May 10, 20178 yr Planet of the Ood is another one I liked! I don't remember much of it though other than that guy being turned into an Ood, and I liked the character of Ood Sigma as well.
May 10, 20178 yr Gridlock. Gridlock higher than Rose? Really? GRIDLOCK with MARTHA JONES?? :lol: No. Rose should be high top20 and not lower than a single Martha Jones one.
May 10, 20178 yr When she's not being a love sick puppy Martha was amaze, she was just unlucky to be inbetween Rose and Donna who were brilliant companions :wub:
May 10, 20178 yr Author Agreed! My only real criticism of Martha has been her lusting over the Doctor, which felt unnecessary and I've always been against romance between the Doctor and the companion. Otherwise she was fantastic, and I'll speak in more detail about why Martha is my favourite when we get to episodes like Human Nature!
May 10, 20178 yr Gridlock was incredible television, perfect with those scenes in the alleyway with the Doctor reminiscing about Gallifrey, very sad in those moments, instead of a gimmick planet that happened to have cat people New Earth now feels like a classic planet (now mostly a dead planet, quite like Gallifrey in that respect) with an almost Kafkaesque setting of people living in their cars on a motorway for years on end, and in that it's great fun moving around all of the cars and seeing their stuff - and Brannigan is a fab guest star. One of my favourite transitional moments in Series 3, it's where Martha truly starts coming into her own as a character and one of the main reasons why I consider that particular series the high watermark of the new series. Planet Of The Ood is also fairly wonderful, not quite as standout to me as Gridlock, but a good set of issues discussed in it, a good setup for the brief arc of the Ood being this set of slightly creepy prophecy aliens for the remainder of Tennant's run.
May 10, 20178 yr She has 0 personality and the episode was as much a chore as actually sitting in traffic.
May 10, 20178 yr I do get the criticisms for Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks and I do remember at the time thinking why would they be wanting to be human, when humans are basically so inferior to them BUT there are a lot of other interesting aspects that help to increase my enjoyment of it. The Radio Times did spoil the reveal but I remember being so freaked out by the cover yet never affected by the actual Dalek Sec hybrid in the show. Its quite a fun episode and not one to be taken too seriously. I appreciated The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood more with rewatches but I think it is slightly too slow and lacks some action sequences that it needs. It is good for, again, exploring how humans would react to a different intelligent race, and having the twist that they were here before us adds something extra to that. The fact that she dies to really adds that special factor to it. I think the negotiation scenes were very over ambitious though!! Both the finale episodes for the 10th and 11th were a bit disappointing. I guess its hard to get it right, especially as its the only time that the Doctor actually dies but neither are particular standouts. The Time of the Doctor is definitely the most disappointing, The End of Time had a lot more special and engaging moments for me. I liked that there was a big set up and the cliffhanger was really good. It was also great that we FINALLY got a glimpse of the Time Lords and the showdown between the Doctor, the Time Lords and the Master is fantastic. I did love the idea that he was able to survive that but ended his life to save Wilf. The final 15 minutes was perhaps a bit self-indulgent but I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was the perfect send off for not only Ten but for the RTD era. The moment with Rose in particular was really special :heart: As I said before, the Slitheen are definitely now more suited to SJA which they appeared in. The farting is just totally unnecessary but they did have a really great look as a NEW MONSTER that really helped for publicity. The political side of Aliens of London/World War Three was actually really excellent and a brilliant way to reboot the series by having this alien invasion and learning about how the world would react to it. Voyage of the Damned is a very good at doing its premise of Disaster Movie: Doctor Who style and that is a great line from Mr Copper at the end. The supporting cast was great (hi Duke) and its always interesting to see the show doing something new. Rose was the most important episode of the show's history and, as you say, the fact that the show is still on air today shows how successful and good the episode was. I think the best idea the show has taken was placing the entire focus of the first episode (and series really) on Rose as it enabled it to be relatable and we could be introduced to all of the show's aspects at the same time as her. Having Mickey and Jackie really helped with that as well and the companion's family is the one thing that is hugely missing from Moffat's era. The End of the World really helped with that too. It was a great decision to have that first step be the future and to showcase various different alien creatures. The plot may not be the most exciting with rewatches but it definitely was great in its purpose to showcase the series again. The Ood are such eye-catching monsters and, especially as they star in my favourite story, I was so excited to see them return. They're certainly one of the most successful creations of nuWho! I do love the themes within it, the corporate aspect, dealing with slavery etc but maybe the Doctor and Donna being unnecessary to the plot slightly lets it down. There are lots of good sequences in it though (Donna trapped in the container, the Ood song, Solana's loyalty to the company, bad guy turning into an Ood). I also like Donna questioning why the Doctor didn't do anything to help them in The Impossible Planet too.
May 10, 20178 yr nEW wHO OFTEN GOES TOO FAR INTO FANTASY THAN SCI-FI, AND THE oOD ARE ONE CASUALTY OF THIS.
May 10, 20178 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/B6mpd9j.png 36 The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky Series 4, Episodes 4 and 5 Doctor: Tenth Companion: Donna Noble, Martha Jones Also starring: Sylvia Noble, Wilfred Mott, Rose Tyler Martha calls the Doctor back to Earth to help investigate ATMOS - which stands for Atmospheric Omission Systems - after numerous cars are found being driven into bodies of water, and all of which have an ATMOS system installed. It reduces the carbon emissions from a car to zero, and naturally has had a wide reach already over the world. Martha, now working for UNIT, heads inside the factory to question the personnel. Two soldiers investigate a hidden room where they're confronted by an alien, who brainwashes them to work as drones. The Doctor heads off to the Rattigan Academy, owned by the developer of ATMOS, a young genius named Luke Rattigan. He goes with Ross Jenkins, a UNIT soldier, and drops Donna home on the way. The Doctor finds out that Luke is a spoilt brat, and General Staal teleports in. The Doctor identifies him as a Sontaran, and escapes with Ross. Staal overrides the ATMOS system in their car to counteract what the Doctor says, and when he figures this out, he orders it to drive into the river, therefore stopping it and saving them both. Martha is captured and cloned by Commander Skorr, with the clone infiltrating UNIT. The Doctor arrives back at Donna's, and the ATMOS systems all begin to release a toxic gas. Wilf gets inside their car to move it, but becomes trapped, choking to death. Sylvia comes to Wilf's rescue by smashing the windscreen with an axe. The Doctor and Donna head back to UNIT, and Donna heads to the TARDIS to shelter from the toxic fumes. The Doctor speaks to General Staal, and UNIT prepare to launch a missile at the Sontaran ship, but clone Martha prevents it each time. The Doctor takes clone Martha to the TARDIS to find it's been procured by the Sontarans, so he gets in contact with Donna. He guides her step-by-step to return to Earth, while he discovers the original Martha, having known all along that the other Martha was a clone. The clone begins to die as the real Martha wakes up. When Donna and the TARDIS return, they hop using the teleport from the ATMOS factory to the Rattigan Academy, where they produce an atmospheric converter to clear the air of the Sontaran gas, which is suffocating the world. Once he's done this, the Doctor takes the atmospheric converter, preparing to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the Sontarans. However, Luke switches places with him and dies in his place. Naturally I was looking forward to this episode a lot, although I expect for different reasons to a lot of the fanbase. Most would've been hyped for the long-awaited return of the Sontarans, but as someone who's seen very few classic episodes, I was more interested in Martha's comeback! I loved the scene near the beginning when Donna and Martha meet for the first time, and Donna actually steals a lot of the best moments. Her conversation with Wilf about what she's seen, deciding not to tell Sylvia, and then on the phone to Wilf while she's stuck in the TARDIS, feeling helpless. The Sontarans were good although "sontar ha" was probably a bit overblown. Loving the nods to the past in this episode also - the Doctor's "are you my mummy?" joke, the Valiant's re-apperarance, and most notably the second Rose cameo of the series!
May 10, 20178 yr nEW wHO OFTEN GOES TOO FAR INTO FANTASY THAN SCI-FI, AND THE oOD ARE ONE CASUALTY OF THIS. I agree with this in principle (especially with rubbish like Robot of Sherwood with Robin Hood actually being real :/), but I don't think the Ood are a problem with this. They're a great creation actually, it's good that we had an intimidating looking alien race that actually weren't out to be supreme and instead are exploited by us. Don't really remember the Sontaran two parter very well (Strax can get very annoying, but he's alright in small doses), was a big fan of Gridlock, who'd have thought there'd be that much tension from just being in a motorway! Edited May 10, 20178 yr by Chez Wombat
May 10, 20178 yr Author http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dUk43aTpX40/UQaTR1Z3xsI/AAAAAAAAJ4U/JnoKxr-kd_I/s640/cyb5.jpg 35 Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel Series 2, Episodes 5 and 6 Doctor: Tenth Companion: Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith Also starring: Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler Forgetting Mickey was holding a button on the TARDIS for the Doctor, the trio are sent plummeting into a parallel universe, where there are zeppelins all over the sky, and importantly, Rose's dad is still alive. Mickey feels left out so heads off to find his gran, and the Doctor reluctantly accompanies Rose to find her dad. Meanwhile, John Lumic is seeking approval for his new creations, an upgrade to humanity to accompany his ear pieces that deliver news and updates to the human race. The President of the UK rejects his plans. The Doctor and Rose pose as waiters at Jackie's 40th *ahem* sorry, 39th birthday party, while Mickey meets his nan, who's dead in his own world. Before he gets the chance to speak to her properly, he's kidnapped by two people, Jake and Mrs. Moore, who mistake him for his parallel world counterpart Ricky. Together, the four of them head to the Tyler household, where they see metal men arriving. The party is interrupted by them, identified by the Doctor as Cybermen, as they delete the President and numerous others. Jackie hides downstairs in the cellar while Pete runs with Rose and the Doctor, who meet up with Mickey and his new friends. They surrender to the Cybermen, who refuse and intend to delete them. The Doctor saves the day by using a spare part of the TARDIS, the only part that survived the trip to the parallel world, to fire at the Cybermen and give them a chance to escape. Mrs. Moore arrives with her van and they get away. Lumic activates the ear pieces and anyone wearing one is hypnotised into walking towards the Cyber factories. The group head towards Lumic's zeppelin. Ricky is killed after being chased by Cybermen, leaving Jake angry. The group split up - the Doctor and Mrs. Moore head down into the cooling tunnels to get underneath the factory, Rose and Pete go through the front door with fake ear pieces, and Jake reluctantly gets Mickey's help to get on board the zeppelin to cancel the earpiece signal. Mrs. Moore is murdered and the Doctor is captured, as are Rose and Pete after they learn Jackie has been upgraded. Lumic is upgraded himself after his health continues to deteriorate, and he becomes the Cyber Controller. The Doctor, Pete and Rose are taken to him, and while he talks, the Doctor drops hints to Mickey. Mickey's watching them via CCTV, and he realises he needs to get a code that can break the emotional inhibitor of the Cybermen. He sends it to Rose's phone and the Doctor plugs it in. All of the Cybermen realise what they've become and the factory begins to blow up. Mickey and Jake pilot the zeppelin away, with the Doctor, Rose and Pete clinging onto a ladder. The Cyber Controller attempts to pursue them but Pete cuts the rope with the sonic screwdriver, sending it plummeting into the burning factory. Mickey insists on staying behind to assist the fight against the Cybermen, well aware of the fact that Rose now only has eyes for the Doctor. Referring back to the countdown that inspired me to do this topic, I was quite shocked to see this two-parter only about 90th on their rank. I've always found it incredibly gripping and very tense. I guess it's never bothered me that these aren't the same Cybermen as the classic ones, considering they're manufactured by Cybus Industries who convert the humans, and come from a parallel universe. Nevertheless, I think this is the episode where the Cybermen are at their scariest. When they pursue Jackie down into the cellar of her house, it's edge of the seat viewing, and the upgrading process is shown to be just as terrifying as it should be. Another favourite scene is when the Doctor and Mrs. Moore are talking to the Cybermen whose emotional inhibitor has broken. It's heartbreaking as it realises the person it used to be, and really hammers home exactly what the Cybermen are. Really great story, feels very underrated to me!
May 10, 20178 yr I do think that Cyberman 2-parter, on reflection, has a lot of fun and horror behind it, though I attribute that mostly to the rather interesting parallel world, brilliant setting for such a huge modern Cyberman takeover and their best story by far in the new series. The Sontaran two parter is similarly good although not quite as terrifying and it's where I first started to note signs of fatigue for 'saving the planet' type stories.
May 11, 20178 yr Author http://www.nexusroute.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/drwhoshakespeare7.jpg 34 The Shakespeare Code Series 3, Episode 2 Doctor: Tenth Companion: Martha Jones For her first trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor takes Martha to Elizabethan London, to witness a performance of Love's Labour's Lost at the Globe Theatre. The author of the play, William Shakespeare, tells the crowd that the sequel Love's Labour's Won will premiere the following night. Unknowingly, he announced this under the influence of the Carrionites, a witch-like species using voodoo to control Shakespeare. The Doctor is worried by his announcement, knowing Love's Labour's Won was lost, and goes to meet Shakespeare. Martha is starstruck, and Shakespeare takes a shining to her. After Lynley bans the play from being performed as he cannot approve the script, Lilith, a housemaid and Carrionite in disguise, uses a voodoo doll of him to drown him on dry land. The Doctor recognises it as witchcraft, but he and Martha try to sleep. Meanwhile, Lilith entraces Shakespeare into finishing the play, adding the verbal code needed to activate the crystal ball that will allow all Carrionites into Earth. Another housekeeper, Dolly, sees Lilith and dies of fright, but her scream awakens the Doctor and Martha, who see a witch flying away. The next morning, they speak to the architect of the Globe Theatre, Peter Street, in a mental hospital named Bedlam. He tells them that it was under the influence of witches, and Mother Doomfinger arrives to kill Peter. The Doctor uses the ancient power of the name on Doomfinger to send her back. The Doctor then orders Shakespeare to stop the play from being performed while the Doctor and Martha track down the witches. Lilith stops one of his hearts and escapes, while Shakespeare fails to stop the play. Reuniting after the portal has been activated, Shakespeare tries to use his words to close it and stop the invasion. Martha assists with the word "expelliarmus" and the portal is shut, leaving Doomfinger, Bloodtide and Lilith stuck in the crystal ball. The Doctor and Martha bid goodbye to Shakespeare, but are chased back to the TARDIS by... Queen Elizabeth I! This is exactly what I like to see in a historical episode really. Shakespeare is put to great use and is portrayed really well by Dean Lennox Kelly, and I enjoyed the Carrionites as a threat also. It's a pretty fun episode for the most part and classic Doctor Who, taking a mythical threat and turning it into something alien. The ending with Queen Elizabeth I is amusing, and I wouldn't have been too gutted if we didn't get a resolution to that but it's kinda cool now we've been filled in on the back story in The Day of the Doctor!
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