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

Forever is a long time coming...

Hello all,
It has been forever since I've posted a new blog. But then again, summer breaks and jobs will do that to you. I know I started reviewing The Sarah Jane Adventures and only did one episode and I apologize for leaving readers stranded in deep space.

Sad to say, senior year is a lot of work and what free time I have is going more to my 360, Rainbow Six, Soul Calibur 4 and Halo 3 than to writing anything. That's going to change though. I really need something to focus on other than writing long ass papers and reading 30-60 pages of text a night.

What I'm getting at is, the Tardis Blog is coming back in full force. My first objective is to finish Series 1 of The Sarah Jane Adventures and quickly move into Series 2, which started two weeks ago. Next, who knows. Torchwood won't be back till next spring and Doctor Who won't be back till Christmas. Still, there are four series of shows I haven't covered. I know I keep saying I will get around to it but never do; but I WILL get to Torchwood Series 1 most likely after SJA Series 2 wraps up or if I'm bored enough I'll review both at the same time. This could work since I will be reviewing SJA episodes as a whole and not in their 2 part format.

Well, that's the plan now and it won't be implimented till next week after I enjoy home for a few days. Prepare for the return of the reviews. And spread the word, I'd love to chat on the comments boards about your views on these episodes. My opinions don't speak for everyone just my own and I'd love to chat (now I'm just repeating myself, stopping now).

A bientot tout le monde!!!

The Sarah Jane Adventures S01E01-02-Revenge of the Slitheen

Luke’s first day at school holds many unexpected surprises. Social awkwardness aside, he finds acceptance in a tiny school science club that specializes in impossibly hard equations. Unfortunately, not everything is as normal as Luke, Maria and newcomer Clyde come to expect from school. An old threat has returned to seek revenge on planet Earth. And this time, they’re pulling out all of the stops to ensure the total destruction of the planet.

After the somewhat uneven pilot that was “The Invasion of Bane”, The Sarah Jane Adventures gets off to a more proper start. And what better way to bring in new viewers and long time Doctor Who associates than to have our spunky heroine tackle the Slitheen, making their first appearance since “Boom Town” in Doctor Who Series 1. It’s cool that The Doctor got two big nods here in this episode; when Sarah Jane reveals why, or rather “who”, the Slitheen were stopped way back when; and when Clyde is properly introduced to Sarah Jane’s world. It is pretty obvious to anyone by now that Russell T. Davies and his writing team are doing their best to keep Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures connected in whatever small way they can. It works well here, but then again, it will be nice to see how Sarah Jane and her companions take on a more original threat later on in the series.

In keeping with the mindset that this is an aimed at children program, the young cast does a good job with their roles. Maria’s character is reminiscent of a Doctor companion a la Rose or Martha, taking in her new discoveries while using her unparalleled wit and calm to help save the day. Luke is your typical genetically engineered smart but socially awkward that continues to bring to thought ideas that this could be reminiscent of The Doctor’s long forgotten youth. Mind you that is only speculative. And Clyde, replacing Kelsey from the pilot, turns out to be a far more interesting character than his predecessor. He is the young audiences real key to accessing this series, reacting probably more realistically to how any youngster would when seeing a Slitheen. Even better, he is not as annoying a character as Kelsey was, something that made “The Invasion of Bane” drag a bit.

And what of Sarah Jane herself? Give Elisabeth Sladen her props, after almost two decades away from the Doctor Who seen, she is still a companion we all love and want to cheer for. Most of this is thanks to Sladen, who infuses real depth to her character, suddenly thrust into the role of mother not only for Luke, but Maria and Clyde in a way as well. And, in the spirit of Captain Jack Harkness, I should say, she doesn’t look too bad for what, 60? Not at all.

“Revenge of the Slitheen” had all the energy of a fast paced Doctor Who story but with a totally different cast. If the show can keep up this pace then it is sure to go far. For the teens who have Doctor Who and the adults who have Torchwood, children now have their access point to the world of The Doctor, and that is The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Next Time-Those aren’t ordinary garden statues, are they?

Rating-8/10

What Now?

And now I’m sure there’s another question of everyone’s mind. Doctor Who and Torchwood are done for the time being. Will this blog site go dormant till then? Hell no!!! There are still three series of Doctor Who and one series of Torchwood, and…I guess The Sarah Jane adventures to review. I’ll find a way, be it Youtube, or some other media viewing method to bring full reviews of these fantastic shows and bring those who may have been a bit in the dark over events thus far up to speed.

The rides not over yet folks, trust me.