Story #212 - The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang (2010)

Harry -

Steven Moffat brings the Eleventh Doctor's first series to a close with a fantastic two-parter. Right on the heels of "The Lodger", the Doctor, Amy and River investigate another mystery that gets teased out all the way to the part one cliffhanger.

Sarah -

I love "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang" so much. I can’t think of any NuWho finale that is as fun as this one – and everyone lives!

Harry -

I can't remember a wilder pre-titles sequence than River escaping space prison and traversing time and space to summon the Doctor. It had almost nothing to do with the plot of the ensuring story, but it was quality River time. 

And off they go to Roman Britain.

From there, the story takes its time revealing the mystery at Stonehenge, or rather the Underhenge. Filming there must have been a blast for everyone except the anxious preservationists at English Heritage. Anyway, inside the Underhenge is the Pandorica -- a myth, a legend, a large black square that is slowly coming alive.

As the Pandorica prepares to reveal its secrets, so too does the TARDIS. It takes River back to Amy's house. There, she sees that the Roman Britain that she just left behind was peopled with centurions from a book. The whole scene, in fact, seems to have been assembled from Amy's memories.

Sarah -

Amy’s memories are fueling everything but she still can’t remember Rory. Amy staring at her ring in confusion is heartbreaking.

Harry -

I really liked the slow buildup in part one. Moff took his time peeling back the layers of mystery and yet the episode bounced along quickly. That is not easy to do.

Sarah -

"The Pandorica Opens" is a wild ride – and it’s just getting started. Vincent, Churchill and Bracewell, and Liz 10 all make appearances, but the story is focused on the core characters.

And that includes Rory, making one of the most spectacular returns in Doctor Who history! It’s not really a surprise, but it’s still surprising – if you know what I mean.

Harry -

Rory the Roman was a fantastic reveal. And then the twist: he's actually Rory the Auton. I still remember the moment of horror when his hand popped open. All hell broke loose at once, with the alliance of universal supervillians all ganging up on the Doctor, the TARDIS exploding with River inside, and Amy being shot. Moffat saved it all for the final moments.

Sarah - 

So much happens in such a short time. This is the story where Rory becomes a mythic hero, not just another Mickey. He's a full member of the team from here on out. 

Harry - 

After the Pandorica was sealed with the Doctor inside, it reopens 1,894 years later... with grown up Amy inside. And off we go again as part two gives us a Night at the Museum-style romp. This was so good. All the timey-wimey vortex manipulation that the Doctor did in order to be there for the end of the universe was classic Moffat. 

Normally these "end of the universe" dilemmas have an oversimplified, unsatisfactory resolution, but I was quite satisfied with the simple use of residue from the Pandorica to reboot everything. The Doctor even gives a nice little speech about the power of memory. Sure why not, this story was so much fun I don't dare criticize a thing.

Sarah - 

I could watch the romp over and over! It's so good to see Amelia Pond again. This is early enough in the Matt Smith era that we're not yet over the "I am the Doctor" speeches. 

And we get a wedding surprise when Raggedy Man turns up with his blue box. Amy and Rory spend their wedding night on the TARDIS, which leads to...SPOILERS!

Harry - 

Best Line - I didn't jot one down but honestly everything River says is quotable. She's amazing.

Favourite Moment - Rory revealed as an Auton, it was so mind-blowing.

Lasting Image - River zapping the Doctor's fez.

8/10

Sarah - 

Best Line: "Right then, I have questions, but number one is this. What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?"

Favorite Moment: The epic romp is more than a moment, but I love it so.

Lasting Image: River shooting the fez, for sure!

9/10

Our marathon continues with Story #213: A Christmas Carol...

Story #205 - Victory of the Daleks (2010)

 

Harry -

Well here we are, arrived at perhaps the first truly divisive story of the Moffat era. Let's get the big debate out of the way. Dorabella: is it a funny name or not?

Sarah -

It’s unexpectedly funny, considering that it was a memory planted by the Daleks. Where do you come down on this pressing issue?

Harry -

It's the kind of name that gets shortened immediately, so the child would probably grow up as either a Dora or a Bella, which is not so bad. But it would not be on my top 10 baby names list.

Apparently there was a bit of fuss over the Daleks in this story too, particularly the New Paradigm Daleks.

Sarah -

A fuss in Doctor Who fandom? Say it isn’t so!

Harry -

Big and brassy, these New Paradigms are a throwback to the colourful Daleks of the Peter Cushing movies. I imagine Steven Moffat had fond memories of those films and gave writer Mark Gatiss the green light to create a version for the New Who era. Watching them emerge from the progenitor chamber was like something at an auto show -- here's the new model for Season Five, in five spectacular colours! I know some people associated with this blog rushed out to buy the entire set.

Sarah -

I’m shocked, shocked! Nah, just kidding, I remember quite well your obsession with the New Paradigm Daleks. They certainly are shiny and festive, which feels a bit surplus to requirements when it comes to taking over the universe, or whatnot.

Harry -

The BBC marketing department must have loved these Daleks, but apparently fanhood at large did not.

Sarah -

I’m a bit of an agnostic when it comes to the NPDs in general, but I’m not a big fan of them in this story. It’s a promising story that gets waylaid by the big reveal of the NPDs. There are way too many long and lingering shots of the Daleks as they emerge from the chamber and assemble to face the Doctor.

Harry -

But the colours. There's a red one!

Sarah -

As much as I love shiny red things, It’s a whole lot of fanwanking, even if much of the fanbase was too busy being angry to notice.

Harry -

Fair enough. There's a strong throwback vibe to the story that goes beyond the paint jobs of the Daleks. For this story, Gatiss also adapted the premise of "The Power of the Daleks" -- where a small group of Daleks insinuate themselves among a group of humans and pretend to be willing servitors, while scheming to regroup and mass produce themselves anew. The "I am your soldier" line is an almost identical quote from the 1960s story.

Sarah -

I love the throwback to Power of the Daleks, which has been gloriously animated since this episode first aired. Victory of the Daleks is about as Mark Gatiss as Doctor Who can be; he does love the celebrity historial. The Eleventh Doctor’s reaction to the Daleks is exactly the same as the Second and Ninth Doctors when everyone else thinks they’re harmless -- and I’m totally here for that. I love the look of Ironside Daleks and the To Victory propaganda poster, which I was so excited to buy at Chicago TARDIS in 2010. It still hangs in my kitchen.

Harry -

Another win for the BBC marketing department!

Sarah -

Take all my money!

Harry -

Setting aside all the Dalek hooplah, there is indeed a huge celebrity involved in this story, and it's Winston Churchill -- or rather the idealized Winston Churchill to whom British pop culture and favourable historians have given enduring life. While the actual Churchill has become a problematic hero in modern times, here he is portrayed in almost comic book terms. Big, bombastic and heroic. The Winston Churchill we'd love to embrace I think.

Sarah -

In the end all humans are problematic, why should historical figures be any different? He was the big, bombastic, heroic figure that led Britain through the war, with all the biases of his gender, race, and class that we now abhor. Ian McNeice’s performance certainly plays to the wartime hero angle of his persona.

Harry -

Who couldn't relate to Amy's excitement at meeting the hero of World War Two? He's got a war to win and he will seize every advantage, including Bracewell's Ironsides much to the Doctor's dismay. Which is where the Doctor's fantastic, Troughtonesque and Ecclestonesque tirades come into play.

Sarah -

One of my favorite aspects of the story was the Ironside Daleks using Churchill to get the Doctor to London so they could get the Doctor to testify that they were, in fact, Daleks. Even if they were inferior to the NPDs. Now, that’s what I call playing the long game.

Harry -

The story skips along at such a pace that the conflict between the Doctor and Churchill is barely given any space. I wonder if this story might have been better off as a two-parter. Back in the day, "The Power of the Daleks" was an all-out six parter which allowed for the Doctor's suspicions to be more fully fleshed out.

Sarah -

I can’t help but think it would be a stronger story if it were a two-parter or if some of the NPD screen time was given to the Doctor-Churchill conflict. Even the inter-Dalek conflict and extermination of the “inferior” Daleks feels rushed after all the time spent showing us the shiny new Daleks.

Harry -

At least we got that one great scene where the Doctor goes apeshit on one Dalek before everything kicks into gear. Cue the space-bubble spitfires for a rousing outer space dogfight!

Sarah -

I did roll my eyes a bit, but it made as much sense as anything else and how else were they going to get rid of the Daleks?

Harry -

Gatiss must have loved scripting all that RAF banter. After the Dalek ship is given a proper thrashing (hurrah!), we arrive at the final crisis. The Daleks reveal that Bracewell is a bomb. As in "The Beast Below" the Doctor tries and fails to save the day. It falls upon Amy to talk Bracewell into deactivating himself, convincing the machine that it is human and incapable of mass murder.

Pond 2

Doctor 0

Sarah - 

Good decision to keep Pond around!

Harry - 

The one thing that really didn't make sense was that once Bracewell's trigger was deactivated, the Doctor and Amy let the robot pack up and leave the Cabinet War Rooms, presumably to head to a life undercover, or perhaps to Scotland to seek out the mythical Dorabella. Presumably that means an inactive Dalek robot is still out there wandering the British Isles. Certainly a better fate than blowing one's self up. Maybe he got into Morris dancing, or Scottish independence. Who knows, eh!

Sarah - 

Bill Paterson is so lovely as Bracewell that I don’t even mind the Doctor and Amy giving him another chance at life. What does worry me is Amy not remembering the Daleks and that crack in the wall. 

As an aside, If you’ve not been, I recommend a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms next time you’re in London. The way things are going pandemic-wise, that will probably sometime around 2030. 

Harry - 

Best Line: after the Daleks call the Doctor's jammy dodger bluff: "I was promised tea!"

Favourite Moment: the New Paradigm Daleks reveal.

Lasting Image: those colourful Daleks!  I'm looking at one as I type this.

7/10

Sarah - 

Best Line:

Amy: "What, so you mean I've got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?"

Doctor: "Safe as it gets around me."

Favorite Moment: the Doctor in the elevator with Churchill, waving the cigar smoke away.

Lasting Image: the poster! I’m looking at it as I type this. 

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #206: The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone...

Story #198 - The Stolen Earth / Journey's End (2008)

Sarah -
There's a reason I haven't watched this two-parter since first broadcast. There are some nice moments with the TARDIS Superfriends, but mostly I find it extremely annoying. I doubt I'll be going back to watch this anytime soon.


Harry -
There is no doubt that when RTD puts on a blockbuster, it's one hell of a blockbuster. A Doctor and a half, multiple companions from different eras, Torchwood, UNIT, K-9... it's a surprise they couldn't find a way to send someone on a ride in Bessie. Whew!

It takes so long to give everyone adequate screen time that part one is almost half over before the Superfriends can rally to face the invasion of the new Dalek empire.


Sarah -
It’s great getting the old gang together and "The Stolen Earth" is watchable. I’m not going to complain when Martha, Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Sarah Jane, Mickey, Jackie, and Harriet Jones turn up, but it all ends up feeling like “A Very Special Episode of Doctor Who.” So much of the dialogue is so, so very cheesy.

Things get worse in "Journey’s End". I can’t even with so much of this story. There are few things I truly loathe in Doctor Who and the Handy Doctor tops the list. WTF, RTD? Rose getting her little Doctor clone boyfriend makes me want to yell at the screen.


Harry -
The other inescapable hallmark of the RTD era is that the Doctor has to have a girlfriend, or a wannabe girlfriend, and when the girlfriends can't have the Doctor, then they get other boyfriends instead. RTD just loves to play matchmaker. I think it's all shit, but it is what it is. Let's move on.

Look at us! It's possible for people to not like some aspects of Doctor Who without moaning and trolling and avowing to hate the show forever because it's been ruined for us. Some people need to have a word with themselves.


Sarah -
As soon as we’ve finished discussing this story, I will revert to believing none of it never happened.


Harry -
Let's go back to the Dalek invasion. Now this one was believable -- as the believability of these things go. We won't see scores of Dalek ships and legions of attacking Daleks on this scale for a while. Entire planets have been shifted to one place and their combined gravitational pull has enough energy to power the reality bomb, the most destructive weapon ever created. A scheme on this level requires the strategic tactics of the Supreme Dalek, the scientific brilliance of Davros, and the jibbering madness of Dalek Caan. It's the ultimate troika of doom.

While the Superfriends gather and rally together, the Dalek leaders are dismissive of one another, each wanting to be the ultimate leader. Except for Dalek Caan who sits there flailing and giggling and prophesying disaster and death.


Sarah -
Dalek Caan is all kinds of wackadoodle. The whole idea is completely batty.


Harry -
I always liked how the Supreme Dalek wanted nothing to do with Dalek Caan: "The abomination is insane!"

Julian Bleach plays an excellent Davros, frighteningly cold and contained when he comes face to face with the Doctor. It's only when he starts going on about the reality bomb that his megalomania kicks in and he delivers a classic Davros rant. The essence of Davros is so terrifying: he wants the absolute power to destroy everything in the universe and is ready to unleash that power. He would be totally satisfied to live in an empty universe, completely lifeless but for himself and his creations. It's completely mad.


Sarah -
I have nothing but good things to say about Bleach’s performance. This is about as positive as I’m going to get. Now it’s time to get back to ranting. 

On to the faux regeneration: “Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but soon as I was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to. Why would I? Look at me.” I yelled not very kind words at the Doctor at this point. Hint: they rhyme with “duck who.” Seriously, get over yourself, already.


Harry -
The Tenth Doctor is at his worst when he lets everyone know how delighted he is with himself.  It's a bad look.


Sarah -
And then the greatest insult. Donna’s memory wiped. Honestly, I don’t even want to talk about this anymore. It all just makes me too angry. RTD should have ended it here.


Harry -
The wildly inconsistent application of mind-wiping in Doctor Who causes no end of dismay.  Surely, having just demonstrated that he could reverse a regeneration and prevent his own death in a very show-offy manner, the Doctor should have been able to reverse the effect it had on Donna.  Forcing her character to forget everything was one of RTD's worst crimes.

The blockbuster begins with a bang but ends on a very sour note.  I really liked the first part, but massive points got deducted over the creation of a "Doctor boyfriend" for Rose, and the inexcusable ruination of Donna.

For an era that is very well remembered, the Tenth Doctor's final stories are tinged with a lot of disappointments and bad memories as a viewer.  Yes, Sarah, let us move on!


Sarah -
Best Line: 
Donna: "Oi, watch it, spaceman."
Handy Doctor: "Oi, watch it, Earth girl."
At least it made me laugh

Favorite Moment: The end.

Lasting Image: Harriet’s prescient Zoom meeting. 

3/10


Harry -
Best Line: the Daleks playing along with the "Yes, we know who you are" gag.

Favourite Moment: Tennant and Tate impersonating each other as the DoctorDonna and clone Doctor.

Lasting Image: the Superfriends all around the TARDIS console.

4/10

Our marathon continues with Story #199: The Next Doctor...

Story #182 - Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks (2007)

Harry -
It has been 11 years since this Doctor Who two-parter was first broadcast. Having just rewatched it, I’m sitting here asking myself — just as I did back then — what on Earth was that supposed to be? The nicest way I can think of putting it is that it felt like being on some kind of “Doctor Who” themed adventure ride at an amusement park. It’s Doctor Who all right, says so on the signage, but they got it all wrong.


Sarah -
It’s terrible. It’s just so, so terrible. Can we just go straight to our final thoughts and spend the rest of the day watching "Timelash" and "Time-Flight" on an endless loop? The stories will look brilliant by comparison and at least we’ll get to watch Captain Stapley.

There are a lot of mediocre episodes of Doctor Who that still manage to be watchable, but this isn’t one of them. Oh wait, I should say these two, because for some reason it’s a bloody two-parter. Why, oh why?


Harry -
Agreed, let's not kill our wills to live by going through the whole story. It's awful in so many ways that I don't think we can even pretend to be Rob and Toby and only see the good things here.


Sarah -
The only good thing I can think of in this story is Martha’s general awesomeness. I was always just waiting for her next scene. That’s all I’ve got. And, speaking of Martha, shouldn’t she have some new clothes by now? It’s like Tegan’s uniform all over again. Why has she not been allowed to raid the TARDIS wardrobe?


Harry -
The burgundy jacket and blue jeans is Martha's signature look, but she's due a change by this point.

Overall, what the story seemed to be attempting was to harken back to classic era favourites that gave us a slow reveal of Daleks hatching nasty plots in the shadows.  A nice buildup until the Doctor came along to expose their schemes and wreck everything. Here we have four Daleks -- the Cult of Skaro -- who escaped the battle of Canary Wharf by initiating emergency temporal shift. Landing in 1930s Manhattan, they embark on a new nasty plot to fuse Daleks and humans together into a new lifeform. Okay, kind of intriguing, but the rest of the story is a mess.


Sarah -
It’s like a plot borrowed from the Ainley Master. All that’s missing is a wacky disguise.


Harry -
For some reason, the Daleks create human-pig hybrid slaves. Did we not just have a pig spaceman in "Aliens of London"? Too soon for more of this porcine activity.


Sarah -
Seriously, what is with RTD and pigs?


Harry -
It would have been cooler if they brought back the Robomen from "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".

Key to the plot is the harvesting and preparation of human bodies, who are then zombified in preparation to become human Daleks. Presumably they will all suffer the same fate as Mr. Diagoras, foreman of the Empire State Building construction site. He was forcibly hybridized with Dalek Sec to become the first "human Dalek." I guess this reveal was supposed to be great shock and horror. But it fell horribly flat. Actor Eric Loren failed to sell it at all, maybe because his head was smothered by a prosthetic Dalek thing with a bulbous brain and phallic tentacles that would not stop wiggling. It was just ridiculous.


Sarah -
I’m pretty sure he failed to sell it well before the prosthetic showed up. There were no successful guest actor performance in this story. I guess the whole Dalek identity crisis could have been interesting, but we’ve seen Dalek internecine strife over genetic purity done much better in the 80s.


Harry -
Our friends over at Big Finish have also done much better with this in the War Doctor audios.  Anyway, the rest of the story involves the Doctor standing in front of the Daleks for ludicrously long periods of time without a single one of them shooting him. This aggravated to no end, especially after they happily dispatched Solomon in Central Park after his "can't we all just get along?" oration. He failed to sell that too, so maybe he had it coming.


Sarah -
I couldn’t even feel sad about his extermination. It was all one big meh.


Harry -
The characters were having a miserable time, but it looked like the actors were too.  There were a couple of moments when David Tennant appeared to be forcing out the dialogue just to get a scene in the can. 

I don't know. I tried to accept the cornucopia of American accents, because people come to New York City from everywhere to chase their dreams, right? But what was Tallulah's accent supposed to be? "Roaring 20s Dame?" "Talking Pictures Starlet?" "Peorian?" I just don't know.


Sarah -
My brain still hurts from all the accents. Tallulah -- with 3 ls and an h -- was straight out of central casting at some Poverty Row studio.


Harry -
As for New York City, this was the least-looking-like-New-York-City thing I can remember. "The Chase" offered a more believable Empire State Building.


Sarah -
Where are you when we need you, Morton Dill?


Harry -
No kidding.  I don't know where else they blew the budget on this one, since all the live action was shot in the UK. Could they not have come up with some better looking art deco? They should have drowned us with art deco. What a terrible waste, especially since they started shooting Doctor Who all over the world -- including New York City! -- in the seasons to come.


Sarah -
In a desperate attempt to say something nice, I’ll share that Mr. Smith had favorable things to say about how the illusion of movement was handled in the elevator scenes. The Dalek eyestalk design on the elevator door was a nice touch, too.

I do feel badly for Helen Raynor, the writer of this mess. She famously went online after the stories aired to discover that the stories weren’t well-received. And, this being the internet, the negative reviews included vile personal attacks. People are the worst.


Harry -
The story was a mess to begin with, let down by poor production and acting, and then to have to deal with toxic fanhood, yuck.


Sarah -
I’m sure there’s a way to blame this all on Eric Saward, but I haven’t quite sorted that out yet.


Harry -
Let us never watch this one again.


Sarah -
It's a deal!

Best Line:
SEC: You have betrayed me.
DALEK 1: You told us to imagine.
DALEK 3: And we imagined your irrelevance.

That pretty much sums up this story...

Favorite Moment:
Martha mooning over the doctor and Tallulah assuming he doesn’t reciprocate because he’s “into musical theater.” That made me laugh out loud.

Lasting Image: I’d prefer to have every image erased from my memory, but I guess I’ll go with Tallulah in her showgirl finery.

1/10


Harry -
Best Line:
MARTHA: I wonder what year it is, because look, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet.
DOCTOR: Work in progress. Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around
(Martha picks up a copy of the New York Record which is lying on a bench.)
MARTHA: November first 1930.
DOCTOR: You're getting good at this.

Favourite Moment: two of the Daleks down in the sewer tunnels, gossiping behind Dalek Sec's back.

Lasting Image: the Doctor and Martha with the Statue of Liberty.  It was all downhill from there.

1/10

Our marathon continues with Story #183: The Lazarus Experiment...

Story #177 - Army of Ghosts / Doomsday (2006)

Harry -
One of the unmistakable features of the RTD era of Doctor Who is the blockbuster season finale. It started with "Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways", a story that set the bar high with the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack defeating an armada of Daleks deep in space. This time around, it's double the menace as the Daleks and the Cybermen both launch invasions of Earth.


Sarah -
Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long to get the Daleks and Cybermen into one story.


Harry -
The Cybermen-Nazis crossover in "Silver Nemesis" was kind of close.


Sarah -
Please don’t remind me of that.


Harry -
Righto.  This one begins with a hard dose of melodrama, as Rose provides a voiceover for flashback scenes of her life with the Doctor, ending by telling us that "This is the story of how I died."


Sarah -
I remember how shocking that pronouncement was the first time I watched the episodes. I thought it was going to be an Adric situation all over again. This time out, my daughter, who was watching it for the first first time, kept asking, “Is Rose really dead?” I, of course, responded, “Spoilers!”


Harry -
After the opening titles, RTD dials it back down to a benign scene of the TARDIS returning to the Powell Estate. Rose and the Doctor, back at Jackie's flat for a happy reunion. Jackie is delighted to see them and share the news that Rose's grandad is about to pay a visit. Rose's face drops and she suspects her mum has lost it because her grandad has been dead for 10 years.


Sarah -
I’m not sure I understand how people came to think the ghosts were loved ones. Jackie mentions that grandad’s ghost smells like his tobacco, but that seems awfully tenuous.


Harry -
The Doctor wrote it off to people sensing what they wanted to believe was there. It did seem slightly bonkers that society would embrace these entities and make them part of everyday pop culture. Where were the skeptics? Where were the scientists?


Sarah -
Right? Were the scientist and skeptics taken in, as well? Where was Neil deGrasse Tyson when the Earth needed him?  Speaking of scientists, after a season of breadcrumbs, we finally see Torchwood, which seems to have something to do with the ghosts. Located in Torchwood Tower in Canary Wharf, the Torchwood Institute is led by Yvonne Hartman, who is delighted to have the Doctor turn up on her patch.


Harry -
After all this time I'm still not completely sure what to think of this Torchwood.


Sarah -
It’s a little disappointing after months of build-up, to be honest. And while I’m being picky, doesn’t it seem that the Doctor and Torchwood should have crossed paths before now? It’s been a while since Queen Victoria declared him an enemy of the Crown in 1879. That some slapdash retconning there, RTD.


Harry -
The explanation behind the building of Torchwood Tower was brilliant -- it envelops a dimensional hole 600 feet in the sky. Having used another complicated piece of equipment to study the "ghosts" (two stories in a row without having the plot move forward with the wave of a sonic!), the Doctor traces the energy peak to Torchwood Tower. With an "Allons-y!" the TARDIS takes off with the Doctor, Rose... and Jackie aboard.


Sarah -
Jackie’s not impressed: “If we end up on Mars, I’m gonna kill you.”


Harry -
The crew we meet at the tower seem very serious and dedicated, for a few seconds. Adeola and Gareth slip away for a snog while Yvonne leads a welcoming committee to greet the Doctor with rounds of applause. That clapping scene was rather silly. To that point, Torchwood has been working with the "ghost energy" episodes that have been bringing the shadowy visitors into view. Yvonne proudly takes the Doctor for a tour of Torchwood's storage rooms, where he's taken aback by the alien technology they have collected. One room contains a large, floating sphere that seems to be made of nothing. The Doctor identifies it as a void ship, something designed to slip between universes.


Sarah -
I kind of hate the Doctor in these scenes, with his stupid 3D glasses and Ghostbusters jokes.


Harry -
The Ghostbusters gags were so bad I didn't even want to talk about them.


Sarah -
My apologies for bringing it up. When Yvonne demands to meet his companion, the Doctor pulls Jackie out and introduces her as Rose -- and then proceeds to berate her:

“She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that.” 

“And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty seven years. But she'll do.” 

“I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad. Anyway, lead on. Allons-y. But not too fast. Her ankle's going.”

What an asshole. He deserves everything coming his way.


Harry -
This is RTD's writing at its most obnoxious. Back upstairs, the romantic episode has ended in horror with Adeola and Gareth falling victim to Cybermen lurking in a construction area. Adeola begins picking off the rest of the staff, luring Matt to the Cybermen next, just before Yvonne and the Doctor return.


Sarah -
I totally forgot Freema Agyeman was in this story. I now recall Martha will mention that her cousin died at Canary Wharf, but she didn’t mention it was her twin cousin.


Harry -
Twin cousins, how rare is that!


Sarah -
It was surprisingly common in American sitcoms of the 1960s and 70s, but not usually so much in Doctor Who.


Harry -
Hah!


Sarah -
I was excited to see Martha -- or her twin cousin, or whatever -- and then angry all over again in anticipation of the Doctor being a complete dick to her in series 3. Just when I thought we were almost into the frying pan, we go straight into the fire!

Did you bring any gin? I need to calm my nerves.


Harry -
Steady on, Sarah, we haven't finished with Rose yet.


Sarah -
Not yet, but soon, my friend, soon.


Harry -
Separated from the Doctor and Jackie, Rose winds her way to the room with the void ship. There, a happy reunion awaits because what's an RTD blockbuster without happy reunions?


Sarah -
Mickey Smith, defending the Earth! I was so happy to see him after all this time. I know it’s only been a few weeks, but it felt so much longer.


Harry -
I totally forgot he was in this one so it was a great surprise when he revealed himself in the room with the void sphere.


Sarah -
Mickey explains that the Cybermen were nearly beaten in his adopted parallel Earth but they managed to escape to Rose’s Earth. Rose reminds him that the Doctor says it was impossible, to which Mickey replies, “Yeah, it's not the first time he's been wrong.” That’s right, Mickey, tell it like it is!

Now, really, where’s the gin?


Harry -
We should pause to enjoy a few sips now, because the story is about to go turbo wild.


Sarah -
Brace yourself!


Harry -
The newly-cyberized staff override the safety mechanisms and send Torchwood into the ultimate ghost shift, bringing millions of Cybermen through to this Earth. Meanwhile, the void sphere suddenly activates of its own accord. Watching on camera, the Doctor wonders what the Cybermen are about to hatch, but the Cyberleader informs him that the sphere is not of their design. They merely followed it to this world. At that moment, the sphere opens and from within it emerge...Daleks! Kolossal! It's the ultimate invasion, and an amazing cliffhanger.

Got to hand it to RTD, he does a good blockbuster.


Sarah -
He had to outdo last season, and more than met the challenge.


Harry -
Unlike the swarms of Cybermen who have arrived on Earth, the sphere contained only four Daleks. They are a unique group who have individual names and call themselves the Cult of Skaro. They have brought with them a device called a genesis ark, and with it a new mystery: who or what is inside?


Sarah -
I’m amused the Daleks have finally reached the appropriate level of development to begin forming cults. I guess it was inevitable.


Harry -
One of the most memorable scenes from this story is the glorious trash talking between Cybermen and Daleks. The relentless, dispassionate logic of the Cybermen crashing against the psychotic hate of the Daleks, it's mad fun.


Sarah -
It’s absolutely the best thing in the story.


Harry -
Well, it's fun to watch. For the Doctor and his friends it's the ultimate nightmare. The world is under siege, Torchwood is in chaos, and Yvonne and Jackie are marched off for cyber-conversion before the Doctor can save them.


Sarah -
Poor Jackie. Has she not endured enough? Now she faces being upgraded again? Yes, yes, I know that was alternate reality Jackie, but we had to live through it and that was more than enough.


Harry -
Did we mention this was a blockbuster? Because, zapping through the void, here comes Pete Tyler and the rest of parallel Earth's Scooby Gang! What a scene!


Sarah -
Jake and Pete arrive just in time to save the day...sort of.


Harry -
It's too late to save Yvonne, who goes forward to receive cyber-conversion while declaring that she did her duty for queen and country.


Sarah -
Poor Yvonne.


Harry -
We barely got to know her.  At least Big Finish has come through for her.  

For Jackie, it's a lucky escape. The Cybermen become distracted by the Daleks and she sneaks away down a stairwell.


Sarah -
Go, Jackie, Go!


Harry -
An epic battle ensues. Cybermen vs Daleks with all of humanity trapped in the middle. The Doctor eventually lets us all in on the business with the 3-D glasses. They reveal a kind of "void stuff" that the Doctor posits can be sucked back into the void. However, it means that after being reopened, the void and the gateway to parallel Earth will close forever. Rose is suddenly faced with a choice: join her Jackie and Mickey with parallel Pete on the other Earth, or stay with the Doctor, "forever". It never seemed to have sunk in with Rose that "forever" means two totally different things to Earthlings and Gallifreyans.


Sarah -
Despite the Doctor trying to explain it to her about five thousand times. Seriously, was he not clear enough or is she completely delusional? The swings between competent, empathic Rose and bat-shit crazy girlfriend Rose is frustrating.


Harry -
This gin is getting perilously low.

Having made her choice to stay with the Doctor, Rose bids tear-soaked farewells to her family and Mickey, who then zap away to parallel Earth.


Sarah -
They’re better off without her.


Harry -
The Doctor and Rose brace themselves, throw open the void and watch as the Cybermen pour back through. In a panic, the Daleks initiate emergency temporal shift and vanish as well. But disaster strikes when Rose is thrown into the void... and is rescued by Pete a split second before she would have died.


Sarah -
So much for being better off without her. I like that alternate reality Jackie and Pete decide to stick together. That’s very sweet. I want Jackie to have a happy ending.


Harry -
It was nice that Jackie was able to have everything in the end.  Typing out that rapid fire sequence gives a clear view of how everything unfolded, but in real time it happened so quickly. Everyone was stunned. Rose worst of all, as she collapses in tears.


Sarah -
I really am the worst person ever. I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes at the whole thing. Can you imagine having to live with her after all this?


Harry -
They couldn't even find some words to try and console her.  The RTD Doctor-companion-relationship experiment comes crashing to an end, in blockbuster style.

Having saved the world, once again, the Doctor is left alone, once again. For that segment of fandom for whom "shipping" the Doctor and Rose was a huge thing, this would have obviously been the show's darkest moment. The Doctor has lost so many friends over time, but RTD built this one up to be different, and way more emotional.


Sarah -
The lonely God is alone again. While I don’t want the Doctor to react with, “Oh well, Adric’s dead, let’s move on, he wouldn’t want us to linger.” I could do with much less drama than we get here.


Harry -
Yes, we've yet to hit that sweet spot somewhere between "cold fish" and "emo tears".


Sarah -
This leads us to their final(ish) meeting at Bad Wolf Bay.


Harry -
Final(ish), damn you RTD!


Sarah -
Rose has a dream where she hears the Doctor calling, so Rose, Mickey, Jackie and Pete head off to Norway to follow the voice.


Harry -
As one is compelled to do from time to time.


Sarah -
The Doctor has found a way to transmit an image of himself to talk to Rose. We learn that Jackie is pregnant and Rose is working with parallel Torchwood. Rose learns that she’s officially listed among the dead from the Battle of Canary Wharf. 

We end with the Doctor telling Rose that they can’t see each other again. She tells him that she loves him and he responds with “Quite right, too. And I suppose, if it's one last chance to say it, Rose Tyler…” as he vanishes.


Harry -
So many shipping fantasies shattering into a million pieces.


Sarah -
OK, maybe I’m not completely heartless. It is a touching moment and all that, but what made me the most emotional is the sudden appearance of Donna Noble in the TARDIS!


Harry -
What an emotional swing!  I don't think we could have handled another minute of this blockbuster.  Our last bottle of gin certainly didn't.

Overall, RTD delivered a blockbuster for the ages.  I loved the war between the Daleks and Cybermen.  Torchwood got an appropriate introduction before essentially being destroyed.  It shall rise again in another place, at another time.  As for the shipping, I was done with it before I knew shipping was a thing.


Sarah -
Bring on the next adventure, Old Boy! I’m ready.


Harry -
Goin' to the chapel and we're... gonna get married!


Sarah -
Best Line: “This is not war. This is pest control.”

Favorite Moment: The Dalek-Cybermen trash talk.

Lasting Image: I want to say Donna, but that doesn’t seem sporting. I guess I’ll go with the beach scene as I’ll never be able to delete it from my brain. 

6/10


Harry -
Best Line: same!

Favourite Moment: same!

Lasting Image: the Doctor and his 3-D glasses.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #178: The Runaway Bride...