Bad Wolf

WHAT AN EPISODE! I wasnВ’t surprised as PREVIOUSLY flashed across the screen as highlights from В“The Long GameВ” В– the episode IВ’ve enjoyed the least В– played. From various sources IВ’d heard this episode would be set in the year 200,000 so it was just a matter of 200,000 + 200,000 = В“Long GameВ” sequel. However, although I didnВ’t care much for В“The Long GameВ” it did raise some unanswered questions about the human race being held back, questions that needed to be answered.

So the Doctor awakes in the “Big Brother” house, authentic in every way right down to the theme tune. His housemates looked just like the type of wannabe-famous nobodies today’s version of the show dredges up. It really was exceptionally well done. As the Doctor slumps himself down in the Diary Room, Davina McCall’s voice says “…you are live on channel 4400. Please do not swear…” the Doctor just says “…you have got to be kidding!” and I think he spoke for the entire audience. Doctor Who in Big Brother? That would never work! Well it did, and here’s how.

As the DoctorВ’s memories gradually return, we are introduced to Lynda (with a В‘yВ’) who if we didnВ’t know better weВ’d say the Doctor was developing a romantic В‘thingВ’ for. He even called her В“sweet,В” though that was likely just to cheer her up. I found it a clever plot device introducing her character, setting her up as a potential companion, especially considering what happens later in the episode. It certainly keeps us guessing. As the Doctor remembers being В“beamedВ” out of the TARDIS, I like his reference that they had just escaped from Kyoto, Japan. ItВ’s good to know that the TARDIS crew have had adventures other than those we see on TV, at least from a continuity point of view. With only thirteen Eccleston episodes, over time, as with the 8th Doctor, his story needs to be continued in novels and maybe even audio dramas one day. After В“The Parting of the WaysВ” I for one will be delving into the new BBC novels for my weekly Who-fix! EcclestonВ’s performance in this episode is right up there with В“DalekВ” in my opinion. The intensity he brings to the point is amazing as he realises itВ’s not just В‘a gameВ’; the look in his eyes as he speaks to the camera; В“IВ’m getting out. IВ’m gonna find my friends. Then IВ’m gonna find YOU.В”

After the credits Rose wakes up in “The Weakest Link.” She encounters Roderick, who for a while I thought might be an ally to her. He explained about how people are brought from the Earth via Transmat and forced to play in these game shows. Like the Doctor in the Big Brother house, the music, the presenter, the set, the lighting; everything was perfect. If the production team where going to do this, they had to get it right. After her initial disorientation arriving, Rose has a great time laughing away to herself, totally unaware of the danger that she is in. The Annedroid is brilliantly realised, complete with Anne Robinson’s voice (and manner!). The Annedroid grilling Rose is a wonderful scene – “…so you’re unemployed but you can still afford peroxide?” Fantastic! Fitch’s apparent death scene when she is voted off is made all the more grizzly by Rose’s apathy. “That’s the game,” Rose says as Fitch is panicking.

Her apparent death at the hands of the Annedroid is quite disturbing В– itВ’s just В“You are the Weakest Link. Goodbye,В” then disintegration! As the smoke clears we just hear В“Adverts. Back in three minutes,В” which made it very eerie indeed. This kind of horror is just business as usual for the people of the year 200,100. In another clever plot device, the contestant Rob tries to do a runner only to be disintegrated by the Annedroid, thwarting RoseВ’s ideas of escape, leaving her stuck in the game, playing for her life!

In a somewhat cheaper and less elaborate setting, Captain Jack wakes up in В“What Not To Wear.В” We are treated to a horribly gratuitous В“defabricationВ” which leaves him standing naked, but somehow it still works as it doesnВ’t phase Jack one bit. In fact, heВ’s loving it. В“YouВ’re viewing figures just went up!В” He even has a cheeky grope of Zu-ZanaВ’s breasts! For me, though, the scariest part of the episode was when a naked Jack was faced with the marauding Trine-e and Zu-Zana droids. В“Face offВ…. I think heВ’d look good with a dogВ’s headВ… or no head at all! That would be outrageous! How about putting his legs in the middle of his chest?В” That really is chilling stuff, far scarier than even the Annedroid. JackВ’s solution, though, was as comical as the droids were scary, as he pulled a В‘compact laser deluxeВ’ from out of his ass and blew them to pieces. It made me laugh watching В“ConfidentialВ” to learn that the BBC made the producers removed the scenes of his naked bottom!

As Crosbie is evicted from the Big Brother house, like Rose’s attitude towards Fitch being voted off, the Doctor is nonchalant. His speech about getting out and making a fortune was hilarious and very true, the bit about “make a fitness video and she’ll be laughing” was particularly funny. Suddenly, though, the Doctor sits bolt upright and he’s paying attention as he sees Crosbie disintegrated before his eyes. Lynda’s “…she’s been evicted… from life” line encapsulates the horror wonderfully. The Doctor cleverly reasoned that whoever brought him into the house would have killed him already if they wanted him dead, so he damages the cameras with his sonic screwdriver in order to get evicted.

Then we come to it. В“Bad Wolf.В” From itВ’s very title we expected something more from this episode, something extra on top of all the action, drama and laughs that weВ’ve become accustomed to. The Broff character (the Gamestation employee) was a very good way of building up the intrigue as he himself was an employee of Gamestation, and even he saw that something was going on. His character talks of В“storiesВ” and В“rumours that go back decades.В” More importantly, he speaks about something being hidden underneath the GamestationВ’s programme transmissions. By the time we meet the visually impressive controller, we have far more questions than answers.

Yes, В‘Bad WolfВ’ is the name of the corporation running Gamestation, as we find out from Roderick. The other shoe drops and Rose finally puts it all together. For the benefit of the casual viewer, who bar the explicit reference in В“Boom TownВ” probably never noticed any of the В‘Bad WolfВ’ references, we are treated to RoseВ’s memories of most of the times she encountered those two words while travelling with the Doctor (though how she remembered Van StattenВ’s helicopter saying В“Bad Wolf One descendingВ” when she wasnВ’t there is puzzling. I knowВ… IВ’m pedantic!) Rose realises that she has been brought onto Gamestation for a reason, though her time is running out as she goes one on one with Roderick in the final round of В“The Weakest Link!В”

The Doctor is at his best as he is evicted from the house, and as of course he isnВ’t В‘disintegratedВ’ he breaks out with ease, taking his flirtatious new young lady friend with him. I noted that he promised he would get her out alive. I donВ’t know why, and I hope it isnВ’t so because I quite like Lynda, but I have this horrible feeling she is going to die in В“The Parting of the Ways.В” Some of her banter with the Doctor is some of the best weВ’ve seen in the seriesВ… В“I moisturiseВ…В”, В“Bear with me,В” et al. and I loved the line about the Doctor not paying for his TV Licence. В“You can get executed for that!В” a shocked Lynda informs him. The penalties havenВ’t got that much worse then 198,000 years on! В“Let В‘em try!В” the Doctor boasts, inviting LyndaВ’s В“Who are you then Doctor?В” line of questioning, leading to the inevitable В“I could come with youВ… I wouldnВ’t get in the wayВ…В” and the DoctorВ’s В“I wouldnВ’t mind if you did.В” For a casual viewer, bombarded with press headlines about Billie Piper allegedly quitting the show, this looks just like the introduction of a new female companion, perhaps even love interest for our favourite Timelord.

Finally realising that he is on Satellite 5, the Doctor boasts about defeating the Jagrafess 100 years earlier; В“Nothing serious. Easy,В” he claims. As Lynda looks out at the Earth for the first time (third time for us in the same setВ… ) Eccleston gives one of his customary 9th Doctor speeches; В“The Human Race. Brainless SheepВ…В” until he realises his big mistake. Yes, he saved Earth from the Jagrafess. He В“put things rightВ…В” and then he left, and thinking back it was one of the hastiest departures at the end of an episode this series. After he left, Lynda tells us of the 100 years of hell that ensued after all the news channels shut down. The governments and the economy froze, and there was nothing left. Everything was set for В‘Bad WolfВ’ to move in with itВ’s distinctive brand of snuff TV. В“I made this worldВ…В” says a sombre Doctor. When the Doctor and Lynda find Jack, Jack of course flirts with Lynda, to the DoctorВ’s obvious jealously. The Doctor, having seen the В“Bad WolfВ” corporationВ’s logo and realised that someone has manipulated his В“entire (9th?) lifeВ” is angry at everything, tipping over computers and shouting about stupid systems. Although we know that В‘Bad WolfВ’ is the Corporation running the Gamestation, IВ’m sure there is more to it. The clues, for one, are yet to be explainedВ…

В“The Weakest LinkВ” final is an unbelievably tense affair as we know from the off Rose knows nothing of relevance in the year 200,000 other than 1 or 2 lucky guesses and itВ’s just a matter of time before she is disintegrated. But the Doctor always saves the day, and we have the Doctor, Jack and Lynda rushing up to В“The Weakest LinkВ” stage В– the Doctor staring intently at the numbers of the floors the lift passes. Inevitably Rose loses the game, and although Jack, the Doctor and Lynda burst in seemingly in the nick of time, this time they are too late. The Annedroid apparently kills Rose; the Doctor and his two surviving friends arrested by Gamestation security В– an absolute masterstroke by Russell T. Davies. On the one hand, we have newspaper rumours about Billie Piper leaving the show, and on the other we have a potential new companion appearing in the form of Lynda, and RoseВ’s apparent death. I almost believed she was gone myself for a moment! Moreover, we get to explore the effectВ’s RoseВ’s demise would have on the Doctor without actually having her killed. The moment when he was arrested said it all В– EcclestonВ’s eyes. The Doctor just wasnВ’t there. He had totally lost the plot. In his interrogation there were no jokes, no witty responses, no talking at all. His mug shots carried the same blank expression В– the engine appeared to be running, but with no one at the wheel.

After being sentenced to the Lunar Penal Colony (a nice in-joke as the Doctor was sent there in “Frontier in Space,” a story which unravelled clues about a Dalek army the Doctor would go after in the next story, “Planet of the Daleks”) Jack and the Doctor have a brilliant moment where they just say “Let’s do it.” The Doctor is so angry, so distraught and grief-stricken he even violently rams the guard into the wall. Pertwee’s Venusian Karate aside, the Doctor has never, ever been a violent man. To see him like this, totally gone over the edge was both painful and a wonder to watch, especially bearing in mind Eccleston’s mercurial performance. Armed to the teeth, the trio head for Floor 500, just in time for the ‘solar flares’ we’ve heard the Controller panicking about throughout the episode. For a moment, huge alien weapon in hand, the Doctor looks at the Controller in the same way he looked at the Dalek in “Dalek.” Finally, his true self triumphs as he amusingly throws his gun to Broff, then begins to question him! Broff’s face is a classic as he looks at the Doctor, bemused. “…But I have your gun???”

Broff soon reveals his В‘logВ’ of suspicious going on to the Doctor and Jack. Jack finds the TARDIS, which works out that Rose isnВ’t in fact dead, sheВ’s just been transmattedВ… somewhere. At this point the Doctor appears to be infused with life and optimismВ… he gets his В‘mojoВ’ back!

As the solar flares knock out the transmissions, we hear the voice of the true Controller. Her cryptic message, all the more creepy as itВ’s coming from her pasty white eerie face, tells us about her masters В“hidden in the dark spaceВ… watchingВ… shaping the Earth for so so many yearsВ….В” who В“fear the Doctor.В” Even if the surprise had not been totally spoiled by last weekВ’s trailer, who else could it be?

Rose wakes up on board a stunningly designed Dalek saucer. Not only was the interior beautifully created, it had that wonderful retro / organic / Flash Gordon look that has worked so well in the series. The director teases us with a view through the DalekВ’s eyepiece as it stalks Rose, then as the Controller is transmatted onto the Dalek ship for her disobedience and subsequently exterminated, we are teased that little bit more as we see the slightly blurred reflections of several Daleks on the saucerВ’s interior wall. The ControllerВ’s dying cry В“I have brought your destructionВ…В” served as a wonderful lead into the cliff-hanger.

Whilst Jack turns his attentions to flirting with Broff, the Doctor speaks of the В‘Long GameВ’ the Daleks have played in controlling the human race. At the time of episode 7, I thought the title В“The Long GameВ” was a total misnomer В– it seemed to bear no relation to the episode at all. Even now, having seen В“Bad Wolf,В” I think В“The Long GameВ” would be a far better title for this episode, especially as it contains not only the three game shows, but the explanation of what this В‘Long GameВ’ actually is! Moreover, despite itВ’s title, В“Bad WolfВ” does not explain who or what is responsible for these references painted all over the universe, so calling this episode В“Bad WolfВ” is nearly as silly as calling В“The Long GameВ” В“The Long Game.В” Not that it really matters or ought. What does matter is that the Daleks have been using the transmissions from Gamestation to hide 200 Dalek ships В– nearly half a million Daleks! The reveal of the saucers is nothing short of epic; the music, the saucers themselves, the camera movementВ… absolutely stunning. WeВ’ve never seen a Dalek army like this, and from the teasers and trailers for В“The Parting of the WaysВ…В” well. ItВ’s going to be immense! WeВ’ve seen the odd Dalek saucer here, a Dalek army in deep-freeze there, but never, ever half a million Daleks floating through space, ready for full-scale war!

Finally the Dalek menace is revealed to the audience. В“WE ARE DETECTED!В” In typical cheesy sci-fi serial style, the Daleks reveal their entire plan to the Doctor, then ask him not to intervene, using the age-old hostage bluff. What does the Doctor say? В“No.В”

I was as confused as the Daleks were! В“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS NEGATIVE?В” And then we got itВ… if ever a speech has encapsulated who the Doctor is, or what the show is about, then this it. Say what you like about Russell T. Davies, the man is a genius and his work on this show has been nothing short of phenomenal. This speech must have flowed from his pen sat in his Cardiff flat, a huge 9th Doctor like grin on his faceВ…

В“IВ’m gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then IВ’m gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, IВ’m gonna wipe every stinking Dalek out of the sky!В”

В“BUT YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS! NO DEFENCES! NO PLANВ”

В“And doesnВ’t that scare the hell out of you!!!!В”

Russell T. Davies must have written that then leaned back on his chair with a huge grin on his face. Then he must have thought, В“how in the blue hell is he gonna do all that????В” and I cannot wait to see how!!!