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DOCTOR WHO SERIES ONE
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MARCH-JUNE 2005
(aka DOCTOR WHO SEASON 27)
EPISODE GUIDE
SERIES 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2009/10 SPECIALS
SERIES 5 | 6 | 7 | 2013 SPECIALS

08 - FATHER'S DAY (Episode photos below)
 
"...That's so weird. The day my Father died.
I thought it would be all sort of grim and stormy.
It's just an ordinary day..."

PLOTLINE

Returning to Earth in the TARDIS and travelling back in time to 1987, can a fatal motor vehicle accident be prevented? If it can how will be affect the relationship of the Doctor and his companion? Who will reap the rewards for messing with time?

EPISODE EIGHT REVIEW Spoilers ahead

"Dear Doctor,

You're at it again.

Messing with your companion's mind, knowing that the situation you put them into (whether by their request or by your own twisted and morally unjustifiable ministrations) unenviable situations.

You know only by some quirk of fate that something positive will come from your wilful meddling. Don't mess with time.

Regards, Charlotte."

I haven't had a reply yet but then again I won't post it until tomorrow.

Another potential time paradox.

Hate to love it or love to hate it. Either an easy storytelling vehicle or a gnarled and knotted one. Take your pick. Seemingly employed by the writers of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION , when the budget has taken a denting from the task of 'visualising the future' or when a quirky episode (the re-focus the viewer on the here-and-now) is needed.

DOCTOR WHO (THE CLASSIC SERIES) infrequently ventured into the realms of time paradox (every adventure was a time paradox due to its unique selling point), with, memorably, DAY OF THE DALEKS being a prime example of storytelling firmly grasping the nettle and resolving the issue perfectly.

If you travel back in time, change something then you can expect a consequence there and later. That's the theory, and, within the DOCTOR WHO universe, you should not analysis it any deeper tahn you have to. Accept it, and enjoy the dramatic licence that prevails.

This levelheaded approach is how FATHER'S DAY should be viewed. Rose goes back in time to see her Father before he dies, but saves him, and causes extra-dimensional creatures to swoop in and tidy up the ensuing mess.

Done and sorted within ten minutes but not with Paul Cornell's "two-hanky tear-jerker". Thankfully. This was a quality BBC drama (with measured science fiction elements cast throughout) that out-classes the Corporation's flagship programme's CASUALTY , HOLBY CITY or even the (very depressing) EASTENDERS .

Character development (that is based upon hope and the fatal reality of life's expectations - even if one of inevitability of death and the realisation that the past cannot be changed) is juxtaposed with extra-dimensional creatures and a TARDIS that unthinkably becomes (stunningly so) an ordinary Earth police Public Call Box.

And like that eponymous time ship, clearly, a story that on the outside is a 'classic' DOCTOR WHO but on the inside is greater than the sum of its parts - a modern-day morality play of hope and salvation.

One could easily dismiss FATHER'S DAY its initial working title being an obvious one - WOUNDED TIME) as a low budget filler between the (prologue) THE LONG GAME and THE EMPTY CHILD/DOCTOR DANCES. A soap opera (DOCTOR WHO-style. The EOH editor asked me not to include the 'soap-opera' phrase, as it is term that runs throughout this first series of the new WHO. But it fits) and a breather between hectic action and heavy plot, but it an opportunity for the viewers to the drawn into the life of Rose - she is more than a "scream-and-question" time-travelling companion for the Doctor (and, equally important, to allow Billie Piper to take centre-stage and pursue her acting ambitions.

FATHER'S DAY has a genial credibility that should not be overlooked by either viewer or reviewer - it is, for all intent and purposes, a period drama. Granted, it is a period of modernity that most thirtysomething' (and plus) will wince at (yes, I was there and wore my hair like a TOP OF THE POPS podium bopping to ULTRAVOX's "Vienna") but nevertheless a BBC period drama. And, like the majority of BBC period dramas, it was superbly executed. A pervading evil of peach, pre-CHANGING ROOMS décor (a council-estate homage to DYNASTY on a Woolworth's budget and a contemptuous disregard for the CFC filled-contents of a hair lacquer aerosol.

Fantastic. Except for the circa 1976 Raleigh "Chopper" bike. Surely BMX bikes were the de rigueur by 1987?

The script was wonderfully rich (and, once again, making the Doctor delight at "ape-like naïveté") and culturally resonant:

JACKIE (to Pete Tyler): If it's good enough for Lady Di.

As the Doctor's berating of Rose and the subsequent warning of getting carried away with events:

DOCTOR WHO: (To Rose) Don't touch the bay!

The Doctor is, again, shown to be vulnerable (and at a loss to what to do). We're not use to this. We've become use to the Doctor having a solution or a trick up his sleeve to astonish and bewilder to extricate himself. But this incarnation he seems clumsy and resigned to his fate. Astoundingly, he is even "sterilised" by the wound cleaners (the Reapers) as he attempts to protect his favourite "apes".

With his demise, Pete Tyler saves the day. Not only has he accepted that there is a probability that Time is flexible and that the young peroxide-blonde woman standing in front of him is his daughter from 19 years in the future, but he accepts that humanity's survival is distilled within his own death - a sacrificial act of euthanasia. More poignantly so having drawn his family (present and future) for the first and last time.

Credit is due to the acting of Shaun Dingwell (not on my acting "radar" prior to this drama - unlike the perennial Annette Badland) - a refreshing revelation. His twitch of realisation as he stared out from the church window onto the repeat appearance of the speeding car was so subtle and endearingly sad. From this slightest muscle contraction our hearts sank as we truly knew that Rose's father saw his true destiny before him - death.

Question: would have Time been "restored" to it "normal" balance if Pete Tyler had been ordinarily "consumed" by the Reaper (if he had not sacrificed himself to an errant motor car?). Obviously, this paradox resolution is not part of the NEW SERIES' brief of "keep it real" and "keep it dramatic" (and, naturally, would have seen the withdrawal of the learning curve death scene).

In most DOCTOR WHOs, the monsters are key to the plot but here they are secondary (almost inconsequential). Rationally, the Reapers are a DOCTOR WHO anathema but are creatively stunning. "Bacteria to serialise the wound in time by consuming everything within". Why haven't we seen such creatures (or similar) before to mop the Doctor's loose ends? Or are/were the Timer Lords (RIP) the legitimate manifestation of "time reapers"? The CGI realisation of Cornell's vision by the Mill continues with the same reverence that manifested itself with the Gelth and the Slitheen. Part reptile, part "dragon" and part "grim reaper" (complete with scythe-style tail), the extra-dimensional parasite is truly threatening, indiscriminately feeding like zealous mosquitoes.

Embarrassingly, FATHER'S DAY is a NEW SERIES story that forces you to physically 'clap' at the credits close. And that's in the privacy of your lounge. You feel stupid to do it but credit was due. Paul Cornell has delivered a polished script that will clearly allow (true, long-time) fans to move on from the mediocre SCREAM OF THE SHALKA, and script that will endure in decades to come.

Things to look out for...

DOCTOR WHO FOLKLORE Pending

DOCTOR WHO FOLKLORE Pending

CONTINUTY We're still checking.

 
FATHER'S DAY - Jackie Tyler and a young Rose remember the good days. FATHER'S DAY - Rose visits her parents flat in 1987.
FATHER'S DAY - The Doctor and Rose watches as Peter Tyler is knocked over by a passing car. FATHER'S DAY - The Doctor discovers that the TARDIS has been affected by the time disruption.
FATHER'S DAY - The Doctor protects the Wedding Party from the Time Reaper.
FATHER'S DAY - Peter Tyler realises that Rose is her daughter - gorwn-up.
FATHER'S DAY - The Doctor is swallowed by the Time Reaper. All is not well.

Review - Matthew Walter
EOH RATING

Rated 5/5


CAST
DOCTOR WHO
Christopher Eccleston
ROSE TYLER
Billie Piper
PETE TYLER
Shaun Digwall
JACKIE TYLER
Camille Coduri
REGISTRAR
Robert Barton
YOUNG ROSE
Julia Joyce
SONNY
Frank Rozelaar-Green
SUZIE
Rhian James
BEV
Eirys Bellin
STUART
Christopher Llewellyn
SARAH
Natalie Jones
YOUNG MICKEY
Casey Dyer
 
PRODUCTION CREW
1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Gareth Williams
2nd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Sean Clayton
3rd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Dan Mumsford
LOCATION MANAGER
Lowri Thomas
PROD.
CO-ORDINATOR
Jess van Niekerk
PROD. ACCOUNTANTS
Debi Griffiths
Kath Blackman
CONTINUITY
Pam Humphreys
SCRIPT EDITOR
Elwen Rowlands
CHOREGRAHPER
Ailsa Aliena-Bark
CAMERA OPERATOR
Martin Stephens
FOCUS PULLERS
Mark Isaac
GRIP
John Robinson
SOUND RECORDIST
Ian Richardson
BOOM OPERATOR
  Damian Richardson
GAFFER
  Mark Hutchings
BEST BOY
  Peter Chester
STUNT
CO-ORDINATOR
  Lee Sheward
PROD. BUYER
  Catherine Samuel
STUNT PERFORMERS
  Crispin Layfield
Sean Rogers
Bean Peel
SET DECORATOR
  Liz Griffiths
ART DEPT
CO-ORDINATOR
  Gwenllian Llwyd
SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR
  Stephen Nicholas
STAND-BY ART DIRECTOR
  Julian Luxton
PROPERTY MASTER
  Adrian Anscombe
STANDBY PROPS
  Phill Shellard
Tristian Howell
GRAPHIC ARTIST
  jenny Bowers
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
  Andrew Smith
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
  Yolanda Pearl-Smith
MAKE-UP SUPERVISOR
  Linda Davie
MAKE-UP ARTIST
  Claire Pritchard
Steve Williams
CASTING ASSOCIATE
  Kirtsy Robertson
ASSISTANT EDITOR
  Ceres Doyle
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
  Marie Brown
ON LINE EDITOR
  Matthew Clarke
COLOURIST
  Kai van Beers
2D VFX ARTISTS
  Simon C Holden
David Bowman
Sara Bennett
3D VFX ARTISTS
 

Andy Howell
Jean-Claude Dagnara
Mark Wallman
Chris Potts
Nicolas Hermandes

DUBBING MIXER
  Tim Rickettts
DIALOGUE EDITOR
  Paul McFadden
SOUND FX EDITOR
  Paul Jefferies
BRAND MANAGER
  ian Grutchfield
FINANCE MANAGER
  Richard Pugsley
CONCEPT ARTIST
  Bryan Hitch
CASTING DIRECTOR
  Andy Pryor CDG
PRODUCTION MANAGER
  Tracie Simpson
PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT
  Endaf Emyr Williams
COSTUME DESIGNER
  Lucinda Wright
MAKE-UP DESIGNER
  Davy Jones
VISUAL EFFECTS
  THE MILL
VISUAL FX PRODUCER
  Will Cohen
VISUAL FX SUPERVISOR
  Dave Houghton
SPECIAL EFFECTS
  ANY EFFECTS
PROSTHETICS
  Millennium Effects
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
  Edward Thomas
EDITOR
  Mike Jones
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
  Ernie Vincze BSC
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
  Helen Vallis
SPECIAL MAKE-UP
  Neill Gorton
MODELS AND MINATURES
  Mike Tucker
INCIDENTAL MUSIC
  Murray Gold
PRODUCER
  Phil Collinson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
  Mal Young
Julie Gardner
Russell T Davies
DIRECTOR
  Joe Ahearne
  Produced by
BBC WALES
WRITER
  Paul Cornell
     
INFORMATION
BROADCAST DATE
14 May 2005
(BBC1 19:00-19:45)
 
REPEATED DATE
  15 May 2005
(BBC3 19:00-19:45)
     
FIRST RUN UK RATINGS (millions)
Unofficial Average 7.47
Unofficial Peaked at 7.9
Official BARB RATING 8.06
Top 100 rating 17th
DVD RELEASE
15 August 2005 (as part of Volume 3 boxset)

 

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