DOCTOR WHO 2005

DOCTOR WHO 2005
By Ken Leicht

When the BBC announced that they were going to produce a new series of Doctor Who back in 2003, it seemed impossible to believe. Could it be that the property which had been so neglected and disdained by it’s corporate parent that fans got jobs at the BBC and took over the franchise themselves(by producing books and audios, etc.) was finally going to be reborn as a proper show? And with a full 13 episode season? And produced and written by the cream of Britain’s television crop? It all seemed too good to be true. But true it was and truly it is. Doctor Who is back in 2005, sixteen years after he was last seen(not counting the Fox pilot of course) and while it’s not better than ever as they say…it’s certainly pretty damn good. In fact I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to call it great.

The final years of the original series and the Fox pilot seemed to be a prisoner of its own history and discontinuity. It became a slave to its own past, and not in a good way. As budgets shrank and government interference dumbed it down further and further, the show became unwatchable. I know there are fans of the McCoy era, and while I liked him, his stories were just plain awful. Frankly, the show should have stayed canceled when it died the first time after Colin Baker’s first year. Baker’s first season was definitely problematic but at least it still felt like Doctor Who. Everything after that from “Trial of a Time Lord” on was only a foolish shadow of its former self. And if I haven’t said it enough. It sucked ass.

While the Fox pilot from 1996 rid the franchise of the childishness it developed in its later BBC years, it was still too insular for its own good. How did anyone expect that a new audience would understand a bunch of Time Lord gobbledy-gook about the Eye of Harmony(or whatever it was), and that the old audience would sit still for some shocking departures from character(the Doctor having romance or the far worse sin…being half-human)? It was likely that the Universal/BBC/Amblin co-production was just a case of too many cooks. Though in the films defense, there was some nice design, Paul McGann was a good Doctor and Eric Roberts was strangely amusing as a somewhat re-configured version of the Master.

But enough about the past and on to the present. Perhaps the most important thing producer Russell Davies and crew did was to “re-boot” the series as opposed to re-doing it. Change was in the air but this time, it was for the best. While things got off to a bit of a noisy start with “Rose,” it was clear right away that things were definitely looking good. Let’s take it episode by episode:

“Rose” – The first episode of the new series does all it’s supposed to and more. We are introduced to Rose, who stumbles on to alien trouble at the local department store and meets the all new Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston. We are introduced to a cast of supporting characters who will be with us: Rose’s boyfriend Mickey and her mom Jackie. This version of Doctor Who definitely fleshes out the supporting characters more than the old series ever did.

It plays almost as if Rose is the main character and we are introduced to the Doctor thru her eyes. In a sense, it’s a wise move. A whole new audience is let in, as if it’s a new show. And technically it is. I have a few quibbles. The music is bit too loud for one. Memo to Barry Gold: Less is more. And why exactly is the Doctor suddenly the last time Lord? While this is the first of many deviations from the old mythology, it remains the one I’m least pleased with. I have yet to read why this bit has occurred. It’s probably good to stay away from Gallifrey for a while…but to have destroyed them all? I don’t know. But who knows whether they’re really gone. After all the Daleks were supposedly wiped out with them…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

#2) “The End of the World” – The Doctor takes Rose into the future for a front row seat for watching the sun destroy the earth several billion years into the future. A somewhat humorous episode which has some great suspenseful moments(i.e. Billie’s near roasting by the sun). Zoe’s Wannamaker’s villain is quite amusing, and meets a just end from the first display of the 9th Doctor’s anger.

#3) The Walking Dead – This episode is where the new series finally hits its stride. Echoes of the Hinchcliffe era abound as the Doctor goes back to Dickensian times and meets up with the man himself, well played by Simon Callow. Some nice horror elements. Fantastic!

#4 & #5.)Aliens of London/World War Three – This episode starts with one of the best, if not the best, effects shots in Doctor Who, or even BBC history for that matter. An alien ship crashes through Big Ben on its way to a landing in the Thames River. While the rest of this two-parter doesn’t live up to the opening. It’s got lots of great performances from the entire supporting cast. The whole bit where Rose has been missing for a year and the hurt it caused is well played.

#6.)Dalek – The long awaited return of the Daleks is brilliant and unexpected. Unexpected in that there’s only one. But having only one turns out to be an excellent way of re-establishing the Daleks as one of the premiere villains. One Dalek is shown as being capable of wiping out what amounts to an army. They can even fly now. If that’s possible, then think of what a bunch of them could do. And with the assist of modern effects…the sky is the limit. Everything about this is done right though I could quibble with the ending where the Dalek goes soft…but I won’t. After all, the Daleks are born out of tragedy. While the episode is stuffed with highlights, the Doctor’s angry confrontation with the imprisoned Dalek was simply awesome. Honorable Mention goes to the Doctor’s discovery of a Cyberman head in the museum.

#7)”The Long Game”- Back into the future, the Doctor, Rose and temporary companion Adam arrive at Satellite Five, the giant TV satellite in the sky above the earth. Quickly the Doctor realizes that everything is wrong at the station and with the world. Of course an alien is involved. While the story works for me, the satire isn’t groundbreaking. I think this story was done better by Robert Holmes back in the day(i.e. The Sunmakers”) but I still enjoyed it. And Simon Pegg was great as the smarmy boss of the TV station and the slug alien’s right hand man. This episode is notable for the first ever traveling companion ejection.

#8.)”Father’s Day” – This episode is probably the first one that I couldn’t imagine having happened in the original series. The Doctor takes Rose back to the scene of her Father’s death. When Rose interferes and saves his life, time is sent into a tailspin and evil creatures start running amok. Russell Davies said in interviews that Buffy and Angel and those shows focus on character really influenced his approach to the new show. This is very much in evidence here. The first real Doctor Who tearjerker.

#9. & #10.) “The Empty Child’ and “The Doctor Dances.” The Doctor and Rose visit London during the Blitz and run into former Time Agent Captain Jack whose con involving a space craft has created a serious zombie problem. Beautifully shot…perhaps the best looking episode in the show’s long history…and acted. This one was great. John Barrowman’s Jack is hilarious and he steps into the Tardis like he’s belonged there from day one.

11.)”Boom Town” – This one feels like a cost saving filler before the big finish but there are a few moments between Margaret the Slitheen and the Doctor that are really well done. And some time is given to Rose and Mickey’s relationship…or what’s left of it.

12.&13.)”Bad Wolf” and “Parting of the Ways” – The Doctor, Rose and Jack are suddenly on board satellite five and in the middle of deadly game shows. But the worst is yet to come when the Doctor discovers that the Daleks have survived and are ready to do in the earth. All in all a fantastic ending to a great first season. There’s so much going on here it’s hard to remember it all. Russell Davies said in an interview that he was fairly sure he would only get to do one series and that would be it. With that frame of mind in place it’s easy to see why the final Dalek invasion epic pretty much plays like the episode a fan of the old show would do if he ever had the money and the power. It doesn’t disappoint. The only sadness involved is Christopher Eccleston’s too soon departure from the role.

As a whole I would have to say that the 2005 version of Doctor Who is about everything the old fans like me could’ve hoped for and more for a return of the series. There are a few quibbles…the music, the Doctor being a tad too human at times and perhaps most seriously, the Doctor being overshadowed by companions when it comes to saving the day. Also, the aforementioned last time lord thing.

It could have been worse. It could’ve been better. But hard to imagine it could get better than this though. We’ll soon find out as there’s at least two more years of it to come.