Turn Left (21 Jun. 2008)

What would happen if Donna never met the Doctor? How would Earth handle the Racnoss, the falling Titanic or the Sontarans? Aided by a familiar blonde time traveler, Donna corrects the alternate time line from happening.

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writer:

Russell T. Davies

Stars:

David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Billie Piper

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Bernard Cribbins	...	Wilfred Mott
Jacqueline King	...	Sylvia Noble
Joseph Long	...	Rocco Colasanto
Noma Dumezweni	...	Capt. Magambo
Chipo Chung	...	Fortune Teller
Marcia Lecky	...	Mooky Kahari
Suzann McLean	...	Veena Brady
Natalie Walter	...	Alice Coltrane
Neil Clench	...	Man in Pub
Clive Standen	...	UNIT Soldier
Bhasker Patel	...	Jival Chowdry
Catherine York	...	Female Reporter

Storyline

Donna and the Doctor are having fun at a carnival on a distant planet when she is lured to a tent with the promise of having her fortune told. She inexplicably finds herself in an alternate time line, one where she's never met the Doctor and joined him on their many adventures. In fact, the Doctor has died in the Thames flooding as he was unable to regenerate himself. As a result, all of the events on Earth that they experienced together and the threats they averted now come to pass including the death of several well known people who were connected to the Doctor in one way or another. Rose, who has managed to travel from her parallel universe but doesn't reveal her true identity, assists Donna in setting everything right.

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Plot Keywords:

titanic | parallel time | lottery ticket | telescope | alternative reality | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

21 June 2008 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales

Technical Specs

Runtime:

49 min 45 min (50 episodes)

Did You Know?

Trivia

When examining the Time Beetle the Doctor states that it's something to do with the Trickster's Brigade. The Trickster first appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

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Goofs

When we see the flashback of Donna making the wrong turn, this event is 6 months before she meets the Doctor, and that event is December 2006. The flashback then relates to a time of July 2006 and the reg of the car is 56 - a reg not available until September 1st 2006.

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Quotes

Fortune Teller: [to Donna] What are you? What will you be?

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Connections

References Torchwood (2006)

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Soundtracks

"The Wild Rover"
(uncredited)
Written by The Dubliners

User Reviews

The return of Rose?

In this "Doctor-lite" episode, Donna experiences life as if she'd never met our intrepid Time Lord. Instead, her path crosses with that of one Rose Tyler, ex-companion and resident of an alternative universe.

Billie Piper's performance in this episode is somewhat distracting. I'm not sure if it's down to too much time on the alternative Earth but her lines are delivered in a less than Rose-like manner. This is definitely a more serious Rose than we've seen in the past but I question Piper's delivery in this tale.

Russell T. Davies' script is as clever as always and displays his usual imaginative touches, tying in episodes from the previous years and this season. This is a dark tale and the final reference to the past accompanied by the sound of the cloister bell may well have viewers' hairs standing on the back of their collective necks...

While Russell can't help give away elements of the season's finale wherever possible, the next tale is guaranteed to be full of elements that will echo through future episodes. It's going to be the biggest, busiest end to a season that we've seen so far and the return of some very familiar faces should make it unmissable.

8 out of 10 for this one. The best is yet to come....