Doctor Who S05E01-The Eleventh Hour

Amy Pond once met a man who fell into her backyard in a tiny blue box. He promised to take her with him five minutes after they met. Years later, this mysterious stranger storms back into her life…but not to make good on him promise, at least not yet. Barely holding on after his latest regeneration, The Doctor must convince Amy to trust him if he is to save the world in twenty minutes from a vicious escaped convict. The price of failure is the roasting of Planet Earth. The new adventure has begun.

Four months ago, many of us shed a tear when David Tennant uttered his final words as The Doctor, “I don’t’ want to go.” Then we watched him regenerate and we got an all too brief yet interesting first look at Matt Smith, a.k.a The Eleventh Doctor. As we watched him falling to Earth in his burning TARDIS screaming, “Geronimo,” we were left to wondering if this young hotshot could continue the role whose bar had been raised considerably. I am here to announce that one full length episode later, I think we have a winner folks.

While I am sure there are still many people out there, myself included, who will always miss David Tennant and remember him as “our Doctor,” Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor is everything his predecessor was with a bit of a twist. After crashing into the backyard of young Amy Pond, he bursts forth running around with manic energy (granted this could still be attributed to his still regenerating state). It’s the same guy with a new face and a somewhat more…sure of himself personality. I like Matt Smith and think he will carry on The Doctor’s legacy well. It was also a nice proper introduction at the end when we see his previous ten incarnations flash on screen before he steps forward in his new threads. Most Badass Entrance Ever!!!

Of course we must touch on Amy Pond. Ever since I first saw the first images of her in Doctor Who Magazine I’ve fallen head over heels for her character. And now having seen her in action I have more reason to like her. Amy, played by Karen Gillan, is a breath of fresh air for The Doctor. She’s a feisty Scottish red head who’s got a lot of spirit and has a great take charge attitude. Her questioning The Doctor at every turn will definitely be a nice spin on the usual Doctor/Companion relationship. Like everyone else she’s a bit unsure of traveling with The Doctor but after a couple of episodes I think we are going to see a nice bond form between the two. I did think it was a nice story twist to start their friendship off when she was a child, a nice nod to Steven Moffat’s Series 2 story “The Girl in the Fireplace”.

Speaking of Steven Moffat, I should touch on his first story as head writer for the show. Mr. Moffat gives Matt Smith’s first story a proper injection of energy with all the running around. I did think that some of the spots where we simply stopped for introductions to the other characters kind of killed the pacing a bit. But once it picked back up with the running again it worked fine. The introduction of (Amy relative?) Jeff and Amy’s Boyfriend Rory establish that we will visit present day Earth again every now and then as with previous companions. Rory I felt was kind of a Mickey knock off, but it’s still to early to tell with him. Oh and Prisoner Zero…a python that can take the form of others. Not as formidable or memorable a villain as some of Moffat’s other creatures but still you’ve got to love its interactions with the new Doctor.

So now we have a new Doctor, a new TARDIS, a new Sonic Screwdriver, a new companion (whose going to get married?) and a new set of adventures to look forward too. I have been hesitant to say this for months. But now that I’ve seen the first episode of SERIES 5, I can’t wait for the fun to continue. The Doctor is back and so is the adventure we all love. Let the new era begin.

Next Time-It’s Amy’s first trip in the TARDIS with The Doctor. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Rating-8/10

Doctor Who S04E18-The End of Time Part Two

It has all come down to this. The Master is once again in control of humanity and seeks an answer to the mysterious drumming in his head. The Doctor, with Wilfred at his side, contemplates the end and the shocking revelation of the return of his own people. With the whole of time and space at stake, The Doctor engages his most desperate gamble yet. It’s the final adventure of The Tenth Doctor…and the start of a new one for The Eleventh Doctor.

The End of Time Part Two…we’ve finally come to the end of the road, for now anyway. So there are questions aplenty I’m sure going into this the most prominent being: how was David Tennant in his final appearance as The Doctor? WHOA WOW AMAZING!!! David delivers several different sides to The Doctor that we have seen before but with much more power and emotion than ever before. Sure he is brooding and sobbing over the end of his existence (in a way we all are) but there’s still plenty of that gung ho cowboy gusto and smart quirky attitude that have made him such a cool and amazing character from scene one after his regeneration from Christopher Eccleston to David Tennant. His tearful final words echo our own thoughts and it brought a tear to my eye when the actual regeneration occurred. But more on that later. For now I’ll just say David Tennant sir, I’ve said just about all I can say on your acting in several reviews before this one and my thoughts haven’t changed. You are MY DOCTOR and thank you so much for the last four years of amazing adventures. Au Revoir mon amie.

Now that I’ve got that out of my system, on to the rest of the episode. Where to start? The Time Lords, led by former James Bond Timothy Dalton, finally return and show their true colors, justifying why The Doctor had to fry them along with the Daleks at the end of the Time War. Wow what a bunch of douche bags; that is save for mystery woman who guides both The Doctor and Wilf through their big trial. We never find out who she is. I kind of thought she was Romana (a character from the old Tom Baker adventures). Another mystery to be explored another day I guess.

The Master. He finally got the answers he was looking for all of this time and finally made his choice on where he stands in the end of the episode. Sure he vanishes without a trace, but I hope we see John Simm again one day as a new and improved Master, minus the magic powers even though they did come in handy at the end of the episode. If he does return one day it will be interesting to see how he fares on screen against Doctor number eleven. It’ll be hard to top though, John Simm and David Tennant had great chemistry in all of their scenes.

Wilfred. The heart and soul of this story gave his best performance yet and got to get in on the action in a Star Wars esque action piece. Again, Bernard Cribbs plays the sadden fan that is all of us as The Tenth Doctor’s end draws near. His tearful breakdown as he tells The Doctor he wants him to survive was a tear jerking moment worthy of an Emmy Award in the right universe. Possibly sadder than The Tenth Doctor’s end is the sense of finality brought to Wilf’s story. I get the feeling we may never see this character again or if we ever do it will be quite some time. Still, Wilf got quite the send off, even provided the smack to the face answer to the infamous “He will knock four times warning”. GREAT STUFF!!!

After The Doctor sacrifices his life to save Wilf, he gets some time to go see his other companions one last time. Here we get brief glimpses of the current states of some of our favorite: Luke Smith almost gets run over by a car only to be saved by The Doctor at the last second; Captain Jack Harkness is drowning his sorrows in a bar following the events of Torchwood: Children of Earth, only to link up with a familiar sailor from Voyage of the Damned thanks to The Doctor; the descendant of Joan Redford (from Human Nature/The Family of Blood) gets a visit from The Doctor, a tender scene; and The Doctor pays an “in the shadows” visit to Rose Tyler on New Year’s Eve 2005, the year she met his Christopher Eccleston incarnation. Oh and apparently Mickey and Martha got married? Yeah that was the only little tidbit I could get over, I mean really? Alien hunting partners maybe, but MARRIED? Sorry I can’t process that one just yet. Oh and also Donna survives her burn out with no real side effects, I wish they would have cleared that up a little bit better.

And then we finally have the regeneration we’ve all been both dreading and looking forward too. What is my verdict on Mr. Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor? Eh, too early to tell. But judging from the trailer that followed this episode he is going to a bit more of a proactive and action oriented Doctor, harkening back to Jon Pertwee’s karate infused Third Doctor. Again it’s too early to tell, we’ll see what he can do when the series returns later this spring with a new Doctor, new Tardis interior (and slightly redesigned exterior), new drop dead gorgeous companion and even a new title logo.

So aside from one character revelation that doesn’t sit to well with me, the rest of The End of Time Part 2 gave us all the drama and emotion we expected to see in David Tennant’s final Doctor appearance (for now hopefully anyway) What more is there to say at this point? The future lies ahead, so in the immortal words of The Tenth Doctor…”ALLONS-Y!!!!”

Next Time-Daleks, The Weeping Angels, sexy female vampires, gravity defying swordsman, guns, explosions, mayhem…The Eleventh Doctor arrives on Earth Spring 2010.

Rating-10/10

Doctor Who S04E17-The End of Time Part One

The people of Earth are having terrible dreams of a man with a menacing laugh. The Doctor returns to Earth to find his greatest fears realized…The Master has been resurrected. However, the resurrection has gone wrong and The Master is now more powerful and more insane than ever. It all comes down to the biggest game changer ever, where The Doctor and Wilfred Mott witness the fall of the human race and the rise of The Master. And elsewhere, a new and unexpected development occurs. For the rise of The Master Race heralds the return of a race once thought dead forever.

Well, here we have it: the beginning of the end for the Tenth Doctor. The End of Time Part One was a somewhat sluggish start to a grand story but there were definitely plenty of good scenes, particularly towards the end, but we will get to that in a moment.

First, while I know there are those out there who feel Russell T. Davies is running out of ideas since he is returning to the Noble Family once again, I can safely say that star companion Wilfred Mott is great as The Doctor’s companion for this story. And to be honest, Wilf was such a great character in Series 4 that he deserved every right to get at least one trip with The Doctor. Bernard Cribbs is fantastic as always playing the old granddad who is totally understanding of The Doctor’s current state and can’t bring himself to ever hate him, even after what happened to Donna and The Doctor recounting the events of The Waters of Mars. The café scene between the two of them is well acted and well written. Wilf is the fan we all are, almost in tears along with David Tennant as they contemplate the world without this version of The Doctor. Wilf man, you are the man.

And at last, after much hype and many a fan girl scream, The Master returns, badder and more disturbed than ever. It is always a treat to see John Simm back in the saddle. However, the new powers he obtains through his disasterous resurrection were a little disappointing and even a little cheesy. The transparent skull visual was creepy and good, but the lighting bolts and the jumping like Neo through a trash site were not as satisfying as they could have been. Visuals aside, The Master is still a great villain who may or may not bring about the end of The Doctor if the prophecy has been interpreted correctly.

Lots of new and familiar faces this time out. Obviously since Wilf is involved we had to see Sylvia and Donna Noble again although their involvement is rather limited, a possible letdown for fans of Donna. David Herewood (the kick ass Friar Tuck from Robin Hood) makes a guest appearance as the mysterious Joshua Naismith but again his involvement in the story is simply just to be there just for sake of one plot point. He is sorely underused which is very disappointing since he’s such a great actor. Oh and they’re two “cactus” characters present who may or may not play a bigger role in Part 2. Doesn’t really matter though I didn’t really care for them anyway.

Arguably the biggest and best moments of the episode came in the last ten or so minutes when The Master enacts his grand plan and turns the entire human race into The Master. Oh and James Bond Timothy Dalton is the President of the Time Lords who make a surprise return to the Doctor Who universe declaring the titular End of Time. As far as cliffhangers go, this one pretty much tops the list. Never before since the infamous cliffhanger of Star Trek The Next Generations “The Best of Both Worlds” have I been this scared and anxious for the next part. How is The Doctor ever going to get out of this one?

So aside for a fairly slow pacing, the rest of the story set itself up nicely in the last quarter with the return of some great characters and some great interactions between those characters. This wasn’t the best of the 2009 specials, probably the weakest. Here’s hoping January 1, 2010 is the send off we all hoped David Tennant would get.


Next Time-The End is only the Beginning. The final adventure of The Tenth Doctor January 1, 2010
Rating-7/10

Doctor Who S04E16-The Waters of Mars

While taking a stroll on Mars, The Doctor is captured by a group of colonists who turn out to be the first settlers of the red planet. But just as The Doctor arrives, a mysterious infection starts taking hold of crew members left and right, cutting down their numbers fast. More horrifying is the revelation The Doctor gives to Commander Adelaide: that this infection leads to the historic death of the Mars crew. But The Doctor has lost so much already. Will this be the event that changes him from hero to villain?

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent put it best in The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or you live to see yourself become the villain.” “The Waters of Mars,” our first Doctor Who adventure in months, is a very emotional and very dark entry into the Doctor Who universe. Much like “Torchwood: Children of Earth” it is a very difficult episode to sit through without feeling sad or punched in the gut from shock. If you’re looking for a sunnier adventure like always, this episode isn’t for you. But considering what is to come at Christmas, the set up is necessary.

David Tennant. We’ve seen him play happy. We’ve seen him play sad. We’ve seen him play the hero. But here, we’ve seen a far different side of The Doctor, one I’ve somewhat suspected we’d see eventually. The dark side of The Doctor was a slap to the face for me. It was like watching Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader by becoming power hungry and get it in his head that he can control everything around him. It’s always hard to watch a hero you respect and love fall so low. And by the end of the episode…well you just get the feeling that it may be time for The Doctor to step down and start anew.

Lindsey Duncan is fantastic as Adelaide, the hard edged leader of the Mars expedition. She stays a constant force to be reckoned with throughout the story; showing strength around her subordinantes and even accepting to follow her historical fate when the chips are down. But her best scene is at the end when she stands up to the monster The Doctor has become. Her stand and final defiance at the second chance she has been given is sad, no doubt, but amazing and selfless. It sucks she does die in the end as she could have made an amazing full time companion. But Adelaide will definitely go down in history as one of the best Doctor Who companions EVER.

Every other aspect of this episode is above and beyond as usual. The Mars Base looks amazing and there are plenty of explosions that look fantastic in execution; so good you can accept the eight month wait between “Planet of the Dead” and now in order to make the visual effects as spectacular as possible. The water creature is silently terrifying and the infected crew members play creepy very well. The Mars crew themselves are pretty standard scifi horror cast and most are defined pretty well, save for one, the Asian officer, who isn’t as well explored as the rest of the crew. But then again, given how this story is pretty standard fare, everyone is expendable no matter how developed a character they are.

One thing is certain, the stage set for Christmas is a dark one. Even the lighting within the TARDIS reinforces that. The Doctor has crossed the line and now he knows it. The surprise visit by Ood Sigma, who heralded The Doctor’s death back during Series 4, just reminds you that the end is indeed nigh. And just how bad are things going to get? Well, thank goodness Christmas is just a little over a month away.

Next Time-“It’s said that in the final days of Planet Earth, everyone had a bad dream.” The time has come…The Doctor faces his fate, and an old enemy returns for some unfinished business. The End of Time-Christmas 2009

Rating-9/10

Doctor Who S04E15-Planet of the Dead

A seemingly routine investigation of an anomaly leads The Doctor and a double decked bus full of people through a wormhole to a mysterious desert planet. With the threat of a widening wormhole and a storm of monstrous proportions heading their way, The Doctor joins forces with beautiful passenger Christina to save the people and the Earth from a fate worse than death. All the while, warning signs of an unpleasant fate for The Doctor begin to creep ever closer.

“Planet of the Dead” is the first of four specials (five if you count “The Next Doctor”) that will chronicle David Tennant’s final journey’s as The Doctor. There is no series on the horizon until 2010, when newbie Matt Smith takes over as the 11th Doctor. However, “Planet of the Dead” seems to function as more of a random episode of a series than an epic special like the ones at Christmas. That doesn’t stop from being any less fun and it sets up some interesting tidbits for what is to come.

There is not much to say on the matter of the actual Planet of the Dead setting. It’s grand, it looks hot and it’s filled with sand. You have to give the production crew some credit, while the sky is digitally imposed, the fact that they filmed in Dubai gives the desert look a more realistic feel. I personally don’t think I’d survive such an environment, cudos to David Tennant and crew for braving it, especially in a suit.

The cast of this episode is standard fare, imagine the cast of “Midnight” or “Voyage of the Damned” and you get the idea. There is nothing really special or important about this group save for two people. One I speak of is Carmen, a slightly annoying psychic who complains every five minutes about the dead coming after them and essentially how screwed they all are if they stay on the planet any longer (we understand the danger going into the episode. There is no need to pound us over the head with how bad the danger is). As annoying as I found her, Carmen’s warning at the end of the episode hinted at a pretty bleak future for The Doctor; death and possibly the return of an old enemy. It sent chills down my spine.

The other special passenger I alluded to was companion du jour Lady Christina de Souza, played by British favorite Michelle Ryan (Eastenders, Bionic Woman). Christina is a welcome return to the smart, clever and sexy companions The Doctor traveled with in the past. The fact that she falls in love with him harkens back to Martha and Rose. But let’s face it as beautiful as Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper are they don’t come close to matching Michelle Ryan’s flirtatious and down right sexy portrayal of this black clad master thief. Christina is likeable and a good match for The Doctor, but sadly she is a one time companion left behind at the end of the episode. Perhaps we’ll see more of her in the future (at least I hope so).

U.N.I.T. also pops up in this special. Captain Erisa Magambo from “Turn Left” returns to lead the charge against the alien threat beyond the wormhole, but it’s Lee Evans as the eccentric Malcolm Taylor that works best. Malcolm can both match The Doctor’s cleverness and stand toe to toe with Magambo when she decides to make a gutsy call that may mean killing The Doctor and the bus passengers. Good writing and good acting to make it work.

All in all, “Planet of the Dead” was fun, but ok, not as special as it could be. However, the groundwork has been laid for some interesting action later this year as the sad approach to David Tennant’s final adventure gets closer.

Next Time-“Water always wins…” The Waters of Mars

Rating-8/10

Whoa…the wait is over

Tonight I was inspired. I am not the only member of my family who loves Torchwood. After hearing my aunt’s eccentric review of Children of Earth, I figured it’s time to get back into the swing of things. THE REVIEWS ARE COMING BACK. Starting tonight with reviews of “The Next Doctor” and “Planet of the Dead” and moving into “Torchwood: Children of Earth” later on in the week. Then Yes, yes I promised I’d start from the beginning and I’m going to hold true to that. I’M BACK BABY!!!

Doctor Who S04E14-The Next Doctor

The Doctor lands in London 1851 on Christmas Eve. Instead of a nice quiet stroll, The Doctor gets caught up in a conflict between the mysterious Ms. Hartigan and her personal legion of Cybermen and a man who claims to be The Doctor. Questions aplenty arise: Why are the Cybermen here? What is the secret of the Cyber King? And more importantly, is this “Doctor” really a future incarnation of the famous Time Lord? One thing is certain, it’s gonna be another unquiet Christmas for The Doctor.

This Christmas special marked a couple of changes from the traditional formula we’ve seen thus far on the series: real snow, the past instead of the present, and a familiar foe. This change of pace works well for “The Next Doctor”, making it one of the best Christmas specials this show has done in quite some time. But the real draw point is the title of the special. We all know that David Tennant is sadly departing from the series at the end of this string of specials and “The Next Doctor” teases us with the possibility of special guest star David Morrissey as a potential replacement.

Since I don’t bother with warning for spoilers I’ll just say it, Mr. Morrissey is not the next Doctor. However, he puts on a strong and energetic performance matching the acting capabilities of our Doctor, the other David, David Tennant. And the duo looks like they are having a swell time running from or into trouble with laughter we’ve come to expect from men who play The Doctor. So while David Morrissey is not the next Doctor, you agree with David Tennant’s sentiments at the episodes end; if anyone could do a great job replacing Mr. Tennant, it would be David Morrissey (applause).

And after a lengthy two year absence, the Cybermen return to the show. They’re doing pretty much what they always do on the show: march slow and delete people. This time though, they’re taking order from a woman. Ms. Hartigan proves to be every bit as threatening as the men in metal themselves using her sensuous and dark dialogue to usher the killing blow to a lot of people. No buts about it, this woman is attractive (in a creepy sort of way), but her ruthlessness makes her a classic Doctor Who villain who by the end of the episode gets her just rewards.

Lastly, I have to say that as I was watching the episode I was curious as to how they were going to up the spectacle like they do each year. Then I saw the walking giant The Cyber King rise from the Tems and I said, “Ohhh…” Just in sheer awe, I applauded the visual team for blowing my mind yet again with this work of genius. Russell T. Davies I am going to miss you and your imagination.

I have accepted the fact that no Christmas special will ever be as good as “The Christmas Invasion” but “The Next Doctor” comes in at a very close second; beating out the depressing “Voyage of the Damned” and the annoying “Runaway Bride”. It’s a classic Doctor Who story with a twist that will surely be remembered in the years to come. A Merry Christmas indeed.

Next Time-Three Suns, Wormholes and Alien Sand…Welcome to the Planet of the Dead.

Rating-8/10