Father's Day

I simply can not believe how good "Father's Day" was. This is a story that has been done several times throughout science fiction, and it is a subject that has at least been brought up several times in Doctor Who: The past cannot be changed or there are consequences. Period. However where so many other stories could have been predictable or have dozens of loopholes, this story is solid and surprisingly touching thanks to the acting of Rose and her dad (I'm sure that someone from England will point out he is from this show or that, but as an American let me just say he did a very good job). One of the best things about the episode is that we have worked out that her Dad will need to throw himself in front of the car to save the day about ten minutes into the story. The best part is, so has the Doctor and he sacrifices himself to protect Rose. It is impossible for any of the previous Doctors to ever have said anything close to as mean as what this Doctor says to Rose when she saves her Dad, and yet she knows he would never leave her and he accepts a sincere apology from her with a grin and a hug. Sign of the times and it works brilliantly. Another sign of the times is the fact that the Doctor has worked out the solution while being in the situation for just a few minutes, and neither professes to everyone how he has in bombastic fashion, nor does he "work it out" as the episode progresses as many of the past Doctors would have been forced to do (because of a much longer episode, or sometimes the sheer stupidity of the people around him).

Another great thing about this episode, is the use of a new creature. Where many die hard fans would say "Oh and how come we haven't ever seen THESE guys before?!", the writer says almost matter of factly that the Timelords would have stopped these creatures right away but they are gone. Therefore, there are potentially many things we will be able to see that are now possible without these "Guardians of the Universe" around to act as cosmic police. It was one of the first times I saw the potential good of not having Timelords as opposed to the obvious sadness and bad.

On a side note, this episode was such an easy concept and in the end it is what made it great. Star Trek Enterprise ended this weekend, and if you don't know yourself I believe you will read or hear what a piss poor job they did of ending it. The people in charge don't care about their fans, they don't care about their franchise and that's a couple of many reasons why Star Trek is now gone. Perhaps that's why America won't show Doctor Who. They are scared of the comparison. You can feel the care put into this show. It truly is sad that Chris is gone because he puts so much emotion in this Doctor. Billie is amazing as well. It has to be like Britney Spears being a new cast member in Star Trek and actually being one of the best actors in it. It has to be amazing to be English and see what she does for this show. From the materialization of the Tardis, to the acting and emotion put into these characters, to the addition of new FX, this has become some of the best Doctor Who ever made and that truly is amazing.

Back to a summary of the episode itself, the new creatures were awesome and well explained, the acting was excellent (I'm a big guy and the last part with Rose and her Dad made me want to call my Dad), and the care put into explanation of the story and seal plot holes (to the point of showing the doubles of the Doctor and Rose when Rose tries to go to her Dad a second time!) made this very simple "Father's Day" story, in my honest opinion, one of the best.