Season 2/28 Episode One: New Earth
Air Date 15 April 2006, 7:15 PM UK Time.
Cast:
David Tennant (The Doctor)
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler)
Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler)
Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith)
Zoe Wanamaker (Cassandra)
Sean Gallagher (Chip)
Dona Croll (Matron Casp)
Michael Fitzgerald (Duke of Manhattan)
Lucy Robinson (Frau Clovis)
Adjoa Andoh (Sister Jatt)
Anna Hope (Novice Hame)
Simon Ludders (Patient)
Struan Rodger (Face of Boe)
Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by James Hawes
We're nearly 4 months on from The Christmas Invasion, our first long term look at David Tennant as the 10th incarnation of the Doctor. New Earth marks the first season episode with Tennant at the helm, and according to early ratings figured, attracted an audience of 8.0 million viewers, and a share of 38.6%.
This is our first ever visit to a planet that is not Earth...specifically New Earth, the planet populated following the destruction of the 'original' Earth in Series 1/27 in the episode The End of the World. The TARDIS lands in a field of applegrass outside the city of New New York, and the Doctor and Rose leave the ship where the aforementioned facts are presented. We're hit with some shippiness between the Doctor and Rose, perhaps more instigated by the later than the former. I had issues with the dialogue here; I felt it too over the top and disingenuous. After a few minutes of set up, the Doctor brings out his psychic paper, where a repeated message is summoning him to a hospital that dominates a part of the cityscape. As we move toward the hospital, a familiar spider robot is seen, and a familiar voice is heard.
The story begins in earnest here. We (along with the Doctor) are introduced to a doctoral/nursing staff of bipedal hominid felines who have cures for all known maladies. We are introduced again to the Face of Boe, who sleeps, aged, infirm, possibly dying. Meanwhile, Rose meets again a 'friend' she thought dead from the past...who decides that Rose's curvy human body is far more useful than her skin trampoline.
Hijinks ensue, followed by some quite shocking revelations, some tense moments, and a somewhat surprising denouement and decision by a Doctor who isn't the kind of man for second chances, if his deportment in The Christmas Invasion is any indication.
There were elements of the story I felt could have been fleshed out significantly that would have improved the story. The medical portion of the storyline, being as important as it was to the whole story, could have been the true focal point, and indeed likely should have. Further investigation into the genetic manipulation, engineering, and testing that was briefly glossed over, in my opinion, would have been far more fulfilling than the 'This is bad, so don't do it, m'kay?' way it was handled. Despite the fact that this was a season opener, I think it could have been a little darker in terms of lighting, especially considering the subject matter at hand.
The shippiness continues to be somewhat distasteful for me. It is a new element in Doctor Who, especially this blatant, and I do not feel it is necessarily being handled with a light touch. Past Doctors have exhibited fondness for his companions (Davison's Fifth Doctor and Tegan, as a perfect example), but it was handled more sublimely, with a lighter touch. One needn't be beat about the head that Rose fancies the Doctor; it is obvious. Yet it is beaten into the viewer's head with every episode.
I also think there were too many secondary characters introduced who did little to further the story. The Duke of Manhattan was perhaps the only one who provided any plot advancement, and even there it was slight, and could have been handled differently (or cut completely with no change to the story).
Finally, the ending. It did run counter to the whole 'no second chances; I'm not that sort of man' ethos that Tennant espoused near the end of The Christmas Invasion. Having said that, however, I found it to be touching, and one of the more genuine emotional moments in the story. While we had multiple characters acting differently to their set roles, it was a pleasant, and appropriate way to end one character's tale.
Overall, as I've stated on another forum, while I accept the flaws of the story, it was an entertaining 44 minutes, and I didn't walk away being disappointed (as I was with last year's series opener Rose). On a 5 point scale I'd rate it a 3/5, on a 10 point scale it'd be a 6.5/10 or so. Not the best Doctor Who from the revival (which I still rate as The Unquiet Dead currently), but certainly not the worst.