Doctor Who Series One Episode 12 – Bad Wolf

It is exceptionally difficult to try and compare The Empty Child with Bad Wolf. They are so entirely different and yet so entirely brilliant. I think I’m settling for The Empty Child as the winner but this episode was nonetheless brilliant. So many people attempt spoofs of classic BBC trash but of course no-one does it better than the BBC. Licensing everything to themselves – including Anne Robinson (The Anne-Droid) – makes it all so ingenious. The whole idea of this episode (and unfortunately less so its counterpart) is so brilliantly original it really is the ideal episode to restore one’s faith in Russell T. Davies (head writer from 2005 to 2009). The highlight of the episode has to be the hopelessness of the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) against the furiousness of Captain Jack (John Barrowman) after Rose’s (Billie Piper) ‘disintegration’. I wish it had lasted longer. On the other hand I didn’t quite appreciate the Doctor’s violence when breaking out of the cell, that could have been left to Jack to be honest. Of the supporting cast (apart from Ms. Robinson), the only person I’d previously seen in anything else that I remember is Nisha Nayar who, frankly, wasn’t great. However, Jo Stone-Fewings grew on me as the episode progressed and Jo Joyner (Lynda Moss) and Martha Cope (The Controller) were absolutely flawless. One thing I thought could have been far better was the reveal of the Daleks. They enter at the end of the episode and I’d completely forgotten they were in it and the clues were few until the final third of the episode so why, oh why, were they shown in the ‘Next Time’ trailer at the end of Boom Town? Annoying frankly. I have seen the series before and so I know who’s voice it is seen in this time’s ‘Next Time’ trailer (if you get my flow), but I did wonder this time if it was deliberate that it sounded like Davros? Naturally viewers would get excited at the prospect but it would only lead to a huge anti-climax when it is revealed that it is not Davros. But then that’s Russell T. Davies for you. See the cliffhanger to The Stolen Earth (Series 4) for details.

Doctor Who Series One Episode 11 – Boom Town

Boom Town. A very interesting one. Gets a lot of negative feedback. Too ‘conversational’, no-one likes the Slitheen etc. etc. but on watching this again (second time) I didn’t actually mind it too much. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t experienced the full ‘wonders’ of this series this time but, or because I haven’t experienced the ‘horrors’ of the earlier Slitheen two-parter this time over but I actually didn’t mind it. It intrigues me how the different Doctors react to situations similar to what he is put in in this episode. No, it’s not the most action-packed episode but nor is it the most conversational. Eccleston (The Doctor) is finally in the swing of things and is superb, bouncing off Annette ‘very-appropriate-surname’ Badland (Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen) who is also better than I remembered. The childish story between Rose (Billie Piper) and Mickey (Noel Clarke) is admittedly irritating and Rose seems to have completely forgotten her infatuation with Jack (John Barrowman). No doubt that will be back soon. Unfortunately this is very much a Doctor/Enemy-centered episode so Barrowman doesn’t come into it much. Over all the episode is nothing special, which is why it’s the one I always forgot from this series, but it’s not bad! But now, on to the pinnacle of the series…