| FATHER'S DAY by Paul Cornell |
| Story 7 Synopsis: Rose tells the Doctor about the father she never knew, who died when she was very young. He takes her to watch her parents wed. Then she asks to be there when he dies. As she watches, she is unable to comfort him in death. So she asks for another chance. But this time, she interferes, saving him from being killed. He, Pete, takes her and the Doctor to his flat, as he's going on to a wedding. The Doctor is furious with Rose, and takes her key back, going back to the TARDIS. But when he gets there, he finds it empty. When they arrive at the church, Pete is nearly struck by the original car. As the Doctor arrives, so do fearsome winged creatures that devour some of the wedding party. The Doctor gets everyone into the church. Rose is reconciled with Pete, who tries to learn of his future. The Doctor finds the TARDIS key still working, and thinks he can bring the whole machine back inside the church. But when Rose takes hold of the infant version of herself, the winged creatures enter the church. The Doctor sacrifices himself, and the TARDIS is lost. Pete realises Rose was vague about his future because he died - the car that should have killed him keeps appearing outside the church. He's grateful to Rose, and realises the Doctor tried to save him from the inevitable. He goes outside and the car hits him. The Doctor reappears, and Rose comforts Pete as he dies. |
| Review:- Having been proved an asset to the Doctor, Rose decides to ask for a favour. But despite a warning, she makes a very bad mistake, and has severe consequences to deal with... The idea here is a simple one, explaining the intricacy and importance of time travel to the audience, in the simplest way - Rose saves her father from dying, and what happens next. Whilst hardly the most original idea, that's never necessarily been a bad thing before. Played at a slower pace than some other episodes, this works so well because every line is almost what you expect and even though the pay-off is predictable, there are exciting surprises along the way. Rose's lost father is something that has been mentioned briefly in previous episodes, but it still comes as a surprise here. Arguably, the Doctor is in a generous mood because Rose acted better than Adam did on Satellite Five, but surely he should have known better than to put her under immense psychological strain, especially when she asks for a second chance! Pete's survival leads the Doctor to "split" from Rose, and she goes off to attend the wedding of friends. She gets an increasing number of clues that Pete is not the man she has idolised all her life, which is hardly shocking drama, but although this by-the-book stuff, it's engagingly acted. The Doctor's discovery of the empty TARDIS makes a great shock, and a good illustration that things are really wrong. The bird's eye views of the attacking creatures is very creepy, and the attack on the playground is effectively shot to illustrate the losses. That the only survivor is the young Mickey lends his later character some welcome depth. Rose is horrified to realise she has made a mistake in going to the church and meeting her mum, and then the reappearance of the Doctor as he takes command brings the action into focus. After a slow build, the life & death aspect kicks in, with the urgency of taking cover in the church well presented. Inside, the pace drops, as Pete realises who Rose really is, and she has to pretend he is still alive. A scene where the Doctor notices the hit&run driver on its circuitous quest, but keeps it from Pete is subtle and leads the viewer to the likely conclusion. Quite why the Doctor takes such a commanding stance in the church is confusing. Perhaps it shows what he is like. His sudden usage of the TARDIS key, and a cobbled-together solution seems a surprising "try-anything" method of salvation, but it's hardly shocking when Rose blunders and allows a Reaper in, forcing the Doctor to sacrifice himself to buy some time. Many people have complained that the Doctor is often just a bystander whilst other people save the day. Whilst I am sure the creative minds behind this series want to show the Doctor not being all-powerful, it is not true that he does nothing. Here, Pete is led to the realisation of his destiny, and the Doctor has already shown him the solution. This final choice is one of the most emotional in all drama, and works perfectly here. The Doctor makes sure Rose gets what she wanted, and ensures he doesn't die alone. Liberties are taken with time paradoxes, but the narrative is strong enough to cope. This will hopefully resonate to anyone and everyone who has lost someone special. I won't pretend this is flawless, but I would recommend it to anyone. |
| Disclaimer: I have watched this story. |