New Earth

Doctor Who has had its fair share of poor season openers over the years, but fortunately New Earth will not be remembered as one of them. The episode featured an enjoyable story, some good set pieces, and high quality acting and was visually colourful and brilliant. Some plot elements may not have been that original (i.e. the living dead, murderous goings on at a hospital and body swaps), but these elements – along with a few twists – were made interesting enough to keep the show entertaining for 45 minutes. The Face of Boe storyline was also clever as it hints at something interesting to come in the future, which should keep viewers watching.

The highlight among a series of good performances was undoubtedly Billie Piper’s portrayal of the Cassandra possessed Rose, which was frighteningly like the Zoл Wannamaker original. David Tennant’s performance was also very encouraging. He looked comfortable in the role of a Tenth Doctor who seems more eccentric than his immediate predecessor. Yet, Doctor Ten is a complex character who can be just as passionate about injustice as his forebears as his reactions to the Sister’s treatment of their ‘patients’ in ‘intensive care’ showed. The episode also proved the ‘new new Doctor’ is funny and retains the traditional mix of serious and humorous personality traits that have made the character so endurable. Tennant did well to so convincingly convey such a rounded character in his full adventure.

The design and effects work in the story must rank as some of the best in Doctor Who history. The futuristic landscape looked really impressive and showed a lot of imagination and creative talent. The Sisters were also well realised and it is clear that a lot of time and effort went into creating them. The make up used on the disease victims was very convincing and they looked like they were genuinely the victims of some horrific condition. It is also worth noting that the Face of Boe and Cassandra (the trampoline version) looked even better than they did last year. Even the music seemed to work well and fit in with the mood of the story. This is all indicative of the high production values established last season being raised even further.

All in all New Earth represents a solid start to the new season.