Episode #219 : The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

"The universe is big, it's vast and complicated, and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles. And that's the theory. Nine hundred years, never seen one yet, but this would do me."

Episode #219:      The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              19th to 26th June 2010.

A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years offering a terrifying prophecy, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years: in 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge hides a legendary prison-box. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens. The fates are closing around the TARDIS. The Pandorica, which contains the most dangerous threat in the Universe, is opening. Only one thing is certain: "The Pandorica will open... Silence will fall".

The season ends with a fantastic culmination. We learn that everything we have experienced since the start of this season has been orchestrated by an alien coalition who fear the Doctor and blame him for the destruction of the universe. The full explanation won't become apparent for some time though. This two parter is a complete edge of your seat type entertainment with surprises and enough cool moments to be hugely memorable.

We have the unexpected return of Rory William although at this stage as a plastic Auton facsimile of a Roman soldier. He somehow manages to retain his personality even as the other Auton's revert to their "evil" selves. Rory always struck me as a bit of an odd character but has grown on me as his time on the show went along. Strange how that happens.

The first half of the story focuses on the Doctor's discovery and investigation of Stonehenge and the Pandorica. Once entrapped and the universe changes we have our companions struggling in a shrinking universe to reset things, hence the title The Big Bang. Now is this new big bang the thing that alters history to erase events such as the giant Cyber King?

The end of the adventure is rather cool as well. The Doctor slides back along his own timeline through his adventures with Amy before he ceases to exist, and we see certain scenes from previous stories this season which now make more sense. A well written and ingenuous plot element. The final scene of Amy and Rory's wedding where Amy restores the Doctor's existence sends a chill up my spin.

All in all a fantastic piece of Doctor Who in the modern era.

Episode #160 : Rose

Do you know like we were sayin'? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standin' still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... That's who I am.

Episode 160:   Rose.
Companions:   9th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         26th March 2005.

It's just another day in the life of London teenager Rose Tyler. That is, until she meets the Ninth Doctor. The plastic on Earth has come to life, and the Doctor has to stop it before the Nestene Consciousness can take over. Rose's life will never be the same again.

The show has been brought back by Russel T Davis and BBC Wales. I was very surprised that the show had done away with the multi-episode stories and was now running like every other show with a roughly 45 minutes story. At the time I was disappointed but now I realise that the show is better for it.

Immediately we are introduced to the new Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston. He is very different to any of his previous incarnations but is perhaps a very good means of introducing the character and the show to a modern family audience. At times his persona gets a bit much, especially with the references to humans as "stupid apes".

Rose Tyler, played by former pop star Billie Piper, is an interesting companion. Unlike the classic companions, Rose is simply an everyday young woman who finds herself drawn into the alien invasion by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As well as Rose we are introduced to her boyfriend Mickey and her mother Jackie. Both are characters who will have potential as the show goes along.

Doctor Who returns with a classic villain, the Nestene Consciousness and it's Auton servants. They are invading the Earth as their worlds were destroyed in a war. This is the first reference to the Time War in the new show though we won't learn that in this story. It could have been easier to start with something more recognisable like the Daleks but I think the BBC did the right thing and come back with a known but less iconic monster.

The show is much better for having been brought back at a time when decent production values allow for excellent special effects, make up and, at last, well done script writing. There are humorous elements included that don't quite work and I wish they had not been included. Some of these, such as a plastic rubbish bin eating Mickey Smith and then burping were frankly childish. But for a first introductory episode, Rose is well done and long in coming.

Episode #55 : Terror of the Autons

"I am usually referred to as The Master!"

Episode 55:    Terror of the Autons.
Companions:  The 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 2nd to 23rd January 1971.

The Earth is in terrible danger when an evil renegade Time Lord known as the Master arrives at a circus run by a man named Luigi Rossini and steals a dormant Nestene energy unit from a museum. He reactivates it using a radio telescope and uses his hypnotic abilities to take control of a small plastics firm run by the Farrel family, where he organises the production of deadly Auton dolls, chairs and daffodils.

This story features the return of the Autons and the introduction of a villainous time lord calling himself The Master! The Autons are more of a secondary villain in this tale as it focuses more on the introduction of the Master as a major recurring bad guy for this season of the show. The Master is played exceedingly well by the actor Roger Delgardo. His appearance with goatee, mad staring eyes and his voice immediately make the character a hit.

Elements of this story, mainly an Auton plastic troll doll and a killer inflatable plastic chair, were part of a campaign by Mary Whitehouse and others, who claimed that the show was too frightening for children. Of course the hype only served to make the show more popular. The show would get many such complaints in the 70s and early 80s.

We get an introduction of two new characters starting with this story; Mike Yates - a new addition to the UNIT team, and Jo Grant, a rather ditzy young girl would replaces Liz Shaw as the Doctor's companion. Although Jo and the Doctor don't hit it off immediately, the two of them have great chemistry. Jo will go on to be one of the memorable companions of the classic show.

Terror of the Autons isn't a bad story but it could have been better I feel. It mainly serves to introduce the Master and Jo Grant.

Episode #51 : Spearhead From Space

"All right, all right, I suppose you want to see my pass? Yes, well, I haven't got one. And I'm not going to tell you my name, either. Now you just tell Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that I want to see him. Well, don't just stand there arguing with me, man! Get on with it!"

 

 

Episode 51:     Spearhead From Space.
Companions:   The 3rd Doctor and Liz Shaw.
Air Date:          Four episodes. 3rd to 20th January 1970.

 

Exiled to Earth in the late 20th century and forbidden to continue travelling by his own people, the Time Lords, the newly regenerated Doctor arrives in Oxley Woods accompanied by a shower of mysterious meteorites. Investigating these unusual occurrences is the newly-formed United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT for short).

 

This for me is when Doctor Who really takes off. The show has returned in colour, and from here on the show just gets better and better. The writing improves, the acting improves and the effects are usually a lot better. All because the show has gone from black and white to colour. The show features a bit more action than usual and the humerous elements improve the show.

 

Spearhead From Space introduces us to a newly regenerated Doctor and sets up the physiological differences that are from here on often repeated such as having two hearts and his blood being immediately obvious not human.

 

Jon Pertwee's Doctor is immediately likeable and much more charming as a character. His new companion Liz Shaw is a strong female role model. She is a tough, uncompromising scientist and not the usual screamer that we are used to from a female companion.

 

We are reintroduced to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the soldiers of UNIT who are now in charge of investigating strange occurrences around the world, though the Brigadier's mandate throughout the show seems to be protecting the United Kingdom. UNIT will continue to be the main focus for many stories to come as the Doctor joins them as a scientific advisor until he get can the TARDIS working again.

 

The story introduces us to a whole new recurring villain, the Nestene Consciousness and it's minions, the Autons - creatures of living plastic. Shop mannequins are creepy anyway and this story makes them even more so. These are perhaps the first enemies to play up on children's fears. Daleks are scary but you don't tend to see them on every high street.

 

Spearhead from Space is an excellent story and it is from here that I recommend viewers to start watching the show.