What a fantastic episode! Martha gets character development and a change of clothes, the Doctor gets to “reverse the polarity” on something which you just know he’s been dying to do since the return of the show, and we get Spinal Tap and James Bond shout-outs and, more importantly, David Tennant in a tux. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to the recent hot Doctors I’m all about Eccleston, but still I’m only flesh and blood and…yeah.
This one was just so great after the last two which fell kind-of flat. Weeelll…very flat. Fast paced, freaky big baddie (played, I just learned, by the writer of The Unquiet Dead from Season 1, and The Idiot’s Lantern from Season 2: Mark Gattiss), enjoyable psuedo-science and good teamwork between Martha and the Doctor not weighed down by the sad-eyed unrequited twu wuv we’ve been repeatedly hit over the head with the last few eps. Loved the whole scene in the church and the subtle Rose reference (“Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80.”), and the Doctor playing the organ and Martha luring the monster up to the belltower with her sister (who I think should also have been invited along in the TARDIS) and the finally belated travel invitation (though why did she not pack a bag, seeing as he’s made it pretty clear he has no intention of letting her near the wardrobe?).
Only thing I could have done without was Martha’s family, with the exception of aforementioned sister. The second Martha finally moves on to becoming something other than She Who is Crushing On the Doctor, and her family picks up the dialogue lest we, God forbid, forget. And the mother slapping the Doctor was done previously and much, much better by Jackie. Though I do wonder what Saxon’s cronie told her - maybe something about the Doctor technically having kinda sorta killed Martha’s cousin in Canary Wharf?
And the preview for the rest of the season!!!
CAPTAIN JACK!!! I never thought I’d miss him so much, he took awhile to grow on me. I can’t wait to hear that conversation: “Who the hell are you and where the hell is Rose?”
Saxon is creepy as all hell tapping on that table. That part gave me the heebiest of jeebies.
A very good episode I thought. As you say, much better than the Dalek two-parter. I think it’s time to leave the Daleks out for a while even although the BBC apparently had to pay a lot for the rights.
I’m glad Martha was given something to do. I was starting to get the impression that the writers didn’t know what to do with her! I liked the opening and closing scenes between her and the Doctor, and also the scene in the lift.
The next episode, 42,
is in real-time and set on a spaceship hurtling to a fiery death, and the crew is being taken over by a malignant entity. I saw a non-spoilery review by someone who’s seen it and they describe it as crazy fun. I can’t wait but
it’s just a bloody shame that the Eurovision-fucking-Song Contest has pushed it back a week.
As to the second-half trailer
yikes! Isn’t the image of John Simm, with the oxygen mask on, tapping his fingers on the desk just really sinister? And scarecrow monsters! I just hope that they can pull off the whole Human Nature story well.
Yes! That is the part that gave me the Fear, I swear I think I had bad dreams about it.
I was also intrigued in the trailer by
the seemingly white TARDIS doors closing, and the super-intense-perhaps-even-Evil look of the Doctor in the last shot. What’s up with that?
I’d also heard a bit about the next episode and I agree, it does sound like a lot fun. Shame about having to wait 2 weeks for it. :mad:
In other news, I’m a bit thick and only just noticed lately that the Doctor switches to black Converse whenever he wears a tux. Fancy!
Nailbunny re your spoiler about the possibly white TARDIS, here is a screengrab i pinched that shows something happening inside it, but I can’t make it out
Actually, since the telephone is on the inside of the door, wouldn’t that be the outside we’re seeing?
Very interesting…
Good episode, but… I still miss Rose 
I miss Rose too, and not only because there’s a certain slutty hotness about her.
I thought TMOTW was kinda too over the top, but otherwise it was a good, fast paced and really action packed ep.
Tennant is growing on me, and while I too prefer Eccleston, he’s a very good doctor, playing frantic and using those eyes like he’s always seeing things for the first time, giving him just a slight alien vibe to remind us that he isn’t exactly human.
Eccleston always seemed like he had barely contained power, and could fix anything with a gesture. Tennant seems like he has boundless energy and can fix things if he bashes some stuff together. I like how he came into the lab and looked around for a way to delay the monster with a MacGyver trick.
“fantastic” episode?
And here I was thinking “What a let-down after the last few good episodes”. Easily the weakest one so far this season.
Re: the above Spoiler, The Sun apparently said awhile back that
Mr. Saxon is The Master. Could that be his TARDIS that we see through the doors of the Doctor’s?
That’s what I’ve been wondering, except the other way around, as
I checked an episode from Season 2 yesterday and the inside of the Doctor’s TARDIS doors are definitely blue. I did think that I could almost make out another TARDIS through those doors in that screenshot; I think if anything it’s the Doctor’s we’re seeing through the doors of another, white one. Although I really hope it’s something else, because that rumour’s been flying around for awhile now and it would hardly be a big surprise if that’s all it was.
Well, different strokes and all that. I loved it.
And I agree with everyone who still misses Rose and who are appreciating David Tennant more and more. Martha ain’t no Rose, and David ain’t no Chris, but I’m starting to forgive him more for that and enjoy what he personally has brought to the role.
The tux helps.
