and Leela. Air Date: Four episodes. 1st to 22nd October 1977.
The TARDIS is infiltrated by the Swarm - a space-borne intelligence that wishes
to spread itself across the universe - and the Doctor is infected by its
nucleus. The ship then materialises on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, where
the human occupants of a refuelling station have also been taken over.
The Invisible Enemy is a pretty awful story with a weak story with some really bad effects and costumes. The only good thing about it is the fast pacing which keeps it going along nicely. The story deals with a cloud of intelligent virus cells seeking to overrun everything in the universe, to place themselves at the top of the food chain. When the Doctor becomes infected, he clones himself and Leela, having them injected into the Doctor's brain to do battle with the virus nucleus. You can see definite references to Fantastic Voyage. It isn't enough to save this one though.
We see the arrival of K9, the Doctor's tin dog. He is a creation of Dr Marius on the medical station and at the culmination of the story is given over to the Doctor as a new companion. K9 is another companion popular with those of us who remember the classic series and to those newer generations who see him in the Sarah Jane Adventures.
There is little good to be said on this story and I don't consider it worth a watch.
"The androids will disseminate a virus. It will cause a contagion so lethal, the
Earth will be rid of its human population within three weeks, then it will burn
itself out and the world will be ours."
Episode 83: The Android Invasion.
Companions: 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
Air Date: Four episodes. 22nd November to 13th December 1975.
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Oseidon where the alien Kraals have created an
exact replica of the English village of Devesham and its nearby Space Defence
Station and populated it with androids in order to rehearse for an invasion
attempt. A human astronaut, Guy Crayford, has been duped into collaborating with
them.
The first few times I watched this story I have to say that it left me very cold. But as time has gone by I find that it has slowly grown on me. The story is a mix of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Stepford Wives. The general idea isn't very original and has probably been seen in every science fiction television series at one time or another.
We get the final appearances of Harry Sullivan and John Benton in this one though mostly as their android duplicates. It feels as though their inclusion was tacked on as neither actually make any real difference to the story and it's outcome. It would have been nice to give them both a decent send off from the show.
I find it very difficult to write anything good about this episode as there just isn't any thing that makes it stand out. The story is unoriginal, the effects are poor and even the lead actors seem to be having a hard time with it. It isn't as bad as it seems but it has little to really support it.
"Just one small question: Why do you want to blow up the world?"
Episode 32: The Underwater Menace.
Companions: The 2nd Doctor, Polly Wright, Ben Jackson and Jamie McCrimmon.
Air Date: Four episodes. 14th January to the 4th February 1967.
The TARDIS arrives on an extinct volcanic island. Before long, the travellers are captured and taken into the depths of the Earth, where they find a hidden civilisation - the lost city of Atlantis.
This is a rather unusual story as it feels all too comical without actually being funny or a comedy. it all comes down to the villain of the piece, a man scientist named Zarkoff. Zarkoff carries off a strange almost eastern European accent and is played as a stereotypical mad scientist complete with shout "NUFFINK IN ZE VORLD CAN STOP ME NOW!" All in all it is a tad strange and cringe worthy.
The other element that failed for me was the appearance of the fish people (see the photo above) decked out with glitter, sparkly things and carried on strings to emulate swimming. All very cheap and nasty, not to mention plain old silly looking. Considering I love the dodgy cheap special effects later on this just goes to show how bad these are.
The Underwater Menace is the first to mention Atlantis, though in this case what the Doctor has found is merely a surviving outpost. Atlantis will get referenced twice more (as of this time), and the story of what happened changes each time.
Ultimately it is a very silly story and just boring to watch. it is one of those where I found myself unconsciously looking to flick through a book or check my phone throughout the viewing. Not a good sign.
"You destroyed a whole planet just to save your own skin. You're insane!"
Episode 11: Planet of the Giants.
Companions: The 1st Doctor, Vicki, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
Air Date: Two episodes. 2nd to 9th January 1965.
Having left Susan on Earth, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara land
the TARDIS on the planet Dido in the year 2493. There they discover two humans,
Bennett and Vicki, trapped in their spaceship, the only crew to survive death at
the hands of the hostile Didonians.
But the Doctor is baffled: the Didonians are a peaceful nation. What has
happened to change them? Why have they murdered the crew of the spaceship? Why,
apart from the mysterious Koquillion, are they strangely absent?
In all honesty, this is quite a disappointing story. Initially you have a bit of a mystery going on for the companions to uncover and investigate, but it is so transparent and obvious. Also, the story just seems to be a jumping off point for the introduction of Vicki as a replacement for Susan. I know I'd much rather have kept Susan for a while longer.
For those interested, however, The Rescue is the first story to feature the trademark wheezing-groaning noise for the materialisation/re-materialisation of the TARDIS.
