Doctor Who 2007: 42

It's not a reference to the "Hitchhikers' Guide" but rather to the length of time until the ship they're stuck on crashes into the sun. Given that it's also the length of an episode (give or take a minute or two), this means that events occur almost in real-time... and there's a lot going on.

This was a very fast-paced episode. The tension just keeps going, and never really lets up. I enjoyed it a great deal, apart from a couple of pretty dumb things:


The ship itself was very smart, and reminded me somewhat of the Event Horizon.

Regarding the larger plot of the season:
Anyway, I liked it.

A very good one. Reminded me of Farscape, with plot twists every 10 minutes and references to pop culture.

It was an average to good take on an unoriginal/well used plot

do we need a "Mister Saxon/Master No Six" reference in every episode? Bad Wolf at least kept us guessing in new series 1.

I believe the next episode is quite scarey?

John

I've found the Mr Saxon references to be pretty minimal, and up to this point, confined to the episodes in present day. Last year's Torchwood references were much more ham-handed in my opinion.

I liked it, though when
Looking forward to the next episode.

I lost interest in Torchwood after four or five episodes, so I miss the Mr Saxon buildup. Perhaps if I had seen more episodes it would bother me more, as it does seem to lack the Bad Wolf subtlety

I don't actually think there were many Saxon mentions in Torchwood, save perhaps a few "Vote Saxon" posters about.

I just ment that while Series 1's "Bad Wolf" was something that most casual viewers could miss (and certainly there are references to it that keep popping up in both shows), Series 2's "Torchwood" references seemed to deliberately club you in the face. It seemed less necessary as well. They'd already announced the series Torchwood, so there wasn't really any mystery surrounding it.

Saxon in series 3 is a bit better soley because it seems to involve more specific plotting against the Doctor himself. I suppose one could make that argument for Torchwood, since they considered him to be an enemy of the crown, but since their entire plan seemed to be "Let's wait around until he notices something we're doing and shows up", I don't think it really washes.

Excellent. This made up for the two week wait.

Some fine things about this episode. The twist with the SPOILERS living sun possesing the crew SPOILERS was a whopper for me. I honestly did not see that coming. The bits with Martha's Mum and the Saxon cronies is also a plus, and has amped up to where it will lead to. Th entire thing built up the tension and suspense very well.

But what really made the episode for me was the acting. Freema should be applauded for that scene when Martha emotionally breaks down talking with her mum on the phone when she thinks she's about to die. The real accolades though, should go to Tennant. He completely owns the screen in the episode's most intense moment, when The Doctor starts being possesed by the living sun.

All in all, great show. Can't wait for next week.

Yeah, very cool episode with some top-notch acting from Martha and the Doctor. Great pacing and a real sense of threat. It was particularly cool to see the Doctor gripped by fear and admitting that he was very scared. This was the point that this episode became too much for my daughter, who ran from the room squealing "I have to go and play with my ponies!" If the Doctor is scared, things must be bad! She loves Dr Who but frequently needs to hide behind the sofa - and every episode this season has also sent her scurrying out of the room at some point. Even her older brother was hiding behind a cushion every now and then. All good signs that Dr Who is doing what it is supposed to do for the younger generation

I enjoyed the Saxon elements this show, perhaps more than the Bad Wolf and Torchwood buildups. Rather than drop supposedly "subtle" references all over the place, they're making it an overt metaplot, which rachets up the tension nicely. Did anyone else think that the blonde woman with the wiretap gear was a bit like Marita Covarubias from the X-Files?

I'm looking forward to the next episode a great deal. It's a two parter that is supposedly a reworking of one of the novels (haven't read it) with some pretty cool premises. "Human Nature", I think it was.

Also, (spoiler ahead) there was a brief preview of Captain Jack's return on last Friday's Jonathan Ross show, which featured Jack clinging to the outside of the Tardis while the craft hurtled trillions of years into the future towards the end of the universe. Looking forward to that as well, although with mixed emotions, as it signals the final episodes of the season. Doctor Who is great, but the seasons are too short! Oh well, hopefully we'll get more Torchwood in the later half of the year.

Mark Hope said:

I'm looking forward to the next episode a great deal. It's a two parter that is supposedly a reworking of one of the novels (haven't read it) with some pretty cool premises. "Human Nature", I think it was.

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Just read it's entry at wikipedia here . Interesting premise, but I figure they're gonna change the plot somewhat. How, I have no idea, but I think the Doctor reasons for SPOILERS becoming human will be different, as it's obvious from the episode preview that it's all part of some elaborate plan of his to deal with the antagonists of the story.SPOILERS And since Martha's involved, I figure some radical reworking of the plot must be made to accommodate her.

Also, is it just me, but does anyone think that the Family of Blood are a bunch of vampires similar to the ones the Fourth Doctor fought in State of Decay? I didn't like that serial BTW, but I was intrigued by the series' take on vampires. However, this is probably all just speculation on my part.

Mark Hope said:

Also, (spoiler ahead) there was a brief preview of Captain Jack's return on last Friday's Jonathan Ross show, which featured Jack clinging to the outside of the Tardis while the craft hurtled trillions of years into the future towards the end of the universe. Looking forward to that as well, although with mixed emotions, as it signals the final episodes of the season. Doctor Who is great, but the seasons are too short! Oh well, hopefully we'll get more Torchwood in the later half of the year.

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He hangs onto the TARDIS while it travels through the time vortex? Now that's too much. But then again, the good captain is a freaking immortal, so maybe that can account for it.

As for the seasons being too short, I have to disagree. Having just 13 episodes for me insures tighter control on account of the writing. Most times, I think some shows stretch themselves too thin and have to come out with subpar shows in order to pad out the season. The shorter season works better in the show's favor I feel.

delericho said:

This was a very fast-paced episode. The tension just keeps going, and never really lets up. I enjoyed it a great deal, apart from a couple of pretty dumb things:

Spoiler

2) One of the things they have to deal with is a glorified pub quiz. Martha even comments on this. I can't say I liked it, not at all.

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I liked that one. It seemed like the sort of thing that the crew would actually have done after getting drunk one night, and figuring "Well, we're never going to actually use this, let's leave it." I know I've chosen some of the passwords on my computer for sillier reasons.