#12 (3.0): The Runaway Bride.

Donna (Catherine Tate)'s wedding doesn't quite go as planned...

1 episode. Approx. 60 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies. Directed by: Euros Lyn. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

A stranger has somehow appeared in the TARDIS: A woman in a white wedding dress.

The Doctor gapes at the impossibility, particularly when he realizes that the woman, Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), is completely ordinary. Donna is enraged at being taken from her wedding to HR manager Lance (Don Gilet), right as she was walking down the aisle, and the Doctor has no explanation for how this could have happened. He does know that Donna is as irritating as she is irate, however, and resolves to get her to the church as quickly as possible.

The TARDIS gets her to the right city on the right date, and Donna hails a cab. Situation resolved... Until the Doctor notices that her driver is one of the same robotic Santas that he tangled with the previous Christmas. He manages to rescue her, but not in time to make her wedding. He instead delivers her to the reception, which has gone on without her.

While Donna reunites with her not overly-worried family, the Doctor reviews the video footage of the wedding. That's when he realizes that Donna has been infused with huon particles, energy which should not exist. When he learns that her workplace is an office building formerly owned by the Torchwood Institute, the pieces start coming together... And when he discovers a secret sub-basement in that building, he realizes that he's stumbled into a plot that traces back to the dawn of the Earth, and that just might spell the planet's ending!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Is intrigued by Donna's impossible appearance in his TARDIS - but when she notices a blouse of Rose's, he is uncharacteristically willing to forget that mystery just to get this shrill intruder out of his life as quickly as possible. It is only when he sees Donna in imminent danger that he gets pulled back into her situation. At the reception, while other couples dance, he keeps thinking of Rose - right up until he notices the videographer from the wedding, and is able to distract himself with the mystery. The climax, in which the Doctor grimly takes action against the villainous Queen of the Rachnoss (Sarah Parrish), is particularly memorable, with Tennant's Doctor actively frightening in this moment.

Donna: Barrels into the series with a shrill voice and a shriller attitude. For the first part of the episode, she is unbearable - loud, overly emotional, loud, unlikable, and loud. But once she has to accept that she's not making it back to her wedding in time, she settles down for a nice, contemplative scene on a rooftop in which actress Catherine Tate shows some terrific chemistry with David Tennant. That scene would be evidence in itself of why she was worth bringing back, even if Catherine Tate did not proceed to be terrific for the remainder of the episode. A noteworthy scene that ties in with the ending is when, after the attack at the reception, Donna tries to get the Doctor to help some of those who were hurt. He refuses to slow down, telling her that he needs to focus on "the bigger picture" - Which reinforces Donna's statement at the end, that he sometimes needs someone to stop him.


THOUGHTS

My thoughts on Donna's characterization are a microcosm of my thoughts on The Runaway Bride as a whole. The first 15 - 20 minutes are mostly unbearable: Overly broad, overly frenetic, and overly loud. There are actually a few good lines in there, with Donna's rant about pockets particularly amusing - But the stray good line can't help but get buried underneath the sheer busy-ness of it all.

Then, after a bizarre car chase (which is actually rather enjoyably staged), things finally settle down. We get some quiet bits, the characters of the Doctor and Donna start to properly emerge, and the whole story becomes so much more enjoyable that I can scarce credit that it all came from the same creative crew.

A particularly effective undertone is that Rose's departure is a raw nerve for the Doctor. This entire story is happening to him directly after losing her in Doomsday. This influences his attitudes throughout the story, and makes this a strong epilogue to the Rose era, reinforcing how important she was to him.

It should have stayed the final word on Rose, in my opinion, with only an occasional stray reference thereafter... But that's a complaint for another day.

The story itself is fairly clever. The explanation for how Donna was catapulted into the TARDIS for the Doomsday cliffhanger is not only given an explanation, it is made part and parcel of the story. There's also a nice end twist that is planted early in the story, but which is not blatantly telegraphed. The story also works nicely as a bridge between seasons, with the Doctor's reaction to Rose's departure following on from Season Two, and the planting of the name "Mister Saxon" near the end.

I tend to think that Runaway Bride would have been better had it been the length of the regular episode. Most of the first Act is not necessary to the story, and the frenetic activity of that opening segment is the worst single feature of the show. On first viewing, I nearly switched off during the first 15 minutes; on this viewing, even knowing it improved, I still had to push myself through that first patch.

But it gets so much better after, that I still find myself awarding a strong score. This is a good episode - if one that requires just a touch of viewer indulgence with it.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

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#11 (2.12 - 2.13): Doomsday.

Rose Tyler says an unwilling farewell.

2 episodes: Army of Death, Doomsday. Approx. 90 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies. Directed by: Graeme Harper. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT:

The Doctor brings Rose home for a visit, only to learn that ghosts have been appearing all over the world for the past few months. They don't interact with anyone - They're just blurred humanoid outlines that appear at the same time every day. Over time, it has gone from terrifying to normal, and a perusal of TV broadcasts shows that their presence has been folded into people's daily lives.

The Doctor runs an experiment to track their origins and follows the trail to the Torchwood Institute, the modern version of the organization founded by Queen Victoria after her run-in with the Doctor. The Time Lord is eagerly greeted by Yvonne Hartman (Tracy-Ann Oberman), Torchwood's director. She is unfailingly polite to him and to Jackie, who the Doctor passes off as his companion. But she makes it clear that they are prisoners, even as she gives them the grand tour.

Yvonne shows off Torchwood's greatest secret: a mysterious sphere the Doctor recognizes as "a Void ship." She tells them that the Sphere came through a breach between universes, a breach Torchwood has studied ever since. Their experiments have allowed the ghosts to manifest... Which gives the Doctor just enough information to realize that something horrible is soon to happen.

He talks Yvonne out of starting the next experiment, but it is already too late. Key members of the staff are now controlled by an outside force. They start the shift against Yvonne's orders, and the ghosts appear, then solidify, revealing their identity: Cybermen!

But the Cybermen are not responsible for the Void ship. As the Sphere finally opens, the Doctor realizes to his horror that his two deadliest enemies are about to meet...


CHARACTERS:

The Doctor: Knows instantly that there is something very wrong about the ghosts, as his ominous refrain of "a footprint doesn't look like a boot" indicates. He seems to already suspect the ghosts' true identity, and doesn't seem the least bit surprised when they are revealed as Cybermen. As in Rise of the Cybermen, he tries to keep everyone alive by urging that no one fights back. But when Mickey and his friends from the parallel Earth appear, the Doctor urges them to take the opportunity to save both worlds. David Tennant is back on form after largely disinterested performances in Love and Monsters and Fear Her. He dominates every scene he's in, even in those moments when the Doctor hangs back and allows other characters do most of the talking.

Rose: Insists that she will never stop traveling with the Doctor, which worries Jackie. She already sees her daughter changing, and is concerned about what that will mean for her future. "In forty years time, fifty, there'll be this woman. This strange woman, walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. But she's not Rose Tyler, not anymore. She's not even human!" Billie Piper gives her best performance of the series. Rose's emotional torment when she's separated from the Doctor is palpable, and Piper also captures the lower-key but equally felt pain and longing when she finally gets to say farewell in the epilogue. My only regret is that this wasn't the last seen of her, as her later appearances dilute the impact - But that's a complaint I'll reserve for another time.

Mickey: I very much enjoyed the Mickey of this episode, who has become so much more confident than he has ever been before. Out of the Doctor's shadow, away from Rose's orbit, he has become his own man, and he is finally comfortable within his own skin. He is vastly more comfortable with Rose's closeness to the Doctor than in the past. He may make a comment about Rose's heart rate rising when she sees the Doctor, but it's more a humorous aside than anything - He's no longer competing, and so is no longer resentful.

Jackie Tyler: The bulk of the first episode pairs the Doctor with Jackie, which turns out to be an unexpected treat. Jackie clearly respects him, and follows his lead when the situation turns serious, but her caustic comments puncture his pomposity at just the right moments to make for some quite funny bits. The Doctor, in turn, plays at being exasperated with her, but is clearly having a good time bantering. In retrospect, their brief teamup feels like a preview of the Doctor/Donna relationship of Series Four, and it works for exactly the same reasons.

Cybermen: Russell T. Davies proves his fanboy credentials by making his second series finale a "Daleks vs. Cybermen!" extravaganza. Part Two even includes a quite funny scene in which the Cyberleader and lead Dalek trade insults ("You are superior in only one respect... You are better at dying"). Both are also well-scripted individually. The Cybermen invade, and basically conquer, through stealth. They use Torchwood's "ghost shifts" to position themselves and send an advance guard to take control of the institute's machinery. When all is in place, all that is required for victory is to step through. This is perfect for the Cybermen, who have always been most effective when spending half the story skulking in shadows (ala The Moonbase or The Invasion), rather than when trying to conquer with force.

Daleks: By contrast, the Daleks burst into the story screaming "Exterminate!" at top volume. They keep Rose and Mickey alive because they can help secure their triumph, but they quickly dispose of the hapless Torchwood scientist with them. When Rose snaps that they didn't need to kill the man, the lead Dalek replies in its grating, metallic voice: "Neither did we need him alive." They are want only to secure their race's future while exterminating all in their path - humans and Cybermen alike. A memorable moment has the Doctor sizing up the four Daleks: "Sealed inside your casing, not feeling anything ever. From birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage, completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream."


THOUGHTS:

The two-part finale to Series Two is a big production, with a large guest cast and big-scale battle scenes. Very likely, the cheapness of the previous two episodes was in part to squeeze the budget for this, and it does pay off. Graeme Harper directs with confidence, finding some breathtaking visual setups, and the momentum is such that the two-parter passes in an eyeblink.

I've sometimes had issues with Russell T. Davies' scripts, in that he almost delivers strong character moments but has a tendency to lose control of his plots. This two-parter is the most controlled I think he's done. It's superbly structured. The first episode builds the mystery, laying out all the major pieces in a way that feels effortless. The big invasion comes at the end of Part One, leaving the second episode delivering the action in a big way - but without losing control of the narrative.

For all that it gets right, I can't quite award full marks. The near-invincibility of the Daleks makes the Cybermen impotent in the second episode - quite the achievement, given how frightening a presence the first episode has made them. They are further undermined when one subject overrides their programming in a particularly silly (and completely unnecessary) moment near the end - a bit that I find far worse than the annoying but very brief "Ghostbusters!" moment in Episode One.

Despite this, the two-parter holds up as being very good to excellent. It has spectacle without losing sight of the characters. It manipulates viewer emotions without becoming sappy. It also boasts one of the best incidental scores of the entire series, particularly the piece that runs over much of the (highly effective) epilogue. As season finales go, this story is one of the better ones.


Overall Rating: 9/10.

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#10 (2.11): Fear Her.

The Doctor and Rose, punchably smug.

1 episode. Approx. 45 minutes. Written by: Matthew Graham. Directed by: Euros Lyn. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

The Doctor takes Rose just a few years into her future - to the 2012 Olympic Games, in London. They are walking through a residential neighborhood when Rose notices posters of missing children. The Doctor senses residual energy from the children's disappearance and realizes that this is no simple kidnapping. These kids were snatched out of time and space entirely.

Their attention is drawn to the home of Trish Webber (Nina Sosanya), whose daughter Chloe (Abisola Agbaje) has been withdrawn and isolated since her father's death. Chloe stays in her room all day, drawing pictures and refusing to talk to anyone. When the Doctor pushes his way in, he determines that she is acting as host to an alien parasite - an Isolus, a life form that has befriended Chloe because it shares her feelings of loneliness after being isolated from its own family. Now whenever Chloe draws a picture of somebody, the Isolus takes them, building a new family for itself.

The Doctor resolves to send the alien back to its home, which will help it, Chloe, and the people it has snatched all in one go. But the Isolus and Chloe are one step ahead of him. The girl draws one more picture - and when Rose turns around, the Doctor has vanished!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Relates to the Isolus' loneliness in a way Rose cannot, and refuses to outright condemn it even as he works to repair the damage it has done. He lets slip that he was a parent once - something that clearly takes Rose by surprise. These are a couple nice character beats in an episode that otherwise overwrites his smug and manic tendencies. It's likely no coincidence that these bits are very well-played by David Tennant, who otherwise seems to be mostly on autopilot.

Rose: Delighted at a trip to the 2012 London Olympics. Even in the midst of an enthused babble by the Doctor, though, she can't help but notice the missing child posters. She directs his attention to them, all but saying that this is a mystery they need to solve. She is also the one who notices Chloe, whose "own mum seemed scared of her." Without the Doctor, Rose is the one who saves the day, quickly putting together the pieces of what the Isolus needs and using the Olympics to set things right... in a nauseatingly bad scene that kicks off several worse scenes, but that's a whole other matter.


THOUGHTS

Near the start of the episode, there's a quite clever gag that sees the TARDIS materializing in a narrow space the wrong way around, so that the Doctor can't leave until he shifts its position. It's quick and it's funny - made more so by David Tennant's perfectly judged facial expression when the Doctor reacts to the problem.

I'm leading with that because I think it's good to start a review with some praise - And I just don't have much praise to give to Fear Her. The episode was made quickly and cheaply after Stephen Fry's long-gestating story finally fell through. While City of Death was famously cobbled together by Graham Williams and Douglas Adams over a weekend, that frenzy of creative brilliance was the exception. More often, when an episode is thrown together at the last minute, you're going to end up with something... Well, something a lot like Fear Her.

As the synopsis probably shows, writer Matthew Graham (of Life on Mars fame) has the sketch of a good Doctor Who story. He also makes a stab at unifying the characters and plot thematically. The Isolus, Chloe, and the Doctor are all isolated characters, and the Isolus' feelings of isolation are what drive the plot. With more time, I suspect the themes and story could have been made to work together quite nicely.

But with no time, there was apparently no chance to separate text and subtext. There's no subtlety here at all. The themes are directly expressed through dialogue, which results in some awkwardly stilted exchanges among the characters and an over-the-top hilarious news broadcast at the end. There was also apparently not enough time to convincingly work out plot complications. As a result, only a few minutes after Rose specifically tells Trish not to leave Chloe alone, Trish does so for no compelling reason - Which basically puts her in the "too stupid to live" category. Basically, the whole thing plays like a first draft, with no time for the writer to work out how to layer subtext and work out plot hurdles before the film dates.

I will say that for its first first 30 minutes, Fear Her is poor but tolerable. The final ten minutes, however, see the episode go for broke, making the situation as big as possible. At this point, what had been merely bad becomes so astonishingly inept. Be it the television announcer's verbal orgasms over how the Olympic torch now stands for hope and love and rainbows and puppies, or the way in which a monster is chased away by two guest characters singing a song while huddling in fear, or the Doctor's final bit of grandstanding... Absolutely everything in this final segment is so brazenly overwrought that it becomes hilarious.

While this is easily the worst episode of the new series' first two seasons, it does just barely avoid bottom marks thanks to two or three decent moments for the Doctor and the unintentional comedy value of the final stretch. Still poor, though.


Overall Rating: 2/10.

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#9 (2.10): Love and Monsters.

Elton (Marc Warren) discovers the Doctor's TARDIS.

1 episode. Approx. 45 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies. Directed by: Dan Zeff. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

Elton Pope (Marc Warren) barely escaped the Auton attack from Rose, then witnessed the spaceship that crashed into Big Ben, and finally weathered The Christmas Invasion. In short, he has become all too aware of aliens on Earth. When he sees a picture of the Doctor on the Internet, he is shocked to realize that he saw the exact same man as a child... a man apparently in his thirties, who hasn't aged a day in the intervening decades!

Elton's search for more information brings him into contact with Ursula Blake (Shirley Henderson), who eventually brings Elton to meet some friends: A group of people who have all become aware of this mysterious "Doctor" who seems so connected to alien incidents. The group eventually names itself the London Investigation 'N' Detective Agency (LINDA)... though they quickly become more of a social club, meeting as much to connect with each other as to discuss the Doctor.

Everything changes when the wealthy Victor Kennedy (Peter Kay) joins the group, offering his considerable resources to help them track down the Doctor. What had been an entertaining social activity turns into a twisted obsession - One that takes a dark turn when the members of LINDA begin disappearing, one by one...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor/Rose: Are barely in this episode... Which is the good news, because when they finally properly appear, they are at their punchably smuggest. They arrive at the end to find Elton fleeing for his life from a monster that has killed his friends in a truly horrible fashion. So what is the very first thing our heroes do? Yell at him for upsetting Rose's mother. The Doctor does get around to resolving the situation, but he is so clearly unbothered that he comes across almost as unlikable as Rose does. Neither David Tennant nor Billie Piper are doing more than phoning it in, so there's nothing under the surface of their performances to compensate for their overall callousness.

Jackie Tyler: Thankfully, Camille Coduri does give a fully committed performance, making the most of some character scenes we would never get to see from the Doctor or Rose's perspective. Victor sends Elton to spy on Jackie, in hopes that she will lead them to the Doctor. He is told to "find some subtle way to integrate yourself into the target's household." He doesn't have to work hard, since Jackie starts flirting the instant she sees him. When he gets back to her place, we see just how horribly lonely she is.  She's really more in search of someone to listen to her than anything else. When she discovers that Elton is actually trying to get to her daughter, she is bitterly hurt and kicks him out on the spot.

Elton: Marc Warren, whose star would rise with Hustle the following year, is easily up to the task of carrying Love and Monsters. The episode has its problems, but none of them can be blamed on him. Though Elton is only thinly-sketched as a character, basically drawn as a sort of nerdy Everyman to make it easy for the audience to empathize with him, Warren keeps him human and likable. He and Shirley Henderson, as Elton's friend/prospective love interest Ursula, make for an engaging pair, and the two of them do much to keep this episode watchable even when it begins to go off the rails.


THOUGHTS

Love and Monsters is a story that divides fans. About half of fandom seems to absolutely love it, while the other half is equally strong in its hatred. As can probably already be seen, I'm a lot closer to the latter camp than the former. There is a good idea here, and there are good elements. But in my opinion, it just doesn't come together as a good story.

The early part is enjoyable enough on its own merits. It's clear that LINDA is a stand-in for Doctor Who fandom, but it's a study of fandom (indeed, of any interest group) that feels entirely positive. We see how these people enrich each other through their interaction, to the point that the reason they meet ceases to be the Doctor and instead becomes the friendship they have formed.  It becomes less enjoyable with the introduction of Victor Kennedy, a villain portrayed as the kind of Superfan who bullies others with the mindset that there is only one proper way to discuss the Doctor. But even this might have been salvaged, had his characterization been confined to a simple human bully, a minor and very real villain who ruins what others enjoy without even realizing that he's doing it.

But instead, we get the monster...

The very last part of the episode reveals that Victor is a monster known as an Abzorbaloff, which absorbs its prey into its own massive body. This is played almost entirely for laughs, right down to the sight of Victor the Abzorbaloff chasing Elton down the street in broad daylight wearing nothing but a loincloth. The monster looks tackier and sillier than anything in the old series this side of Erato. Peter Kay's performance loses what little subtlety it had, as he goes ridiculously over the top with every line delivery and facial expression. The only thing that works is Marc Warren's performance, as he avoids sinking to his co-star's comedy level and plays Elton's horror completely straight.

So with Marc Warren and Elton keeping the scene clinging to a fragile thread of dignity, it is left to the Doctor and Rose to snap that thread. They barge into the scene with all the grace of an elephant in dancing shoes, the smugness of the characters combining with a quick fix by the Doctor that completely drains the scene of anything resembling tension.

I'll largely avoid mention of the ill-judged epilogue, except to say that any serious thought about Ursula's remaining life leads to the conclusion that she'd have probably been better off if the Doctor hadn't "saved" her. It's a terrible way to end an episode that begins with more promise than its worst detractors allow... but which lets all that promise gradually seep away, much like dirty water down a half-clogged drain.


Overall Rating: 3/10.

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#8 (2.8 - 2.9): The Impossible Planet.

The Ood: "We are the legion of The Beast!"

2 episodes: The Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit. Approx. 92 minutes. Written by: Matt Jones. Directed by: James Strong. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

The Doctor and Rose find themselves on a mining station on a planet in deep space. Nothing terribly unusual, until they discover some writing that the TARDIS' telepathic circuits cannot translate. "It's old," the Doctor observes. "Impossibly old."

The writing isn't the only thing that's impossible. When they meet the crew, they are shown the planet's orbit - around a black hole. This world is protected from the black hole by a gravity funnel, something which cannot be occurring naturally. Some device must be powering the funnel, something underground which could be used to further the Human Empire.

But they are intruding on forces vastly older and more powerful, than any of them are prepared to deal with. The alien Ood, a slave race with a hive mind, show signs of increased telepathic power even as they begin making bizarre statements about "The Beast." As the drill finds its destination, uncovering a lost civilization with an enormous pit in the center of it, the intelligence behind these occurrences becomes clear:

"He is awake... Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor. Some may call him Satan, or Lucifer. But do not despair... I have been imprisoned for eternity, but no more. The pit is open, and I am free!"


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Since his introduction, the Tenth Doctor has worn his flippancy like armor. This story strips that armor away, along with everything he uses to protect himself. First he loses the TARDIS, seemingly forever. Then, when he goes undergorund with science officer Ida Scott (Claire Rushbrook) to investigate the pit, he is separated from Rose. Episode Two isolates him even more as he descends this impossible pit in this impossible planet, with only Ida's voice on the communicator to provide any connection with another soul. Needless to say, that voice is ultimately cut off, leaving the Doctor to brave the abyss and enter the underworld alone. David Tennant's performance is his best of the season and possibly of the series, with the moment in the pit in which he reflects on his own beliefs one of the most thoughtful scenes the series has offered.

Rose: Perhaps because the TARDIS seems irretrievably lost, Rose is emboldened enough to make clear her feelings for the Doctor. They've been interpreted as a couple in past episodes... but in this story, we see that Rose now considers them in that light as well. Nor does the Doctor protest, telling Ida just before he takes his leap of faith in the pit to "tell Rose... Tell her... Oh, she knows."

Cut off from the Doctor, Rose acts as he would have. When she tried to do as he would in The Christmas Invasion, it was a horrible failure, her life only saved by the Doctor's well-timed awakening. She does much better here, though, taking a cue from the Doctor's words about how the humans have everything they need to survive if they just act together. She pushes each member of the team until they arrive at some useful piece of knowledge they have, and then builds a plan based on that. 


THOUGHTS

"For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father, and the temples of his Gods."
-Mr. Jefferson (Danny Webb), Head of Security, observing a comrade's horrible and beautiful death.

The Impossible Planet offers a change of tone for the new Doctor Who series. There are still plenty of humorous moments and exchanges. But these are moments of lightness in the midst of a fundamentally dark story. This is a Lovecraftian horror story, with dead civilizations and devils who see into the hearts of their victims. It is, in effect, the movie that Event Horizon wanted to be: tense, bleak, and moody. For a series generally defined by its flippant tone, it feels like an enormous departure.

It's also excellent, a triumph of good writing, fine acting, and outstanding atmosphere.

Episode One provides a slow build. We are introduced to this world and its bizarre set of rules. We are introduced to the characters and to the Ood - first presented as an apparent threat before being revealed as benign. Not very much actually happens in this episode, the major set pieces being held back for Part Two. Instead, time is given to make the base feel lived-in, to make the characters feel real, and to let the atmosphere of dread build gradually in the background.

Director James Strong does a sterling job of holding our attention with atmosphere. We see the crew of the base performing their normal operations, with the sense of a crew going about an almost automatic routine, while Ravel's Bolero plays over the proceedings. The light of what once a star system, swallowed by the black hole, is reflected on the Doctor's face as he watches, while Ida reveals the substantial history of what is now just a dying red cloud overhead.

"That used to be the Scarlet System, home to the Peluchi. A mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."


The black hole is horrific in what it does, but it is also beautiful as presented on screen. That juxtaposition, of horrible things occurring in such a beautiful manner, is mined throughout the two-parter. There's the silky voice of Gabriel Woolf, making the Beast's words persuasive and tempting even as he promises death for all the humans. His teasing of Toby ("Don't turn around, or you will die") creating a moment of genuine dread, tempting Toby to his downfall even as his words superficially warn against it... In effect, using the truth as a weapon against his victim.

The first episode's most memorable moment is also its most horrific and it's most beautiful. The first character death occurs at almost thirty minutes in, as a hull breach sucks one crew member out onto the surface, where there's no atmosphere. That crew member is discovered suspended in space just above the station. The others are left to watch helplessly as their friend floats upward, toward the black hole, like falling backward into water (which was how the scene was filmed) - until finally Ida calls for the shutters to be closed.

From here, the pace quickens, and Part Two is marked by multiple set pieces. There's a tense and exciting chase through (effectively) a system of ventilation ducts, in which the characters must wait at each junction for oxygen to build up in the next section, even as the pursuing Ood close in on them. 

But the most memorable moments remain the quietest ones. The Doctor, suspended in the pit, reflecting on his beliefs and asking Ida about her own. When she says she doesn't believe in the devil, just in "the things that men do," the Doctor muses that it amounts to the same thing, before talking about his own inability to believe in the claims of The Beast.

"If that thing had said it came from beyond the universe, I'd believe it. But before the universe? Impossible. Doesn't fit my rules. Still, that's why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong."

...Then making his leap of faith, allowing himself to fall alone into the darkness.


A fine two-parter, one that I find actually improves with repeated viewings. Beautiful, haunting, thoughtful and scary. I might nit-pick a few things, but to what purpose? This is a superb experience, one that would not have shamed itself had it been a theatrically released movie.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

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#7 (2.7): The Idiot's Lantern.

The Wire feasts on Rose!

1 episode. Approx. 45 minutes. Written by: Mark Gatiss. Directed by: Euros Lyn. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS materializes in London, 1953, on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. The Doctor and Rose have only barely stepped outside before they witness a bizarre scene: Mysterious men in black, taking a man away from his home while his relatives protest. It's a scene that's become common in this small neighborhood, as men and women have been transformed by their brand new television sets, purchased cheap from local electronics dealer Mr. Magpie (Ron Cook).

The transformations are effectively appetizers, feeding The Wire (Maureen Lipman), a presence that lives within the television signal. The Wire is preparing for a feast: The coronation, when for the first time in British history millions of people gathered around television sets. The Doctor is determined to stop the creature from its feast, and he's been given one added piece of incentive.

The Wire's most recent victim is Rose!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know." The Doctor deals with two different figures, both of whom initially oppose him: Detective Inspector Bishop (Sam Cox) and Eddie Connolly (Jamie Foreman). Bishop is a career detective in over his head. His interrogation of the Doctor quickly turns into a confession that he just doesn't know how to deal with this situation. The Doctor quickly sizes him up as a good man and offers his help. By contrast, Eddie Connolly is a fool, a blowhard in love with the sound of his own voice. The Doctor sizes him up quickly as well, and dismisses him as an obstacle.

Rose: The smugness the character sometimes displays in Series Two is at its worst here since Tooth & Claw.  There's a scene in which she observes the Doctor's dismissal of Eddie Connolly, then chips in by embarrassing the man further. The Doctor's act serves a purpose, getting the blowhard out of the way so that he can talk to his more reasonable wife and son. Rose's followup is just spite. Combined with her being all too obviously all too pleased with herself about it, her actions actually serve to make me feel a little sympathy for Eddie - or at least, it might have done, had Eddie been portrayed as having even a single redeeming quality.


THOUGHTS

The Idiot's Lantern was one of the worst-received episodes of Series Two, and it's easy enough to see why. The Doctor/Rose teaming is at its most smug, their mutual admiration of each other's general awesomeness making their interactions quite grating. The Connolly family are drawn in broadstrokes, with Eddie in particular a one note imbecile, making it hard to connect with them as real people. On top of all this, Gatiss' script tilts toward the preachy in a ham-fisted scene that gives Eddie Connolly his comeuppance.

In fairness, Tooth & Claw shared some of the same flaws, particularly in the Doctor/Rose characterization. But while that episode made up for it with a relentless pace, The Idiot's Lantern lacks anything visceral or compelling. From start to finish, this episode feels exactly like what it is: Filler.

With all that said, it's not bad filler, and probably does represent writer Mark Gatiss' best television Who script (admittedly, damning it with faint praise). It's better-paced than The Unquiet Dead, which left most of its plot for the final ten minutes. And though Euros Lyn's direction goes overboard in trying to be visually stylish, with so many tilted camera angles that it gets distracting after a while, it does at least add a bit of atmosphere to the proceedings... something which can't be said of Gatiss' later, Moffat-era offerings.

There are a few nice visual beats, with a particularly good bit in Magpie's shop as the Doctor sees the faces of all The Wire's victims on the television screens. The Wire herself isn't a fully successful creation. The idea is interesting, and Maureen Lipman is effective in the scenes in which she's talking quietly in kindly tones. But when The Wire is reduced to shouting, "Hungry!" and cackling evilly, she comes across more like a Scooby Doo villain than anything else.

Overall, this isn't a bad episode, but it also isn't a good one. It sort of sits in the middle, watchable but unmemorable. The sort of show for which the term, "Meh," was created.


Overall Rating: 5/10.

Previous Story: Rise of the Cybermen
Next Story: The Impossible Planet


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#6 (2.5 - 2.6): Rise of the Cybermen.

The Doctor and his companions,
at the mercy of the Cybermen!

2 episodes: Rise of the Cybermen, The Age of Steel. Approx. 91 minutes. Written by: Tom MacRae. Directed by: Graeme Harper. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS crash-lands in modern day London - but in the wrong universe! Somehow, the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey have been bounced from their universe into a parallel reality. The sky over London is filled with zeppelins, while the people below go about their business with cybernetic ear pods attached to their heads.

The ear pods are the invention of John Lumic (Roger Lloyd Pack), owner of Cybus Industries. But Lumic has a new, far more sinister project. A new form of life, a meld of machine and man. It may be a parallel Earth, but the Doctor recognizes these malignant creations instantly:

"Cybermen!"


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: We open the story with another look at the 10th Doctor's unlikable side. He has asked Mickey to hold down a button... and then left him to keep holding it down for no reason other than to make the other man look foolish. He does show some respect for Mickey in their interactions, talking to him seriously about the state of the TARDIS cut off from its own universe - but it's clear throughout that he does look on Mickey more as "the tin dog" than as a full-blown member of the team. 

Rose: In a parallel London, it takes all of a few seconds for Rose to focus on the most important fact: That in this world, her father Pete Tyler (Shaun Dingwall) is very much alive. Sneaking into the parallel Jackie Tyler's birthday party disguised as a servant, she finds moments to connect with both Pete and Jackie. Both feel a bond with her, enough for them to actually talk unguardedly in a way they never would with a regular servant - though this only increases Rose's hurt when this world's bitter Jackie immediately backpedals and scorns her as nothing but "staff." 

Mickey: Feels that he is viewed by the Doctor and Rose as "a spare part," and has become resentful of that. We learn more about Mickey's backstory, that he was raised by a stern yet loving grandmother who died only a few years before the Doctor met him. Mickey blames himself, because her fall down the stairs was caused by a damaged carpet that he was aware needed replaced - a job he never got around to doing. Noel Clarke also gets to pull double duty, portraying this world's version of himself - Ricky, a grim man of action who would not be out of place in a 1980's Saward serial. It's actually a bit satisfying to see Ricky get deflated when he has to confess that he's only London's most wanted "for parking tickets."

Jackie: The parallel Jackie is similar to our Jackie, but without any of the good points. She is vain and caustic, but without the fierce protectiveness. Our Jackie may seem shallow at first glance, but she has depth beneath the surface, mainly in the form of her fierce protectiveness of her daugher. This world's Jackie shows no sign of anything other than a deep layer of bitterness. Camille Coduri does a good job of hardening her usual portrayal to create a character who is at once familiar and yet substantially less likable.

Cybermen: Or "Cybus-men," I suppose. Given how many different variants of Cybermen we saw from the "Prime" universe, though, I can't make myself think that this difference makes much difference, save for the benefit of not over-writing Big Finish's excellent Spare Parts. Director Graeme Harper takes care to emphasize the Cybermen's power, shooting them at low angles or in close-ups of their expressionless metal faces. An interesting aside is that the Cybermen believe they are doing humanity a favor by converting them. They are freeing humanity of "the pain of the flesh."


THOUGHTS

Borrowing elements from Marc Platt's Big Finish audio Spare Parts, this two-parter takes the genesis of the Cybermen in a different direction. While Platt's audio was a human tragedy, this story is an action piece, complete with a campy, over-the-top villain in Roger Lloyd Pack's Lumic. It lacks Spare Parts' emotional power, but it's nice to see respect shown to the audio story - First in the decision to not overwrite it by explicitly making this an alternate reality origin story, second in the "Thanks to" credit given to Platt in the end credits.

Taken as an action story, Rise of the Cybermen is a good one. Graeme Harper returns to the Who director's chair for the first time since 1985's Revelation of the Daleks. His direction doesn't stand out from the pack quite the way it did in the classic series, for the simple reason that strong directing in the new series is the norm rather than the exception. Harper still knows how to evoke atmosphere, though, with a handful of standout moments.

The single most memorable set piece is the first Cyber conversion scene. The helpless victims march into the conversion chamber on the orders of Lumic's lackey, Mr. Crane (a terrific Colin Spuaull). As the first men disappear into the corridor, screams emerge, growing louder as the other men pass through the entrance. Crane tries to cover the noise by playing The Tokens' The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which continues to play over images of the conversion machine and a slow pull-back of the factory. We see no gore, no frightened faces, nothing that is actually visually disturbing... but the context, the music, and the gradual pull-back combine to create something horrific in the imagination.

Other memorable bits include: the "daily download" into the earpods, as a street of busy people suddenly freezes as information and entertainment is downloaded directly into their brains while Rose and the Doctor watch; the first march of the Cybermen, as they arrive at Pete Tyler's house, breaking through the glass doors and windows to announce their presence; and the Doctor and Mrs. Moore (Helen Griffin)'s infiltration of Lumic's warehouse through an underground tunnel - a corridor lined with inert Cybermen they must pass in front of, hoping with each step that the creatures are not activated. All striking moments, well-played and well-directed.

Despite some cracks showing around the climax, the story sustains its two episodes well and does its job of bringing the Cybermen into 21st century Who. Perhaps it isn't a great story, but I would certainly rate it as a good one.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Story: The Girl in the Fireplace
Next Story: The Idiot's Lantern 


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