Doctor Who Series 4, Episode 2
Generally, I love the second episodes of the DW series - Tooth & Claw and The Shakespeare Code are two of my favorites. And now I have a new favorite to add to the list, which is pretty awesome.
Unlike those first two, though, FoP comes complete with questions of morality - something that the series doesn’t generally bring on until later in the series. I think it’s a very positive sign that the show is ready to go there so much earlier than usual - they’re upping the stakes for the series already, but not in such a way that we lose any of the fun, humor or brilliant outrageousness that makes DW so great. The Doctor holding off the transformed seer with a little toy water pistol was just the best - such a great, hilarious visual expression of whom the Doctor is and why he’s so unique as a character and a hero. As Donna says, “I love you!” And I love this show, for giving us these moments and celebrating a hero who defies every stereotype.
It’s also yet another scene that shows why for me David Tennant is magic in this role - because he goes for it, all out, diving into the absurd and the profound in equal measure and being amazing at both. The same Doctor who says “I am Spartacus” is the Doctor who responds to the Sybiline cult with a breezy “just us girls,” who flips his sonic screwdriver and twirls his waterpistol, who never stops making bad puns - and who insists that Pompeii must be destroyed and is stricken when he realizes that he’s the one who has to destroy it; and the one who strides by the desperate, about-to-die family, then is convinced to break his own rules and save them. DT is fearless in embracing and expressing every aspect and layer of the Doctor - he literally throws himself into it, as seen in another of my favorite moments, when the Doctor flings himself lightly up through the window. I love that the series creators respond to DT’s ability by giving him more and more to explore -- this is my Doctor, and I love that DT is just getting better and better in this role, from humor to heartbreak.
Not to mention his companion. Oh Donna, how great are you? She came, she saw, she conquered indeed. Catherine Tate is so gifted, and it’s such a pleasure to watch DT and CT together. It’s really kind of amazing how quickly Catherine Tate and the writers have made me feels that Donna just belongs in the Doctor’s crazy life, at his side, without question or doubt. This is the first time since the end of series 2 that I feel as if there’s a genuine Team TARDIS, and it’s only episode 2! How great to see Donna hug the Doctor with excitement, and the Doctor laugh in response -- the affection that DT and CT convey between their characters is truly what makes them work for me. They can yell and question and hurt each other with their words, but at the core, they genuinely like and respect each other very much, flaws and all.
The scene it all comes down to is that moment in the escape pod when Donna puts her hands on the lever and pushes down with the Doctor. After spending the entire episode trying to get the Doctor to stop the impending disaster and even going around his back to warn the Roman family, she herself takes the step that destroys Pompeii, that kills those 20,000. She doesn’t just leave it to the Doctor to handle - she takes on the responsibility herself. She changes her mind, just as the Doctor changes his mind later in the episode to save the Roman family. I’ve seen Donna called the Doctor’s conscience, but that seems rather simplistic to me, and dismissive of the Doctor’s point of view. The interesting thing about the Doctor and Donna is not that the Doctor needs Donna to give him a moral perspective (something he clearly already has, since he’s spent lifetimes doing good and saving others), but that she offers him a different one -- which is exactly what he offers to her. They’re equals, and that’s what makes it pretty amazing.
And what about that family? I wonder about the consequences of saving them. Were they meant to die, or were they meant to be saved all along? Did the Doctor break his own rules because he knew that one family surviving would be inconsequential - or did he break his own rules without knowing what the results would be at all? That family is out there now - the dad is making business deals, the daughter is making social connections, the son is becoming a doctor, and they’re all worshipping new household gods. We saw the Doctor and Donna sacrifice 20,000 to save the world - the few for the many. Did the Doctor and Donna also potentially sacrifice the many in the future to save the few of that family from Mt. Vesuvius? It was certainly the right choice emotionally - but it was also the flip side of Mr. Copper’s statement in VotD. “If you could choose who lived and who died, you’d be a monster.” So we see the Doctor and Donna choose who lives - and who dies. Are they now monsters?
I love that this show, with its water-guns and Latin puns and camp, also leaves the audience to face these questions and consequences head on, along with the full devastation of Pompeii, even after the family is saved. The Doctor, in saving their lives, is forced to give them his own experience as well - surviving the death of your home and your people. I also like that there aren’t any hard and fast rules, i.e. answers - not even for a Time Lord.
That was another cool bit - I liked that the Doctor’s alien nature was strongly felt, that we got a glimpse of how very different his view of the universe is from that of the humans with whom he travels. I liked seeing his trickster nature come out as well, along with his joy in not knowing what comes next. Man, it’s just so fun to watch this character.
It was also a pleasure to see a DW episode with such an epic nature. They really went all out, or rather all Rome, from sets to costume design - striking and full of spectacle. This episode really does a heck of a lot, and while my attention was mainly focused on the Doctor and Donna, I enjoyed all the supporting characters - even the “bad guys” were more true believers than anything else. The Roman family was particularly fun to watch - even the younger actors were good. The scene of the dualing seers was a hit - and eee, mysteries are definitely building for the rest of the series. The Man from Gallifrey - I love it. The Doctor should just introduce himself to everyone that way from now on. Plus English as Latin, Latin as Welsh, Latin textbook jokes, I am Spartacus…and so am I, the Doctor and Sybil's tarantella filled past…this episode was just packed. Can’t wait for the next one!