Series 1 (Doctor Who)

...got the title right.

Yeah anyway once again this took way too long to come out, and for that I'm sorry. At this point I'm nearly done rewatching Series 2. But here it is anyway. Part 3 of me reviewing every episode of the Russel T Davies era. (Previous instalment: https://tardis.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003590933 )

Reviewing episodes 4-7 of the Doctor Who reboot | FandomHey guys! Two weeks ago, I started my Russel T…tardis.fandom.com

The three episodes I'll be reviewing today are nothing short of bangers and some of the best episodes of the season. So let's jump right into them, shall we?

Episode 8: Father's Day

• Now this is where the season started to get good. And I mean really good. There were certainly some great episodes before this one ('The Unquiet Dead', 'Dalek'), but here is where it started getting consistently great. Every episode after and including this one (with the exception of 'Boom Town', but we'll talk about that later) is great in their own right. While this isn't my overall favourite episode of the season, it's definitely up there. 'Father's Day' picks up some natural conflict between the Doctor and Rose, and explores Rose's past in ways we haven't seen before. At this point, thanks to the spectacular characterisation this season has been giving us (I've said it before and I'll say it again; this is the exact opposite of Season 11 in that respect), we really have a full understanding of who Rose is as a character. So by thrusting her into a situation where she sees her father die, we know what she'll probably do. Compelling characterisation is made when we get to see characters in their character during the action (Season 11 prefers to take character breaks every once in a while to remind you that the companions have one trait each, before they turn back into cardboard during the action). Rose's decisions in this episode are compelling, because we understand from what part of her character they are coming from. Her interactions with her dad in this episode, the emotional core of the episode, are some of the best scenes in the entire series as a result of we knowing who she is. Now let's talk about the Doctor's character in this episode. I've heard a couple fans express anger about the Doctor nearly abandoning Rose in this episode because he got so upset at her. They say it's jarring for his character after all he and Rose have been through. But I completely disagree. I think the reason he gets so mad at her is precisely BECAUSE of what they've been through. He's learnt to trust her, so when she betrays his trust, he rightfully becomes angry with her because he feels, well betrayed. Does he go too far in showing this? Definitely. But remember that he's still vulnerable. He's still healing from his scars of the Time War. He's not a perfect Doctor, he never will be. But he is a good Doctor, and he wasn't going to actually abandon her. In terms of character, this is easily one of the strongest of the entire era. I haven't even talked about Pete yet, but this review is getting too long so I'm cutting it here. Point is, phenomenal episode. Maybe if the pacing was a bit faster it'd be my favourite of the season, but it's still awesome. (A)

And you what's crazy? That's the weakest of these three episodes in my opinion.

Episode 9: The Empty Child

• THIS IS IT. This is my favourite episode of the season, hands down. Series' 7 and 9 really made me forget what Moffat can do when he's at his best. I think he's much better at individual episodes than series-long plots, and it shows here. This episode is everything great about this season going on top form. First of all, it introduces us to Captain Jack Harkness. In this episode, Jack is a con man attempting to con the Doctor and Rose, but he's shown to be a charming, witty, playful sort of character from his first moment and a lot of what makes this character work comes from John Barrowman. His performance in this episode is perfect, from his more lighthearted moments, to his actual series moments where he realises his recklessness might have gotten people hurt. His arc over the course of this two-part is really compelling, and is explored more in the next episode. The plot of this story is extremely well set-up here. It's tense, frightening, creepy, exciting and you're dying to know how it ends. That's how a part one of a two-part should be. After 'Aliens of London', I wasn't thrilled to see how that story would continue, but after this episode, I'm dying to watch the next one. But yeah all in all this is the best possible type of set-up. The characters for the story are well established, the setting is extremely well established (like holy frick they did a good job in this department) and the plot is started in a way to leave you hooked. The very best stories of this season (this two-parter and 'The Unquiet Dead') both have incredibly well established, hooking settings that something like 'Dalek' or even 'Father's Day' are lacking. Man I don't even know what else to say, it's just phenomenal. Is it perfect? No. The way Rose meets Captain Jack is ridiculously dumb. Is it better than the best episodes of Series 2, 3 and 4? No. There are at least eight or nine episodes from those seasons that are better. Is this still the best episode of this season? Absolutely. It's not quite an S Tier episode, but it's really close. Definitely check it out if you haven't already. (A)

Episode 10: The Doctor Dances

• A thoroughly satisfying conclusion to the previous episode in every way. Moffat is really good (most of the time) at writing plot twists, and the ones in this episode are great. I'm not going to spoil them in case you haven't seen this episode, but trust me when I say everything ties together beautifully. Once again, Jack Harkness absolutely steels the show for every scene he's in, and his arc is incredibly well handled, starting off only self-interested and by the end willing to sacrifice himself to save the day. This episode is also a good point on the Doctor's arc too. He really needed this happy ending after all the hardship he's been through recently, and Christopher Eccleston's beaming smile at the end almost choked me up to be honest. He really is a fantastic actor playing a fantastic Doctor (quote pun intended). This episode also manages to keep up the more scary tone of the first pretty well. It's not as unnerving, sure, but it does a good job at keeping the tension up. Imagine in your part two of your two-part story you completely change the tone of the first part (although it was almost definitely an accident in the case of 'Aliens of London'/'World War Three'). The stakes are well framed, the characters are all great, yeah honestly I don't know what to say about this one. It's just a perfect resolution to the conflict of 'The Empty Child', tying everything up in a satisfying way and concluding the best story of the season. It's definitely a really, really great episode and one of my favourites of the season. (A)

WHEW BOY. That was long. This is easily the longest I've talked about any episode of this season, and I think that goes to show just how much I love these three. Here's my full season ranking:

1. S1 E9 The Empty Child (A)

2. S1 E10 The Doctor Dances (A)

3. S1 E3 The Unquiet Dead (A)

4. S1 E8 Father's Day (A)

5. S1 E6 Dalek (A-)

6. S1 E1 Rose (B+)

7. S1 E2 The End of the World (B-) (moved it above 'The Long Game', because while that episode was more consistent, this one had higher highs.)

8. S1 E7 The Long Game (B-)

9. S1 E5 World War Three (C)

10. S1 E4 Aliens of London (C)

Now to work on the next reviews because I've already watched those episodes. Until that comes out, see you around the fandom as I spread my controversial opinions. Bye!

Hey guys! Two weeks ago, I started my Russel T Davies Who marathon, and wow it got delayed. I was super busy these last couple of weeks with school and forgot to write this earlier, but here we are. This is part 2 of me reviewing every episode of the Russel T Davies era (part 1: https://tardis.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003586394)

Reviewing the first three episodes of Series 1 of the reboot (2005) | FandomHey there everyone! I'm rewatching the entirety…tardis.fandom.com

Hope you enjoy it! The next one will be out sooner.

Episode 4: Aliens of London

• ‘Aliens of London’ may in all honesty be the most frustrating episode in the entire season, because all the pieces were there to make yet another great episode but Russel T Davies just didn’t pick them up. The idea of aliens faking an alien crash landing to gain power amidst a crisis is such a cool idea for an episode with political messages, and the idea of The Doctor and Rose coming back to Rose’s time a year later would have made for a really interesting character crisis. In the end, the episode used neither to its fullest potential and ended up being disappointing. Considering how great the character writing in general was this season, I really feel that arriving home a year too late really should have sparked a conflict between The Doctor and Rose. Maybe put some strain on their relationship, even furthered when The Doctor lies to Rose later in the episode. This season is so good at calling out The Doctor’s errors as part of his arc, but they weirdly never do that here. They just forget any of this ever happened in the second half. And the entire interesting part of the alien invasion is dropped in favor of goofy farting aliens with awful character design killing people in hilarious ways, while still managing to take itself seriously. All that plus slow pacing made me lose interest in it after 20 minutes. It’s not bad, I mean I like Harriet Jones. But overall a pretty lackluster episode considering the one before it was ‘The Unquiet Dead’, one of the most underrated episodes of Doctor Who. (C)

Episode 5: World War Three

• Wow. Of any episode in this season, this is the one I usually recommend that newcomers skip, because if ‘The End of the World’ didn’t scare them off, this one will. Compared to the self-serious tone of the first part of this story, this one feels more like a Doctor Who parody. I’m not kidding, the plot is so ridiculous and filled with so many laughable moments, that it feels like someone is trying to make fun of the show. 90% of the lines delivered by the Slitheen this episode are comedy gold. This episode is so incompetent on so many levels, that interestingly enough it becomes impossible to turn away from at times. The vast majority of my enjoyment for this episode is ironic, which means that while it’s definitely worse than ‘Aliens of London’, I like it a whole lot more. Such a ridiculous episode in every way. Oh well, at least The Doctor has tangible growth by the end. But like I said, it’s fun. (C)

Episode 6: Dalek

• Coming off of the dreaded Slitheen duology half boring half stupid, we get one of the series’s classics; the return of a favorite villain. ‘Dalek’ is a great episode, pure and simple. It’s not my favorite of the season, but it’s a more than good use of nostalgia to tell a story. While it’s held back by a weird lack of energy in many crucial action scenes, ‘Dalek’ excels in the writing department. Not only does it perfectly re-introduce us to a classic villain in a cool way as well as contribute boatloads to the overall season arc for The Doctor, but it also manages to tell a story that’s good on its own too. Fast pacing, great new characters, an entertaining villain, real stakes, and a dish of emotion to the side all contribute to this. This episode really furthers the idea that not every action The Doctor takes is morally correct and really excels by comparing him to the titular Dalek. Russel T Davies and crew aren’t afraid to paint him as a complicated person who makes errors in judgment or lets hate take over (if Chris Chibnall were reading this he’d have no idea what I’m talking about). He’s a scarred person who is still recovering. If the action were more engaging, it could potentially be the best episode of Series 1. But even so, it's still a really good episode. Oh and also Adam’s in this episode. (A-)

Episode 7: The Long Game

• Of all the episodes this season, I think this is the one I have the least opinion on. It's fun and feels like a long-lost Classic Who episode in a lot of ways, but didn't really have a very big impact on me. Not to say it doesn't impact the season, it does that for sure, setting up Satelite 5 for the finale and all. The story has a lot of cool ideas in it that are executed pretty well, and Adam is better characterized than he was last episode. Simon Pegg is in this one, so that was epic. Yeah, overall I have laughably little to say here. It's just a pretty good, pretty standard Doctor Who story that I enjoyed, but won't think about as much as others. (B-)

Episodes Ranked So Far:

1. S1 E3 The Unquiet Dead (A)

2. S1 E6 Dalek (A-)

3. S1 E1 Rose (B+)

4. S1 E7 The Long Game (B-)

5. S1 E2 The End of the World (B-)

6. S1 E5 World War Three (C)

7. S1 E4 Aliens of London (C)

Well that took longer to come out than it should've. Oh well, the next one will be out quicker. Be sure to check out the first one (link at top) too! Until the next one comes out, see you!

(P.S. I'm also working on a terribly long critique of Chibnall Who if anyone wants to see me tare apart a dumpster fire for twenty paragraphs.)