Doctor Who: 1x08: Father's Day

DOCTOR WHO REWATCH: SERIES ONE, EPISODE EIGHT: “FATHER’S DAY”

And this is when we cry all the tears.

Doctor Who: 1x08: “Father’s Day” Written by Paul Cornell

The Summary:

Rose convinces the Doctor to take her to see her father before his death when she was just a baby on November 7, 1987.  Although the Doctor is hesitant because of timey-wimey stuff, he brings Rose first to see her parents’ marriage ceremony then to sit with her father while waiting for the ambulance to arrive on the day he was hit by a car.  On the first try, she is unable to move except to run away while her father dies alone on the street.  Despite his reservations, the Doctor brings her back one more time, but instead of waiting, Rose runs out and saves her father from being hit.  From her mother’s stories, Rose knows that her father was on his way to a wedding, so she convinces him that she too is on her way.  Pete brings Rose and the Doctor to his and Jackie’s apartment so he can change.  There Rose admires all of her father’s things which she’s only seen in storage, and she and the Doctor argue.  The Doctor storms out taking Rose’s TARDIS key with him.  Pete takes Rose to the wedding with him, and Rose learns her mother has been lying to her about Pete; he has apparently stepped out on Jackie and is somewhat of a failure of a businessman.  Jackie accuses Rose of being his latest mistress, and Rose is visibly shaken by this revelation.  Meanwhile the Doctor has discovered the TARDIS is just a phone box and some monster is eating people.  Toddler!Mickey runs to the church saying monsters are attacking people and the Doctor runs to Rose saying they need to get into the church before monsters attack them.  Weird vulture-flying-mouth-things, called Reapers, begin picking off wedding guests while the rest seek refuge in the church, which is old enough to keep the Reapers out for a short time while the Doctor figures out how to fix everything.  The Doctor lectures Rose since her saving her father’s life is probably what caused this.  While the Doctor thinks, Rose pouts, Jackie glares, and everyone else freaks out, Pete figures out that Rose is his daughter and she saved his life when he was supposed to be dead – obviously Rose got her attitude from her mother and her cleverness from her father in a pro-nature argument that doesn’t make me want to puke.  The Doctor warns Rose not to touch the baby version of herself, but when trying to prove to Jackie that Rose is their Rose, Pete shoves baby!Rose into Rose’s arms, thus letting the Reapers inside the church.  The Doctor sacrifices himself to protect the others, and Pete realizes that without the Doctor the only way to save everyone is to fix Rose’s mistake and die.  Pete runs out in front of the car that was originally supposed to kill him, and Rose gets to sit with her father at last.  Her memory is modified to include the new version of events, though Jackie didn’t remember Rose and the Doctor being there.  This episode is the sixth instance of the Bad Wolf meme.

The Women:

Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Sarah Clark

The Conversations:

1. Rose and Jackie: Jackie tells toddler!Rose about her father Peter Tyler and how he died.  The rating: 0

2. Rose and Jackie: Jackie repeats her story to toddler!Rose, incorporating the hanges in the timeline.  The rating: 0

The Woman to Woman Quote of the Episode:

“He was always having adventures.  Oh, he would have loved to have seen you now.” – Jackie Tyler (to Rose Tyler)

As always, gotta love the Jackie-Rose dynamic, especially how wonderfully Jackie is always doing her best to protect Rose and raise her to be the best she can be.  I think this episode really shows the roots of Jackie’s and Rose’s relationship and why Jackie fears Rose’s relationship with the Doctor so much because while she’s trying to recast Pete in a better light in her memories, she still lives in fear that Rose is going to turn out too much like him and will die like him.

The Tally:

Episode 1x08 Total: 0

Series 1 Total: 13.5

9^th Doctor Total: 13.5

Rose as Companion Total: 13.5

Russell T Davis Era Total: 13.5