Around England, thousands of Doctor Who fans fangasmed after this episode.
With six names zooming out of the credits towards us (including a "with" and an "and") for a moment I thought I was watching the American telemovie - though that in itself is not a bad thing. What was a little more surprising was having some cast members credited on screen after the credits have finished, Poirot style. All quite different from the days when no one got a credit for twenty-two minutes (except the writer, obviously). But this episode just made Russell T Davies out to be the biggest liar ever - Rose will not return after series two...except now; Torchwood and Doctor Who will never cross over...except now. But you can't help but love Davies really. Moffat may be the guy who can scare the living crap out of you, but Davies is the guy who sits down and thinks "I need to write something epic...".
And boy is The Stolen Earth epic. What's slightly surprising, though, is the enormous amount of continuity in the story. OK, so we see the return of Martha, Rose, Jack and Sarah, the appearance of Ianto, Gwen, Luke and Mr Smith, appearances by Francine, Harriet Jones, Wilf and Sylvia, the return of Davros, the Daleks and the Judoon; but after countless mentions of the Medusa Cascade, the Cruciform, the Shadow Proclamation we finally get to see all those things as well (OK, not so much the Cruciform, but it was mentioned). And, add to that, there is also an allusion to a classic series story...
So, let's just briefly discuss the actual story. Obviously the Earth has been stolen, along with a number of other planets that have been mentioned in previous episodes this season, and to the surprise of...well, no one who had any common sense really, the culprits are the Daleks. The Doctor goes to the Shadow Proclamation to find this out while Harriet Jones unites the Doctor's past companions and they bring the Doctor to Earth. Where he gets exterminated...
What impresses me most about the new series is the fact that people are genuinely, shit-your-pants scared of the Daleks. When the Daleks invade Earth, Sarah and Martha and Jack are terrified. When we see the fear on their faces, it really helps sell the fact that these are the most dangerous creatures running around the universe.
But it was curious to see a lot of humour in this episode, not only with things like Ianto laughing at a television programme despite the appropriateness of such an act; but also with things such as Sarah complaining about the fanfare everytime Mr Smith comes out of the wall (and how cool was it that it was filmed in exactly the same way?). On top of that we got to see Sarah flip from hating to Torchwood to being quite pleased at Jack's flirting with him, as well as the Doctor shushing Donna when she sees Jack for the same reason. Plus the return of the "Harriet Jones, Former Prime Minster" "I know" joke, even down to the Daleks knowing who Harriet Jones is, but...
Once again, though, it's acting kudos to everyone in the cast. Easily stealing the show is Penelope Wilton reprising Harriet Jones, and bringing such power and elegance to the character. I still have a problem with the Doctor's decision to end her government (and certainly given the fact it effectively allowed the Master to take over that would seem a little justified), but it was great that Harriet stood by her decision to do what she did. Harriet is the best companion we never had - a woman who knows what she should do and is prepared to take the decision to do so, but better, one who is capable enough to create technology that will get her in contact with all the Doctor's previous companions (from the new series anyway).
Coming in very close behind this fantastic performance is Julian Bleach recreating Davros and sounding eerily like the original version as seen in Genesis of the Daleks (a fantastic bit of continuity as well when Sarah Jane recognises who Davros is). Bleach's performance is restrained and controlled, bringing back the deadly, truly evil side of Davros. Davies also adds the rather disturbing moment where we find out that Davros has been using himself to recreate the Daleks...particularly gruesome and nasty.
Everyone else is on fine form, but thank god the bizarre speech impediment that Billie Piper had last week has disappeared. Once again we see the Rose we used to know and love, and yes, a tear came to my eye when she and the Doctor saw each other for the first time - but then I also had a a moment when Harriet was exterminated.
My one concern though is - am I so blinded by the fangasmic moments that I have overlooked a crappy episode? I'm not going to make the call based on one episode, but I hope that Davies big concepts have a big payoff.
So where to from now? Who knows. Is the regeneration for real? I find it difficult to believe. Bring on the next episode though.
"A"
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