 |
| Two Doctors? |
|
 With only five episodes, over four stories, that made up the stories for 2009, this special season turned out to be just as good as a full season of stories. It certainly was a case of quality rather than quantity.
And this is reflected in the fact that this season became the first since Season Nineteen (in 1989) for there to be at least four episodes that break the 10 million barrier, and the first since Season Seventeen (in 1979) for there to be at least three episodes, and two stories, to be as high as 12 million.
The season started with the "The Next Doctor" in which we had, compared to the other stories, a light-hearted adventure where The Doctor thinks he has met a future incarnation of himself. The highlight of this story was when it is revealed that the Cybermen have taken over Victorian London. With the ruthless Miss Hartigan, the introduction of Cybershades and the CyberKing - a giant Cyberman-shaped robot ship "The Next Doctor" turned out to be a classic Christmas Special – and the first to be set in the past.
Of course David Morrissey’s ‘Next Doctor’ turned out not to be the case but at the time, with the recent announcement that David Tennant would be leaving the show during 2009, the media and fans could not be blamed for assuming that David Morrissey could actually be the Eleventh Doctor. However, soon after "The Next Doctor" was broadcast it was announced that Matt Smith would be taking over the lead role – so ending months of speculation.
In the second story, "Planet of the Dead", the Doctor Who production team filmed in Dubai for three days. They even transported a 1980 double-decker Bristol VR bus to the United Arab Emirates for filming. And so we had a story where we had the sight of a red London bus stuck in the sands on an alien planet. This story is mostly remembered for the extraordinary character Lady Christina de Souza – played by Michelle Ryan. But at the end of this story, despite having a wonderful partnership, The Doctor and Lady Christina end up going their separate ways. This may be seen as an opportunity missed but at least they parted in a way which makes it possible for her to return maybe one day.
"Planet of the Dead" also became a milestone production as it was the first Doctor Who story to be made and broadcast in High Definition and so it became the first to be released on Blue-Ray as well as DVD.
Whereas "Planet of the Dead" had been described as ‘a great big adventure’, "The Waters of Mars" is much more frightening. Even though this story was set on Mars it did not include the Ice Warriors (except for a brief mention). But the concept of having water as a deadly foe was a brilliant idea. It prompted the chilling line for Base Commander Adelaide Brooke: ‘Don't drink the water... don't even touch it, not one drop’.
Both "Planet of the Dead" and "The Waters of Mars" were very much designed to build up to the season’s finale. With the tone of the stories progressively getting darker. With both stories it is not until the end that more is revealed about where The Doctor’s destiny is heading towards. In "Planet of the Dead" the psychic Carmen gives him a prophecy ‘You be careful, because your song is ending, sir. It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then... oh, but then... he will knock four times’ while in "The Waters of Mars" Ood Sigma appears to remind The Doctor that his song is about to end…
And so during Christmas 2009 the two-part story "The End of Time" brought us the return of The Master, The Time Lords and encounters with the Tenth Doctor’s previous companions (including Rose Tyler and Donna Noble). But it was the interaction between The Doctor and Donna’s grandfather, Wilfred Mott (played by Bernard Cribbins), that really made this story.
But it was once The Master and the Time Lords (whose President was played by James Bond actor Timothy Dalton) were defeated that The Doctor was left with having to finally accept the prophecy that psychic Carmen gave at the end of "Planet of the Dead". After the sounds The Master has been experiencing the four knocks The Doctor hears come from a very unexpected source. But The Doctor’s response – to sacrifice himself to save the life of another – comes as no surprise.
While the real world had just said goodbye to the Noughties, and welcomed in a new decade, the Tenth Doctor regenerated into the Eleventh Doctor. And so it was goodbye to David Tennant and hello to Matt Smith.
As announced at the end of 2008 with the completion of "The End of Time" the main driving force behind Doctor Who returning to our screens in 2005 passed over the responsibility of the show to Steven Moffat. And so with a new head writer, a new Doctor and a new companion it was another end of an era for the show.
Despite the sadness of seeing the end of David Tennant’s portrayal as the Tenth Doctor it may have been the end of something good but hopefully it will also be the beginning of something even better…
|
|
|
