Doctor Who: 2x00 "The Christmas Invasion"

Ok, so I lied on Sunday.  Things got a bit rough, but we should be back on schedule Friday.  The official Doctor Who review schedule has been updated with these changes and with previous episode review links, if you want to catch up.  One Thursday, July 4th, I'll post two reviews to catch up with the schedule because there's no better way to celebrate USAmerican Independence than writing and reading reviews of British television shows!

We have made it to Series 2 of Doctor Who!  Starting next Sunday, every Sunday for the next six weeks, I will post reviews of Sherlock episodes, rather than Doctor Who episodes.  If you didn’t catch it earlier, I posted statistics for Series 1.

DOCTOR WHO REWATCH: SERIES TWO, EPISODE ZERO: “THE CHRISTMAS INVASION”

The new Doctor is introduced, and some badass women get things done, and are then punished for it.

Doctor Who: 1x00: “The Christmas Invasion” Written by Russell T. Davies

The Summary:

Jackie and Mickey are going about their lives on Christmas Eve, when suddenly: the TARDIS engines!  They run to find the TARDIS on a crash course, and once it finally lands out stumbles a man they’ve never seen before but is wearing the Doctor’s clothes and seems to know them.  He then collapses in a dead faint.  Rose emerges and explains that the stranger is the Doctor and that he changed somehow.  They get him to bed in the Tyler apartment, and Rose and Jackie take care of him, neither understanding what’s happening.  Rose and Jackie talk a bit, and Rose finds out Harriet Jones won the election for Prime Minister and has made many great reforms as well as supporting a project to send out a probe to Mars.  Rose goes out with Mickey to get some Christmas presents since she hadn’t been expecting to be back for Christmas and has no money.  While out, they are attacked by a brass band dressed as Santa Clauses whose instruments are actually guns and flamethrowers.  They run back to the house.  When they get there, they find Jackie’s Christmas tree has been replaced with a killer Christmas tree.  They lock themselves in the bedroom the Doctor is sleeping in, and Rose tries to wake him up.  It isn’t until she whispers in his ear that she needs him that he wakes up, and defeats the tree just before they’re all about to die.  He stumbles out of the apartment to confront the killer Santa Clauses, who he refers to as pilot fish, and warns Rose there will be something bigger coming.  He passes out again.  Meanwhile, the Guinevere One space probe encounters aliens, and Harriet Jones runs the response team like the BAMF alien fighter that she is.  She reveals that she’s become even more competent since the last time we saw since apparently she’s read up on aliens quite a bit.  Rose, Mickey, and Jackie spend a long night in the apartment waiting for news or for the Doctor to wake up.  The aliens called the Sycorax make contact and demand that they surrender.  Harriet Jones, who rebuffs the USAmerican President’s attempts to take over the situation, sends a reply that’s basically a huge piss-off.  The Sycorax reply by somehow controlling a third of the world’s population into walking to the edges of tall building’s roofs.  The response team figures out that they are controlling the blood of type A positives, as that blood type was in a vial on the placard of Guinevere One.  Harriet Jones asks for help from something called “Torchwood,” since there is no sign of the Doctor.  She then makes an address to the people, and asks the entire world that if they can reach the Doctor to do so and ask for his help.  Rose breaks down while watching it, since it seems the real Doctor no longer exists.  The Sycorax ship breaks atmosphere, and Rose decides to hide Jackie, Mickey, and the Doctor on the TARDIS.  Harriet Jones and part of her team are teleported onto the Sycorax ship, but they recognize the TARDIS’s energy signature and teleport it on as well, without Jackie onboard.  Not realizing that they’ve moved, Rose goes to check on Jackie and ends up stepping onto the Sycorax ship, Mickey hears the commotion, drops the open tea thermos on the TARDIS floor and runs out after her.  Rose tries to threaten the Sycorax with the Shadow Proclamation, which she’s heard the Doctor do many times in the past, but the Sycorax realize she really doesn’t know what she’s talking about.  Meanwhile, the tea drips onto the console and wakes the Doctor, completely revitalizing him.  As the Sycorax are talking in Sycoraxic, the TARDIS suddenly starts translating it into English for all the humans, and Rose realizes the Doctor is awake.  Just as she turns to look, the Doctor exits the TARDIS.  He goes on a ramble, as he tries to figure out his new regeneration’s mannerisms and personality.  He releases the people on the roofs from the blood control then challenges the Sycorax leader to a duel, which he wins, but only after getting his hand cut off (and regrowing it).  Afterwards he commands the Sycorax to leave and gets the humans all back to Earth.  They all celebrate, but Harriet asks the Doctor how many more there are, and he tells her there are thousands of other races and to expect to get used to having visitors.  The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey begin to leave, when Harriet Jones orders Torchwood to fire on the retreating Sycorax.  The Doctor is an ass and dismantles her entire administration, then he picks out a new outfit and “does domestics” with Rose, Mickey, and Jackie by having Christmas dinner with them.  Though this isn’t the first reference to Torchwood (that’s one of the Weakest Link questions in “Bad Wolf”), it is the start to the Torchwood arch.

The Women:

Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Harriet Jones, Sally Jenkins, Sandra

The Conversations:

1. Rose and Jackie:  Jackie brings Rose a stethoscope and they talk about the Doctor’s condition and how he has changed.  The continuing conversation becomes about Harriet Jones, who is the new Prime Minister.   The rating: 0.5

2. Rose and Jackie:  Rose tries to get Jackie to leave the apartment then notices the Christmas tree has changed.  Because Mickey is present for the conversation, the rating: 1

3. Rose and Jackie:  Rose breaks down in Jackie’s flat after Harriet Jones’ speech.  The rating: 0

4. Rose and Harriet:  Rose leaves the TARDIS to find herself on the Sycorax’s ship, and greets Harriet, who asks after the Doctor.  The rating: 0

The Woman to Woman Quote of the Episode:

“Did more than that – stopped World War III with her.” – Rose Tyler (to Jackie Tyler, about Harriet Jones)

Nothing’s better than one badass woman admiring another badass woman.

The Tally:

Episode 2x00 Total: 1.5

Series 2 Total: 1.5

10^th Doctor Total: 1.5

Rose as Companion Total: 18.0

Russell T Davis Era Total: 18.0

For Further Discussion:  Harriet Jones, Prime Minister

Spoiler Warning for Series 3 and end of Series 4.

Doctor Who: 1x04 "Aliens of London" & 1x05 "World War III"

[Note to Self: Have episodes in queue so when emergencies crop up the blog can still be updated.]

Welcome to the fourth episode review for Fandom Approved, Bechdel Tested.  I’ll be starting with a rewatch of Doctor Who.  In each review, there will be spoilers for the episode reviewed and all previous (obviously); any spoilers for future episodes will be highlight-to-read or under a “Read More” bar.

Come back at 3:30 today for the regularly scheduled episode review: “Dalek.”

DOCTOR WHO REWATCH: SERIES ONE, EPISODE FOUR: “THE ALIENS OF LONDON”

Doctor Who: 1x04: “The Aliens of London” Written by Russell T Davis

The Summary:

The Doctor once again gets it wrong when landing the TARDIS; instead of returning Rose to twelve hours after the events of the pilot, he returns her to twelve months after the events of the pilot.  Her mother, Jackie, has been obviously desperate in searching for her missing daughter.  Rose and the Doctor try to explain it off as “just traveling” and that Rose meant to call but forgot.  But then, an alien spaceship crashes through Big Ben and into the Thames!  While trying to escape dealing with the “domestics” between Rose, Jackie, and Mickey (who had been accused of murdering Rose), the Doctor figures out that the crash landing was faked, as was the “alien” thought to be the pilot.  Meanwhile, the Prime Minister (either a Tony Blair fill-in or Tony Blair himself) has gone missing, and some random people in the British government are put in charge.  Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North, continuously tries to get into see them but is put off.  She is the first to discover the acting Prime Minister and his lackeys are the real aliens.  When Jackie discovers that the Doctor is in fact an alien, she calls the police.  Instead of taking the Doctor into custody, the police escort the Doctor and Rose to Downing St to help decide the best actions for Great Britain to take.  The Doctor figures out that the people in charge are the real threat until it’s too late and everyone’s getting electrocuted while Rose and Harriet Jones are trapped in a room with another alien and Jackie is being attacked by yet another.  This episode has the third reference to Bad Wolf.

The Women:

Rose, Jackie, Harriet Jones, Margaret Blaine/Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, Dr. Toshiko Sato    

The Conversations:

1. Rose and Jackie: Rose appears in her living room, thinking she’s been gone for only twelve hours, when for her mother, it’s been a whole year.  They reunite with tears on Jackie’s part and confusion on Rose’s.  The rating: 2

2. Rose and Jackie: After talking with the police, Jackie drags Rose into the kitchen and pleads with her to explain what happened.  The rating: 2

3. Harriet and Rose: Knowing that the acting Prime Minister is an alien and that the Doctor is an expert on aliens, Harriet offers to keep Rose company and asks her if the Doctor can help them.  The conversation is completely about the Doctor, the rating: 0

4. Harriet and Rose: Harriet brings Rose to the council chamber, where she explains what happened with the aliens.  The rating: 1

The Woman to Woman Quote of the Episode:

“Did you think about me at all?” – Jackie Tyler (to Rose Tyler)

I love the whole Jackie-Rose relationship and Jackie’s worry and love for Rose in these scenes are just heartbreaking.

The Tally:

Episode 1x03 Total: 5

Series 1 Total: 13

9^th Doctor Total: 13

Rose as Companion Total: 13

Russell T Davis Era Total: 13

DOCTOR WHO REWATCH: SERIES ONE, EPISODE FIVE: “WORLD WAR III”

Doctor Who: 1x05: “World War III” Written by Russell T Davis

The Summary:

Picking up where “Aliens of London” left off, the Doctor is being electrocuted, Jackie is being attacked, and Rose and Harriet are being pursued by an unmasked alien.  The Doctor rips off the name tag that is electrocuting him and sticks it on one of the aliens, which magically electrocutes all the aliens at once, allowing Rose, Harriet, and Jackie to escape.  Jackie and Mickey hide from the aliens in Mickey’s flat while Rose, Harriet, and the Doctor lead two chases around Downing St which eventually collide and end with the three trapped, but safe, in the Prime Minister’s cabinet room.  Using a conference call with Jackie and Mickey, the Doctor manages to figure out the best way to defeat the aliens one-on-one: vinegar given that they’re prone to calcium decay.  Though that saves Jackie and Mickey, it can’t work on the large scale, so the Doctor must figure something else out.  He, Jackie, and eventually Harriet debate whether to launch a missile at Downing St to kill all the aliens (something that was actually Rose’s suggestion several minutes before).  Harriet Jones, being the only elected official in the conversation, takes responsibility and commands Mickey, who has hacked into the Royal Navy’s system, to launch a missile at them.  Rose gets the idea to ride out the blast by hiding in a cupboard, the walls of which are lined with three inches of steel.  They indeed manage to survive, and Harriet Jones immediately becomes a media darling, explaining everything that happened to the public.  At home, Jackie tries to make peace with the Doctor and Rose by cooking for them, but the Doctor gets Rose to run off with him before tea.  While Jackie begs Rose to stay, Mickey tells the Doctor that he’s too scared to go with them but doesn’t want Rose to know.  In the end, Rose and the Doctor disappear in the TARDIS, leaving Jackie and Mickey standing in the street.

The Women:

Rose, Jackie, Harriet Jones, Margaret Blaine/Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen

The Conversations:

1. Rose and Jackie: At the end of the crisis, Jackie decides she must accept the Doctor into her life if she wants to keep Rose around, so she plans with Rose to cook tea for them all.  The rating: 0

2. Rose and Jackie: Jackie begs Rose to stay with her, promising to make changes to make life better for them, but Rose explains that she is not leaving because of Jackie but because the universe is too beautiful to stay away from.  Though the Doctor is not actually discussed, he and Mickey are standing nearby and the conversation is obviously about the Doctor, the rating: 0.5

The Woman to Woman Quote of the Episode:

“I’ll get a proper job; I’ll work weekends; I’ll pass my tests, and if Jim comes around again, I’ll say ‘no’” – Jackie Tyler (to Rose Tyler)

“If you saw it out there, you’d never stay home.” – Rose Tyler (to Jackie Tyler)

Have I mentioned yet how much I adore the Jackie-Rose relationship?  Even though she understands she can’t keep Rose with her, she still desperately tries.  And Rose, instead of blowing her off, does her best to comfort and explain things to her.

The Tally:

Episode 1x05 Total: 0.5

Series 1 Total: 13.5

9^th Doctor Total: 13.5

Rose as Companion Total: 13.5

Russell T Davis Era Total: 13.5

The Education of an Ignorant American:

So, this is my interpretation of Jackie Tyler, and I’m just wondering how correct it actually is.  Please let me know in the comments.

As I understand it, Jackie and Rose live on an “estate” which is similar to the American system of public/subsidized housing, or “the projects.”  Now, in American media, there are certain clichéd, offensive, and downright untrue ideas presented about the people who live in this type of housing.  Here are just a few… Idea one: people on welfare are lazy, unemployed-because-they-choose-to-be leeches.  Idea two:  poor, single mothers are sluts and terrible mothers.  Idea three: people are only in the situation they are in because they choose to be.

And at first, Jackie seems to be a big ball of these stereotypes, but as she’s developed further, she obviously subverts some of them, but others are preserved, mainly the amount of men she seems to be/have been involved with and her lack of employment.  And I don’t know exactly how I feel about all of these factors, but I do want to know, at least, how similar a British interpretation of her lifestyle is.

For Further Discussion:  Motherhood in Doctor Who

No Spoilers beyond these episodes