Sarah -
We’ve waited so long -- well, it feels like it was so long -- at last, Donna is back on the Sofa!
Harry -
There she is, Donna Noble. Fab as ever!
Donna's first encounter with the Doctor was back on her ill-fated wedding day in "The Runaway Bride". Her nuptials had been ruined, she'd been kidnapped, betrayed by her fiance, and seen the world saved from a giant spider monster by a skinny know-it-all with a flying time ship. Not knowing much about Catherine Tate at the time, I figured she was playing the role as an understandably angry and freaked out guest character. Turns out this was just one character in the Tateiverse.
When it was announced that Tate would be returning for a full season, I looked up her eponymous sketch show and was delighted to learn that she's a brilliant character actor. One of her recurring personas was teen schoolgirl Lauren Cooper, who found herself in all manner of situations...
Sarah -
Brilliant! I remember sharing this sketch with you around the time of Donna’s return. It still cracks me up.
Harry -
Hilarious!
So I was genuinely buzzing to see a whole season of the Doctor and Donna.
Sarah -
After the drama of the Rose-Tenth Doctor era and the complicated emotions of the Martha era, Donna was a breath of fresh air.
Harry -
And so it unfolds, eventually, in "Partners in Crime".
First, it opens with both Donna and the Doctor paying separate, mutually unawares visits to Adipose Industries, a corporation that has launched a miracle weight-loss pill. Donna is skeptical and the Doctor is uneasy. What they find does little to ease their suspicions, so they set off, still separately, to interview a couple of Adipose's customers. The Doctor's got a hunch, and Donna experiences horror. Stacey, the woman she paid a visit, went into distress and then vanished from her bathroom.
Sarah -
I love that Donna decided the best way to find the Doctor would be to investigate suspicious situations. Her plan definitely worked. Clever Donna!
Harry -
We the viewers saw what happened. Donna inadvertently triggered the "miracle" solution behind the pills when she fiddled with one of the free gift pendants given to each customer. Poor Stacey witnessed a blob of fat bursting out of her body. Living, sentient fat. Baby Adipose!
Back at Adipose HQ, the face of the corporation is the cold and enigmatic Miss Foster. Stacey's emergency has sounded an alarm, and Foster eliminates her by causing her entire body to transform into Adipose babies.
Sarah -
The scene of Stacey vanishing is truly horrifying. She’s so sweet and I feel badly for her every time she experiences the unscheduled parthenogenesis, but, damn, those Adipose babies are adorable. And, really, it’s not their fault. They’re not trying to hurt anyone, they’re just being born and living their lives.
Harry -
Weight loss as horror. It's something you might have expected to come from the mind of Steven Moffat.
Sarah -
I was thinking the same thing! Moffat is definitely the master of turning everyday things into horror. Honestly, I think Foster could have been upfront about the whole scheme and people still would have willingly signed up to birth those Adipose babies.
Harry -
Miss Foster is the true villain.
Sarah -
Sarah Lancashire is absolutely perfect as Miss Foster. She a particular favorite of mine from Lark Rise to Candleford, Last Tango in Halifax, The Paradise, Happy Valley, and, most recently, Yesterday. She can project officious disdain without breaking a sweat. Spot-on casting.
Harry -
Foster dispatches a cleanup crew to gather up the Adipose babies. Donna and the Doctor pursue them unsuccessfully, and again just miss out on a reunion. RTD teased this out so well.
The next act of the story shows the Doctor puzzling over the mystery inside the TARDIS, alone. Meanwhile, we meet Donna's family. She, her mum, and grandad Wilfrid all live together and as one would expect from RTD, it's not an entirely happy family. What a surprise, Russell!
Sarah -
Gee, imagine that, a companion with a difficult mother. I feel badly for his mother, Barbara, who died before he created a string of negative mother figures in Doctor. That would have been hard to watch from your child.
Wilf, of course, is lovely, and his conversation with Donna is burned into the memory of everyone who has watched Doctor Who on DVD in the past decade:
Wilf: You seem to be drifting, sweetheart.
Donna: I'm not drifting. I'm waiting.
Harry -
That clip played in endless promos at the time, but it's iconic. So is the moment when Donna's investigation finally brings her face-to-face (through a door, a room, and a window) with the Doctor. A joyous reunion and quick catching up ensue via pantomime. This might be my favourite moment of the entire Doctor-Donna era.
Sarah -
It’s my favorite moment of the entire Tennant era. Comic gold!
Harry -
It kickstarts a wild second half of the story, as the new TARDIS team crashes Adipose Industries and get to the bottom of things. Crashing, running, falling, dangling, climbing and rescuing, all right off the Doctor Who action checklist.
Sarah -
The scene on the window-washing crane is probably my single most terrifying moment in the entirety of Doctor Who history. I felt like I was going to faint, and it’s not like this is the first time I’ve watched it.
Harry -
Miss Foster has been fronting a bizarre plot by the Adiposian First Family, which lost its breeding planet and is using Earth as a replacement. Their cover blown, an Adiposian ship descends to Earth to tractor beam all the babies up. Another favourite moment happens here, when the monstrous ship glides past the Nobles' property and right behind Wilf, who remains blissfully unaware.
Sarah -
Runs in the family, apparently.
Harry -
Miss Foster believes she will be part of the evacuation, but is left to plummet to her death by her thankless bosses.
Sarah -
The little Wile E. Coyote moment when she hangs in the air cracks me up every time.
Harry -
Donna asks if the Doctor will also destroy the Adipose babies, but he lets them go. Just babies, they can't help who they are. So they wave goodbye to all the little cuties. "I'm waving at fat," Donna marvels.
Earth is saved again, hurray!
Sarah -
Good work, TARDIS Team!
Harry -
We move to the wrap-up scene, and this time Donna agrees to join the Doctor in the TARDIS. Thankfully, this time RTD put the kibosh on romantic attachment between the Doctor and companion. Not before a final kick at Martha, whose time with the Doctor is depicted as "complicated".
Sarah -
And we know whose complications they were!
I love that Donna is the one not having any of it:
DONNA: You just want to mate?
DOCTOR: I just want a mate!
DONNA: You're not mating with me, sunshine!
DOCTOR: A mate. I want a mate.
DONNA: Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean, you're just a long streak of nothing. You know, alien nothing.
This exchange cracks me up every time. Get over yourself, Doctor.
Harry -
So glad that's the end of the Doctor-girlfriend theme. Or is it? As Donna heads off to the TARDIS after dropping off her car keys, we get a shock appearance from ROSE TYLER. Augh! What the hell RTD!
Sarah -
I watched it with my daughter, who nearly fell off her chair when Rose turned up. It was nice to remember the shock of Rose turning up. It’s mostly downhill from here, so I’ll try to savor this moment.
Harry -
Anyway, off they go, Doctor and Donna, to travel the universe as best pals. This outstanding season opener finishes off with a final scene at the Nobles. This time, Wilf spots the TARDIS floating past in the sky, with Donna inside, waving back and looking ecstatic.
Best Line: "I'm waving at fat."
Favourite Moment: the Doctor-Donna reunion scene.
Lasting Image: the Adipose babies floating away.
8/10
Sarah -
A most excellent start to the season!
Best Line:
DONNA: That Martha must've done you good.
DOCTOR: She did, yeah. Yeah. She did. She fancied me.
DONNA: Mad Martha, that one. Blind Martha. Charity Martha.
Favorite Moment: Definitely the slapstick reunion scene.
Lasting Image: Donna in the porthole telling the Doctor, “It’s me!”
8/10
Our marathon continues with story #190: The Fires of Pompeii...
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