Doctor Who is the UK’s biggest export. It’s impossible not to like the modern re-imagining of the longest-running sci fi series ever. Bombastic yet subtle, it is a swift jaunt into the world of fairy tales, yet it remains gritty and energetic enough to make fans of hardened TV addicts. There are cat-people, giant rhinos and Kylie Minogue references for the children, there is death, despair and Daleks for the adults. The secret to the success is the layered, intrinsically-woven narrative of head writer Russell T. Davies (a long-time fan of the original Doctor Who, Davies combines his fanboy passion with a penchant for quality Pop TV writing) and the elastic band acting of frontman David Tennant (the first series, which had Christopher Eccleston playing the Doctor, succeeded despite him). It’s a show that will increase the heart rate and tug at the heart strings of anyone watching.
However, the actors seem to constantly be changing, and, of course, a show with such a ‘hot potato’ approach to its lead roles can slip up at any time. The third series begins reeling from the impact of series two’s closer Doomsday, an epic tour de force that removed popular character Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper) from the show. Her role as full-time companion was filled by newcomer Freema Agyeman, who was generally considered quite the gamble. It was a risky start to a new season, one that could have sunk the show’s momentum or flung it into a new galaxy of potential.
Oddly enough, the series began at Christmas 2006 not with Agyeman as the new companion, but rather BBC2 funny lady Catherine Tate guest-starring in the festive special The Runaway Bride. A fun, self-contained story about a bride vanishing from her wedding day because of a giant spider-woman and Robo-Santa bounty hunters, the episode is worthwhile despite Tate and family’s grating characters. It is touching and simple, and there is a reference to Pringles, which is always worth some points.
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Martha Jones (Agyeman’s character) debuts in the first episode of the series proper, Smith And Jones. The only thing that is proven about her character in this episode is how far the producers were willing to go to make her seem worthwhile. A small stack of flaccid monsters (the human/rhino Judoon, the plain Slabs and the absolutely disastrous Plasmavore) only serve as distracting sub-plot to the arduous task of plonking Martha into the series, and the show is only saved by a witty script.
Early on in every Doctor Who season, there is a ‘historical’ episode where the protagonists deal with an alien threat in a certain historical period on Earth. This worked somewhat in series one’s The Unquiet Dead, excelled in series two’s Tooth And Claw, and failed in series three’s The Shakespeare Code. A dismal tale of a rock star Will Shakespeare, a trio of pathetically clichéd witches and enough smarty pants references to the Doctor inspiring the Bard’s greatest works to fill a fan fiction writer’s Word documents. Boring.
What starts off as a flat season explodes into the sublime Gridlock, a strong and serious story with heavy themes of hope, faith and sacrifice. Dark and dusty, set on an underworld motorway stuck in perpetual traffic jam, this episode revives everything that a good Doctor Who story needs to have in its arsenal – unrelenting emotion, a dynamic Doctor, loveable freak characters (the Face of Boe and Ardal O’Hanlon’s cat-man Brannigan) and a pair of lesbian grannies. OK, maybe they could scrap the lesbian grannies.
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Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks represent 2007’s Dalek story, and in comparison to 2005’s tale of universal devastation from the Dalek Emperor and 2006’s nightmarish Cyberman vs. Dalek confrontation, the prospect of four of these mutant creations being stranded in the sewers of 1930’s Manhattan is underwhelming. Still, it is a nice, if cheesy, story, and although it wastes the potential of the Daleks by turning them into bickering and struggling wimps, the ending of the second episode makes up for the stupid faux New York accents and the pig slaves.
The Lazarus Experiment returns us to modern day Earth for a trip into the world of psychotic OAP Professor Lazarus, who devises technology to de-age himself. A terrifying and cool CGI monster is the centrepiece, and we finally get to see enough of Martha’s family to start liking them. A normality-meets-bizarre storyline that is a lot of fun to watch, and is especially worthy as it takes the first step towards the season’s grand finale with an understated cliffhanger ending which starts all the questions about the mysterious Mr. Saxon…
42 is next, and although it sounds/feels/looks a hell of a lot like a recycled version of series two’s Impossible Planet storyline, it packs a powerful punch and doesn’t let us sit back from the edge of our seats for a moment. Tense and scary, quick and relentless, the events of the story even manage to bring out a panicked side to the Doctor, which is a new and refreshing site to see.
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Just as the quality of storys starts to climb up, it takes a massive hike towards the heavens with the cinematic Human Nature and Family of Blood. Based in 1913 England on the eve of war, the two-parter elevates above even what is expected from the best Doctor Who serials. The Doctor is forced to assume human disguise when on the run from a family of hunters, and forgets all about his past self. He is heart-breakingly forced to give up his new life to return to being the hero he once was, leading to a troubling, meaningful dilemma that troubles him through to the end. As good as Tennant can play bold and daring, he can play tormented just as well. Villains include the impeccable Harry Lloyd as Bains, a haunting actor of limitless potential who should have been given three of his own series by now, and a horde of demonic scarecrows. At times sad and musing, others terrifying and exciting, not enough can be said to describe how the story portrays the horror of boys going to war and innocent men losing their love.
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If you want a Doctor Who story a bit quicker on the thrills but just as likely to reduce you to a gibbering over-excited wreck, check out Steven Moffat’s Blink. Terrifying monsters and enough wit and cleverness push this peerless story along, this is oddly one of the season’s greatest moments – despite it barely featuring the Doctor himself!
Utopia begins with Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) exploding out of the season one Torchwood finale and literally running back into the show that made him, Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies labours this one with a little bit too much in-referencing (the script is laden with references to Doctor Who and Torchwood history) but the half-decent plot is thrown aside and forgotten about when it becomes obvious that this episode is literally a giant countdown for the season’s greatest moment. A couple of fun aliens and enough mystery and mayhem to keep the first half hour pleasant, and then the true story dawns on us. Plenty of build-up, so much tension (especially if you know what’s coming) and an exciting pay-off. The Master is reborn.
John Simm takes on the role of the Doctor’s greatest villain and performs admirably during his rise to notoriety in The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. Simm and Tennant are two of a kind, and their characters fit together like one very evil glove and one very good glove. Brilliant scripting and the passion of the actors leads to some all-time classic Who moments, and the Hollywood-style story is played out very well indeed. The second part tries a little too hard to make a superhero out of Martha, and the Doctor’s final plan is a little preposterous, but you can’t knock the archetypal tale of good versus evil when it’s told this well.
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Those are the episodes then, and it appears to be a case of a slow start but one hell of a second half. Three of the episodes are some of the worst so far, but five of them are the very best. Besides, even average Doctor Who makes excellent TV. Martha Jones is pushed a little too hard, which is not a slight on Agyeman’s ability but it comes across as trying to make too much out of the character, especially when so many of her actions make her come across as weak and pining. Still, there is plenty of excellent support work here, and a lot of praise needs to go to the majority of actors.
With the business of the actual episodes out of the way, we can look at the good bits – the extras. The bulk of these are the various Doctor Who Confidentials – the episode-accompanying documentary series. On the DVD release, these are cut down from their original broadcast length of 45 minutes to the comparatively brisk 15 minutes. This is a shame as it is a loss of 390 minutes of behind the scenes info, but to be fair that would take up another five DVDs and I don’t think anybody cares that much. Accompanying them is the Doctor Who Concert special, which is an outstanding performance and should be of great interest to anyone who enjoys Murray Gold’s soundtracks for the show. There are the traditional Out-takes (unfunny and flat), Deleted Scenes (you’re not missing much), trailers and adverts (these were wack when they were on TV) and, improving a so-so batch, David Tennant and Freema Agyeman’s video diaries; a collection of candid, rough-round-the-edges chats with the cast and crew. Nice.
The whole package is presented admirably and would look glorious sitting in your DVD collection. The discs look nice, there’s a pleasant booklet bundled in, and it’s all stored in a solid, multi-colour box.
For Doctor Who fans, this is of course essential for your collection. The earlier stories might not be the best, but the later ones are – in fact, they’re the very best the show has had so far.
Let’s face it, if you don’t like Doctor Who, you’re not going to buy this no matter how much I recommend it. But even if you have the slightest taste for sci-fi, or you’re a fan of classic Who but haven’t dared try the fresher waters, or if you’re looking for something your kids would love, or you just went to venture out and try new TV, I can’t recommend this highly enough. The ‘new start’ this season had (with Martha joining the crew) is a perfect entry point for newbies, so you won’t have too many back-story worries to contend with If you want to lose yourself in a perfectly plotted world of unique stories, weird and lovable characters and a protagonist you can believe in, lose yourself in season three of the new Doctor Who.