|
Name: Julie Bayman | Age: 53
I am not sure why we should be shocked by the fact that the
Doctor has a daughter, after all (I am showing my age now!) back in the sixties the first Doctor, played by William Hartnell,
travelled with his Granddaughter. So it stands to reason that he must have had a child and lets face it, you don’t
live to be nine hundred and four years old without producing some off-spring somewhere along the line – I would have
thought. In FEAR HER, back in series two, he told Rose “I was a father once”. But this was not the
child he was talking about - this one didn’t exist.
Last weeks episode ended with the TARDIS taking on a mind
of its own, trapping Martha on-board in the process and flying itself to the planet Messaline. It would seem that the
Doctor’s encased hand has something to do with it: why doesn’t he get rid of that hand? Its not as if he
needs it, having the ability to grow a new one and it seems to cause him nothing but trouble; the Master used it to shrink
the Doctor into a tiny creature at the end of the last series. And now it is bubbling away in front of a horrified Donna,
who has just learnt that the Doctor had his hand chopped of and then grew another one; It is something he can do in the first
few hours of regeneration. “That’s impossible!” shouts Donna, “Not impossible, just a
bit unlikely” the Doctor replies with a grin. He uses this phrase again later on when he sees his daughter somersaulting
through some tricky light beams guarding a tunnel. They arrive on planet Messaline and soon find themselves
being held at gunpoint by some humans. The Doctor has his hand (his proper hand attached to his arm) thrust into a strange
machine, which takes a tissue sample, the sample is then processed and the doors open and a young girl walks out. Her
first words are “Hello Dad” when she sees the Doctor. She has just been generated from a single organism,
so one parent is the biological mother and father – It’s something to do with splitting cells. She has no
name, so later on Donna gives her the name Jenny that she derived from the word generated. Jenny is programmed to be
a soldier and fight, something the Doctor finds very distasteful and he refuses to accept that she has any connection to him.
The
humans are at war with the Hath, who are fish/humanoid monsters that communicate through bubbles. They are both trying
to find “The Source” which is hidden somewhere on the planet and Commander Cobb tells the Doctor that the war
has been going on for generations. Martha is kidnapped by the Hath and Jenny blows up part of the underground tunnel
that they are in, separating Martha from the Doctor and Donna. They want to go and look for her but Cobb will not
allow it, as movement is restricted because of the war. Martha gets on well with the Hath, even though she can’t
understand what they are saying. She makes friends with Hath Peck after helping him with his injured arm after the explosion.
Sadly he dies, saving her life on the planet surface, when she persuades him to go out side. Understandably she is very
upset, it’s a very sad scene. The Hath are also generating soldiers at the same rate as the humans and they too
think that the war has been going on for generations. But later on when the Doctor, Donna and Jenny have escaped from
Cobb, Donna manages to crack the code (something to do with working as a temp in a library) of the mysterious numbers,
which they have seen in various places around the deserted underground city that they find themselves in. The numbers
are dates and it turns out that the war has only been going on for seven days. “It’s the new Byzantine calendar!
Ooh Donna you’re a genius!” the Doctor excitedly calls out. They eventually find Martha and the smell of
flowers leads them outside and they find themselves in some beautiful gardens and there in the middle is “The Source”
It is a large glass ball containing a cocktail of “stuff” used to make baron planets habitable. The Doctor
smashes the glass ball allowing the contents to escape and as he does so he declares the war over. Cobb does not
want it to end, he wants to win, so he attempts to shoot the Doctor, but Jenny jumps in front of her Dad and Cobb shoots her
by mistake.
In a very poignant scene, the Doctor opens his heart to Jenny. He hopes that she might be able to
regenerate but Martha shakes her head and tells him that she wasn’t like him enough; he disagrees and tells her that
she was too much like him. He then does something completely out of character. He picks up the gun and holds it
to Cobb’s head, he doesn’t shoot him instead he tells him, “I never would – have you got that –
I never would”. He then tells them to, “Make the foundations of this society, a man who never would”
and he throws the gun away.
At the end Jenny comes back to life; it seems that she could regenerate. The Doctor
told her that he would take her to see new worlds with lots of running so she takes one of the shuttle ships and sets off
on her own adventures. Will we see more of her later I wonder?
This episode was full of excellent acting; the
Doctor’s daughter was excellently played by Georgia Moffett, the real life daughter of Peter Davison who played
the fifth Doctor and was last seen in TIME CRASH, the Children In Need mini special. C.T. played a lovely Donna; I am
beginning to really like her. She takes to Jenny almost immediately and when the Doctor feels that he has no connections
with Jenny because she is a soldier and uses a gun, Donna constantly reminds him that, “She is your daughter”. There
is a lovely scene where Donna, the Doctor and Jenny are locked inside a cell and the Doctor is planning a way out, Jenny insists
that he is a soldier too and calls his sonic screwdriver a weapon, she renders him speechless (would this be a first?) so
he calls on Donna to help him, “Donna will you tell her?” Donna makes it clear that she is enjoying every minute
of it. The star of the show has to be D.T. his acting is just outstanding. The poignant scenes where he tells Donna
that he has been a Dad before and the pain that he felt when they died and when he realizes that Jenny has two hearts and
he confesses to her that he was a soldier in the Time War and had to kill, the expressions on his face were just wonderful,
he had me believing every word of it and the scene where Jenny dies is a real tear jerker. There were some brilliant funny
bits too, I loved the way he kept producing things from his pockets, especially the clockwork mouse (this reminded me of Tom
Baker). At the end as Martha is saying her goodbyes she tells the Doctor that she thought he had finally found something
to live for and he reminds her that there is always something to live for and earlier on Donna told her that she would travel
with the Doctor forever.
Lovely acting, lovely writing, lovely episode! Marks: 9/10
Name: Fiona Taylor | Age: 13
The Doctor’s Daughter is a moving and intelligent episode which sees
the Doctor become a father.
When I first heard about this episode, I was outraged and
made the decision to not watch this episode. However, I was not able to contain myself as Saturday evening approached. I was
pleasantly surprised, and after all of my scepticism for the episode, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The script was very, very moving
in parts, but also hugely comical. I also enjoyed the clever plot, and the ending was quite cheesy but very left me feeling
happy, so I did not mind too much. I was quite glad to see Martha go back home, but I am sure she will be back for the Series
Finale…
The acting from the main cast was really good, but Martha
was hugely irritating in this episode, and I just wanted to shoot her... I thought that the Hath were slightly pointless,
and their weird way of communicating made the scenes that contained them VERY boring. When Martha returned home, I was desperately
waiting to see Tom (her fiancé) but I waited in vain…
My favourite quote was “Not impossible, just a bit
unlikely!” which was said by the Doctor (about himself/his hand). I think that this sums up the Doctor quite well and
the fact that the Doctor himself said it was very interesting.
Overall, this was a surprising episode, that could have
been better without the meaningless Hath and the annoying Martha. My rating for this episode is 6˝/10.
Name: Zoe Brown | Age: 28
It’s no secret that
the Doctor once had a family – the First Doctor travelled through time and space with his granddaughter, Susan –
but since then, any references have been few and far between. In Fear Her, the Tenth Doctor told
Rose that he’d once been a father, but wouldn’t elaborate further, and I can’t recall that he ever mentioned
his family to Martha. In this week’s episode, the Doctor finds he has a daughter, but not everything
is quite as it seems.
The press coverage
and previews for the episode were very misleading, as they claimed that the Doctor had a long-lost daughter that he already
knew about, but hadn’t seen for some time. However, on watching the episode, we see her being ‘created’
(for want of a better word) right before our eyes – after arriving on the planet Messaline, the Doctor has a tissue
sample taken against his will, resulting in the instant creation of his ‘daughter’. This process
is called ‘singular progenation’, and appears to be the way in which planet’s inhabitants bolster their
armies. Donna accepts the new arrival instantly and welcomes her into the team, even naming her Jenny,
but the Doctor refuses to acknowledge her. This provokes another argument between the Doctor and Donna,
but whilst Donna is usually the voice of reason and eventually persuades the Doctor round to her way of thinking, this time
we agree with the Doctor. At this point in the story, Donna doesn’t yet know about the Doctor’s
true family, and it’s perfectly understandable to the audience that the Doctor would find it difficult to welcome a
complete stranger with open arms.
As for Jenny herself,
she initially seems to be the antithesis of everything the Doctor stands for. Conditioned and programmed
to fight, almost like a robot, she has no qualms about using guns and doesn’t let her emotions get in the way, dismissing
Martha’s kidnap by the Hath as merely “collateral damage”, and it is once again left to Donna to remind
Jenny, and the audience, about the human cost of war. However, when the Doctor, Donna and Jenny are taken
to General Cobb, he orders her to be imprisoned too, as she has come from “pacifist stock”. Once
in the cells, Jenny begins to question the Doctor about his hatred of war, and manages to ascertain that he was also a soldier
once, but his experiences of fighting have now turned him against it. Donna, still frustrated at the Doctor’s
treatment of Jenny, takes his stethoscope and listens to Jenny’s chest, discovering that, like him, she also has two
hearts. After this revelation, we start to see the Doctor soften towards her just a little bit, but he
is still adamant that she is not a true Time Lord. As the episode continues, we see that Jenny has inherited
quite a few of the Doctor’s characteristics: his sense of humour; his desire to travel; (eventually) his desire to help
people; and of course, she enjoys running. Donna coerces the Doctor into agreeing to take Jenny with them
once they’ve escaped, but he’s still very wary, although Donna believes that being with her will help him.
Gradually, the Doctor slowly starts to allow himself to care about Jenny, and by the end seems quite proud of her,
particularly after the scene where she backflips her way through the laser beams.
The episode once again
points out the futility of war, as well as highlighting the often very minor reasons why wars are started in the first place.
Martha’s kidnap by the Hath and her (almost) bonding with them allows the audience to see the conflict from both
sides. Because the Hath only appear to communicate via the bubbles from the phials of green liquid attached
to their faces, we never actually hear them speak – Martha also seems at a loss to know how to communicate with them,
but somehow seems to be able to understand them. Although they, like the humans, are also wielding guns,
the Hath come across as being the gentler race – once Martha has healed one of their wounded comrades, they show her
their maps and intelligence and no longer view her as the enemy. When Hath Peck, to repay Martha for helping
him, rescues her from the quicksand and in doing so sacrifices himself, the audience really feels Martha’s anguish as
she weeps over his death. Speaking for myself, I felt more sympathy for the Hath than the humans –
you almost wondered whether the war had started over a breakdown in communications, since none of the humans seemed able to
understand what the Hath were saying.
The humans were definitely
not portrayed in a very good light during the episode – all the time spent fighting and killing seemed to have completely
robbed them of any emotion. Bearing in mind their constant use of the progenation chambers to produce more
soldiers, you were left wondering if there were any actual humans left, or whether they had all been wiped out at the start
of the war. When they gave the Doctor their version of the events that started the fighting, you had to
remind yourself that there are always two sides to every story, and that the Hath would certainly dispute this.
The cause of the fighting
– the ‘Source’ – is an almost mystical creation which no-one is even sure exists. It was referred
to as ‘the breath of life’, which reminded me again of Miss Foster, who described the Adipose tablets in Partners
In Crime as being “the spark of life”. When the Source is finally discovered, it’s
revealed to be a man-made, laboratory-created, third generation terra-forming device, designed to create new life, but in
terms of new ecosystems rather than people. After all the years (although actually only seven days) of
existing underground, it’s somewhat ironic that both sides are fighting for something that creates new plants, animal
life, and light. As with any war, the only way to resolve it is for both sides to try and find a way to
co-exist in peace, and by smashing the sphere containing the Source, the Doctor allows both sides to share it, creating a
new world for both races.
There have been several
references to the Time War during the last four series, but the Doctor has never talked about it in any great detail, presumably
because it was too horrific. All we know so far is that the Time Lords were fighting against the Daleks,
and that even though the Time Lords were victorious, their entire race was wiped out, save for the Doctor. The
Daleks were thought to have been wiped out too, but a handful seem to have survived so far – when we last saw them,
only Dalek Caan remained. The Doctor lost his entire family during the battle, which we assume to be a
wife and children, but we don’t know how many. As he tells Donna, when he lost them, part of him
died with them, and he’s resigned himself to being alone ever since. The Doctor’s experiences
during the Time War have shaped him forever – whilst never denying that he was a soldier once, he has clearly vowed
never to become one again, which is why Jenny’s initial militaristic stance is abhorrent to him.
Having rejoined the TARDIS
crew for the return of the Sontarans, Martha has stayed on board (albeit unwillingly) for this adventure. Having
really enjoyed watching the new team, I was looking forward to more of the same, but was a bit disappointed that Martha was
separated from them for the majority of the episode (probably to accommodate Jenny). If they’d all
been together, it would probably have been like Charlie’s Angels – you have the action girl (Jenny), the
scientist (Martha) and the realist (Donna), but unlike Charlie, who was only heard but never seen, the Doctor is always very
much at the forefront of the action. We’re once again reminded of how far Martha has progressed on
her own personal journey since meeting the Doctor – she’s happy to return home and live her life, but has achieved
closure with him, and so there’s no reason why they can’t call on each other again in the future.
However, Donna seems to be very much in the place that both Rose and Martha were before the traumatic event occurred
that separated them from the Doctor permanently, declaring to Martha that she’s going to travel with the Doctor forever
(which, to paraphrase the Doctor, is like saying “no turning back” or “this is going to be the best Christmas
that Walford’s ever had”), which must surely be a very big portent of impending doom, but I hope I’m wrong.
The performances this
episode were as first-rate as we’ve come to expect in this series. Donna continues to be the Doctor’s
grounding influence, and probably his closest confidante, as he’s able to open up to her in a way that he never did
with Martha or Rose. It’s largely thanks to Donna that the Doctor finally allows himself to care
about Jenny, and again Catherine Tate reminds us all what a talented actress she is. Martha had to carry
her story all on her own this week, and Freema Agyeman again demonstrates how mature Martha has become, but not so much that
she’s lost all the childlike wonder she still feels whenever she travels with the Doctor – the little exchange
she has with Donna when they first arrive on Messaline was just right. Also noteworthy were her final conversations
with both Donna and the Doctor before returning home – she sees in Donna the way she used to be when she first met the
Doctor, and even though she knows that one day Donna will also have to return home, she doesn’t shatter her illusions.
As for the Doctor, they have once again parted as equals, and although her fiancé is clearly now her main focus, the
little looks she gives the Doctor occasionally show that she still has some affection there.
I thought that Jenny was
a brilliant character, and one I hope we see more of in the future – the final scene certainly gave me hope that she’ll
cross paths with her dad again some day, perhaps even as a future companion? Georgia Moffett gave an excellent
performance, all the more so since she truly is the (Fifth) Doctor’s daughter in reality – she seemed to embody
all the qualities that we love about the Tenth Doctor, and, like Sally Sparrow in Blink, will surely become one of
the most fondly remembered characters of recent years.
After playing the
Doctor for four years now, you would think that we’ve seen every aspect of his personality, but David just keeps finding
new ones that we’ve not seen before. His reluctance to acknowledge Jenny as his daughter was so accurate,
considering the circumstances of her ‘birth’, and the scenes where he opened up to Donna about his past were really
touching, as were the moments where a little bit of paternal pride started to seep through (particularly during the laser
beam sequence). Most poignant of all was his last scene with Jenny before she ‘died’ –
as with the Master in Last Of The Time Lords, the Doctor’s anguish at once again losing someone close to him
was palpable, all the more so since he’d finally allowed himself to feel some affection towards her. When
his grief turned to anger, and he trained the gun on General Cobb, I really thought for a split-second he might actually pull
the trigger, but of course doing that would make him no better than a murderer himself, which the Doctor would never do, just
as he said. Russell T Davies had earlier singled out this episode because of David’s amazing performance,
and having seen it, he was absolutely right.
An excellent episode,
once again focusing on the larger issues, rather than the alien threat, but this series has been all the better for that.
The grimness in tone was balanced by the uplifting ending, and it was a shame that the Doctor couldn’t have known
that somewhere out there, Jenny is following in her father’s footsteps, and no doubt making him very proud.
Zoë’s Rating:
8/10
Name: Alex Werra
| Age: 15
Since last week’s
teaser trailer, I’d had a significant amount of anticipation for this episode. To say the least I
was excited, hysterically excited. I suppose any true Doctor Who fan would be
with an episode title such as “The Doctor’s Daughter”.
The basic plot goes like
this: The Tardis goes a bit mental, and The Doctor, Donna, and Martha find themselves on a warring distant planet called Messaline,
where people are bred to fight. After a tissue sample of the Doctor has been taken, the human inhabitants of the underground
produce Jenny, the Doctors daughter. When Martha is lost to the opposing alien side (The Hath) the travellers
must try to find her, and attempt to restore peace to the planet. The Doctor also becomes all paternal on us, after a shaky
start.
Once again I wasn’t
prepared. My tissues were not by my side, so it’s entirely my own fault that mascara is now streaked all across my face,
and I resemble something out of a horror film. I don’t know any other programme that can make me laugh really hard one
minute, and then break down in tears the next. “The Doctor’s Daughter” just executed this attribute of the
show so well. Donnas’ one liners, or rants at the Doctor, followed by the images of a beautiful relationship
blossoming between the Doctor and Jenny, balanced absolutely perfectly.
It was interesting to
watch the Doctor coming to terms with being a father again. The moment when he kind of accepted Jenny, after not using her
gun was so cute; he just looked so proud of her. After a tentative start, he fully took the role of “Dad” seriously,
and began to care about her. This is what made her death scene so powerful, and devastating. It was slightly reminiscent of
when the Master was dying at the end of last series. The Doctor finally thought he had something to hold on to, and then it
is taken away from him. Also, just like the Master, Jenny died in the Doctors arms (not a bad place to be really), and there
was nothing her could do to stop it. Argh the look of agony on his face as he realised she would not regenerate, will be forever
etched in my mind.
A point that has been
emphasised this series is that the Doctor does not fight, and is not a soldier. His disapproval of guns and combat has been
a big factor in how things pan out in episodes. “The Doctor’s Daughter, is a prime example of this, as after his
daughter has just been killed and he points a gun at General Cobb’s head he says the immortal line “I never would”.
Story wise, I thought
the episode was really clever. The fact that we didn’t find out lots about the opposing sides to
start off with, made the revelation that the war had only been going on for seven days, have more impact. I actually do love
Donna, and her temping skills, is there any ob she hasn’t done? I think it was a good idea to incorporate
it with the whole Jenny thing, because on its own, I don’t know how it would have held up for forty five minutes.
The Hath, weren’t
so much a monster really, they were just there. I was disappointed by the fact that they couldn’t talk, actually, more
annoyed. You don’t get to see their intelligence just from their actions. Maybe that’s the point, they are silent
but deadly? I know they are fish, but can’t they have a translator device, like the Ood had?
Martha and The Doctor’s
farewell wasn’t as emotional as I thought it would have been, but I suppose it doesn’t matter because I’m
sure we’ll be seeing more of her later on in the series.
I’d also like to
meet the revived Jenny again. Hmm, I’m a bit confused as to whether it’s classed as a regeneration if her appearance
hasn’t changed, but I suppose that is not important. What is important is the fact that the Doctor doesn’t know
she’s alive! Bless him. I strongly hope they find each other. Eventually.
Favourite line: “We’re
not a couple” with accompanying awkwardness.
“The Doctor’s
Daughter” gets once again a nine out of ten, I’m expecting great things in the future.
Name: Emma Jane
Shepherd | Age: 35
The TARDIS has answered
a call to a planet called Messaline. The Doctor, Donna and Martha are immediately greeted by armed soldiers
and the Doctor is forced to have his hand scanned. The scanner takes a tissue sample and creates from that the
Doctor's Daughter who duly emerges from a machine. The Humans explain that this is how they reproduce
their kind and that they are born automatically as grown soldiers trained to fight. War is all the Humans know.
A war has been raging between the Humans and the "Hath" for generations. In the next instance everyone is running
because the "Hath" are on their way. The Hath, who are half-human half fish, duly appear and
the fighting commences during which Martha is kidnapped by the Hath. The fighting intensifies and to escape the
soldiers blow the tunnel they are in trapping Martha with the Hath and separating her from the Doctor and Donna. It
is the Doctor's "Daughter" "Jenny" (name given to her by Donna) who blows the tunnel. The Doctor tries to
talk to her to say that there are other ways than killing but she confirms she is just a solider and asks who he is, what
he does and concludes he is just the same. The Doctor just sees Jenny as a product rather than offspring
despite Donna's attempts to try to get him to feel some paternal instinct and there is some great humour here with references
to Child Support Agency and other humour. The Doctor and Donna vow to save Martha and are taken to the humans hide out
where they meet the war mad General Cobb.
In the meantime things look grim for Martha as she is surrounded by
the Hath. However, Martha treats one of the Hath for a dislocated shoulder and gains all their trust.
It quickly becomes obvious that both the Humans and the Hath have now real knowledge as to why they are fighting but
it is just something inbred into them.
There is some really strong dialogue about the futility of war a point
which the Doctor Who team have made before but do so brilliantly every time and tonight is no exception. We also learn
again of the Doctor's pain in losing his own family in the Timewar.
The war seems to centre around the "lifeforce" which is the source
of power of the planet. Initially this just seems to be a myth but thanks to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver on a
map and Donna's amazing powers of deduction with codes it transpires there is temple housing the source and because
the generations are made so quickly the code used is actually a date and the war has only been raging seven days.
Today is the seventh day.
Unfortunately by the Doctor discovering this he then leads the two
tribes to direct out and out war. The map is a central map and Martha sees the temple and heads for this.
She manages to reach the temple after having her life saved by the Hath she saved. It really was
a strong moment of acting and script writing as the Hath sacrifices itself to save Martha.
Martha, the Doctor and Donna reunited. They also have Jenny
in tow who the Doctor is trying to persuade to realise there is so much more than war, there is life and lots of running
(especially when you are with the Doctor)
The tribes arrive at the temple and it looks as though battle
is about to commence but the Doctor stands in the middle to try to negotiate. The source and the temple is a terra forming
house which means that it grows plants and gives life. If the source is realised it will rejuvenate the planet and there
is a chance to begin again and live together peacefully. Both sides put down their weapons that is all but
General Cobb. The General goes to shoot the Doctor but Jenny steps in front and is shot instead and dies.
There is then a moving scene of loss, yet again!!, for the Doctor (how much more can one Timelord take!) The Doctor
then actually picks up a gun and aims it at the General but of course he does not shoot he just says to the General "I would
not" to prove that he is as far removed from being a soldier as possible. Sunlight streams in through the windows and
life begins. Plans are made for Jenny's funeral.
The Doctor, Donna and Martha leave.
However, Jenny has two hearts and just as two soldiers start to attend
to her funeral she wakes up as says "hello boys" she gets herself into a space pod and tells them she is off to find planets
and save civilisations. We will see Jenny again.
The TARDIS and its crew return home and Martha says goodbye and goes
into her house.
I thought the writing was fast paced tonight and the script was very
strong and had more than a few nods to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy with the terra forming room and even some incidental
music at the beginning using some of the Hitchhikers theme music. I also thought it had a cosy Doctor Who family feel
to it tonight with the irony of Jenny being played by Peter Davison's Daughter (Peter Davison is a former Doctor himself) so
indeed she is the Doctor's Daughter. Also with the nods to Hitchhikers which was written by Douglas Adams who also wrote
Doctor Who stories in the original series. The actual Hath/Human storyline was quite basic but there were so many sub-plots
threaded throughout this episode that really made it very strong indeed. The Hath/Human storyline would have been
enough on its own but it was the sub-plots that really made up the story to a great script.
Donna's character
is just getting stronger and stronger - Catherine Tate is just excellent I am really enjoying the banter between her and the
Doctor.
I am also really pleased that Jenny was not killed off and it is obvious
that she will be back, maybe for this series finale - "Who" knows?
I also really the clockwork mouse being used as a distraction technique.
The series is just proving to be excellent with strong stories
every time so far. I don't feel there has been a weak episode yet and I don't think there will be. I am
pleased however that in this series the Assistant is not madly in love with the Doctor this time. Although those
storylines were written brilliantly I do feel it was time for a change in the dynamics between the Doctor and his Assistant.
I really feel this is working this series with Donna giving the Doctor a real run for his money and even telling him
tonight he was "wrong!"
A strong 8 out of 10
Name: Emily Cook
| Age: 14
Summary: The TARDIS is drawn to the planet Messaline, where the Doctor
steps out of the TARDIS to have a DNA tissue sample extrapolated from him. Moments later, a young woman steps out of a machine
– she is the Doctor’s daughter. An alien species called the Hath come marching into the scene, and on of them
kidnaps Martha. The Doctor’s daughter blocks them off form the Hath and Martha. Martha is still with a Hath, but she
helps him using her medical skills. She is now a friend of the Hath. The Doctor and Donna are with some soldiers and the Doctor’s
daughter. Donna comes up with the name Jenny for her. Jenny is a solider. Ina room filled with soldiers the Doctor discovers
a map, which Martha and the Hath can see, leading the source – something that the humans and the hath are fighting for.
Cobb (one of the soldiers) see the Doctor and a dangerous threat so have him Jenny, and Donna locked up. Donna tries to get
the Doctor to come to terms with Jenny, as he discovers that she has two hearts. Jenny distracts one of the guards, then the
trio escape. Meanwhile Martha has reached the land above the underground planet of Messaline. It’s very cold, damp,
and muddy. She slips and falls a long way and falls in to some sinking mud. The hath that she has developed a bond with, gives
up his life to save her.
The Doctor, Donna and Jenny continue to get away from Cobb, but come
across some laser beams. The Doctor and Donna get safely across, but the beams come back before Jenny gets there. She does
some flips and cartwheels and gets through them. The Doctor now starters to see Jenny as his daughter. With help from Donna
the Doctor says that Jenny can travel with them, but sill seems a little unsure. He then tells Donna about being a dad before.
Martha finishes of her trek and comes to the civilisation on planet
Messaline.
Throughout the journey of Messaline, Donna tries to work out the reason
for the numbers on the walls, and finally she find that they are the completion date of each section, and the war between
humans and hath has only lasted 7 days, not years. The Doctor, Donna, Jenny and Martha find the source, just as the humans
and hath are approaching. The Doctor declares the war over and smashes the source, which brings new life to everything. Cobb
(sill in military mode) picks up a gun and aims it at the Doctor. Just as he shoots, Jenny steps in the way and gets shot.
She dies in the Doctor’s arms. There is a ceremony held for Jenny, after which the Doctor, Donna and Martha leave in
the TARDIS. He takes Martha home, but back on Messaline, Jenny comes back to life, and sets of in an escape pod. She says
that she’s off the save planets and civilisations – just like the Doctor.
Highlights: In previous episodes of Doctor who the Doctor has mentioned having a daughter. In the first ever episode the Doctor
did travel with his granddaughter Susan, and in series 2 Fear Her the Doctor tells Rose that he was a dad once. This
is mentioned again to Donna in this episode. Of course when the Doctor told Rose that he was a dad once he could have been
referring to Jenny, and the events of this episode could have happened to him in his past but we watch it in our future. This
is very unlikely.
This episode showed a really different side of the Doctor, which we
have not before seen, and it is acted fantastically, amazingly well by David Tennant. It was also very emotional for the Doctor.
After his battle with UNIT last week about them not using guns etc. he finds that he has a daughter who is a solider carrying
a gun. In a sense, this is everything he is not. He seems very reluctant to her at first. Just small things like not mentioning
her on the phone to Martha showed this. I do love it how the Doctor never wants to fight – he’ll always try to
reason. A good analogy of this is looking up genocide in the dictionary, and seeing a picture of the Doctor saying ‘over
my dead body’. Although, after the Doctor has tried to reason, he will kill if he has to. And he doesn’t do it
with any pleasure, he just knows it’ what he has to do. Each time the Doctor looses someone important in his life, it
makes him a stronger person, but doesn’t necessarily make doing what he does any easier. What makes things hard for
the Doctor in this episode, is begin told be Jenny, and seeing throughout Jenny that he is a soldier. The scene in the cells
is where this mostly happens. She tells him that he is a soldier with weapons (i.e the sonic screwdriver). The he discovers
that Jenny had two hearts too, and he finds this hard. After loosing the Master, he doesn’t want to get too close to
someone of his species because the chances are, he’ll just looses them. I suppose the Doctor could put his hand back
in the DNA extrapolator and produce lots more Time Lords and Ladies but it wouldn’t be the best thing. The Doctor begins
to accept Jenny after she has done the amazing flips and cartwheels in and around the laser beams. He can she that she is
not exactly like him. Donna points out these differences, and how Jenny makes the Doctor speechless (which is a very rare
occasion), and when Jenny distracts the guard with a kiss, she tells the Doctor she’d like to see him do that. Wouldn’t
we all – although I’d like to be the person her is distracting!!
Just as the Doctor and Jenny begin to have a father/daughter
relationship, Jenny gets shot – very suddenly. The Doctor is the one looking up to Donna and Martha for help. When he
cradles Jenny is his arms, he is mirroring what he did with the Master in The Last of the Time Lords.
Then, very suddenly, the Doctor picks up a gun and threatens Cobb.
This is very un-Doctor like. He doesn’t kill Cobb, but to even see the Doctor pick up a weapon is just not right. his
speech to the humans and hath about being a man who never would is very emotional, but fantastic, and we see the Doctor at
his best. Not just talking, but saying something, and in the end, the Doctor is always right, and the Doctor always wins.
The Doctor’s two companions also had important roles to play.
Donna warmed to Jenny very much and took on a very mature role in this episode. She came up with her name –Jenny (as
in genetic) and worker very hard to try to get the Doctor to warm to her too. She sort of took on the role of the mother,
which is very relevant considering the Doctor and Donna where once again mistaken for a couple as I think they have in almost
every episode. Why are they always mistaken for a couple? The Doctor and Martha, and the Doctor and Rose were occasionally
mistaken for couples, but not as frequently and persistently as this! Donna is really good for the Doctor. She brings him
back to reality, and is not afraid to put her human point of view across. Donna also mentioned her friend Nerys who was in
the Runaway Bride. When the Doctor modestly tells Jenny he does nothing, Donna elaborates on what he really does. I
loved her comment about the running, as I get a real adrenaline when people run on Doctor Who. And just seeing the Doctor
and Donna run hand in hand together was so sweet. The Doctor really is comfortable with her just as a friend. Donna also uses
her number skills to crack the number codes, proving just how useful she is to the Doctor.
Martha, on the other hand, spent little time with the Doctor in this
episode – and I felt a bit sorry for her as she always gets slightly left out by the Doctor, even though she’s
over him. Anyway, she developed a bond with one of the hath. Her comment about never leaving a patient was very Doctor like.
The Doctor has taught her well. It was really cute of the hath where they were stroking Martha, but I still don’t understand
how she knew what they were saying. When the TARDIS translates alien language in her head, we would hear it too. Martha also
shows some Doctorness when the hath saves her life but dies. Her emotional scene when she cried was acted really well in my
opinion. It’s hard to fake being that upset. The only thing that makes me so unbelievably upset is whenever I watch
Rose’s final scene with the Doctor! She feels that it was her fault, and even though it was just one alien life, she
knows that it could still be living. I think the main reason why she can’t travel with the Doctor anymore is because
she really feels their pain.
It’s really nice to see Donna and Martha friends as they can
give advice to each other, but Donna really shouldn’t have said she was going to travel with the Doctor forever. As
much as anyone would like that, it’s what Rose said, and look what happened to her.
This episode really did have everything. Villains, aliens, fighting,
the Doctor being the Doctor, the companions having a really important role and helping the Doctor, and there were references
to the Time war. It was a brilliant episode with spellbinding performances form all the actors and actresses.
But at the end, Jenny comes back to life (and she is full of life)
and she sets off in to space, just like her dad. It left a lot of ends untied that we might see some more of in the future.
Favourite Bit: There were so many good bits in this episode, but one that really stood out for me was the Doctor’s speech to
the human and hath about being a ‘man who never would’.
Favourite Quote: "You always talk, but you never say anything
Rating: 8/10
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