TARDISWATCH- DOCTOR WHO SERIES FOUR OVERVIEW
When it was announced that Catherine Tate would be returning to Doctor Who for the whole of series four, fandom was pretty much unanimous in its shock and derision. Could this actress, known mostly for her comedy work, bring back her character from the 2006 Christmas special ‘The Runaway Bride’ and make her less irritating? Would she ruin the show that BBC Wales had worked so hard on to resurrect? Or, would she surprise us all and actually be really good? A bit of all of them, really, but mostly the last one. Millions of Doctor Who fans, myself included, are eating our own words as Catherine’s portrayal of Donna Noble this time came across as more or less a real person, and not just that, but a person we actually cared about by the end of the series. Who would have thought it was possible? This was certainly a series that brought many surprises along with it.
We had the return of the Ood, the classic Sontarans, the Daleks and Davros. Along the way we met the Doctor’s Daughter, Agatha Christie, the Adipose and we became reacquainted with many old friends. Russell T Davies promised us that this series would be the biggest ever, and he has seen his final series as the showrunner out in fine style. While it did have its weaker moments, such as ‘The Unicorn and the Wasp’ and ‘Midnight’, it also brought us some genuine classics, such as ‘Silence in the Library’, ‘Forest of the Dead’ and the ingenious ‘Turn Left’. It brought us a cloned Doctor, a Doctor/Donna hybrid, an utterance of the Doctor’s name and more. While fans always find something to complain about, it has been the general opinion that this has been the best series so far, although nothing will top the final moments of series two’s ‘Doomsday’ or ‘Blink’ or even ‘Dalek’ for a long time to come. As a coherent whole it has been very satisfying.
The scale has indeed been epic on many occasions, with FX gurus The Mill going above and beyond the call of duty, bringing us CG that has been absolutely incredible for the most part, and even their weaker moments have been excellent. Of the multi part stories this year, it has been the Steven Moffatt penned ‘Silence in the Library’ and ‘Forest of the Dead’ double header that has been the most impressive story of the lot. This two part extravaganza was perfect on almost every level. The script, the cast, the production, the effects were all fabulous, and Donna in particular really came of age with that story and won over many of the naysayers. David Tennant continued his excellent run as the Doctor with some of the most gripping scenes he has had to perform in the role. Of course, the big news was the return of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler for the series finale (and flashes throughout the series), and while she didn’t quite recapture the character that made her hugely famous as an actress, she was still marvellous in the role and the fans were ecstatic to see her back and battling Daleks. Much was made over the possible regeneration of the Doctor into his 11th incarnation, and aside from a glorious regeneration cliffhanger at the end of episode 12, it didn’t happen, and won’t do for some time yet! The main event other than that was the return of Davros. Julian Bleach was perfectly cast as the Doctor’s most terrifying foe, and while the final story was full of plotholes and some very dodgy jumps in logic, it was extremely entertaining. That really sums up series four as a whole- imperfect, but fantastic television.
Missed any of our series of Doctor Who features? Check them all out at the links below…
TARDISWATCH 2008 FEATURE REVIEWS
(Click each title to read the episode feature!)
PARTNERS IN CRIME, THE FIRES OF POMPEII, PLANET OF THE OOD, THE SONTARAN STRATAGEM, THE POISON SKY, THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER, THE UNICORN AND THE WASP, SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY, FOREST OF THE DEAD, MIDNIGHT, TURN LEFT, THE STOLEN EARTH, JOURNEY’S END
THE FUTURE OF DOCTOR WHO AND TORCHWOOD
So what next? The Cybermen are back in the Christmas special, and there are another four specials to come in 2009. Torchwood is to return with an audio episode this summer and then a new five part TV series next year. Sarah Jane is also to have another series of adventures on the BBC, and of course there will be another series of Doctor Who in 2010, helmed by Steven Moffatt. The adventures are far from over…
THE FUTURE OF TARDISWATCH
Our Tardiswatch features will continue even though Doctor Who has finished until Christmas. Our features will run weekly as ever, and our Torchwatch features will ontinue to bring you the latest on the Torchwood universe too.