Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by James Tricker

This story is likely to be one where opinions differ markedly with little middle ground.I'm not just saying that because for the first time my friend and I,who for a bit of fun send each other an initial rating of each story shortly after transmission,completely disagree about this one.For him this was by far the worst story of the season to date whereas for me it was another excellent and in this case poignant tale which,whilst not quite hitting the heights of the Unquiet Dead or Dalek,came pretty close in its own way.

I can see there will be those who felt that this story was padded out,soapy and predictable.Rose's Dad has to kill himself to redress the wound in time,surely?But I am afraid there are far too many good things going on here for this story to be dismissed out of hand and anyway,I've got no problem at all with stories that don't travel at a frenetic pace and where dialogue comes to the fore.I can see the Tom Baker incarnation sqirming with embarrassment and irritation at some of the intensity of the emotional exchanges but these were completely necessary in this particular case.

There are some very memorable sequences: the outline of one of the Reapers at the stained glass window of the church was one of the most striking and unnerving I can recall; the see-saw rocking on its own after the children have suddenly been taken away is very reminiscent of Sapphire and Steel story one and very scary;the Doctor opening up the Tardis to find the inside of a police box was just brilliant and the Doctor's perception that the walls of the church will provide temporary sanctuary due to their age is suitably eerie.

I don't suppose for a moment I could make complete sense of it all but the quality of the writing and performances shone through,as Rose's Dad goes from being a loser to a hero with the realisation that he needs to sacrifice himself,after the Doctor has bought the besieged inhabitants of the church a little more time by his own self-sacrifice.

Rose's Mum didn't appear to look any different in age terms(not hairstyle of course) in 1987 but that's a minor aside.

An excellent story which I feel will stand up well to repeated viewings.

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by Richard Flynn

What a strange, wonderfully enjoyable, yet intellectually disappointing episode this turned out to be, in the end.

Emnotionally, it's absolutely spot on - the shots of Rose as a child being told wonderful daddy stories by her mother which set the tone of wistful longing; the urge to go back and see him which the Doctor can now satisfy for her; the desperate second thrust to save him and create her perfect world for real; the slow disintegration of that dream in the cold light of day, followed by the growing bond between them based on real interaction ; and of course, the final sacrifice.

Lovely, lovely stuff. But questions kept popping up for me all the way along, and DW Confidential didn't answer them, though I was hoping it would. Because this was such a good episode from the touchy-feely angle, I really wanted it to be as good from the cold logical one as well.

But: it isn't. The Doctor is completely happy to take Rose off to an event he must know will be emotionally impossible for Rose to resist interfering with. And sorry, no: after 900 or so years of visiting Earth and similar cultures, and scenes like the one where he rounds on Nyssa and Tegan for asking him to go back and save Adric, it's quite obvious he does - he must - know just exactly what that may invite for both of them. The "alien not in touch with human emotions" just doesn't work at all, as any kind of convenient excuse. A Time Lord - particularly this Time Lord - happy to risk the potential destruction that he knows may be unleashed by this action doesn't work either.

Then there's the "time has been damaged" response to Rose saving her father. Why? What exactly does that mean, anyway? She changes the present, and thus the future. So what? Suddenly "time has been damaged"? How, exactly? Why, exactly?

This, with the appearance of the Reapers, and the car repeatedlyappearing and disappearing in some sort of implied time-loop , is wonderfully eerie, but smacks far more of Victorian pseudo-moralising on the possible dangers of interfering in things that we don't understand, than it does of any real scientific understanding of time and time travel and changing the course of events.

Then there's the disappearing 'inner' Tardis. Hang on a minute, there. The outer shell is just an appearance generated by the Tardis - there is NO matching inside. Again: a wonderfully compact visual statement of the changes that have occurred - but really, no, not possible...

And so on. The finale is deeply touching. But suddenly, conveniently, we are asked to just accept that with his death, everyone reappears as normal and all memory of events is erased. Time, as it were, jumps back to the point when - what?

They were just about to enter the church for the wedding? How, then, to explain that dad is suddenly dead just up the road, and everyone is looking outwards, not in? The final scenes suggest that Jackie doesn't know who the mysterious strange girl is who stays with him until he dies... yet previously she had a three-way fight with her?

Or are we back at the point where it all began - in which case, the wedding party is inside the church, not outside...

So. Greatly enjoyed by all, I'm sure. But like a dream, when you wake up and actually think it through, it's quite clear it couldn't really have happened that way.

Shame.

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by Katy Salter

Again another brilliant episode of Doctor Who! Both Eccleston's and Piper's perfromances were amazing, especially Eccleston.

The story line is also faultless because it all follows on from each other, in an easy to follow maze.

This episode will make everyone cry (it did with all my friends), whether to do with the Doctor's untimely end or the emotional turmoil of Rose as her father realises what he has to do.

There are very little glitches in the actual story, except the Reapers are hard to work out, because their appearance seems odd and out of order.

I especially enjoyed the Doctor in this episode, because he proved that he wasn't as alien as he seemed. He has a lot of puns, but he also shows remorse and regret. I think that he also has a lot of good lines in this episode, because he shows the harder, easier to hurt side. The line "I've never had a life that." Shows that he has a weaker side, a side that is not seen very often. The argument between Rose and the Doctor is quite unexpected: they seemed like quite a harmonious couple.

I enjoyed the episode because it seemed like an emotional episode ore than a dangerous one, except for the fact that the Doctor was unfortunately killed at the end.

In fact, that was probably the worst bit, because he proved his love for Rose, by going forward and sacrificing himself, not just to save Rose, but also to try to stop her father from having to die too. This was quite a touching gesture for the Doctor, who is normally quite reserved. Obviously, at that rash moment, he didn’t know that the Tardis was about to be destroyed. The question is; would the Doctor have returned if the Tardis had been returned, and saved everyone. Because if the whole earth had been ‘consumed’ by these Reapers, then there would not have been much of a world left in the future. We have to remember that this is in the past. But considering this, why did the Doctor bring Rose back in the first place? If he knew that if something went wrong, then that would change history and the world afterward.

It was also quite a revealing episode. From facts that I have learnt from other people, apparently the Doctor had suffered at the hands of his people, so why was he so intent on going back and saving them? In ‘Dalek’ as well, that was also the case.

Overall, this was a brilliant episode, in my ratings top of the leader board, beating the Dalek episode too, which I thought could not be bettered.

Congratulations to the whole cast and crew!

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by Calum Corral

I have really enjoyed the intro scenes before the theme tune starts, and thought that this was one of the best yet, as the Dr almost takes the role of a genie "Your wish is my command!" but warns Rose to be careful what you wish for.

Well, I think this is THE story all the fans have hoping for since the new programme was annouced, and it was scintillating from start to finish. "Father's Day" is a real emotional rollercoaster ride for the viewer and with excellent performances from the lead cast, this is classy Who and is up there with the best episodes so far in the new series.

Tackling an issue which is of course always brought up with time travel, why can you not go back and save a loved one from dying, the episode certainly pulled on the heartstrings a great deal and this made it all the more watchable. The rising tension in the episode between the Doctor and Rose as things begin to go wrong is dramatic and enticing. Rose's Mum and Dad were excellent, and the dawn of realisation of Rose's father when he realises that Rose is indeed his daughter is one of the most emotionally gripping scenes of the show so far.

Billie Piper deserves immense credit too for her performance which was of an exemplary standard throughout. While the Doctor got huffy with her, I think the viewer had great sympathy for Rose's plight. When Russell T.Davies made the comment that he always envisaged himself as preferring to have been the Dr's assistant than the Doctor himself, I was a bit surprised. But I can understand that comment now following Father's Day because I think many people watching the episode would have acted as Rose did in attempting to save her father.

Christopher Eccleston also puts in one of his best performances as the Doctor as he loses control of the situation for the first time and walks out on Rose ... something I did not ever see happening. But like the Doctor falling out with Jamie in Evil of the Daleks, it had a real dramatic impact and Rose looked to have blown her chances with the Doctor.

One of my favourite scenes of the episode was the Dr walking towards the Tardis only to open the doors and find out that time was already in the process of changing as he looked at an empty shell. Very point blank and to the point. This was a good touch that the writer Paul Cornell brought to the episode. I liked how the Tardis had an important impact on the story with the Tardis key playing a significant part.

I also thought the realisation at the end of what Rose's father was to do to save time at the end was an incredible conclusion. A tear-jerker in every sense of the word, this was Doctor Who with real emotional intensity and impact. I thought the reaper monsters were impressive special fx too and probably pretty scary for young children. When they grabbed the Dr, it was very dramatic, and I was completely befuddled as to how the episode would be resolved after the Dr had gone. It was a fantastic climax and a real gem of an episode. Changing the course of time has never been so frightening and thrilling.

I notice there were a few little nods and winks to Back to the Future too in some of the script. The 1980s music in the background was an interesting choice. After Tainted Love in End of the World, we were treated to Rick Astley!

So brilliant performances all round from the cast, great storytelling, and drama, tears and sci-fi horror. A terrific combination. Paul Cornell has delivered a script of the highest quality. Hard-hitting and full of emotions, Father's Day will live long in the memory as one of the finest ever episodes of the programme.

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by Neil Micklewright

Hopes have been high throughout this new series really...Chris Ecclestone has exceeded many of our expectations for the lead, Billie Piper has surprised everyone really I think, production values great (yeah yeah snoozing...) but the real issue which will surely define the future of this programme - beyond being a slightly kitschy revival of an old family favourite - is this: does it stand up not as family entertainment or serious sci- fi, but whether or not it really holds water as serious drama?

Well the evidence so far suggests yes yes and yes another 5 times (at least!). "Father's Day" moves over some fairly old ground about the premise of time travel - so what if we change the course of history if the things that get changed are actually for the better? Well the truth is that events in our lives, and those that shape the way of the world we know do matter, however much we would love to remove the tragedy and pain it might cause us. Everything matters it would seem.

It's important that we saw this from Rose's point I suppose. It answers a few more questions about her, and by placing this in a wholly human context - after all is'nt the role of the Dr. Who companion primarily to present these things empathetically to the audience?

The acting as ever was through the roof in terms of quality, and the script tight and well presented. But as much as I felt for Rose, her family and the awful moral dilemma that her interference would present (and indeed did present once she did get involved), I could'nt help but feel is this series really all about Rose?

So many of these scripts have given Billie Piper the majority of real work,and fair play she has done a cracker so far. But with only 5 episodes to go, we still know virtually nothing about the ninth Doctor. Indeed I feel I know him as well as I didi the eighth Doctor after the 1996 TV movie. The difference being that Paul McGann had about 75 minutes in which to establish himself. Christopher Ecclestone has had 360 minutes so far, and he still seems like a supporting character. Is it too much to ask to have him do a little more?

But I accept this is as much about Rose as the Doctor, even though the script has yet to really show things from his point of view. Both "The Unquiet Dead" and "Dalek" have come close to giving us more of the Ninth Doctor, but while I remain one of the whiners abou this (am I really alone in thinking that Rose should'nt be clogging up this much of the scripts?), I just can't rubbish "Father's Day". It was TV drama at its very very best, and it's laughable that Celebrity Wrestling was thought to be an even close competitor.

Scripts of this high calibre will not only secure this season's place in history as the most ground breaking of all, but also maybe we'll also smile wrly in 10 or 20 years time, that no-marks like me were even concerned with who got the lion's share of script action is this beautiful, fantastic, life altering programme.

Cheers Paul.

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

Father's Day

Sunday, 15 May 2005 - Reviewed by Andrew Blundell

Rose has begun thinking about the possibilities of time travel, perhaps sparked by Adams attempt in 'The Long Game'. Maybe, she thinks i can see my father, being too young to remember him she asks the doctor to take her to see him, to be there for him on the day of his death.

Not being able to face him after witnessing his death for the first time, Rose tries again under strict instructions by the Doctor to wait until their previous selves have left the scene.

Unable to stand by and watch her father die for a second time Rose rushes out across the road pushing her dad to safety. All seems well and they head together to a friends wedding which her Dad had been out buying a present for.

Things aren't going to well at the church though as very few people have arrived and outside in the streets people are disappearing in a most peculiar way.

I must admit part of me was looking forward to a eighties episode purely for nostalgia's sake and given more time to the story nostalgic padding could have been added for all the twenty-thirty something Who fans watching. This would only have been padding though as the story was far more important than the setting.

Having Rose see the death of her father twice justified her emotions getting the better of her the second time. The emotions experienced will still be fresh in her mind as she prepares to have that final moment with him. Who else wouldn't take the opportunity as she did.

The subjective POV attacks early on are a nice nod to early serials such as The Avengers, The Prisoner and Doctor Who itself where often the monster didn't always live up to expectation. The red filtered kaliedoscopic effect was particulary reminiscent of the Doctor Who's of the eighties which tied in with the setting nicely.

Again the shorter running time of just under 45 minutes is problematic as tension does not seem to have enough time to escalate sufficiently, and the program has appeared to have fallen into the famous 'five minutes finale solution' favoured by Star Trek, Buffy and other American format science fiction serials.

Unlike its contempories the new series of Doctor Who does not appear to have the overlying story arcs that make american dramas serials stand on their own whilst simultaneously being part of a larger story. The Time War is the closest thing the series has to a continuing arc, and that has already happened (at least as far as the Doctor's timeline is concerned). As for the Big Bad Wolf reference this is often contrived and at the moment seems to have little or no bearing on the individual episodes. In fact this reference often appears to have no other bearing than it has been shoehorned into every episode with little or no explanation or effect.

More successfully than in previous episodes the domestic side of of the series (as experienced through Rose's interaction with family and friends) works particularly well. The pathos between her and her father throughout adds an extra dimension that was not fullt addressed or was just not evident before, even in 'Aliens of London' after she had returned home after an unexplained absence of 12 months, although i don't think it was neccessary to have the young Mickey appearing and latching on to her. Showing a connection between her and Mickey makes her leaving him to travel in the TARDIS much less believable.

Back to this weeks big bad...the reapers...wonderfully realised, the dark flow of their leathery wings and the brutality of their assault, terrifies complete with a searing screech reminiscent of the Nazgul (ask a fan boy for the reference). Fitting in to the background of reality far better than other CGI creations, fading in and out of time instead of exploding on the screen with tedious regularity.

The only other gripe was that it was a bit predictable...the denouement being painfully highlighted so that the audience had worked it out seemingly before the Doctor had. This again ties up with the short running time of these self contained episodes. The runtime is even made shorter by the inclusion of a trail for next weeks episode now firmly in place of the famous Doctor Who cliffhangers which kept people tuning in week by week. Fair enough people have many other things to do than watch television these days, but you still have to get people to watch week after week. That is the point of episodic television and without the aforementioned inclusion of a concrete story arc, people are not neccessarily going to rush back each week to see how characters are getting on after they have escaped from danger.

Without getting onto a detailed deconstruction of the failings and/or successes of the new series, 'Father's Day' was an enjoyable and moving episode of the continuing adventures of an incredibly appealing character. Long may the show go on.

FILTER: - Series 1/27 - Ninth Doctor - Television

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