Harry -
"Did you miss me?"
We hardly had the time to miss the Doctor, as our marathon took us straight from "The Parting of the Ways" to the Children in Need Doctor Who Special, first broadcast in November, 2005. The brief episode shows Rose reacting to the newly regenerated Doctor as he bounces around the TARDIS console. I don't remember ever seeing this, but it's been so long and the scene is so short there's not much to remember. It was a sweet little scene though, wasn't it?
Sarah -
It's a nice fill-in between "The Parting of the Ways" and "The Christmas Invasion". I only saw the special for the first time a few years ago. It always felt like something was missing from the beginning of "The Christmas Invasion", and apparently there was!
Harry -
No sooner has the Doctor convinced Rose that he's still the Doctor, and no sooner has Rose agreed to stay aboard the TARDIS, than the newly regenerated Time Lord lurches over in pain and his ship spins out of control. Returning to Earth, it ricochets off a couple of buildings at the Powell Estate before landing with a thud before Jackie and Mickey, who came running at the familiar TARDIS sound.
Sarah -
Would that be the Jackie and Mickey who SAVED THE DAY when the Doctor needed them most? The kind and lovely people who put their own feelings aside to help Rose save the Doctor? That Jackie and Mickey? Hell Yeah!
Harry -
Still dressed in his leather and blacks, the Doctor stumbles out the door and collapses. There's confusion all around before Rose informs them that this man is the Doctor. "Doctor who?" Jackie demands. That gag never gets old and I'm sure RTD loved writing it in.
Sarah -
I believe I heard a bit of an eye roll coming from Ms. 15 on the other end of the sofa.
Harry -
And just like that, Rose is back home and it's Christmas Eve. In the spirit of the season, no one brings up her horrendous behaviour the last time the TARDIS dropped her off. Everyone is busy hauling the unconscious Doctor up to Jackie's flat, where he remains bedridden. Echoes of Jon Pertwee's Doctor, post-regeneration. He'll surely be up and fussing about for his shoes in no time, right?
Sarah -
It also made me think of Peter Davison, being carried around in the zero cabinet. Nothing like a regeneration crisis to get things going.
Harry -
This one dragged on as long as the Fifth Doctor's did, minus the do-it-yourself casket.
Sarah -
Who needs a zero cabinet when you have Jackie’s beau Howard’s bathrobe and jim-jams?
Harry -
The Doctor being out of service left Rose, Jackie and Mickey to face a barrage of violent threats from a band of homicidal Father Christmases and a killer Christmas tree. Some residual regeneration energy emitted by the Doctor got picked up by aliens, who sent probably the least subtle scouting mission ever to check it out. The Doctor awakens long enough to shoo the "pilot fish" away, but he warns his friends that something far more dangerous is coming. Then he conks out again.
Sarah -
The killer Santas and deadly Christmas tree are two of my favorite things in this story. They’re both so wonderfully creepy. Jackie shouting, “I’m gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!” makes me laugh every time.
Jackie has a lot to do in this story and has some nice moments, but the Doctor still manages to be a jerk to her. When he’s suffering from a neuron implosion and ends up stuttering, “I need” over and over, Jackie offers various suggestions of things he might need. The Doctor concludes with, “I need you to shut up.” Jackie is unfazed -- “Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?”
Back to bed for the Doctor and Mickey wastes no time in searching for more information about pilot fish. He and Rose figure out quickly that something much larger is on its way. Meanwhile, the TV news is covering the Guinevere One space probe, which is just about to broadcast the first-ever images of Mars.
Harry -
It's the first-ever glimpse of an alien race, and they don't seem friendly. No one knows what to do, but have no fear: Harriet Jones, Prime Minister is on top of it!
Sarah -
Go Harriet Jones!
Harry -
It was no surprise to see the MP for Flydale North elevated to head of government since we last saw her. It was good to see her back in charge, and even better to see her at UNIT HQ, located in the Tower of London.
Sarah -
UNIT in the Tower! Twelve years on, it still gives me chills. We saw UNIT members in series one, but this feels like proper UNIT, doesn’t it? And we get our first Torchwood mention.
I could have done without the constant showing her ID card and saying, “Harriet Jones, Prime Minister.” I know it’s a Harriet thing, but it makes her look so incompetent. It just gets embarrassing when everyone replies, “I know” with a pained expression.
Harry -
Unlike the gag of repeatedly finding fruit in Harold's bathrobe, Harriet's gag was overdone.
Sarah -
Her mention of an act of Parliament banning her autobiography, almost makes up for it.
Harry -
Through a sketchy translation, the Sycorax demand that the Earth surrender. Harriet sends a reply, telling them absolutely not, so they respond with a startling act of hostility -- taking over the minds of one-third the planet's population, and forcing them to the closest rooftops. There, they pause. Unless the alien demand is met, they will be sent to their deaths. There was a lot of bluster going on here, some unintentionally amusing like the translated line "Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax rock, as in the modern sense, they rock."
Sarah -
The sight of all the affected people tromping out of their houses and onto roofs, while being followed by their pleading relatives is one of the most terrifying moments in Doctor Who for me. It’s bad enough watching this one group, let alone imagining it happening all over the world! It turns out everyone with A+ blood has been affected because that’s the blood type included on the probe. The horror!
Harry -
With one-third of the planet's population standing literally on the brink of death, Harriet broadcasts an emergency message pleading for help from the Doctor. But there is no sign of him as the Sycorax ship arrives over London. Although it was massive in size, it looked like crap. Literally, it was a pale brown lump that looked like a week-old dog turd.
Sarah -
Ha! It totally does!
Harry -
Rose, Jackie and Mickey drag the Doctor to the TARDIS, as Rose believes it's the only safe place they can hide.
More bluster from the Sycorax, as they identify Harriet as the individual who speaks for the planet. She, an aide, the UNIT commander and the head of the Guinevere program are beamed aboard the alien ship and the latter two are immediately killed. The Sycorax then pick up sounds coming from the TARDIS -- alien technology -- and they beam it aboard as well... just as Rose steps outside.
Sarah -
Unfortunately, Jackie is left behind. Again.
Harry -
Bluster bluster bluster from the Sycorax leader! As we'll soon see, this race are great at putting on a show and scaring the pants off of people, but in the end, they are just bullies and cowards.
Sarah -
And suddenly, in the middle of the bluster, Rose realizes she can understand the Sycorax. The Doctor is awake, thanks to the power of tea! Rule, Britannia! There’s nothing a cuppa can’t solve!
And, now, 40 minutes into the episode, we get our first real glimpse of the Tenth Doctor. It starts off so well, doesn’t it?
Harry -
And now, a confession. I hated this Doctor! At first, in December 2005 anyway. He stepped out of the TARDIS and was so silly and clownish that my reaction was "I don't like it! Change it back!". The transition from Eccleston's cool brashness to Tennant's bouncy energy was jarring and he took some getting used to.
By "New Earth", I was used to him.
Sarah -
Look at you, a proper grumpy old fan!
Coming to terms with being rude and not ginger, the Doctor takes control of the situation, challenging the Sycorax leader to a duel for the planet. With the help of a satsuma in Howard’s dressing gown, the Doctor wins the duel and saves the day.
Harry -
This was a great action sequence and once and for all ripped the façade of ferocity from the Sycorax for good. If their leader couldn't outduel a Time Lord who just came out of a regeneration coma, on his own ship, surrounded by hundreds of his own, then what good was he?
Sarah -
Not good for much, it seems. The Doctor loses a hand along the way, but it’s early enough in the regeneration process that he grows a new one. Watching this for the first time, I loved this moment. Now, it just makes me angry about what’s to come. But that’s a discussion for another day...
Harry -
I was probably as overwhelmed as the Sycorax leader by Tennant's opening performance. Anyway.
Sarah -
It's a wee bit expansive, isn't it?
Back on the Powell Estate, everyone is happy and the Doctor even has a hug for Jackie. Harriet asks if there are more aliens out there, and the Doctor explains that Earth is starting to draw attention to itself and more aliens can be expected. She reluctantly gives the order for Torchwood (remember the time when we didn’t know what that meant?) to fire and five beams converge, destroying the Sycorax ship. The Doctor, having made an agreement with Sycorax, is livid -- “I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race.”
Oh, Harriet. What have you done?
Harry -
In a surprise heel turn, Harriet proves herself the biggest bully of them all. In destroying the ship, she draws the Doctor's ire and we get our first flash of this new incarnation's rage. But he quickly cools down and proceeds to knock the prime minister off her perch with those six memorable words.
Sarah -
“Don’t you think she looks tired?” While I understand and agree with the Doctor's anger, I have to say this line really bothered me. Does anyone ever say a male politician looks tired? And if they did, would anyone care? I was back on #TeamHarriet by the end of that scene.
Harry -
I think it's one of those British sayings that rivals trot out when they are politically intriguing against each other. Could be wrong.
Remember back in Victorian Cardiff, when the Doctor told Rose he doesn't do Christmases? Hah! He joins Rose's gang for dinner at the first opportunity. Perhaps it was his way of showing thanks, appreciation and respect for the people who support his friend, even though he can treat them like mud.
Sarah -
Or he's just killing time before whisking Rose away again.
Harry -
So! Here's our new Doctor. He's had a rummage through the TARDIS wardrobe and picked out a very Doctory set of threads, probably the most iconic look of the new era.
Sarah -
There's nothing I love more than a good TARDIS wardrobe scene!
Harry -
I already described my initial reaction to him, and I'm glad it was short-lived. I got used to his "hyper cutie" style soon enough, as we move past the post-regeneration drama. Out of all of New Who, the Tennant era is the one that I have rewatched the most, especially as the DVD sets started rolling out. There are things I remember fondly, and things that make me cringe just thinking about them. I'm interested to see what our take will be as we watch it again together.
Sarah -
I'm interested to see how I end up feeling about this era by the end of our rewatch. From this vantage, I remember all the things that pissed me off much more vividly than the things I liked. We'll see if the balance shifts in the coming months.
Harry -
Shall we strike out for New Earth?
Sarah -
Let's!
Harry -
Best line:
Another good one from Mickey: "Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British."
Favourite moment: the Doctor references Arthur Dent.
Lasting image: the swordfight.
7/10
Sarah -
Best line: "Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams."
Favorite Moment: Rose realizes she can understand the Sycorax, which means the Doctor is awake.
Lasting Image: The killer Father Christmases.
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #168: New Earth...
