Dreadful Familiarity Mars "The Waters Of Mars"

The Good: Wonderful character development for The Doctor, Generally decent performances.
The Bad: Very formulaic Doctor Who plot, Occasionally overbearing soundtrack, Wonky science
The Basics: "The Waters Of Mars" has a truly great pair of scenes, but is otherwise painfully average Doctor Who.


Whenever I encounter something, I do my best to take it as it is; review it for what it is, not what it could be. As a result, sometimes I find something that is mediocre on its own, but when put in context, it feels much worse than its inherently average nature. The Doctor Who episode "The Waters Of Mars" is one such episode. "The Waters Of Mars" is not inherently bad, but it shows a very different side of The Doctor and before it can be adequately explored . . . David Tennant's tenure as The Doctor comes to an end.

"The Waters Of Mars" creates an interesting character and develops The Doctor, but then does not give the writers and producers the chance to explore the new Doctor. Seeing The Doctor experiencing something akin to hero worship is pretty wonderful. In fact, the only real mark against The Doctor's character in "The Waters Of Mars" is that The Doctor seems very enamored with the leader of the first Mars colony, Captain Adelaide Brooke, but does not recognize her immediately.

Opening with a transmission being sent to Mars, Adelaide Brooke is miffed to lose the transmission from her daughter. While the team on Mars places more technology on the surface, The Doctor arrives in the TARDIS and is taken prisoner (without his resistance!) by their robot. The human occupants of the Mars station are surprised at the sudden appearance of what appears to be a human. In the hydroponics bay, one of the gardeners eats a carrot and is suddenly transformed into something else. The Doctor, learning that he is on Bowie Base One, comes to understand exactly when and where he is and he knows that the entire crew is going to die that very day. After attempting to leave the colony, the Doctor is compelled to join the team searching for the two crewmembers who are not present when The Doctor arrived.

The crew finds Maggie, who appears wounded. While The Doctor and Brooke search for Andy, Maggie awakens in the medical bay and seems to be fine. Soon thereafter, though, she begins to forcibly dehydrate and appears possessed (talking about Earth as if she were an alien). When another member of the crew succumbs and The Doctor becomes more determined to leave Mars. The Doctor is aware of what is going to happen, but when it looks like the crew will abandon the outpost, he finds himself embroiled in the events.

"The Waters Of Mars" is an exceptionally typical Doctor Who possession story. The Doctor is stuck somewhere where there is an outbreak and he does what he can to try to save as many people as possible. The Doctor sees the events on Mars as a fixed point in time that he cannot directly influence and the attempt to contain the entities that have possessed the crewmembers is complicated by an unknown date of contagion (others may already be infected and just not yet "turned") and an adversary that The Doctor declares eternally patient (if the colony is there to come back to, any future rescue workers might well be possessed).

The Doctor is forced to deal with some of the consequences of his prior actions in "The Waters Of Mars" and that is very well-executed. Adelaide Brooke survived "The Stolen Earth" (reviewed here!) and that had a profound effect on her. The Doctor and Brooke bond and it pushes The Doctor in a brilliant new direction. That direction is manic and tragic, without any time for it to be reflected upon. Brooke is a cool character and if "The Waters Of Mars" did not follow such a predictable basic plot, she would have been an amazing Companion for The Doctor.

David Tennant and Lindsay Duncan (Brooke) play off one another masterfully. Duncan is an amazing actress and she and Tennant have great banter throughout the episode. Director Graeme Harper does a magnificent job of capturing the performers' wonderful physical performances. Tennant's expressive eyes, Duncan's determined frown, Harper catches every nuance incredibly well.

"The Waters Of Mars" features some of the wonkiest science of the entire series; the sheer volume of water seen blasting out of the infected people borders on the comical. The action scenes feature one of the most overbearing soundtracks of the series as well.

Ultimately, "The Waters Of Mars" features some of the very best and very worst moments of all Doctor Who in a single episode, making for an erratic episode that holds up better for non-fans of Doctor Who than those who truly love the franchise.

For other works with Lindsay Duncan, please check out my reviews of:
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Birdman
About Time
Alice In Wonderland
Rome
Under The Tuscan Sun
Mansfield Park
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

4.5/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Come The End Of The Universe, Doctor Who Remains Ethical Through His "Journey's End!"

The Good: Performances, Donna Noble's character arc, Plot progression/resolution
The Bad: Martha Jones is woefully underused
The Basics: "Journey's End" manages to be fun, adventurous Doctor Who as it ties up the franchise Russell T. Davies had created.


I am not an expert on Doctor Who. In fact, of the pre-2005 Doctor Who, I have seen almost none. As a result, I am not exactly sure how long the conceit for the series had been in place about the number of times The Doctor can regenerate, but by the end of "Journey's End" and "The Day Of The Doctor," that conceit had pretty well been violated beyond any sensible continuity. After all, as "Journey's End" begins, The Doctor is regenerating and, with the retcon of The War Doctor (however that is justified by fans to be canon), by an objective count, marks the first appearance of the Twelfth Doctor! But, rather than quibble about such things, let's look at the fourth season finale of Doctor Who: "Journey's End."

"Journey's End" picks up in the seconds following "The Stolen Earth" (reviewed here!) and there is little point to discussing the episode without referencing the events of the prior episode. Indeed, it is pretty much impossible, given that this is the second part of a two-part episode and the first part worked very hard to bring back almost everyone significant from Russell T. Davies's tenure on Doctor Who. "Journey's End" brings back the two stragglers missing from the first part and completes the writer's love letter to Doctor Who in a way that is not only enjoyable for fans, but is a pretty solidly enjoyable hour of television!

Opening with The Doctor, Rose, Donna, and Harkness in The TARDIS after The Doctor was shot by a Dalek, The Doctor regenerates. Much to the chagrin of those present, he retains his present (David Tennant) form and channels some of his regeneration energy into his preserved hand, which is on the TARDIS bridge. On Earth, Sarah Jane is rescued by Micky and Rose's mother, while the Torchwood team is trapped in their building in order to keep the Dalek's out with a temporal lock. The Daleks abduct the TARDIS and Martha Jones travels to Germany with a key that will activate the world's nuclear arsenal and destroy the Earth.

When The Doctor, Rose, and Harkness disembark on the Crucible, Donna Noble remains on the TARDIS when the Dalek's send it to the heart of the Crucible to be destroyed. Before the TARDIS can be destroyed, though, Donna Noble regenerates The Doctor from his amputated hand and saves the ship. The new Doctor is human and has a connection to Donna. The Dalek's attempt to kill Harkness and Martha prepares to activate Earth's self-destruct mechanism, while The Doctor and Rose are brought before Davros and Dalek Caan. Davros and Caan have brought the stolen worlds together to create a reality bomb and The Doctor and his allies must thwart them before Martha destroys the world!

"Journey's End" is a packed little episode that allows fans of Doctor Who to (metaphorically) have their cake and eat it, too. The duplicate Doctor provides a satisfying resolution for Rose Tyler's arc and, in the process, makes Donna Noble into one of the most important Doctor Who characters ever! At long last, Donna Noble's character becomes remarkable and the way she is made special is a wonderful character twist that plays out brilliantly.

The flirting between The Doctor and Rose Tyler is a welcome reward for those who sat through the heartbreak of "The Parting Of The Ways" (reviewed here!) and "Doomsday" (reviewed here!). David Tennant and Billie Piper fall into perfect rhythm and chemistry as if they had never stopped working with one another and were truly into one another. Their reunion and their time together on screen for the bulk of "Journey's End" is a true treat to watch.

But flirting is nowhere near the peak of David Tennant's performance abilities in "Journey's End." Playing the role of the familiar Doctor and the new, human, Doctor, allows Tennant to express more range. The new Doctor has a great comedic introduction, which allows Tennant and Catherine Tate to play to their well-honed (from other projects) comedic banter. Tennant differentiates his human Doctor with a slightly agape mouth and exposition and epiphanies that come slower than normal, which helps to make for a new-feeling character.

At the other end, Catherine Tate has to play Donna as a Timelord and her comedic patter is an asset. Tate stretches her range by delivering technobabble exposition brilliantly.

As "Journey's End" progresses, it starts to eek toward the ridiculous as the allied of The Doctor move into check with the Daleks by producing not just one, but two, apocalyptic devices that can thwart their plans. Fortunately, "Journey's End" quickly redirects from the plot conceit to the intense character dilemma of the episode. The Doctor abhors violence, but to save existence itself, he is in position to authorize the destruction of Earth or the Crucible. The retrospective of (not even all!) the people who have died in the service of The Doctor is horrifying and recalling it has an effect on The Doctor. The Doctor's sense of compassion has often defined his character and in "Journey's End," that compassion is challenged. The moment is not belabored, but it helps to keep the show feeling very Doctor Who. And, its being revisited at the climax of the action helps to keep the character pure and the episode focused.

Outside a single special effect - Donna getting blasted - "Journey's End" has wonderful special effects. The restoration sequence might have incredibly wonky science, but it is well-rendered. Similarly, the thwarting of the Daleks is presented somewhat ridiculously, even though it is fun to watch.

"Journey's End" has a strong sense of resolution to it and the disgust The Doctor feels for his counterpart is a clever twist to the episode. "Journey's End" might underuse Martha Jones, but it packs a lot into the episode and is self-referential to Doctor Who while still managing to be entertaining and engaging for more casual viewers!

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other sweeping season finales, please check out my reviews of:
"Call To Arms" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"A Cold Day In Hell's Kitchen" - Daredevil
"Ascension" - Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

8.5/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Proper Return Of Rose Tyler Signals The End Of The Franchise With "The Stolen Earth!"

The Good: Fun, Good plot set-up
The Bad: No genuine character development, Light on notable performances, Plot-heavy
The Basics: "The Stolen Earth" works great in conjunction with its second part, but on its own it is exceptionally cumbersome, self-referential television.


When it comes to season finales, there are few shows that truly know how to lead into the end of a season like Doctor Who. The best serialized shows do a decent job of building to a season's end, but in episodic television or semi-serialized shows like Doctor Who, it can be a bit tougher. Throughout the fourth season of Doctor Who, Rose Tyler had been popping up in the background, for viewers who knew where to look at just the right time. But at the climax of "Turn Left" (reviewed here!), an episode that outright featured Rose Tyler, there was an urgency that came with the return of Bad Wolf, which led into the first moments of "The Stolen Earth."

"The Stolen Earth" is the payoff to hints and clues dropped throughout the fourth season and the first of two parts of a story that, essentially, is closing the book on the franchise Russell T. Davies had created with the modern Doctor Who and its various spin-off projects (Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and all of the projects that were pitched but failed to be produced). As Davies said his first of two good-bye's to Doctor Who, fans were rewarded for paying close attention early in the season.

The Doctor and Donna Noble arrive on Earth, on a Saturday, where The Doctor is relieved to find everything appears all right. Nervous about Donna's encounter with Rose and the appearance of Bad Wolf everywhere on their last adventure, The Doctor returns with Donna to the Tardis and, moments later, the Earth disappears entirely. Far across the universe, Earth is intact and at U.N.I.T. Headquarters in New York, Martha Jones awakens to discover the sky has changed. Torchwood, Sarah Jane, and Wilfred all discover that they are somewhere else entirely - based upon the sheer number of planets in the sky and the nebula around them. Rose appears on Earth with a massive weapon and declares that the trouble has just begun.

Earth's troubles quickly materialize in the form of an armada of Daleks. While U.N.I.T. and the ultra-secret Project Indigo attempt to fight the Daleks attacking Earth, The Doctor and Donna arrive at the Shadow Proclamation. There, they discover that 27 planets (including the Lost Moon Of Poosh) have been teleported out of time and space to create a world engine of some sort. On Earth, Martha Jones activates Project Indigo and disappears, leaving Jack Harkness to declare her dead. The abductors of the many planets are soon revealed to be Dalek Caan and Davros, The Doctor's ancient enemy and the creator of the Daleks! The Doctor and Donna follow a trail to discover Earth and the other missing planets in the Medusa Cascade, while Harriet Jones contacts The Doctor's various allies and attempts to assemble them into a force that can contact The Doctor and thwart the Daleks!

"The Stolen Earth" is the payoff to a lot of dangling threads in the Doctor Who expanded universe, writing out the spin-offs and finally presenting The Shadow Proclamation on-screen (before this, it just sounded like an interstellar agreement that kept various planets in order). The joy of seeing the various elements of Doctor Who and its spin-offs together on-screen is fun. The idea that Harriet Jones might be Earth's savior with her subwave network is a nice way to reward the first season's character who was sadly dismissed in the beginning of the second season. That, essentially, her heroic end comes in the attempt to make an interstellar cell phone call is wickedly ironic.

The episode, however, is predicated on a lot of truly wonky science. While the episode does a decent job of paying lip service to science by having Torchwood recognize that there is a force field keeping in Earth's heat and air, the very idea of The Darkness is clever only if one turns off their brain. In addition to the Judoon's language not being translated, despite them and The Doctor being proximate to the TARDIS, in order for Rose Tyler to know about the threat in the alternate universe - in the form of The Darkness - the stars going out would have had to have been extinguished for millennia. How the boosted cell phone signal reaches the TARDIS when Martha's phone does not is not made truly clear - after all, mystical cell phone, how does it fail?! And while Donna's notion of the disappearing bees is an interesting one, following a pollen trail across the universe seems pretty wonky.

"The Stolen Earth" spends almost forty minutes establishing its premise, as opposed to actually doing anything. It is fun and it is a lot of plot set-up; it is not until Rose Tyler longingly looks at a screen with The Doctor on it and realizes that he cannot see or hear her that viewers get even a moment of depth from any of the franchise's significant, enduring, characters. That is not to say that Harriet Jones squaring off with the Daleks is not good - actress Penelope Wilton sheds the cheap punchline of her character for a moment with genuine gravitas - but she is no Captain Jack Harkness! Objectively viewed, "The Stolen Earth" is like a fanfic writer's wet dream long before it becomes its own significant entity.

So, when Rose realizes The Doctor cannot see her and The Doctor laments that his team includes everyone but Rose, "The Stolen Earth" finally transitions into something significant. The Doctor's longing for Rose is one of the few, genuine, on-screen hints that The Doctor might reciprocate Rose's love for him.

Unfortunately, that deep character-driven moment with the episode's acting peak, is interrupted by the revelation of Davros. The resulting scene is more exposition and, based on Sarah Jane's reaction, it is a call-back to events from the classic-Doctor Who. Davros was, apparently, killed in the last great Time War, but rescued by Dalek Caan and the emotional resonance of his return cannot be realized by those who are only fans of the new (2005 on) Doctor Who. In other words, in creating his good-bye to his incarnation of Doctor Who and its expanded universe, Russell T. Davies is forced to rely on a big emotional moment for The Doctor that those new fans will not, inherently, appreciate.

That said, "The Stolen Earth" features one of the most wonderful and heart-breaking moments for fans of Doctor Who as Rose and The Doctor are (almost) reunited. The two running toward one another is sweet and gets fans' hearts racing, but the moment succumbs to yet another big plot events.

"The Stolen Earth" is, very much, a set-up episode. It is a fun episode. But objectively viewed, on its own, it is cumbersome, often dull, and exposition-heavy. It is the hype for the season finale; there are two decent moments of performance, two moments where characters shine and emote . . . and the rest is special effects, plot exposition, and a bunch of people getting excited about meeting one another. I don't recall disliking the episode any time I watched it, but the truth is, I've always immediately viewed "Journey's End" after watching "The Stolen Earth." Viewer together, the two-parter is something special; but "The Stolen Earth," on its own, viewed for just what is in the episode, is particularly unremarkable, insular, and self-referential in a way that fails to be even entertaining for the bulk of the episode.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other multi-part season finales, please visit my reviews of:
"Becoming" - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
"The Dogs Of War" - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"Absolution" - Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

4/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sliding Doors For Doctor Who Comes When Donna Noble Fails To "Turn Left!"

The Good: Catherine Tate's performance, Plot, Character twists
The Bad: Minutiae
The Basics: Despite a technical issue or two, the Doctor Who episode "Turn Left" is so close to perfect!


There are some concepts in modern science fiction that have become new standards, such that virtually every new work feels the need to try their hand at that type of episode. For a long time, it was alternate universe episodes, based largely on the massive success of Star Trek's "Mirror, Mirror" (reviewed here!). Since the film Sliding Doors was released, many science fiction works have tried an episode that illustrates how a single decision can cause a major divergence in the storyline and/or character arcs. Hell, even Frasier got in on the action with the episode "Sliding Frasier!" In Doctor Who, the episode that uses the Sliding Doors conceit is "Turn Left" and it is a shockingly good use of the conceit and a decent hour of television in its own right!

"Turn Left" is the episode that properly returns Rose Tyler to the Doctor Who narrative. Tyler has appeared in background flashes an allusions throughout the fourth season of Doctor Who and in "Turn Left," she returns to the forefront of the narrative, pairing with Donna Noble, to reveal what the cameos before have been about. In some ways, "Turn Left" works better without seeing "Doomsday" (reviewed here!), which left Tyler trapped permanently in an alternate universe (her ability to transport across the universal divide without unleashing all the Daleks and Cybermen is not addressed in the episode). However, because the episode revisits the events of "The Runaway Bride" (reviewed here!), "Smith And Jones" (reviewed here!), "Voyage Of The Damned" (reviewed here!), "Partners In Crime" (reviewed here!) and "The Poison Sky" (reviewed here!), it helps for viewers to have some familiarity with those past episodes to get the most out of "Turn Left."

Opening with The Doctor and Donna on a distant planet, the pair gets separated and Donna meets a fortune teller. The fortune teller gets Donna to realize that six months prior to her taking the temp job at H.C. Clements, she made a distinct choice that put her on a course to meeting The Doctor. Donna is infected with a parasite and convinced to re-choose and rewrite her timeline by turning right at a key moment and taking a different job. When the Racnoss attack London, Donna is not there to convince The Doctor to let up and he dies when UNIT attacks their ship. On the day that Donna is sacked from her job, Royal Hope Hospital disappears from Earth and when it is returned, there is only one survivor (not Martha Jones).

When Rose Tyler appears again, she continues to look over Donna's shoulder at the parasite she perceives there. Tyler advises Noble to get out of London and mentions the raffle ticket that Noble's mother found in her box from her job. The raffle ticket pays off and the next Christmas, the Noble family is on holiday when the space Titanic crashes into London. With London destroyed, the Noble family becomes refugees and is forced to move to Leeds where they have to share a flat with multiple families. Before the U.S. can bail out the U.K., sixty million people there are killed when they are transformed by the Adipose. When the Torchwood team is sacrificed stopping the Sontarans during the ATMOS incident, Rose Tyler appears to tell Donna Noble that she must come with her and that when she does, she will die. The UK deports all immigrants to labor camps and, as the world falls down around Donna, she finally sees evidence of Rose Tyler's "oncoming darkness." When that happens, Donna chooses to join Rose Tyler and UNIT to try to save the multiverse by returning to the key moment and making the right choice.

"Turn Left" works very hard to prepare viewers for the big goodbye episode that Russell T. Davies has planned over the course of the next two episodes. The references to all of the Doctor's allies, Companions, and organizations helps mentally soften the viewer up for all of them interacting in the subsequent two-parter. Fortunately, the episode is more than that.

In many ways, "Turn Left" softens the viewer up for the idea of how important Donna Noble is in the long-term arc of Doctor Who. The character was frequently treated as a throwaway character who was brash, loud, and obnoxious, but she became integral to several key moments in The Doctor's narrative. Equally important, she is set-up in "Turn Left" as someone who is special and has a destiny to play in the fate of the galaxy.

"Turn Left" is a good character study that smartly explores so many impressive consequences of recent actions in the Doctor Who universe. Harold Saxon never comes to power because The Doctor and Martha Jones never go to the end of time. The rest of the Earth-bound adventures of Doctor Who from the prior two seasons are explored for how those who knew The Doctor could have intervened to save the world in his absence. For an episode that is so intricately put together, it is shocking that the hidden adversary of the episode is so poorly constructed. The Darkness is a destructive force that is wiping out stars; for that to be an imminent threat, it would have been destroying star systems for centuries, which would hardly be a new thing at all.

Catherine Tate earns her paycheck for "Turn Left." The strength of her performance when Donna Noble sees the parasite is amazing. Tate dominates the episode and she creates a tearjerker performance that is exceptional. While some episodes, like the very popular "Blink" (reviewed here!) feature The Doctor as a peripheral character and are built around the Monster Of The Week, "Turn Left" minimizes The Doctor and elevates his Companion. Donna Noble manages to develop from self-centered and loud to passionate and involved without The Doctor and Tate makes the viewer care about her and her journey, more than they thrill to the return of Billie Piper's Rose Tyler.

While some complain about the effect of the parasite, "Turn Left" is not about the Creature Of The Week; it is about the Doctor Who companion Donna Noble. The creature does not have to be an amazing special effect; it has to horrify Donna Noble and Catherine Tate absolutely portrays the character's shock and horror at the creature on her back.

"Turn Left" could be a cheap gimmick episode, but it manages to use its premise exceptionally well and become a strong, positive work of its own.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

9.5/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Annual Author Episode Of Doctor Who Puts Agatha Christie In With "The Unicorn And The Wasp!"

The Good: Interesting characters, Good performances
The Bad: Very predictable
The Basics: "The Unicorn And The Wasp" is more an Agatha Christie mystery than a compelling episode of Doctor Who!


As much as fans of Doctor Who might want to deny it, the tenure of Russell T. Davies as showrunner of the rebooted series had some remarkably formulaic aspects to it. One of those aspects was that each Companion got a visit to a time that afforded them the chance to meet a great English writer. Rose met Charles Dickens in "The Unquiet Dead" (reviewed here!) and Martha Jones had the chance to hang with Shakespeare in "The Shakespeare Code" (reviewed here!). When the current season's episode titles were announced, I was prepared for a particularly clever use of J.K. Rowling (how could one not think that was a possibility with the two-parter titled "The Girl Who Died" "The Woman Who Lived"?!), but, alas, that was not to be. Back when Donna Noble was The Doctor's Companion, though, the writer she had the chance to interact with was Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie's appearance on Doctor Who comes in "The Unicorn And The Wasp" and unlike some of the prior author-centered episodes, "The Unicorn And The Wasp" actually fits into the larger, season-long arc of the season more directly. Back in "Partners In Crime" (reviewed here!) Donna mentions the things she was investigating and one of them was the disappearance of bees. "The Unicorn And The Wasp" revisits the throwaway line with a full, well-developed story that will (shockingly!) resonate into the season's final arc.

The Doctor and Donna Noble appear in England in the 1920s where Donna is excited by the idea of a party. While Donna is changing into period-appropriate garb, Professor Peach is murdered in the library with a pipe . . . by a giant wasp. When the guests are introduced, The Doctor and Donna are thrilled when Agatha Christie is introduced. After geeking out, The Doctor finds a newspaper and discovers from the date that it is the day before Agatha Christie (famously) went missing for ten days. Soon, they have an actual mystery to investigate in the form of Professor Peach's murder.

The mystery deepens when Donna encounters a giant wasp (bigger than a human!) in an abandoned room. Reuniting with The Doctor and Agatha Christie, Donna chases the wasp into a hallway where they realize that one of the people at the party is the wasp alien. The Doctor identifies the alien as a vespiform, which is a shape-changing alien. After The Doctor is poisoned - and rescued by Donna - he laces the dinner at the party with pepper, which shares an active ingredient with pesticides. This temporarily draws out the vespiform, but leads to another death. In the wake of that murder, Agatha Christie exposes the guests at the party to solve the mystery of which one is the alien villain!

"The Unicorn And The Wasp" is a Doctor Who version of an Agatha Christie mystery and it works pretty well. David Tennant's version of The Doctor has so few times when he actually geeks out over a person he meets and it plays to his strengths very well. The Doctor has not acted like he has met his match this way since he was infatuated with the Madame D'Pompadour in "The Girl In The Fireplace" (reviewed here!). The mystery includes red herrings from the title down - the episode is not actually about the thefts that have been attributed to The Unicorn - though that case is incidental to the episode and its story of extraterrestrial wasps. As one would expect, every character in "The Unicorn And The Wasp" is guilty of something - or is shown having their own agenda at the party.

The performances in "The Unicorn And The Wasp" are good. Actress Fenella Woolgar so dominates the episode as Agatha Christie that Felicity Jones is is virtually invisible in the episode! Woolgar plays Christie to be the equal in gravitas as Tennant's Doctor. She is articulate, direct and plays the role with an intelligence that radiates from her eyes. Woolgar and Tennant share the detective work as Christie and The Doctor and the episode works, as it does, because of their strength.

After the initial set-up and the wrap-up, Donna Noble is virtually invisible for the episode. The special effects in the episode are about as good as they can be for a CG-wasp on a television budget. Director Graeme Harper has to cheat a number of shots and while that might be an allusion to the BBC/PBS Mystery episodes that feature Agatha Christie stories, it plays out as unfortunately obvious on Doctor Who.

The result is an average episode of Doctor Who.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Felicity Jones, please check out my reviews of:
The Theory Of Everything
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Hysteria
Like Crazy

5/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Origin Of The Ood Revealed On The "Planet Of The Ood!"

The Good: Good performances, Great themes, Decent plot development
The Bad: Ridiculous claw incident/special effects sequence
The Basics: One of the "sleeper hits" of Doctor Who, "Planet Of The Ood" develops one of the most intriguing aliens of the franchise while embodying the higher ethics of the franchise.


There are a number of iconic aliens from the Doctor Who franchise. Perhaps the most universally recognized in general culture are the Daleks and the Cybermen, but those are hardly the most distinct or intriguing of aliens created for the long-running science fiction franchise. In the modern production of Doctor Who, there are few races quite as original as the Ood. The Ood were introduced in the second season episode "The Impossible Planet" (reviewed here!) and they are fleshed out in "Planet Of The Ood."

"Planet Of The Ood" marks Donna Noble's departure from Earth. Until this point - she has only been in three episodes - she has been stuck on Modern and past Earth. In "Planet Of The Ood," Donna Noble and The Doctor journey to the 42nd Century and the distant planet known as the Ood Sphere, the planet from which Ood are harvested as a workforce for future humans. "Planet Of The Ood" alludes to "The Impossible Planet" and its sequel "The Satan Pit" (reviewed here!) by almost immediately presenting the Ood as victims of the same red-eye disease from that two-parter. The red eye seemed to be the influence of the force of ultimate evil in that episode, which makes its resurgence here somewhat unimaginative. That said, in many ways, "Planet Of The Ood" embodies some of the best aspects of Doctor Who.

The Doctor and Donna Noble arrive in the year 4126 on a frozen world. There, they encounter an Ood dying in the snow and The Doctor notices it has the red eye disease. Nearby, the pair finds an Ood showroom where they get into the facility by getting the eager saleswoman, Solana, to think they are members of a tour she is giving to potential buyers. The facility's administrator, Mr. Halpen, is concerned when his security forces discover the red eye infected Ood and he believes the Ood have gone rabid.

When The Doctor and Donna investigate the storage facility from which the Ood are being shipped, they accidentally activate the Ood there and their lives are put in jeopardy. Donna is horrified that human civilization is spreading through the galaxy, utilizing the Ood as slave labor. Her moralization comes into conflict with her survival instinct when she is thrown in with a batch of infected Ood. In fleeing for their lives, The Doctor and Donna figure out just how much the future humans have abused the Ood and they work to set the Ood free.

"Planet Of The Ood" is a fairly intimate episode that has a plot structure that is virtually identical to that of "Rose" (reviewed here!). The Doctor rescuing his Companion, the chases, the climax with a giant being, are strikingly similar to those of the prior Doctor's debut. The thing is, "Planet Of The Ood" feels nothing like "Rose" because the specifics are so drastically different and this episode takes the time to do what the series premiere could not; it explores the effects and ideas surrounding the alien. The Ood are presented as an unfortunate slave race and Donna belabors what it means that humans have enslaved the Ood. She is concerned for the Ood and for what it makes humans to "process" and sell the Ood.

"Planet Of The Ood" has The Doctor's Companion embodying an incredible morality that The Doctor often lacks and that sets Donna Noble apart. While The Doctor is often a hapless traveler, Donna reflects on ethics and morality. She wants to make changes and in "Planet Of The Ood," she lectures The Doctor on the importance of having a greater moral core. Sure, The Doctor hears the Oodsongs in his head, but it is Donna Noble who insists on acting when she experiences the sorrow the songs embody.

Midway through the episode, there is a special effects-driven sequence that is utterly ridiculous. To kill time, the Doctor is chased by a huge mechanical claw being manipulated by Mr. Halpen's security chief. The sequence does not fit most of the rest of the episode.

What is far more impressive in "Planet Of The Ood" is the acting. In addition to David Tennant and Catherine Tate interacting perfectly with virtual environments and objects, the guest performances are spot-on. Ayesha Dharker plays Solana and she is the perfect embodiment of a saleswoman in the episode.

It is Tim McInnerny who steals the show on the performance front. McInnerny played a buffoon in the popular comedy franchise Blackadder (reviewed here!) and it wasn't until I looked the episode up on the IMDB that I recognized McInnerny as Halpen in "Planet Of The Ood." McInnerny's Halpen is authoritative, corrupt and mean, which he is an entirely different performance set from his Percy and Darling characters in Blackadder. He is credible as Halpen and his is an astonishingly good role and performance in "Planet Of The Ood!"

The special effects in "Planet Of The Ood" are somewhat mixed. The computer generated effects for the claw and the Ood hive brain are pretty terrible. At the other end of the spectrum, the make-up effects in "Planet Of The Ood" are exceptional. The Ood look great and even Halpen's transformation is handled incredibly well!

Ultimately, "Planet Of The Ood" is a wonderful episode of Doctor Who that is one of the great episodes for anyone who loves science fiction to watch!

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the final season of David Tennant as The Doctor here!
Thanks!]

9/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Martha Jones: Action Hero - "Last Of The Time Lords!"

The Good: Character moments, Performances, Plot development
The Bad: Special effects, The Master's generic character, Plot reset
The Basics: "Last Of The Time Lords" completes the initial arc of Martha Jones with a more average than extraordinary way.


I recognize that I am in the minority of Doctor Who fans (though, I think that might be the first time I've identified as a Doctor Who fan myself!) in that I like Martha Jones best of the Companions since the reboot. More than any of the other Companions so far, Martha Jones has her own life outside the TARDIS, her own ambitions, and a metaconscious nature that allows her to recognize that she is becoming overly attached to The Doctor and that he does not reciprocate her feelings. Her strength of character is finally, entirely, actualized in the third season finale "Last Of The Time Lords."

"Last Of The Time Lords" is a direct follow up to "Utopia" (reviewed here!) and "The Sound Of Drums" (reviewed here!) and it has something of an epic quality to it. The feeling of scope for "Last Of The Time Lords" comes from the fact that time has passed since "The Sound Of Drums" and it dares to present the world as a very different, much darker, place. Earth under the subjugation of The Master and his Toclafane has left humanity decimated, scared, and as an enslaved minority on the planet. With The Doctor out of the picture, it falls to Martha Jones to step up to stop Harold Saxon (The Master).

With the TARDIS cannibalized as a Paradox Machine and the human race enslaved under The Master, who is ruling over Earth from the aircraft carrier Valiant, Martha Jones clandestinely returns to Great Britain. After a year on the run, Jones returns to meet with Professor Docherty, while The Master torments The Doctor. A virtual invalid thanks to the Master's use of Lazarus technology on him, the Doctor has figured out what the Toclafane are. Jones meets with Thomas Milligan, having walked the world, while aboard the Valiant, The Doctor and Harkness make their move.

Failing to liberate the Valiant, The Master ages The Doctor to his full 900 year-old appearance. Martha Jones is convinced that The Master is prepared to launch thousands of missiles around the galaxy to create war with all the alien races there. The Master wants to create a new Gallifrey as an Empire that rules for one hundred trillion years. With Martha managing to capture a Toclafane and reveal it for what it is, she uses Dochertry to bait a trap that gets her taken to the Valiant.

"Last Of The Time Lords" is reminiscent of the final part of V: The Final Battle (reviewed here!) in that it features an Earth entirely subjugated, fighting for survival. But the solution to the conflict which seems entirely military in solution turns into a philosophical battle. The high-minded, cerebral solution to "Last Of The Time Lords" might have been more satisfying were it not for the ridiculous special effect, which transformed The Doctor into an aged, birdlike creature that made no real sense.

Martha baits her trap well and the idea of a weapon specifically designed to kill Time Lords is a clever bait. Martha is characterized as ridiculously smart, so the idea that she has been duped never quite feels right. So, when it turns out she is on top of things, the episode takes a turn for the triumphant and wonderful. That "Last Of The Time Lords" turns into a more philosophical battle between Martha and The Master is less of a surprise given how highminded Doctor Who strives to be.

The somewhat psychic solution that combines with the technicalk Archangel Network is a neat concept. It feels pretty fresh and original, certainly more so than the helicarrier (which could be straight out of The Avengers.

Unfortunately, The Master is characterized in "Last Of The Time Lords" as a generic madman. John Simm isn't given much room to do anything with The Master here and that is somewhat disappointing. In a similar fashion, The Doctor becoming godlike with a psychic regeneration isn't a bad idea . . . but him tuning into the psychic network of the Archangel Network would not have gotten rid of the cage around him.

For a finale, "Last Of The Time Lords" does not use The Doctor as a hero. Instead, The Doctor is essentially a distraction while Martha Jones and Harkness save humanity n a physical way. While the BBC usually goes for high-minded and much of "Last Of The Time Lords" is philosophical, that the real solution in the episode is Harkness and an automatic weapon seems silly. But "Last Of The Time Lords" does what it needs to to continue Doctor Who. Apparently, Russell T. Davies could not justify wiping out humanity and believing the audience would keep tuning in for the show, so "Last Of The Time Lords" is (predictably) a reset button on the climactic events of the past few episodes.

That is not to say that the episode is not enjoyable; it is. The final scene with Martha Jones might not be heartbreaking the way Rose's departure was, but it makes for an interesting resolution to her character arc. And Harkness's exit assures viewers that his character truly must be immortal and leaves viewers with a sense of delight over the character. Those things, alone, are well worth the price of admission.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Third Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the second season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other significant season finales, please check out my reviews of:
"Valediction" - Agent Carter
"Becoming" - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
"Gethsemane" - The X-Files

6/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Return Of The Hero And The Foil At “Utopia!”

The Good: Great acting, Wonderful character development, Good plot development, Awesome make-up effects
The Bad: Secondary villains, One cut
The Basics: “Utopia” ties together the disparate episodes of the third season of Doctor Who into an incredible first part of the three-part finale.


When my wife got into Doctor Who, there was very little that I knew about it. After a very little bit of research, I learned about the essential premise of the show and the basic adversaries – the Daleks, Cybermen and The Master. The Master was from Gallifrey like The Doctor and while The Doctor is characterized as highly ethical and motivated by a desire to do good, The Master is characterized as a psychopath. So, with the reboot of Doctor Who in 2005, there were relatively quick appearances of the Daleks – in “Dalek” (reviewed here!) – and the Cybermen – in “Rise Of The Cybermen” (reviewed here!) and fans were left waiting for some incarnation of The Master. The third season finale, which technically begins in “Utopia” gives fans what they were waiting for!

“Utopia” also marks the return of Jack Harkness, who had been off on Torchwood for a decent chunk of his absence from Doctor Who. And the idea of finishing big for a season finale plays out well in “Utopia.” For newbies to the franchise, “Utopia” provides all of the essential information viewers need. In addition, “Utopia” enhances the Doctor Who franchise with both one of the most memorable characters – Professor Yana – and one of the most distinct new alien races, in the form of Chantho.

After a quick stop to Cardiff to recharge the TARDIS on the rift that repowers the time machine, The Doctor notices Jack Harkness running like mad for the TARDIS and tries to get away from the former time traveler. Harkness leaps onto the outside of the TARDIS and the time machine tries desperately to get away from him. It takes The Doctor, Martha, and Harkness to the planet Malcassairo in the year one hundred trillion, which The Doctor defines as the end of the universe. There, they encounter humans running from feral humans with sharp teeth – the futurekind. The Doctor and his team meet Professor Yana and his assistant, the last of the Malcassairans, Chantho.

Yana is working on a gravity-based footprint launching system to take the human colony ship from Malcassairo to the legendary planet Utopia, which is where humans are attempting to go to outrun the collapse of reality. While Yana has been stumped on how to launch the ship, The Doctor almost instantly gets the colony ship ready to launch. But the futurekind attack the colony ship to prevent it from launching. While Harkness is able to survive the radiation in the chamber the futurekind attack, Martha discovers that Professor Yana is in possession of an artifact that she is familiar with . . . and entirely changes The Doctor’s perception of their new ally!

“Utopia” is very much a reward episode for fans of Doctor Who. The return of Jack Harkness means very little to non-fans and while the essential information from earlier episodes in the season like “Human Nature” (reviewed here!) is presented again to make “Utopia” work, “Utopia” is enriched more as part of the whole than on its own. So, for non-fans, “Utopia” seems to devote an inordinate amount of time to explaining the characters in the episode. More than a Doctor episode, “Utopia” is a Jack Harkness and Martha Jones episode.

In “Utopia,” Jack Harkness’s immortality is explained. While he was resurrected in “Parting Of The Ways” (reviewed here!) and has been off on Torchwood unable to die, the reason for it is not explained to him until “Utopia.” The Doctor has a decent amount of exposition to fill Harkness in. Harkness, for his part, is ridiculously unsurprised by the information.

Martha Jones has her own companion in “Utopia,” in the form of Professor Yana’s companion, Chantho. Chantho has an emotional attachment to Yana the way Jones is attracted to The Doctor. Jones is integral to figuring out Yana’s secret and she shares with Chantho a common sense of sorrow. Freema Agyeman plays Jones with wonderful subtlety in “Utopia” and she steals all her scenes.

The futurekind are a somewhat generic adversary in “Utopia” opposite the very specific Yana and the reappearance of Harkness. Between that and a single bad cut by director Graeme Harper near the end of the episode – there is a dramatic musical cue as the camera focuses on Yana that is cut very abruptly – are all that robs the episode of perfection.

Part of the thrill of “Utopia” is in the quality of the performances. While the episode spends a huge chunk of time in a single room, the episode does not feel at all unengaging. That is arguably because Professor Yana is played by Derek Jacobi. Jacobi is an exceptional actor and he plays the slow epiphany Yana goes through over the course of the hour with an incredible physical presence. His portrayal of Yana at the outset is almost completely different from his body language at the climax of the episode and that is incredible.

“Utopia” is the first part of a three-parter and it comes to feel like that as it sets up to the peak of the episode.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Third Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the second season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Derek Jacobi, please check out my reviews of:
My Week With Marilyn
The King’s Speech
Gosford Park
Gladiator

9.5/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Doctor Who In Real Time: “42” Is Forgettable

The Good: Decent effects, Aspects of concept, Adequate performances
The Bad: No real character development, Derivative plot
The Basics: “42” is too simple a concept, hinging as it does on a real-time threat, to be considered worthwhile or enduring Doctor Who!


Doctor Who, despite doing a number of episodes that were high-concept, did very few “concept episodes.” “42” is one of the few and the concept is pretty simple. “42” is, like 24, an episode in (pretty much) real time. So, the entire episode is predicated on a ticking clock and the clock is a literal one; death and destruction are set for forty-two minutes from the start of the episode.

“42” is an episode that is easy to get confused with “The Satan Pit” (reviewed here!) largely because the sets are so similar and the sense of menace seems familiar. Having encountered possessed people on a dingy, dark craft before, it’s hard to make it feel incredibly fresh a year later. Yet, Doctor Who makes the attempt with “42” and by having a slight variation on the Ultimate Evil In The Universe.

Upgrading Martha from passenger to Companion, The Doctor upgrades his human friend’s cell phone for universal calling through time and space when they detect a distress call. The TARDIS lands on a ship that is spiraling out of control, its engines dead. In forty-two minutes, the cargo ship will crash into the sun. The ship’s engines are out of control because the Captain’s husband, Korwin, has sabotaged the ship. While Martha Jones and an engineer work their way toward Auxiliary Control, hampered by a series of encoded locks that are inspired by trivia. As Korwin begins killing his way through the crew, the Doctor tries to figure out exactly what has infected Korwin.

Captain McDonnell encounters her husband, who has already infected another crewman with his burning eye parasite, and has to put him down. The delay causes The Doctor to miss the opportunity to save Martha and a crewmember from being jettisoned in an escape pod. The Doctor puts his faith in the ship’s crew while he attempts to save Martha’s life. In the process, The Doctor determines the nature of the infection and has to rely upon Martha like he never has before.

“42” is one of the least memorable episodes of Doctor Who, not just because it has a look so similar to “The Satan Pit,” but because it is so plot-intensive and pretty much neglects any real character development. In fact, arguably the purpose of “42” is to create a sense of indebtedness and trust between The Doctor and Martha Jones. As a result of “42,” Martha Jones entirely owes The Doctor her life. That sets up The Doctor having to put his life in her hands in the subsequent episode.

The redeeming aspect of “42” is that The Doctor is suitably heroic in it. This is an episode where The Doctor risks his life for Martha explicitly and his life is entirely in her hands. Outside David Tennant failing to portray his stated fear in a compelling and true fashion, The Doctor and Martha and their performers are all adequate and interesting. Tennant’s big performance moment is not his period of Hot Damn Heroics, but rather his time stuck in a tube, acting like he is burning up from inside.

But this is an episode that even the heroics are muted on. “42” is a “simple problem, simple solution” episode and it has incredibly low replayability. While not, strictly, bad, “42” suffers from being entirely unmemorable and simplistic.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Third Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the second season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Adjoa Andoh, please visit my reviews of:
Invictus
“The Lazarus Experiment” - Doctor Who
“Smith And Jones” - Doctor Who
“New Earth” - Doctor Who

3/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Fanfic For Whovians: Why “Doomsday” Is So Good!

The Good: Good plot development, Cool effects, Wonderful dialogue, Great acting!
The Bad: Unfortunately light on character
The Basics: The Cybermen and Daleks square off, endangering two universes and threatening to wrench Rose Tyler from The Doctor once and for all!


Virtually every fandom in existence has a base that tries to create its own stories set in the universe the fans love. In the case of Doctor Who, there are fifty years of canon and fanfic for those who love the many iterations of the show to go through. As someone who is still pretty new to Doctor Who and its fandom, I can only imagine how many stories there are from fans about encounters between the Daleks and Cybermen. I can only imagine how many people creamed themselves when the fantasy of the Daleks and Cybermen interacting became canon in “Doomsday.”

“Doomsday” is the direct sequel to “Army Of Ghosts” (reviewed here!) and those who do not watch that episode are likely to be lost on much of the most significant aspects of “Doomsday.” “Doomsday” is the story of how Rose Tyler “dies” in our universe and given that she narrates from the episode’s beginning and we see her alive, there is no real surprise in the fact that she is not actually killed in the episode. “Doomsday” makes the intriguing implicit argument that the best fanfic concepts can be executed by those who write the show. Doctor Who’s headwriter at the time of “Doomsday” was Russell T. Davies and it is clear from some of the delightful interplay between the Daleks and Cybermen that he had a great time writing the episode. The Daleks and Cybermen are snarky to one another and that is incredibly fun to watch!

With the Void Ship opened and the Daleks exposed in Torchwood, Rose, Jackie, Mickey, and The Doctor are all in critical jeopardy. The Daleks and Cybermen square off against one another, snarking the entire time. What looks like potential salvation for humanity – the Daleks and Cybermen being preoccupied with destroying one another – quickly turns disastrous as the Cybermen begin harvesting humans to join their ranks. While Jackie manages to avoid being converted to a Cyberman, Yvonne Hartman is not so lucky and the head of Torchwood falls. While Jackie runs for her life, the Doctor is abducted by the alternate universe’s Pete Tyler and Torchwood. Pete Tyler is obsessed with protecting his universe by having The Doctor seal the rift between universes with the Cybermen on the other side. Armed with his cunning, a pair of 3-D glasses, and Torchwood’s advanced weaponry and personnel, The Doctor returns to our universe where he learns that the four Daleks that came out of the Void Ship are the Cult Of Skarro.

The Cult Of Skarro needs the Doctor to open the Genesis Ark, which was in the Void Ship with them. When Rose and the Doctor are rescued, Mickey falls into the Genesis Ark, activating it. As the Cybermen converge upon Torchwood tower, the Daleks open the Ark, which The Doctor realizes was a Time Lord prison ship for millions of Daleks. The Doctor hatches an audacious plan; open the void and all creatures from alternate realities will be sucked into the void. Rose is condemned to the alternate universe in order to save her life. With Torchwood on the verge of falling, the Doctor works to save everyone he can, including Rose.

“Doomsday” is an undeniably cool episode, though the end of Rose Tyler’s main narrative is somewhat less satisfying than it ought to be. For an episode that is supposed to be Rose Tyler’s climactic tale, Jackie Tyler and Pete Tyler actually have scenes of more character significance than Rose does. When Pete and Jackie meet, they have an exchange that allows them to choose one another and to reflect upon their lives. Rose Tyler is not given that chance. Instead, a plot contrivance separates her from The Doctor and there is something strangely unimaginative about how neither The Doctor nor Rose Tyler think to postulate about the existence of an alternate universe version of The Doctor.

Rose basically chooses to stay by the side of The Doctor, but she is robbed of her choice when the force of the Void menaces her. On the plus side, it leads to one of the show’s most explicit expressions of emotion between The Doctor and Rose.

“Doomsday” offers the first glimmer of weakness for the Cybermen when Hartman’s cyberconverted form resists their programming enough to fight the Cybermen. That conceit informs all subsequent showrunners and starts the diminishing of the Cybermen. Given how monolithically powerful the Cybermen and their programming were in the alternate universe, their sudden weakness comes without any real explanation.

Despite the somewhat unsatisfying mechanism for getting rid of Rose Tyler, “Doomsday” is characterized by amazing performances. David Tennant plays The Doctor as sad and intense, goofy and in charge. Billie Piper does not come across as whiny or annoying when she loses everything and Rose breaks down. Instead, she plays the part of the reasonably and appropriately lost and hurt traveler. Piper manages to make Rose’s crying scenes heartfelt and emotional, as opposed to seeming like a spoiled blonde with first world problems.

David Tennant is given a somewhat harder task late in the episode; he must perform his most powerful scene opposite no one. Tennant looks suitably tortured and he makes The Doctor appear lost and hurt.

“Doomsday” has a strong ending to a season that had turned stagnant. Despite the quality of the episodes that preceded the two part finale, the second season goes out on a high note with “Doomsday” and leaves a new issue for The Doctor that is enough to make one want to come back to the Doctor’s journey!

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other big season finales, please check out my reviews of:
“Death In Heaven” - Doctor Who
“Redemption” - Star Trek: The Next Generation
“Episode 7” - Twin Peaks

8/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Power Lead-In: “Army Of Ghosts” Sets The Stage Masterfully!

The Good: Engaging plot, Moments of character, Effects
The Bad: Sets up and has to explain a ton of plot details
The Basics: “Army Of Ghosts” sets up another powerful Doctor Who season finale, though it is largely dependent upon seeing the rest of the season to understand the magnitude of the events in it.


There are few hours of television that I have seen over and over again that I have more of an emotional reaction to the more I see it. While Doctor Who is one of the newer shows that I have gotten into, “Army Of Ghosts” is one of the few episodes that I have more and more of a reaction to. The episode opens with a monologue – which traditionally I abhor – that has Rose declaring that this is the story of how her journey with The Doctor came to an end. Hearing her open the episode with that declaration, chokes me up more and more when I rewatch the episode.

And it is worth it. “Army Of Ghosts” is an obvious set-up episode, the first part of a two-parter and it is one of the stronger penultimate episodes of a season. Even knowing that the episode is not actually the last time Rose Tyler will be seen, the episode does a decent job of setting up a good send-off for her. More than that, “Army Of Ghosts” ties the second season of Doctor Who together well. Answering the peppered mystery of who/what the Torchwood Institute is that began in “The Christmas Invasion” (reviewed here!), “Army Of Ghosts” is well-constructed even if it is a bit light on character development and heavy with setting up plot points.

Opening with Rose considering her life before and after she met The Doctor, Rose and The Doctor return to Earth. Rose is miffed when her gift of bazoolium from an alien market does not phase Jackie at all. Instead, Jackie tells Rose that her dead grandfather is about to appear. Moments later, ghostly shadows appear, including one that Jackie claims is her father and another that passes through The Doctor. The Doctor discovers from Jackie that for the past two months, “ghosts” have been appearing at regular intervals. The “ghosts” seem to be manipulated or measured by the Torchwood Institute, which is also investigating a mysterious sphere that seems to exist visually, but not in any other measurable way.

When a Cyberman appears at Torchwood, where it absorbs a pair of workers who want to play hooky to snog, The Doctor and Rose set up a trap for one of the “ghosts.” That trap draws the attention of the Torchwood Institute and its leader, Yvonne Hartman. When the TARDIS, with Jackie Tyler still aboard, is arrives at the Torchwood Institute, Hartman incarcerates The Doctor and Jackie (who is impersonating Rose). The Doctor is able to identify the mysterious sphere as a Void Ship, an impossible vessel used to travel the space between dimensions. After learning about Torchwood and its obsession with the Void Ship, The Doctor convinces Hartman not to run the next Ghost Shift to allow “ghosts” to exploit the cracks in dimensions caused by the Void Ship’s arrival in our universe. But after Rose is captured by Torchwood, the Cybermen-influenced Torchwood employees start a Ghost Shift that will completely change the world.

“Army Of Ghosts” is a wonderful set-up episode, even if it is plot-heavy. While Torchwood was formed at the climax of “Tooth And Claw” (reviewed here!), exactly what they have been up to since Queen Victoria has been a mystery. That mystery is answered in “Army Of Ghosts.” The episode also marks the return of Mickey, who appeared lost in “The Age Of Steel” (reviewed here!). “Army Of Ghosts” is well-constructed, despite lacking a resolution. The episode seeds two huge anomalies: the ghosts and the void ship and before the end, the mystery of each of those anomalies is solved. That is refreshing.

“Army Of Ghosts” has a great sense of rising action. While the episode starts with one of the most goofy premises of any episode in the modern Doctor Who and it predictably develops beyond that premise. Fans of Doctor Who will instantly know what Jackie Tyler does not; the ghosts cannot be ghosts and so there is a thrill of discovery as to what they are. Devoted fans – the ones who will be thrilled by the return of the Cybermen – will be able to call well in advance their return based on nothing else but the preponderance of Bluetooth-like headsets around Torchwood.

For an episode that is promising the death of Rose Tyler, the biggest character moment actually comes from Mickey. Mickey returns to our universe confident, smart and surprisingly badass. When he rescues Rose Tyler and details what happened in the universe he was left in, he is almost a completely different character. Mickey and Noel Clarke, who portrays him, is undeniably watchable in “Army Of Ghosts.”

Beyond that, David Tennant is a predictable scene-stealer in “Army Of Ghosts.” Tennant has good chemistry on-screen with Billie Piper in the episode, but he is actually stuck on his own or with Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne) for the bulk of the episode. Tennant has some wonderful physical performance moments as he peers into special effects that clearly were not present when he shot the scenes. He “sells” the universe of Doctor Who beautifully through his acting.

Ultimately, “Army Of Ghosts” is a fun set-up episode that distracts viewers from the impending doom of Rose Tyler creating a mystery that it then resolves! That sets its sequel episode, “Doomsday” up for an hour of delighting viewers for a conflict they have waited decades for.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Doctor Who - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season of the Tenth Doctor here!
Thanks!]

For other big penultimate episodes, please check out my reviews of:
“Dark Water” - Doctor Who
“Bounty” - Star Trek: Enterprise
“Darkness Falls” - The X-Files

7/10

For other Doctor Who episode and movie reviews, please visit my Doctor Who Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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