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.
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 includethe Black Guardian, the Daleks and the Cybermen.
The Doctor and Donna Noble are called back to Earth by Martha Jones who’s uncovered some strange alien skulduggery. At least, that is what she suspects. The Doctor is happy to see Martha Jones once again. She’s engaged to another doctor and works for UNIT.
It’s strange to see the Doctor back at UNIT. He worked there during the early years, in the 70s and 80. I fondly remember that time with Tom Baker playing the Doctor.
It turns out that the Sontarans are involved and that they are planing to take over Earth. The Doctor uncovers their plot too late to stop them as they start their planetary war with an unprepared Earth. Martha takes the time to warn Donna about her family, to make sure they understand about the Doctor. She didn’t and it got her family into trouble. Big trouble. Martha also had an overbearing controlling mother. Donna has got a similar mom.
In this episode, the Doctor and Donna have to stop the Sontarans from turning Earth into a clone world. That’s how the Sontarans reproduce. Rattigan was duped by the Sontarans.
When UNIT and the Doctor are able to stall the invasion on Earth, the Sontarans decide to use force. The Doctor was finally able to neutralize the Atmos gas. Someone had to make the final sacrifice to rid Earth of the Sontarans, who weren’t about to back down.
This was another great episode. Seeing UNIT was really neat. It’s been so long since the Doctor has worked with them. At the same time, we saw more of Rose. We will see the Doctor’s daughter in the next episode. That’s pretty surprising.
This episode ends like some of the older Doctor Who serials. The TARDIS gets taken off-course by someone. Where will it end up?
Rose Tyler was actually seen at the end of the first episode of this season. Rose was the new Doctor’s first companion back in 2005. She stayed for two seasons before being sucked into another universe. She was seen once again in this episode, on the screen of the TARDIS when Donna was looking at the Doctor’s message to the Sontarans.
There, she finds herself trapped on the parallel Earth albeit reunited with Jackie, Mickey and the alternate Pete Tyler. Later, the Doctor manages to project his image through the last crack between the universes, sharing a tearful farewell with her. He informs Rose that she is presumed dead in the aftermath of the invasion, thus verifying Rose’s soliloquy at the start of the episode “This is the story of how I died”. Rose in turn mentions working with that parallel Earth’s (non secret) version of the Torchwood Institute due to her experience with aliens. Finally, Rose tells him she loves him, even though they denied it many times during the course of their time together. The Doctor begins to reply, getting as far as “If it’s my last chance to say it…Rose Tyler–” before the connection fails.
Rose is back for three episodes this season.
It’s incredible how entertaining these new Doctor Who episodes. Torchwood isn’t anywhere near as entertaining. David Tennant really knows how to portray his character well. I don’t know yet what exactly happened to the Time Lords on Gallifrey, I’m only at Season 22 of the Doctor Who serial. In that time, Gallifrey was still present. I don’t really want to find out beforehand, but I expect that it has something to do with a Timewar and that Gallifrey was destroyed. The Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, but what does that actually mean for a species able to travel in time? Nothing really. They could have blinked out of existence moments before Armageddon.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
* * * * *
The Doctor is still trying to get Donna’s granddad out of his car. Donna’s mum has to shatter the windshield in order to get him out.
At UNIT, things are going mad. All of the cars on the planet equipped with Atmos are affected.
Fake Martha steps into the UNIT command center and uses her level one clearance to transfer the NATO clearance protocols to a flash drive. She uploads it to the Sontarans.
Ross has found a car that isn’t equipped with Atmos and drives the Doctor and Donna to the factory. He gives Donna a key to the TARDIS. Fake Martha hears that the Doctor is back and gives the message to the Kernel. It said code red, Sontarans. She had no other choice; otherwise she would have been compromised. The Doctor plans on going onto the Sontaran ship. Fake Martha activates some of the soldiers that have been converted. They place transmat beam localizers on the TARDIS. It’s immediately transported to the Sontaran ship.
Rattigan leaves for Earth. The Sontaran say that he is behaving exactly as predicted. Donna opens the TARDIS’ doors and sees that she is on board the Sontaran ship.
The Doctor and Martha find the TARDIS missing. The Doctor knows that the Sontaran stole it, thanks to the smell in the air. The Doctor says that the TARDIS is shielded. They could have never of found it by themselves. He looks at Fake Martha suspiciously and asks her about her family. She stumbles a bit to come up with a plausible explanation, which sounds completely implausible.
The Doctor knows that Fake Martha is fake. He tells her that Donna is back home. The Doctor goes back to UNIT HQ. The Doctor uses his technological knowhow to talk with the Sontarans. On the screen in the TARDIS, Donna can see Rose’s face for a few seconds before she hears the Doctor’s transmission from Earth. The Doctor taunts General Stahl. He talks about their war with the Rutans. It’s been going on for 50000 years. When the General taunts him with the TARDIS, the Doctor gives a message to Donna. Donna nobis patchem, or something like that. He talks about the phone in the TARDIS. He implies that he’s got a remote control for the TARDIS. The Sontaran cut the transmission and move the TARDIS out of the transmission range.
At the Rattigan Academy, Rattigan talks about the new Earth that he has found for his followers. They aren’t really listening to him. He pulls a gun when one of them wants to leave. He almost confesses to engineering the deaths of the rest of the planet. All of his followers leave.
Donna phones her mum.
UNIT coordinates a nuclear strike against the Sontaran ship. The General sends in Commander Scar. Fake Martha uses the NATO protocols to cancel the launch. The launch codes have been wiped.
The UNIT soldiers are slaughtered. Their weapons don’t work against the Sontarans. They are cut down by pulse lasers. The Sontarans take control of the factory. Rattigan reports to the ship. He says that his followers wouldn’t come. Stahl informs him that it was all a lie. His followers would have been slaughtered had they come. Luke is able to teleport away.
The Doctor phones Donna. He needs Donna to leave the TARDIS and complete a mission. He needs her to remove the deadlock on the teleportation. She takes a rubber hammer from the TARDIS and knocks the Sontaran guard on his probic vent. He guides her through the ship to the teleportation junction.
The Kernel comes back with some gas masks. He’s got some new guns that don’t use copper jackets. The Kernel gives an impressive speech. The Valiant arrives. It’s a UNIT carrier. It clears the air. UNIT assaults the factory with the Valiant and the new weapons.
The Doctor follows a signal. He takes Fake Martha with him. He arrives at the Sontaran HQ. She pulls a gun. The Doctor takes off the device on the real Martha’s head and Fake Martha collapses. The Fake Martha tells Martha that the gas is clone feed. They plan on turning Earth into a clone world.
The Kernel kills Commander Scar.
The Doctor has Donna activate the transmat beams. He teleports her away just before she is found out. The Doctor teleports the TARDIS back to Earth and leaves with his companions to the Rattigan Academy.
If the nukes are sent off, they will set fire to the atmosphere. The Sontarans are getting ready to launch the clone pods. The Doctor quickly constructs an atmospheric convertor. He shoots it into the sky and detonates the Atmos gas. The gas is gone and the skies are clear once again.
The Doctor grabs the convertor and heads into the teleporter. He plans on detonating the convertor on the Sontaran ship. He has to give them a choice. He can’t just teleport it to them.
The Sontarans don’t go for the Doctor’s bluff. Rattigan jury rigs the teleporter to exchange places with the Doctor and he detonates the convertor.
Donna says goodbye to her family. She comes back to the TARDIS. Martha goes back to UNIT. She is about to leave when the TARDIS doors shut by themselves. The TARDIS transports somewhere.
* * * * *
Relevant Posts
- Torchwood S02E01
- Torchwood S02E02
- Torchwood S02E03
- Torchwood S02E04
- Torchwood S02E05
- Torchwood S02E06
- Torchwood S02E07
- Torchwood S02E08
- Torchwood S02E09
- Torchwood S02E10
- Torchwood S02E11
- Torchwood S02E12
- Torchwood S02E13
- The Sarah Jane Adventures S01E01
- The Sarah Jane Adventures S01E02
- Doctor Who S03E01
- Doctor Who S03E02
- Doctor Who S03E03
- Doctor Who S03E04
- Doctor Who S03E05
- Doctor Who S03E06
- Doctor Who S03E07
- Doctor Who S03E08
- Doctor Who S03E09
- Doctor Who S03E10
- Doctor Who S03E11
- Doctor Who S03E12
- Doctor Who S03E13
- Doctor Who S04E01
- Doctor Who S04E02
- Doctor Who S04E03
- Doctor Who S04E04
memoirs on a rainy day 
Leave a comment