TARDISWATCH: DOCTOR WHO FEATURE REVIEWS AND NEWS
EPISODE 6: THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER
An independent, unofficial series of Doctor Who reviews and analysis from a lifelong fan of the show
The subject of The Doctor’s Daughter has been a source of great debate ever since the episode title was announced. As the first Doctor’s companion was his own granddaughter, Susan, it was feared that we would discover the truth about the Doctor’s family in this episode. Thankfully, the mystery is largely still intact. It does raise the issue of the Doctor’s background in this new era. Having a few morsels of information about his origins is a great thing, but I’d hate it to get bogged down in continuity again (Anyone else remember Trial of a Time Lord?). The mystery of the character of the Doctor came back to a certain extent in classic era stories such as The Curse of Fenric (which is an excellent story- I recommend getting the DVD version as it contains the story cut into a movie with new CG effects and extra stuff), but it was too little too late and the show disappeared up its own TARDIS. Since the show came back in 2005 however, the subject of the Doctor’s history has remained low key. It has been the Time War that has had more screentime than anything. The series 3 glimpses of Gallifrey were wonderful, and rather than give too much away actually served to create more of a mystique around the Time Lords and their demise. The way things are going though, we may well see some remnants of the Time War again before this series ends…
Keep checking back for the latest news on new Doctor Who merchandise!
From the opening scenes this episode doesn’t let up, and rather than losing you in the madness, it grabs hold and takes you running through the corridors with it, kicking and screaming as the Hath chase after you. The setup is dealt with in the opening seconds, and after that it is a mad dash for the finish line with the plot unravelling at a steady pace and the thrills coming thick and fast. The character of the Doctor’s daughter (played by the 5th Doctor Peter Davison’s real life daughter, Georgia Moffett) is handled very well, and the moments later in the episode where some of Dad’s traits start to shine through are wonderful. The Hath are convincingly odd aliens, and the design of the prosthetics is first rate. I do like the fact that we don’t get to understand what they’re saying, and this is most effective in the scenes where Martha is taken captive. It makes a nice change for a Doctor Who episode to contain creatures that don’t speak perfect English (albeit via the TARDIS). Catherine Tate is on excellent form as Donna (I am quite surprised that I actually just typed that) and the character has really come into her own. One thing that did grate a bit when Donna is working out what the numbers on the walls mean- a plot device rather reminiscent of modern science fiction classic CUBE. That aside, the climax was incredible, featuring a wonderful performance from David Tennant, who really is perfect as the Doctor in this series, and the revelation surrounding the ‘war’ was inspired. The closing moments are heartbreaking and uplifting in turn, and with Jenny resurrected and flying off into the expanse of space, who knows when or where we’ll see the Doctor’s daughter again? This episode was brilliant in pretty much every way. Encore.
9.5/10
TORCHWOOD FIGURES- FIRST IMAGES REVEALED
We’ve been given the go ahead to post these first images of items from the forthcoming TORCHWOOD range of action figures. These first images show the Weevil and Cyberwoman action figures. Due in August 2008, this first set of licensed Torchwood action figures is also set to include Captain Jack and Gwen. Images of those two will be posted as soon as we are allowed to!
