The Bloodline (2011)

So it all comes down to this. After nine weeks of up and down story telling, with a series that was padded to within and inch of its life. We finally reach the end of this series and the best has been saved until last. The story flips between Shangai and Buenos Aires. Rex and Esther are in Buenos Aires with Gwen, Jack and Oswald in Shangai. This episode was co-written between Russell T Davies and writer of the woeful Immortal Sins. The story sees both parties trying to finish this once and for all and being Torchwood, it wasn’t going to shy away from the possibility of the main characters being killed. It seemed obvious weeks ago that once things went back to as they were then Rex was snuff it but more of that later.

The 24 element of this section of the series was strangley enjoyable. Charlotte’s working against the CIA and sets a bomb with shockingly kills John de Lancie. It did look like for a moment that she did it under hypnosis but then at the end its clear that she knew what she was doing. I just wish that they hadn’t killed of de Lancie because he has been fantastic and has rivalled Bill Pullman as best supporting actor. I was expecting a lot more sentimentality from a Russell T Davies story. He does have a track record, just watch Doomsday or Last of the Timelords or Journeys End to see what I mean. But to be fair its reigned in significantly. There is a wobble towards the middle section but compared to what RTD has done in the past I thought this was quite enjoyable and was relevant to the story.

The big scene was all about explaining what this strange thing that everyone was looking at was. To be honest I didn’t understand it at first but when they took a second swing at trying to explain what it was then it finally sunk in. It was quite a clever idea that it was the earth that had switched the setting and it would take Jack’s blood to switch it back. Oh, we’re all meant to think, how are they going to get around this and I was half expecting some cop-out designed to get around this as quickly as possible but those doubts were misfounded. The twist that Rex had been filled with Jack’s blood seemed like quite a clever plot twist and then by the end it had become something far more important.

Both John Barrowman and Eve Myles were great in this episode. They have both had their share of good and bad episodes this series but when it mattered they both delivered. I am also amazed at how Mekhi Phifer has come along since episode one. If you had asked me five weeks ago whether I would be glad or sad that he stayed at the end of episode ten then I would have said sad but actually I have really grown to like the character and think that Phifer should be applauded for making such an irritating character likeable. If I had an issue then it was with the decision to kill off Alexa Havins’ character. Ok I had different reasons as to why I disliked the character but like Phifer’s character, I had grown to like Esther. If only she had been filled with Jack’s blood!

Bill Pullman as ever is superb in this episode and takes the drastic step of strapping a whole load of explosives to him like some suicide bomber and his final words are clearly designed to remind us of what he was when we first met him 10 weeks ago. His lack of fear about going to hell is confounded by his line saying that its “where all the bad girls go!”. It was the fitting end for the character who has been enthralling throughout and whoever came up with the idea of casting Pullman should pat themselves on the back. Lauren Ambrose has also been very good as Jilly Kitzinger. Her desperate need to survive has been well played since the beginning and her little fight with Gwen was a great moment.

Now in the past and RTD finale would have seen the main action wrapped up within 30 minutes and then there would be 30 minutes of melodrama but surprisingly after the blessing stuff has been dealt with the interest still continues. After Rex was shot I did think that he was gone completely but when he came back to life I was exactly like Gwen and Jack. Then we get Jilly Kitzinger who made it out of Shangai and is told to that there is a Plan B. Just when I thought that RTD was trying to ruin Torchwood but in fact it was clear he was leaving it open for the next series.

As an individual episode it is very good and RTD has thought about this episode a great deal. I think that if more of the episodes had been like this then the series would have been stronger than it was. It was the episode that I wanted it to be because it explained what was going on and tied up all the loose ends (almost). The main problem with this series is that it was way too long and the main plot just didn’t stretch to ten episodes. Eight yes, seven possibly but not 10. I think that Steven Moffat has shown in the current series of Doctor Who how you pad something well. That said I hope that Torchwood comes back for another US/UK series because I get the feeling that all the flaws with this series (and there are many) would get ironed out. Roll on Series 5.

The New World (2011)

Torchwood is back. After the impressive Children of Earth, Torchwood has returned to BBC1 primetime except this series is a little different because it has major American funding from the network Starz (nope, me neither). Apparently FOX were going to co-produce it but that fell through (someone must have reminded them of the 1996 movie). The basic premise was made clear by the trailers. There is a day when no one dies, nobody around the world. The scheduling has been commented on because Americans get to see it a whole week before everyone else. I don’t have a problem with this personally because if they are stumping up most of the money then they should at least have the right to show it first. Secondly there are scenes in the American version that won’t appear on the UK version. Again I don’t have a problem with this, as long as we don’t lose anything from the story then I can live with differences. Written by Russell T Davies (creator) and directed by Bharat Nalluri (conceived the BBC One show Hustle).

This means that the series will be split between the US and Wales. Before the episode started the continuity announcer said that there may be some scenes that we would find distressing. Normally this is nonsense but within the first two minutes there is an execution and its one of the most graphic and uncomfortable scenes that I have witnessed.

They spend the first part of this story emphasising that no one is dying and whilst in Wales, Gwen and Rhys are living the quite life. They are holed up in some idyllic country house by the coast. They are presumed dead after the 456 business in COE. However like most things the this show, that doesn’t last for long. Gwen’s father is unwell and she has to make the decision to come out of hiding. This was possibly the only way that this was going to happen and despite how weak it might be it is good enough for me. What I was quite amazed by is how it was 20 minutes before we saw John Barrowman. It’s the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 thing where it’s about half an hour before we see Johnny Depp. In this I was starting to wonder how he was going to appear. It wasn’t in a flash of blinding white light but the exact opposite.

In a clever but blatantly obviously (after it’s revealed) plot twist, when everyone can live forever we now find that Captain Jack can die. This is revealed in quite a low key manner. However it’s a significant moment because it’s ringing the bell that Jack isn’t immortal and the next time shoots him in the head of buries him in concrete he won’t be coming back for air. I wonder how long it will be before this happens, clocks ticking.

Oswald Danes is a paedophile who at the beginning of the episode is suppose to be executed. Bill Pullman is extremely good in this episode. He is instantly unlikeable and in his first scene where is he talking, he is clearly a smart (if mentally sick) individual. He doesn’t actually have much to do in this episode but to be honest, he will get to be centre stage in future episodes. Mekhi Phifer is a character that I know I’m going to take a while to get use to. Having being irritated by him in ER when it was on, he plays Rex Matheson who is when we are introduced to him is driving erratically in the torrential rain behind a truck which is carrying poles which after emergency breaking causes one of the poles to slam into Rex.

John Barrowman is a curious person. Whenever I see him on other shows he is over the top and quite annoying and I want to hate him and partly do because when is playing Captain Jack he is really good. He can act, he can make us care about the character and make us laugh when he’s been camp but I can’t find it in myself to fully hate the man. He does seem to be in his element in this series because he doesn’t stand out as an American in Wales. Eve Myles is really good and it’s hard to believe how far she has come since the very first episode in 2006. The double act between her and Tom Price is a nice little moment

The story does that thing that Russell T Davies loves to do and that is to bring up news reels like it’s trying to convince us that it’s meant to be real life. Normally this wouldn’t bother me but if it’s meant to be a worldwide issue, shouldn’t there be more foreign news channels. Or at the very least there should be a BBC news channel. The story doesn’t shy away from the goriness which is quite refreshing. Admittedly I was shocked by the execution at the beginning but that’s due how close to the beginning the story it started. There is another grim moment where a guy who has explosives strapped to him and as he cant die he ends up in a morgue on a slab looking like a slab of meat with a head. Then Jack comes up with an idea to decapitate the head. The way this was done was a bit stomach churning and mercifully this was over relatively quickly. This was the clearest sign that this series was going to be different and possibly in a good way. There are some scenes in this episode which we wouldn’t have seen in previous series of Torchwood but that what happens when the series is American-fied.

This episode is a groundwork episode. To many it’s been called a pilot in effect but that’s wrong because it’s not a pilot by any means if they just move country. The story does a good job in introducing to the many characters and to give us a feel of how the series will be structured. The teaser trailer at the end of the episode shows that this series could be really good. I was a bit mixed when I initially watched it on Thursday but on Saturday evening after watching it for a second time. I found it more impressive and I was able to enjoy it a lot more. The only question is ‘What is causing all of this?’ A good start.

Last of the Timelords

Well it’s the finale and like previous series finale’s it ends with a companions departure, except its less final shall we say. At the end of the previous episode we had the Doctor turned into Gollum’s good looking brother and Martha has legged it. This story takes place a year after Sound of Drums but Martha hasn’t been sitting idly by. She has been busy travelling around the world whilst the Doctor has been treated like a little pet with a little dog bowl. The Master’s grip is unusually tight but yet again instead of killing the Doctor, he just immobilises him. No doubt he will be regretting this later on. The story sees Martha once again leading the narrative as she is hunting parts for a gun that is believed will kill the Master however in quite a clever twist it turns out that the gun is useless and Martha has spent the whole year spreading a single word at a specific time and that word is ‘DOCTOR’. It’s quite a good way to mess up the Masters plans. But what I like is how the Doctor has been trying to get into mainframe and has succeded. What we then get is a almost Christ like moment where the Doctor is hovering in the air. For an atheist for a Executive Producer, there is a lot of religious imagery in the new era.

I have to admit that the whole thing could have been made shorter because the story only really gets going when Martha is caught by the Master. All the stuff with that Doctor who becomes her husband and that woman who use to be in Coronation Street was a bit dull and I could have done without. That aside, the actual story is rather good. Just when the Doctor has yet again foiled the Master’s plan then the Master is shot by wife. I liked the moment when the Master refused to regenerate to try and stick one to the Doctor. The Doctor’s emotion was quite unexpected and I wonder whether Jon Pertwee’s Doctor would have done that. Just when we thought that we were not going to get any more Master then we see someone picking up his ring thus leaving room for a future story.

Yet again there is a bit of emotional junk that we have to put up with at the very end of the story but its no where near as irritating as what we got in Doomsday. Martha deciding to stay on Earth is quite a disappointing idea because I think that she was a match for the Doctor (perhaps the reason she was written out). Freema Agyeman as Martha has proven of several occasions how good an actress she is and how Crossroads was a mere blip in her career. John Barrowman’s appearance was not particularly memorable and the only contribution he served is when he implies that he might be The Face of Boe. Now this doesn’t quite make sense because the Face of Boe died in Gridlock and yet were told that Captain Jack is immortal. So that was a bit odd. The problem with the RTD era is that he seems incapable of deciding where the story should finish. He feels the urge to just add stuff at the end, why he couldn’t get rid of Martha and Captain Jack at the same time escapes me. I thought that John Simm was very good and his Master is everything that I hoped it would be. Ok so its nowhere near as good as Roger Delgado or even Anthony Ainley but I think that for a 21st Century audience its still a good performance.

Like previous series, the final story end with a cliffhanger that will be resolved at Christmas. This time it’s the Titanic crashing into the TARDIS with his trademark WHAT!. Now considering that for but two years in Doctor Who’s history we have been told that the TARDIS is indestructible it seems odd that the TARDIS can be destroyed like this but we would find out at the Children in Need special. Last of the Timelords is a very enjoyable story. Far better than Doomsday and over the course of the three episodes it was a good way to end the story. The story isnt perfect thought because the stuff with Captain Jack was pointless and also the stuff with Martha’s family was just dull and I couldn’t care less about them. The bit where her mother shoots the Master I was really irritated because it spoils the moment when the Master is bought down by the Doctor’s companion’s mother. Apart from that this was a good end to the best series since the show returned. It certainly benefited from a lack of Rose. Good Stuff.

Sound of Drums

After the dramatic cliffhanger in the previous episode, it’s a rather low key return to earth for the Doctor, Captain Jack and Martha. However, Earth isnt the same as when they were last there. It’s the day after the General Election where the Master has been elected Prime Minister. Once the titles finish we have a scene which leaves us under no illusion that this is the Master as he kills everyone in the cabinet. It’s a big thing to do so early on.

The moment when the Doctor and the Master speak on the phone is one of the finest moments of the series. It’s not easy to try and do a dramatic scene with two people on the phone yet credit to Simm and Tennant they manage it. I thought that the explanation as to how the Master is still alive despite being sucked into the Eye of Harmony in the US TV Movie was sublime. Being resurrected by the Timelords to take part in the Time War was a smart move and in a way shows how the Timelords at times at like Gods. John Simm is a brilliant Master, not anywhere near on par with Roger Delgado but still manages to bring a believeable side to the role that has at times bordered on pantomime.There is a nice moment which is a nod to the classic era where the Master is watching the Teletubbies. In the 1972 story ‘The Sea Devils’ the Master is watching The Clangers. It still relatively early in the return of the show and this is perhaps the biggest nod to the long time fans who (like me) would have instantly known what it was referring to. The Toclafane are a curious creation because they have a certain menace but they don’t look like anything more than a ball with some lights on it. They are the Master’s minions and I don’t like them. Ok they are impressive in extremely large numbers (see final scene) but apart from that (like Capt Jack) they offer very little. Speaking of Captain Jack, his only real contribution is getting shot by the Master and revealing to the Doctor he works for Torchwood. I like John Barrowman and think that he’s very good in Torchwood however his return however brief to Doctor Who is a poor idea. David Tennant does well with connecting with John Simm. Freema Agyeman continues to impress as by the end of the story its clear that she will be important in the story.

However the story isnt perfect. I really cant stand Martha’s mother and find her sister to be a bit bland and uninteresting. Only the dad was of any interest and when the family were arrested and dragged in front of the Master and Martha, I really wasn’t fussed. I thought that it’s the least they deserved. Also what the bloody hell was the point in casting Reggie Yates. He appears briefly and then that’s it. Goodbye Mr Yates, it was a utter waste of time you bothering to drag your backside out of the Radio 1 studio to do these brief scenes where you were presumably paid a considerable amount of licence payers money. There that’s my mini rant over with.

The final moments end with the Master taking charge, getting the Toclafane to kill the US President and then opening the tear in space allowing 6 billion of them to swarm the earth were very good. With the Doctor reduced to an old man and Captain Jack still recovering from being shot by the Master – twice – its down to Martha to do a disappearing act before proclaiming that she will be back. The final word goes to the Master who feels good at what is happening and there is an uneasy feeling that the Doctor cant do anything about it.

Its another good episode. The build up from Utopia continues and the thing about this story it that it isn’t a holding pattern for the final story. It ploughs on ahead and never gets dull. Its only now that Captain Jack has some use but its still not enough to justify his involvement in the story.

Utopia (2007)

Utopia is the first part in a three part story which is the first that Doctor Who has done in the new era. This story sees the return of the Master to the show since his wonderful and extremely underated* performance in the TV Movie. It also marks Captain Jack Harkness’ return after he was ‘killed’ by the Daleks in Parting of the Ways in 2005. He’s been busy containing aliens in Cardiff and returns in a understated fashion by clinging onto the TARDIS whilst its in the Vortex.

The story about some humans trying to find Utopia was all a bit of fodder because it didn’t really grip me at all and so I wont be talking about it very much. The thing about this story is the return of the Master. When we meet Professor Yana we see him as an elderly scientist trying to get the ship launched. Derek Jacobi is very good in this role and it would have been forgettable had it been done by someone else. Every one and their dog (if I had one) knew that this is when the Master would be returning. The build up was excrutiating because I just wanted the Master to return. As luck would happen it came towards the end. Professor Yana shows his Fob Watch which is the same that the Doctor used in Human Nature/The Family of Blood and this leads us to the realisation that Yana is a Timelord and then RTD spells it out in almost pre-school fashion when The Face of Boe says “You – Y, Are – A, Not – N, Alone – A” Its at this point that I think Jacobi really shines when he has to be evil and he does it brilliantly. However his time is all too short and before we know whats going on, Jacobi regenerates into the John Simm and his opening moments are very good indeed and lead to another fine cliffhanger. Finally RTD gets the hang of them.

David Tennant is a bit odd in this story and he bounces between the three important characters. With Captain Jack he has issues because of what Jack has become and this rubs off onto Martha who pretty much stands in the background for large chunks of the story and unfortunately Freema just has to do the classic female companion thing which is a shame because she’s been so good throughout this series. Why they had to leave Cardiff without Captain Jack because I’m sad to say that John Barrowman lends nothing to this story and seems to be around just to keep up the numbers of the story.

I will briefly mention the stuff that fills the early part of this episode which is set in a quarry (sorry Malcassairo) in the year 100 trillion. Is this the furthest that the show has been in time terms before? I don’t know but it’s a question that’s going to festure. I thought that the Futurekind were a good idea however there’s nothing really to them and as a result it’s a lost oppertunity.

Utopia is a good start to the Master/Saxon story and third series. True the people going to Utopia was something I could have done without but it did the job in keeping my involved in the storyline until the big stuff started to happen. When I was watching this episode I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t wait until the next episode but was resigned to the fact that unless I find a time machine and go forward in time, I would have to wait.


*= I’m being sarcastic!

Midnight (2007)

Midnight is a story that is slightly different compared to previous regular-lite roles. This story is Donna light and the next story is Doctor light. This gets through the logistical problems that were created when the BBC decided they wanted 14 episodes but only give the team enough time to film 13 episodes. This story also marks the 50th episode of Doctor Who to be made in the new era. This is also a cheap episode in that there is very little in the way of effects. The title refers to the planet Midnight but its sort of a jokey title because we see very little of it, what we do see however is very beautiful.

The story sees the Doctor on a crusier when mid-flight it develops a fault and the passengers and crew are under attack from a mysterious threat. There is a wonderful eerie sense that runs through this episode and its to do with the claustrophobic setting. The cast are in a box essentially. There is nowhere the run and nowhere to hide and that fantastic in a drama. What I really liked what the bold step of no-one trusting the Doctor. Normally everyone just accepts what the Doctor says and accepts that he is going to take charge but that doesn’t happen here and it puts the Doctor on the back foot for the first time in a long time.

If I had to pick a fault with the story then it would be that the story takes a little bit too long to get going. It seems like its going to be a typical Tennant story but then when the crusier breaks down it gets going. The thing that makes the story good is not knowing what is outside trying to get in.

The story benefits from some fantastic acting. David Troughton makes his third Doctor Who TV appearance and in my mind his best. He plays Professor Hobbes and everytime that he was on screen I enjoyed the story even more. This story also sees Lindsey Coulson appear as Val Cane who appeared in two stints in the BBC soap Eastenders. However I think the star of the show was Lesley Sharp as Sky Silvestry. Sharp is a very good actress and she steels the show here. Her character starts off very likeable and nice and is soon taken over. The bit where she is repeating everything the Doctor is saying is very creepy.

The directing is something that I often overlook in doing a review for Doctor Who but in this story its one of the things that makes it stand out. There are some wonderful shots especially the shot where Sharp has her face to a wall and we see the wall with a silhouette. It’s a great moment and its credit to Troughton that she manages to get so many good shots in such a confined space and makes it interesting.

Tennant puts in his best performance of the series, actually for quite some time. There is a sense of being vulnerable and it’s an odd thing to see this. Tennant seems to revel in not being the one in control and as a viewer its refreshing to see it. Without Catherine Tate he manages to shrug off the humour and give us a performance that shows us why he is such a good Doctor. The fact that things don’t go the way that he wants is something that the Doctor is not use to and that’s a good thing to see because the good guy doesn’t always win and this proves it.

So Midnight is my favourite story of this series. It’s a very dark episode for a Tennant story and its well written and very well directed and all the performances are top notch and for a milestone episode in the new era of the show, it’s a fitting way of celebrating it.

Gridlock (2007)

Gridlock is the third story of the series which sees the Doctor return to New Earth. The opening story of the previous series saw the story focused in a nice white clean hospital but this time the story is in a grimy and less glamorous side to New Earth. There was a bit of thing about when the story was aired due to a FA Cup match between Manchester United and Watford. Had the match gone into extra time then the show would have been postponed, thankfully United won 4-1 and Doctor Who transmitted just forty minutes late. The story sees the Doctor and Martha travel to New Earth where they encounter people who are in a long term traffic jam. Martha is kidnapped by a young couple who only want Martha so that they can get in a new lane and get out of the jam hell that they are in.

The story has a classic Doctor Who element which harks back to story number one and that is the companion gets kidnapped. This means that the Doctor does what he does best and that is save the damsel in distress. This leads to some fun moments when the Doctor moves from cart to cart with a whole range of aliens which range from 1960 Civil servants with bowler hats to nudists to an old couple. But it’s the first alien creature that the Doctor meets that stands out and that’s because he is played by Ardal O’Hanlon who appeared in Father Ted. In this he plays Brannigan who is a cat that is very polite.

The story features the return of the Macra. I was quite surprised that they appeared as there was no mention of it in any magazines or on the internet. Whilst on one hand I was happy they returned I was curious as to the reason for their appearance. They only appeared in one story back in 1967 in a story that no longer exists on video. Their appearance was brief and no doubt it will have had some fans making a high pitched tone but for me it was a mixed return. This story also marks the final appearance of the Face of Boe. Despite essentially being a massive face in a jar, its death was quite sad. However his final words were quite important.

“You are not alone”

Whereas I liked Tennant’s performance I was slightly down on Freema Agyeman’s performance. I found it slightly grating which is a shame because I have liked her so far. There is a different relationship between the Doctor and Martha and what the relationship was like between the Doctor and Rose. The story sees the return of Novice Hame who appeared in New Earth. Played by Anna Hope (who would go on to appear in Big Finish plays since 2009), the character was better in this story because the character didn’t have to share the screen with other cat people. She is continuing her care of Boe which is a nice continuation from the previous story.

Gridlock is a fun story that manages to get a lot of action out of a small space. It does a lot of set up to the series finale and it’s a story that benefits from a simple yet effective story and benefits greatly from some visually stunning scenes. Oh and Father Dougal Maguire with a Cat face is a little highlight. The final scene between the Doctor and Martha is a lovely moment and it reminds me how fantastic this show can be.

Doomsday (2006)

The final story of the series. Rose says that this is the last story she will ever tell but in fact she’s not telling us the story. There is no narration from Rose so it’s not so much of a Companion Chronicle but more like a normal adventure. It all went wrong with Cybermen and Daleks set to destroy the world. In the trailer there is the implication that they could join forces. We are introduced to the Genesis Ark which is completely new to Doctor Who and its mystery is one thing that is good about the early stages of this episode. We are introduced to the Cult of Skaro which is a new group that above and beyond the Emperor himself which does lead to the question ‘Why have we never heard of them?’ The answer of what the Genesis Ark is turns out to be a massive prison that contains millions of Daleks. It’s Timelord technology so it’s bigger on the inside. It’s quite a good idea and it’s a useful tool for which to explain how you’re going to get more than four Daleks into the story without ruining the surprise and that is exactly what it was.

The battle between the Daleks and Cybermen is one that every Doctor Who fan in history has been praying for this but sadly it doesn’t quite match up to the expectations. I did like the initial encounter between them when the Cybermen agree with the Daleks statement that they have no concept of elegance. This is a clear contradiction that the Cybermen don’t have a sense of humour. The idea that the Daleks could wipe out the Cybermen with just one Dalek but get scared when they discover the Doctor is around is quite a funny one.

Yvonne Hartman’s death is quite sad. She is someone who went from being the boss and not caring about anything other than her job to being terrified about being turned into a Cyberman/woman. However her final appearance comes when she is defiant against the Cybermen and repeats the line she gives before being converted. It’s a sort of redemption because we get a close up of one of her eyes and there is a tear of oil.

The problem that this story has and its one that typifies the RTD era is that it gets too bogged down in the emotional side of things. When you’ve got Daleks and Cybermen fighting each other we have to stop and deal with Jackie and Pete Tyler re-uniting. The initial moment when Rose has been taken into the parallel world is understandable because they had a romance but then the next five or six minutes is given over to this. Russell T Davies seems to have an inability of finishing of a series without having to waste 10-15 minutes on emotional twaddle.

It’s a good story for Billie Piper. Many many people don’t like her and I have to admit since we have had Martha and Donna and Amy she has fallen down the rankings in my opinions but at the time I thought that the character of Rose was a breathe of fresh air and ok the romance bit started to get a bit tired towards the end but Piper did a good job in every story that she was in. The final scene between Piper and Tennant was very sad and Tennant put in a great performance in both stories. His scene with the Cult of Skaro was one of the best of the series.

Russell T Davies doesn’t give us time to catch our breathe after what being going on in Torchwood and out of nowhere (quite literally), Catherine Tate appears in a wedding dress inside the TARDIS. This is the only time that I can honestly say that I didn’t know anything about what was going to happen. There was no mention on any website about Catherine Tate appearing and so it was a truly big shock and a big way to sign of the 28th series of Doctor Who and the second in the new era.

As a episode in its own right, it’s a good one that could have done without most of the emotional stuff that we got and the Dalek and Cybermen face-off was a little bit disappointing but as a two-parter it very good. There is a lot to like and the way that they wrote Rose out of the series was very clever and a nice way of a companion to leave a series as opposed to a Leela exit.

Army of Ghosts (2006)

The final story of the series starts off with a bold statement from Ms Tyler. “This is the day t hat I die!”. The story starts off with a series of montages which shows Rose having fun with the Doctor and then the line asked by the Doctor as to how long Rose will be with him and she says “Forever”. If you weren’t aware of this being her final story then this would have been a big giveaway. This also sees the infamous Torchwood make its long awaited debut, after a series long story arc it was finally time to see what their made of.

With Rose visiting her mum, she and the Doctor get to see Ghosts that have been appearing all over the world. It’s come to the stage where no-one is scared by seeing them and take them as normal with Jackie thinking one is her father who passed away years before. Sadly we get something that became a regular for an RTD story and that is bring famous faces. In this case Derek Acorah and Barbara Windsor as Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders.

Torchwood are very different compared to the one led by Captain Jack Harkness. This Torchwood is a group of very arrogant organisation and they feel like a bigger group that the Harkness one. There is an army in an office tower in the middle of London as opposed to a small underground base in the centre of Cardiff. I was genuinely surprised the Mickey came back. After being sealed in the Parallel World in The Age of Steel, he was the last face I expected to see.

The Sphere is something that we are told shouldn’t be there and doesn’t register on any piece of technology. It’s designed to travel through the void and allow for someone to live outside the universe without being affected by it. Its content is a mystery. Well I say a mystery what I mean is that it would only be a mystery for anyone who avoid anywhere that sold the Radio Times because they decided to put a picture of a Dalek and a Cyberman so it was just a question as to how they would appear. The Cybermen appearance was quite interesting as we could tell it was them through the plastic.

It’s funny that Freema Agyeman appears in this. I think I’m right in saying that it was this performance that got her the Martha job. She doesn’t have a particularly big role but as someone who is being controlled by the Cybermen she’s very good. Tracy Ann Oberman is surprisingly good as Yvonne Hartman. She swans around as someone who thinks she’s cleverer than everyone including the Doctor.

The cliffhanger was very good. The last five minutes or so were the best because the Cybermen finally make their appearance and the sight of hundreds of Cybermen appearing all over the world gives a great sense of how massive the invasion of the Cybermen is. Also we get to see what is in that Sphere. The sight of four Daleks flying out of the sphere was a fantastic one and one that was actually more impressive that the army of Daleks in Bad Wolf the year before.

As the opening story it sets things up very well. It’s obvious they are holding all the drama and tension until Doomsday but there is enough in this episode to keep us entertained. The build up to Billie Piper’s departure is building up well and the final story has potential to be a good send off.

Love & Monsters (2006)

Love and Monsters is the only story that in the new era of Doctor Who that has made me so angry that I was livid. Seriously, never before or since has an episode got to me like this. I thought that I was above it. This is the first of the Doctor-lite episodes that we would become accustom to. The story features very little of either David Tennant or Billie Piper. This seems to have been a decision made because of the filming schedule. This story also sees the appearance of the Abzorbaloff which was the creation of a Blue Peter winner. The story is centred on Elton Pope played by Marc Warren.

To highlight how things have been happening to Elton they wheel out all the Earth bound stories so far. First there is Rose where Autons came back and we get to see Autons break through the shop windows again except we see brand new stuff with Elton in it. Then there is Aliens of London where the ship crashed into Big Ben and then The Christmas Invasion. It’s this that leads to L.I.N.D.A (which gets mentioned in Time Crash). I quite liked L.I.N.D.A because it was a fun little group. They might have been a bit odd but there was a sadness to them because they all have their sad stories. I

Peter Kay is perhaps the biggest name being such a big comedian and being one of the most talked about names in the UK at the time. He plays Victor Kennedy who is the Abzorbaloff. I really like Peter Kay and thought that he should have been given something better. He was trying to do serious but it didn’t quite work and so his contribution should have been more light hearted. Kennedy comes across as a powerful person who is going to use L.I.N.D.A to find the Doctor. He somehow has files from Torchwood files but this is never fully explained. Also there’s not proper explanation how in the scene after Kennedy makes his appearance the room their in turns into a classroom. Or why he’s making the rest of the group come up with the plan when he clearly has the intelligence.

I really don’t like Elton because I think the role has been badly cast. Don’t get me wrong, Marc Warren is a good actor but didn’t really do well in this role. Jackie Tyler makes a return and becomes the love interest zzzzzzzzzzzz. It’s at this stage that any sign of interest that I had left had well and truly gone. Even watching five years later I could feel my blood boiling and getting angry. Whilst watching Jackie and Elton flirting with each other I found myself wondering if I was still watching Doctor Who or whether I’d ended watching some god awful ITV2 or MTV monstrosity.

I did like the design of the Abzorbaloff and despite a kid designing it was quite a good design. It’s just a shame the actor in the role wasn’t on usual form. The idea of an alien absorbing people isn’t original as the theme was discussed in School Reunion. The story does pick up when the Doctor and Rose turn up. It’s at this stage that a glimmer of faith returned. The story of Elton meeting the Doctor as a child is where the interest really was and it was quite sad. The reason why he turned up in Elton’s house, a shadow had arrived and killed his mom. Now I’m sorry but if someone was standing over my mom’s dead body I’d be as p****d as anything and wouldn’t think of the Doctor in a good way. It’s another thing that’s wrong with Love and Monsters. The last thing we see is that Elton and Ursula are going to form a relationship. Human and slab of concrete. It’s the most stupid ridiculous and pointless thing I have ever seen.

Love and Monsters is a terrible story that has very little good going for it and is arguably the weakest story since the show returned. Actually, scratch that it IS the worst since it returned.

Invasion of the Bane (2007)

The pilot sees Sarah Jane Smith return in her own series. Having returned in 2006, I have to admit that I wasn’t as keen on this series purely because it was going to air on CBBC and not prime-time Saturday night. Whilst watching these I have to be careful not to compare it to Doctor Who or Torchwood because this is aimed at a different audience. We’re introduced to Maria who’s just moved opposite Sarah Jane Smith with her dad who is in the middle of a divorce. So she’s just moved into a new house and her family are splitting up, this sounds like classic teen angst and the perfect opportunity to join Maria up with Sarah Jane. That’s probably a little harsh but it’s the standard series set up.

Whilst trying to set up the characters there is a main plot which centres around Bubble Shock which is a fizzy drink that is a tad too addictive and Sarah Jane is investigating it. There is another Russell T Davies trait with ‘celebrity’ appearances, this time from Konnie Huq and Gethin Jones from the CBBC show Blue Peter. It’s brief but does a job in trying to lure kids to enjoy this drink.

Sarah Jane Smith is quite odd at the beginning because she’s quite hesitant in getting to know Maria or her dad. Though she does have her own Sonic Lipstick and she is closer to her journalistic roots that she had when she joined Doctor Who in 1973. Elisabeth Sladen continues to impress and she’s just as good as in School Reunion. She even gets into a fight when the secretary tries to kill her. It’s very brief (this is a kids show remember) but it shows that this new Sarah Jane is just as tough as the original. We get a nice little back story to what happened to Sarah Jane after she left the Doctor right up to return with the Tenth Doctor. Having to try and find something to do after all those adventures and dealing with bills and stuff.

Yasmin Paige is a perfectly good actress who is does well in being the sad little girl who discovers a scary yet exciting world just across the road. Luke (Thomas Knight) would go on to be quite an interesting character and he does have an interesting debut into the story being the archetype. But it’s Maria’s story and as a result Luke doesn’t get much development in this story. Mrs Wormwood is the standard baddie who is just right for the show. She is the leader of the factory and Samantha Bond is highly enjoyable in the role.

The character of Kelsey Hooper (Porsha Lawrence Mavour) is irritating beyond the relax standards that I have when it comes to approaching characters. It’s not hard to see why she didn’t come back in the series. Also this story does seem very cheesy with the whole Bubble Shock thing. Whilst watching it I thought that the story lacked any dramatic punch which is a shame really. When I was watching CBBC during the early 1990’s there was stuff like The Demon Headmaster which had good characters, drama and was scary.

This was just the beginning of a long series and with the recent death of Elisabeth Sladen I agree with what Russell T Davies said when he said he was glad he got Elisabeth Sladen to do this and I think every fan of Sarah Jane echoes that sentiment.

Children of Earth - Day 5 (2009)

The final part of this truly fantastic series picks up after the death of Ianto. However there is yet more to come and more death. It was the fitting end that I was hoping it would be.

The children are a drug to the 456 which is quite a grim revelation almost like they shouldn’t have asked what the 456 intended to do with the children. As the children are being taken to there are some crazy scenes as people fight back against what the government is planning (cant think where they got that idea from!). There is an unusual start where Gwen is talking to a camera talking about the Doctor and why he doesn’t come and help and concludes that he looks away out of shame. Quite a grim view of the Doctor but then I am being biased. The lighting just goes over her eyes and is a wonderful start to the episode. This is the first time that Gwen is really doubting her role in Torchwood and even whether she wants the baby. I don’t really like this in her character because she is always the voice of reason.

Frobisher is asked to sacrifice his kids to the 456 for the ‘inoculation’ just to pretend in front of the cameras. This is where Peter Capaldi really shines because after all the stuff that Frobisher has had to do for the Prime Minister, The scene where he finds out and Frobisher threatens to tell the media is made even more emotional when the Prime Minister doesn’t even care. Capaldi’s final scenes involve him shooting his wife and kids dead before turning the gun on himself. Thankfully we don’t see this as it would have been too shocking and this way it was more emotional and showed the everyone was paying the price. Russell T Davies has done a superb job over the five episodes in giving everyone something to lose. Mr Dekker goes out in a blaze of glory. After a lacklustre previous episode his sneery character (who survived the gassing at the end of the previous part) is forced to try and kill the 456 despite bleating on how it’s impossible to beat them. Ian Gelder has been a delight to watch in this series.

As Frobisher is killing himself and his family there is a story that really humanises Bridget as she tells Lois how they first met some 30 years ago. It shows that John Frobisher was a good man and despite what happened over the last few stories wasn’t done because of some desire to inflate his ego but because he is trying to do the best he can. Bridget’s story shames Lois and it the first time that Lois is shown to be a bit horrible. However she is slightly redeemed because she helps Bridget get hold of the contact lenses which she uses against the Prime Minister who is looking after his own skin but gets his comeuppance. The final death is the most shocking because it happens to Jack’s grandson who is sacrificed in order to destroy the 456. It wrecks what was effectively a fragile relationship between Alice and Jack. It’s the final straw for Jack and what we get is a superb performance from John Barrowman who leaves the Earth to try and forget what has happened. Next time we see him is in David Tennant’s final story. Eve Myles has been superb throughout this entire series and it’s nice that the character has a happy ending despite everything that has being going on.

Children of Earth may have been shorter but it made up for it in terms of quality. I enjoyed every single minute of it and everyone on the show should give themselves a round of applause because it was a brilliant lesson in how to produce superb drama. I’ve been particularly impressed with the characterisation and especially Rhys who has gone from being a buffoon boyfriend/fiancé of Gwen’s to being an important part of the team.

Children of Earth - Day 3 (2009)

The middle story of the series is where the story continues and it’s at this stage that things start to get really seriously as the 456 are expected to arrive and the personal stakes rise along with the tension. They may not have the Hub but its comforting to know that they have a temporary base where they can do their scooby gang things, The Torchwood crew go on a bit of a crime spree instantly reminding me of bits from Hustle where they go on a little spree to raise some cash. Quite interesting to see how outside the law they have become. There is a great moment where after everything that has happened there is a ‘were back’ feel when the crew get their new clothes.

Lois well and truly gets involved in the action. She is quite literally the eyes for Torchwood as she is present when the 456 and Frobisher have their first meeting. It’s quite a Bond moment where Lois has to wear contact lenses. Mr Dekker has a light episode after being sinister in the previous episode. This episode belongs to Frobisher as he is pushed into the limelight by the evil Prime Minister and there is a wonderful moment when Frobisher and Jack are talking on the phone, when Jack threatens Frobisher’s family and John says he wont because he is the better man was a nice indication that the character does have morals but feels like he has to do his duty.

A bit more about the bus scene in episode one is explained with the three other people that were killed along with Jack. Clement’s role in that also become more clear. It turns out that Clement was one of the children on the bus and Jack was the one driving the bus thus bears some responsibility for what happened to them and to Clement. I am quite amazed at the child actors who are quite creepy when they are standing still and shouting ‘we are coming’. To add to the creepiness they start pointing towards the air. The line that everyone is pointing towards the UK somehow gives me a greater feeling that this is an international event.

I’m still unsure about Jack’s daughter and grandson. It’s the best performance by Lucy Cohu (Alice) but the grandson has still to do anything to impress me. There was a nice bit of bitchy moment between Alice and Agent Johnson. Paul Copley is really good in this episode and has gone from being slightly annoying to being impressive.

The arrival of the 456 coming into Thames House is when the action really kicks in for this episode. The special effects are quite impressive as they are simple yet still enjoyable. When I was watching this I really didn’t know what to expect in terms of visuals as well as how they would soon. The scene with John Frobisher, Mr Dekker and the 456 is very chilling especially as we don’t really see the 456 but just some green goo. During the first big meeting, the 456 say they want the 10% of the children and this is when the intense feeling that I felt at the beginning of the story returns.

Another big name joins the show when Colin McFarlane dons a military uniform and plays an American General. He comes into it mad that Britain has been chosen by the 456. It mirrors the bit in ‘Sound of Drums’ from 2007 when the American President is angry at The Master/Prime Minister for going ahead with diplomatic relations with an alien race. The revelation that Jack was involved in the 1965 ‘gift’ is the cliffhanger and it’s the weakest so far. It’s a big thing to say that one of the main stars was involved but it lacked the drama that the first cliffhanger had or that the eerie feeling the previous one had. Oh well, there had to be a weak one sooner or later.

Children of Earth - Day 2 (2009)

Following on from the fantastic cliffhanger, the action starts immediately with Gwen and Ianto being hunted in the wreckage of the Hub which has just been blown up. This is where we start to get into unchartered territory because there has always been the comfort blanket of the Hub but now that has been blown up and the Torchwood crew being hunted down there an excitement when watching this episode. After being mentioned in the first episode, 456 starts to get more and more involved in the plot. We learnt that they are coming back which when I was watching it at the time thought it had something to do with children on the bus in 1965. It’s at this stage that we see the return of Tom Price as PC Andy. This is clearly an attempt by RTD to introduce some comedy to the story because up until now it’s been a bit intense and it was in danger of running out of tension too soon into the series. Another fun comedy moment is with Rhys and Gwen sneaking into a lorry that is filled with potatoes.

The 456 announce that they are coming tomorrow so there is already a build up of excitement for the next episode. Along with the construction of a device which will house the 456. The whole room (including the box that will hold the 456) is very atmospheric. It’s essentially a normal room but is made all the more important by the box. It’s where a large chunk of the action in the next few stories will occur.

One of the things I like about this story is the government conspiracy. It’s like the X-Files in the UK. The plan to wipe out Captain Jack and the rest of the Torchwood team is something that seems to have been in the works for sometime due to their popularity or lack of. The Prime Minister Brian Green (played by Nicholas Farrell). Farrell is utterly dislikeable from the moment he appears in episode one but he really steps up a gear in this episode. Another great character that really steps up a gear is Liz May Brice as Johnson who is a character (donned head to toe in black) is tasked with killing the Torchwood crew. This is nice little character that is well acted by Brice. The character of Habiba is fleshed out a bit more as she starts to betray her boss and starts to help Gwen. It’s the start of the fight back by Torchwood. In just two episodes my opinion has gone from not really having an opinion of an ok character to being really liking a strong character who is not portrayed as a mildly important character but is starting to be.

Episode two is quite violent and dark with Gwen shooting someone in the foot and a mutilated Jack merging himself back together. The start is quite creepy with the bag getting bigger and when the bag is opened, Jack is red raw with blood and other stuff on him. It’s quite difficult to watch even though the skeleton is only on screen for about a second. Jack goes through the ringer in this episode. He starts off being exploded by a bomb to being drowned in cement to being chucked off the edge of a cliff.

The regular characters are all very good but John Barrowman doesn’t feature in this one too much so it falls to Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd who carry the story and are involved in the action sequences. Peter Capaldi, Nicholas Farrell and Ian Gelder are the main stars from the supporting cast. In particular Gelder who plays Mr Dekker and is a very sinister figure who I really really like because he is just so good as a baddie and there is a sense that Dekker is enjoying everything that is going on but is clearly someone who cant be trusted.

The cliffhanger to episode one was fantastic and whilst the cliffhanger for this episode wasn’t as explosive it was just as entertaining. It’s the revelation of the box filled with poisonous gas and ends with Dekker walking towards the box and breathing. Very sinister. Episode Two is a great continuation of the story with some impressive characters and the story is moving along at a steady but frustrating pace. I say frustrating because I always want to know what is going on immediately. But RTD is not rushing the story and allowing things to move at the right pace.

By the way the Dead Jack count is now 3.

Children of Earth - Day 1 (2009)

The third series of Torchwood was the boldest one yet. Having started on BBC3 before moving to BBC2, the fact that the series had moved to a primetime slot on BBC1 was a ringing endorsement that Science Fiction was back in vogue. It could be seen odd that the series went from being thirteen episodes to five might be seen as a worrying sign but the series seemed to be part of a experiment as all five episodes were aired at 9pm on BBC1 over five consecutive nights.

Day One is the set up episode where the story has to introduce us to a whole group of new characters and make us interested in them and that is done quite well. We meet the government minister (John Frobisher) and his secretary (Bridget Spears) as well as the new temp Lois Habiba (Cush Jumbo). Then there is a nurse working in the A&E department Rupesh Patanjali (Rik Makarem) who witnesses something alien happening. Soon the main story starts with children acting weird. The image of children standing still with an alien voice coming out of them is something that is Russell T Davies is good at. Making the simplistic seem scary. Another character that is quite important is Clement McDonald who is the only adult to be uttering the “We Are Coming!” line. I quite like the mystery surrounding him and it well handled in this first episode.

At the start of the episode there is a scene with some kids on a bus in 1965, soon there is a flash of light with the kids walking towards it. Talk about starting off in style. However nothing more is mentioned in this episode. There is a lot of emotional stuff going on apart from the main alien threat, this is another RTD trick which he has mastered in Doctor Who since it returned. In this opening episode we are introduced to a mother and son with the son referring to Jack as ‘Uncle Jack’ we would find out that she is in fact her son and he is his grandson. We are also introduced to Ianto’s sister, boyfriend and kids who live on a council estate which isn’t where you would imagine his relative’s living. Also Gwen and Rhys are looking for a house and it’s also revealed that Gwen is pregnant. The way she finds out is possibly the strangest way for someone to find out.

The three main characters seemed to have grown even more since the end of series two and considering that they have lost Tosh and Owen the set up is stronger than ever. Jack and Ianto are a ‘couple’ though it’s never really beleiveable despite all the chemistry that there has been since Torchwood began. John Barrowman impresses me because when you see him on TV away from Torchwood he is an irritating person who you wouldn’t want to go anywhere near yet when he is playing Captain Jack in either Doctor Who or Torchwood he is impressive. Eve Myles continues to impress me as Gwen as she is the connection for the viewer and she has grown from that police officer in ‘Everything Changes’.

Despite being one long story, it is important to end each episode with a cliffhanger and the first one is a fantastic one. They plant a bomb inside Jack which explodes in the Torchwood Hub. It’s just as well that we only had to wait 24 hours for the next episode because it was the perfect way to end the first episode which did what it was suppose to do and that was to set the characters and the various plot strands up.

Smith and Jones (2007)

So the third series gets underway with the introduction of Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). This was the second new companion since the show returned and a test again to see whether the show could ride the post-Billie Piper effect. The defining image is that of a hospital being taken from the earth to the moon with rhino looking aliens storming. The CGI effect from the hospital on the moon to the Judoon walking on the moon. The hospital is on the moon because the Juddon have no jurisdiction on earth but the Juddon are looking for Florence Finnegan who in an attempt to escape intends to fry the side of earth facing the moon.

I quite liked how Martha refused to call the Doctor by his name saying that he had to earn that title. A brilliant opposite to Rose who at that time was just two stories ago. However it’s not long before the Doctor and the companion are locking lips. I do find this tiresome as if the show is trying to make up for 26 years of sexual oppression. They may have got round it by some clever science idea of transferring alien DNA to a human but still. Freema Agyeman is a superb companion because she has the intelligence but also acts like a proper companion. Her time in the show might have been brief but it’s still a strong showing. In his second season as the Doctor, it feels like David Tennant has got a handle on his Doctor and it feels a more stable and stronger version of the character. Also on a fashion front, I do prefer the blue version of the Doctor’s suit to that chocolate brown one in season two. David and Freema set up an instantly good on screen relationship and it’s perhaps a more professional relationship than that of the Doctor and Rose.

I really liked Anne Reid as Florence Finnegan. She had previously appeared in the 1989 story ‘The Curse of Fenric’. As Florence she seems like a nice old lady but turns into a blood obsessed alien. She played it really well and was effective as a villain. The meer idea that a villain could create terror by sucking blood from someone through a straw is quite amusing and well handled by Reid. Roy Marsden (who would go on to appear in the Paul McGann adventure Human Resources) is good in his short appearance as Mr Stoker.

There is a moment which seems totally odd where the Doctor stops infront of Martha and takes off his tie. It’s only towards the end where this is revealed to be a ploy by the Doctor to prove he has a time machine. The moment where Martha walks into the TARDIS is quite similar to what Rose experienced back in series one and then we get the ‘It’s bigger on the inside’ line which is something else that harks back to the classic series.

As the alien of the week, the Judoon are an ok creation who whilst look very good don’t really have a lot more to offer. They do make appearances in the future but it’s unlikely that they would form the basis of a story again.

The series arc is started properly (after a mention in the runaway bride) and the Saxon arc is mentioned as briefly again before posters are plastered on the wall by the TARDIS. When I watched this with my friend we were watching every frame and listening to absolutely everything for Saxon references.

Like the previous two series, we are introduced to a companion’s family. The Jones are a family at loggerheads due to mum (Adjoa Andoh) and dad (Trevor Laird) splitting up. Thankfully this is kept to a minimum throughout the series but as a family they are all very interesting and put in good performances. Thankfully we never get to see Annalise (Kimmi Richards) again after this episode. It’s the best opening story of a series so far (though that’s not tough to do). The introduction of Martha Jones was well handled and the series gets off to a strong start.

The Runaway Bride (2006)

The Runaway Bride was the second Christmas Special since the show returned the previous year. Whereas the previous story was a post-regeneration story, this could actually be a proper adventure. At the end of the previous story, Catherine Tate shocked everyone by just appearing in the TARDIS in a wedding dress. I remember all those years ago waiting for this because a Christmas special was just that…special. There is still a lot of emotional linkage to Rose with the Doctor not having enough time to get over that loss before Donna appears.

The main monster in this are the Racnoss a giant spider (sound familiar?) as played by Sarah Parish. Parish does a good job and the make-up does a fantastic job to create the effect. As the Empress, Parish is almost unrecognisable from what we have seen her in the past (most recently the ITV drama Monroe). Lance is also another good character. Credit to Don Gillat because he does a good job of making us believe that he was a good guy but really he was a baddie. He would go on to be serial killer Lucas Johnson in Eastenders but in this he is another character that is cruel. He is the human minion to the Racnoss, promised the chance to see the stars but in reality we all know the truth. Watching this in 2011, there is a hint of sadness watching Geoff Noble as played by the wonderful Howard Attfield. He was due to appear in the 2008 series but was too ill and his part was re-written for Bernard Cribbins. This remains his only contribution to the series. In this his role is brief and hidden behind Jacqueline King’s performance as Sylvia Noble.

The plan of the Racnoss is to bring them back after they formed the creation of the earth millions of years ago. I quite like the idea that at the centre of the earth is the Racnoss spaceship. The idea that in Inferno they could have unleashed the Racnoss 36 years early. There is a little part of me that actually feels sorry for them but when the Empress refuses the Doctor’s offer then you sort of lose sympathy for her.

The Donna Noble we get in this story is not the same that would return for the 2008 series. In this she was loud and brash and not what a companion should be. Catherine Tate is a very good actress and when she has her 2008 run then you see why she is so good but in this she is slightly too close to irritating but in a post reflective five years down the line look I think that her performance is actually quite good. David Tennant is allowed to be more comedic in this story than he normally is and he seems to enjoy it. I think that there are moments where he is on fine form and his chemistry with Catherine Tate is one of the highlights.

There is a nice link to Torchwood which at this point if memory serves me correctly had just begun on BBC3. This is that H C Clements which Donna works for is owned by Torchwood. There are a couple of things borrowed from ‘The Christmas Invasion’ such as the robot Santa’s as well as the idea that Christmas trees kill. There is also the first link to the story arc for the 2007 series where we hear “Order from Mr Saxon”. I think at this point we already knew (or I did at least) that Mr Saxon was the Master.

The Runaway Bride is a fun adventure that is better than the previous years adventure. I wont say that it’s the best ever because there were some crackers but it’s a story that has a nice mixture of comedy and drama. A lot of people weren’t a fan of Donna because of this story but thankfully when the character returned in 2008, she had been modified. The only thing about these Christmas Specials is to get past the festive part as it’s not terribly effective when your watching them in early April.

The Waters of Mars (2009)

The Water of Mars is the penultimate adventure for the Tenth Doctor. This story is a break from the norm as it is far darker in tone that previous stories. It’s a classic case of the Doctor’s rule of not changing history getting severely tested on the Mars colony ‘Bowie Base One’. This story won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and it’s not hard to see why. It features one of my favourite story plot devices. The being in a confined space with little or no chance of escape. Stories such as The Moonbase & The Tenth Planet are similar in theme.

With the Doctor arriving on Mars, the crew of B.B.O become infecteced by the Martian water and it turns the victims into weird creatures which leads to one my favourite prosthetics that the modern era has come up with. It’s unnerving and very effective. The Doctor knows that the events that happen on November 21st 2059 are a fixed moment in time. The Doctor realises that as he is the last of the Timelords then technically he only has to obey himself. Thus seeing for the first time a psychotic Doctor who changes history and saves the lives of people who were suppose to die. There is a brilliant moment with the Doctor walking back to the TARDIS with all the talking/shouting that’s going on in the Base and then decides to return and rescue the crew. This leads Adelaide to take her own life because she knows she was meant to die on Bowie Base One. It’s at this point that the Doctor realises he has made a mistake and sees an Ood. This is the beginning of the end for the Doctor.

The story isn’t perfect and this is due to the stupid irritating robot called GADGET who keeps repeats his name every time he says it. Also it bears a striking resemblance to the Wall-E robot. Sadly despite the story being set on Mars there are no Ice Warriors in the whole 60 minute story. They do get a brief mention but nothing more than that. We do however get a Dalek woven into the story with the story told by Adelaide about how she saw a Dalek and the Dalek saw her yet didn’t exterminate her.

The acting is brilliant in this. David Tennant is truly superb as he plays both sides of the Doctor’s personality. There are flashes of why is one of the most popular Doctors. Lindsay Duncan is the best of the guest stars and that’s not really surprise because of things like Rome where is fantastic. With no regular companion, Duncan’s character becomes the temporary companion and is the viewers point of entry into the story and she does this well. In this she is believable as the leader of Bowie Base One with a family on Earth. Despite the opportunity to live even though she is meant to die, she decides to kill herself because she knows it’s the right thing to do. The rest of the crew of the base all deserve some credit because they put in good performances and help create the impression that even 50 years in the future there is room for nationalities working together.

It’s by far the best of the 2009 specials and the best 10th Doctor Story for sometime. True, there are some things that don’t quite make sense such as why now has the Doctor realised that he controls things. There are countless instances where he could have stepped in but chose not to. There are some wonderful special effects and it leads me to ask why they don’t make more stories like this before. The Waters of Mars is a fine story and always worth

The Next Doctor (2008)

The 2008 Christmas Special came shortly after it was announced that David Tennant would be leaving the show. This meant that the title seemed to peak everyones interest. Was it going to reveal the identity of the next Doctor? Of course it wasn’t but what it was going to do was answer how could someone else think they were the Doctor. This story saw the return of the Cybermen after they were last seen in the 2006 series finale. The story sees the Doctor land in London on Christmas Eve in 1851. The real Doctor comes across someone who is calling himself the Doctor travelling with someone called Rosita (Rose) and has a ‘sonic’ screwdriver and a TARDIS (which turns out to be a hot air balloon).

As well as the mystery of this guy who’s calling himself the Doctor there are the Cybermen who are working with Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan). It’s been a while since there was a female baddie in Doctor Who and the character seemed to be a classic nutter in that she wants power. However as was always going to be the case for anyone who’s like this she becomes unstuck when she is clamped into the Cyber King chair. The explanation about this guy thinking he was the Doctor was very smart. Jackson Lake (David Morrisey) had looked into one of these info stamps and took the Cybermen’s data on the Doctor. This made Jackson’s life quite tragic and it was at this point the story really stepped up a gear. The main talking point for me was the Cyber King. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but its safe to say it wasn’t what we got. A lot of people seem to rather dislike it but I actually love it. It was a brilliant creation though perhaps a little out of character for the Cybermen. What wasn’t such a good creation were the Cyber Shades which looked rubbish. They did look like someone in a costume and they were the only thing that didn’t work for me in this story.

The supporting cast did a great job. In particular, praise should go to David Morrisey who was superb as Jackson Lake. The emotional journey that his character went on made the story in between the bits with the Cybermen enjoyable. David Morrisey will probably go down as the greatest Doctor who never was. Dervla Kirwin was also very good as Miss Hartigan. She was a standard bad person before being put in the chair and showing the Cybermen that her mind is more powerful than the Cybermen thought and that is when Kirwin really shone. She really did quite sinister with those black eyes. Velile Tshabalala also put in a good performance as Rosita, Jackson’s companion. She was bordering on irritating with her voice/accent but she was still important in this story and I could believe that Rosita travelled with Jackson.

The special effects for this story were left until the end with the Cyber King. The whole thing looked beautiful and the sight of the Cyber King stomping its way through Victorian London was a visual highlight. The Next Doctor is a very good Christmas story, I think out of the four that we had at this time, this was the best. It was the one that felt most festive and had a nice story and some good direction. With only a few stories left before David Tennant handed over to Matt Smith, this was a nice festive story which is the last time there would be any real fun in the Doctor’s story.

Everything Changes

So this is where it all began. The first (proper) spin-off Doctor Who series sees the return of Captain Jack Harkness to our screens. Captain Jack was last seen being exterminated in The Parting of the Ways. The name Torchwood had obviously been mentioned in several episodes of David Tennant’s first series. The title of this story was quite apt. Everything Changes is quite like Rose in many ways. The story is seen from the point of view of PC Gwen Cooper who is trying to follow Captain Jack. There was another nod to Doctor Who where the base of Torchwood is located. In Boomtown back in 2005, the rift was coming from that weird structure thing in the bay.

The story has a lot to do, it has to introduce all the characters and also have a story that the regular characters are involved in. On both counts this story is a success. Apart from Captain Jack, all the characters are new and whilst their not all perfect none of them are totally ridiculous. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) is the most irritating character, he is the young arrogant and cocky Doctor but it’s just overboard. Then there is Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), I found the character to be interesting but lacking something which I cant put my finger on. It’s also worth noting that Naoko Mori played a Doctor in Aliens of London back in 2005 but there’s no mention of that here. I did think the best of the new characters was Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Remarkably it’s around the 20 minute mark before he makes an appearance yet his performance is very good. What I did find a shock was Indira Varma who plays Suzie Costello. It was made to look like she was a regular for the entire series but her character proves to be the baddie in this story and her death came as a true shock. Perhaps the shock that the series needed and what Russell T Davies intended. Varma played the role brilliantly and it’s a shame that she wasn’t in it for more because I think she would have been great.

The B-Plot is about a murder that the Torchwood crew is investigating at the very beginning of the episode. It takes a bit of a back seat for about 30 minutes or so before coming back for the last 20 minutes. I thought that it was a well handled part of the story and the identity of who did it came as a total shock to me. The reason why Suzie killed seemed slightly cold but that was more to do with Indira’s performance. She was slightly mad and bitter because of all the not exactly glamorous aliens that Torchwood encounter.

The language is quite strong. The show was trying to be different from Doctor Who and perhaps stand out as a drama in its own right. However even at this early stage when I first saw it I remember thinking that it wasn’t the right way to make it seems different. There was a surprising amount of gore. The bit where the Weevil bit into the porter’s neck and the blood spurted out was a shock. Also something that doesn’t quite work is all the sexual content in the story. What I did like were the Ariel shots of Cardiff. Both the day and night shots looked great especially the bit where Jack and Gwen are on top of the building. Very good.

This is a very good opening episode. Not totally perfect but when I originally watched this back in 2006 I turned off thinking that it was a good start but hopefully some things would improve or be cut out.