By Kenn Gold
The strength of Doctor Who has always been in its ability to integrate change into the story. Over the 40 years of the show (which started the week of JFK’s assassination) 10 different actors have played the 900+ year old time lord. Unlike other recent series re-births (Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, and others) Doctor Who does not require a re-imaging. The series can be picked up and the lead actor changed at any convenient time with a clever plot twist known as re-generation. When the Doctor dies, he regenerates into a new actor. When the series came back after a long absence, several years ago, however, the pilot episode opened with the new companion, Rose Tyler. And the subsequent stories of first and second season were told through her point of view. Having survived her adventures with two Doctors though, Rose was lost in an alternate universe at the end of series two.
The departure of Rose set the stage for a new companion. From the moment the Doctor first meets medical student Martha Jones, when her hospital is taken to the moon, he changes her life forever. The two meet William Shakespeare in Elizabethan England, travel to the distant future for a fateful meeting with the Face of Boe, and meet the latest incarnation of the Doctor’s oldest enemy, the Master, in the longest trip into the future that the Doctor has ever traveled. Add in the return of Captain Jack from the spin-off Torchwood, and a meeting with the Dalek’s in Manhattan in the 1930’s amid the backdrop of the construction of the Empire State Building, and the series is full of surprises. Series 3 brings many elements of the greater mythology of the Doctor’s past into the current series, for the first time. These include the first scenes of Gallifrey in nearly twenty years. Overall, series 3 is by far the strongest of the three seasons since the Doctor returned to television.
The disk set starts with last year’s Christmas special THE RUNAWAY BRIDE, the precursor to the first real episode of the season. The Bride Donna Noble played by comedian Catherine Tate appears in the Tardis before the Doctor even has time to begin to grieve for the loss of Rose. Donna is not impressed with the Doctor and doesn’t believe he is a time traveler at first, but before long she is chased by this season’s version of the Autons, and rescued by the Doctor in a Tardis car chase scene. This leads to a trip to the distant past, as the Earth is being formed, with a Racnos ship at it’s core. In a confrontation with the Racnos empress in the present, the dark and unforgiving side of the Doctor, that will be a recurring theme for the season, emerges. Donna is offered the role of the companion, but refuses for now, saying the Doctor needs someone that can help him control himself. (Though she will be back for multiple episodes in series 4.) Also, another recurring theme is introduced in this episode which will lead to the grand revelation in the three part finale; mention of Mr. Saxon, the candidate for Prime Minister.
“SMITH and JONES”, the second story in the set, is the actual season opener, and the introduction of the new companion, Martha Jones. The title of the episode is a reference to the alias that Doctor has used before, and will use again in this season, Dr. John Smith. The Doctor meets Martha when the hospital in which she works is transported to the moon by an intergalactic police force known as the Judoon. Martha, a medical student, is a more independent and slightly older companion who may not need saving as much as prior companions. She shows herself quickly to be able and quick witted as the Doctor confronts a plasma-vore, a type of alien vampire that the Judoon are seeking. This episode also features the first of several times throughout the season where the Doctor will have a near death experience, and must be saved by Martha. In a scene where the Doctor kisses her, it becomes obvious that she has an interest in romance with the Doctor, but that the feelings will not be returned any time soon.
"SHAKESPEARE CODE", represents Martha’s first trip into the past and presents an opportunity for meeting the Bard himself. The story revolves around three witches who are the inspiration for Shakespeare’s later work, but who are in fact aliens. The episode presents a further chance for exploration of a potential relationship between Martha and the Doctor, and was touted as the episode where they end up in bed together, though platonically. There is also another chance for Martha to save the Doctor’s life when one of his hearts is stopped by the witch’s spell. This episode is notable also for the multiple mentions of Harry Potter, the final book in the series, and J.K. Rowling. In fact, the evil is dispelled at the end with a nod to J.K.’s work with one of her spell words used by Shakespeare.
"GRIDLOCK," is represents a trip into the year Five Billion and Fifty Three, and a return to New Earth. The overall story involves Martha being abducted by some travelers, who want to use her get into the three person occupancy fast lane. Short trips in this future highway system can take decades. A sequence in the episode involves monstrous creatures that live at ground level under the free system, and which are apparently descendents of the once sentient Macra, not seen for many years in the televised Doctor Who adventures. Most importantly, this episode presents the long awaiting third and final meeting between the Doctor and the Face of Boe. Boe’s final secret is shared with the Doctor, setting up plot elements which will be revealed in the three part season finale. The Doctor also describes the citadels of Gallifrey to Martha, the first time the planet has been mentioned in the current series.
The DALEKS in MANHATTAN" and "EVOLUTION of the DALEKS" is the two parter set in 1930’s New York. People are disappearing, and savage pig creatures are running amok in the sewers. We eventually learn that this is where Dalek Sek and the cult of Scarro got to when they used the emergency temporal shift at the end of Series 2. The Daleks are experimenting on humans, trying to create the next generation of their race- the human Dalek. The experiment results in an interesting sacrifice by Sek, and an interesting offer of mercy from the Doctor to his most hated enemies. In the end, the last remaining Daleks again use the Emergency Temporal Shift to escape to parts (and times) unknown.
"The LAZARIUS EXPERIMENT" gives an excellent performance by Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss who plays the title role of Dr. Lazarus. In his eighties, the life work of Lazarus involves a machine which can manipulate human DNA and de-age the subject. In scenes very reminiscent of the Sci Fi movie, The Fly, the experiment’s go horribly bad, turning Lazarus into a part human part monster creature. The episode features more of Martha’s family, as her sister is Lazarus’s assistant, and we see Martha’s mother approached by a woman who tells her the Doctor is bad news. Mr. Saxon is again mentioned in this episode, and the Lazarus technology will play an important part in the season finale, as well.
“42” is an episode that is in part an homage to the American 24, in that the important action occurs over a period of 42 minutes in the episode. Martha and the Doctor visit a space ship in the future that is being drawn into the sun that it has been orbiting. We see the upgraded to Martha’s cell phone in this episode that allows her to call her mother in current time. Martha must get help from her mother to find trivia that is used as the mechanism to lock doors that must be opened. The episode is reminiscent of last season’s “Impossible Planet” in that the inhabitants of the ship are taken over by an alien intelligence. The Doctor also has his go with the alien presence and almost dies, and Martha is nearly lost in space. Though her trust in the Doctor wins out, and he does in fact save her.
The next two episodes, “HUMAN NATURE” and “THE FAMILY OF BLOOD”, are based on a Doctor Who Novel (featuring the 7th Doctor), and are re-worked for the current Doctor and companion. The Doctor places his time-lord essence into a watch, becoming fully human, falling in love, and refusing to believe that he is an alien when confronted with his true nature by Martha. In the 2nd half of the two parter, we learn that he did this in order to avoid the terrible vengeance he would finally take on the alien family who is perusing him. The first episode of this two parter was not well received by the fans, who complained both about the weakening of the character, and the introduction of the watch transferal of the time-lord essence, which was a new element to Who mythology. Again though, this small plot point would turn out to be critical to the overall plot of the series finale, and to the return of the Doctor’s greatest enemy. The second episode again featured the very dark, non-human side of the Doctor as he doled out the incredibly harsh and eternal punishments to the family. We also see Martha begin to realize there is no hope for her unrequited love for the Doctor, as we see her disappointment that he has fallen in love with a human, though not her. The Doctor again uses his Dr. John Smith alias in this episode.
Episode 10, "BLINK," is this season’s filler episode, much like “Love and Monsters" from season 2. The Doctor and Martha are almost completely absent in this episode, which is based on a short story featured in the Doctor Who Magazine. While last seasons filler episode left much to be desired, this entry is perhaps the best episode of Doctor Who since the series was re-launched. Written by Stephen Moffat, the two time Hugo award winner, who is set to take over the reigns of running the show after series 4, the episode involves angel statues that move when you turn your back. It also involves easter eggs hidden by the Doctor in the past, on certain DVDs owned by the episodes heroine, Sally Sparrow. The Doctor is trapped in the past without his Tardis, and he must get help from Sally to return to the present and set things right. The episode is scary like a good horror movie, and is the highlight of the DVD Set. It is basically a stand alone episode, and a break before all hell breaks loose in the three part finale.
The final 3 parter, "UTOPIA", "The SOUND of DRUMS" and "LAST of the TIMELORDS" is perfection when viewed in its entirety. “UTOPIA” opens with the rest of the story from the final scenes of Torchwood’s first season finale, as Captain Jack hears the Tardis. Jack ends up jumping on a dematerializing Tardis, and throwing its navigation system off as the ship rockets out of control to the end of time. On the world called Utopia, we meet an alien race and an old professor played by Derek Jacobi. Most of this episode, after the reintroduction of Jack, and until the final sequences with the Professor, seem like a poor imitation of Mad Max. The ending though is so powerful, that all that has gone before in the episode is forgiven, as the Doctor learns the meaning of Boe’s final secret, and we see how the whole season has built up to the return of a foe long thought dead. In “THE SOUND of DRUMS” we meet the new Prime Minister in modern times, Mr. Saxon, played by John Sims. We also see the re-introduction of Unit into the current Doctor’s world, and we begin to learn the true nature of the Time Lord’s, and the indoctrination of novices on the Doctor’s home world. The end of the 2nd parter again pulls in technology from the past, and the Doctor is left in a precarious state which must be meant as a nod to the 900+ year old Yoda in the Star War’s universe. In the final episode of the season, the writers give a deliberate nod to BattleStar Galactica, by jumping the storyline ahead in time by 1 year at the opening. We learn that Martha has been carrying on the fight for the imprisoned Doctor, leading up to a final sequence which will reveal just how powerful the Doctor actually is. After the disasters are resolved, and after time goes back a year, Martha decides she needs a break and leaves the Doctor. Though press releases promise that she will be back, along with Captain Jack in Series 4. We also learn what may be one of the greatest secrets of the Who Universe in a throw away line from Jack as he is parting ways with the Doctor and Martha. It has yet to be seen if that was an inside joke, or intended to be a major revelation.
Supplemental features are included on each of the six discs in the set; chief among them are commentary by Jones, Tennant, Agyeman, producer Phil Collinson, and members of the writing and production team on each of the 14 episodes. The Doctor Who Confidential series, which aired on BBC Three and offered behind-the-scenes looks at elements from each episode, is included in its 15-minute "cut down" version (as well as an hour-long episode that covered a live performance of music from the show by the National Orchestra of Wales and hosted by Tennant), as are several video diaries shot by Tennant, who proves as engaging behind the camera as he is on the show. A smattering of deleted scenes, outtakes (mostly featuring Tennant reacting good-naturedly to his own blown lines), BBC promos for all 13 episodes (including the amusing "Vote Saxon" spot, which offers Sharon Osbourne and UK pop stars McFly throwing their support behind the the new MP in the series' final two episodes), and trailers for other BBC series like Jekyll, Torchwood, and MI-5, round out this terrific set.
