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On Location: BBC Basement, London, UK

If you’ve read Maximilian’s review of the 2005 Season One of Doctor Who, then you know how much he enjoyed it.  If you haven’t, then do. Of all people, my brother (the hard-core survivalist nut) was swayed by this fantastic new take on an old outdated British sci-fi series.

To give you some perspective, take his newly ignited passion for the show and multiply it by a factor of roughly 25.657 to the 14th power.  That’ll give you an idea of how deeply my passion for Doctor Who runs; so deep that I scour the fan sites every day for new news. I even periodically obtain copies of the old episodes from the eighties and gleefully sit though the stage-quality sets and cheesy effects with a toothier grin than Tom Baker

However, as much as I love the series and can be forgiving, I have a sharp eye for quality and expect the bar set last year (or this year for U.S. viewers) to be met and exceeded on a consistent basis.  And now, the journal from my secret underground spy lair deep beneath the BBC:

Please be warned – mild spoilers ahead!

25 Dec – The Christmas Invasion
Still wincing from the tearful goodbye of Chris Eccleston’s 9th Doctorin the waning days of 2005, I was digging into some leftover bread pudding and crashed out in front of the telly I hardwired into a direct BBC One feed, eager to see what the ‘new-new’ Doctor was all about.  And surprisingly – I actually liked him.  So different, so fresh, so exciting!  Tennant brings something lighter to the role, something that was lacking in Eccleston.  It’s a… well… more of a fun factor.  As tortured and anguished as he was prior, it’s obvious from the writing that in Season Two, the Doctor has healed some of his wounds.  He’s seems to have rediscovered a bit of his old self, although we don’t get the full scope of how much exactly as this episode saw less of him than expected.  He actually spent half the episode laid in Jackie’s flat recuperating from the energy he absorbed to save Rose, and the other half prancing about in his pj’s and a robe (Arthur Dent anyone?) fighting the barbarian-like Syrocax – who've

15 Apr – New Earth
Well after a four-month diet of fish & chips, it’s out with the Holiday stuff and on to the first proper Season Two episode.  New Earth dumps our heroes (still somewhat annoyingly giddy after recently thwarting both the Syrocax and the Daleks) on one of the newly founded human home planets, roughly around the same time period they saw the destruction of ‘old Earth’ in last seasons The End of the World.  The story focuses on a hospital run by highly evolved feline nurses and their ability to cure a fantastic array of diseases, suspiciously even

ones they aren’t supposed to be able to yet.  We also see the return of the old trampoline-face villain, Lady Cassandra; revived after her supposed demise last season. 

The Good

• Incredible acting.  Lady Cassandra is able to move her ‘essence’ from one body to another, in turn forcing her personality through Billie and the Doctor at various points through the story.  Tennant and Piper show some wonderful range in their abilities playing the same person through changes in mannerisms, voice inflection and attitude. 
• The Face of Boe making an appearance let itself to some highly enigmatic foreshadowing.  Although the mysterious message he has for the Doctor is delayed at the last minute due to Boe making a fast recovery from what was supposed to be his death (seeing a trend here?). 
• The cat makeup was high quality.  You could almost believe these actually were highly evolved cats wandering about healing people, especially when one gets cornered.

The Bad

• Some major plot holes.  If Rose existed simply to introduce the new series last year, then New Earth exists simply to get us used to Tennant.  But you could spot the holes in the plot from a mile away. 
• The ending, although slightly touching, came off to me as just being creepily weird.

22 Apr – Tooth and Claw
Welcome to old Scotland in the 1800’s, where we have Kung-Fu monks (hear that Lara, you’re not alone!), stranded royalty, and a werewolf on the prowl through the hills.  Our heroes land expecting to be in late 1900’s, yet the TARDIS it seems still has the same old bugs in the controls and deposits them about a hundred years prior.  They manage to get caught up in Queen Victoria’s entourage which is traveling across the countryside and spend the night with them in a well to-do home that's

under secret occupation by the evil martial art inclined monks, out to off the poor Queen.  By the end we’ve uncovered some startling connections between a large diamond Victoria carries, her late husband, the werewolf itself, and the manor where it all takes place.  A well put together and fast paced episode all around.

The Good

• The computer generated werewolf looks amazing.  Easily akin to anything seen in the Underworld movies, which boast some of the finest CGI baddies out there. 
• The mood… the entire mood of the episode is just plain eerie.  You really get the sense as the creature closes in our protagonists that they are frantically running scared. 
• And the monks were cool too.  How can you not like Kung-Fu monks?

The Bad

• Nothing.  Seriously, nothing.  Even the giddy prattle between Rose and the Doctor is more or less at a minimum here.  This is classic entertaining Doctor Who.

29 Apr – School Reunion
A trans-dimensional ship that can travel in time and space and we end up: back on Earth.  Again.  Aside from the familiar scenery, this episode is generally enjoyable.  We catch up with Rose and the Doctor after they’ve infiltrated a middle-school Mikey tipped them off to that’s been the home of some odd happenings.  We also reunite with Sarah Jane Smith from the classic series, played again by a fantastically well-aged Elisabeth Sladen.  And guess what metal dog

she’s toting around in her trunk?  Good old K9.  The school ends up being a home base for some evil aliens who are bent on cracking the universal code for the building blocks of the universe, thereby rendering them essentially god-like.  Some good dramatics in this one… for example: in a pivotal moment, the Headmaster (played by Buffy alum Anthony Michael Head) is tempting the Doctor with the ability to go back and save his own people once the universal code is cracked.  More excellent acting by Tennant rears its head here as you definitely get the sense the Doctor actually considers his offer.  Fairly decent story by the time things wrap up, but can we please get off Earth and Earth clone planets?

The Good

• Again, some fantastic CGI monsters. 
• Sarah finally getting to say goodbye to the Doctor.  (If you’ve watched The Hand of Fear, her last appearance in the classic shows, you’ll know why this was so significant.  It almost brought a tear to my eye.) 
• And K9.  That little tin dog rocks. 
• Speaking of tin dogs, Mickey gets in some damn funny one-liners in this episode.  He’s starting to grow on me.

The Bad

• The absurd girlfriend/ex-girlfriend dialogue between Sarah and Rose.  They had it working for a few minutes, but they just took it too far.  Bordering on stupid, in fact. 
• And Anthony Head being in this episode.  Not because he wasn’t enjoyable to watch, but because this means they won’t be bringing him on board to play the Master, the Doctor’s arch-nemesis.  Are they bringing him back at all, you may ask?  No clue, but Mr. Head certainly would have been the perfect choice if they were, and now he’s off the roster due to continuity. 

6 May – The Girl in the Fireplace
Finally, we’re in outer space!  The Doctor, Rose and new companion Mikey land on what appears to be an abandoned ship drifting through space.  And on that ship?  Some dimensional doors!  Leading to… oh.  Wow… Earth.  Well anyway, the episode is fairly clever, working with the ‘you’ll get it all by the end’ mentality.  A famous French noblewoman is being haunted at various points in her life by the last remaining crew from the abandoned ship, the android workers.  For reasons that become clear by

the end, they’ve determined she’s the key to fixing their vessel and getting home.  The androids go ballistic; the Doctor makes a split second decision in favor of a rescue that could potentially strand him in Earth’s past.  And things don’t work out quite as well as they could for everyone in the end.

The Good

• We’re off Earth.  For only half the episode, but I’ll take it. 
• The random horse, almost Douglas Adams-esque in inspiration. 
• And the plot is, in my humble opinion, quite clever.  Wait for the last shot to put all the pieces together.

The Bad

• Billie is starting to get on my nerves. 
• Also, the Doctor is uncharacteristically at home with possibly being stranded in the 18th century with Madame De Pompadour, the French noblewoman; and uncharacteristically stupid about his attempt to take her with him. 
• And the horse’s big scene is simply a little too goofy for me to enjoy.

13 May – Rise of the Cybermen
The Dalek revival last year being so successful, why not bring back another staple baddie?  And so… we are met with an alternative history Cybermen origin story.  Set on… gasp! ... alternative Earth.  This episode really has me divided.  On one hand, I really enjoyed the Cyber-storyline and some of the dark moments that came along with it.  However, to be recycling London, Rose’s family… it all just feels a little too much like we’ve seen and done this all before.  The plot boils down to a rich businessman in an effort

to prolong human life creating the Cybermen.  The metal men then begin to (predictably) rage out of control.  The TARDIS is powered down, having drifted into the ‘wrong universe’ or something like that, so Rose wanders off to find her Dad (alive in this universe) and basically gets everyone involved in far more trouble than they should be in.  We’re left with a cliffhanger at the end of this episode, the Doctor and company about to be ‘deleted’ by the metal baddies.

The Good

• Cybermen.  They’re freakin’ cool.  And they bring lots of death and maiming.  I love it… give me dark Doctor Who. 
• Mickey meeting his other self (aptly named Rickey… if you’ve been watching the series you can appreciate the in-joke). 
• And the Doctor getting all serious.  Tennant really is at his best when he’s carrying emotional weight, compared to watching him all happy which is like witnessing an elf on a cocaine binge.

The Bad

• I’m starting to suspect that Rose is really becoming an idiot.  After last years Father’s Day episode, you’d think she’d have figured out they’re traveling in places other than home (although given the scenery I suppose I can sort of see where she’s coming from) and mucking about with alternative people not of her time or in alternative dimensions is probably not a good idea.  Did you get that Rose?  Alternative, i.e.: not yours. 
• Also, can we please get a new planet?

20 May – The Age of Steel
We pick up right where we left off; and of course our heroes escape.  After fleeing through the streets of London, they regroup and plan an attack on the Cyber factory.  Mickey finally becomes a pivotal part of the action, actually rescuing the Doctor, Rose and her alternative dimension father in the final minutes of the episode.  The Cybermen are thwarted by the same thing that stopped the first Dalek we saw last season: emotions.  And we see the last of Mickey (supposedly) who stays behind in the alternative Earth to help eradicate the rest of the Cyber factories.

Certainly a far better finish to this particular story arc than it started out.  Watching the Cybermen turn on their creator was, although highly predictable, still extremely cool and satisfying to watch.. One well-acted baddie to watch in both Cyber episodes: a menacing Roger Lloyd-Pack as John Lumic. This guy would make a fantastic villain in a Bond movie. 

The Good

• Strong finish after a somewhat weak start. 
• Mickey is finally given the credit he deserves, and in the end does the proud thing and walks away from the TARDIS to live his own life, instead of tagging along in the shadow of the Doctor and Rose.  This alone gave me more respect for his character. 
• And the Cybermen – are still just freakin’ cool.

The Bad

• A few small plot holes, but other than that a well done episode of Who. 
• Get me off Earth!

And with that, we’ve reached the half-way mark in Season Two.  So far I’m divided.  I want to like this Doctor, I really do.  But I still crave the brooding intensity Eccleston brought to the role.  He was so unlike anything we’d seen before, and for me that was part of the attraction.  Tennant is coming into his own though, and I suspect the second half of Season Two (and hopefully the entirety of Three) will give us more reasons to remember him as fondly as we do his predecessor. 

Rose is starting to get a bit dodgy though.  Where previously I could identify with where she was coming from, her character has started to branch off in some depressingly dense blonde moments.  Perhaps they’re prepping us for her departure?  Or maybe our heroes are just in for a mighty rude awakening as the season takes a darker turn?  We can only hope…

Check back with The Talking Crow soon for the recap on the last seven episodes of Doctor Who, Season Two.  From my secret bunker deep in the basement of the BBC in London, this is Jay Devers – signing off.

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