Doctor Who Season Four Review (Major Spoilers)
Also reviews for the latest two episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Enter the Outsiders!"
This was pretty cool. This was the first time I've actually seen Black Lightning in cartoon form and it's easy to see how he was one of the inspirations for Static. And I really liked this version of Metamorpho if only because his voice actor (unlike on Justice League) was pretty cool (Tom Sizemore was easily the worst voice actor in the entire DCAU). I like JLU's version of Wildcat better though. This one seemed kind of pathetic whereas on JLU, while The Cat and the Canary wasn't the best episode you at least felt for Wildcat there and understood his motivations about fighting.
And B'Wanna Beast has sex on the moon. I loved that they actually used his goofy powers here. Good episode. ****.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Dawn of the Dead Man!"
I'd be inclined to give this episode five stars if it weren't for the fact that the ultra-annoying Speedy was there gee-whizzing up the place. Now I was never a huge fan of Teen Titans/ JLU's Speedy but he at least was KIND OF cool. I loved Gentleman Ghost and Micheal Rosenbaum as Deadman though. There were quite a few nice twists and turns (like Batman astral projecting) and it was neat seeing Bruce Timm's fave Kamandi animated and a LOT of great gags. I loved the ghost horse and Gentleman Jim's Ghost army too. ****1/2.
Battlestar Galactica "Sometimes a Great Notion"
I'm a Cylon! I feel like Oprah! And YOU get to be a Cylon! And YOU get to be a Cylon! And YOU get to be a Cylon!
This episode was so great. They should have used THIS for the mid-season cliffhanger instead of the one we got. Ellen Tigh being the final Cylon made COMPLETE sense and we finally found out what WAS exactly so different about the Final Five (they're from Earth!). Which just makes Tory killing Cally last season that much more despicable and worse.
Dualla's death was a complete shock because it came during a scene that gave NO clue that it was about to happen. Good stuff.
Only thing I hated about the episode was as usual, Adama who sucks the life out of the room. Maybe because Tigh is a fellow Earthling but I completely sympathized with him and thought Adama crossed a line. What a butthole.
Is the corpse Kara from the future? Or the past? What is up with that necklace and why did Dee have it? Wild.
Last season (4.0) made it seem as if the writers had no idea where they were going with this but now it seems like they DO but had to spin their wheels to avoid secrets coming out before the writer's strike. If this HAD been the mid-season finale last year, I doubt you'd see anybody complaining (ESPECIALLY since TV critics who saw last season's finale ahead of time foolishly called it the best thing the show had ever done).
Excellent. *****.
Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
The best season of the series thus far and one of my all-time favorite television seasons of any TV series EVER (along with Buffy Seasons two and three, Justice League Unlimited Seasons One and Two and The Simpsons Season Eight.) This is the first season that the series managed to pull off an air-tight story arc while the first three seasons' version were strictly light-weight with varying degrees of success. I think the biggest difference here is that instead of simply threading a word or phrase over the entire season Series Four actually used PLOT POINTS all throughout the season and built upon them. So instead of simply revealing what Bad Wolf, Torchwood or Saxon was, the season finale used elements of all of the different episodes (such as planets and bees disappearing). This with the long awaited return of Rose and a bonafide stellar crossover with the series' two current spin-off, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures made the season great. Add the delightful Martha Jones and you get the best season EVER. Season three, while good (ESPECIALLY pulling off the Watch from the Human Nature two-parter) never actually seeded that many clues as to the who or what Saxon was. Season four is off the hook.
By the way, Donna Noble is one of the very best Companions the new show has ever done. I think it was brilliant to give her absolute zero interest in a romantic relationship with the Doctor which Rose, Captain Jack, Martha and even Sarah Jane obviously wanted. Because of this, she is freed up to not keep making Moon Eyes at the Doctor but tell him when he's outright WRONG (which is quite often). Their dynamic is perfect and you absolutely believe that she IS the Doctor's most faithful Companion because she's the most realistic and has the Doctor pegged better than the others (who put him on a pedestal.)
I have to admit to a slight disappointment with the season resolution of Rose "getting" the Doctor but the Doctor not gettimg Rose when I first saw this but knowing David Tennant is leaving the show after next season I think it's bloody brilliant for two reasons:
1. Even though the Doctor will ALWAYS love Rose I don't think Rose would be equally inclined to feel the same way after another regeneration. Even though sparks flew between her and the Ninth Doctor it was the Tenth that she outright fell in love with. My reading of that seems to be confirmed with Rose's heart breaking when she believes the Tenth Doctor is regenerating at the end of The Stolen Earth. I ESPECIALLY think this if she wasn't around to see it happen and get used to another Doctor.
2. This leaves the door open for Tennant to return to the series on special occassions like Anniversary specials and the like without having to do a big time-jump that would probably not only violate continuity but probably have to be retconned as if it never happened at the end. Never EVER say never to Rose's alternate universe being closed off again because another universe shattering event could be only a mere season finale away. Perfect.
Best episodes of the season include the return of the Sontarans (The Sontaran Strategem, The Poison Sky), the Doctor meeting his new offspring (The Doctor's Daughter), the new Children in Need Special (Time Crash) and of course the Universe-crashing two part crossover finale (The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End). There aren't any bad episodes this year. Season Overall: *****.
Time Crash: Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor! And his name is in the opening credits! Yes, this fudges the end of Last of the Time Lords a bit but it still manages to both be in continuity and completely worth any headaches. I loved the revelation that the Fifth Doctor was The Tenth Doctor's favorite (even though mine was previously Tom Baker) and I also loved that they managed to explain away Davison's age discrepency. I wish this special had aired in the States but it was a treat seeing it for the first time on DVD. *****.
Voyage of the Damned: I was luke-warm to this the first time it aired but it's MUCH better than I remembered upon a rewatch. My biggest problem with it when I first saw it is that it kept killing off the most likable and/ or interesting characters. But the tension in the episode is top-notch and the ending is pretty great. ***1/2.
Partners In Crime: I don't think they needed to evolve Donna so much between the first time she met the Doctor and now. I would have been perfectly happy with the same loud, slightly obnoxious woman we saw in The Runaway Bride. But obviously Russell T Davies felt differently and the change wasn't drastic enough to be bothersome. I also really like the little fat baby Adipose. And Wilfred Mott is a fine addition to the series. ****.
Planet of the Ood: Face it. The Ood got punked in their first appearance and I love that the Doctor was given a second chance to set things right. It makes perfect sense that Donna was the one who clued him into their true suffering. ****.
The Sontaran Strategem: I never saw the Sontarans on the old show so I was pleased with their reintroduction here. And c'mon Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones is as always awesome. The best part was that they originally made it seem as if she had taken the wrong lesson from the Doctor and become a hard-core UNIT warrior when it turns out that she joined to keep them honest on behalf of the Doctor. I especially liked that neither Martha or Donna were at each other's throats like the Doctor expected after what happened in School Reunion. It made perfect sense because Martha and Donna are two completely different characters than Rose and Sarah Jane. Martha is MUCH nicer character than Sarah Jane and Donna doesn't have ANY reason for jealously since she isn't attracted to the Doctor like Rose was. ****1/2.
The Poison Sky: Loved this episode, mixed feelings about it being the obnoxious kid who saved the day. While it's true that had they not given him that chance for redemption he would have been one of the most obnoxious characters in the Whoniverse EVER but the kid was WAAAYYY too stupid to actually be as clever as the Doctor and everyone said he was. Still, great episode. ****1/2.
The Doctor's Daughter: Completely awesome and unpredictable episode whose ending had me grinning ear to ear. I can't wait for Jenny and the Doctor to meet again. Jenny is very sweet (and hot) and I loved how Donna and Martha slowly but surely made sure the Doctor bonded with her. Her "death" and ressurrection raises questions about the Time Lord's regeneration proccess and why she didn't change. Excellent episode. ****1/2.
The Unicorn and the Wasp: A lot of fun. I especially loved the mystery narration where characters described how they were doing mundane things while the images on screen showed them engaging in debauchery. And how cool is Agatha Christie? I wish she had been as smart as the show's version of Shakespeare but I thought she WAS as good as the show's Charles Dickens. ***1/2.
Silence in the Library: Very cool and unsettling episode that reveals the Doctor's future Companion: River Song (played by Alex Kingston). Unfortunately with Tennant checking out next season they are going to have headaches involving the premise that River knows an older version of the Tenth Doctor. My solution: have Tennant's last episode jump a few decades into the Doctor's future and have Tennant wear age make-up before he finally regenerates. Flash fowards are all the rage nowadays anyways. ****.
Forest of the Dead: I loved the Doctor putting together the mystery of how he ultimately saved River and I loved the epic feel of Donna losing her true love because of his stutter. Great episode. ****.
Midnight: While this FEELS like a one-off bottle show I REALLY like the episode for pointing out to the audience how essential the role of the Companion is for the Doctor. In Donna's absense (and the absense of ANY sort of ally) the Doctor rightfully got SCARED of human nature and what human beings are ultimately capable of. The Companion's most important role is to smooth things over with the people the Doctor meets ("You don't know him!"/ "You don't know what he's capable of!"/ "I trust that man with my life!" etc.) since the Doctor himself is often quite aloof (in ALL of his incarnations) and the Tenth Doctor in particular seems somewhat unbalanced to people who don't know him. Donna was right in The Runaway Bride that the Doctor needs someone who is willing to stop him. But he ALSO needs someone to run interference in worst case scenario situations. ****.
Turn Left: This episode raised a lot of questions about how omnipresent Rose Tyler is and why she is God-like in this episode and normal in the season finale. I'm guessing that THIS version of Rose is a parallel one although I can't wrap my brain around how something like that would work. The ending to this one is a killer too. ****.
The Stolen Earth: Best. Episode. EVER! And the cliffhanger literally drops your jaw (and people in the U.K. got the added treat of no spoilery previews so as far as you know this is David Tennant's last episode!) Yeah, Davros could have been better set up, but I feel that unlike the Daleks, The Master or The Cybermen, Davros is the kind of villain who can just show up without too many questions about who he actually is. Yeah, I never saw his episodes on the old show (I was a casual Whobie back then) but once they say he created the Dalek race, that's all I needed to know about it. And how awesome was it to see David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, and Billie Piper's names all crammed into the opening credits? It gave the episode an epic feel and let the audience know this was the biggest one yet. I LOVED Captain Jack flirting with Sarah Jane especially her delighted reaction. Elisabeth Sladen is HOT! *****.
Journey's End: Like I said before, Rose getting a version of the Doctor works for me now that I know Tennant is leaving and is the smartest thing the series could have done to satisfy Doctor/ Rose shippers. And poor Donna. Her "Noble" end wasn't quite as gut-wrenching as Rose's goodbye in Doomsday but it was still sad because of Bernard Cribbens teary-eyed performance as Wilfred Mott. I loved seeing Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler again and their reappearance was a complete surpise (I had been convinced it would be Martha Jones who would save Sarah Jane.) I also loved seeing most of the casts from both Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures in this two-parter and the revelation that Gwen Cooper is probably related to The Unquiet Dead's Gwynneth. And who didn't cheer at seeing K-9 save the day? My only problem with this two-part season finale is that I doubt the series will EVER be able to top it (which they seem to try to do with each season finale). There's just no way. *****.
Voyage of the Damned Deleted Scenes: I think the phone scene should have been in the episode but Russell T Davies was correct that the Doctor questioning the Angels was irrelevent (if somewhat humorous). ****.
Howard Attfield Deleted Scenes: I prefer Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott but Attfield's scenes before he died were quite lovely. A treat. ****.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 2): Russell T Davies is right. The best deleted scenes were from Planet of the Ood and shouldn't have been cut. I especially liked the Doctor's first meeting of the bad guy. I'm glad that Russell is there on this set explaining why certain scenes were deleted. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 3): Some good ones that probably shouldn't have been deleted. I liked the philosophical questions about the Breath of Life raised by Jenny and Donna and how they were originally going to be incorporated into Jenny's death scene. However, it's the wrap-arounds to The Unicorn and the Wasp that I found fascinating. I agree wih Davies that including them may have blunted some of the suspense. But I think that trade-off would have been more than worth it. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 4): Some of the best deleted scenes I have ever seen. It was cool seeing Lux's goodbye. I completely agree with Russell that the Doctor and Rose growing their own TARDIS should have been in the episode and I'm a little bit miffed it wasn't. On the other hand the domestic ending that aired was pretty good. The alternate ending with the Cybermen in the TARDIS was fun too but I agree that it didn't match the tone for the rest of the episode (I felt the same way about Doomsday's cliffhanger). *****.
BBC Trailers Disc 1:
Cinema Trailer: This was excellent and gives a sense of the scope of the Christmas special. ****1/2.
Cinema Trailer (Short Version): Usually short versions of trailers aren't as good as the longer ones but this is an exception. ****1/2.
TV Trailer: Not as good as the Cinema one because it makes the special seem less epic than it actually was. Still really good though. ****.
TV Trailer (Short Verion): This wasn't actually a short version of the TV trailer but the Doctor's monologue from the episode along with a cute scene with Astrid. ****1/2.
Teaser: Too short to make any real impact. ***.
BBC Trailers Disc 2:
Series 4 Cinema Trailer: PERFECT! Got me hyped! There's good reason the DVD box sets used this particular trailer in their ads. *****.
Series 4 Launch: This was perfect too. I LOVE when trailers have the actors doing new bits in character. *****.
Series 4 Launch (Short Version): Good, but I vastly prefer the long version. ****.
"Ood" Teaser: Short but sweet. Oh, and creepy. VERY creepy. ****.
Episode 2: Good, but not as cool as the Cinema or Launch Trailers. ***1/2.
Episode 3: Likewise. ***1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 3
"Sontaran" Teaser: Almost as good as the Ood teaser. ***1/2.
Episodes 4 and 5: REALLY sums up the two-parter perfectly. The countdown introudces a lot of tension. ****.
Episode 6: Nowhere NEAR as good as the trailer at the end of The Poison Sky. ***.
Episode 7: No fair spoiling the Doctor and Donna's kiss which was the episode's most pleasant and funniest surprise! ***1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 4
Episode 8 (Season Finale Teaser): Pretty good but I liked the season finale trailers on Disc 5 better. ***1/2.
Episode 9: Decent but BBC One has done better. ***.
Episode 10: This trailer isn't that great but since the entire episode takes place in one room that's to be expected. **1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 5:
Dalek Teaser: Nice! ****.
Episode 11: I thought this was pretty swell. ****.
"Supreme Dalek" Teaser: Cool! ****.
Episode 12 Finale: Gives a REALLY great epic feel to the whole finale. *****.
Episode 13 Finale: Perfect. It does the right thing by not showing any new footage of David Tennant OR Martha Jones and Sarah Jane so all of their fates are very much up in the air. And the brief glimpses they show of Davros going bonkers make the episode a must-see. *****.
Doctor Who Confidential:
Christmas Confidential: It was interesting to learn all that went into making the Doctor's final kiss with a translucent Astrid. Neat. ***1/2.
Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down:
Episode 1 - A Noble Return: Fun seeing Catherine Tate and the scene where Bernard Cribbins dances in joy at seeing Donna in the TARDIS. ****.
Episode 2 - The Italian Job: I didn't know they actually went to Italy to film this! No wonder it looked so great! I have to say I was a little bit ashamed when Russell T Davies said that children were always fascinated with the destruction of Pompeii. Ashamed because while it may be common knowledge among children in Europe and elsewhere U.S. schools never bother teaching their students (like me) about it. ****.
Episode 3 - Oods & Ends: I love how David Tennant thinks of the Ood as yummy and I ESPECIALLY love how the writers point out that Donna's reaction to the Ood, while wrong, is the one we all would probably have in real life. She is the most human of all of the Companions. ***1/2.
Episode 4 - Send in the Clones: My favorite parts of this episode were seeing the "car cannon" and the ep exploring the cool dynamic between Martha and Donna which was (in my humble opinion) the best part of the episode. ***1/2.
Episode 5 - Sontar-Ha!: Cool seeing the Sontarans' make-up design and dance moves but again, my fave bits of this ep involved the exploration of Donna's character and how while she is the only Companion who doesn't feel the need to prove herself to the Doctor, that doesn't automatically mean that she feels comfortable doing heroics. ****.
Episode 6 - The Sins of the Fathers: I STILL get chills during David Tennant's "I never would!" moment. One of the greatest scenes from an episode filled with great scenes. ****1/2.
Episode 7 - Nemesis: I liked looking at the classic cars and the care that had to go into a chase involving these rare (and expensive) vehicles. ***.
Episode 8 - Shadowplay: Shadows and nodes are scary. And yes, Silence in the Library had one of the best cliffhangers ever. ***1/2.
Episode 9 - River Runs Deep: I loved this exploration of both River Song and Dr. Moon. Is River the Doctor's future wife? I hope we find out in the fifth season. ****.
Episode 10 - Look Who's Talking: The voice synching stuff was REALLY fun especially David Tennant and the lady who played Sky having to memorize the square root of pi to the 30th decinal! ***1/2.
Episode 11 - Here Come the Girls: I appreciated this one for (briefly) filling in the details of WHY Rose seems so omniscient in Turn Left. Apparantly it was because HER universe exists slightly ahead of time of ours and that their version of Torchwood was helping her go back in time. ****.
Episode 12 - Friends and Foe: Yeah, Davros is awesome but I wish they had focused more on the crossover nature of the two-parter and how mind-blowingly awesome it was to see all of our favorite characters in one place. Also they accidently spoiled Noel Clarke's and Camille Coduri's surprise appearance in the next episode by showing them in the cast reading. ***1/2.
Episode 13 - The End of an Era: I wish we had see more from John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen and Freema Agyeman but the episode was right to focus on the goodbyes of both Rose and Donna. I originally found Rose being with the second Doctor a bit bittersweet but I am completely sold on the concept with another regeneration inevitable next year. And Catherine Tate was SUCH a great Companion and her last scene breaks your heart. ****1/2.
DVD Menus: The best ever with the TARDIS on fire and shaking and the Daleks and then Davros taunting the Doctor. My favorite so far. Also love the Titanic footage (and David Tennant's "Wot? Wot?") in the Special Features menu. *****.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Enter the Outsiders!"
This was pretty cool. This was the first time I've actually seen Black Lightning in cartoon form and it's easy to see how he was one of the inspirations for Static. And I really liked this version of Metamorpho if only because his voice actor (unlike on Justice League) was pretty cool (Tom Sizemore was easily the worst voice actor in the entire DCAU). I like JLU's version of Wildcat better though. This one seemed kind of pathetic whereas on JLU, while The Cat and the Canary wasn't the best episode you at least felt for Wildcat there and understood his motivations about fighting.
And B'Wanna Beast has sex on the moon. I loved that they actually used his goofy powers here. Good episode. ****.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold "Dawn of the Dead Man!"
I'd be inclined to give this episode five stars if it weren't for the fact that the ultra-annoying Speedy was there gee-whizzing up the place. Now I was never a huge fan of Teen Titans/ JLU's Speedy but he at least was KIND OF cool. I loved Gentleman Ghost and Micheal Rosenbaum as Deadman though. There were quite a few nice twists and turns (like Batman astral projecting) and it was neat seeing Bruce Timm's fave Kamandi animated and a LOT of great gags. I loved the ghost horse and Gentleman Jim's Ghost army too. ****1/2.
Battlestar Galactica "Sometimes a Great Notion"
I'm a Cylon! I feel like Oprah! And YOU get to be a Cylon! And YOU get to be a Cylon! And YOU get to be a Cylon!
This episode was so great. They should have used THIS for the mid-season cliffhanger instead of the one we got. Ellen Tigh being the final Cylon made COMPLETE sense and we finally found out what WAS exactly so different about the Final Five (they're from Earth!). Which just makes Tory killing Cally last season that much more despicable and worse.
Dualla's death was a complete shock because it came during a scene that gave NO clue that it was about to happen. Good stuff.
Only thing I hated about the episode was as usual, Adama who sucks the life out of the room. Maybe because Tigh is a fellow Earthling but I completely sympathized with him and thought Adama crossed a line. What a butthole.
Is the corpse Kara from the future? Or the past? What is up with that necklace and why did Dee have it? Wild.
Last season (4.0) made it seem as if the writers had no idea where they were going with this but now it seems like they DO but had to spin their wheels to avoid secrets coming out before the writer's strike. If this HAD been the mid-season finale last year, I doubt you'd see anybody complaining (ESPECIALLY since TV critics who saw last season's finale ahead of time foolishly called it the best thing the show had ever done).
Excellent. *****.
Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
The best season of the series thus far and one of my all-time favorite television seasons of any TV series EVER (along with Buffy Seasons two and three, Justice League Unlimited Seasons One and Two and The Simpsons Season Eight.) This is the first season that the series managed to pull off an air-tight story arc while the first three seasons' version were strictly light-weight with varying degrees of success. I think the biggest difference here is that instead of simply threading a word or phrase over the entire season Series Four actually used PLOT POINTS all throughout the season and built upon them. So instead of simply revealing what Bad Wolf, Torchwood or Saxon was, the season finale used elements of all of the different episodes (such as planets and bees disappearing). This with the long awaited return of Rose and a bonafide stellar crossover with the series' two current spin-off, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures made the season great. Add the delightful Martha Jones and you get the best season EVER. Season three, while good (ESPECIALLY pulling off the Watch from the Human Nature two-parter) never actually seeded that many clues as to the who or what Saxon was. Season four is off the hook.
By the way, Donna Noble is one of the very best Companions the new show has ever done. I think it was brilliant to give her absolute zero interest in a romantic relationship with the Doctor which Rose, Captain Jack, Martha and even Sarah Jane obviously wanted. Because of this, she is freed up to not keep making Moon Eyes at the Doctor but tell him when he's outright WRONG (which is quite often). Their dynamic is perfect and you absolutely believe that she IS the Doctor's most faithful Companion because she's the most realistic and has the Doctor pegged better than the others (who put him on a pedestal.)
I have to admit to a slight disappointment with the season resolution of Rose "getting" the Doctor but the Doctor not gettimg Rose when I first saw this but knowing David Tennant is leaving the show after next season I think it's bloody brilliant for two reasons:
1. Even though the Doctor will ALWAYS love Rose I don't think Rose would be equally inclined to feel the same way after another regeneration. Even though sparks flew between her and the Ninth Doctor it was the Tenth that she outright fell in love with. My reading of that seems to be confirmed with Rose's heart breaking when she believes the Tenth Doctor is regenerating at the end of The Stolen Earth. I ESPECIALLY think this if she wasn't around to see it happen and get used to another Doctor.
2. This leaves the door open for Tennant to return to the series on special occassions like Anniversary specials and the like without having to do a big time-jump that would probably not only violate continuity but probably have to be retconned as if it never happened at the end. Never EVER say never to Rose's alternate universe being closed off again because another universe shattering event could be only a mere season finale away. Perfect.
Best episodes of the season include the return of the Sontarans (The Sontaran Strategem, The Poison Sky), the Doctor meeting his new offspring (The Doctor's Daughter), the new Children in Need Special (Time Crash) and of course the Universe-crashing two part crossover finale (The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End). There aren't any bad episodes this year. Season Overall: *****.
Time Crash: Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor! And his name is in the opening credits! Yes, this fudges the end of Last of the Time Lords a bit but it still manages to both be in continuity and completely worth any headaches. I loved the revelation that the Fifth Doctor was The Tenth Doctor's favorite (even though mine was previously Tom Baker) and I also loved that they managed to explain away Davison's age discrepency. I wish this special had aired in the States but it was a treat seeing it for the first time on DVD. *****.
Voyage of the Damned: I was luke-warm to this the first time it aired but it's MUCH better than I remembered upon a rewatch. My biggest problem with it when I first saw it is that it kept killing off the most likable and/ or interesting characters. But the tension in the episode is top-notch and the ending is pretty great. ***1/2.
Partners In Crime: I don't think they needed to evolve Donna so much between the first time she met the Doctor and now. I would have been perfectly happy with the same loud, slightly obnoxious woman we saw in The Runaway Bride. But obviously Russell T Davies felt differently and the change wasn't drastic enough to be bothersome. I also really like the little fat baby Adipose. And Wilfred Mott is a fine addition to the series. ****.
Planet of the Ood: Face it. The Ood got punked in their first appearance and I love that the Doctor was given a second chance to set things right. It makes perfect sense that Donna was the one who clued him into their true suffering. ****.
The Sontaran Strategem: I never saw the Sontarans on the old show so I was pleased with their reintroduction here. And c'mon Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones is as always awesome. The best part was that they originally made it seem as if she had taken the wrong lesson from the Doctor and become a hard-core UNIT warrior when it turns out that she joined to keep them honest on behalf of the Doctor. I especially liked that neither Martha or Donna were at each other's throats like the Doctor expected after what happened in School Reunion. It made perfect sense because Martha and Donna are two completely different characters than Rose and Sarah Jane. Martha is MUCH nicer character than Sarah Jane and Donna doesn't have ANY reason for jealously since she isn't attracted to the Doctor like Rose was. ****1/2.
The Poison Sky: Loved this episode, mixed feelings about it being the obnoxious kid who saved the day. While it's true that had they not given him that chance for redemption he would have been one of the most obnoxious characters in the Whoniverse EVER but the kid was WAAAYYY too stupid to actually be as clever as the Doctor and everyone said he was. Still, great episode. ****1/2.
The Doctor's Daughter: Completely awesome and unpredictable episode whose ending had me grinning ear to ear. I can't wait for Jenny and the Doctor to meet again. Jenny is very sweet (and hot) and I loved how Donna and Martha slowly but surely made sure the Doctor bonded with her. Her "death" and ressurrection raises questions about the Time Lord's regeneration proccess and why she didn't change. Excellent episode. ****1/2.
The Unicorn and the Wasp: A lot of fun. I especially loved the mystery narration where characters described how they were doing mundane things while the images on screen showed them engaging in debauchery. And how cool is Agatha Christie? I wish she had been as smart as the show's version of Shakespeare but I thought she WAS as good as the show's Charles Dickens. ***1/2.
Silence in the Library: Very cool and unsettling episode that reveals the Doctor's future Companion: River Song (played by Alex Kingston). Unfortunately with Tennant checking out next season they are going to have headaches involving the premise that River knows an older version of the Tenth Doctor. My solution: have Tennant's last episode jump a few decades into the Doctor's future and have Tennant wear age make-up before he finally regenerates. Flash fowards are all the rage nowadays anyways. ****.
Forest of the Dead: I loved the Doctor putting together the mystery of how he ultimately saved River and I loved the epic feel of Donna losing her true love because of his stutter. Great episode. ****.
Midnight: While this FEELS like a one-off bottle show I REALLY like the episode for pointing out to the audience how essential the role of the Companion is for the Doctor. In Donna's absense (and the absense of ANY sort of ally) the Doctor rightfully got SCARED of human nature and what human beings are ultimately capable of. The Companion's most important role is to smooth things over with the people the Doctor meets ("You don't know him!"/ "You don't know what he's capable of!"/ "I trust that man with my life!" etc.) since the Doctor himself is often quite aloof (in ALL of his incarnations) and the Tenth Doctor in particular seems somewhat unbalanced to people who don't know him. Donna was right in The Runaway Bride that the Doctor needs someone who is willing to stop him. But he ALSO needs someone to run interference in worst case scenario situations. ****.
Turn Left: This episode raised a lot of questions about how omnipresent Rose Tyler is and why she is God-like in this episode and normal in the season finale. I'm guessing that THIS version of Rose is a parallel one although I can't wrap my brain around how something like that would work. The ending to this one is a killer too. ****.
The Stolen Earth: Best. Episode. EVER! And the cliffhanger literally drops your jaw (and people in the U.K. got the added treat of no spoilery previews so as far as you know this is David Tennant's last episode!) Yeah, Davros could have been better set up, but I feel that unlike the Daleks, The Master or The Cybermen, Davros is the kind of villain who can just show up without too many questions about who he actually is. Yeah, I never saw his episodes on the old show (I was a casual Whobie back then) but once they say he created the Dalek race, that's all I needed to know about it. And how awesome was it to see David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, and Billie Piper's names all crammed into the opening credits? It gave the episode an epic feel and let the audience know this was the biggest one yet. I LOVED Captain Jack flirting with Sarah Jane especially her delighted reaction. Elisabeth Sladen is HOT! *****.
Journey's End: Like I said before, Rose getting a version of the Doctor works for me now that I know Tennant is leaving and is the smartest thing the series could have done to satisfy Doctor/ Rose shippers. And poor Donna. Her "Noble" end wasn't quite as gut-wrenching as Rose's goodbye in Doomsday but it was still sad because of Bernard Cribbens teary-eyed performance as Wilfred Mott. I loved seeing Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler again and their reappearance was a complete surpise (I had been convinced it would be Martha Jones who would save Sarah Jane.) I also loved seeing most of the casts from both Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures in this two-parter and the revelation that Gwen Cooper is probably related to The Unquiet Dead's Gwynneth. And who didn't cheer at seeing K-9 save the day? My only problem with this two-part season finale is that I doubt the series will EVER be able to top it (which they seem to try to do with each season finale). There's just no way. *****.
Voyage of the Damned Deleted Scenes: I think the phone scene should have been in the episode but Russell T Davies was correct that the Doctor questioning the Angels was irrelevent (if somewhat humorous). ****.
Howard Attfield Deleted Scenes: I prefer Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott but Attfield's scenes before he died were quite lovely. A treat. ****.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 2): Russell T Davies is right. The best deleted scenes were from Planet of the Ood and shouldn't have been cut. I especially liked the Doctor's first meeting of the bad guy. I'm glad that Russell is there on this set explaining why certain scenes were deleted. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 3): Some good ones that probably shouldn't have been deleted. I liked the philosophical questions about the Breath of Life raised by Jenny and Donna and how they were originally going to be incorporated into Jenny's death scene. However, it's the wrap-arounds to The Unicorn and the Wasp that I found fascinating. I agree wih Davies that including them may have blunted some of the suspense. But I think that trade-off would have been more than worth it. ****1/2.
Deleted Scenes (Disc 4): Some of the best deleted scenes I have ever seen. It was cool seeing Lux's goodbye. I completely agree with Russell that the Doctor and Rose growing their own TARDIS should have been in the episode and I'm a little bit miffed it wasn't. On the other hand the domestic ending that aired was pretty good. The alternate ending with the Cybermen in the TARDIS was fun too but I agree that it didn't match the tone for the rest of the episode (I felt the same way about Doomsday's cliffhanger). *****.
BBC Trailers Disc 1:
Cinema Trailer: This was excellent and gives a sense of the scope of the Christmas special. ****1/2.
Cinema Trailer (Short Version): Usually short versions of trailers aren't as good as the longer ones but this is an exception. ****1/2.
TV Trailer: Not as good as the Cinema one because it makes the special seem less epic than it actually was. Still really good though. ****.
TV Trailer (Short Verion): This wasn't actually a short version of the TV trailer but the Doctor's monologue from the episode along with a cute scene with Astrid. ****1/2.
Teaser: Too short to make any real impact. ***.
BBC Trailers Disc 2:
Series 4 Cinema Trailer: PERFECT! Got me hyped! There's good reason the DVD box sets used this particular trailer in their ads. *****.
Series 4 Launch: This was perfect too. I LOVE when trailers have the actors doing new bits in character. *****.
Series 4 Launch (Short Version): Good, but I vastly prefer the long version. ****.
"Ood" Teaser: Short but sweet. Oh, and creepy. VERY creepy. ****.
Episode 2: Good, but not as cool as the Cinema or Launch Trailers. ***1/2.
Episode 3: Likewise. ***1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 3
"Sontaran" Teaser: Almost as good as the Ood teaser. ***1/2.
Episodes 4 and 5: REALLY sums up the two-parter perfectly. The countdown introudces a lot of tension. ****.
Episode 6: Nowhere NEAR as good as the trailer at the end of The Poison Sky. ***.
Episode 7: No fair spoiling the Doctor and Donna's kiss which was the episode's most pleasant and funniest surprise! ***1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 4
Episode 8 (Season Finale Teaser): Pretty good but I liked the season finale trailers on Disc 5 better. ***1/2.
Episode 9: Decent but BBC One has done better. ***.
Episode 10: This trailer isn't that great but since the entire episode takes place in one room that's to be expected. **1/2.
BBC Trailers Disc 5:
Dalek Teaser: Nice! ****.
Episode 11: I thought this was pretty swell. ****.
"Supreme Dalek" Teaser: Cool! ****.
Episode 12 Finale: Gives a REALLY great epic feel to the whole finale. *****.
Episode 13 Finale: Perfect. It does the right thing by not showing any new footage of David Tennant OR Martha Jones and Sarah Jane so all of their fates are very much up in the air. And the brief glimpses they show of Davros going bonkers make the episode a must-see. *****.
Doctor Who Confidential:
Christmas Confidential: It was interesting to learn all that went into making the Doctor's final kiss with a translucent Astrid. Neat. ***1/2.
Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down:
Episode 1 - A Noble Return: Fun seeing Catherine Tate and the scene where Bernard Cribbins dances in joy at seeing Donna in the TARDIS. ****.
Episode 2 - The Italian Job: I didn't know they actually went to Italy to film this! No wonder it looked so great! I have to say I was a little bit ashamed when Russell T Davies said that children were always fascinated with the destruction of Pompeii. Ashamed because while it may be common knowledge among children in Europe and elsewhere U.S. schools never bother teaching their students (like me) about it. ****.
Episode 3 - Oods & Ends: I love how David Tennant thinks of the Ood as yummy and I ESPECIALLY love how the writers point out that Donna's reaction to the Ood, while wrong, is the one we all would probably have in real life. She is the most human of all of the Companions. ***1/2.
Episode 4 - Send in the Clones: My favorite parts of this episode were seeing the "car cannon" and the ep exploring the cool dynamic between Martha and Donna which was (in my humble opinion) the best part of the episode. ***1/2.
Episode 5 - Sontar-Ha!: Cool seeing the Sontarans' make-up design and dance moves but again, my fave bits of this ep involved the exploration of Donna's character and how while she is the only Companion who doesn't feel the need to prove herself to the Doctor, that doesn't automatically mean that she feels comfortable doing heroics. ****.
Episode 6 - The Sins of the Fathers: I STILL get chills during David Tennant's "I never would!" moment. One of the greatest scenes from an episode filled with great scenes. ****1/2.
Episode 7 - Nemesis: I liked looking at the classic cars and the care that had to go into a chase involving these rare (and expensive) vehicles. ***.
Episode 8 - Shadowplay: Shadows and nodes are scary. And yes, Silence in the Library had one of the best cliffhangers ever. ***1/2.
Episode 9 - River Runs Deep: I loved this exploration of both River Song and Dr. Moon. Is River the Doctor's future wife? I hope we find out in the fifth season. ****.
Episode 10 - Look Who's Talking: The voice synching stuff was REALLY fun especially David Tennant and the lady who played Sky having to memorize the square root of pi to the 30th decinal! ***1/2.
Episode 11 - Here Come the Girls: I appreciated this one for (briefly) filling in the details of WHY Rose seems so omniscient in Turn Left. Apparantly it was because HER universe exists slightly ahead of time of ours and that their version of Torchwood was helping her go back in time. ****.
Episode 12 - Friends and Foe: Yeah, Davros is awesome but I wish they had focused more on the crossover nature of the two-parter and how mind-blowingly awesome it was to see all of our favorite characters in one place. Also they accidently spoiled Noel Clarke's and Camille Coduri's surprise appearance in the next episode by showing them in the cast reading. ***1/2.
Episode 13 - The End of an Era: I wish we had see more from John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen and Freema Agyeman but the episode was right to focus on the goodbyes of both Rose and Donna. I originally found Rose being with the second Doctor a bit bittersweet but I am completely sold on the concept with another regeneration inevitable next year. And Catherine Tate was SUCH a great Companion and her last scene breaks your heart. ****1/2.
DVD Menus: The best ever with the TARDIS on fire and shaking and the Daleks and then Davros taunting the Doctor. My favorite so far. Also love the Titanic footage (and David Tennant's "Wot? Wot?") in the Special Features menu. *****.