Reviews

What can I say! Quite possibly my favourite episode of the series so far. Its quite odd really, as I came in, having video taped the episode, when my sister tells me that it was really crap. I can see where she may have been disappointed - not a lot of explosions or conventional evil genius'. No this was RAW EMOTION!

I don't care if this is "Doctor Who" or not, this was amazing emotional television. Everything was explained as well - the fact that these creatures were able to exist was due to the destruction of Gallifrey - if the timelords were still alive they could have stopped it.

There are only one or two bad points for me really - one is the predictability that Pete Tyler had to sacrifice himself - although this may be a good point as we come closer to the inevitability of it... hmmm yes thats a good point. Right, there is only one bad point - and thats how poor the empty tardis was - I'd have preferred it if there was an infinite space within it - but with nothing there. Am I babbling?

I think Jacqui was acted superbly, as was Pete - but the real star of the show was Billie Piper as Rose - I am SO impressed by her this series its unreal - I was hesitant of her being the companion - now I know it was an inspired move!

Its very odd how the man responsible for the new series - good ol Russell T, is being overtaken by people like Shearman, Gatis, and Cornell in terms of the best writers. Just an observation, would you agree?

There is a danger in Doctor Who when writing an episode about time paradoxes that it may appear either pithy or over complicated. I feel that 'Fathers Day' is a little of both and something else between.

I am a stickler for episodes focussing on time, after all it's a show based heavily on time travel, but I like it to be done properly. I feel that 'Fathers Day' is a great example of this and succeeds in its attempt.

The story was a lovely, simple tale of the dangers of messing with the timelines. I felt that the topic was extremely worthy of a classic episode; however one problem I had with the episode was the presence of the 'Reapers'. I felt that they were pretty unessesary and maybe the episode was a little handicapped as a result. I felt that the story could have been based around people suddenly disappearing as a result of the time distortion etc... that would have rung a little truer to me, maybe I'm imagining it, but hey ho!

The direction was a little unimaginative, and at times I found it a little clumsy, however it worked as a dark macabre tale, and focussed enough on what mattered to be credible (apart from the parts when Rose's father gets run over... I found that a little unbelievable)

The effects were the best so far, as the Reapers, no matter how unnecessary they were, were perfectly designed and executed and looked fantastic in the midst of 80's alarm!<br><br>The acting was great from Rose and her father, although the doctor still seems to be trying that little bit too hard... the role encompasses a heavy character as not only has it got eight other parts to it (from previous incarnations), but there is also the added weight of the destruction of Gallifrey which Chris Eccelston doesn't seem to pull off, no matter how many fans pass it off as him being an alien.... Tom baker was an alien but completely convincing!

In total, it was a great Doctor Who and a nice glimpse into Rose's past, but to be honest I'd rather like to see a little more of the Doctors! (seeing as we've seen in from 1963 on ward!)

This story is likely to be one where opinions differ markedly with little middle ground.I'm not just saying that because for the first time my friend and I,who for a bit of fun send each other an initial rating of each story shortly after transmission,completely disagree about this one.For him this was by far the worst story of the season to date whereas for me it was another excellent and in this case poignant tale which,whilst not quite hitting the heights of the Unquiet Dead or Dalek,came pretty close in its own way.

I can see there will be those who felt that this story was padded out,soapy and predictable.Rose's Dad has to kill himself to redress the wound in time,surely?But I am afraid there are far too many good things going on here for this story to be dismissed out of hand and anyway,I've got no problem at all with stories that don't travel at a frenetic pace and where dialogue comes to the fore.I can see the Tom Baker incarnation sqirming with embarrassment and irritation at some of the intensity of the emotional exchanges but these were completely necessary in this particular case.

There are some very memorable sequences: the outline of one of the Reapers at the stained glass window of the church was one of the most striking and unnerving I can recall; the see-saw rocking on its own after the children have suddenly been taken away is very reminiscent of Sapphire and Steel story one and very scary;the Doctor opening up the Tardis to find the inside of a police box was just brilliant and the Doctor's perception that the walls of the church will provide temporary sanctuary due to their age is suitably eerie.

I don't suppose for a moment I could make complete sense of it all but the quality of the writing and performances shone through,as Rose's Dad goes from being a loser to a hero with the realisation that he needs to sacrifice himself,after the Doctor has bought the besieged inhabitants of the church a little more time by his own self-sacrifice.

Rose's Mum didn't appear to look any different in age terms(not hairstyle of course) in 1987 but that's a minor aside.

An excellent story which I feel will stand up well to repeated viewings.

I suppose I could be described as a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, having watched it since William Hartnell first stepped out of the Tardis in 1963.

However, I did lapse during the Peter Davison/Colin Baker/Sylvester McCoy years, only watching occasionally, but never really losing the bug. Then when I heard that Doctor Who was coming back, I must admit I was sceptical at first, thinking that it would probably be "Americanised" or in some other way spoiled beyond recognition. When I heard who would play the Doctor and his companion, I sank further into gloom, thinking that neither would be right for the roles.

Then came Episode One, and I was blown away.

From the second that Rose got out of bed for what seemed like another ordinary day at work, I was glued. From the second the Doctor held Rose's hand and said "Run", I was bitten. "Lots of planets have a north" will go down in history as one of the finest one liners. Since then, I have marvelled at the total believability of Chris Eccleston's Doctor, and been totally amazed by Rose's character, and the chemistry between them is magic. If this isn't already a superb platform for Billie Piper's acting ability, then it soon will be, and I expect her to be in greater things in the future, because she is one of the best young actresses this country has, and we should be proud of her - and she is beautiful into the bargain.

As each episode has been aired, the characters have gone from strength to strength. I have not seen a bad episode yet, but there has been one slightly weak one, that being "The Long Game". The secondary characters in this episode were not allowed to develop into knowable people as they have in other episodes, in particular the Editor and Cathica. However, "Dalek" was absolutely and utterly awesome, and more, and I thought it could not be bettered.

Then came Episode Eight, and I could contain myself no more.

This to me, is classic Doctor Who brought alive for todays audience, and I have to say I did not expect to see such brilliance. Shaun Dingwall has been great in other things, and is a much underrated actor, but as Pete Tyler he was a revelation. The scene where he recognises Rose for who she actually is produced one of the finest facial expressions yet - only equalled when Rose first entered the Tardis - and there have been plenty of these moments in the series so far, with each one being magic and completely believable. Rose's look of horror when the reaper devoured the Doctor on the church floor really made me feel her grief for a heart thumping moment, and was another massive piece of the jigsaw which is the relationship between the Doctor and Rose. This goes deeper each episode, reminding me somewhat of the wonderful chemistry between Mulder and Scully in The X Files, it really is quality stuff.

The continually reappearing car that eventually kills Pete Tyler created just the right level of uneasy frustration that time was somehow on hold, waiting for the event to happen, thus putting things right once more. One could really feel for him as he ran headlong, knowing he had to die for his daughter, and everyone else to survive.

Also, what's all this about Camille Coduri only being an average actress? I suggest her critics watch her episodes again. Jackie Tyler is the perfect lovable rogue who seems as if she has not so much grown up, but been dragged up, and is now trying her best to make life as comfortable as possible in the face of all these things that keep happening to her since Rose met the Doctor. Camille Coduri plays the part to a T.

Altogether "Father's Day" was as great as "Dalek", and that took some doing. It had all the things we expect from Doctor Who; an ordinary day turned bad, well portrayed secondary characters, a seemingly unsolvable problem, scary monsters, humour, dark moments, and the moving emotional scenes which are fast becoming a staple of the new Doctor Who. All these will keep me watching, but I am sorry there are only five episodes left of Chris Eccleston's Doctor, who is probably the best one in 900 years.

Again another brilliant episode of Doctor Who! Both Eccleston's and Piper's perfromances were amazing, especially Eccleston.

The story line is also faultless because it all follows on from each other, in an easy to follow maze.

This episode will make everyone cry (it did with all my friends), whether to do with the Doctor's untimely end or the emotional turmoil of Rose as her father realises what he has to do.

There are very little glitches in the actual story, except the Reapers are hard to work out, because their appearance seems odd and out of order.

I especially enjoyed the Doctor in this episode, because he proved that he wasn't as alien as he seemed. He has a lot of puns, but he also shows remorse and regret. I think that he also has a lot of good lines in this episode, because he shows the harder, easier to hurt side. The line "I've never had a life that." Shows that he has a weaker side, a side that is not seen very often. The argument between Rose and the Doctor is quite unexpected: they seemed like quite a harmonious couple.

I enjoyed the episode because it seemed like an emotional episode ore than a dangerous one, except for the fact that the Doctor was unfortunately killed at the end.

In fact, that was probably the worst bit, because he proved his love for Rose, by going forward and sacrificing himself, not just to save Rose, but also to try to stop her father from having to die too. This was quite a touching gesture for the Doctor, who is normally quite reserved. Obviously, at that rash moment, he didn’t know that the Tardis was about to be destroyed. The question is; would the Doctor have returned if the Tardis had been returned, and saved everyone. Because if the whole earth had been ‘consumed’ by these Reapers, then there would not have been much of a world left in the future. We have to remember that this is in the past. But considering this, why did the Doctor bring Rose back in the first place? If he knew that if something went wrong, then that would change history and the world afterward.

It was also quite a revealing episode. From facts that I have learnt from other people, apparently the Doctor had suffered at the hands of his people, so why was he so intent on going back and saving them? In ‘Dalek’ as well, that was also the case.

Overall, this was a brilliant episode, in my ratings top of the leader board, beating the Dalek episode too, which I thought could not be bettered.

Congratulations to the whole cast and crew!

For the early part of the nineties, the only real source of new Doctor Who was Virgin’s New Adventures, a series of books which although aimed at Doctor Who fans took the wise step of moving the series on in style and tone, or in its own words doing stories that were too broad and deep for the small screen. The New Adventures were for the most part a solid run of hugely engrossing stories, occasionally pretentious, occasionally a little too subversive and every so often a bit too unlike televised Doctor Who, but always at the heart of it were a core group of characters that truly lived and breathed on the printed page. I have not followed much of the subsequent Doctor Who expanded universe, but have found a lot of Big Finish and BBC’s stuff has fallen way short of the standard Virgin set.

Whenever there were rumblings of a return of Doctor Who I always thought that taking a leaf out of Virgin’s book wouldn’t be too bad a thing. The tv movie was poles apart from this approach as has been much of this series so far, but finally with Father’s Day Doctor Who grew up a little and finally put on screen what Virgin did for a select audience all those years ago.

Father’s Day was a very rare thing, a Doctor Who story where flaws were very few and far between, which itself is a remarkable thing in a season where the word flawed comes to mind more times than it should. In short Father’s Day was perhaps the most perfect Doctor Who story ever put on screen, possibly not the best, but definitely the most perfect.

Performances, writing, music, direction, effects, photography, all were top notch.

>From the word go, the story took you in its grip and didn’t let go, doing that thing that only Doctor Who can, putting the mundane and the fantastic together and making it seem totally believable.

I am sure this sort of story has been done somewhere before, in fact the whole time paradox thing is one of the biggest sci fi gimmicks going, but Paul Cornell’s script was so well written and inventive that the whole thing felt totally original, afterall I don’t think anybody else has written a story about a wedding being jinxed by time travelling dragons. The eighties feel was well captured without ever being overdone.

In fact the whole script played on one of the things anyone who ever fantasised about time travel must have thought about, as fascinating as a trip back into the distant past would be, who wouldn’t be more tempted to travel back into their own lifetime, to revisit old memories or perhaps even right a wrong.

Much as I am sure we would all discover, Rose’s past is not as rosetinted as she thinks, and the November day in 1987 much like any other day to anyone who is living it is fairly normal and mundane. Her father also turns out to be less than the saintly figure she had hoped he would be, perfectly set out in the scene where Rose lies to her father about what they used to do together and he replys ‘that isn’t me’. Pete Tyler’s slow realisation that he is a doomed man was as good a piece of drama as anything that BBC1 is likely to put out this year.

I had initially been dubious about the inclusion of monsters in this story, thinking that for once the series could have attempted a bog standard down to earth drama about Rose and her father, but the Reapers were a master stroke. They are by far the best monster for many a year, and crap all over this seasons array of Moxx’s, walking corpses and Slitheen’s from a great height. The eerie shots of the reapers circling the church provided a true iconic Doctor Who moment, to easily rival Daleks on Westminster bridge, Cybermen coming out of tombs, Sea Devils rising from the sea etc. Obviously use of the creatures is limited to a certain degree by them having no dialogue, but I for one would like to see more, perhaps a future story could explore their origins and their exact nature.

Once again the star of the show was Billie Piper, and although she has been more or less faultless throughout the whole season, here she rose (no pun intended) to a new level. She has an astonishing range and makes all her scenes totally convincing and never gives less than 100%. Although nostalgia always plays a part in Doctor Who appreciation, I think it wont be long before she takes her place as number one Doctor Who assistant. Sadly I wish I could say the same about Christopher Eccleston. The more this season goes on the more I come to the conclusion that the guy has been miscast. I initially liked his Doctor and felt it would grow on me over time, but after a few episodes it has settled down into a rather mundane portrayal which only very occasionally feels anything like the Doctor as we know him. Eccleston is a great actor, probably one of Britain’s biggest talents and I was initially very impressed at the coup of his casting. But rather ironically given that everyone thought Billie Piper was going to be terrible, Eccleston has created in my eyes possibly the least memorable Doctor ever put on screen. The combination of the leather jacket, the northern accent, in fact the whole package has had the effect of turning an iconic fantasy creation into the sort of working class character you’d expect to see on a picket line or a building site. To be fair he has chemistry with Billie Piper and his acting in this episode was for the large part faultless, but this season still often feels like a series missing its central character.

Despite this, the episode had some great Doctor moments particularly the line about ‘ how he would try and save the couple’, which reminded us of the Doctors creed that every individual is important no matter how mundane their existence may seem.

Shaun Dingwall as Pete turned in a hugely impressive performance with a down to earth, believable character which never veered into cariacture as Camille Coduri’s Jackie has often done. Indeed the scenes between Rose and her Dad probably showcased some of the finest acting ever in Doctor Who. Pete’s inevitable sacrifice, turning a flawed everyman into the hero, was again one of the series most poignant moments and proved that much like the destruction of the Earth in episode 2, that Doctor Who can do emotion without sinking into overt sentimentality.

Joe Ahearne has been the only stand out director on this season of Doctor Who so far and much like his Dalek episode, brings a pace and atmosphere to this story which is not too far from feature film standard. The whole episode exuded an ominous feeling of impending doom, without resorting to cheap gimmicks like thunderstorms or lightning. I am particularly glad that he is returning at the end of the series as he brings that extra quality, which the glossy by the numbers direction of the earlier episodes particularly those of Keith Boak lacked. And special praise must also go to Murray Gold whose music has got significantly better as this series has gone on. The music to the early episodes was very patchy, but the last few have got better and better, and the score to Father’s day was nigh on perfect, sinister and moving all at the same time, just keep it up Murray.

And so we get to the inevitable flaws and there is only one major thing that comes to mind. What exactly happened at the end and why? Why did the Tardis suddenly return to normal? Why was the Doctor returned to life after Pete’s sacrifice, it wasn’t like time reversed or anything. What has happened to time at the end of the story, obviously time must have been altered, so Jackie will now no longer experience the events of Rose or Aliens of London in the same way, so whichever way you look at itI there’s still a paradox . While some of this may very well be addressed later in the season, I still feel a more thorough explanation could have been forthcoming.

But gripes aside this story was head and shoulders above anything else in this season even Dalek, and was probably the most emotionally involving since Caves of Androzani. Indeed it gets my vote as the series first 21st century classic. After a shaky start to the season, I feel with Dalek this new Doctor Who has hit its stride and is now blooming into something very promising and deserving of all the hype and promises.

The other observation I cant help but make is that another standout episode is once again not written by Russell T Davies. Perhaps he should come down from his self congratulating on Doctor Who Confidential and in the pages of DWM, and start taking stock of his own scripts, because although he picked Billie Piper and has made some strong artistic decisions, his scripts at their best have been rather run of the mill (Rose, The Long game), at their worst utter tripe (AOL, WW3 and parts of EOTW). With only three more of his own episodes to go, the works of Gatiss, Shearman and Cornell should give some food for thought.

That final shot of the Doctor and Rose hand in hand making their lonely walk back to the Tardis ended this story perfectly. For many years Doctor Who was has been written of as cheap bit of outdated tat by critics, Father’s Day proved that Doctor Who in 2005 can still be just as relevant and fresh in 2005 as it was over 40 years ago.

Father’s Day, like Dalek, was one of those episodes fans were waiting to see and their wait was well rewarded. The episode wasn’t without its flaws, as is the case for most programmes, but it was still a highly enjoyable but deeply moving episode.

The concept of the episode is interesting and one that was bound to come up sooner or later in the new series. Rose decides to use the power of the Tardis to visit her dead father. And it’s a perfectly reasonable and understandable move by Rose. She has the means to visit someone she doesn’t remember and if I were in the same place I would do the same. It’s also something that wasn’t really tackled in the last series. The nearest they came to tackling it was with Barbara in the Aztecs but that was an accidental landing and Barbara attempted to use the situation and her future knowledge to her advantage with little success. Here the situation is slightly different. Rose, unlike Barbara, isn’t planning to change time on a massive scale and doesn’t intend to change it at all. It’s only when the situation presents it self and Rose realises, perhaps for the first time, that she actually can change time and save her father that she does.

When she does save her father I think the audience completely sympathised with her actions and would have done the same. In a programme you have to identify with the characters and by putting Rose in this situation the audience immediately sympathises with her. It’s a brilliant move and one that works so well as throughout the episode you feel what Rose is feeling, this is certainly a really emotional episode and you can feel what Rose is going through. The emotional turmoil that she’s facing and the realisation of what she’s done mixed with the fact she’s meeting her father for the first time but with dire consequences. There’s one slightly programme I have though and it’s not with the idea or concept but more to do with The Doctor’s reaction to it. The first Doctor was furious with Barbara for attempting to change time and warned her “You can’t change history, not one line of it”. This seems to me to suggest that its impossible for time to be changed although it’s real meaning might merely be its plain stupid and dangerous to play with time. After all at that point in time the Doctor was effectively on the run from his people and Barbara changing time would have altered the Time Lords to his presence. Anyway the First Doctor was furious at Barbara’s actions, though he did sympathise with her, but Eccelston’s Doctor didn’t seem that furious. Christopher Eccelston tried very hard to seem angry that Rose was changing time and was betraying him like Adam just had. But he failed. The line “another stupid ape” didn’t have the amount of anger it should have had. It didn’t come across as the Doctor feeling betrayed and angry but instead it came across rather lame. Similarly the line “my wish is your command but be careful what you wish for” should have come across more as a note of caution rather than a joke.

While Billie Piper, Camille Coduri & Shaun Dingwall are strong throughout the episode Christopher Eccelston is strong in parts but weak in others. While telling Rose that he could save Gallifrey and his family if he wanted but couldn’t because the laws of time forbade it Eccelston was strong but in the aforementioned parts he was disappointingly weak.

The Reapers while a good idea were poorly realised due to the fact they looked like computer generated creations, which is a shame. They were a nice addition to the episode as they created an extra level of tension, held everyone up in the Church and even eat the Doctor, a twist that I didn’t see coming. The story suggests that since the demise of the Time Lords creatures the dwell in time have become much more of a threat to the Universe and there’s nothing that can really stop them. It will be interesting to see if this idea is carried on into Season Two and it will also be interesting to see if the Reapers appear in the future or not.

I’m surprised there wasn’t more of a reaction when Rose came into contact with her own self. The last time something similar happened was with the Brigadier and that event caused a massive amount of temporal energy to be released and was dangerous enough for the Black Guardian to order Turlough to follow the Doctors orders. This time around the consequences of such a paradoxal contact allowed the Reapers inside the church and to sallow the Doctor before hitting the Tardis and leaving Rose to cope with the situation on her own. Without the Tardis the only way to end the situation was for Pete to sacrifice himself and allow the car to run him over. The last few minutes were extremely emotional as Rose said goodbye to the father she had only just regained. The consequences of Rose turning up in 1987 was that time was altered if only slightly.

A truly brilliant and deeply moving episode that deals with an idea that surprisingly hasn’t been tackled in this way before. It adds a new lawyer of depth to Rose and was brilliantly acted by Billie Piper but also added some much needed emotion into the series instead of the needless humour of previous tales.

Hopes have been high throughout this new series really...Chris Ecclestone has exceeded many of our expectations for the lead, Billie Piper has surprised everyone really I think, production values great (yeah yeah snoozing...) but the real issue which will surely define the future of this programme - beyond being a slightly kitschy revival of an old family favourite - is this: does it stand up not as family entertainment or serious sci- fi, but whether or not it really holds water as serious drama?

Well the evidence so far suggests yes yes and yes another 5 times (at least!). "Father's Day" moves over some fairly old ground about the premise of time travel - so what if we change the course of history if the things that get changed are actually for the better? Well the truth is that events in our lives, and those that shape the way of the world we know do matter, however much we would love to remove the tragedy and pain it might cause us. Everything matters it would seem.

It's important that we saw this from Rose's point I suppose. It answers a few more questions about her, and by placing this in a wholly human context - after all is'nt the role of the Dr. Who companion primarily to present these things empathetically to the audience?

The acting as ever was through the roof in terms of quality, and the script tight and well presented. But as much as I felt for Rose, her family and the awful moral dilemma that her interference would present (and indeed did present once she did get involved), I could'nt help but feel is this series really all about Rose?

So many of these scripts have given Billie Piper the majority of real work,and fair play she has done a cracker so far. But with only 5 episodes to go, we still know virtually nothing about the ninth Doctor. Indeed I feel I know him as well as I didi the eighth Doctor after the 1996 TV movie. The difference being that Paul McGann had about 75 minutes in which to establish himself. Christopher Ecclestone has had 360 minutes so far, and he still seems like a supporting character. Is it too much to ask to have him do a little more?

But I accept this is as much about Rose as the Doctor, even though the script has yet to really show things from his point of view. Both "The Unquiet Dead" and "Dalek" have come close to giving us more of the Ninth Doctor, but while I remain one of the whiners abou this (am I really alone in thinking that Rose should'nt be clogging up this much of the scripts?), I just can't rubbish "Father's Day". It was TV drama at its very very best, and it's laughable that Celebrity Wrestling was thought to be an even close competitor.

Scripts of this high calibre will not only secure this season's place in history as the most ground breaking of all, but also maybe we'll also smile wrly in 10 or 20 years time, that no-marks like me were even concerned with who got the lion's share of script action is this beautiful, fantastic, life altering programme.

Cheers Paul.

Father’s Day is a rather unconventional sort of Doctor Who story, not least because of the fact that the Doctor is killed off ten minutes before the end, leaving others to save the day in his wake. This, it goes without saying, rather bucks the trend of usual Doctor Who adventures, although it doesn’t buck the trend set so far this season of the Doctor being at times a rather ineffectual figure, being captured or confined and having to rely on others to carry the burden of doing the actual heroic legwork.

However, this is less of a problem in Paul Cornell’s script than it has been elsewhere, as the Doctor has so many other chances to shine. I think one of the things that’s most apparent in Cornell’s writing is how much he loves the character of the Doctor, in his traditional archetype form of the hero. Eccleston gets some truly wonderful scenes to perform here, making it hardly surprising that the actor went on record in several interviews at the start of the season to say that this was his favourite episode of the thirteen he’d shot.

The Doctor works so well because we get to see so many different aspects of his personality. There’s the anger he feels towards Rose after she’s saved the life of her father, and his threat to abandon her in 1987 and head back to the TARDIS. The fire in his performance here makes you feel that he really means it, and is a reminder of the sometimes unpredictable nature of the First Doctor as played by William Hartnell, particularly his threat to turf Ian and Barbara off the ship at the end of The Sensorites. Then there’s the more contemplative side to the character, best displayed here in the truly wonderful scene where he talks to the bride and groom at this ill-fated wedding, Sarah and Stuart. Given the attitude he’s sometimes displayed earlier on in this season, it’s heartening to see the Doctor being so nice to the ‘little people’ of the world again, the flotsam and jetsam of the human race who he happens to encounter in his travels. The sense of wonder, longing and sadness in his “I’ve never had a life like that…” moment was a superb piece of work. Finally, of course, we get to see the Doctor as a true out-and-out hero, as it should be – delivering his plans from the pulpit and sacrificing himself to save everyone else in the church as the Rose paradox allows the Reapers to enter…

Speaking of the Reapers, they are excellently realised. It’s almost a shame that they were no more than a sideshow to the episode, but that had to be the case as it was really all about the relationship between Rose and her father, and the consequence of Rose’s actions. The creatures were particularly effective in their red-drenched point-of-view shots, although it has to be said that the initial killings they inflict were somewhat less than effective – I’m not sure a spilling drinks bottle gently rolling away or a pair of hedge trimmers dropping to the ground is really particularly dramatic, somehow.

But as I said, good though The Mill’s CGI creations were, this was never really about the monsters. It’s about Rose and Pete, and Piper and guest star Shaun Dingwall really excelled in their roles, both utterly convincing, making the father-daughter relationship really rather touching. Pete’s self-sacrifice was well-played, never seeming too cheesy and definitely on the right side of believable. The final member of the Tyler trio was played as ever by Camille Coduri. Before I saw this episode I had some concerns, knowing that the same actress was going to be playing Jackie the best part of twenty years younger, but Coduri does indeed just about pull it off. I think it’s down to the hair…

It’s a shame in a way that the forty-five minute running time didn’t leave room for more scenes with the rest of the supporting cast, as they were all very good as well. The aforementioned Stuart and Sarah, in particular, are worth mentioning, as is Stuart’s father, who was in a way a nice touch of light relief and as such more poignant when he was killed off, although he was of course brought back at the end.

In a way though, such bringing back – hitting a kind of re-set switch – is my main problem with the story, although of course it always seemed fairly obvious that the story was going to have to be resolved in that kind of a way somehow. Time travel is a very complex idea to try and get your head around at the best of times, and Father’s Day certainly throws up a good few questions – were the Doctor and the others to be taken by the Reapers actually, properly dead until Pete threw himself in front of the car? Why don’t Rose and the Doctor forget the events that have taken place as everyone else does? And what happens to the ‘first’ Doctor and Rose to witness Pete’s death, as they conveniently disappear as soon as the ‘second’ Rose runs out to save him? All very confusing, and probably best not to think about too hard unless you’re a theoretical physicist. It does seem highly convenient in terms of plot, however, that the solution to all the problems – the car that runs Pete over – kept going around and around outside so temptingly.

The whole premise of the episode and the way in which it was treated – someone mucking about with time and evil forces using the breakage caused to come through and create havoc – was not so much Doctor Who as it was Sapphire & Steel. I’m not complaining about that for a second, mind – I’d love the show to be more like Sapphire & Steel from time to time. That famous ITV series most came to mind when the phones would only repeat Bell’s “Watson, come here, I need you,” message over and over again. I’m not sure that makes much sense plotwise, but it was a wonderfully effective idea that worked very well indeed, and was really quite spooky.

Production-wise, Joe Ahearne’s direction maintains the high standard he set out in Dalek, with one exception – all the times we saw it, not once was I convinced that the car which ran Pete down and killed him was doing anything more than about ten miles per hour. I suppose it might be possible to inflict fatal damage on a person at such a speed, but it’s a shame that such a vital sequence always looked so comparatively undramatic on all of the occasions upon which it appeared. Perhaps a full-on hit-and-run would be a bit too harrowing for such an early evening timeslot, but surely there was something in the middle that would have been a bit more effective?

Speaking of the timeslot, perhaps the one question about this episode is whether it’s really the sort of thing that would keep the younger part of the audience watching week in, week out, with its high quota of character based drama and low monster and adventure count. On the other hand though, you should never underestimate the intelligence and tastes of even the youngest audience members, and besides, the occasional Doctor Who episode like this is a nice change of pace. You couldn’t make Doctor Who now in 2005 like this every week, but I don’t suppose it will do the audience figures any harm to do it like this every now and then. The fact that the new television series is not only this good, but can accommodate stories as wildly different as this and last week’s The Long Game, is a real testament to that ‘infinitely variable format’ fans like to go on about so much, but which was only occasionally true of the classic series.

In short then, Father’s Day was a real gem of an episode – well-written, well-acted and well-produced, it fully deserves to stand up there with the best of them.

Playing The Time Line

Oh Rose, you’ve been playing with Time,
That harbinger of death or life
Bringing you strife
And grief. Can you hear wedding bells chime?
They’re calling out the Time Lord’s name,
His lonliness married to awkward identity
Needed to fight the Reaper entity
Again delivered with fine artistry.

Oh writer, you’ve been playing with Time,
That question of One or Two
Haunts this series through.
Relief . Did you know you’re innocent of the usual crime;
Of solutions squeezed in with seconds to spare?
But drama well paced – requiring concentration
Needed to understand Time’s rules and machination
Above the younger head and their imagination?

Oh Doctor, you’ve been minding your Time
Forming that character so Jekyll and Hyde;
Equally caring and then so snide.
Self Belief. Did it leave you - this aura sublime?
Your perfection was nicely questioned.
Your performance deep in its madness,
Desiring human experience your Archilles sadness.
Knowing all Paradoxes yet powerless!!

Mr Tyler you’ve made a mess of Time,
That point at which you first died
Differed erroneously from where Rose finally cried.
Chief Mistake! You’ll know you’re in the mire- the slime
When the net awakes to timelines illogical.
Just wait for the hot geek debate
Regarding your change in suit and fate.
By such you wiped humanity off the slate.

Oh Producer you’ve been playing with Time,
That large quantity and space given to Rose
Takes the focus off the Dr dealing with foes.
So Brief. Have you remembered that our prime
Reason for watching is Who and his intent?
But surely not an episode for every Tyler
What next a long lost cousin from Outer Mongolia.
Or a new boyfriend soldier?

Oh ReViewer you’ve been playing with Time,
That manmade measurement of experience
Which yields 45 minutes of sci-fi reverence.
High reef!! Have you dissected the promise and grime
With responsible charity and clarity?
For whilst we interweave our opinions fair
Do not forget to influence hearts and minds out there
For pundits’ love of the Who can be a short affair!!

Sigh!.....Just what was I watching I asked myself? Is this Doctor Who?

Father's Day is in a word - boring! As some of you may have read, in my review of The Long Game I welcomed Eccleston's Doctor once again appearing to be relevant and active in the story. Sadly, the Doctor has once more been relegated into the background, he doesnt appear to have much to do and once more looks lost - just as I wrote in my review of AOL. One wonders if Eccleston left because the scripts were letting him down? RTD should wake up - here he has a fine actor, capable of performing convincingly (and then some - see DALEK!) and he is being wasted.

I just wonder what the point of the whole thing was! Plot-wise, things were wafer-thin. Im a supporter of the new series devoting considerable time to character development but this was ridiculous - and RTD, who is at the helm and obviously has final say over scripts needs to take a step back and look at what he is pushing for and ultimately approving.

I had worked out (as Im sure the rest of you did) very early on that Rose's father had to die for the time line to be restored - anyone seen the Back to the Future movies? - of course you have... I say no more.

As I write this I really struggle to find anything I like about the episode - I even watched it twice to see if my views would change, but alas this has not been the case. I guess considering his limited role within the episode, Christopher Eccleston delivered an excellent performance, but ultimately the script let him down.

The show is called Doctor Who isnt it...? For a second there, I thought it was called The Rose Tyler Show....

Bring on next week - please!

What can be said about this episode? 10/10? 5 stars out of 5? The Greatest Story Ever Told?

Try all three!

Emotion, power, monsters, humour - it had the lot. I can honestly say this is the only story to ever make me cry, apart from Earthshock (I was a lot younger then, okay?).

A simple premise - Rose wanting to visit the father she never knew, so whilst considering that, let's ask the question 'Is this her plan all along?' To be honest, I think not. To see her dad - perhaps. To save him - no. If she'd wanted to save him, she would have done so the first time she saw him get out of the car. There may be those who say the Doctor had a crafty hold of her hand to stop her, and so she couldn't risk him snatching her back and thus failing in her objective, so having proved herself she persuaded him to go back, leaving the way open for the save at the second time of asking. I don't think so - is Rose really that devious, cunning and clever? How could she be sure that the Doctor would agree to go back a second time? No, Rose never had a plan to save her dad at either the first or second opportunity. However, having seen his death for the first time, it simply became too much to watch it once more and, unable to stop herself, she did the deed.

Which, of course, allows us to get to know her dad, Pete, who, all in all, seems a decent enough kind of guy. A wheeler dealer, true, but an honest one. There is no hint of any shady dealings on his part, just a wish to earn the family crust. A marvellous performance here, as Pete slowly realizes just who Rose is, why she was there and what, ultimately, he has to do.

The scenes between Rose and her dad are, without doubt, the most emotional in the history of the series, and Rose's tearful ' My Daddy' as they hug in the church set me off for the rest of the story!! I'm just an old softy, but, as anyone who has lost a parent will agree, this situation is a tear-jerker, particularly when you know that there can only be one ending to the story.

I have to admit to being a little stumped by some of the negative comments made about this story, particularly on two points. Firstly, the acting of Eccleston and the use of the Doctor. Sure, there are times when Eccleston doesn't seem to be doing a lot in the acting stakes, but doesn't that fit in with this Doctor? This incarnation can be incredibly laid back one moment, and absolutely hyper the next. Eccleston's acting is merely reflecting that. Don't get me wrong - there are times when I could gleefully ram that stupid grin down his throat (strange how Tom never had the same effect!). However, I find his acting convincing and watchable. As for the 'under use' of the Doctor, again, does this not fit in with the character we are getting to know? There are times when he takes time to get involved, as if, occasionally, there is a reluctance - almost as with the character of the other 'ninth' Doctor from 'Scream of the Shelka'. If you think of the stories, they have mostly started from the traditional 'accidental' stumbling on to the scene of the TARDIS crew. TEOTW was supposed to be a trip to watch the destruction of Earth. TUD a trip to Victorian England to see Christmas. Even AOL/WW3 was just a trip home!! The Doctor's actions in the stories have not been the 'gung-ho' and straight in style of his earlier selves. He has tended to watch, but not get immediately involved unless he has had to or someone has been in danger. Perhaps the destruction of Gallifrey has had more of an effect on the Doctor than we currently know, and more will become clear later on...........

My second 'gripe at the gripes' is about the 'altering Time' problem and all that comes with it. Who are the Reapers? Where do they come from? Why do they leave at the end when Time has still been altered? What happens to the TARDIS? Why does the key glow hot? Why does the car keep re-appearing?

IT DOESN'T MATTER AND I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!

The story as it stands is more than good enough, you don't have to have every little thing explained like a 5 year old. It must be like watching an episode with a kid in the room for the familes of some reviewers! 'Why has that happened?' 'What does that mean?' 'Where did it go?' Try to use a little imagination of your own for once - good stories get you thinking and making up your own ideas, which is exactly what this does. Blimey, if people wanted answers straight away to everything in Star Wars Episode Four they'd never have had to make the other five!!! (and I'm still waiting to see if the new one explains why Obi-wan doesn't know who R2D2 and C3P0 are in Episode 4, and why they themselves can't tell everyone what's been going on! And why did Darth Vader never say 'Yes, C3P0, I am the Maker you keep thanking'?). Writers should not be expected to explain every little thing (particularly in 45 minutes!) and this is nothing new. It can be done for various reasons, not least to stop stupid questions of a different kind. As another example, in 'The Lord of the Rings', Frodo and Sam are rescued at the end by Gandalf and the Giant Eagles. Does this not beg the question 'If you can get Giant Eagles to fly there to rescue Frodo and Sam, why couldn't they have taken them in the first place and cut out most of the three books we've had to read through?'

But, if you really need to know, the Reapers are creatures from the Vortex - we have heard of enough over the years! - and they help to heal wounds in Time. WE KNOW THAT BECAUSE THE DOCTOR TELLS US! They leave at the end because Time is healed - the injury was Pete still being alive. Yes there were other smaller changes still around, but that is normal with any injury - you slash a great big cut in your arm and tell me that it's just the same as it was before when it's healed. Nothing is the same once healed, not even Time, but it can be made almost the same as it was before. The inside of the TARDIS disappeared because Time was, if you like, anaesthetised, whilst being healed. Although time was passing, Time was not - if you see what I mean. With no Time, there's no time machine. Simple. The key was with the Doctor, the oldest thing around, and so was kept safe from the effect. Once charged up, it was able to draw the TARDIS back to it. Simple. The car, if you like, was the immune system of the body of Time, going around and around looking for the infection to destroy - the infection being Pete, the one thing that should not have been there. Simple.

Well, that's what my imagination tells me - you can think up your own explanation if you want! That's the beauty of it - you decide!

I thought the Reapers were convincing and not obviously CGI, but I did think they were a little dark and that you could not see as much detail as you could have done.

All in all, the best of the series so far, and quite possibly the best ever - but will it still hold that title by episode 13?

Purely Historical. Purely Sci-Fi. Pseudo-Historical. On May 14th 2005, DOCTOR WHO just created a new genre. The Purely Emotional Story.

Being able to relate to the human element was always one of WHO’s strengths - I’m thinking that first episode between Ian & Barbara, Jon Pertwee bidding Jo Grant adieu before driving off into the sunset... Then The Doctor turned into a brooding alien and it seemed a good excuse to fall into line with STAR TREK and not bother with that side of things. Of course, JNT made big moves to make the companions real people with real families. Who can forget Auntie Vanessa’s demise in LOGOPOLIS? But with no hope of The Doctor staying on Earth for any length of time, due to the wishes of BBC executives and producers, it would take until 2005 for the ties-that-bind element to become a permanent state of affairs again. Now, with an emotional core being a market-driven necessity, it’ll be almost impossible for a future companion not to have a fully-fleshed out family that we dip into and out of periodically.

The isolated Church set-up brought it home to me just how much WHO is set on Earth again, like in the Pertwee years and I for one am chuffed. I think Russell T was bang on the money when he says setting more than 50 of the cent stories elsewhere causes the viewers’ interest to wane. It was always wrong to minimise “on Earth” from the late 70s on, but delighted that it’s back.

The 80s set-up was convincingly brought to life. The make-up, costumes and the posters: one (which again has resonance for 2005) hoping “No Third Term For Thatcher” in vain, being supplanted by the coming of acid-house music. A necessary escape. It’s ironic too that a great original story has been made of a year that saw the original series at it’s worst. When we think of 1987 now, will we think of Iceworld, or Rose’s Dad?

This series is very good at creating memories through visual set-ups. The Doctor and Rose watching The Doctor and Rose watching what we already know: that Rose’s Dad is going to get knocked down by a car. Only this time, he isn’t...

It’s been said The Doctor was naive to let Rose have a second look. But it’s more an indication how she’s got to him on an emotional level than perhaps any other companion. Eccleston was great when he scowled at her in her Dad’s flat.

What a turn-up for the books when The Doctor opened the TARDIS to find a cubby-hole inside!

Cue the Reapers: gargoyle type vultures with red eyes. They were genuinely chilling.

Not for the first time this series, post Time War, The Doctor looked impotent against the worse-case scenario. But he hadn’t reckoned on Rose’s Dad, who kept seeing the car that should have killed him keep appearing and disappearing and decided he would be the hero Rose always thought he was.

It's fair to say Father's Day is very different to any (broadcast) Doctor Who story that’s gone before, and probably because of this when I first saw it I took a dislike to it. I thought it was silly, too soapy and had a predictable resolution which broke the golden rule that the Doctor must save the day. Having watched it again I have realised I made a big mistake, and it is an excellent story, well written and well acted.

Indeed what I first thought were its flaws actually help to make it so good. At seems odd that the Doctor would take Rose back to watch her father die, and even odder that he was surprised by her reaction, but this is to judge him as a human. His actions are perfectly in character with the slightly insensitive alien Doctor as played by Tom Baker, who Eccleston is reminding me of more and more each week. On the other hand the Doctor shows he is capable of emotion when he talks about the loss of his planet. Similarly the soapy elements – Rose’s interaction with her parents – gives the series the reality it needs to keep the casual viewer interested. Also the fact that the Doctor fails, shows he is fallible, something that is needed to keep the series interesting, and also gives Pete the chance to redeem himself. Even if it is obvious after about twenty minutes how the situation will be resolved, this only enhances the tragedy of the situation.

On the acting front A+ grades to Shaun Dingwall, whom I hope turns up again in the future, and Billie Piper who gives her best performance to date. Eccleston also comes across well, but is somewhat of a background figure, as he needs to be for the episode to work. Most of the supporting cast is superb too.

Thus all in all this is a very good story, although it is quite heavy and needs a couple of viewings to be appreciated. Its a pity Paul Cornell is not writing for the series next year, but hopefully a third series will entice him back.

Its been a long time coming, but finally, a series about time-travel has covered the consequences of time-travelling.

Back in the old days, we had the cautionary tale of Barbara interfering with the Aztecs, the Meddling Monk, the Time Warrior, and of course Day of the Daleks. But the actual exploration of the concept was a little lightweight.

Then along comes Father's Day. This episode, above all the others, really explores the depth of the Doctor/Rose relationship - although the Doctor is suspicious of Rose's motives for joining him, ultimately he is able to forgive her.

We also explore the mother's willingness to protect the daughter from the truth about her father, so that she can see him as a hero. And although that particular bubble is burst as soon as Rose meets her dad, in the end he becomes the hero he never was in real time.

The Reapers are a little too comic-book to be truly frightening, but they are exceedingly intricate monsters.

The costumes and make up really bring out the eighties setting, and the incidental music is never too distracting.

All in all, another highlight for the new show, avoiding the obvious trap of being too angst-ridden.

Doubtless, the "rent in time" storyline is going to feed the minds of the continuity freaks for years to come, but when it all comes down to it, Dr Who is not about continuity, its about a damn good story!

I have found in the past, during disappointing seasons of Dr Who (or imposter programmes which are broadcast under that banner), that there usually comes a pivotal story which bangs the nail in said season's coffin. For example, Silver Nemesis part one was the episode of season 25 which made me finally accept that nothing good was going to happen that year, and I basically gave up expecting it.

Watching Father's Day last Saturday evening was the moment that I gave up on the new show. Or at least gave up on this first season of it - maybe David Tenant's Doctor and the new batch of scripts will turn things around. Reading some of the other reviews that have published on Outpost Gallifrey, I'm at a loss to know where people are coming from with Paul Cornell's episode. The whole idea of the Doctor and his dramatic funcion in the show has now been as comprehensively undermined as it was in the McCoy era. Personally I'd rather have McCoy's all-seeing superhuman incarnation than the increasingly pathetic, ineffectual, unstable, nasty adolescent we now have pilotting the TARDIS.

I'm not going to bang on about what happened in the episode, we all saw it. I'd just ask everyone to step back for a moment, and imagine the best stories Dr Who has ever given us, but with their respective Doctors replaced by Eccleston's incarnation. The Doctor winds up trapped in the cottage in part four of the Seeds of Doom. "Sorry, I don't have a plan" he tells everyone, throws a big strop when Scorby comes on to Sarah, then gets eaten by the Krynoid. The Doctor gets dragged off to Androzani Major by Stotz in Caves of Androzani part three. "Wow, I can't believe it's going to end like this" he says, sitting back in his restraints and seething about the fact that Jek is now going to have his wicked way with luscious young Peri. "I really fancied her" he admits to himself, lost in his own impotence and despondant self-pity. The Doctor arrives on the Nerva space station in Ark In Space, calls Noah a stupid ape for allowing himself to become infected by the Wirrin, gets trapped in the control area, tells everyone he has no plan then gets eaten by a load of bubblewrap.

Come ON people!! The Doctor ALWAYS has a plan - he's the effing Doctor!! The whole joy, the whole blessed point of Doctor Who is that it is a programme about profoundly nasty people and creatures with profoundly nasty intentions, all of whom and all of which get thwarted by the brilliance of the Doctor. A Doctor who is never cruel or cowardly, who is always non-violent, who always uses his brain and who never, ever EVER despairs or stops fighting. Rob him of these qualities, tamper with his essential character and you are messing with the guts of the show. Any other considerations - quality of direction, guest performances, music, lighting - pale into utter insignifiance.

Bring back Doctor Who! The new show needs him.

I noted when I reviewed ‘The Long Game’ that Russell T. Davies’ remit of focusing on characterisation in the new Doctor Who series has actually resulted in characterisation of the two regulars but left the supporting characters shallow, two-dimensional ciphers, and that it has fallen to the other writers to show him how it should be done. Paul Cornell becomes the third writer to do this, bringing all the strengths the best of his previous work to the screen with powerful effect.

Paul Cornell’s detractors tend to dismiss his work as sentimental, but the reason for this is that in all his Doctor Who novels and audios he’s focused on the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. It’s so rare to see this in modern British television writing, in which grim and gritty plotlines are currently in vogue, that I can’t bring myself to condemn the optimism that permeates his work, and ‘Father’s Day’ is no exception. It is sentimental, yes, but the emotions on display here ring true and its’ hard not be moved during the scenes between Rose and her father. The plot of ‘Father’s Day’ is predictable, but only in the way that a tragedy always is. Even viewers who hadn’t seen the trailer at the end of ‘The Long Game’ must have been able to guess what would happen when Rose asks if the laws of time permit her to witness her father’s death and the Doctor quietly tells her, “I can do anything, I’m just worried about you… be careful what you wish for.” Rose’s inevitable interference allows her to see the relationship between her parents first hand and bereft of the, erm, rose-tinted view her mother imposed on her own memories. Naturally, she gets a bit of shock as she realises that her dad is human; she sees them bickering incessantly, with Jacky yelling at Peter, “You bring home cut price detergents, tonic water, betamax tapes, and none of it works”, generally accusing him of being useless, and assuming that he’s having an affair with the young blonde she finds him with. He shouts back, “Yeah, cos I’m that stupid – I play around and then bring her to meet the missus”, eventually prompting a distraught Rose to shout, “Stop this! You’re not like this, you love each other!” Which is of course the truth, as Rose realises moments later when they make up.

Rose’s dad is a great character and his scenes with her are crucial to the success of the episode. For all of his self-deprecation, he isn’t stupid and having been assaulted by flying dragons he soon works out what is going on, telling Rose, “A wound in time… you called me “Dad”” The subsequent scene (“You are, you’re my Rose”) is very moving, especially when he starts asking about his hair and is met with silence, and he quickly realises exactly why she’s traveled back in time to see him, especially when he asks her “Am I a good dad?” She replies “You were there for us all the time. Someone I could really rely on”, and he realises, “That’s not me.” Billie Piper again gets to show her worth, portraying Rose’s emotions very convincingly throughout, and especially at this point, and Shaun Dingwell complements her beautifully as her dad. As soon as the car that should have killed Rose’s Dad starts materializing and dematerializing around the church, the resolution of the plot is obvious, but the point is that it is also obvious to Peter and he chooses to sacrifice himself to save everyone in a very noble and touching moment. We get a genuinely emotional scene as he tells Jacky, “I’m meant to be dead Jacky. You’re finally going to get rid of me” and Piper is superb when he tells her, “Thanks for saving me” and goes out to get run over. Rose’s dad works very well. For all his self-deprecation, he resolves to do the right thing, and sacrifices himself to save the world.

My main criticism of ‘Father’s Day’ is that, yet again, we get an ineffectual Doctor who achieves nothing. In fact, most of what happens here is technically his fault, since he takes Rose back in time in the first place, and when the Reapers appear and start devouring the world, despite his best intentions all he actually does is get eaten. Given the importance in Cornell’s script of the human spirit triumphing over adversity however, this actually works, as it removes him from the picture to allow Rose’s Dad to save the day. The problem therefore is not that the Doctor achieves little in the this episode, but that he repeatedly comes across as ineffectual through the season thus far and therefore rather than being the exception that it should have been, ‘Father’s Day’ boasts just another example of his dithering and incompetence. That said, the Doctor gets some magnificent scenes here, and Christopher Eccleston puts in one of his best performances. I’m coming to the conclusion that his performance achieves its potential far more in episodes not written by Davies, which require him to do some serious acting instead of just grinning like an idiot, rattling off atrocious puns, and acting like Rose’s jealous boyfriend. After Rose saves her dad’s life, Eccleston conveys the Doctor’s emotions through facial acting alone until the Doctor gets the chance to speak to her without Peter being present. Although he does shout, “I did it again, I picked another stupid ape” at her, his best line here is when he coldly gives voice to his concerns that he’s been manipulated all along, reminding Rose, “When we met, I said “travel with me in space”, you said “no”. Then I said “time.”” The moment passes, but it’s an interesting insight into a hitherto unexpected insecurity, and afterwards we get a quietly delivered but heartfelt reference to the Time Lords, as he tells her, “My entire planet died, my whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me go back and save them?” Later, when he finds the Doctor finds the empty TARDIS shell, the look of panic on Eccleston’s face is very convincing. And whilst I have criticized the fact that he achieves little here, the Doctor’s willingness to step between the Reaper and the crowd in the church, announcing, “I’m the oldest thing in here!” is the sort of behaviour I expect from him. But the Doctor’s finest moment here, and one which is also typical Paul Cornell, is when Stuart and Sarah ask him, “Can you save us?” and there follows a conversation culminating in the great line, “Who said you’re not important? I’ve traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn’t imagine. But you two… street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I’ve never had a life like that. Yes, I’ll try and save you.”

The Doctor’s relationship with Rose gets strained here as a result of Rose’s actions, but by the end of the episode, they’re as close as they usually are. Despite nearly bringing about Armageddon, the Doctor only remains angry with Rose until she says she’s sorry, after which he concentrates on trying to solve the problem rather than blaming her. He shows great concern for her when she initially witnesses her father’s death, demonstrating that for all his moaning about “domestics” in previous episodes, he does understand human emotions, and he tries to find an alternative to the obvious solution to try and spare Rose further turmoil; as Peter realizes, “The Doctor worked it out ages ago, but he tried to protect me.” However, whilst I’m on the subject, the answer to Rose’s question, “We’re not a couple, why does everyone think we’re a couple?” is probably due to the Doctor’s jealously of Mickey and Adam in Davies’ episodes and their constant sixth form flirting.

It’s worth discussing the logic of the plot at this point. Some critics have already started questioning how much sense the rules of time travel on display here make sense, especially since the Reapers apparently feed on wounds in time, but disappear when Rose’s Dad dies even though history has still been altered. The model of temporal mechanics utilized here is very much the model previously established in Doctor Who, and also that used in much of Cornell’s work. There is an obvious distinction between the massive paradox caused by Rose saving her father’s life, and the slight hiccup in the time line that is all that is left at the end; the idea that history can change but in ways that time can cope with has been seen previously in Cornell’s debut Doctor Who story ‘Timewyrm: Revelation’ (Chad Boyle’s altered past by the end of the novel). It clearly contrasts here with the situation initially caused by Rose, as she basically causes a reverse Grandfather paradox, travelling back in time to save her father and thus altering her own past fairly drastically. By the end of the story history is still altered, but the wound is much less gaping; Rose ends up having always been part of her families past, Jacky’s memories alter accordingly, and the man responsible for Peter’s death waits for the police. Note that she tells the young Rose at the end, “The driver was just a kid. He stopped. He waited for the police. It wasn’t his fault” whereas originally he was never caught; in both cases, he in a sense “gets away with it”, so it’s entirely possible that the overall picture of his life remains unchanged. What doesn’t really make sense is the fact that Rose can’t safely make physical contact with her past self, but this too is part of the background mythology of the series, first established in ‘Mawdryn Undead’ and since then revisited in such diverse works as ‘Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma’, ‘Happy Endings’, and ‘The Time of the Daleks’ so I have no problem with Cornell using it here. The only problem with all the temporal shenanigans here is that Rose is seemingly unable to understand the consequences of changing her own past; she’s supposed to be intelligent, but whilst Doctor Who writers have always belabored points such as this in an attempt to explain them to even the densest audience member, it shouldn’t be that hard to explain. I know this, because I have in the past explained the Grandfather paradox to a nincompoop, and he understood it perfectly when I’d finished. There’s also no real logical reason for all of the phones in the area to start receiving “the very first phone call, Alexander Graham Bell” either, but as a means of generally indicating that something is wrong with time, it is quite a nice touch.

The guest cast is generally very good here, with even Camille Coduri getting a few decent scenes, and conveying genuine sadness when she tells the young Rose about her father. Mind you, once Rose meets her in the past, I soon found myself wanting her to fall under a car instead of Peter. Bonus points are awarded to the episode for the Doctor’s, “I’ve waited a long time to say this: Jacky Tyler, do as I say! Go and check the doors! I should have done that ages ago.” Overall then, ‘Father’s Day’ is a fine episode. In addition to everything I’ve already mentioned, there is some gentle humour, including Jacky saying of the young Mickey, “He just grabs on to whatever’s passing and holds on for dear life. God help his poor girlfriend if he ever has one” and the Doctor telling baby Rose, “You aren’t going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?” The episode is well directed too, with the shots from the Reapers’ point of view notably creepy, as people start to disappear. The Reapers themselves look good from the side, although from the front when they scream at people, there is something about them that puts me in mind of Muppets. And having provided several episodes worth of aural effluent, Murray Gold’s does his best work for the series thus far, with a score that is entirely appropriate to what is seen on screen.

‘Father’s Day’ ultimately reinforces my growing suspicion that, whilst I’ve generally enjoyed Davies’ episodes, the other writers are far better at writing for Doctor Who than he is. This feeling is further enhanced by the trailer for ‘The Empty Child’, the first of a two part story written by Steven Moffat, which looks extremely promising…

The most touching, poignant and emotional episode of Doctor Who ever screened with performances so on the nail it should shut up those nay sayers who constantly criticise its acting. Unfortunately all the good work done by the director and the actors is undone by one of the most ridiculously stupid scripts ever written.

Stupid mistake number one: The Doctor takes Rose back to the point of her father’s death. I can see now what the point of Adam was in the grand season one plan, he was there to show us how much the Doctor trusts and respects Rose in comparison so he can be totally let down this week when she makes some silly mistakes. Why on Earth doesn’t he just say no to her request? Taking somebody back to their fathers death and not expecting them to do something to stop it is like shoving a steak in front of a starving man (or a missing episode of Doctor Who in front of an anal fan)…something that is bound to give in to no matter how much you trust them not to. The Doctor makes a horrific mistake in flaunting his abilities to her here and the consequences are all his fault, not hers.

Stupid mistake number two: He takes her back to see her father again! What a bastard! Not content with risking one visit back he pops her back to a point when they are already there the first time they went back. Isn’t this incredibly dangerous? And utterly irresponsible? When she ran out and rescued him I was laughing my head off, the Doctor’s horrified reaction makes him look like such a prat. When he turned on her and blamed her for being a stupid ape I thought he was being hypocritical to the point of insanity, if anybody was being stupid in this episode it’s him. Remember the BBC past Doctor adventure The Witch Hunters? That book had a similar plot where the time travellers re-visited a time they had just left because Susan wanted to change something and it was Susan who set the controls and took them back. The Doctor was wise enough and smart enough to realise that staying during the witch trials would be dangerous and Susan would not be able to resist changing things. And he has every right to be angry when she pre-programmes the controls and does attempt to change things. The book still deals with these gripping time travel ideas but doesn’t spoil the Doctor’s integrity. Father’s Day is the work of a good writer so it baffles me that he could get the Doctor so totally wrong.

Stupid mistake number three: Don’t touch that baby, Rose the Doctor tells her knowing full well it will cause a temporal paradox and give the Reapers extra strength so what does he do? Leaves her within arms reach of the child throughout the rest of the episode. Why the hell didn’t he get that kid as far away from her as possible? Get Rose into the belfry or shove her down in the vestry? Nope he leaves them nice and close and suddenly gasps with horror when somebody hands her the kid. What a dickhead. (Was this really Eccleston’s favourite script?)

Inexplicable rubbish: The first phone call blaring through everybody’s phones. What the hell was all that about? The glowing TARDIS key and it suddenly materialising in the church and the empty TARDIS. How on Earth do the Reapers have the ability to affect the TARDIS so? Where the hell did they come from anyway? For what purpose do they cauterise time? Why did the car keep re-appearing waiting to claim Rose’s dad? How does his death in a different place rewind everything that has happened? How comes the Reapers are satisfied that no changes are made at the end when it is made blatantly clear by the two scenes with Jackie and child Rose that in the original timeline nobody was there for her dad when he died and because of their interference Rose was in fact there and holding his hand whilst he died? Why didn’t the Reapers see that as an adjustment to the timeline and disinfect Rose from the scene? Did anybody think this script through at all?

Blatant plagiarising from the book series: Russell T Davies made a very eloquent speech in the last Doctor Who magazine that the books have to follow the series lead and that they just aren’t quite as important as the series. Fair enough, but why then does this episode borrow wholesale ideas that have thrived in the series for the past four years? Gallifrey has been destroyed in a Great War, the Doctor the lone survivor. Dealt with in the books. Time travel mistakes made possible thanks to the Time Lords no longer existing. Dealt with in the books. Evil creatures appearing to police time travel in their absence, turning up and killing people horribly when diversions are made. It’s Sabbath and the babewyns innit? This episode flaunts these ideas as though they are original and refreshing but I have been intimately associated with them far superior works than this. Go and read Adventuress of Henrietta Street instead. I am such a huge fan of the books and to see them being treated so shabbily (their arc plot ignored in favour of an identical one for the TV series!) and yet being ripped off all the same is pretty annoying.

It is the character work where the story triumphs, namely Rose’s relationship with her father and unexpected closeness of Rose and the Doctor during the second half. Going back in time to a period you have been told about but not experienced is always a terrible mistake, you are bound to find out something terrible you did not know about. Rose’s realisation that her father was not the genius her mother made him out to be is inevitable but still extremely moving and then to discover even though he was a bit of a Del Boy, her father would still step in front of a car if it would make an important difference. Rose gets all the best scenes in Father’s Day from her mumbling awkwardness with the Doctor after she has changed history, not wanting to face his wrath, to her hilarious reaction to her fathers flirting and her moving reaction when she realises he will have to sacrifice himself anyway, despite her actions.

The Tyler family achieves a whole new layer of depth in this episode and as usual it is a joy to see Jackie back. She is as chavvy as ever, deeply humorous and dramatic in equal measures and with a tongue as sharp as ice. It was Jackie’s vehement anger towards her husband that gave Rose her biggest culture shock and her sudden turnabout at the climax, crying and begging for her husband not to sacrifice himself that proved how much she loved him anyway. Camille Coduri is as marvellous as ever, looking stunning in her wedding attire and once again finding new layers for the increasingly complex Jackie Tyler.

Despite the horrible choices he is given Eccleston gives a meaty performance that will go down as one of his best, a far cry from the dopey grins in earlier episodes. I know he wanted to show the world he could play a nice guy but the truth of the matter is Eccleston is better at playing nasties and when his Doctor is allowed to get angry and emotional he provides some sit up and pay attention fireworks that few of his predecessors could have managed. This is the episode that cements his relationship with Rose, having been to the brink of splitting up and still walking away hand in hand. When he admits that he wouldn’t have left her and she says she knew that already you feel a genuine bond that cannot be broken, no matter how bad thin get. And the Doctor accusing her of having an agenda for travelling with him was pretty low but her quiet reaction to this proves it has been in the back of her mind for a while. Perhaps as far back as The Unquiet Dead. I take back what I said about Billie Piper in Dalek, I could not fault her performance in Father’s Day and if she doesn’t have you blubbing before the credits come up you have no soul.

The direction was absolutely smashing. Pretty much every episode this has been extremely pretty on the eyes and so when this episode started with its incredibly drab looking location work (a horrid, grey windy day) it was already uncomfortable BEFORE time was messed up. The POV views of the Reapers attacking were stunning and proved once again that you only have to imply violence for it to be more effective than actually showing it. The music was a huge step up from last week, creepy and poignant in equal measures. And considering it was a slower, character based episode it was certainly not dull for a second, filmed by a director who knows how to inject drama and pathos into the programme.

I want to write this off as a spectacular triumph because of the sheer amount of talent that has gone into it. There are scenes in this episode that rank higher than anything else I have seen on television in ages. But the script is so irritatingly flawed I had a constant sense of anger surging through me throughout the episode.

Who would have thought there would ever be a time where the production and performances of Doctor would be its selling points and the script would be its biggest failure. My my, how things have changed.

Father's Day was probably my favorite episode of this new series of Doctor Who thus far. Billie Piper continues to be a joy to watch on screen and as the new series evolves we get a companion that is allowed more depth and substance than anything that we have had before. This is the way Doctor Who should be written. Any story with a premise that showcases a non-human protagonist must take care not to reveal too much about that character. It has been my experience that the more that is revealed about such an alien the less interesting and 'alien' the character becomes.

The Doctor needs to remain an enigma. He needs to remain alien. This series seems to understand that. It gives us stories where the Doctor is the means, but not the ends. This is a series about the companion... about Rose, about you, or me, or any other human person who steps foot inside the TARDIS. The humans tell the story. They don't need to stay hidden. We can put them under the microscope and see exactly who they are. Never has Doctor Who allowed us to examine a companion so closely. Never has it given us such beautiful human drama.

My thanks to Russell T. Davies for this wonderfully insightful new direction. One that begins with the opening moments of the very first episode and never turns loose. I compare it to the popular American Television series, "Lost". Where a group of ordinary people find themselves stranded on a very dangerous and very mysterious island. The stories are human stories and each week we learn more about the characters on the island, their lives, their loves, their history. And sometimes we are given the tiniest clue about the island. The Doctor is the island and Rose is the lost, struggling to survive and learn just a little bit more about the mystery that surrounds her.

I don't feel I need to reiterate the quality of story or production of this week's episode. I have been reading the reviews of "Father's Day" that are here on "Outpost Gallifrey" and see that these things have been well addressed. I do want to express my opinion regarding one of the running themes that has been permeating the reviews of late, however.

The scripts for this new series ("Father's Day" included) that were not penned by Russell T. Davies have been by-and-large received as superior. While this may be true, it has bred a lot of anti-RTD sentiment here that is undeserved. Each and every one of Mr. Davies' scripts has contained powerful and engaging scenes of human drama as good as what we got here last Saturday with "Father's Day." That's not to say each of these scripts did not also contain stumbling blocks. I was quite unhappy with much of "Aliens of London" and offered a review that voiced serious concerns about that episode. But I now feel a need to jump to the man's defense.

Let's assume that each of the writers for Doctor Who had X number of months to work on their scripts. Each of the writers in question produced one single script in that time. One script to polish and perfect and mold into the very finest gem of which they were capable. RTD on the other hand has had to produce 8 different scripts to their 1. Eight! Russell T. Davies is responsible for the lion's share of our Doctor Who story content, because this is his vision. He is responsible for the continuity, the atmosphere, the life, and breath of this new Doctor Who series. Russell T. Davies provides the foundation upon which these other writers are able to present their master pieces. "Father's Day" would not have been possible without that foundation.

I am sure if RTD had possessed 8 times the amount of time to polish and perfect each of his scripts that they might have been very different indeed. As it stands, his offerings so far have each provided us with a fair share of good enjoyable Doctor Who. Please don't belittle his efforts and suggest that he should relinquish his writing responsibilities for the series. His is the direction, the vision, and the heart that gives this new Doctor Who life. Praise him for that. Look at the big picture... at his efforts on the whole. They are Fantastic!

I've seen the episode a few times, read the reviews and been entertained by both. Wonderful episode, very interesting reviews...

(Pause) (Thinks)...this is a programme I adore seeing off the irritating rubbish that was 'Celebrity Wrestling' in the ratings and inspiring lively, articulate and diverse comments. Ahh, good times to be a fan.

I think this is possibly my favourite episode so far. Like 'Dalek' , 'The Unquiet Dead' and , to a lesser extent 'The End of the World' I was emotionally engaged and gripped throughout. This is not just quality 'Doctor Who' ; not just quality 'genre' television; this is quality television. Full. Stop. Quite right that plot holes are dissected, flaws found and criticisms made.We're fans...s'what we do and bl**dy marvellous and entertaining it is too! But as I responded to this episode on an very emotional level, my comments might reflect this...

Pre-titles sequence...spot on. Draws you in straight away (cue *that* theme music) . 'Little' Rose is told that her Dad died alone.Oh, blimey. I'm going already. What a sap.

Peter's death/rescue...very well done. This director can come back! (Oh, he is. Good.) Shaun Dingwell doesn't miss a beat throughout the episode. Excellent performance.

Doctor/Rose dynamics...Rose is right and wrong at the same time. Reacting to save your dad...who wouldn't? From the Doctor's more universal perspective...oh dear, *Bad*. Very ambiguous stuff, superbly played.

Doctor 'loses' Tardis. Rose looks a bit smug as the Doctor comes running after her. Reaper appears and she looks a little less smug. More...terrfied. (Good scream!) So, a few convincing deaths and into the church...this is terrific stuff.

The Doctor takes charge.Chris Eccleston at his best....."You're my Rose." "Daddy..." (I've got something in my eye, honest.) Stuart and Sarah...who says they're not important? The Doctor certainly doesn't. (I've been..um... chopping onions, honest.) Rose is genuinely sorry and the Doctor accepts this. Yay, the Doctor's *back*...and he's taking off that flamin' jacket for once!

Rose touches the baby (doh) and a reaper is inside...the Doctor's instincts kick in as he protects the more vulnerable...and gets eaten for his trouble. Okay, his death wouldn't have really helped anyone that much, but I'm a sucker for noble self-sacrifice ("bloody fifth Doctor fans....") and love the slo-mo shot of Roses horrified reaction. Powerful stuff...

Peter knows what he has to do, and so do we, obviously.Another great scene as he prepares for his fate. "Who am I, Love?" "My daddy." (got something in both eyes now)

BAM...he's a goner. (I even find the way Billie runs poignant at this point!) The shot where Rose finally glances up...and there's the Doctor in close-up; and he *knows*, I think. Knows how Rose feels...woah. Even Billie dropping her head slightly as they walk back to the Tardis...No onions, nothing in my eye. I'm moved.

More episodes to come and my concerns about the Ninth Doctor's attitude have been addressed to an extent.(Still, poor old Adam!) But my bottom line here is.....this is *quality* television connecting with a big audience; and it's 'Doctor Who'! Bring on the rest of the season.

Nine out of ten.

Before we get into this, I know from reading others' reviews that this is one episode that has had a lot of emotional resonance with viewers. Many have commented they were reduced to tears after watching it, one in particular that I saw (and I'm sure it can't be the ONLY one like it) saying it reminded him/her of his/her upbringing, where his/her father had died before s/he was born. So out of no disrespect whatsoever to anyone who felt the way they did, but...

I really, REALLY don't like stories that try to manipulate your emotions. There is a difference between stories that generate an emotional response through the course of the story, and one that tries to pull your heartstrings without a hint of subtlety about it. And that's precisely how "Father's Day" felt to me.

And what gets me, is that the set-up to the whole episode requires the Doctor to be an absolute schmuck. "Let's see, we JUST ditched a traveller who was trying to influence history in such a way to alter the past, I think for an encore I'll take Rose to see the exact moment her father died. There'd be no personal meaning there, oh no, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?!" Uh...yeah. Which is why I don't think the Doctor's anger at Rose over it was very warranted -- HE took her back there, TWICE even.

I did like the Reapers. I did like the TARDIS funkiness once history went a bit bizarro (Although come ON, Paul, how many times are you going to use the "Object From TARDIS Makes Lost TARDIS Appear" trick??). And I did like the car repeatedly appearing and disappearing.

But I really just didn't like all the NOT VERY SUBTLE AT ALL emotional ticks. Too many generated "Awwww" moments. Oh look, it's little Mickey, hugging Rose in the church. Awwww. Hey, Pete Tyler realizes he needs to sacrifice himself in order to stop all this craziness. Awwww.

Despite some nice ideas regarding the nature of an altering history, it was Paul Cornell by numbers. And unfortunately, it was the Paul Cornell who wrote Shadows of Avalon instead of the one who wrote Human Nature that showed up. In the latter, we truly FELT for the Doctor, and for "Dr. John Smith," and his human lover. It was a genuine heartbreak. Whereas with the former, we were signposted and bludgeoned with why we should feel for Lethbridge-Stewart, or Compassion, or...

Show, don't tell.

And again, if you felt a personal connection with this story, I don't hate I congratulate. But it didn't do it for me. In fact, it went pretty much the opposite. To me it felt phony, but perhaps, perhaps, it's a situation where you had to be there.

November 1987: I was fourteen years old and watching Delta and The Bannermen… But never mind eh?

Once again, we were on Earth. Are we ever gonna see an alien planet in this series? Fortunately, Father’s Day was another emotion-crunching episode that would tug at the heartstrings at even the hardest Doctor Who fan. For once we were actually treated to a proper time-travel plot, which is a rarity in Doctor Who. Admittedly the episode had a very obvious ending but the power of the acting covered that up.

Shaun Dingwall as Pete Tyler was superb, especially in the scenes where Pete has his "Gethsemane" moment, realising he has to die to save the world. Once again Billie Piper was outstanding, give her a Bafta next year for goodness sake.

The Doctor didn’t really do much. He even admits at one point, that he doesn’t have a plan. More often than not in this series, the Doctor seems to have been made redundant in the stories conclusions, often being reduced to a bystander. Here, he at least gets to save Rose in a gallant gesture before disappearing. When he appears by Rose’s side after time is changed back again, it was so much more subtle and effective than if he had re-appeared in a flash of light.

However, despite all the emotion, intelligent acting and horror, there was time for a little humour. Who didn’t enjoy the Doctor putting Jackie in her place. Plus anyone who thinks Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is all northern grins, "fantastic" and not a proper Doctor, should watch the scene where he’s talking to Baby Rose or the couple getting married. The first was a true Doctor-like soliloquy, the second a reassuringly traditional Doctor moment, both delivered with warmth, humour and wisdom. [Shaun feel free to edit out this next sentence] On the strength of this episode alone, Ian Levine can shove his "moral right" up his arse, because Eccleston was at his best here, proving that he was the man for the job. Thirteen episodes are better than no episodes at all!

1987 was very accurately brought back to life, even down to dreary old Rick Astley singing on the car radio. The Reapers were an excellent creation, not only in appearance but, they sounded terrifying too. The scenes of their point of view were genuinely eerie and when they devoured Steve’s father and the vicar, it was as near to a modern-day horror film than Doctor Who has ever been. If I have one complaint, it was the TARDIS key subplot which made very little sense and appeared to be just padding, lengthening the episode and delaying the obvious ending.

Father’s Day is more proof at how flexible and adaptable the series format is and also how much Doctor Who has grown up. Another rosy-glow moment which makes me proud to be a Doctor Who fan!

Russell T. Davies has been heavily criticized by some fans for his ‘domestic’ emphasis – Davies, it is said, is more interested in the companion Rose and her family connections and melodramas than in the Doctor and old-fashioned ‘Who’ adventure. It’s a criticism that is both somewhat warranted and somewhat exaggerated, but it’s interesting that the story perhaps *most* interested in Rose’s family life, Paul Cornell’s ‘Father’s Day,’ turns out to be an utter triumph, by far the finest of the 2005 series. Not only is it a fast-paced, classically Whovian adventure with great monsters, but in tying the emotional component that Davies worked to bring to the series in to an exciting plot (as opposed to merely tacking it on, as happens in stories like ‘Aliens of London’/’World War Three’), it also brings something truly fresh and new to ‘Doctor Who,’ while at the same time making better use of time travel than perhaps any story in series history.

First things first. This story hinges on a questionable hypothesis – surely no other Doctor would have the bad judgment to grant a companion’s request to witness the death of someone so close. But the Ninth Doctor is different from the others – in fact, we’ve already seen him make mistakes several times by this point in the series (trying to help the Gelth, encouraging Adam Mitchell to experience future culture and then lambasting him when he does, etc.). But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, in terms of the series’ dramatic element – how many times in classic ‘Who’ did all sense of danger evaporate because this infallible Super Time Lord was on the scene? I’m thinking specifically of certain Pertwee and McCoy stories, but it really could be said for most of them (except maybe Davison) . . . . Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is different from them all – he is at once more alien and estranged from humanity than any Doctor since Hartnell, and yet more *human* any of the others, in his imperfection, his failings. Eccleston is truly at his best here – dark and furious when he stares down Rose and insults her, authoritative and classically Doctor-ish when taking over the situation at the church, child-like and haunted when he listens enviously to Stuart and Sarah talk about their banal lives . . . and of course shocking when he pays for his caprices with his own life (for once). It’s hard to say how fans will ultimately remember Christopher Eccleston – fondly, as the actor who brought ‘their’ character back from the dead, or as an uncommitted deserter, as well as a symbol of Russell Davies’s sins as producer? Time will tell, but is can’t be denied that he’s in fine form here.

But of course, this story is more Rose Tyler’s than the Doctor’s, and Billie Piper plays the role with all the commitment and good taste we’ve come to expect from her. Camille Coduri is as screechy and shrewish as ever, but for once it works in the context of the story. Still, the best acting here probably comes from Shaun Dingwall as Peter Allan Tyler. It’s a perfect performance: Tyler is a believable and likeable non-hero – we can see why Jacky would be annoyed and impatient with this dreamer’s schemes (a separate compartment for yogurt?) – but we can’t help liking him. He’s beautifully written, too – not ‘the most wonderful man in the world,’ but extremely kind (you can see it in the loving way he looks at Rose, and one of his first questions about his own future is “Am I a good dad?”), and smart enough to figure out who Rose is, and how exactly she caused their dilemma in the first place. *And* brave enough to face what he must do to make it all right . . . .

These characters come together in a rather brilliantly constructed and moving time-travel story. Considering how key time travel is to ‘Doctor Who’s’ basic concept, it’s amazing the series hasn’t asked these sorts of questions more often. The Chronovores – excuse me, I suppose it isn’t exactly established that the Reapers *are* Chronovores, though they seem close enough to me – are scary and believable, and yet ‘Father’s Day’ is really a story about living in the past, and the futility of wanting to change it. Cornell’s script is dotted with interesting takes on the question (Stuart’s father warning him that his future self might not be so thrilled with his match, etc.), and it all comes together in a blissful harmony of ideas and aesthetics.

All in all, a wonderful ‘Doctor Who’ story, perhaps the first real classic of the new era.

“By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?”

Father's Day is definitely one of the most unusual Doctor Who episodes ever. The emphasis is not on weird aliens or monsters, instead this is a character-based drama with a science fiction twist. In order to enjoy Father's Day, it's important to be caught up in the unfolding drama and not be too bothered by the occasional unexplained plothole. So its understandable if the average Who fan is more annoyed than enchanted by this beautiful vignette.

As far as Rose is concerned, it does resolve one outstanding plotpoint – why did she choose to travel with the Doctor in the first place? It was to go back in time and see her father she never really new. Billie Piper produces a terrific performance here – probably her best in the entire series thus far. And Shaun Dingwall as Rose's father plays the part with just the right amount of charm, and perhaps smarm. We can see why Jackie would've fallen in love with him, and how she can forgive him the occasional wayward dalliance. In the end, Pete Tyler is given the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his family. So it is an uplifting yet bittersweet ending.

It seems to be a recurring theme during the current series, that the Doctor doesn't save the day, but rather he inspires the people around him to do so. That was the case in the previous episode 'The Long Game', where he persuades Cathica to stop the Jagrafess. What is so fascinating here is that for the first time in recent memory, the Doctor quite literally has no idea how to resolve this situation. It's discomforting, but shows just how serious this situation is. In order to spare Rose's feelings, he attempts to find a roundabout solution that doesn't involve sacrificing someone's life. Unfortunately, that decision is taken out of his hands at the very end.It shows, quite graphically, the depth of feeling that runs between both the Doctor and Rose.

I have to admit, I'm more emotionally and mentally comfortable with the "adventure"-themed episodes - it's what I grew up on after all. Father's Day is certainly a poignant entry in the new series, and if you're in the right mood the bittersweet ending can certainly tug at the heartstrings. This is one episode that I'd much rather watch alone - as I don't want anyone to smirk if I get a lump in my throat. 8/10.

As I read about the premise to this story in various press articles that were previewing it, the first thing I thought to myself was: "Ah no, another lame time paradox story." This particular sci-fi concept of going back in time to save someone you loved who has died has already been so overdone that I was less-than-thrilled to hear it was going to be the central theme of a story this season. I had always loved the way the old series had taken some of those overdone sci-fi plotlines and rather than make them a central idea, would use them as just subplots instead. For example "Mawdryn Undead" explores that whole "what would happen if you travelled back in time and met yourself" premise quite nicely but also has several other important plots going on at the same time. In such contexts, I had no problem with using one of those overdone ideas. But putting it to the center of a storyline could only be a bad move as far as I was concerned.

There was only one thing that had me believing this might still have a chance to be a good story. And that was the fact that Paul Cornell was writing it.

Paul wrote all the best Doctor Who novels when the show was off the air. Even his weaker material was still so amazingly good. I'll even admit, when I heard the series was coming back, one of the first things I wanted to know was if Cornell had been commissioned to write any stories for the new season. So, even though I was a bit disenchanted by the premise of the whole story - I knew that if anyone could handle it well, it would be Paul.

And I was right. He did.

"Father's Day" is, of course, deeply sentimental. And it's meant to be. It's Paul showing us that our favourite series can explore more things than just the boundaries of time and space. It can be a story about people and relationships. The new series is doing this a lot in all kinds of different ways, but it did it best in this story.

But even with all the "mushiness" going on, the plot is well-executed. Paul makes sure that beyond the sentimentality, there's a genuine story there too. And one of the neat underlying ideas that the plot explores is how troubles with time are handled now that the Time Lords are gone from the universe. It was even neat to see how different the Doctor is now regarding such situations. In the old days, he would have never brought a companion to such an event - knowing it would be a risky thing to do that could get him in trouble with his own people. But, his own people are gone now. Which means he really can do whatever he damned well pleases. Including actually allowing time to be re-set by letting Rose's Dad live. It made me really see just how different the universe was without Gallifrey in it.

Of course, replacing the Time Lords are these nasty Reaper creatures. Who I quite liked and definitely want to see more of. I think we should definitely get another story some time where the Doctor actually gets to talk to them a bit (he is still, a Time Lord, after all - that should get them to actually acknowledge him on some level besides being "something to eat when time goes wrong"!). They are a very interesting species that were scary and nasty and nicely underexplored so that we would want to see more of them again in the future. I'm almost thinking it might be a neat premise if the Doctor purposely engineered a time paradox sometime because his back was against the wall and he saw no other way to defeat the bad guys except to "sick the reapers on them". Just an idea...

Anyway, now that we've tackled the plotline - let's explore the real "meat" of "Father's Day". I think, first and foremost, it's about the idealisations we make of other people. Particularly how children see their parents. Even though she never met him, Rose has such a huge pre-conception of her father. It doesn't help, of course, that this great social more of "always speaking well of the dead" has coloured her perception even more by the stories her mother has told her. But certainly one of the central themes of this story is watching poor Rose see all these illusions get stripped away and discovering that her Dad really wasn't the best of fellows. That he might even be a bit of a loser.

How nice then, for Paul's "triumph of human spirit" theme to ring through and have Rose's Dad overcome his own defects. Not only does the "loser" end up doing the right thing in the end, but he's also clever enough to figure out what's going on all on his own and then take those necessary steps. Once more illustrating that beautiful idea that Paul loves to bring out in his characters. That there's always "more to people than meets the eye" and that we all have the potential to exceed the limitations we put ourselves under. It's the fact that these ideas are woven into the very sad storyline of Rose having to experience the genuine grief of losing her father that finally gets my eyes to water a bit at the end. If this had just been a one-dimensional "sob story" it would have fallen flat. But because it had such beautiful undertones about courage and responsibility, when Dad does finally go out and get hit and the vase breaks once and for all, I actually found myself getting misty-eyed. Something I thought Doctor Who would never be able to legitimately achieve. Even if it came close once or twice with companions dieing or neat supporting characters like "Tommy" in "Planet of Spiders".

Even my Mum - who, by no stretch of the imagination enjoys sci-fi, just happened to be watching the show that night and now watches it every week because the superior writing of the series has won her over. That, to me, is the ultimate testament of a good story. When even people who dislike the genre will start tuning in regularly!

Anyway, I know I'm going on quite a bit about just the script but it goes without saying that performance and direction were in good shape here too. And though I hear some folks complaining that this is another story where the Doctor "doesn't seem to do much of anything" you hardcore fans need to clue in to the idea that this is not a new concept to the series. Pertwee and Tom Baker were always saving the day all by themselves but if you look at any other era of the show - there are plenty of stories where the Doctor is busy just running around and trying to keep himself alive and that he serves as only a minor catalyst to the resolution of the central conflict. A good example of this would be what many folks consider the best Who story ever "The Caves of Androzani". So let's all settle down here and enjoy the fact that our new series doesn't want to be too formulaic by having the Doctor be the "be all and end all of everything". Let's allow the ole Doc to be a bit ineffectual now and again, it's neat to see him so vulnerable. And to see companions and supporting characters be so useful too!

So, in the final analysis, even though it has to fight against other really fantastic stories like "Unquiet Dead", "Dalek", "The Long Game" and "Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", "Father's Day" does just seem to beat them in terms of "best story of the season." Mind you, at the time of writing this, I have still not seen the final two episodes of said season. So that opinion may change. But, given my deep adoration of Cornell's writing skills, it's going to be quite the challenge!

I find it hard to really write just how ‘Father’s Day’ made me feel. When I saw the Trailer for it at the end of ‘The Long Game’, I was undoubtedly intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for just how bloody emotive it would be.

From the outset, things are tugging at the heartstrings; Paul Cornell’s choice to begin ‘Father’s Day’ with a flashback to Jackie Tyler telling Rose how her Father died and what a nice man he was sets things up nicely for the next forty-five minutes. In this one Episode alone, we are given absolutely everything that Russell T. Davies promised us we would get with Series One- we get realism, touching moments, a small dash of humour and a lot of powerful moments. It is, in short, an emotional roller coaster and one that, upon first transmission, managed to leave my entire family and myself with tears in our eyes.

The script is just superb; from off-hand moments forewarning the destruction of time, such as hearing music from 2005 on the Radio in 1987, to moments of utter surprise, such as the Doctor discovering that his TARDIS has turned into a real Police Box, ‘Father’s Day’ is littered with moments that impress upon the mind at an instant. Admittedly, there are moments which seems a little too convenient perhaps- why should time be trying to repair itself by keeping the car which should have killed Pete Tyler driving around on loop; also, doesn’t the Doctor’s decision to allow Rose the chance to talk to her Father in his dying moments stink of sheer naivety if nothing else on his behalf? She decides to save his life- I’m not surprised. Still, if this is the weakest it gets and the end result is as superb as it is, I don’t really think such things should be dwelt upon.

The acting here is terrific- Shaun Dingwall as Rose’s Father is superb and really brings a sense of reality to his character; here is a role which could have been so clichéd and so wooden and so painfully dull, but Dingwall makes him sympathetic and loveable; no wonder Rose decided to save his life. When his time has come again, I admit that I was all choked up. His acting was so natural that it made the character as real as you can get.

The returning cast members remain as strong as ever, with Billie Pier and Christopher Eccleston still remaining as gripping and superb as ever eight Episodes into Series One.

The Directing by Joe Ahearne is every bit as strong as his Direction of ‘Dalek’; in particular, the Reapers attacking the various human victims is handled very well indeed, with the scene where they slowly devour everyone in a Playground bar a baby Mickey being a really good example of how to generate suspense very quickly and simply.

Murray Gold’s music once more is strong, providing some lovely music to counterpoint the on-screen action, especially when Rose watches her Father die for the first time, and then reflects upon it afterwards.

In all, ‘Father’s Day’ is a shining example of how good ‘Doctor Who’ and television in general can be when executed correctly. There is a lovely moment when the Doctor informs a soon-to-be-married couple that he wishes he had their lifestyle, but if such a life would deny viewers of Episodes are great as this one is, then I’m sorry but I’m going to have to be selfish and pray he never gets what it is he would like. ‘Doctor Who’ doesn’t get much better than this.

We were out all day on Saturday. For the first time the video had to be set, and I was unable to watch Doctor Who at 7:00. Upong arriving home at 11:15 at night, I had to watch it even though I was rather tired. I quickly was wide awake though, as this emotional rollercoaster wound its way to its stunning conclusion. I went to bed that Saturday night acknowledging that Doctor Who had never been this profound – and even though it was midnight I really wanted to phone my Dad. He’s no Doctor Who fan, our bond generated mostly on the Football Terraces, but this story had touched me – and my feelings towards him brought to the fore.

The sheer scope of stories that are being told by the new Doctor Who is striking. We have always known that DW has an extremely wide range of storytelling available, within its boundaries. The beauty of the new series is that so much of this diversity is being embraced – yet still keeping the show intrinsically Doctor Who.

The author of this beautiful piece is unsurprisingly Paul Cornell. The original idea was Russell Ts – but Cornells stamp is all over it. Cornell can write Human Nature better than most – and he doesn’t shirk here. It’s right up there with Unquiet Dead and Dalek as brilliant new Who.

Increasingly the connection is being made in fan circles that the best episodes of the new series are not written by Russell T – but this for me is missing the point. Russell T had the original idea for it all. Diversity of writers has always been a key strength of Who, but there always needs to be a Marshalling force (Script Editor, Producer) to bring individual visions to fruition. Russell T is the main Marshall – and therefore deserves great credit for all these stories. I note with interest though that more new writers are coming in for the 2nd Series – but I bet Russell T will be the guiding force again. The main man on new Doctor Who is Russell T Davies, not Eccleston, not Billie Piper. This is Russell T Davies show, and he is definitely staying in – that’s the most positive news I can think of. If it wasn’t for Russell T, there would be new DW TV Series – simple as that.

Back to Fathers Day though. Taking the real world as its setting (like much of this series), the perils of Time Travel are explored in very personal way. The street could be anywhere in Britain, the Church could be the one at the end of my street – that I believe is the point. Never has the fantastic mixed so well with the day-to-day so well, as it is doing time and time again in DW 2005. A Time Travel Story with Monsters – that’s totally Doctor Who.

The Reapers are a fine addition to the Monster Ranks – definitely on the more impressive end of the scale. The books got into a right mess with Time Paradoxes, time and time again complicating an already complex enough issue. Time Paradoxes are fascinating though, and the simple yet horrific results – the Reapers, bring an added threat to the Doctors travels. They are particularly impressive here too, with the background of a Church to fly around.

Rose has dominated the series (Russell T wanted to be the Companion, not the Doctor – that’s interesting), and here she takes that domination up another level. Billie Piper is amazing throughout. Thankfully too though the Doctor has plenty to do too, even though again he’s involved, but not the ultimate saviour.

That accolade belongs to Shaun Dingwall as Pete Tyler – and it this character who stands out from the Wedding Crowd. This Delboy type character is beautifully realized by writer and actor. Impressive too (again!) is Camille Coduri, as Jackie – who manages to portray her younger self brilliantly.

The 9th Doctor and Rose are brilliant together – that’s the saddest thing about Christopher Eccleston only doing 1 series. This TARDIS team deserves more stories – I’m pleased more books have been announced for later the year. The easy friendship they now have is delightful – shown up more than ever in Fathers Day. It’s a lovely partnership, witch each thriving off the personality of the other.

Fathers Day is a brilliant episode. It’s wonderfully localized Doctor Who – fulfilling the ethos that Russell T Davies loves about DW – that of imagining the TARDIS at the end of the street. The fantastic is close enough to touch, with the limits of the imagination being the only boundaries. The series, and this show particularly, is wonderfully family based, with Rose being the key player – applauding the ties we have, that are set by blood. It’s brilliant TV in every way – and I am loving it more and more. 9/10

There are episodes of television shows where the writers make so many stupid mistakes and there are so many inconsistencies and things that don't make any sense, you pretend the episodes never happened. Father's Day is one such episode of Doctor Who that I consider never happened. I am a big Doctor Who fan, but this episode was REALLY badly written.

Why does the Doctor take Rose back to see her father get killed? The Doctor himself knows the dangers of messing with history, so why would he risk altering Earth's timeline to indulge Rose's wish? This doesn't make any sense at all. Let's say for the benefit of the doubt that he could keep Rose as an impartial observer to her father's demise who doesn't interfere. Then why doesn't the Doctor make Rose promise him not to save her father (and consequently change history) before he materializes the TARDIS? Why do the Doctor and Rose leave and come back, making dangerous doubles of themselves in that time period? Why do the earlier doubles of the Doctor and Rose disappear when the later Rose saves her father? How come there wasn't a double of the TARDIS that also disappeared when the doubles of the Doctor and Rose disappeared? Why doesn't the Doctor go back and prevent Rose from saving her father?

How does the interior of the TARDIS disappear? The interior of the TARDIS CANNOT disappear! The interior of the TARDIS has temporal grace or temporal invulnerability. The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental (bigger on the inside than the outside) and the TARDIS interior exists in another dimension.

Why does the phone the Doctor listens to only play the first telephone call made by Alexander Graham Bell, over and over again? This is never explained.

Why does the TARDIS key glow, and why does the TARDIS slowly materialize around it? This is something else that is never explained and doesn't make any sense.

Why does the Doctor tell Rose "Don't touch the baby!" yet he keeps Rose in close proximity to her younger self, knowing that if Rose touches her younger self, the Reapers will be able to come into the church? Why doesn't he lock Rose away in another room, or lock the younger Jackie and the baby Rose in another room?

Why does Rose act like such an idiot in this episode, when Rose has been previously characterized as being smart and brave? Rose's stupidity is really out of character. Why does Rose save her father when she knows it will change history? Why does Rose touch her younger self after the Doctor tells her "Don't touch the baby!"?

After the Reapers destroy the Doctor, how and why do the Doctor and the other people killed by the Reapers magically reappear when Pete runs in front of the disappearing and reappearing car and kills himself?

Why does the car that is supposed to run over Pete continually disappear and reappear while going around the same block?

Why does the TARDIS reappear, in a different place from where it landed, when the Doctor and Rose are going to leave? Why does the TARDIS reappear at all, with its interior now intact? Why don't we hear the TARDIS materialization noise when the TARDIS rematerializes?

Why do the Reapers disappear at the end of the episode when history is still altered?

Why does the Doctor leave Rose's history and the histories of Rose's mother and father forever altered when the Doctor himself is against changing history (even though he did change Dalek history)?

How come the writer of this episode, Paul Cornell, never took into account the possibility that there may be no temporal paradoxes, and that changing history may just result in another parallel universe or timeline?

As you can see from all these inconsistencies, unanswered questions, and things that don't make any sense, Father's Day is a VERY badly written Doctor Who episode, and to me, this episode never happened.

Well, this one got me misty-eyed at the end, I have to admit. Despite the plot-holes and the rather "I can see it coming a mile away" ending, it still worked for me.

Let's get some of the unanswered questions out of the way first. Why is the car that killed Pete caught in a loop, constantly reappearing near Pete, as if to give him a chance to repair time? Is it a case of time trying to repair itself somehow, without the direction of the Time Lords? The behavior of time without any lords to direct it is interesting topic, and one that ought to be addressed at some point in the series. Of course, in plot terms, the car is the 'magic reset switch' that allows time to be mended, and so it's disappointing that no explanation is given to us during the course of the story that allows it to be anything other than that reset switch.

And then there are the reapers. Interesting creatures to be sure, but why do they devour everyone they see as opposed to just the people involved in the time change? I'm not sure this is a plot hole so much as simply an unanswered question. I do wonder, if they appear out of nowhere outside the church, why they can't do so inside the building until the paradox of Rose holding herself as a baby makes them stronger? As an aside, did anyone else make the mental link between the chronovores of "The Time Monster" and these reapers? I did, though it wasn't stated explicitly. Until told otherwise, it makes sense to me to consider them the same creatures. Or cousins at least.

The main plot is full of emotional moments, and is obviously meant to emotionally manipulate the audience, something I normally despise. Most movies or TV programs that try to wring sentiment from the viewers fall flat. "Father's Day" will no doubt strike some people as too maudlin, yet it worked for me because the premise is sound, along with the dilemma presented to Rose. Who among us, having lost a parent or a grandparent wouldn't, if able to travel in time, want to go back and spend just one more day with them? Or an afternoon? Or even five minutes? I think most people would jump at the chance, and Rose's desire to just be with her dad as he's dying is very human and very real, and not at all forced. The Doctor indulges her, which in the past might well have been unthinkable. At the moment, she's his closest friend in the universe, and he's under no one's authority but his own, so he chooses to allow her to return and watch her dad die. Yes, it's a mistake, especially the second time, but again, how many of us have gone along with friends on debatable actions simply because of that friendship? It happens. The Doctor's not perfect, but it does make his berating of Rose later on very unfair, since he facilitated her actions. Like true friends, they do forgive each other and move on, an action I appreciate. I'd much rather see forgiveness than bitterness and revenge.

So Rose gets to spend some time with the father she never knew, and her childhood idealistic view of her parents is stripped away, as no doubt any of ours would be had we known our parents when they were younger and less mature. It's a good thing we can't see our parents like that. Pete and Jackie are very human, and Pete in particular comes across as a good-natured man, trying to do the best for his family despite a very shrill and nagging wife. Earlier in the series I wondered where Rose got her intelligence considering Jackie's ditziness, and I finally found out, as her dad works out just exactly what's going on with time and realizes the truth. With monsters outside the church and the car looping in time, the evidence seems undeniable, and he's broad-minded enough to accept it, as well as give his life for his daughter. Self-sacrifice for love is a theme that can be horribly melodramatic if not depicted carefully. It's one of the highest and noblest virtues a man or woman can display in my opinion, and between the excellent acting,script and direction, it's well portrayed in "Father's Day". A man looking over his life, knowing himself well enough to realize that he's not what he should be as a father, and yet still willing to do the noble and right thing for his daughter was touching. Yes, we all know that's what he'll do in the end, but Pete's character rings so true that his actions don't feel cliched. He's not a hero, he's just a man muddling his way through life, who chooses to sacrifice for his child.

Lastly, there's the Doctor, at both his worst and his best. Indulgent to his friend, blaming her for saving her dad when he's equally to blame by allowing the situation to happen, insulting her and walking out, only to do his best to save as many lives as he can when the reapers appear, even though the situation is hopeless. He ultimately pays with his life as the reaper enters the church, but it's not sadness I felt when he did it so much as pride at his actions, because that rings so true to the Doctor's character. Protecting innocents to the last. And even with time having been damaged, even with his condemnation of Rose for doing it, he still fights to save Pete rather than take the quick and easy way out of sending the man to his death.

To sum it up: a somewhat predictable story and a few plot contrivances exist, but the story manages to transcend them with some very good performances and characters, and some very real explorations of loss and family. My favorite episode so far.