TV Gold

THE UNICORN AND THE WASP :: basically :: As a period murder mystery with an alien twist seventh offering “The Unicorn and the Wasp” is a mighty fine easy going piece of television which should satisfactorily delight all fans of the renowned author Agatha Christie. Having met the great lady herself the Doctor and Donna are involved in a story laced with numerous suspects and a script with more great literary titles than you could shake that ‘lead piping’ (found in the library next to the body of Professor Peach) at. With an ingenious link between the murderer, the impressive giant wasp and the historically recorded temporary disappearance of the famed author this is certainly a most rewarding journey into history.

THE UNICORN AND THE WASP :: …also :: Firstly I like to say that I loved Donna’s 1920s party frock, a very fetching design which certainly was in keeping with the period. I don’t confess to being all that knowledgeable about the works of Agatha Christie although some of the titles flagged up were pretty obvious and Donna attempting to copyright some of them like for example ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ was typically cheeky. I did notice in one of the many flashback sequences offered up that Lady Clemency Eddison reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ and had me thinking back to the January 2001 release “Storm Warning” where, whilst sorting out a cupboard Paul McGann’s eighth Doctor comes across a copy of this book with the last page missing. That fits in rather well with the tenth Doctors’ scripted line on meeting the great authoress when he says “I love your stuff! What a mind! You fool me every time. Well, almost every time, well, once or twice, well, once. But it was a good once.” The only other point to note was when the two cars are chased by the giant wasp had me thinking of a similar insectoid attack perpetrated by Eddie Izzard’s character the highly contentious “The Avengers” movie, admittedly not something that’s everyone’s cup of tea, but I personally rather like it!

SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY :: basically :: An unnaturally quiet atmosphere pervades ‘the library’, a vast planetary repository of the printed word which is mysteriously devoid of people. However, in the shadows, the Vashta Nerada, a furtive, piranha like predatory lifeform stalks the corridors ready for any new prey on which to feast. On its own that mystery would be intriguing enough but thrown into the mix are a team of archaeologists, lead by the enigmatic Professor River Song whom also seek answers to the disappearance of the population of this well renowned literary storage facility. Running tangential to this we are further presented with a little girl being interviewed by Doctor Moon whom believes that ‘the library’ is her imaginary construct. Undoubtedly “Silence In The Library” is a fascinating extremely effective premise from award winning writer Steven Moffat with chills, thrills and intrigue in equal measure finished off with a killer dramatic cliffhanger ending leaving the viewer hungry for next weeks resolution.

SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY :: …also :: Looking out on the panoramic vista of ‘the library’ world from their balcony at the beginning of this episode the Doctor and Donna’s view will no doubt draw comparisons with similar worlds to be found in the three Star Wars prequel films. Thinking about the scenes where we see our duo walking through book lined corridors I momentarily thought back to the 1984 “Ghostbusters” film however there were no symmetrical book staking here! So the tenth Doctor attempts to save his companion Donna by use of a teleporter, now where have we seen that before? Ah yes didn’t the sixth Doctor use a similar albeit less elaborate device to save Peri whilst they were imprisoned on Titan 3 during “The Twin Dilemma”. It’s understandable about the Doctor’s negative thoughts about a team of archaeologists visiting the library because after all he’s previously had bad experiences with previous inquisitive academics like for example on Telos during “The Tomb of the Cybermen”. Certainly praise for the effective way that archaeologist team members are rendered ‘data ghosts’ by the Vashta Nerada and I like the tantalising mystery surrounding Professor River Song and her future association as a travelling companion (replete with her own sonic screwdriver) with the Doctor. Lastly, and yes it was indeed shocking to see Donna as a disembodied monosyllabic computer node at the episodes cliffhanger however you might think it bears a certain similarity to what befell Rose at the hands of ‘The Wire’ during “The Idiot’s Lantern”.

FOREST OF THE DEAD :: basically :: Continuing on from last week second part “Forest of the Dead” generally seems to forge a much more surreal path by presenting us with Donna Noble now existing in an alternate reality where the established chronology of time runs at a greatly accelerated rate. A sequence of events from admission to a country hospital through to being married with two children that would have normally taken seven years to elapse pass by in what seem like a few short moments. For the most part the threat posed by the Vashta Nerada seems almost secondary to this and also the watching young girl whom we learn is called Charlotte Abigail Lux. Despite all these complex aspects the, in my opinion, less chilling “Forest of the Dead” does arrive at a satisfactory conclusion thanks to River Song’s heroic sacrifice although there are undoubtedly many aspects that will have fans debating for some time to come from this impressively atmospheric and at times emotionally moving two part offering.

FOREST OF THE DEAD :: …also :: There are certain aspects to Donna Noble’s existence in this alternate reality which I guess could possibly be likened to those facing Picard, Kirk and other characters trapped in the Nexus during the Star Trek movie “Generations”. When we see Charlotte looking at Donna and then the Doctor and the archaeologists through her television it seemed similar to the Scope that Vorg and Shirna use on Inter Minor during “Carnival of Monsters”.

MIDNIGHT :: basically :: For those of you familiar with the literary works of science fiction writers Arthur C Clarke and John Wyndham tenth episode “Midnight” will in part seem vaguely familiar. This new story shares a similar precept of a small cast trapped on a small passenger craft that you’d find in both “A Fall of Moondust” and “Survival” (both currently available on BBC Classic Radio Sci-Fi CD). As tragedy strikes this scheduled pleasure cruise this story quickly develops into a psychological thriller primarily centred around the alien possession of passenger Sky Silvestry. Her haunted expression matching with an unnerving ability to repeat anything spoken in her presence contributes to a feeling of heightened suspicion and paranoia in this rather atypical offering for the franchise. Despite the visual lack of panoramic vistas and alien adversaries this is indeed a bold emotive experiment that succeeds in delivering a dramatically tense premise in a effective way however I personally feel its lasting appeal may be fairly transient.

MIDNIGHT :: …also :: “Midnight” is indeed a curious beast, something that is quite atypical and does not immediately offer up any links to previous classic or contemporary stories. The only time that the Doctor has been on his own would of course be “The Deadly Assassin” and spending time on a space passenger liner could only bring mere possible associations with both “Nightmare of Eden” and “Terror of the Vervoids” but I think I’m rather clutching at straws here. As I’ve said before the general feel of “Midnight” more likens it to “A Fall of Moondust” and “Survival” however I personally feel that this fourth season offering is the kind of thing you’d more likely find cropping up in a Big Finish audio rather than a television outing where, dare I say it this seems, despite the creditably impressive performances by all concerned, it seems a tad inappropriate when compared with other offerings this year. Lastly let’s welcome back David Troughton whom last appeared in the series as the young king whom clearly was romantically interested in Jo Grant during “The Curse of Peladon” way back in 1972. Great to see him back for his fourth series appearance (other of course include “The Enemy of the World” and Private Moore during “The War Games”) but let’s not also forget his memorable regular role in “A Very Peculiar Practice” (1986-1988) as Doctor Robert Buzzard).

TURN LEFT :: basically :: To all those doubters of Catherine Tate’s abilities as a serious actress this years ‘Doctor-lite’ offering will undoubtedly silence her critics. Taking centre stage in “Turn Left” (an intriguing premise postulating how the world would have coped had she not assisted in the Doctor’s escape from the climactic finale of “The Runaway Bride”) Tate’s character of Donna Noble matures immeasurably as she realises that her normal shouting opinionated attitude will not help alleviate the alternate world’s woes. Added to the mix you have the fully fledged return of a much more knowledgeable, experienced Rose Tyler making occasional visits throughout the story across from her parallel universe warning of an approaching all encompassing catastrophe known only as ‘the darkness’. It all adds up to an impressive intriguing offering that effectively sets the scene for the coming dramatic double episode finale.

TURN LEFT :: …also :: Naturally the beetle on Donna’s back draws obvious parallels with the spider temporarily resting on Sarah’s (and other characters backs) during Jon Pertwee’s “Planet of the Spiders” swansong but other than that what else is there to comment about. Well when Donna’s granddad Wilf looks up at the stars through his telescope he makes the announcement that ‘The Stars Are Going Out’. This made me momentarily smile as nestling in amongst the tracks you’ll find on ‘Romantic?’ you’ll find The Human League used the same words for the title of one of their songs. Now Rose mentions about an all encompassing catastrophe known only as ‘the darkness’ approaching the Earth and the ‘winking out of constellations in the night sky’ may indeed draw comparisons with the creeping threat faced by Sapphire and Steel on the railway station in their second television adventure. You can understand why, through the lyrics of ‘Darkness’ (a Dare! album song and now tour favourite!) why The Human League were/are afraid of the dark! Lastly following the destruction of London Donna, her mum and granddad are evacuated to Leeds, something that our series regular regards with a sense of revulsion. Having lived close to this Yorkshire town, I, like I guess a great many others will take great exception to the rather negative connotation conveyed about this fine city.

THE STOLEN EARTH :: basically :: It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of impressive special effects action on offer in this breathtakingly exciting first instalment of this concluding two part finale as the planet Earth mysteriously disappears from right under the landed TARDIS! There is added pleasing viewer gloss offered as whilst the Doctor and Donna are unexpectedly unavailable to defend the planet it falls to one of the largest collection of regular characters we’ve ever seen returning for this concluding season epic. Whilst its pleasing to watch the resolute purposeful stances employed by Sarah Jane Smith, Captain Jack (and his Torchwood colleagues) and Martha Jones further strengthened by the welcome brief cameo appearance of (former PM) Harriet Jones their actions (ultimately attempting to contact the Doctor via mobile phone) are largely insignificant against the armoured might of Daleks and their new more deadly leadership structure. Although largely sidelined for the majority of “The Stolen Earth” it becomes readily apparent that the Doctor is central to the Daleks plan and with a truly dramatic, emotionally moving and powerful cliff-hanger which will leave you emotionally traumatised this is shaping up to justifiably be the greatest season finale of them all!

THE STOLEN EARTH :: …also :: For regular viewers of the franchise (both classic and new series) you’ll be aware that both Dalek Khan and the legendary creator Davros have extensive history and collective simmering hatred of the Doctor whom has continued to frustrate their plans on each of the meeting. After three previous meetings we learn here that Khan has journeyed to the event horizon of the Time War, rescuing the legendary mutant Kaled scientist whom has, as we know, an even more lengthy series of encounters with the Time Lord. As a triumvirate of Khan, Davros and the Dalek Supreme the knowledge, experience, cunning and technical ability certainly makes them the deadliest force you could possibly imagine however “The Stolen Earth” is tantalisingly finite as to their ultimate objective electing instead to offer praise worthy special effects and a clutch of returning familiar characters. We learn that Davros has used cells from his own body (peeling away his tunic to expose his now exposed skeletal frame) to create an unswervingly loyal collection of Daleks and despite his outward persona I guess he is in an extremely weakened condition. I suspect that by opening the gateway between dimensions and allowing Rose Tyler through he intends to use the former companion to trap the Doctor knowing of the particular weakness he has to his former companion. Looking at that climactic sequence where the Doctor runs towards Rose and then getting exterminated by a Dalek I think was merely part of the master plan of the story rather than any serious attempt to kill their seemingly perpetual enemy. Why do I think this? Well Davros for one is well aware of the Doctor’s ability to regenerate as typified during his conversation on the planet Necros (“Revelation of the Daleks”), something he would have related to his invading forces whom would then know how futile this action would be. No, I suspect he hopes to tap into the resulting energy that would be created from the Doctor’s subsequent regeneration with the hope to perpetuate his life, something akin perhaps to that of the Master during “Planet of Fire”. With a nod to the past we of course have seen life threatening regenerations before (e.g. the third Doctor (radiation in “Planet of the Spiders”), the fourth Doctor (falling from the Pharos tower during “Logopolis”), the fifth Doctor (succumbing to Spectrox Toxoemia in “Caves of Androzani”) and of course the seventh Doctor (bullets as he emerges from the TARDIS in “The Movie”) so this latest apparent fatality would certainly be in keeping with the dangerous adventurous lifestyle he leads however we as yet have never seen anyone interfere with the natural process of regeneration before. Maybe, just maybe this could be a first for the franchise. We will just have to wait and see what “Journey’s End” delivers and whether David Tennant’s incarnation will join his predecessors in enjoying the chance to play a classic scene with Davros. Additionally I thought the ‘shadow proclamation’ space station bore a slight resemblance to Iceworld as featured in “Dragonfire”.

JOURNEY’S END :: basically :: Billed as the ‘greatest season finale of all time’ this dramatically powerful feature length offering effectively blends the more immediate tensely paced Dalek Empire threat with a more thoughtful introspective critic, delivered with devastating effect by Davros, of how the Doctor has adversely affected those closest to him. As to further emphasise the point you have both Martha and Captain Jack using specific ‘weapons of mass destruction’ with seemingly dispassionate impunity and stoic resolve to which the captive Doctor listens with a naturally horrified reaction. Undoubted the words “How many have died in your name?” plus the events played out during his time with Davros will resonate on for some considerable time for the Doctor! To employ a (possibly appropriate) metaphor, a ‘greater amount of flesh on the bones’ of the Daleks main plan as devised by Davros is related here, the universal scale of which (destruction of reality itself through a disintegrating particles bomb) is breathtakingly awesome in its scope. On the face of it the prospect of a two part story featuring such an extensive cast of familiar returning regular characters seems a recipe for disaster however, as with the previous instalment “Journey’s End” continues to effectively use these people to great effect and even manages to sling in a brief cameo appearance of K-9 for good measure without it being of noticeable detriment to the stories central plot. With “Journey’s End” fluctuating between tense exciting action and moving emotive drama the resonance of certain aspects of this tale, particularly the poignant resolution of the Doctor’s relationship with both Rose Tyler and Donna Noble, this makes for one of the finest offerings this revived franchise has ever offered. Highly recommended!

JOURNEY’S END :: …also :: For the most part this truly epic season finale offers little similarity to ‘classic series’ stories electing instead to refer back through various brief flashbacks and scripted dialogue to events of the last four years. However I personally thought that the TARDIS initially entering ‘the crucible’ could possibly be likened to the USS Enterprise-D entering the Dyson sphere in the ‘Star Trek : Next Generation’ Season Six episode “Relics”. Also as the aperture opened to deploy the ‘reality bomb’ I saw a mild similarity to the Romulan Senate as featured in the tenth motion picture “Star Trek : Nemesis”. Once again I feel that Catherine Tate shines in this second part particularly following her part time lord/part human interaction with the cloned Doctor’s hand where her self assured delivery of typical Time Lord scientific waffle effortlessly flowed from her lips. It’s an interesting aspect as to whether the Doctor may have, through the partial regeneration sequence, have inadvertently sacrificed one of his lives and one can only wonder just how smoothly the next full renewal will be whenever it occurs in the future. Could we potentially have an unstable initial period like that which the fifth (“Castrovalva”) and six (“The Twin Dilemma”) Doctor’s experienced. Aside from the usual brilliant performances from all the cast and the usual exemplary CGI effects work praise should also be directed to Murray Gold whom especially during “Journey’s End” has offered up one of the finest pieces of incidental music he has ever done for the revived franchise. I look forward with keen anticipation to a ‘Season Four’ original television soundtrack CD in the near future!