all aboard the mighty 200

Planet of the dead started like a cross between Tomb Raider and a James Bond film.  All the while I was thinking OMG it’s Zoe Slater.  She was annoying on Eastenders so I wasn’t holding much hope.  Michelle Ryan’s character Christina had an air of smugness and superiority about her right from the start as she robs a gallery of a golden goblet.  She of course in her get-away ended up on the same London route 200 bus as the Doctor.  Did he really need to be eating an Easter egg as he got on the bus?  I know it is the Easter special but it was all a bit naff.

As one would expect the bus enters a tunnel, drives through a hole in the fabric of reality and ends up on another world with 3 suns.  The bossy boots/little rich girl/dominatrix Lady Christine da Souza proclaims herself leader. The bus driver attempts walking back through the hole and is fried, they realise the bus has protected them like a Faraday cage but of course it is now stuck in the sand and then runs out of petrol.

Back on earth UNIT is called in and mad professor/welsh nutter character Malcolm begins his work.  Of course cell phone coverage between earth and the planet is no problem.  Another bus passenger, Carmen (Ellen Thomas who played the acerbic Liz in Teachers), can hear voices, lots of voices of the dead. Christina and the Doctor head off to investigate and run into a couple of human size fly creatures – Tritovore – turns out they crashed on the planet too. The Doctor and Christina soon learn the sand storm heading towards them is actually a swarm of metal sting-ray type creatures which have devoured everything on the planet.

The Doctor explains his pseudo science to Christina with my fave line of the episode when he describes something as a “super clever out of spacey way”.  Anyway, alien tech scavenged from the fly ship, fly-people devoured by the sting-ray creatures the Doctor and Christina race back to the bus.  With the final element – the golden goblet- the bus powers up and levitates back through the wormhole and over London in a very Harry Potter-esque moment.

Gratitude all round – nutty Malcom hugs the Doctor and can’t stop saying I love you, the Doctor seems fine with that but is disgusted when saluted by the UNIT boss.  Predictably at the end Christina wants to join the Doctor, he says no, she is handcuffed for the theft and led away, he relents and pops her handcuffs, she escapes and flies off in the bus.  Meanwhile Carmen tells the Doctors “your song is ending sir”, that it is “returning through the dark” and “he will knock 4 times”.

 I’m just pleased Christina didn’t leave with the Doctor.

Of curious interest is the title of the next episode – The waters of Mars. It is an anagram of both “The masters of war” or “The war of masters”. Coincidence?

new who?

The eleventh Doctor Who is to be announced during a special Doctor Who confidential 17.35 January 3 on BBC One.

“they break my heart”

1851 London is the setting for the 2008 Doctor Who christmas special.  Russell T Davies again serves up a treat with plenty of nods to episodes and Doctors past and just as much explanation for those new to Who.

The Doctor arrives to find someone he thinks to be the next Doctor (played by David Morrissey) and his companion Rosita – The Doctor likes that name.  The new wannabe Doc has a certain “doctorish” arrogance which while it sits just fine on the real Doctor is a little annoying on the newbie with lines to Rosita like “The Doctor’s companion does what the Doctor says, now off you go”.  After a bit of a boys own adventure and a run in with a Cybershade – a not so cute and fluffy overgrown cyber-cat, the two Docs become best of friends.

There’s a lot of parallel mirroring which doesn’t quite add up. The new Doc has his own sonic screwdriver which is an actual screw driver, the sonic part being the noise it makes when he taps it on wood.  There’s a new TARDIS too – a blue hot air balloon – Tethered Aerial Release In Style. The new Doc knows he’s missing memories and after the discovery of a cache of infostamps the Doctor realises the new doc isn’t and rather has just absorbed all the info on Doctors past from the Infostamp to replace his own less pleasant memories.  There’s a certain sadness as the Doctor loses the hope he had of him being a friend who may know him.  When the Doctor says to him “You wanted to become someone else because Jackson Lake had lost so much” you just know the Doctor is also thinking of himself. The new Doc, Jackson Lake reveals memories of the Cybermen killing his wife.

We first see the Cybermen in a snow filled cemetery, a nod to the 1966 “The “Tenth Planet”.  That was the first time the world saw Cybermen and then they marched out of the snow. The Cybermen are controlled by Mercy Hatigan played by Dervla Kirwan. Her red frock at the cemetery is a wonderful visual contrast. She selects four mourners at the funeral and having fitted them with earpieces controls them to round up the children.  The children who all look like they’ve walked off the set of Oliver are put to work in what looks like the Torchwood Hub after a Dickensian makeover. With the expected twists the Cybermen turn Miss Hartigan into the CyberKing but she is too strong and continues to control them.

Eventually the giant CyberKing rises from the Thames.  We know it is the thames as St Pauls is the only recognisable building in the cityscape.  Of course in the final clearing of the children from the work house just before the CyberKing rises, it turns out Jackson remembers he has a son and who should be waiting on the uppermost level needing to be rescued. The Doctor says “You’ve got a son, a reason to live” to which Jackson replies “And you haven’t?” ouch – poor Doctor.  Blue eyed son is duly rescued before the whole thing erupts in flames. The Doctor rushes for the TARDIS of the hot air balloon variety and comes up alongside the CyberKing.  A few carefully altered Infostamps aimed at the CyberKing make her aware and break the hold the Cybermen have over her.  Her self awareness leads to her self-destruction.

Of course we can’t have the CyberKing fall and take out several more blocks so the Doctor manages to suck it into a time vortex all nice and tidy.

Then there’s the parting, Jackson wants to see inside the Doctor’s TARDIS which he does though in a nod to the Doctor Donna episode he can’t stay long as it is causing his head to ache. They discuss why the Doctor travels alone, he offers up various reasons and finishes with “They break my heart”. He agrees to share a meal before his departure but there is the constant reminder of the Doctor’s aloneness.

The Christmas Invasionprobably stands out as still the best xmas episode for me and last years Voyage of the Damnedwas a tough act to follow but this year didn’t disappoint either.  As Russell T Davies said “Morrissey is the greatest Doctor we’ll never have”.

it has just got to stop

Torchwood novel

In the last month or so I’ve devoured 3 Doctor Who novels and 4 Torchwood novels.  What was I thinking? I keep telling myself I should be reading something more worthy but you know what, it’s winter, it’s cold and it’s perfect snuggling under the covers with a book kind of weather.

There are six Torchwood novels available and 3 more to be released at the end of November, those can be Christmas holiday reading if I can wait that long.  Every novel so far has been 250 pages but the font sizes vary so they’re not all the same length.  I love that I hear the voices of the characters, Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Santo and Ianto Jones as I read the books. It is a little disconcerting having to think about where they sit in a timeline with the television series.  I think the next three will be odder with Owen and Tosh still featuring.

I’ve enjoyed them all but Slow decay is my favourite.  It brings Gwen’s partner Rhys into the story and the monsters in that story are quite fascinating. Those other more improving books can just wait till I’ve finished my Torchwood stack.

an accent to make you melt

Stone Rose audio book cover.

It is fair to say I’m a bit of a David Tennant fan. It can also be said that I simply adore a scottish accent.  I can listen to such an accent for hours on end. I’ve just spent a most enjoyable afternoon listening to The stone Rose a Doctor Who audio book.

It was released in 2006 so isn’t new, it is just that I’ve only acquired it recently. 

It is written by Jacqueline Rayner and the story is set, well, mostly set in ancient Rome. Of course with the usual and expected dollops of time travel you spend some time in the modern day and and 2375.  The tender moments between Rose and the Doctor warm your heart though the story is one of those you can almost see coming.  The title does that for a start. There were some cringe making moments as you just knew what was coming next and some “appropriated” themes for the sub stories – the midas touch, aladdin and the magic lamp.  At least the GENIE didn’t only grant 3 wishes, but the fact I was waiting for it sort of spoiled it.

Plot issues aside the thing that makes this a must listen to book is the narrator.  David Tennant read the book doing all voices.  It is a most lovely experience. He narrates in his own scottish accent which also adds to the experience. He has the intonation and speech patterns of Rose done perfectly. The accent I love the most is Rose’s mother Jackie’s. He doesn’t make the voices farcical but captures the character of each person in the story brilliantly.  I wish I’d had David to read me bedtime stories as a kid.

journey’s end

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

I’m still so excited I’m not sure I can put these thoughts in any coherent order just yet so this may jump around a bit.

Firstly thank goodness all those James Nesbitt rumours were WRONG. It would have ruined it for me, so yay for wild speculation which turned out to not be true.

Alas poor Donna, not dead, but dead to the world of the Doctor. So sad for him and sad for Donna too but she won’t know what she’s missing. I think it will be hard on Wilf knowing and not being able to say anything. Good on the Doc telling her stupid mother what’s what.  Maybe she’ll ease up on Donna now.

Doctor Donna – delightfully nutty the Doctor and Donna sort of mashed up and reconstituted as two timelord/human hybrids. the constant babbling and gobbiness of Donna combined with the hyperactive gibberish of the Doctor was amusing though I have to say more than a few minutes might just get annoying.  Oooh, two Doctors, now there’s a twist.  How soppily romantic leaving the human version with Rose in her alternate world. Aww they can grow old and grey together. Once she’s made him a more compassionate less genocidal version of himself that is.  She got herself a bit of a bad boy Doctor to deal with and you just know she’d rather have had the one who’s had his edges softened a little.

I’m so pleased someone finally said it.  The Doctor just isn’t as all peace loving as he’d have you believe. Count the corpses in each episode folks.  He might not have putlled the trigger or detonated the bombs but he has an army of dedicated followers who do the deadly work for him.  How many have the time children killed?

OMG, who knew the tardis was designed for 6 pilots?  Insane! How fab to see it full of all his friends.  The minute they came together you just knew it couldn’t last.  The programme’s not big enough for all those egos in the same show fulltime. It was sad to see the Doc end up alone again but the extras had to be dispatched.  Oh how convenient sending Mickey and Martha off with Jack. Well he was needing extra help after the demise of Owen and Toshiko. I did think it was mean though, not letting Donna’s mother help – honestly – she’s not thst bad is she. Loved the hugs goodbye and particular Donna taking her opportuity for a grope of Jack, positively shoving Sarah Jane out of the way to move in on him. Have to feel sorry for her, she was the only person he didn’t flirt with all episode.

Exterminieren – German speaking Daleks – what a blast.  I love these little details.  Of course the Daleks speak many languages – why wouldn’t they.

So Davros appears to live on, no one wants to be responsible for killing him off. You just know that somehow a Dalek will return eventually and appart from the mind-wiped Donna no one of consequence is killed. A brilliant episode and fine final story from RTD.  The cast is intact and David’s hair will bounce back to entertain us again. Now the speculation over the the next companion can begin.

stolen earth or stolen moment

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

Can you feel their pain? Finally at last, so close to the big reunion and some random Dalek is there to mess things up.  Well, as David said in DW Confidential, they’ve got to leave something for the second part don’t they.  I did love the ending, the fact that they got a few moments for a gentle caress, a chance to stare at each other.

As for the time children reunion – hmm – it had its moments but it was a little bit naff in places.  The childish jealousy of Rose was annoying.  Honestly, Donna is no threat and nor is Martha, they’ve both matured and want other things. The Doctor’s hearts belong to Rose.  Does she have to be so annoyingly insecure about it all?

Another Ianto and Jack moment – how delicious.  You can never have too much of that.  Ianto’s obvious jealousy that Jack met some soldier in a bar.  Jack’s “strictly professional” response has you thinking “yeah right”.  Must admit, I’m a little disappointed in Jack seemingly giving up so easily, hugging his friends and waiting to die. He just needs to toughen up.

UPDATE Just watched it through again. I’d forgotten the line “It’s like an alien facebook” – I like that. Actually as silly as that whole reunion piece was I guess they needed to get the introductions over and done with without complicated stories.

Oooh and did anyone in the UK try phoning or texting that number? 07700 900461

the girls are back

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

If you’d told me that I’d enjoy a DW episode with barely any scenes with the Doctor I wouldn’t have believed you.

Last week’s single set episode had an air of money saving about it and this week’s “flashback fiesta” was a bit the same.  Money is being stashed away for the finale and it had better be good is all I can say.

I’d also been thinking that by the time Rose finally returned I’d have got fed up waiting but I hadn’t.  She was like a mini Doctor, adopting his habits and behaviours.

The fortune teller was seriously creepy, more than the bug on Donna’s back. That time beetle – looked like something out of a toy shop. I regretted that they showed us the whole thing to clearly in the end as it was just creepier and more suspenseful seeing only small snippets of it.

Another market scene – did that remind anyone of pompeii? It felt a bit samey. And I kept thinking it was earth.  The opening scene just didn’t register and it wasn’t till Donna was talking about time machines and aliens so freely – I kept thinking why is she saying that to someone on earth – but of course she wasn’t.

Flashback annoyance aside I did like the tie-ins with the spin-off series – the Torchwood reference and the Sarah Jane link. A mention of Ianto and Gwen – so much <3 so much sadness.  And then my mind wanders to Captain Jack…

At the end, Donna’s whole realisation that her life was insignificant compared to the survival of the world – I’m still struggling with that. It just arrived too quickly. It felt like the end of the episode was rushed. Even at the moment she realised she needed to jump felt too rushed. The interval between the realisation and the action was so brief and it is in a parallel world so she won’t take that with her. In her “Rose” world she’s gone from ignorance to mind blowing awareness and self-sacrifice but in the “Doctor” world she’s been on the journey of discovery and ading real world emotion and reality to the Doctor’s world. In my head I can’t reconcile the two Donnas.

So overall I really liked this episode despite the flashbacks and woefully too few shots of that fabulous hair.  This “Turn Left” episode is still messing with my mind. I can’t wait for the finale.

midnight mayhem

**Doctor Who spoiler alert**

For the first time ever I’ve just seen an episode of Doctor Who I really didn’t enjoy. It was okay, it just wasn’t spectacular. Midnight saw the Doctor off on a solo adventure, stuck in a transporter with 7 others doing a spot of sightseeing. It was just all a bit naff.  I understand all the subtleties and depths within, the Doctor failing to win over humanity, the fact he came so close to being abandoned by his fellow travellers, how different it is for him to travel without a companion.  I watched Doctor Who confidential as well and I appreciate the difficulties faced by the sound folk in this episode.  I don’t need a big explosion or scary monsters to enjoy an episode. I think after the last two episodes I was just expecting something more.

And as for Rose, we know she’s coming back, all the little entrances which the Doctor doesn’t see are becoming as annoying as Donna’s return was.

puncturing the doctor’s pomposity

Fab interview with David Tennant on Radio 5, 2 April 2008. You can listen via YouTube. 26 Minutes and 21 seconds split over three parts.

Part one (9min 24) David is brilliant at avoiding probing into plot developments.

Part two (9min17) The sadness and loneliness of the Doctor. He lives forever. Any mortal he gets involved with will just never live long enough for the Doctor. Discussion of his shakespearian role and next year’s 3 Doctor Who specials.

Part Three (7min40) Discusses his experience being on “Who do you think you are?” Explores his directing aspirations.