Just to remind you how popular Nu-Who is I overheard a conversation between a couple of schoolgirls at a bus stop the week before this episode was broadcast
" Dae ya ken what's happening on Saturday ? "
" What ? "
" Sarah Jane's coming back and Mickey and Rose's mum "
Hey I thought to myself . Teenage girls think DOCTOR WHO is the most important and coolest show in the universe . Who says the youth of today have little hope ? It's astounding how much of a success the show has become . The only worry is would RTD throw a spanner in the works ? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no . Unfortunately the answer yes isn't a clear cut winner with The Stolen Earth
Certainly RTD has pandered to the hardcore viewer weather they be middle aged men or teenage girls . The whole story revolves around continuity and nostalgia so much so that the narrative collapse beneath the weight of it . We see characters like Harriet Jones and the rhino monsters from Smith And Jones brought in to the fray only for them to disappear so abruptly you find yourself wondering was it really necessary to include them in the first place . Davros makes a welcome return and is shown to have embryo Daleks growing within himself but this is skated over so quickly you realise it's only been included because it seemed like a good idea at the time . Being an end of season story we have the obligatory cameos in the shape of Prof Richard Dawkins and Paul O'Grady and a plot line featuring the planet Earth on the brink of inevitable defeat . I for one would have been happier to have substituted nostalgia and spectacle and running around for a bit more drama as wehad in Bad Wolf / Parting Of The Ways
The Stolen Earth does have some very good elements . Piper and Tate are both excellent in their roles so much so that it works against the rest of the female cast . Cribbens is also excellent whilst Julian Bleach as Davros is second only to the late Michael Wisher as the best Davros though his part remained underwritten . Undoubtedly though the best part of the story is the ending which contains the greatest cliffhanger the show has ever seen and I'm including the classic series in that equation . When a not so young man who has seen every episode that remains in the BBC archive says that his jaw hit the ground as the end credits came up you know you've been watching event television
This is an episode that is wildly variable . The writing is patchy but that's only to be expected in 50 minutes of television that brings in continuity from the first four series of Nu-Who not to mention the two spin off series TORCHWOOD and THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES and whilst not as talented as Joe Ahearne director Graeme Harper does the best with the material . If here's a fundamental problem it's mainly down to RTD as a producer who commissions his own writing . One hopes we shall see his autocratic type of producing end when he leaves the show
" Dae ya ken what's happening on Saturday ? "
" What ? "
" Sarah Jane's coming back and Mickey and Rose's mum "
Hey I thought to myself . Teenage girls think DOCTOR WHO is the most important and coolest show in the universe . Who says the youth of today have little hope ? It's astounding how much of a success the show has become . The only worry is would RTD throw a spanner in the works ? The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no . Unfortunately the answer yes isn't a clear cut winner with The Stolen Earth
Certainly RTD has pandered to the hardcore viewer weather they be middle aged men or teenage girls . The whole story revolves around continuity and nostalgia so much so that the narrative collapse beneath the weight of it . We see characters like Harriet Jones and the rhino monsters from Smith And Jones brought in to the fray only for them to disappear so abruptly you find yourself wondering was it really necessary to include them in the first place . Davros makes a welcome return and is shown to have embryo Daleks growing within himself but this is skated over so quickly you realise it's only been included because it seemed like a good idea at the time . Being an end of season story we have the obligatory cameos in the shape of Prof Richard Dawkins and Paul O'Grady and a plot line featuring the planet Earth on the brink of inevitable defeat . I for one would have been happier to have substituted nostalgia and spectacle and running around for a bit more drama as wehad in Bad Wolf / Parting Of The Ways
The Stolen Earth does have some very good elements . Piper and Tate are both excellent in their roles so much so that it works against the rest of the female cast . Cribbens is also excellent whilst Julian Bleach as Davros is second only to the late Michael Wisher as the best Davros though his part remained underwritten . Undoubtedly though the best part of the story is the ending which contains the greatest cliffhanger the show has ever seen and I'm including the classic series in that equation . When a not so young man who has seen every episode that remains in the BBC archive says that his jaw hit the ground as the end credits came up you know you've been watching event television
This is an episode that is wildly variable . The writing is patchy but that's only to be expected in 50 minutes of television that brings in continuity from the first four series of Nu-Who not to mention the two spin off series TORCHWOOD and THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES and whilst not as talented as Joe Ahearne director Graeme Harper does the best with the material . If here's a fundamental problem it's mainly down to RTD as a producer who commissions his own writing . One hopes we shall see his autocratic type of producing end when he leaves the show