Father's Day

This episode of Dr Who will do something that no other will - it'll make you cry. At the same time, it'll blow away any critics of Billie Piper's acting ability since her performance is spot on, and very moving. In fact, everyone in this episode acts their socks off to produce an excellent piece of well-crafted character driven drama. No wonder Dr Who in the UK is knocking the pants off ITV's Saturday Night offering - Celebrity Wrestling !. I'll step into the TARDIS anytime, thanks.
The Doctor takes Rose back to 1987 to be with her father in his dying moments after a hit and run accident. On the second attempt, Rose saves his life and changes the timeline, creating a 'wound' in time. This heralds the arrival of the Reapers, bat-like creatures apparently created by time itself to act as antibodies and cleanse the wound by wiping out the human race. With no TARDIS and everyone trapped inside a church, can the Doctor save the situation ?.Well, this time the answer is 'no', beacuse for once, he has no plan !. Although the final solution is easy to work out, thanks to skillful writing by Paul Cornell, fine performances from the cast and lean direction, the story manages to lose none of it's emotional impact and the closing scenes will guarantee not a dry eye in the audience. This is Dr Who at it's very best where the SF element of the story plays second fiddle to the human drama and characters.Being a time-paradox story, there's a lot of fun to be had too - 1980's fashions and subtle references to the era (US fans might find these puzzling), large mobile phones, Rose as a baby and her future boyfriend Mickey as a toddler. The scene of him on the swing in the kids playground, watching all around him mysteriously vanish as victims of the Reapers is geniunely spooky. It was also a nice touch having the car that killed Roses' father, appearing and disappearing as it runs around the outside of the church, almost like it's stalking it's intended victim.But you know they're all in deadly trouble when the Doctor makes a shocking discovery about the TARDIS.This episode has some beautiful perfomances and emotionally charged scenes, especiallly between Rose and her father when he realises who she is and what must be done to save the day. Although inevitable, the ending is still very powerful and sad.