Doctor Who!

[Mirela]

Here's a review of School Reunion (anyone who wasn't moved by it has a heart of stone!)

The whole thing was absolutely AMAZING! Sarah Jane and K-9's return, Anthony Stewart Head as Mr Finch, the confrontation in the swimming pool area between the Doctor and Finch, the storyline, the emotion... And of course my David continues to be the best Doctor EVER...

All of these moments made me tearful: the Doctor seeing Sarah Jane again when she's introduced, when she realises the Doctor's back after seeing the TARDIS, when K-9 is about to be destroyed, the Doctor and Sarah-Jane's goodbye and when it's revealed K-9 has been fixed!

Amazing: 10 out of 10, no make that 11 out of 10! ;D

[jasmine]

I got so nostalgic tonight. Seeing Sarah Jane again brought back memories of her and Jon Pertwee - and of course K9.

I enjoyed tonights episode. Of course I had a lump in my throat at the end when Sarah Jane said her goodbyes to the Doc. It was well done.

Anthony Head was great as the bad guy, with his hair slicked back.

DT in his glasses again *sigh*

Smirk bit: Sarah Jane and Rose having a giggle and taking the p**s out of the doc.

[Storm]

I'm always suspicious, when I love a nostalgic episode of anything, that I'm confusing nostalgia with quality. No danger of that here, because even when separating off the nostalgia from the rest of the story, I found there was still a lot to admire. Adding the nostalgia on top of it made it quite special; this episode was comfortably the outstanding one of the season so far, and probably second only to Dalek in the RTD era as a whole.

Anthony Stewart Head was splendid as the Krillitane (sp?) leader. He managed to make 'Mr Finch' insidious and frightening, and yet also managed to convey a very dignified and sympathetic side to it; it implies a commendable yearning to understand the concepts of goodness and wisdom, and appeals to the Doctor to provide them, and what it offers in return presents a serious moral dilemma for a man who has seen his world destroyed and now sees an opportunity to revive it.

The concept of the Krillitanes as a whole is quite a clever but leery one, in the best traditions of Dr Who. They're not all that scary to look at, but the description of them sounds like vampires, only with a much more methodical, practical and tidy way of feeding on their prey. The fact that the practise of taking bits of other life-forms and incorporating them into themselves seems to have a wholesome quality to it actually makes the concept even more scary on reflection.

Mickey was a little annoying and 'Townie'-ish when he first appeared in the series, but the character is growing enormously and as he gets more adventurous and 3D, he becomes much more likeable. Nod of approval for him finally finding the resolve to join the TARDIS crew more permanently. It's also neat that he does the most spectacular deed of the episode by smashing a car, Terminator-style, through the front of a public building. Got a cheer from me!

The friction between Sarah Jane and Rose was well-written and convincing, although I was a little surprised that Rose, jealous or not, should be quite so vicious about it. (The 'Dark Ages' gag was itself thought up back in the Dark Ages, or at least it feels lke it, and it's a shame the writer couldn't think up a more original taunt.) I loved the bit when they make friends though, and then have the Doctor's eyes darting back and forth in paranoia when he can't figure out what they're laughing at.

In fact, Rose gives us a number of reminders here that she's still very young and not completely mature - reminders we probably need from time to time. Her fear that one day she'll get left behind and forgotten like so many past companions is understandable, but also a little unfair. A man who has lived and quested through space for nine centuries is bound to have known a lot of people in his time, and for him to talk about specific ones with any frequency would imply favouritism, as well as make newer companions feel they have a previous standard to live up to.

Blimey, Sarah Jane hasn't changed at all has she? She still looks terrific for her age, but more to the point, she still just loves getting into trouble. And when there isn't any trouble to be had, she always finds a way of getting up people's noses enough to make some; suspicion alone justifies breaking-and-entering in her book (but then it's not just her of course). I sometimes think that, if there were no newspapers, they'd have to invent one just for her to be investigative for. I think it was a good move that the episode was made though, simply because there was something about Sarah Jane's story that felt like it had been left 'hanging in the air' for a long time, and this finally gave her some real closure. (Possible error; neither she nor the Doctor show any memory of the events in The Five Doctors, as they both seem to imply that the last time they met was when she was dropped off in Aberdeen. Oh, and er, Aberdeen? The red-brick architecture where Sarah Jane was dropped off in The Hand Of Fear back in '76 looked distinctly like some place near Luton to me.)

K-9 is as loveably kickable as ever - that is a compliment, don't worry - although I wasn't too choked up when he got blown to bits because we all know the Doctor can always build a new one at the drop of a hat; and sure enough, K-9 mk IV rolls off the assembly line right at the end.

There are a couple of minor things in the episode that have irked me; -

First, the 'skecis paradigm' thingummy, whatever it was called, is a bit of a deus ex plot device, the sort of thing Deep Thought was looking for in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And using pre-pubescent school-kids from the London suburbs to look for it on Pentium IV's sounds a bit too twee and primitive an approach to be plausible.

Furthermore, the repetitive, unsubtle plugs for Torchwood that are being dropped in episode after episode are really beginning to grate, and are starting to border on the shameless kind of product-placement that is supposed to be illegal on the BBC.

I also feel that, while the moral dilemma that the Doctor faces is very intelligently set up, the final decision he makes is rushed; in the face of such an enormous choice, he doesn't spend enough time agonising over it. (One of the many reasons why I thought they could have fleshed the story out to a two-parter.)

It's a nice touch though, and fitting, that it's Sarah Jane who helps him make the right decision in the end, and in so doing, she realises a very important truth about herself and the years that she's wasted dwelling on the past. At last she accepts that her time with the Doctor really is over and that she should merely remember it instead of try to revive it. This makes it easier for her to make a right decision of her own at the end - she's quite right not to go with the others as she isn't really up to that kind of life anymore - and this also helps her and Rose to come to terms.

And yes, sentimental old buffer that I am, I had a tear in my eye when she and the Doctor said goodbye, properly this time, at the end.

Vastly superior to last week's episode in every respect. 8/10; would've been 9 if they'd made it a two-parter. Roll on the return of the Cybermen...

[jasmine]

Wow! Great review Storm - thank you. That covered it all.

what do you do for an encore ?!

[Storm]

Why, I turn into David Tennant and wink repeatedly at the masses of fawning fangirls...

[Mirela]

Aw I love K-9, but then, I am a girl LOL!

[Storm]

... Let me finish! Let me finish! As I say, I turn into David Tennant and wink repeatedly at the masses of fawning fangirls, or... I turn into K-9 and nuzzle up to them.

[arcadia]

Well, I thought it was a pretty damn good episode too ;D

Anthony Head was awesomely creepy and the standoff with DT at the swimming pool was great

I don't remember Sarah Jane as a companion, but I still got emotional at her reunion with the Doctor. I liked how they brought up the issue of the Doctor having serial companions but always ending up alone, and Rose realising that she's not the first and that in the end he'll leave her behind too.

It was nice to see K9 again and I'm glad it came off OK, because I was a bit worried when I first heard that he was returning that it would end up being cheesy.

I do wish the Torchwood references weren't quite so blatant - if that is this year's Bad Wolf, I'd have liked a bit more subtlety - I like a bit of mystery!

Speaking of which, I hope you've been keeping up with the accompanying web sites - there's one for Deffry Vale School (if you have speakers switch them on because there are fab creepy soundbites from the Headmaster during the aptitude test game!) with links back to the Millingdale Ice Cream site, which was also linked from Mickey's site and a couple of other sites related to last week's episode. I am intrigued about where they are going with this ice cream stuff!

I love a show that pays attention to it's internet audience and gives us extra stuff to play with!

[Storm]

I've decided I like last night's episode simply because there were no Torchwood plugs in it. ;D I'll need to sleep on it before I make up my mind about the story itself.

Speculative ideas about next week; -

The Cybermen return at last. There are two possibilities about the world the TARDIS lands on. It could be the alternative Earth that the sixth Doctor inadvertently created in the animated episode Real Time, and that's probably the more likely. But there's a second idea that I think would be neater; they might not land on Earth at all, but in the past of the Earth's twin planet, Mondas. The reason why I say that is that, from what he said in the teaser trailer, the guy who appears to be the arch-villain (played by wassisname, the actor who played Trigger in Only Fools And Horses) may be the one who creates the Cybermen. And as they supposedly originated on Mondas (according to events in The Tenth Planet)...

[jasmine]

If I was a little kid again I would be checking under my bed after last nights episode, it was quite a creepy start. I may still check if I hear any ticking noises.

Enjoyed the whole thing – it jogged along at a nice pace this week.

Sophia Myles was a very pretty Madame de Pompadour - AND she got to kiss DT – she certainly went for it didn’t she?! You go girl!! Wasn’t there a rumour that these two were seeing each other in real life ?

Loved DT’s wink as he jumped through the mirror on ‘Arthur’ the horse – that gave me a giggle.

Quite a sad ending with Madame de Pompadour gazing out at the stars whilst waiting for the Doc to return – and as the Doc read her letter, I had a lump in my throat.

I haven’t been doing much clue spotting – but have noticed references to ‘God’

Cybermen next week *shudder* – if anyone wants me I’ll be behind the sofa!!

Oh and Roger Lloyd-Pack is the actor who played Trigger – he is in next weeks episode.

[Mirela]

Lol Jas, David and Sophia are going out together still I'm envious of her for that, but I like her - she's a great actress and seems like a nice person

For the actual episode - 9 out of 10.

[Storm]

jasmine said:

Oh and Roger Lloyd-Pack is the actor who played Trigger – he is in next weeks episode.

Ah yes, that's the booger!

The episode is very moving again, and manages to be a bit less saccharine than School Reunion, which helps; we don't want a hundred tons of sweetness every week or we'd get sick.

Interestingly though, The Girl In The Fireplace harks back quite strongly to a scene in School Reunion, when the Doctor explains to Rose why he never told her about Sarah Jane, and says that it's because his life is so long and human lives are so short. "You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you." Here, we have a microcosm of that. Madame de Pompadour sees the Doctor intermittently throughout over thirty years of her life, and inevitably grows to love him. To the Doctor, all the meetings with her take place over the course of a couple of hectic hours. It seems so bizarre, and yet to the Doctor it's not that different from what he usually shares with companions; Sarah Jane spent several years with the Doctor, an age to her, but it must have seemed like the blinking of an eye to someone like him.

This symbolism is probably deliberate again, but less loudly explicit than last week, which is to the episode's credit. It also does something else very important at the end though, when the Doctor reads the letter. No matter how many assistants, companions and the like say goodbye to him, no matter how many he must leave behind, it still makes him cry, and it never gets any easier for him. In other words, it shows that he's more human than perhaps he wants to admit.

The actual plot structure is fairly sound and clever, but not much of a challenge to solve; I guessed as early as the scene where the Doctor wears his tie round his head why the robots are after Madame de Pompadour. It also has to be said that having an extra crewman aboard, at least in an episode like this, does revive the old 'hanger-on' syndrome of past years. Rose and Mickey seem to be spending most of the episode staring into mirrors, whining, "Where's he got toooooo?" and waiting for the Doctor to find his way back to them, which is a little redundant. Still, it makes a change from them spending whole episodes just giving the Doctor someone to rescue instead. But it would be better if the companions could just be a little more pro-active. I also didn't like the blatant rip-off of the Vulcan mind-meld, which even uses the same hand-shape as the one seen here.

I give the episode 8 out of 10. Would've been only 7, but I give it a bonus point for avoiding the Torchwood plug, as mentioned above.

Okay, Cybermen, come an' 'ave a go if you think you're galvanically-reinforced and free-of-compassion-and-other-efficiency-obstructive-emotions enough!

[Seren y Gogledd]

OMG - some serious smouldering from David this week. I can't say much about the plot that hasn't already been covered.

By the way, I missed the first couple of minutes - now that Mickey's joined the Tardis crew, is he in the front credits?

[Mirela]

Nope, Mickey's still a semi-regular and he doesn't appear in all the episodes from hereon, that I know...

[arcadia]

I quite liked The Girl In The Fireplace, though it was a bit odd. Interesting and clever though.

I wasn't sure about the mind melding either - seems a very convenient skill for the Doctor to have all of a sudden

I am slow and I didn't spot the reveal of the ship name at the end coming, so I thought it was cool

Looking forward to the Cybermen next week!