Father's Day

Of all the episodes in the new series, I had been looking forward to this one most of all. The idea of time being unforgiving, somehow managing to always thwart those who would interfere with it, has held much fascination for me. Importantly, the idea that the Doctor acknowledges the inflexible nature of time (despite being a Time Lord) has conveyed an overall sense of responsibility to the series.

I believe the original premise for 'Father's Day' was to have Rose confronted by an inability to change past events (her father's death), presumably becoming part of the history she was trying to avert; the story was to be devoid of special effects, instead concentrating on the attendant emotional issues and would have been a brave and unique homage to a sci-fi concept that has been much examined.

The writer, Paul Cornell, admittedly taking the story in his own direction, explored the consequences of Rose actually altering events; an opportunity was thus provided to make the point that the life of a seemingly ordinary man could possibly distort history if that man is supposed to be dead.

The duplication of the Doctor and Rose, separated by only a few minutes served to highlight the practicalities which must be observed when time travelling. Such considerations, it must be said, are not wholly original, similar ideas having been explored in other sci-fi shows and films. However, the 45 minute duration (highly criticised in relation to some previous episodes) imparts a sense of urgency and real time dilemma to the situation as these practicalities are addressed.

Although the story could have worked with the minimum of special effects, I thought the physical manifestation of Rose's actions (The Reapers) was highly effective. They retained a sense of the gothic aspects of the series, especially in the context of the church setting, and also visualised the vengeful nature of time. Almost immediately after Rose's intervention, Cornell created a sense of impending doom by initially showing our flawed universe through the eyes of the Reapers; the first handful of deaths and their ambiguous manner being in the spirit of the classic series. The mental trauma suffered by Mickey in the park was deeply disturbing, as his friends (and mother?) were removed from time; this unease was later intensified by the discarded bike and child's shoe.

The idea of an adult Rose interacting with a father she has saved while her one year old self is in close proximity was a masterstroke in terms of the wealth of possibilities which time travel can present. Rose telling her parents to stop arguing was poignantly ironic, as her desire to experience and interact with both her parents (as a family unit) resulted in her doing so in a way typical of dysfunctional families, as a mediator and referee.

In his previous contributions to Doctor Who, whether they have been books or audios, Cornell has always involved the reader/listener on an emotional level and for this rare talent, deserves kudos. I feel that, for Father's Day, the writer has again achieved this objective and there is no doubt that this is the most emotive and sympathetic episode of any series of Dr Who to be given screen time. Cornell succeeded in making the viewer care about the relationship between Rose and her father; additionally, we were shown that there are as many meaningful issues in the past of any one person as there are in the landmark events more usually visited by the Doctor and his companions.

Generally, the acting performances were polished yet natural. Eccleston portrays sympathy, empathy and admonishment in terms of the Doctor's reactions, together with a wistfulness in that, although he admires the Earth and humanity in general, he is incapable of experiencing the simplicities which he knows make humans so special. The most impressive aspect of Piper's performance was the fact that beneath the understandable exuberance at what she had achieved, there was a sense of guilt and a defensive need to justify her actions to the Doctor, whilst knowing he could not accept them.

Shaun Dingwall's portrayal of Pete Tyler's self sacrifice was beautifully balanced; rather than the tediously clichйd 'a man's gotta do...' diatribe, we were treated to the enormity of the situation being resolved in terms of a Father's responsibility for his child's actions. His awareness of his inadequacies, together with his genuine gratitude for the few hours spent with his future daughter, imbued a sense of credibility to an unlikely action on his part.

The understated direction rendered the viewing seamless in terms of fluency and characterisation. Perhaps the most impressive directorial achievement was in conveying the idea that the car was the true 'Reaper', destined to endlessly circle the church until it's hitherto thwarted purpose was fulfilled.

In terms of the causality and continuity dealt with in stories where people return to (and interact with) their own pasts, I suspect that the time paradox aspects of the episode will be criticised, yet there is no virtue in this; self righteous statements of the 'that couldn't happen because...' type have no merit because time travel is wholly theoretical and hence hypothetical. If anyone can demonstrably disprove the interpretation of the subject by people such as Wells, Heinlein, Cornell or indeed anyone who has written fiction on the subject, then please step forward: it's a non-starter.

I think, as Doctor Who fans, we have all waited and hoped for an episode that is perfect, that conforms to our own perception of what makes the show great; if adequate budgeting is discounted from the criteria, then, for many, such episodes have already happened during the classic series. The current series makes it possible to assess the show in an entirely new way; distractingly poor sets and effects are now a thing of the past and for this reason, a fresh opportunity to revisit the expectation of the perfect episode is afforded.

I have been a fan of this show for thirty years and hence I'm not fickle in the sense that, due to the big budget and higher profile, I have abandoned the old series in preference for the current one; however, I genuinely believe that, due to an understanding and incorporation of the elements of the show which have made it so thought provoking, writers such as Mark Gatiss and Rob Shearman have created near perfect episodes in the best spirit of the classic series. Cornell, however, has fashioned something which, to me, transcends the different factions of sci-fi and fantasy and is able to stand up and be counted outside of the sphere of Who fandom.

Thank you, Mr Cornell, for a perfect episode of Dr Who and a generally superb piece of television.