Doctor Who - Waters of Mars
Time Lord victorious... but remember pride goes before the fall and the 10th Doctor's song is coming to an end... no matter how much I hope that it wouldn't. In the third of the much touted Doctor Who specials that are bringing the 10th Doctor's time with us to an end we finally get a somewhat relevant special. I have, personally, never been a fan of the Russell T. Davies specials. He seems to be under the delusion of us wanting to see some sort of variation on disaster movies, like The Towering Inferno. Therefore the specials are usually fluff, not very important in the canon, roll out the guest stars (Kylie anyone) add some fire and let's see what happens. Until now. "The Waters of Mars" was oddly good, closer to the dreamed of 5th season instead of cramming all the guest stars possible into David Tennant's few remaining episodes. Of course there is the obligatory guest star with Lindsay Duncan, but I doubt many people are going, "OMG, it's Servilia of the Junii from Rome!" Or likewise, "Lady Bertrum from the worst ever adaptation of Mansfield Park"... except for me of course... But the action, obviously, takes place on Mars. (This episode will air stateside on the 19th of December)Coming up in the next paragraph, as River Song would say: "Spoilers!"
Lindsay Duncan plays Adelaide, the head of Bowie Base One, the first off planet colonization of humans. The thing is, like Pompeii, what happens on November the 21st, 2059 is a set point in time. The Doctor can't interfere. Of course, he did interfere with Pompeii, and of course it turned out that he had to cause it. But the chain of events is already in motion here. The Doctor must leave. Whatever caused the destruction on Bowie Base on this day must be allowed to happen. Adelaide's death is a fixed point that will shape history. But the Doctor makes a terrifying choice, and choice that could change everything. The Doctor is who he is because he obeys the laws of time, the laws of his people. But he comes to the conclusion that if he is the last, there's no one there to say he's wrong. He decides to save those he can. The horror he faces as he walks away and hears the agonizing death screams of the crew make him snap. Even though he has to walk away, he doesn't. This one act leads him to be above all, to no longer be a monitor of time, but the master of it. Nothing stands in his way... he could save Rose, he could save Donna, he could no longer be alone. Nothing stands in his way except Adelaide. She who realizes the mania that has taken ahold of him. She who realizes that he thinks he's better than everyone. She stops him.
With Adelaide's death the Doctor realizes that he has gone too far. He was on the path to becoming the master. The fear of his impending death has him so scared that he's lashing out at time itself. He knows the inevitable is here. I think this is the best special so far, in that it actually tells an important story. This is a Doctor we've never seen before. He never turns his back. We see the desperation that has gripped the Doctor. He knows he can't stop what's coming, and though he should have left this fixed point on Bowie Base alone, the mania that gripes him seems to indicate that he believes that perhaps, if he can change what should and couldn't be changed, perhaps his future will be different as well. But when the realization hits that it's the end of the line, as he kneels in the snow and pleads to Ood Sigma... I hope his final story is worthy of what a great Doctor he was.
Also for you Doctor Who freaks out there, anyone else notice that one of the crew was also on a Sarah Jane episode? "Warriors of the Kudlak" anyone? And if you religiously watch Confidential... Russell is SO wearing Steed's coat from The Avengers, and Danny Hargreaves eventually makes an appearance near the end describing the 14ft explosion he rigged. And as a final treat... the trailer for the end...
Really looking forward to seeing this, actually really looking forward to seeing where Stephen Moffat takes the series next year too.
After the end of season four and the phoney regeneration I went a bit off Russel T Davies. Totally see your point about his specials being 'fluff'.
Anonymous said... November 16, 2009 at 5:09 PM
I mean, how many times can they reunite everyone? I have a feeling he'll be bringing everyone back AGAIN! It's getting a little worn. And if I see another Dalek or Cyberman I will scream! I'm very glad The Waters of Mars worked because at the beginning it seemed similar to say, The Satan Pit...but at least it went in a totally different direction. They need the new Steven Moffat blood and I'm hoping he just builds on what they have and doesn't have a need to start all over again. We really just need some new monsters more than anything :P
Miss Eliza said... November 16, 2009 at 5:19 PM
I agree totally and Moffat hopefully will deliver, did you see his Jekyll? I suspect and hope Dr Who will develop a harder, scarier edge.
Anonymous said... November 17, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Yeah, I don't know what all that nonsense of it being a "kids show" is. Kids can watch Sarah Jane!
Miss Eliza said... November 17, 2009 at 4:29 PM
I remember reading somewhere that they are bringing Rose back again - I wonder how they will do that this time!
I really adore DT and hoping that MS can play the Doctor just as well. I really can't wait for the Christmas special!!
Sarah said... November 27, 2009 at 6:26 PM
Knowing RTD, everyone will be back... how they'll bring back Rose is beyond me, they can't keep sealing the rift and then magically opening it at random!
Miss Eliza said... November 27, 2009 at 6:48 PM
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