"Doctor Who" - The David Tennant Specials (2008-2010)
"Doctor Who" said good-bye to David Tennant's Tenth Doctor a little differently. Rather than have him regenerate at the end of Series 4, there were four specials spread out over 2 years. It makes sense that they would want to extend his departure. Tennant was widely beloved and for a lot of people was their first prolonged exposure to the Doctor. This is also the swan song of EP and head writer, Russell T. Davies, who spearheaded the revival of "Doctor Who." I completely understand why they wanted to have a long good-bye, I just wish these episodes had been a little better.
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| Christmastime is here. |
The farewell begins with "The Next Doctor" which is a pretty standard "Doctor Who" Christmas episode. On Christmas Eve, 1851, the Doctor meets a man who is calling himself the Doctor chasing a Cybershade. He has amnesia so the Doctor believes he is meeting a future incarnation of himself and tries to help him. This all leads to a showdown with some displaced Cybermen and a nasty woman named Miss Hartigan. It's all fine. It's a "Doctor Who" Christmas special. Of course, the Next Doctor is just a normal guy. I did enjoy the callbacks, especially the pocket watch that held the Doctor's memories back in the series 3 two-parter, "Human Nature/The Family of Blood." The Next Doctor's TARDIS is giant hot air balloon, or "Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style." David Morrissey is absolutely charming as the Next Doctor, a serious turn if you're only familiar with his work as the Governor on "The Walking Dead." It's all OK, but I want so much more than OK for these specials.
Next up is "Planet of the Dead." The Doctor along with a busload of people fly through a portal and land on what they believe to be a desert planet. Plot twist. The sand is actually dead bodies because of some aliens and there is a thief that briefly becomes the Doctor's companion. This whole special is a big "meh" as far as I'm concerned. It's boring. Michelle Ryan who plays Lady Christina de Souza and David Tennant have zero chemistry. But, there is some foreshadowing for the final fate of the Tenth Doctor, introducing the scary knocks. This was also the first "Doctor Who" episode filmed in HD and it featured a young Daniel Kaluuya pre-"Get Out."
"The Waters of Mars" is by far my favorite of these Tennant specials. The Doctor lands at the site of Earth's first Martian colony, Bowie Base One, in the year 2059. The Doctor soon realizes that he has landed at a fixed point in time. The base is destined to be destroyed killing the entire crew including Captain Adelaide Brooke. Her death will cause her granddaughter to explore the stars. Despite this knowledge, the Doctor does interfere and things don't go great from there.
I think the main reason I enjoy this episode so much is that it is the Doctor at the height of his hubris. This iteration of the Doctor has been smug and judgmental and condescending when it comes to the humans that he interacts with while also being admiring and kind. The Doctor realizing this is a fixed point but also deciding that he has the right to alter history is a fantastic example of that. You want to believe that the Doctor does this because he is first and foremost concerned with saving these people's lives, but it feels more like he does it because he can. That he's feeling more and more godlike. The jokes on him thought when Adelaide ends up killing herself anyway. The finale of the episode with Ood Sigma showing up and the Doctor realizing his time as this incarnation of himself is ending is especially affecting.
I'd be slacking if I also didn't mention how much I loved the water effects. Top notch!
These specials and Tennant's run as the Doctor come to a close with the two-parter, "End of Time." This episode is jam packed with Davies deciding to bring back every major alien and character the Doctor encountered. The thrust of the plot is the return of The Master and his plan to turn every human on Earth into a clone of his, creating his own "Master race." Oh and the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey shows up full of Time Lords.
Much like Davies other Whovian finales, there is a lot going on here and not all of it works. I completely understand wanting to go huge, but overstuffing these episodes really removed a lot of nuance. When you throw in everything but the kitchen sink, things are going to get the short shrift and this definitely the case with the return of the Time Lords. It feels like you get the reveal of who they are and then the next thing you know the Doctor is sending them back through the vortex. These giant set pieces really don't work for me at all.
What does work are the quieter moments with the Doctor interacting with the various companions and humans that he's touched during his time as the Tenth Doctor. It's nice to get a little more time with Donna Noble, even if I will never forgive the show for the way her story ended. Wilfred makes a perfect final companion for the Tenth Doctor and I wish we could have gotten more it or that it was more of a focus in these last two episodes. Tennant plays the chagrin and resignation just right when he realizes that he will have to absorb the radiation to save Wilfred, therefore not avoiding the "death" he thought he had triumphed over.
The Doctor's companion farewell tour is great, though some companions get the shaft. Not only does Martha end up married to Mickey(!) she doesn't even get a face to face, just a distant wave. That's a minor quibble though because the others are so darn good. It was nice to see the Doctor visit Verity Newman, great granddaughter of nurse Joan Redfern, be there for Donna on her wedding day and meet Rose before her fateful encounter with his Ninth incarnation. Though that one does beg the question, wouldn't there be some flicker of recognition for Rose when nine initially regenerates? I guess it doesn't matter.
We've come to the big moment. Tennant regenerating into Matt Smith's Eleven. I may have been pretty disappointed with these farewell episodes but I'll be damned if I didn't tear up watching the Doctor scream "I don't want to go!" They got me gal. Tennant kills those final moments but then he's gone. Replaced by the younger and floppier Matt Smith who shouts "Geronimo" as the TARDIS crashes to Earth.
That's it. Tennant out. I wasn't thrilled with these specials overall, but it doesn't dim my love for Tennant's Doctor.
Next up, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan take over with Steven Moffat running the show as the revamped era enters it's sixth series.
I'd love to hear from some "Doctor Who" fans in the comments? Who loves David Tennant the most? Am I being too hard on these specials? Sound off.
Next up is "Planet of the Dead." The Doctor along with a busload of people fly through a portal and land on what they believe to be a desert planet. Plot twist. The sand is actually dead bodies because of some aliens and there is a thief that briefly becomes the Doctor's companion. This whole special is a big "meh" as far as I'm concerned. It's boring. Michelle Ryan who plays Lady Christina de Souza and David Tennant have zero chemistry. But, there is some foreshadowing for the final fate of the Tenth Doctor, introducing the scary knocks. This was also the first "Doctor Who" episode filmed in HD and it featured a young Daniel Kaluuya pre-"Get Out."
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| Who needs to hydrate? |
I think the main reason I enjoy this episode so much is that it is the Doctor at the height of his hubris. This iteration of the Doctor has been smug and judgmental and condescending when it comes to the humans that he interacts with while also being admiring and kind. The Doctor realizing this is a fixed point but also deciding that he has the right to alter history is a fantastic example of that. You want to believe that the Doctor does this because he is first and foremost concerned with saving these people's lives, but it feels more like he does it because he can. That he's feeling more and more godlike. The jokes on him thought when Adelaide ends up killing herself anyway. The finale of the episode with Ood Sigma showing up and the Doctor realizing his time as this incarnation of himself is ending is especially affecting.
I'd be slacking if I also didn't mention how much I loved the water effects. Top notch!
Much like Davies other Whovian finales, there is a lot going on here and not all of it works. I completely understand wanting to go huge, but overstuffing these episodes really removed a lot of nuance. When you throw in everything but the kitchen sink, things are going to get the short shrift and this definitely the case with the return of the Time Lords. It feels like you get the reveal of who they are and then the next thing you know the Doctor is sending them back through the vortex. These giant set pieces really don't work for me at all.
What does work are the quieter moments with the Doctor interacting with the various companions and humans that he's touched during his time as the Tenth Doctor. It's nice to get a little more time with Donna Noble, even if I will never forgive the show for the way her story ended. Wilfred makes a perfect final companion for the Tenth Doctor and I wish we could have gotten more it or that it was more of a focus in these last two episodes. Tennant plays the chagrin and resignation just right when he realizes that he will have to absorb the radiation to save Wilfred, therefore not avoiding the "death" he thought he had triumphed over.
The Doctor's companion farewell tour is great, though some companions get the shaft. Not only does Martha end up married to Mickey(!) she doesn't even get a face to face, just a distant wave. That's a minor quibble though because the others are so darn good. It was nice to see the Doctor visit Verity Newman, great granddaughter of nurse Joan Redfern, be there for Donna on her wedding day and meet Rose before her fateful encounter with his Ninth incarnation. Though that one does beg the question, wouldn't there be some flicker of recognition for Rose when nine initially regenerates? I guess it doesn't matter.
We've come to the big moment. Tennant regenerating into Matt Smith's Eleven. I may have been pretty disappointed with these farewell episodes but I'll be damned if I didn't tear up watching the Doctor scream "I don't want to go!" They got me gal. Tennant kills those final moments but then he's gone. Replaced by the younger and floppier Matt Smith who shouts "Geronimo" as the TARDIS crashes to Earth.
That's it. Tennant out. I wasn't thrilled with these specials overall, but it doesn't dim my love for Tennant's Doctor.
Next up, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan take over with Steven Moffat running the show as the revamped era enters it's sixth series.
I'd love to hear from some "Doctor Who" fans in the comments? Who loves David Tennant the most? Am I being too hard on these specials? Sound off.
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