World War Three
What happened: These episodes go together, as a two-parter.
It’s all one story. Rose and The Doctor try to return to the present to say hi to
Rose’s mom, but they accidentally show up a year in the future. Jackie has put up
“missing daughter” posters all over London and accused Mickey of doing away with
Rose. Jackie is livid, but then everyone is distracted by an alien ship’s crash
landing. The Doctor investigates and finds out that the ship and its inhabitant
were just distractions. The real aliens have been on Earth for quite some time.
The Doctor and Rose get taken to 10 Downing Street after a
phone call and internet search alerts the government to the Doctor’s presence, but
it’s a trap set by the aliens to get all the “alien experts” in one room, so they
can kill them. The aliens reveal themselves as the Slitheen, but have trouble killing
the Doctor. There are fights and chases. We find out that the Slitheen are here
to make a profit by impersonating the Prime Minister, nuking the Earth, and selling
the rubble to planets where it would be valuable. With the help of Mickey and Jackie,
the Doctor launches a missile into 10 Downing Street, killing the Slitheen.
Rose and the Doctor are also helped by the female future prime
minister, a caring, bumbling, self-sacrificing woman named Harriet. The Doctor asks
Mickey if he would like to join them, but then rescinds his invitation after Mickey
displays cowardice at the idea of always being in danger. He doesn’t do it in a
mean way though. The Doctor also gives Mickey a computer virus that can destroy
all references to the Doctor and his TARDIS on the internet. Jackie says goodbye
to her daughter and allows her to board the TARDIS.
What we thought: We haven’t yet mentioned how much we
like the opening credits and theme song, which is a lot. We also haven’t
mentioned how much we like Rose Tyler. She comes across as a real young girl,
not some female stereotype, and she’s not at all annoying. In short, she’s not
her mother. It’s crazy how the Doctor sometimes doesn’t get the time and
destination right, but it’s funny. Actually, so far he usually doesn’t get the time and destination right. The beginning was
great. We liked that the Doctor and Rose revisited her home, mother, and
boyfriend. You guys know how much we enjoy continuity. It helps us get into the
character, big picture, and overall story.
Our mothers would be so livid if we ran off with a old guy
for a year, with no word. We wouldn’t be sitting with them and watching the news
that night, that’s for sure. They would demand an explanation. Jackie cried a little
though. We liked the emotion there. So, the Doctor travels because he wants to
witness history? That would be a good enough reason for us to do it, but for a
TV show, we sort of wish he had more of a purpose. The fart jokes sometimes
interfered with the intensity and obviously the seriousness. Once again, the
special effects leave a lot to be desired, but points for effort and design.
We like the Slithens’ voices and names. So rarely in life
do we get to see alien villains with demon voices AND English accents. Don’t
even get us started on their awesome laughs. We like when Mickey calls Jackie
“Jacks.” We also like typing the word “TARDIS.” Our main problem with this episodes
is that we’re not sure that this really needed to be two hours. It dragged out what
should have been a fun, entertaining romp. The show is still a little silly for us. There needs to be more mythology and more seriousness.
Episode grades: C- for both
Dudes??? Doctor Who is his own mythology. The other day I said to a fellow Whovian that Doctor Who is Batman in a different universe.
ReplyDeleteOk those two episodes are the greatest but I always thought they were sooooo much better than the third episode which to me was weak - expect for the link between the maid and Torchwood.
I adore Harriet's constant introduction of herself, which never stops. (see the xmas special for season 2 and final eps for season 4)
The alien experts are UNIT which is a throw back to the old Doctor Who days, when the Doctor was stuck on earth due to his banishment by the Timelords for stealing the TARDIS.
yep, I'm a nerd/geek
Snoz
We liked episode 3 better bc of the pacing. It didn't drag as much. This story WAS better and Harriet was cool. If it were one hour instead of two, it might have reached B-.
Deletesorry I meant these eps are not the greatest, but heaps of fun, plus ther4e is also another Torchwood link in this episode.
ReplyDeleteoh, do you know what Torchwood means yet?
Snoz
PS love your blog
No! Not yet.
DeleteWe know we're going to get hate throwing mediocre grades at such a beloved show. But we're going to stick with it through at least one other doctor so that we can give it a fair chance. We want to love it.
And thanks!