TARDISWATCH: DOCTOR WHO FEATURE REVIEW- EPISODE 12: THE STOLEN EARTH

INTRODUCTION

The final piece of the puzzle has been put in place- the last remaining major villain from Doctor Who’s classic era has returned at long last. Davros is back, and he’s brought an entire new Dalek Empire with him. Davros has been a fascinating character ever since his first appearance in the 4th Doctor story Genesis of the Daleks, and while he is the absolute archetype of a science fiction villain, he carries with him a massive intellect and also an incredibly malevolent presence. That’s the thing with Davros- where many evil characters will have some kind of weak spot or some shard of good left in them, Davros is pure, absolute evil. He revels in the suffering of others, and his sole aim is to overthrow the universe and prove that his creations, the Daleks, are the supreme beings in all of creation.

His grotesque visage is one that hasn’t changed all that much since he first arrived in Doctor Who, and that is a testament to the character and his iconic image as a withered, ancient, crippled genius in a half mobile Dalek shell stuffed with gadgets. His stories have always had an incredible amount of power, especially in the exchanges between him and the Doctor, but the technology was never available back then to do the scale o the stories justice.

Thankfully that is exactly what has happened now- we finally get to see Davros and his plans in all their dark glory. He is Doctor Who’s very own Lord Sauron. He is the epitomy of darkness, evil, malevolence, negativity, power and oppression. His first story was blatantly a Nazi allegory, and that is as close as we can come to describing the level of evil at work. He is everything that we fear. He is everything that must be stopped. He is the greatest foe the Doctor, and indeed all of earth’s protectors, have ever faced. Ladies and gentlemen of Planet earth, this is how science fiction should be done. Watch, learn, and hide behind your sofas. Davros is back, and this time there seems to be no stopping him.

There are moments in this episode that simply take the breath away. The cameos. The links to the past. The Daleks. Davros. Rose. UNIT. This penultimate episode of the current series plays like the first half of a Greatest Hits of Russell T Davies album, and that is no bad thing. This is for the fans, and it delivers in spades. The entire planet is stolen and dumped in deep space along with a bunch of other stolen planets, but why? The answer becomes quite clear quite quickly- Davros is harvesting matter to create more Daleks for his new Empire. Dalek Caan, last seen in ‘Evolution of the Daleks’ last year, escaped via Emergency Temporal Shift and headed straight for the Time War itself, where he took Davros out of time so he may recreate his armies. Now, there are no Time Lords left other than the Doctor, and even he can’t seem to find where earth has gone…

This is an incredible episode on every count. From the moment the opening credits roll, with their extended names and urgent animation, you know you’re in for a treat, and a treat is exactly what you get. Pulling together characters from Doctor Who’s recent history, as well as the spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, this is a blockbuster ride full of guest stars, action, explosions, and Billie Piper running around with a ludicrously big gun. Even in previous series finales, the scale has never been this big. RTD did say that this year’s climax would be bigger than anything we’ve seen before in the new era of Doctor Who, and he wasn’t kidding. The sheer magnitude of this episode is stunning. The effects are on a par with the most expensive Hollywood blockbusters, but it is in the characters themselves and their interaction that this really shines.Julian Bleach is perfect as Davros. Nowhere near and shouty or OTT as previous incarnations. He plays it with a quieter presence, which is even more sinister. The makeup and chair are perfect, and the shot of his gaping chest when he reveals he has been using his own body as material for Daleks is chilling. The Doctor is genuinely unnerved when his old nemesis makes himself known, and the power that the Daleks have over the Doctor’s companions is genuinely frightening. Here we have Captain Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane Smith, two people who have seen adventure right across the universe, breaking down and giving up. Hearing Jack say ‘I’m sorry… there’s nothing I can do- we’re dead’ and Sarah Jane weeping and holding onto Luke really hammers the threat home for the kids watching- these are our heroes, and they are admitting that this threat is bigger than anything that they can face alone. The casting for this episode is spot on, and even the Shadow Proclamation and Judoon get a look in along the way.

The Doctor and Rose are reunited at long last, after Rose is unable to contact him during the episode and is heartbroken at her discovery of Martha on the screen when Harriet Jones is talking everyone through her plans, but that reunion is horrifically short lived. I love this moment. Its everything fans wanted and then kicks you in the gut. The Doctor is exterminated, and lies dying in Rose’s arms. As his companions drag him into the TARDIS and he begins to regenerate, we are left wondering what is going to happen. He was only hit with a glancing blow, and the regeneration seems to be going awry…

Including so many references to past stories may work against the episode’s favour with some viewers, as it is extremely continuity heavy, referencing the Time war, the Slitheen, the events in The Christmas Invasion, the classic era and more, so while true fans are leaping for joy every couple of minutes, the others may be left feeling a bit cold by the episode. That said, this is truly brilliant, and aside from RTD’s script having the odd shaky line here and there, it is nigh on perfect. All kinds of questions are raised, like what is that key device? How did Rose get back to earth? But the biggest question of all of them regards THAT ending. Just what is happening to the Doctor? Is he actually regenerating?With a thrilling pace, a fantastic and huge cast of characters, a story that is jam packed with twists and turns, some ingenious plotting, some brilliant moments and some even more brilliant moments, it is easy to forgive the odd story weakness like the throwaway explanation of Davros’ survival. The payoff better be massive for this episode. It needs to be huge, needs to explain everything, and needs to set up the Christmas special. This is great- I really have no idea what to expect from the final episode. Fantastic.

EPISODE 13 RUMOURS

The Doctor Who fan community has gone insane with this episode and its ending, but what does that regeneration mean? Here’s some of the theories and some thoughts regarding them.

-The Doctor is regenerating into the 11th Doctor, played by David Morrisey.
Hmm, I really don’t think so. The Doctor, played by David Tennant, has been glimpsed on location filming the Doctor Who Christmas Special for this year WITH David Morrissey. Rumour is that Morrissey is playing an alien character posing as the Doctor, but who is actually inn league with the Cybermen and their new counterparts, the Cyber-Wraiths.

-The Doctor is splitting into Two Doctors.
I hope not. Many people are saying that the Doctor’s severed hand is going to grow into a whole new Doctor, also played by David Tennant. Fans are wondering if this other Doctor will then go off with Rose back to her Universe. But then Rose is another matter…

-The Death of Rose?
A companion is going to die, according to Dalek Caan, and Billie Piper herself said that this story would be guaranteed to make you cry. Is Rose going to be killed in the battle against Davros? Possibly. Our of all the rumours, this is plausible. There have been spy photos of the Doctor and Rose back at Bad Wolf Bay, as seen in ‘Doomsday’, so after Rose’s supposed death, does the Doctor go back to that time and place and finish the sentence he never could do when they were first separated?

-Donna is a Time Lord
Several people are saying that Donna may in fact be Romana, the Doctor;s former companion and also a Time Lady. Much has been made of her being something other than what she seems, especially in last week’s ‘Turn left’ with the fortune teller’s horror at finding out about her. I’d say there’s definitely something else going on with Donna, and it is going to be great fining out. Spy reports from filming of the final episode state that there is a line in which the Doctor is telling Donna’s Grandfather that he can ‘never tell her what happened’. Is this aimed at Donna’s Mum after she is killed, or does Donna get her mind wiped and forget her adventures with the Doctor? Much is made this series of Donna having ‘other lives’ in other realities, which adds fuel to this rumour.

-Multi Doctors crossover
The most outlandish rumour is that the Doctor’s regeneration fails, but it does call forth previous incarnations of himself, namely the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth Doctors, and together they overcome the new Dalek Empire together, along with all of the guest stars. I love this idea, but it is simply too big and too mad for new fans to understand, plus it would never fit into 45 minutes. Then again, next week’s episode is apparently considerably longer, touching the hour mark. We shall see.

COMING NEXT WEEK: TARDISWATCH EPISODE 13- JOURNEY’S END, and also TARDISWATCH: AN OVERVIEW OF DOCTOR WHO SERIES FOURDon’t forget to check out our website for the latest Doctor Who collectibles, posters and merchandise!