Are these new teeth?
WOooOOOooOO! Well THAT was season 1! I have to say, about thirty minutes into the episode, when Rose is trying her hardest to open up the heart of the TARDIS, I was thinking to myself “wow, what a B+ episode this is.” And you know what? I would have given it a B+, I really would have, you know… until I realized that by the end I was both laughing and applauding with the dumbest grin on my face.
Was this episode good? No. It was fantastic. The doctor was fantastic, better yet, Jack the bisexual rogue was fantastic. Even Rose, who was having on and off performances throughout the season, she was fantastic! I finally got to see what the regeneration process is like, and I got to see what the hell Badwolf means!
I think my main, and only, gripe with this episode lies with the whole execution of “Badwolf” (not the episode), how Rose was just completely omnipotent, able to change whatever she wanted. I don’t know how I feel about this… it just felt slightly off.
Anyway! Apart from that it had a decent first half, which involved them setting up a way to exterminate (hehe) the Daleks AND the human race on accident. However, we soon figure out (as guessed) the Doctor really isn’t like the Daleks, he isn’t capable of destroying an entire race (or at least I think). Perhaps Rose changed him.
The fact of the matter is, we got plenty of campy and cheesy dialogue that never strafed overboard into the “ugh, what the hell?” territory, and I got a good chunk of laughs as well. The entire story between Rose being “stuck” on earth was slightly upsetting. The fact that she bluntly tells Micky (is he even her boyfriend anymore?) that she has NOTHING left for her… I don’t know how I feel about that, but it does seem like an understandable character choice so I let it pass.
So what exactly happens? Rose returns and kicks some Dalek ass, the Doctor smooches her, and then transfers all the energy back into the TARDIS. May I just say, THIS… THIS is how romance should be done in tv-shows. In a SUBTLE way for once, where it’s not banged over your god damn head every minute with longing stares and gasps. SCREW THAT, instead, please do what Dr.Who did, and make these characters grow through dialogue that isn’t just endless dumb flirting that makes me want to dip my face in acid.
I do hope they keep this trend going somewhat, if they want romance (which they don’t need at all, it really doesn’t add much), then they should do it in a subtle way, not address or talk about it in a serious manner either. Of course we got to see close-quarters combat between the humans and the Dalek, and that was majorly just alright, mainly because I know this show isn’t running on a high budget and they need to save it for the CGI goodness that occurred in the final ten minutes.
We had Jack die, sadly, and then get revived… only to be left on his own. Sad, but I really do hope they see him again. I honestly REALLY liked Jack as a character, and if in some alternate universe he turned out to be a permanent star on the show, I would be nothing but happy to see him. After all, his chemistry with the Doctor was addressed directly… with a kiss. Which was fantastic!
I really enjoyed this episode, if you couldn’t tell already. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a fitting conclusion to a very memorable character. Mr.Eccleston, you shall be missed! But it is time to move on to Tennant, whom had a fantastic character entrance.
OFF TO BARCELONA! …………………… The planet.
Grade: A-
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