Episode #209 : The End of Time

"It's not that I'm an innocent. I've taken lives. I got worse, I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes, I think a Time Lord lives too long..."

Episode #209:      The End of Time.
Companions:        The 10th Doctor.
Air Date:              25th December 2009 to 1st January 2010.

It is the Tenth Doctor's final journey — but his psychotic nemesis, the Master, has been resurrected on Christmas Eve! Each determined to cheat death, the battle rages from the abandoned wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, whilst the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire universe. With the sound of the drums growing louder in the Master's head and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilfred Mott must fight alone. Sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."

David Tennant's final adventure as the Doctor has arrived. Split into two parts shown on Christmas Day and New Years Day, The End of Time is a great example of what the show can be when done properly. In other words with a decent budget to go along with some good script writing. As well as being good entertainment with action, humour and a touch of apocalypse, we also have some well written interaction that causes the viewer to take a better look at the man we know as the Doctor.

To start with there is a scene where the Doctor and Wildfred are talking about the Doctor's immanent death. He talks about regeneration and how it's like dying. Everything that you are and everything that you were is swept away and for all intents and purposes a new man walks away. I have never really thought about it but really that must be terrifying for a Time Lord regardless of age and number of times that he has regenerated. I would say that it goes someway to explain the darker persona of the Doctor since the Time War. Secondly, we have the above quote which makes me think specifically about the 7th Doctor and how he manipulated people, including his companion Ace, into doing what he wanted. I could do with more scenes like this which expand upon the character.

The Master returns in this story but his resurrection is interrupted and things have gone a little wrong. Burning energy at an accelerated rate he is forced to consume food, and people (at least two if not four!) to survive. When things fluctuate we see a rather CGI skeletal figure of the master which looks a tad cheap. The modern equivalent of overlapping effects from the old day I guess. He also seems to have developed amazing jumping capabilities and the power to throw energy bolts from his hands, although they don't really seem to do very much.

The Master is not the only returning figure however. Rassilon, founder of Time Lord society appears to have been resurrected as well to lead the war effort in the Time War. He's not the same individual we meet as a spiritual presence in The Five Doctors however. He appears to have been driven mad by the events of the Time War and is quite the despot now. You can see why the Doctor now fears his fellow Time Lords. This time around Rassilon is played by veteran James Bond actor, Timothy Dalton. I imagine getting such a well known actor was quite a cue for the BBC.

We are also introduced in this story to a new figure. Appearing at times to Wilfred and standing, face covered, in Rassilon's presence is a Time Lady. She seems to be something to the Doctor although we never learn in the show who she is. There are rumours that she may be Romana or even more interesting, the Doctor's own mother. We may never truly know.

At the end of this episode we finally have the reveal of the "four knocks" plot line which leads to the eventual regeneration. As the Doctor slowly dies he goes and pays a quick visit to some of his former companions: Martha Jones and Mickey Smith, Sarah Jane and Luke Smith, Captain Jack and Rose Tyler. It's a nice ending and an appropriate goodbye from the 10th Doctor.

I liked David Tennant and his portrayal of the Doctor but I never quite saw what the fuss about him was from some fans. He was good but not that good. I guess it's more fan girls adoring his good looks rather than his character, but hey, who knows.

Episode #204 : The Stolen Earth / Journey's End

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

Episode #204:     The Stolen Earth / Journey's End.
Companions:       10th Doctor, Donna Noble, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper.
Air Date:             28th June to 5th July 2008.

When Earth and twenty-six other planets are stolen and taken to the Medusa Cascade and the Doctor is nowhere in sight, it's up to the combined forces of UNIT, Torchwood, Sarah Jane and Rose to fight off the thieves, who only have one thing to say to the resistance: "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" Davros and the New Dalek Empire prepare to detonate a bomb that will wipe out all of existence. The Tenth Doctor is helpless, and the TARDIS faces destruction. The only hope lies with the Doctor's companions — the "Children of Time" — but Dalek Caan predicts that one will die.

This story is a fan's dream. It brings together not just the Doctor and the Daleks, but brings back old companions from the new show as well as bringing in Torchwood and Sarah Jane Smith. How cool is that? Having everyone together and sharing screen time reminds me of The Five Doctors. They come together to fight to defeat the Daleks.

The story ties together a lot of the elements that have appeared in the show since it was brought back on the air as well as wrapping up some elements of the Time War. The strong point for me is less so much that as the revelations presented by Davros about the Doctor and his companions. Davros points out something that perhaps we never considered. The Doctor may not condone violence but in truth his companions become soldiers to do that things that he couldn't usually bring himself to do. It is quite the revelation that has a huge emotional impact when Davros delivers it and shows the Doctor the truth that he might not otherwise accept.

It is great to see Davros again after so long. We learn that he did survive the events of Remembrance of the Daleks and even fought in the Time War itself. Davros created a new Dalek race from his own cells which seems to be a recurring factor in the Daleks these days.

There is one small bugbear for me with this episode. A lot of media attention was directed to the Doctor regenerating in this episode. In fact he does get exterminated by a Dalek and starts to regenerate. He heals using the regeneration energy and siphons the rest into his old hand that the Sycorax cut off. Now that is all fine but, and it is a big but as well as a spoiler, in the future episode The Time of the Doctor we learn that this counted towards the Doctor's regeneration limit. It's now established canon but it doesn't feel right to me as the regeneration doesn't complete so how does it count? But I can live with it. It just rubs me the wrong way a little bit.

At the end of the story all the companions go their own way again. Rose returns with the new Doctor to the Pete's World universe never to be seen again. Unfortunately this is the end of things for Donna. It all goes a bit wrong with the metacrisis and the Doctor is forced to remove any knowledge of him and their time again. It is a sad end for Donna that she spent all this time travelling with the Doctor and then it is all swept away from her.

Episode #203 : Turn Left

"The Doctor is dead. Must have happened too fast for him to regenerate."

Episode #203:         Turn Left.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 21st June 2008.

On the an alien planet, Donna meets a fortune teller, who launches her into a world based on one question: "What would happen if Donna never met the Tenth Doctor?" Without the Doctor, the whole world is in ruin, and a mysterious blonde tries to warn Donna of the oncoming darkness... Now a simple refugee, Donna is the only one who can undo the damage. But how?

Turn Left is a "what if" story. In this case we see what happens to the Earth and to Donna Noble if the Doctor was killed defeating the Rachnoss without Donna there to save him. The events we see unfold without his interference are the SS Titanic crashing into London, the Adipos (in the US rather than UK), and ATMOS. Without the Doctor there to save us everything goes very very wrong. The episode is Doctor lite to make up for the previous companion lite episode, Midnight. What causes all this? It is strongly hinted at that it is the work of the Trickster (or his Brigade) although he has yet to ever appear in an episode by this time.

Rose Tyler makes another appearance in this story alongside UNIT trying to fix the time line before everything goes pear shaped for good. She drops hints about the possible events that have been cropping up all season and we see the culmination in the following episode. The ending of the episode gives me goosebumps watching it when everything is revealed to the Doctor.

As an episode it isn't fantastic but likewise it isn't a bad story either. Not a lot actually happens in it but rather we see a world without the Doctor there to save it and how Donna's life would turn out. The pay out is more where the story leads at the end of it and where we go next.

Episode #201: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

Episode #201:        Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 31st May to 7th June 2008.

"When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run for ever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment, accepts it."

The Tenth Doctor takes Donna Noble to a planet-sized library in the 51st century. They find it empty of human life, with a final recorded message: "4,022 saved, no survivors." As an archaeological expedition arrives, lead by the mysterious Professor River Song, they can only give one piece of advice: count the shadows.

Steven Moffat, future head man of the show, returns with a blinding spooky episode. Whatever we may feel about the man these days it cannot be denied that he knows how to write the proper spooky episodes. In Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead we see how time travelers drawn to a planet sized library where there are no people. It has been a hundred years since everything went wrong and everyone vanished. Now, am archaeological team has come to investigate and things have begun to awaken.

In this adventure we are introduced to a new character by the name of River Song. At this point we know very little about her other than she knows the Doctor's real name and that she knows him from his future in another incarnation. I won't spoil anything yet but as the Doctor says, there is only one time he could give someone his name.

Interestingly we never really see the monsters of this story, instead we see the walking dead of their feeding. Maybe not as scary as the Weeping Angels but creepy all the same especially as we are told that they are all around us in the dark...

The end of the story comes with a beautiful and emotional ending where the Doctor loses someone oh so important and has to come to terms with it. Even when we get a sad ending there is always something positive that comes out of it. The show hasn't had that for a long time and it is good ending for the episode.

Episode #200 : The Unicorn and the Wasp

Donna: It's a murder, a mystery and Agatha Christie!
The Doctor: So? Happens to me all the time.
Donna: I know but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders, not really. That's like meeting Charles Dickens surrounded by ghosts at Christmas!

Episode #200:         The Unicorn and the Wasp.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 17th May 2008.

In 1926, Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears, only to be found ten days later at Harrogate Hotel with no memory of what happened to her. What could have been the cause? Was it a nervous breakdown? Was it a cry for help? Or did it involve a giant alien wasp and a mysterious stranger known only as the Doctor?

This is how you do a proper historical story in Doctor Who. Take an actual real world mystery, a famous celebrity (of their day) and add a nice but not over the top science fiction spin. Making it appear like a typical Agatha Christie style mystery is just the icing on the cake. This is exactly what we have here. The show has needed a proper investigative mystery for a long time and The Unicorn and the Wasp comes in almost perfectly. The only thing that lets it down is some of the typical silly elements common to the David Tennant era but it is so infrequent here that it is easy to let it slide.

The episode plays on all the typical references we expect from a 1920's murder mystery set in the English countryside. Twenty three of Agatha Christie's novels or short stories are referenced throughout the episode. I didn't spot all of them at the time and had to look them up afterwards. In that sense the episode is much like The Shakespeare Code which also has many references to the works of the titular character.

There is very little to let this episode down, and yes I know I am focusing on the negative here but it is difficult for me to do otherwise here. We have some silly elements such as a the Doctor performing charades to give clues to Donna after he has been poisoned and seeking a cure. I'm also not a fan of the effects used to generate the insectoid villain of the story. Having seen in Doctor Who and other programmes just how good the BBC has gotten at it's computer effects it could have looked and moved a lot better. Nit picking, I agree, but it does for me affect the rating that I have given it though not by much. The Unicorn and the Wasp is no where near being a 5* adventure. It is however, certainly one that I recommend.

Episode #199 : The Doctor's Daughter

"He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures... and runs a lot. Seriously, there is an outrageous amount of running involved."

Episode #199:         The Doctor's Daughter.
Companions:           10th Doctor, Donna Noble and Martha Jones.
Air Date:                 10th May 2008.

Just after finally defeating the Sontarans on modern-day Earth, the Doctor's TARDIS takes the Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble and Martha Jones on an unexpected trip to the planet Messaline. Arriving right in the middle of a war between humans and Hath, the Doctor meets someone he thought he never would: his daughter. Can the Doctor accept this clone as his offspring, and can he stop the war before it all ends in massacre on both sides?

It is always nice to see interaction between old companions and new. With the threat of the Sontarans out of the way the Doctor drags Donna and Martha off into time and space. Although they do get split up after a while there is some fun interaction similar to, but more serious than, when Rose Tyler and Sarah Jane Smith met back in School Reunion.

The biggest plot element that had people talking about the episode all week before it was shown was the trailer reference to "hi dad" and the episode title. I had hoped, against hope, that it would be his direct daughter - Susan's mother. But alas, that was not to be. Sometimes I do wish we could just get some direct continuity back to Susan but I doubt now that it will happen. Instead, Jenny, is a clone creation made by a machine. She is programmed to be a soldier, which makes the Doctor distrust her immediately, and it takes Donna to force him to see her as his own flesh and blood. I won't spoil the ending where Jenny is concerned but we need a repeat appearance or her own spin off show.

As you are already probably aware Georgia Moffatt who plays Jenny is the daughter of 5th Doctor Peter Davison. So technically she is the Doctor's daughter, who is married to the Doctor (David Tennant) and has had the Doctor's daughter. Timey whimey.

As an episode, the Doctor's Daughter isn't bad but it feels somewhat cheap in places as though this was the runt of the series. It is a story that doesn't really go anywhere and perhaps may have been better as a classic era story spanning three or four parts. It is the problem with many modern episodes though and by now I should be used to it.

Episode #198 : The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky

The Doctor: Name?

General Staal: General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet. "Staal The Undefeated!"

The Doctor: Oh that's no good. What if you get defeated? "Staal The Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Any-More-But-Never-Mind"?

Episode #198:         The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky.
Companions:           10th Doctor, Donna Noble and Martha Jones.
Air Date:                 26th April to 3rd May 2008.


Fifty two people across the world in eleven time zones die at the exact same time. The only connection: they all have ATMOS installed in the vehicles. Martha Jones, now a doctor working for UNIT, summons the Doctor back to Earth to help figure out why, but an old enemy lies in wait.

The Doctor is called back to Earth by Martha Jones to investigate a series of mysterious deaths that leads them to ATMOS, a device that has reduced fuel emissions to nothing. ATMOS is revealed to be a ploy by the Sontarans to transform the Earth into a giant cloning facility for use in their war against the Rutans.

With the return of Martha Jones we have some nice interaction between the old and new companions. Martha even going so far as to warn Donna that while travelling with the Doctor is amazing, her family could be in danger. We've had some family relationships since the return of the show, most of which is just awkward to watch, but what we start seeing her of Donna's family - mainly Wilfred Mott - feels more like a step in the right direction. You immediately dislike the mother but instantly love Wilfred.

I have always had a soft spot for the Sontarans in the classic show and their return was well worth the wait. New make up and effects have made their appearance so much better. They aren't laughable any more and are portrayed just right as well. Just a shame that as the show goes along the Sontarans become a bit of a laughing stock.

The Sontarans are not the only villains to these piece. They are aided by Luke Rattigan, a young genius who believes that they alien invaders are going to reward him with a world of his own populated by select individuals of his choosing. Like most human villains in Doctor Who despite being insanely clever they seem incredibly dumb at the same time. Rattigan reminds me a lot of the Master during the 3rd Doctor's time on the show in that regard.

The story drops in a number of old references from the Valiant to "are you my mummy" and mention of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. At the time of broadcast there hadn't been many references to the classic show and it was great to get more continuity.

This adventure is one of the better stories of the 10th Doctor's run. It still suffers from having a global event that following the completion is completely forgotten by everyone. Still, it is great to see a decent portrayal of the Sontarans at last.

Episode #197 : Planet of the Ood

Ood Sigma: Will you stay? There is room in the song for you.

The Doctor: Oh, I've, I've... sort of got a song of my own, thanks.

Ood Sigma: I think your song must end soon.

The Doctor: [unnerved by this] Meaning?

Ood Sigma: Every song must end.

Episode #197:         Planet of the Ood.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 19th April 2008.

The Doctor takes Donna to her very first alien planet: the Ood Sphere. There, the Doctor encounters the Ood once more, and red-eye strikes again. But what is causing it this time? He and Donna soon learn horrible secrets kept by Ood Operations, and they discover just what humanity is capable of. Elsewhere, what is the secret that Warehouse 15 holds within its walls? The Doctor arrives and everything will change. The revolution has begun.

Planet of the Ood is a story that gives us a background to the Ood race encountered previously in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit. The Doctor and Donna arrive on a planet where the Ood are altered and sold into slavery among the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. They take it upon themselves to see them freed but meanwhile something is turning the Ood into savage killers. 

The Ood are revealed to be a peaceful species originally until they were found two hundred years earlier. We learn that they have a second brain that is external to the body and that the corporation replaces with the the communication orb. They also have a great brain being held prisoner which, when not isolated, allows the Ood to communicate with one another telepathically.

Just as in The Fires of Pompeii we see another side to Donna Noble here. The reaction she shows when it is revealed how the Ood are treated makes her seem far more Human than she did previously. Travelling with the Doctor seems to be having a good effect on her already and she isn't the same woman she was when we first met her in The Runaway Bride.

It's an interesting story but again one where humanity is shown to be just as bad a villain as anything the Doctor normally faces down. It is mainly there as a set up for the end of the 10th Doctors era on the show, as it sets up a recurring phrase that the Doctor's song is ending. Overall it isn't a bad story. Very fitting with modern Who.

Episode #196 - Fires of Pompeii

"Even the word 'doctor' is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord... of Time."

Episode #196:         Fires of Pompeii.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 12th April 2008.

The Tenth Doctor tries taking Donna Noble to ancient Rome for her first trip in the TARDIS, but seems to have miscalculated. Instead of seven hills, they find a single mountain billowing smoke — Vesuvius. They're in Pompeii, 23 August 79 AD: the day before "Volcano Day". However, something else is horribly wrong. The Soothsayers' predictions seem to always be correct... so why can't they see tomorrow's disastrous events, the eruption of Vesuvius, the death of their city? What is blocking their perception, and will the TARDIS team be able to walk away from a fixed point in time, saving no one from certain doom? Well, Donna has something to say about that!

Fires of Pompeii is an excellent example of a time travel television show and a good example of what Doctor Who can do. Here the time travelers travel back to ancient Pompeii and have some just fantastic dialogue and interaction between the Doctor and Donna that hearkens back to the 1st Doctor and Barbara in The Aztecs. The Doctor being the Time Lord knows that the events here are fixed in time and cannot be changed but Donna just sees the human side of things, concerned for the people of Pompeii. It really makes the episode.

The monsters in this story, the Pyroviles are some of the best animated creatures that the show has had I feel. Shame that the same level isn't applied to everything the BBC animate in the show. These are giant rock men type aliens with magma interiors.

The episode features two actors who will go on to feature strongly in the show. Karen Gillen who would become companion Amy Pond, and Peter Capaldi who will become the 12th Doctor.

Episode #195 - Partners in Crime

"Oi, you two! You're just mad, do you hear me? Mad! And I'm going to report you for... madness!!"

Episode #195:         Partners in Crime.
Companions:           10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:                 5th April 2008.

Donna Noble is determined to find the Doctor again - even if it means braving the villainous Miss Foster. But when the alien threat escalates out of control, can Donna find her Time Lord before the march of the Adipose begins.

The fourth season of the new Doctor Who begins with a nice little story reuniting the Doctor with Donna Noble. Both are investigating strange things happening with Adipose Industries' new weight loss program. This reunites them and reveals that obese people's fat is being transformed into baby Adipose by the evil head of the company.

The story is a nice but it is one where once again very little happens other than reuniting the Doctor with Donna. The events concerning the Adipose are interesting but the episode suffers from typical continuity issues. Thousands of tiny fat Adipose bursting from people, wandering the streets and then being hoovered up by a giant flying saucer but the events are forgotten almost immediately. Modern Who has a lot of strange events that are witnessed by the public (let's not even mention Torchwood) but everything goes back to normal after each episode.

In this story we are introduced again to Donna's family and we learn that Wilfred Mott (who appeared in Voyage of the Damned) is her grandfather. Immediately I dislike her mother and really like Wilfred. Part of that I'm sure is Bernard Cribbins coming through as his character.

There is also an intriguing cameo at the end of the episode featuring Rose Tyler. This is a set up for the end of the season.

Unfortunately the story doesn't have a lot going for it. The reunion scenes are nice but the story itself is lacking something to make it really interesting. The Adipose are just too cute and silly to be appropriate to the show in my opinion.

Episode #181 : The Runaway Bride

Donna: Oi! No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!

The Doctor: I'm... I'm not... I'm not - I'm not from Mars.

Episode 181:   The Runaway Bride.
Companions:   10th Doctor and Donna Noble.
Air Date:         25th December 2006.

Killer Santas, exploding baubles, an alien spaceship shaped like a giant star — Christmas with the Tenth Doctor is anything but a silent night.

The Runaway Bride was the second Christmas special for the revamped show. Thankfully the Christmas elements are toned down and other than some robot Santas's you don't really notice. Unfortunately as the Christmas specials go on I find it jarring somewhat that they are all set on Christmas day. So much for time travel.

Anyway, this episode sees the arrival of Donna Noble who, a couple seasons from now, will make a return as a regular companion for the Doctor. Donna is played by well known comedienne Catherine Tate. Other than one or two of her "characters" I don't find her very funny and I remember thinking that when she was announced as a the companion for the episode. I was pleasantly surprised that she fitted in well even with a somewhat dim and obnoxious personality. Donna does make a nice change to the regular type of female companion.

The villains of the story are an extinct race of spider-centaur beings called the Racnoss who were wiped out by the Time Lords in the early days of the universe. The effects for the Empress of the Racnoss are top notch. Unfortunately I doubt we will see them again now.

Three things are brought to light in this story. One is the first mention of Gallifrey in the modern incarnation of the show and the second is the Doctor's growing darkness. Donna tells him near the end that he needs to find someone to keep him in check. The Doctor has lost many companions over the years and you can see that it may weight heavy on his shoulders but the growing concept of the "lonely god" is pushed too hard in this instance. A part of modern television styles I guess. Lastely when the Racnoss ship appears over London the military have orders to destroy it from "Mr Saxon". Who could that be? We'll find out all too soon.

All in all the plot isn't bad and it is an enjoyable story. It is typical of modern Who though in the silliness elements that creep in. I don't mean the cool personality quirks of the Doctor as they have always been there but there are elements dropped into the episode that just make me roll my eyes at times as I am sure I have mentioned before.

There is one plot issue that is left open for me and that is the robot Santas's. Were they the same ones as from the prior Christmas and if so, were they nothing to do with the Sycorax last time but working for the Racnoss?