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 #180 : Army of Ghosts / Doomsday

Rose (voice-over): Planet Earth. This is where I was born. And this is where I died. The first nineteen years of my life, nothing happened. Nothing at all, not ever. And then I met a man called the Doctor. A man who could change his face. And he took me away from home in his magical machine. He showed me the whole of time and space. I thought it would never end... Well, that's what I thought. But then came the Army of Ghosts. Then came Torchwood and the war. That's when it all ended. This is the story of how I died.

Episode 180:   Army of Ghosts / Doomsday.
Companions:   10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         1st to 8th July 2006.

Rose and the Tenth Doctor return to modern-day London to find a mysterious epidemic of ghosts all over the world. As the Doctor searches Torchwood Tower to find answers, something sinister lurks in the building. A secret order of Daleks emerge and the Cybermen from Pete's World make their way to Torchwood Tower. As the two deadly forces fight over Earth, the Tenth Doctor realises that in order to stop the threat, sacrifices will be made.

The finale for this season was an excellent two part story that returns the Daleks and the Cybus Cybermen, along with the return briefly of Mickey Smith. The Cybus Cybermen managed to find a way to cross the void between worlds and come through to our world, presumably to escape the hunt for them that is going on in Pete's World. The Cult of Skaro and their Genesis Ark hid in the void to escape the final moments of the Time War. Unfortunately the two forces arrive at the same time in the middle of Torchwood's London headquarters. Not only do we have the explanation as to who and what the Torchwood references were but also battle sequences between the Cybermen and the Daleks. Those sequences are enough to make any Whovian squee with delight!

We finally lose Rose Tyler in this story. I don't want to be harsh towards the character but as fun as she was I am sick and tired of the love story elements between her and the Doctor. It never really felt right. She "dies" because she and her family end up trapped (rescued?) in the Pete's World universe. In ours she was counted among the dead. The final moments are nicely done but its a good riddance to unnecessary romantic baggage.

As for Torchwood as an organisation it feels unnessecary for the Whoniverse. They collect alien things and deal with extraterrestrial threats. However, isn't that the responsibility of UNIT? All this time with the Doctor on Earth and the threats faced, where was Torchwood? Anyhoo, it sets up Torchwood ready for it's own series.

At the end of Doomsday we get a preview of the Christmas special for 2006, when the Doctor finds a mysterious woman in a wedding dress onboard the TARDIS.

Army of Ghosts / Doomsday is an excellent adventure and deserves a high rating. There is a lot going on in this story however and sometimes it feels rushed or forced to cram everything into about 90 minutes of screen time.

Episode #175 : Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel.

 

Rose: [surprised] They're people.

The Doctor: They were, until they had all their humanity taken away. That's a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body, with a heart of steel. All emotions removed.

Rose: Why no emotions?

The Doctor: Because it hurts.

Episode 175:   Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel.
Companions:   10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         13th to 20th May 2006.

On a parallel Earth, a deadly new version of the Doctor's old enemy is about to be reborn. The Cybermen take control of London and start converting the population, and the Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith become fugitives.

An explosion in the vortex drops the TARDIS and crew on to a parallel Earth where things a tad different from our own. In this one there are airships everywhere and everyone is connected to everything via an earpiece. The time travellers arrive to find that Rose's father Pete is still alive and rather successful which causes Rose to go off looking for him. Unfortunately this is the same time that the Cybermen of this universe come into being and start upgrading everyone.

I'll start off by saying that I'm not a fan of the new Cyberman designs. I find them far too clunky and robotic, but I do prefer the 1980's look and they will always be the Cybermen for me. But fair play and things change. The BBC have better ways of showing these creatures now. If only they hadn't added "delete" as a catchphrase. It is far too cheesy. Even more so than before these Cybermen remind me of the Borg from Star Trek for their conversion of people into Cybermen, which you do see through this story.

John Lumic, who becomes the Cyber Controller, is played by the late Roger Lloyd-Pack who is more famously known for the role of Trigger in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

Just as with the 3rd Doctor story Inferno, the fun aspect of this story is seeing how our regular characters are different in an alternate universe. Pete Tyler is a respectable and rich business man, and Jackie Tyler isn't so different just stuck up. Rose doesn't exist. Instead the Tyler's have a dog named Rose. Mickey has an opposite called Rickey who is a braver more criminal (number 1 for parking fines!) version of himself.

When all is said and done, Mickey decides to remain here because his gran is still alive in this universe and he feels he can help deal with the remaining Cybermen in other parts of the world. I find Mickey an annoying character at times. Far too clingy towards Rose. In hindsight though perhaps he wasn't that bad.

Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel is a good story for introducing the Cybermen to a new generation. I just wish that they weren't the only ones we see for a long time.

Episode #174 : The Girl in the Fireplace

The Doctor: Don't worry Reinette, it's just a nightmare. Everyone has nightmares; even big scary monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?

Reinette: What do monsters have nightmares about?

The Doctor: Me! Ha!

Episode 174:   The Girl in the Fireplace.
Companions:   10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         6th May 2006.

For their first trip with Mickey, the Tenth Doctor and Rose end up on a space ship in the future that contains several portals to pre-Revolutionary France. When he steps through one of these portals, shaped like a fireplace, the Doctor discovers the even greater mystery of actual, romantic love.

The Girl in the Fireplace is a story that I find a little surreal. It features clockwork robots wearing 18th century clothing, a space ship repaired with human body parts and an underlying sense of just oddness. It doesn't feel quite right for some reason. However, it is an entertaining story.

One thing that doesn't quite work is the Doctor. We are supposed to believe that he has strong feelings for Rose and yet falls in love with Madame de Pompadour to the point of being willing to be stuck in the 18th century with her. Feels out of character. Then there is the question of when did he develop this level of telepathy that he can put his hands on a person's head and read their minds?

The overall concepts of the story work and I can forgive the few oddities because it is Steven Moffet. It looks good, there is just the right sort of interaction between the time travellers and the angst of having to explain things to someone who probably can't quite grasp the concept of time travel. Otherwise there isn't much to this adventure and it is simply typical of the direction for the new show.

Episode #173 : School Reunion

Rose: I thought you and me were—well, I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year 5 billion, right, but this... Now, this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're gonna do to me?

The Doctor: No. Not to you.

Rose: But Sarah Jane. You were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?

The Doctor: I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay; you wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone that you— [breaks off]

Rose: What, Doctor?

The Doctor: You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords.

Episode 173:   School Reunion.
Companions:   10th Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, K9 and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         29th April 2006.

Deffry Vale High School is haunted by strange, bat-like creatures at night. When the Tenth Doctor investigates, he finds an old friend, Sarah Jane Smith, already working undercover.

Prior to this story I think there was also some concern that the new series of Doctor Who was a reboot rather than a continuation. With the return of Sarah Jane and K9 we at last knew that we were continuing almost where we left off.

In School Reunion the time travellers have been brought home by Mickey who has reported UFOs and strange incidents around a school in London. Whilst investigating they encounter Sarah Jane Smith who is also looking into the events. After a bit of a spat between Rose and Sarah Jane, the time manage to work together to stop the evil Krillitane's from achieving a sort of godhood.

It is such a pleasure to see Sarah Jane back after so long. The writers and producers obviously recognised that she is by far the most popular companion the Doctor has had. K9's return is also cool but is overshadowed by her. Following her appearance her, Sarah Jane goes on to start in the children's show The Sarah Jane Adventures, which I will also be covering here.

There is some fantastic dialogue in this story that helps overcome it's shortfalls. The quote above is one such example when Rose realises that she is just one in a long line of companions and doesn't like the revelation. I don't think any previous companions even consider it. They all think that they will be with the Doctor forever.

The villains are the Krillitane, a race of invaders who steal body parts (not literally I assume) of the species they conquer. In this story they are attempting to break the code of the universe and set themselves up as gods using the brains of children. As a concept great, but the CGI appearance is just shocking. When you see how well the werewolf in the previous story was done, it is more than a little disappointing to see rubbery looking gargoyles with big eyes.

The story is fun and its nice to see the return of old companions plus references to the classic show. had the Krillitane been designed and implemented better, perhaps I might view it more favourably.

Episode #170 : The Christmas Invasion

Jackie Tyler: Well, I reckon you're mad, the pair of you. It's like you go looking for trouble.

The Doctor: Trouble's just the bits-in-between! It's all waiting out there, Jackie. And it's brand new to me—all those planets and creatures and horizons! I haven't seen them yet, not with these eyes. And it is gonna be... fantastic!

Episode 170:   The Christmas Invasion.
Companions:   10th Doctor and, Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         25th December 2005.

It's Christmas Eve and high above London, the alien Sycorax are holding the Earth for ransom. The Tenth Doctor must recover from his regeneration in time to save the human race from slavery.

The first adventure for the 10th Doctor is also the first Christmas special. I don't know about you but after a while I get seriously fed up of Christmas specials for Doctor Who. It works for sit coms and the occasional drama but just how many times can the Doctor and chums arrive for Christmas?

The plot for this one is fairly simple. The Doctor regenerates from his absorption of the time vortex and slips into a restorative coma, leaving Rose and family to hold things together when a race of nasty aliens turning up seeking slaves and conquest. The story holds more family angst and quickly gets a bit monotonous. There is also some downright silliness that doesn't fit ranging from some of the humour down to unexplained robot killers and a murderous Christmas tree. Sometimes I wonder what Russell T Davis, the head producer, was thinking with the direction of the show at this stage.

The Sycorax as the villains seem fairly weak to me. There is no depth to them and they seem all too bland as a species or culture. I don't particularly like the look of the costumes either. All seems a bit cheap. However, it doesn't spoil the enjoyment for me. I'm just glad that so far they haven't returned.

We get our first proper reference to Torchwood and they seem to have access to powerful alien technology. At this point we don't know much other than a reference from Harriet Jones (yes, we know who you are). The idea of a recurring reference to Bad Wolf in the previous series was quite clever but did it really another meme in this one?

In this story I'm not overly fond of the new Doctor. You have to let an actor and his writers settle into a new role but he still comes across, as he puts it himself, as rude. Eccleston's incarnation was a miserable character a lot of the time and I remember hoping that it wasn't going to be a continuous trend.

I may seem negative of this episode but really it is what I have come to expect from new Who. The ideas and concepts that I loved from the classic show are long gone I think. Old fans have to adapt to a modern show paradigm.

Episode #169 : Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

"You don't just give up. You don’t just let things happen. You make a stand. You say "no." You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't!"

Episode 169:   Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways.
Companions:   9th Doctor, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness.
Air Date:        11th June 2005.

Separated and with no TARDIS, the Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Jack have to fight for their lives on board the Game Station, but a far more dangerous threat is lurking, just out of sight. The Doctor realises that the entire human race has been blinded to the threat on its doorstep, and Armageddon is fast approaching.

We have reached the end of the first season of the new series of Doctor Who and it culminates with an absolute corker. The Bad Wolf meme is realised and explained, and we learn a bit more about the Time War. The adventure also deals with the often unforeseen results of the Doctor's meddling in things. Had he not done what did during the events of The Long Game then things might have been very different here and now. His actions caused this future.

The Daleks are back, as is the Emperor Dalek last seen way back during the time of the 2nd Doctor. I doubt it is the same one but you never know. The Daleks here are different from those we know. In order to rebuild the Dalek race, the Emperor was forced to take human dead and create new Daleks from their remains. Nothing new there as we saw this in Revelation of the Daleks. In this story however, the events that allowed the Emperor to survive coupled with creating impure Daleks has driven them all somewhat insane. They now believe that the Emperor is a god and that Earth will be their new paradise. The only downside to them here is that I am now sick of seeing levitating Daleks!

Jack dies, along with pretty much everybody else and the Daleks, but is restored by Rose as the "Bad Wolf" using the power of the time vortex. This would have serious repercussions as he is now effectively immortal and reanimates minutes after death. Because of this, and we learn why much later, the Doctor abandons Jack on the space station. I really like Jack as a character, and he does go on to lead Torchwood, I would have liked him to remain longer as a companion simply because New Who seems intent on having just female companions.

After just one season, the Doctor regenerates. I don't know whether this was planned from the start or not, but it is a real shame that Eccleston didn't do at least one more. It does feel like a waste of a regeneration. Every other Doctor, barring the 8th as he only made the movie episode, did at least three years.

I may not have liked the persona very much but Eccleston did a grand job in bringing the character back to the TV screens for a new generation. What I disliked the most was the negativity and passive-aggressive approach. It may have fitted the character at the time but looking back this incarnation doesn't feel like the Doctor of old.

A great ending for the season and an excellent story. From here on things do get a lot better.

Episode #168 : Boom Town

Margaret Blaine: Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?

The Doctor: You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet.

Margaret Blaine: Apart from that.

Episode 168:   Boom Town.
Companions:   9th Doctor, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness
Air Date:         4th June 2005.

The Ninth Doctor, and his companions, Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey. There, they discover that their "enemy", Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, is very much alive, if without an easy escape route from Earth, and is willing to rip apart the planet to ensure her freedom.

Boom Town is a sequel of sorts to Aliens of London / World War Three, as we learn that one of the Slitheen escaped at the end and is now hiding out in Cardiff plotting to escape the Earth, destroying it in the process. It is a very well thought out story that touches on the morality of the Doctor. Is he willing to kill, even second hand, a relatively "harmless" enemy? This plot element would never have come up before though it becomes fairly common throughout the new series.

Other than dealing with the Slitheen survivor, the adventure sets up the heart of the TARDIS for the season finale, and the Cardiff rift again for Torchwood. References are made back to The Unquiet Dead about the rift. It's a good fun episode but does feel more like a filler to set up future elements. I had the same issue with The Long Game but at least Boom Town has a self contained story and isn't so bad.

The time travellers get their first direct impression of the Bad Wolf meme in this story. The name of a local nuclear power plant is Welsh for Bad Wolf. Blon says that the name just came to her and the companions ignore it afterwards.

Boom Town has some interesting moral instances that we don't see previously. Does the punishment fit the crime if the punishment is going to be death? Can you take an individual back to their home world knowing full well that a painful execution awaits them? I'm not sure I could and you do see the Doctor and his friends wrestling with that question.

Episode #163 : Aliens of London / World War Three

"Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"

Episode 163:   Aliens of London / World War Three.
Companions:   9th Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Air Date:         16th to 23rd April 2005.

Rose returns home to discover that she has been missing for a whole year, although for her, it's been a couple of days. However, before she can explain her absence, a spaceship crashes into Big Ben, causing a worldwide catastrophe. Worse still, the Prime Minister has mysteriously disappeared... The Doctor's investigation puts him in the spotlight with the British government, as his long history of defending Earth finally catches up with him. But there are sinister goings on at 10 Downing Street, and politician Harriet Jones' quest to get some answers brings her into a brave new world... of aliens. Meanwhile, Rose finds trouble closer to home, as her past mistakes threaten to tear her family apart.

This story introduces a concept that hasn't been seen before, dealing with the repercussions of what happens at home when a companion takes off with the Doctor. A fair chunk of the first part is taken over by this plot element. It is well done and nice to see that a plot element that has been long in coming.

Aliens of London introduces a new villain, the Slitheen family, unscrupulous aliens seeking to make a profit from the destruction of the Earth. This is first story of the new series to combine CGI and the classic "man in a suit" style creatures. I remember being oddly pleased with this adventure when it first aired for continuing to have the "man in an alien costume" approach. I had feared that we would not see that again. What makes the Slitheen stand out is the childish farting that they do. At first it is amusing but soon becomes all too silly even though within the story it is explained.

We are also introduced to new characters who would reappear later on, Harriet Jones (MP for Flydale North), and Toshiko Sato who we learn later on is part of an organisation called Torchwood. UNIT appears for the first time in the new series though the name has changed to the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. The reason for the name change is because the real world United Nations did not want to be associated with the show. I find this really odd as there is no better program to be associated with in my opinion.

Bad Wolf appears in this story as a graffiti spray painted onto the side of the TARDIS.

Aliens of London / World War Three is a fun entertaining romp though it falls into the childish at times.

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.