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Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth
June 29 2008 00:57 Filed in:
Television
Old companions, old villains. The gang’s all here to close out the fourth series of Doctor Who.
The Initial Reaction
We’ve seen over the past three years that Russell T. Davies tries to top the previous series two-part finale. Now, with RTD stepping down, he’s pulled the trump card.
What we’ve managed to get is the most gigantic, fanwanky, geeky stroke of all time. The Daleks battling the Cybermen in Series 2 was the long time fans dream, but this makes Doomsday pale in comparison.
RTD has decided to throw it all in the ring and bring to light a web of references and subplots that we can trace all the way back to the pilot Rose, where we had the first mention of the Shadow Proclamation and the Time War.
Reenter the Daleks and Davros
I’ve never been a huge Dalek fan. However, when they are good, they are very good, such as in Genesis of the Daleks or Dalek. Too often they fall into a repetitive blandness that ends up giving us stories more like Daleks in Manhatten or Destiny of the Daleks along with a handful of Pertwee Dalek stories that never really gelled.
I must admit though that there was a moment in Stolen Earth -- as fan-pandering as it was -- that sent a genuine chill through me. Not a frightened chill, but a chill of 45 years of Doctor Who history culminating in a grand moment.
“Exterminate!” is broadcast across the planet.
Seeing the reactions of Sarah Jane, Torchwood and Martha were priceless. No need for explanations, just pure unadulterated submission to the inevitable. My logical side is furious at RTD for such blatant manipulation of the fan’s emotions…my 15 year old geek inside secretly loved it.
One thing that my inner geek didn’t really care much about was the return of Davros. His appearance doesn’t seem to bode well or ill for how good a Dalek story ends up. He was at his most interesting in his first story, Genesis of the Daleks. From there, he’s been a take it or leave it affair.
He was handled quite well in Stolen Earth. He exuded subdued confidence, not too over the top. I’m glad that RTD didn’t go for the “Big Reveal” moment with him. He underplayed it, which is the way it needed to be since his appearance was a foregone conclusion going in (at least if you live in the UK or follow media on the show as a fan). So far so good, good Dalek episode as opposed to a blah Dalek episode.
The Plot
From a structure standpoint, this was an odd episode. The story itself doesn’t quite unfold as much as it is blasted out at the screen like a kid spilling a jar of marbles into a giant funnel.
All these disjointed pieces that have accumulated throughout the series rolling at breakneck speed to the choke point where the episode concluded. And hand it to RTD (no pun intended for those who saw the cutaway during the final scene)…it would be a very difficult position to argue that this cliffhanger wasn’t absolutely the best in the history of the show.
Not only did it leave you bolting up out of your chair (literally I’m sure in many cases) screaming at TV wanting see what the hell the next few seconds were going to bring, it was entirely out of left field. I don’t think there was any inkling that this was in the cards.
Now is the time to stop reading if you haven’t seen this yet, because you can’t dance around this without major spoilers.
All right, hands up who saw this one coming? Regeneration. Not that he might regenerate, or could, or is injured enough that he may…
This cannot be. Knowing that David Tennent is coming back, how can they possibly write themselves through this? Or is David coming back? If not, it’s got to be the best kept secret in the history of the program.
The problem is that we think we know absolutely that he continues in the role after this, at least into the Christmas special. The scary part is how can we keep David without cheapening the impact of what has happened? However, the immediate question is what face is awaiting us in the opening moments of the finale when the energy burst of the regeneration process fades?
I’m extremely concerned that this entire line of the story is going to end up being copped out through time line changes, seriously cheapening the impact of Stolen Earth, which as it stands this week before the finale, as very powerful. We basically not only have the Doctor is regenerating, but we also have Ianto and Gwen at Torchwood as well as Sarah Jane facing situations that without some cataclysmic upheaval are all pretty much screwed within moments of the start of the finale.
By the end of the episode, the only plot point that nagged me was this whole sentient network that pulled everyone together in communication via the laptops. Not only did that stretch seem quite forced, but I find it hard to believe that Harriet Jones could claim any development of something that complex. Even accepting that it exists, how would it know at what specific laptop in the world Jack, Sarah, Martha, Rose…etc would be sitting? Sentient network doesn’t equate to psychic. I can overlook this simply as a convenient plot device, but it does stretch me a little farther than I want to go.
All the Other Bits
The music in this episode was obviously keyed to force the pacing up a few notches. It did tone down at key moments, such as the Doctor and Donna entering the Medusa Cascade, and become a bit more haunting. I was bounced back and forth between deciding whether it was hurting the story or helping to elevate it to what it was. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that it was a tremendous positive.
Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister. I’m disappointed that they decided to redeem this character. It was somewhat of a surprise to see her come back at all, but ultimately I liked that the fact that after her initial introduction back in series 1 as a likeable, sympathetic and strong character that she was exposed and torn down as an ethically questionable leader now fallen out of favor with the Doctor’s sense of values.
Having her sacrifice herself in such a manner was awkward. The justification for her actions in The Christmas Invasion was the protection of the Earth because the Doctor wouldn’t always be there to save it, yet her sacrifice was in the pursuit of simply taking a chance at calling for the Doctor’s help. A minor conflict, but somewhat bothersome. Ultimately, it was the proper thing to do to kill her off rather than continue to deal with her ambiguity. At least we end her story with redemption.
I admit that I’ve always gotten a chuckle out of the “yes we know who you are” running gag with her for the past 4 seasons but it was pushed just a little bit heavy this time like RTD felt he had to run the gag into the ground before the ultimate payoff with the Dalek executioners. Also, is it absolutely necessary for her to announce her self AND show her identification for the gag to work? Bah. Good gag that goes a little over the top sometimes.
Freema had a great episode. I make no bones that I’ve disliked Freema’s performances from the start. I thought her mediocre acting compounded by the wishy washy way the character was written really drug down much of series 3. However, this was by far her best. It was the first time since she’s come to the program that I believed her from start to finish. Her short early scenes at UNIT sealed the deal for me. I believed she was confident and in charge, she worked it and when the time came she took her orders like a loyal soldier. I still wasn’t buying her back in the Sontaran two-parter. I can’t put my finger on the change, but I felt the difference in how she approached the part this time almost immediately. I must tip my hat to Freema Agyemon.
Another small footnote. Catherine Tate has consistently surprised me throughout the season. Her reaction to the regeneration in the final moments of the episode are priceless and she has a surprising range. When she over plays anger it gets a tad over the top, but her somber moments play very well. She definitely has the chops of a dramatic actress. I’ll be sorry to see her leave the show...assuming she does at the end of the series.
All the reason to feel more angst about her impending bad luck, once again foreshadowed this week.
In Summary
Objectively, I can really see the viewpoint is that this episode is a complete and utter train wreck of ideas and characters stuffed into 44 minutes, but it’s hard not to rank this as one of the best of the best…certainly of the new series, if not historically. It’s a huge payoff for the fans of both classic and new WHO. A casual viewer is probably going to feel a little spun around by it, but in the context of the show, it just felt right. It brought into focus all the story arc elements that have been dropped throughout the year and tied it into a package with everything current in the Doctor Who universe. Fanwank...and hard not to love.
The problem is whether it can maintain it’s status with how they handle next week’s final episode. It certainly looks like there’s no way to resolve this without completely copping out the cliffhanger. All bets are off, but if these loose ends are tied up at the end with David beaming out as the Doctor and everything peachy keen again, there better be a damned good story there to precede it.
As it stands today though…outstanding, fun Doctor Who. Ask me again in a week.