Doctor Who The Lodger S05E11 (BBC)

The new Doctor Who: Matt Smith

Doctor Who is a long-running, award-winning British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as “the Doctor” who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which appears from the exterior to be a blue police phone box. With his companions, he explores time and space, solving problems and righting wrongs.

The show’s lead character is currently portrayed by David Tennant. A Christmas special co-starring Kylie Minogue aired in December 2007, and the fourth series started on 5 April 2008. For that series, Catherine Tate will reprise her role of Donna Noble, from the 2006 Christmas special, as the Doctor’s latest companion. Midway through the series, Freema Agyeman will also return to her role of Martha Jones, following a multi-episode guest appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood. John Barrowman will continue his role as Captain Jack Harkness, and Billie Piper will return as Rose Tyler for three episodes. Elisabeth Sladen is also set to return as Sarah Jane Smith in a cameo role.

After a 2008 Christmas special and three further specials starring David Tennant, scheduled to air in 2009, Doctor Who is planned to return in 2010 for a fifth full length series.

From the Doctor Who entry at Wikipedia.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

The Doctor working a smartphone

The Doctor is a long lived alien from the planet Gallifrey. He’s a Time Lord and travels through time thanks to his aging time capsule the Tardis. David Tennant is the tenth Doctor. My favorite has always been Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor. The Doctor periodically regenerates. When he does so, he changes outward appearance which let the producers change actors easily. All Time Lords regenerate 13 times. The Doctor’s nemesis is the Master, a renegade Time Lord who found a way around this limit. Other enemies include the Black Guardian, the Daleks and the Cybermen.

During the previous serials, before 2005, Gallifrey was alive and well. It appears that for the new series, the Doctor is the only survivor of the last great Time War between the Dalek Empire and the Time Lords.

This is the first of a series of specials that will air this year. Since David Tennant couldn’t commit to a full series this year, due to some previous acting commitments, we are left with a bunch of specials.

After two disappointing specials, we come to the end of David Tennant’s Doctor. Tennant has rapidly become a favorite of mine. I still love Tom Baker above all, but Tennant is very good. What is it about him? I’d say that David Tennant was almost perfect for the role. It’s too bad that he’s moving on. Already, the 5th season has been delayed until later this year because he couldn’t commit to a full serial.

It’s sad because he was so good. However, it’s good that Tennant is going out with a bang. The ending of part one of the End of Time was amazing. The Master, the Doctor, and the Time Lords, all reunited at last for one final confrontation.

I didn’t really like how the tenth Doctor died, but others will say that it is within his nature to be like that, to sacrifice himself for anyone. He did so. The end is nigh as he says goodbye to all of his companions, from Rose to Sarah Jane.

* * * * *

The new Doctor is nutty. Nutty enough to be the Doctor, if that makes any sense. I don’t know much about Matt Smith, and I usually keep an embargo on myself about upcoming Doctor Who episodes so that the fun isn’t spoiled, and frankly, I was surprised. It was a good show, not extremely good, but good nonetheless. I have to say that I did really like David Tennant as the Doctor. His shoes are going to be hard to fill. Naturally, Tom Baker remains as my favorite Doctor of all time.

There’s more to River Song and the Doctor. Apparently she killed a man and is serving her sentence in the Stormcage. She says that they will see each other again when the Pandorica opens. This is supposed to be episode 12 of this season. This episode was pretty darn good. I had loads of fun watching it. It was especially creepy when the angels realized that Amy couldn’t open her eyes and started moving. They still looked like statues however, which was strange. They are supposed to be in quantum lock, so I imagined that their real visage was different than stone, but it isn’t.

The cracks in the universe are back and this will be the ongoing theme of this season. We also learn why Amy can’t remember the Cybermen or the Daleks. Time is being unwritten due to some time energy explosion, somewhere in time. This is why the cracks are appearing.

This was a good episode. I give it a B. Having the Doctor as your lodger will drive anyone crazy, let alone James Corden! I feel like most of the recent episodes are playing up the season finale. What is inside the Pandorica?

* * * * *

The TARDIS arrives in England, in Essex. He steps out and the TARDIS winks away with Amy inside.

The story picks up a day later. Some teenager is asked by some man in 79B to help him out. The lodgers from 79A wonder what’s going on. His friend Sophie gets called away. Craig is alone. Someone rings at the door. It’s the new lodger and it’s the Doctor. Craig finds it strange because he only put the advert in today. The Doctor hands Craig a bag filled with money.

-Has anyone told you that you’re a bit weird?
-They haven’t stopped telling me that.
Craig and the Doctor

Sophie thinks that the Doctor might be a dealer. The Doctor is wearing an earpiece to talk with Amy. Something is stopping the TARDIS from materializing. That something is upstairs, in flat 79B. The thing upstairs in the flat gets a prostitute. When it consumes her, it creates a time distortion.

Sophie comes by while the Doctor is in a towel. It’s quite funny. The Doctor plays some football and rubs Craig the wrong way by stealing his thunder and Sophie’s attention. The Doctor doesn’t help matters when Sophie drops by later on and he motivates her to try for her dreams.

Craig touches the mould on the ceiling. He gets really sick and the Doctor has to save him. He wakes up later in the day and finds the Doctor covering for him at the call center. He isn’t a happy camper. He goes back home and finds the strange detection machine that the Doctor has in his room.

When the Doctor comes back, he has to reveal his real purpose. He does a sort of Vulcan mind meld, but does it by bumping Craig’s head a few times.

The thing upstairs beckons Sophie. The Doctor finds out that the thing upstairs is trying to launch a time engine. Amy says that there is no upstairs. It’s a one-story building.

The time engine is not in the flat, it is the flat. They try and save Sophie. The whole room is alien. Someone appears. The man is a hologram part of the ship. It wants to use the Doctor as the pilot of the ship. The Doctor says that if he touches the dial, the whole solar system will blow up. The Doctor tells Craig to touch the dial because he wants to stay here not leave. He does so and the Doctor is released. He says that he loves Sophie, that’s why he wants to stay. Sophie touches it. She says that she loves him too and they kiss. The ship is stopped.

They run out when the ship is about to explode. It doesn’t explode, but winks away. There never was a top floor because of the perception filter.

The Doctor leaves but he doesn’t see the crack in the fabric of the universe that formed behind the fridge.

Back aboard the TARDIS, Amy finds her wedding ring inside the Doctor’s pocket. She doesn’t know what to make of it.

* * * * *

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