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Doctor Who New Series Season 04

Midnight

Doctor WhoThe Doctor is eager to take a trip to the uninhabitable planet of Midnight, whose sun’s radiation renders the surface completely inhospitable to any known kind of life – or so the legend has it. Faced with the choice of either this or sunbathing next to an opulent swimming pool, Donna lets the Doctor go off on his own for once. The Doctor gets acquainted with fellow passengers along the way, but when the tour ship comes to a sudden halt, so does the cameraderie – especially when the pilots’ cabin is wrenched away from the ship and something begins knocking on the hull from outside. One of the passengers is apparently taken over by some form of life which has defied expectations and evolved on Midnight, and in its new body it begins rapidly learning about human characteristics such as speech. But when the other passengers become terrified enough to discuss throwing the possessed woman out of the ship to certain doom, just to rid themselves of the alien life form, it appears that the being is learning some of humanity’s darkest behaviors too. And this time, there’s almost nothing the Doctor can do to stop the worst from coming out of everyone present.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Alice Troughton
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Lesley Sharp (Sky Silvestry), Rakie Ayola (Hostess), David Troughton (Professor Hobbes), Ayesha Antoine (Dee Dee Blasco), Lindsey Coulson (Val Cane), Daniel Ryan (Biff Cane), Colin Morgan (Jethro Cane), Tony Bluto (Driver Joe), Duane Henry (Mechanic Claude)

Notes: A few episodes after meeting the Doctor’s daughter, this time around we meet the Doctor’s son – in real life. Guest star David Troughton is the son of the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, and played a minor role in the last second Doctor story, The War Games, in 1969. He played a much more visible role opposite the third Doctor in 1972’s The Curse Of Peladon. Like his father, he’s no relation to this episode’s director, Alice Troughton, who has also directed installments of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 04

Turn Left

Doctor WhoDuring a visit to a futuristic Chinatown, Donna is lured into a fortune teller’s booth, where her fortunes aren’t so much predicted as changed drastically. She finds herself over a year in the past, at the moment when she decided to take a job her mother found for her instead of going to work as a temp at H.C. Clemens – where she was working when her path became inextricably linked with the Doctor’s. History changes. Without Donna to convince him to show the Empress of the Racnoss some mercy, the Doctor’s mission to stop the Empress becomes a suicide mission. UNIT finds the Doctor’s body, having suffered too much damage to regenerate – the last of the Time Lords has died. Without the Doctor, history unfolds very differently, but few notice the divergence until the moment when the starship Titanic slams into Buckingham Palace and its reactor goes critical on impact, destroying London totally. Donna and her family are assigned to a home in Leeds in a besieged and increasingly xenophobic Britain, a world that they would never have chosen to live in. Further events that would have been stopped by the Doctor continue to drastically alter the world: America is laid to waste by the Adipose incident, while the Atmos devices choke millions across the globe. And with each disaster, a young woman named Rose appears to Donna, insisting that she is the most important woman in human history – Donna must go with Rose to fulfill her destiny and set history back on its rightful course. But why should Donna Noble believe a total stranger who claims to be from another dimension of reality?

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Murray Gold

Cast: 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), Ben Righton (Morgenstern), Loraine Velez (Spanish Maid), Jason Mohammad (Studio News Reader), Sanchia McCormack (Housing Officer), Lawrence Stevenson (Soldier #1), Terri-Ann Brumby (Woman in doorway), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Paul Richard Biggin (Soldier #2)

Appearing in footage from The Runaway Bride: Sarah Parish (Empress)

Notes: The Trickster is mentioned as being the architect of the beetle-like creature on Donna’s back; though he isn’t actually seen in this episode, the Trickster did feature prominently in the Sarah Jane Adventures story Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane?, in which he threatened to remove the Doctor from time; presumably Turn Left is where he tried to make good on that threat. Sarah Jane and her three young friends from that spinoff series, Luke, Maria and Clyde, are said to have been in the same hospital where Martha Jones worked (and died), and in the absence of the Doctor, Sarah is said to have prevented the Earth from being blasted by an accelerated MRI machine (as seen in Smith And Jones), paying for that bravery with her life and the lives of her young friends. Similarly, Captain Jack, Gwen and Ianto of Torchwood apparently prevent the Sontaran takeover of Earth (The Poison Sky) at the cost of their own lives. Chipo Chung guest starred in the 11th episode of season three as well, as Chantho, while Lachele Carl’s American news anchor – after appearing in episodes since the first season and even appearing in the same role in the Sarah Jane Adventures – finally picks up a name.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 04

The Stolen Earth

Doctor WhoConfronted with the imminent arrival of Rose from the alternate universe, the Doctor and Donna make a quick jump to modern-day Earth, finding that everything is all right and returning to the TARDIS. But a sudden displacement of time and space leaves the TARDIS floating in space – without Earth. The Doctor flies into action to try to track the planet down, even going so far as to pay an unannounced visit to the Shadow Proclamation, an intergalactic law enforcement body, where he talks his way past Judoon guards and discovers that Earth isn’t the only planet missing: the Shadow Proclamation has placed the entire universe on alert. Taking note of the mass and properties of the missing worlds, the Doctor hypothesizes that the planets may have been stolen to become components of a massive engine, generating energy on a scale not seen since the creation of the universe. The representatives of the Shadow Proclamation are prepared to go into battle, but only if the Doctor surrenders his TARDIS; he opts to go it alone instead.

On Earth, chaos has broken out. Night has fallen around the world, and the sky is now teeming with unfamiliar planets. At UNIT HQ in New York City, at Torchwood in Cardiff and at Sarah Jane Smith’s home in Ealing, former companions of the Doctor are among the first to hear a message transmitted from an oncoming barrage of spacecraft: a Dalek voice endlessly repeating the word “exterminate”. The Daleks attack the planet, concentrating their firepower on military installations or entities that have prior knowledge of the Daleks: Torchwood and UNIT are among the first targets. An unlikely ally unites Martha, Torchwood and Sarah, using a technology invented for an emergency in which the Doctor hasn’t arrived to save the day. But the TARDIS does indeed make its way to Earth, finding the stolen planets time-shifted within the Medusa Cascade. The Doctor discovers that Davros, creator of the Daleks, has survived the Time War and bred a new race of Daleks to do his bidding. As the Doctor’s former companions race to join up with him, Torchwood comes under Dalek attack and Gwen and Ianto are left to fend for themselves. Sarah finds herself at the mercy of the Daleks, and even when Rose finds the TARDIS, it may not be enough to save the Doctor when he finds himself in a Dalek’s gunsights.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones), Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Thomas Knight (Luke Smith), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Julian Bleach (Davros), Michael Brandon (General Sanchez), Andrea Harris (Suzanne), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Richard Dawkins (himself), Paul O’Grady (himself), Marcus Cunningham (Drunk Man), Jason Mohammad (Newsreader), Paul Kasey (Judoon), Kelly Hunter (Shadow Architect), Amy Beth Hayes (Albino Servant), Gary Milner (Scared Man), Barney Edwards, Nick Pegg, David Hankinson, Anthony Spargo (Dalek Operators), Nicholas Briggs (Dalek voice), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

The Stolen EarthNotes: Davros first appeared in 1975’s Genesis Of The Daleks, and returned to terrorize each of the Doctor’s successive incarnations until his final appearance in 1988’s Remembrance Of The Daleks. Even the cancellation of the original series didn’t slow him down, as he returned to do battle twice more with the sixth Doctor, and then with Paul McGann as the eighth Doctor in Terror Firma, and even appeared in his own audio spinoff series, I, Davros. Apparently he’s been missing since a battle during the first year of the Time War, which – just to drive fans crazy – remains unrecorded in either novel or audio form. Actor Julian Bleach becomes the fourth actor to play Davros, having played the Ghost Maker in an episode of Torchwood’s second season. Bernard Cribbins, as Donna’s grandfather, has come up against the Daleks before – 42 years before this episode’s premiere, in the 1966 feature film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. starring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who. Penelope Wilton returns as former Prime Minister Harriet Jones, not seen since the then-newly-regenerated Doctor uttered six fateful words in The Christmas Invasion. Appearing as himself, evolutionary science advocate Richard Dawkins is the husband of former Doctor Who co-star Lalla “Romana” Ward; coincidentally, they were introduced by former Doctor Who writer and script editor – and Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy author – Douglas Adams.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Doctor Who New Series Season 04

Journey’s End

Doctor WhoCaught by a glancing blow from a Dalek weapon, the Doctor’s body is involuntarily beginning the regeneration process – until the Doctor is able to divert the energy into his severed hand, benefitting from the restorative effects without changing his appearance or personality. On Earth, Sarah Jane is saved from the Daleks by Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler, who have returned from the alternate universe after losing contact with Rose. The Dalek attack on the Torchwood Hub is halted by a defense mechanism that the late Toshiko Sato was developing, locking the Dalek into a moment of frozen time – but also trapping Ianto and Gwen inside, safe but unable to escape. To Mickey’s disgust and Jackie’s horror, Sarah surrenders herself and both of them to the Daleks, reasoning that being taken to the Dalek mothership as hostages will put her closer to the Doctor, and in a better position to help. The TARDIS is brought about the mothership by the Daleks, and the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack step out to meet their fate – but the TARDIS doors close, trapping Donna inside. Declaring the time machine and anyone who is still inside it a threat, the Dalek Supreme orders the TARDIS dumped into the neutrino core of his own ship, where it will dissolve and surrender its energy to the Dalek war effort. But when Donna reaches for the Doctor’s severed hand, she sets other events into motion which the Daleks can’t possibly have foreseen. Davros is planning the destruction of the entire cosmos, every universe, every alternate universe, and every dimension, to prove himself a god, and nothing the Doctor says can dissuade the mad Dalek creator from his plans. Martha, Sarah, Jack, Mickey and Jackie join forces to put an end to Davros’ plan, but he has anticipated their interference. But he hasn’t anticipated Donna’s next move – and he certainly hasn’t anticipated whose help she has.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Thomas Knight (Luke Smith), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Julian Bleach (Davros), Valda Aviks (German Woman), Shobu Kapoor (Scared Woman), Elizabeth Tan (Chinese Woman), Michael Price (Liberian Man), Barney Edwards, Nick Pegg, David Hankinson, Anthony Spargo (Dalek Operators), Nicholas Briggs (Dalek voice), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Alexander Armstrong (voice of Mr. Smith)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Remake Series 1 Survivors

Episode 1

Survivors (1970s series)A routine day in Abby Grant’s cozy world starts to unravel slowly. Her son is away with friends as news of an unprecedented virulent flu outbreak grips the UK. As news – and evidence – of the spreading flu worsens, some people grow panicked while others sink into their own oblivion. Abby falls ill and her husband desperately tries to nurse her back to health while the medical and emergency services are overwhelmed. Convicted killer Tom Price sees the spreading sickness as an opportunity to shorten his 20+ year sentence, while millionaire playboy Al Sadiq ignores the news as best he can…until he wakes up in his penthouse, his latest conquest having died of the virus overnight. The virus isn’t limited to England, and soon modern conveniences are a thing of the past. Power stations and other critical services are disrupted because the people manning them have died. Overnight, the human race is reduced to foraging for its survival.

It’s into this world that Abby awakens three days after she falls ill. Her husband has died in that time, as has everyone in her neighborhood. With phone service gone, she has no way to check on her son, and so she sets out to find him. Along the way, she runs into Greg Preston, who seems to have very clear ideas on what he’ll have to do to survive, and has stocked up on fuel, food and other necessities. They soon encounter more survivors, including a disheartened doctor named Anya Raczynski, and the unlikely pair of Al Sadiq and an 11-year-old orphan, Najid. Tom Price, having murdered his last surviving jailer to escape, is also a survivor – though no one yet knows what he is capable of.

written by Adrian Hodges
based on the novel by Terry Nation
directed by John Alexander
music by Edmund Butt

Cast: Julie Graham (Abby Grant), Shaun Dingwall (David Grant), Joanne Rowden (Linda Pope), Matt Lanigan (Joe Pope), Freema Agyeman (Jenny Walsh), Amber Herod (Tina Styles), Guy Hargreaves (Mr. Styles), Christine Anderson (Marion Sturges), Max Beesley (Tom Price), Tim Dantay (Gary Wilson), Joe Jacobs (Tony Coyne), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Samantha Willis), Jamie Belman (Mark Carter), Flo Wilson (Helen Crawley), Trevor Dwyer-Lynch (Driver at petrol station), Phillip Rhys (Aalim “Al” Sadiq), Sophia Di Martino (Simone), Bryony Afferson (Patricia Kelly), Zoe Tapper (Anya Raczynski), Hazel Cadman (Hospital Receptionist), Ian Champion (Journalist 1), Sagar Arya (Journalist 2), Tom Lloyd-Roberts (Sir Brian Tilston), Geoffrey Kirkness (General Mike Stone), Rohit Gokani (Najid’s Father), Chahak Patel (Najid Harif), Francis Magee (Callum Brown), Robert Boulter (Neil), Sophie McShera (Cathy), Paterson Joseph (Greg Preston), Jimmy Allen (Man at petrol station), Nicholas Gleaves (Whitaker), Ronny Jhutti (Sami Masood)

Notes: Though it’s the equivalent of The Fourth Horseman, the first episode of the original Survivors series, this untitled pilot of the new series subtracts and adds numerous characters and changes many of the details in the name of modernizing the story. Oddly, the writers’ credit for the pilot only credits Survivors creator Terry Nation for his novel, which was in fact a novelization of the original series; as such, writer and executive producer Adrian Hodges is credited as the show’s creator. Both Shaun Dingwall and Freema Agyeman had recently appeared in Doctor Who, and much was made of their appearances in Survivors, though neither of their characters survive this episode; Paterson Joseph – who had appeared in the first season finale of the new Doctor Who – was also a hot topic as Survivors premiered, as many considered him a likely contender for the role of the Doctor, which David Tennant had recently announced he would be vacating. Another Doctor Who universe veteran prominent in the first season is Nikki Amuka-Bird, who also appeared in the second season of Torchwood.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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2008-2009 Specials Doctor Who New Series Season 04

The Next Doctor

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS lands in London, 1851, at Christmastime, but before the Doctor can even be serenaded by carolers, someone is calling his name. He discovers a woman in an alleyway, but even though he’s arrived to save the day, she doesn’t stop calling for help until another man shows up – another man claiming that he is the Doctor. Some sort of Cyber-converted creature bursts out of a building, leading both Doctors on a wild goose chase until they lose track of it, but then the Doctor – and the Doctor who was already on the case in 1851 – encounter real Cybermen, apparently escaped from the Void. Curiously, this other Doctor remembers nothing of his tenth incarnation, who then discovers why: this Doctor isn’t the man he says he is. But why does he think he’s another incarnation of the Doctor, and what monstrous plans are afoot that involve the Cybermen enslaving the children of London?

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Andy Goddard
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Davis Morrissey (Jackson Lake), Dervia Kirwan (Miss Hartigan), Velile Tshabalala (Rosita), Rauri Mears (Cybershade), Paul Kasey (Cyberleader), Edmund Kenie (Mr. Scoones), Michael Bertenshaw (Mr. Cole), Jason Morell (Vicar), Neil McDermott (Jed), Ashley Horne (Lad), Tom Langford (Frederic), Jordan Southwell (Urchin), Matthew Allick (Docker), Nicholas Briggs (Cyber voices)

The Next DoctorNotes: While Peter Davison reappeared as the fifth Doctor in Time Crash, and Human Nature‘s Journal of Impossible Things showed sketches of all of David Tennant’s predecessors in the role of the Doctor, The Next Doctor marks the first time that actual footage from the original series or the 1996 TV movie have been incorporated into the new series, with a brief clip of each Doctor. The potential inconsistency of the alternate universe/”Cybus” Cybermen having information about the Doctor’s prior regenerations is avoided with the Doctor’s conjecture that these Cybermen stole the information from the Daleks in the Void, which also explains why few if any of the clips are from Cybermen stories (though they’re not necessarily from Dalek stories either).

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Sarah Jane Adventures Season 3

(Red Nose Day Special 2009)

The Sarah Jane AdventuresA fairly routine day for Sarah and the kids is turned upside-down with the sudden arrival of a dapper little man claiming to be a representative of the Galactic Alliance. Sarah is skeptical but at least offers him some hospitality – at least until the first signs that the man is not who he says he is. When K-9 appears to warn of the man’s true identity, the trap is sprung – and it appears that the intruder is pursuing his prey with a dogged determination.

Get the DVDwritten by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman
directed by
music by Sam Watts / title music by Murray Gold

Cast: Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Ronnie Corbett (Ronnie), Tommy Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde), Anjli Mohindra (Rani), John Leeson (voice of K-9), Jimmy Vee (Ronnie Slitheen)

Notes: Comedian Ronnie Corbett is best known as half of The Two Ronnies, a beloved comedy duo whose television specials were a high point of the BBC’s schedule between 1971 and 1987; Corbett starred with the late Ronnie Barker throughout the show’s run, and The Two Ronnies is even referenced as a gag in this short special. The Comic Relief “Red Nose Day” telethon and the Doctor Who universe have had one other collision, in 1999 with the broadcast of the two-part Doctor Who spoof The Curse Of Fatal Death, starring Rowan Atkinson (and a number of others) as the Doctor, and written by future Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat. While writer Gareth Roberts has penned several adventures for Sarah Jane and Doctor Who, this is his first televised collaboration with Doctor Who Magazine editor-in-chief Clayton Hickman; the two wrote two comedy-themed Doctor Who audio adventures for Big Finish, The One Doctor and Bang-Bang-a-Boom! Hickman may be best known to fandom as the cover artist in residence for most of 2|entertain’s Doctor Who classic series DVD releases in the UK; he served in that capacity for the early years of Big Finish as well.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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2008-2009 Specials Doctor Who New Series Season 04

Planet Of The Dead

Doctor WhoThe Doctor boards a double-decker bus in London, on the trail of a space-time disturbance somewhere nearby. But to his dismay, the bus drives straight through the disturbance: a wormhole that deposits the bus to a rough landing on a barren desert world. Among the assortment of passengers on the bus are a slightly psychic woman whose abilities have been enhanced by the trip through the wormhole, and a mysterious and surprisingly well-equipped woman named Lady Christina de Souza, who quickly teams up with the Doctor, if only because he seems to be the only one who knows what’s going on – and she wants to know why. When a group of insectoid bipeds called Tritivores find the travelers, it becomes apparent that the double-decker isn’t the only recent arrival on this distant world. There’s another race on this planet as well – one which created the wormhole, and intends to widen the wormhole leading to London. Their objective is to feed on everything and everyone on whatever planet they swarm to; their only obstacle is a Time Lord and a resourceful woman who’s almost as mysterious as he is.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies & Gareth Roberts
directed by James Strong
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Michelle Ryan (Christina), Lee Evans (Malcolm), Noma Dumezweni (Capt. Magambo), Adam James (D.I. McMillan), Glenn Doherty (Sgt. Dennison), Victoria Alcock (Angela), David Ames (Nathan), Ellen Thomas (Carmen), Reginald Tsiboe (Lou), Daniel Kaluuya (Barclay), Keith Parry (Bus Driver), James Layton (Sgt. Ian Jenner), Paul Kasey (Sorvin), Ruari Mears (Praygat)

Planet Of The DeadNotes: Michelle Ryan may be best known on both sides of the Atlantic for starring as Jamie Sommers in the short-lived NBC remake of The Bionic Woman. This marks the second appearance of Noma Dumezweni as UNIT’s Capt. Erisa Magambo, first seen – albeit in an alternate timeline – in season four’s Turn Left; this is the first time we’ve met her in the Doctor’s “home” timeline. The Doctor’s reference to an incident involving a giant robot was, in fact, the first adventure of the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) in Robot (1974/75), which also involved UNIT. The desert scenes were filmed in Dubai, though the plot point of the bus being heavily damaged was helped along a little bit by damage incurred during shipping of a real double-decker to the location. In some respects, the character of Lady Christina vaguely resembles the character outline for Kat (sometimes referred to as Kate in the sparse documentation of that character’s development) Tollinger, a feisty female burglar who would have been introduced in the never-made fourth season of Sylvester McCoy‘s era, had it gone into production in 1990. Planet Of The Dead was also the first Doctor Who adventure to be shot on high-definition video, though the first Doctor Who-related HD production was actually the first season of Torchwood.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Season 3 Torchwood

Children Of Earth: Day One

TorchwoodAt 8:40 one morning, every child on Earth stands absolutely still and begins reciting a message, in unison and in English: “We are coming.” Both Torchwood and UNIT try to track down the meaning behind the message, but in Whitehall, a seemingly innocuous civil servant named John Frobisher understands precisely what the message means. Captain Jack tries to contact Frobisher – Torchwood’s point of contact with the government – to offer help, but Frobisher’s new personal assistant, Lois Habiba, has no idea who Jack is and simply takes a message. Lois is nothing if not inquisitive, however, and manages to look up Torchwood in the government’s files, and what she learns there turns her world upside-down. Another civil servant, Mr. Dekker, pays Frobisher a visit with a simple but ominous warning: the 456 are returning, and they have sent a message in an incredibly compressed data stream that will take time to translate. At regular intervals, the world’s children come to a stop, either to deliver another message or to unleash a piercing, blood-curdling scream. Hoping to understand what’s going on, Jack and Ianto each set out to observe a little bit closer to home. Ianto visits his sister, where his niece and nephew are acting decidedly normal, while Jack visits a daughter, Alice Carter, who he’s never mentioned to any of his teammates. Alice, wary of Jack’s apparent immortality, would rather he stayed away from her and from his own grandson, who knows him as “Uncle Jack.” Gwen visits a man named Clement McDonald in a mental institution, learning that he somehow knows of an alien threat; he claims to have escaped the 456 in 1965. McDonald is the only adult in the world to have repeated the same messages as the children due to his close call with the aliens. As more messages are relayed through the children, John Frobisher puts a top-secret plan into action, calling for the elimination of a list of individuals – including one Captain Jack Harkness – and the entire Torchwood organization. Jack’s immortality is about to be put to the test.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Peter Capaldi (John Frobisher), Paul Copley (Clement McDonald), Nicholas Farrell (Brian Green), Susan Brown (Bridget Spears), Lucy Cohu (Alice Carter), Ian Gelder (Mr. Dekker), Cush Jumbo (Lois Habiba), Liz May Brice (Johnson), Charles Abomeli (Colonel Oduya), Rik Makarem (Rupesh Patanjali), Katy Wix (Rhiannon Davies), Rhodri Lewis (Johnny Davies), Hillary Maclean (Anna Frobisher), Anna Lawson (Nurse), Rachel Ferjani (Parliamentary Secretary), Christopher James (Press Officer), Phylip Harries (Water Taxi man), Ben Lloyd-Holmes (Operative), Luke Perry (David Davies), Aimee Davies (Mica Davies), Bear McCausland (Steven Carter), Julia Joyce (Holly Frobisher), Madeleine Rakic-Platt (Lilly Frobisher), Gregory Ferguson (young Clem), Crisian Emmanuel (Mother), Melanie Barker (Mother 2), Scott Bailey (Father)

Notes: Martha is said to be on her honeymoon and out of touch with Torchwood; in reality, actress Freema Agyeman had accepted a job as one of the regular cast of Law & Order: UK, a British adaptation (also starring Battlestar Galactica’s Jamie Bamber) of the popular American crime drama. Though early drafts of the script included Martha, no contract had been drawn up for Agyeman and she took the other job. As Jack is sizing up Rupesh Patanjali as a new medical expert for Torchwood, it would seem that neither Martha nor Mickey Smith joined Torchwood (which was heavily implied at the end of the Doctor Who episode Journey’s End); presumably Martha remains with UNIT.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 3 Torchwood

Children Of Earth: Day Two

TorchwoodEven as Gwen and Ianto escape from a massive blast that destroys the Torchwood hub – with Jack inside – and most of Roald Dahl Plass with it, snipers and government agents posing as paramedics are waiting to pick them off. Gwen goes home to get Rhys and go underground; Ianto winds up more exposed and less armed. Mr. Dekker pays a visit to Frobisher, with a translation of the compressed message from the 456: it contains detailed specifications for a device of unknown function, and a very short timetable for completing its construction. The government operatives locate Jack’s body – or what’s left of it – in the ruins of the hub, and they gather the pieces. Astonishingly, Jack’s remains reform into a full body and he is resurrected yet again. Gwen tries to call Frobisher’s office, but instead finds herself talking to Lois; Lois arranges a clandestine meeting with Gwen, and warns her that Frobisher himself has ordered Torchwood’s elimination. Gwen and Rhys infiltrate a military complex where the revived Jack has been trapped alive in solid concrete. As it happens, Ianto has also tracked down where Jack has been taken to, and mounts his own rescue attempt just as Gwen and Rhys are trapped, also saving them in the process. The world’s children deliver a new message – “we are coming tomorrow” – as construction of the unknown device is rushed to completion atop the MI-5 building, and Mr. Dekker tests it: an environment chamber for the 456. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, the specifications for this chamber have only been sent to the British government. Without the resources of the hub, and marked for death, Torchwood has less than a day to find out who is coming, why they’re coming – and how to fight back.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by John Fay
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Peter Capaldi (John Frobisher), Paul Copley (Clement McDonald), Nicholas Farrell (Brian Green), Susan Brown (Bridget Spears), Lucy Cohu (Alice Carter), Ian Gelder (Mr. Dekker), Tom Price (PC Andy), Cush Jumbo (Lois Habiba), Liz May Brice (Johnson), Katy Wix (Rhiannon Davies), Rhodri Lewis (Johnny Davies), Hillary Maclean (Anna Frobisher), Luke Perry (David Davies), Aimee Davies (Mica Davies), Bear McCausland (Steven Carter), Julia Joyce (Holly Frobisher), Madeleine Rakic-Platt (Lilly Frobisher), Gregory Ferguson (young Clem), Simon Poland (456 voice), Ashley Hunt (Recovery worker), Osi Okerafor (Kodak), Emmanuel Ighadaro (Paramedic), Robert Shelly (Sentry), Quill Roberts (Guard), Fay McDonald (Mother), Louise Minchin (Newsreader), Libby Liburd (Barmaid)

Note: This episode depicts the most critical damage that Captain Jack has been seen to endure (prior to this, the record appeared to be held by numerous point-blank blasts from Dalek weapons). He can apparently survive dismemberment, as what’s left of him is said to be “an arm, a shoulder, and part of a head.”

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 3 Torchwood

Children Of Earth: Day Three

TorchwoodA curfew is imposed across Britain and the Prime Minister takes to the airwaves to assure everyone that no harm will come to their children. Ianto takes the rest of the team to an abandoned warehouse in south London that had once been used by Torchwood One, and since they’re already on the wanted list, they steal the equipment, vehicles and money they need to continue their efforts to decipher the 456’s mysterious messages; Gwen also springs Clement McDonald from the lockup after he’s arrested for petty theft. Gwen meets with Lois Habiba again, giving her a set of spy camera contact lenses and asking her to help Torchwood by giving them a look inside Frobisher’s operations; at first she’s reluctant, but after the Prime Minister – under fire from both UNIT and the world’s other major governments – names Frobisher as Britain’s pointman in negotiations with the 456, Lois finally wears the contacts to the first diplomatic meeting with the 456. At this meeting, the 456 formally demand 10% of the world’s children as a gift. It’s not the first time that children have been delivered to the 456; Clement McDonald escaped from a previous visit in which he was to be presented as a “gift” in 1965. And he recognizes the man who delivered him and the other children into the 456’s waiting hands: Captain Jack Harkness.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies & James Moran
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Peter Capaldi (John Frobisher), Paul Copley (Clement McDonald), Nicholas Farrell (Brian Green), Susan Brown (Bridget Spears), Lucy Cohu (Alice Carter), Ian Gelder (Mr. Dekker), Colin McFarlane (General Pierce), Tom Price (PC Andy), Cush Jumbo (Lois Habiba), Liz May Brice (Johnson), Charles Abomeli (Colonel Oduya), Katy Wix (Rhiannon Davies), Rhodri Lewis (Johnny Davies), Hillary Maclean (Anna Frobisher), Rachel Ferjani (Parliamentary Secretary), Christopher James (Press Officer), Ben Lloyd-Holmes (Operative), Luke Perry (David Davies), Aimee Davies (Mica Davies), Bear McCausland (Steven Carter), Julia Joyce (Holly Frobisher), Madeleine Rakic-Platt (Lilly Frobisher), Patrick Etienne (Sandwich shop man), Simon Poland (456 voice), Gregory Ferguson (young Clem), Louise Minchin (Newsreader), Anthony Debaeck (French Newsreader), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells)

Note: According to the government’s records, Alice Carter (Jack’s daughter) was born to a mother of Italian descent who was a Torchwood employee working alongside Jack from the 1960s through the ’70s. The spy contact lenses were last worn by Martha Jones in season two’s Reset, but apparently Gwen and Rhys have been using them for recreational purposes, which will probably remain as classified as anything in Torchwood’s archives.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 3 Torchwood

Children Of Earth: Day Four

TorchwoodThe full extent of Jack’s involvement in the original 1965 contact with the 456, and the resulting abductions, is revealed: he was sent to deliver a dozen children, including young Clement McDonald, to the 456, in exchange for the antidote to a virus with which the 456 had infected humanity. Clement escaped, unsuitable since he was on the cusp of puberty, but was left with a residual psychic link to the 456. Through Lois’ contact lens cameras, the team sees, hears and records deliberations among the Prime Minister and his cabinet, debating not how to save the children, but precisely which children should be handed over to meet the aliens’ demands. It is eventually decided that “lower class” children in “lessser” schools will be sacrificed. Jack vows to fight back, setting a plan into motion: Rhys will go into hiding and stand by for a signal to release the evidence gathered by Lois’ contact lens cameras to the public; since this act would topple the British government, it’s a last-ditch bargaining chip. Gwen and Clement will remain in Torchwood’s London warehouse and wait for the government shock troops to arrive, which they inevitably will after Ianto places a phone call to Gwen. Lois is instructed to deliver Torchwood’s terms to the Prime Minister directly, which she does just as Jack and Ianto arrive to begin a more aggressive form of negotiation with the 456. But while Jack may be able to bring Britain’s government to a stunned stand-still, he may not be persuasive enough to drive the 456 from Earth.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by John Fay
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Peter Capaldi (John Frobisher), Paul Copley (Clement McDonald), Nicholas Farrell (Brian Green), Susan Brown (Bridget Spears), Lucy Cohu (Alice Carter), Ian Gelder (Mr. Dekker), Cush Jumbo (Lois Habiba), Liz May Brice (Johnson), Colin McFarlane (General Pierce), Deborah Finlay (Denise Riley), Nicholas Briggs (Rick Yates), Patric Naiambana (Defense Secretary), Charles Abomeli (Colonel Oduya), Katy Wix (Rhiannon Davies), Rhodri Lewis (Johnny Davies), Hillary Maclean (Anna Frobisher), Sophie Hunter (Vanessa), Luke Perry (David Davies), Aimee Davies (Mica Davies), Bear McCausland (Steven Carter), Julia Joyce (Holly Frobisher), Madeleine Rakic-Platt (Lilly Frobisher), Simon Poland (456 voice), Gregory Ferguson (young Clem), Ben Loyd Holmes (Operative), Louise Minchin (Newsreader), Anthony Debaeck (French Newsreader), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells)

Notes: Nicholas Briggs, seen on-screen as Rick Yates, has already provided Dalek, Auton, Cyberman and Judoon voices for the series, but is perhaps better known to Doctor Who fandom as the current producer of audio Doctor Who for Big Finish Productions; prior to that, Briggs was one of the leading figures in a number of fan-made direct-to-video releases in the 1990s. The fan videos and Big Finish may well have been factors in keeping Doctor Who alive for both fandom and the public at large, and arguably may have been vital stepping stones to the show’s return to TV and its swarm of spinoffs, including Torchwood. This is Briggs’ first on-screen appearance “in universe” for the BBC itself. Since Clement McDonald was unsuitable for the 456 due to the approach of adolescence, presumably the young lead characters of The Sarah Jane Adventures were also immune to the 456’s effects during this crisis. The location of the abandoned Torchwood One warehouse is narrowed down to Shoreditch – appropriately enough, a location close to the junkyard at 76 Totter’s Lane in which the TARDIS first landed when the first Doctor and Susan escaped Gallifrey. Given Torchwood’s original mandate – to track the Doctor’s activities – this location may or may not be mere coincidence.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 3 Torchwood

Children Of Earth: Day Five

TorchwoodTorchwood has been defeated, and Ianto has paid the price with his life. Jack bargains for the release of his daughter and grandson, as well as Gwen, who is reunited with Rhys and goes to inform Ianto’s family of his death – and to warn them to take their children to safety. Despite the Prime Minister’s assurances that children should return to school – in reality, a ploy to herd them together so the military can deliver them to the 456 – many families, including Ianto’s, have kept their children home. The military steps up its use of force, and any remaining pretense of civility crumbles as parents step forward to protect their children; Gwen and Rhys are on the run again. Having been informed that his children will join those being sacrificed as a publicity move to show that even high-level officials are suffering, Frobisher leaves Whitehall, goes home, murders his own family and commits suicide. Having witnessed enough of Whitehall’s dealings with the 456, the government strike team tasked with hunting down Torchwood instead springs Jack from prison to see if he can save the world yet again. Mr. Dekker and his equipment are rounded up and brought in to help Jack, but they can only reach one conclusion: one terrible sacrifice will have to be made, one child’s life to save the rest of the world’s children – and after making that call, Jack decides he’s had enough of Torchwood and enough of Earth.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Ben Foster

Cast: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Peter Capaldi (John Frobisher), Nicholas Farrell (Brian Green), Susan Brown (Bridget Spears), Lucy Cohu (Alice Carter), Ian Gelder (Mr. Dekker), Cush Jumbo (Lois Habiba), Liz May Brice (Johnson), Colin McFarlane (General Pierce), Deborah Finlay (Denise Riley), Charles Abomeli (Colonel Oduya), Katy Wix (Rhiannon Davies), Rhodri Lewis (Johnny Davies), Hillary Maclean (Anna Frobisher), Luke Perry (David Davies), Aimee Davies (Mica Davies), Bear McCausland (Steven Carter), Julia Joyce (Holly Frobisher), Madeleine Rakic-Platt (Lilly Frobisher), Simon Poland (456 voice), Lorna Bennett (Female Teacher), Louise Minchin (Newsreader), Rhiannon Oliver (Mum)

Notes: If one counts Harold Saxon (in reality the Master) and presumes that his brief stint in office directly followed that of Harriet Jones (former MP for Flydale North), then assuming that Brian Green does step down following this story (and assuming that he took office after Saxon), three successive Prime Ministers have fallen in the Doctor Who/Torchwood universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
2008-2009 Specials Doctor Who New Series Season 04

The Waters Of Mars

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS materializes on Mars in 2059 near Bowie Base One, the first human settlement on the red planet. The Doctor’s stroll across Mars is interrupted by an armed robot, which brings him back to the base at gunpoint. It’s only when the Doctor meets Captain Adelaide Brooke and her crew that he remembers how history records the fate of Bowie Base One: the base is doomed to be destroyed when Brooke activates the self-destruct mechanism. Why she did it, or will do it, is still a mystery – one in which the Doctor is reluctant to get involved. But when other members of the Bowie Base One crew stop communicating with their crewmates, it seems that the Time Lord has no choice but to play a pivotal role in the events that will transpire. The Doctor soon discovers the truth: a living form of liquid is taking over the crew one-by-one and intends to force an evacuation so it can stow away aboard the escape vehicle and begin to take over Earth. But even knowing that, the Doctor hesitates to interfere – the death of Brooke and her crew is a pivotal event that sets the stage for humanity’s eventual expansion into interstellar space, and not allowing them to die could undermine all of Earth’s future history. But does the entire crew have to die? It’s not as if anyone’s around to enforce the laws of time if the Doctor decides to save them.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies & Phil Ford
directed by Graeme Harper
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke), Peter O’Brien (Ed Gold), Aleksandar Mikic (Yuri Kerenski), Gemma Chan (Mia Bennett), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Maggie Cain), Chook Sibtain (Tarak Ital), Alan Ruscoe (Andy Stone), Cosima Shaw (Steffi Sherlich), Michael Goldsmith (Roman Groom), Lily Bevan (Emily), Max Bollinger (Mikhail), Charlie De’ath (Adelaide’s Father), Rachel Fewell (young Adelaide), Anouska Strahnz (Urika Ehrlich), Zofia Strahnz (Lisette Ehrlich), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma)

The Waters Of MarsNotes: The Doctor mentions a mighty empire on Mars that may have contained and frozen the Flood; it’s likely that he’s referring to the Ice Warriors (not seen on TV since 1974’s The Monster Of Peladon starring Jon Pertwee), though other Martian societies have been portrayed in Doctor Who, including the godlike Osirans and the Ambassadors of Death. A sign that The Waters Of Mars is a true product of the DVD/download age, the many “computer screens” depicting the crews’ biographies can be read in full when paused. Waters is dedicated to Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who from Jon Pertwee’s second adventure through the first Tom Baker story, who died shortly before this special premiered.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
2008-2009 Specials Doctor Who New Series Season 04

The End Of Time – Part 1

Doctor WhoNightmares plague the human race; every nightmare features the same laughing face – the face of a man that the world once knew as Harold Saxon. Most people forget the nightmares and are vaguely troubled the next day, but one man retains his memory of each incident – Wilfred Mott, Donna’s grandfather, who immediately begins to keep a watchful eye out for the Doctor’s return.

The Doctor, on the other hand, seems to be in no hurry to rush to the rescue. After events on Mars, he’s actively avoiding situations where he must save the day, but a visit to Oodsphere changes that. The Ood are also experiencing nightmares involving the Master, as well as a disjointed series of images of other people, including Wilfred and Donna. The Doctor returns to Earth and discovers that a cultish group of followers has resurrected the Master’s body, and the twisted Time Lord is now more powerful than ever, with abilities far beyond those of a normal Time Lord, and a bottomless appetite as a result. But not all-powerful: the Master is abducted before the Doctor’s eyes.

With Wilfred’s help, the Doctor tracks the Master down to the mansion of billionaire Joseph Naismith, who hopes to enlist the Master’s help to gain control over an alien artifact called the Immortality Gate. But the Master, even though he’s working at the point of a gun, has his own plans for the Gate – plans to achieve dominance over the human race and remake it in his own image.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Russell T. Davies
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), John Simm (The Master), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Timothy Dalton (The Narrator), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Claire Bloom (The Woman), June Whitfield (Minnie Hooper), David Harewood (Joshua Naismith), Tracy Ifeachor (Abigail Naismith), Sinead Keenan (Addams), Lawry Lewin (Rossiter), Alexandra Moen (Lucy Saxon), Karl Collins (Shaun Temple), Teresa Banham (Governor), Barry Howard (Oliver Barnes), Allister Bain (Winston Katusi), Simon Thomas (Mr. Danes), Sylvia Seymour (Miss Trefusis), Pete Lee-Wilson (Tommo), Dwayne Scantlebury (Ginger), Lacey Bond (Serving Woman), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma), Ruari Mears (Elder Ood), Max Benjamin (Teenager), The End Of TimeSilas Carson (voice of Ood Sigma), Brian Cox (voice of Elder Ood)

Notes: Naismith says that the Immortality Gate was originally recovered and held by Torchwood, and that he acquired it after Torchwood fell; this could either be referring to the fall of the London branch of Torchwood in Doomsday, or the destruction of Torchwood Cardiff in Children Of Earth. This episode marks the first time Bernard Cribbins has stepped into the TARDIS since the 1966 film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., in which he co-starred with Peter Cushing as the Doctor.

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green