Dan Owen reviews
Series 4 Episode 6: "The Doctor's Daughter"
Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday May 10th, 2008
Series 4 Boxset:
Series 4 Part 1:
Series 3 Boxset:
Director:
(TV: The Doctor's Daughter, Midnight)
Screenplay:
(TV: The Doctor's Daughter, The Lazarus Experiment)
Cast:
The Doctor: David Tennant
Donna Noble: Catherine Tate
Martha Jones: Freema Agyeman
Jenny: Georgia Moffett
Cobb: Nigel Terry
Cline: Joe Dempsie
Hath Peck: Paul Kasey
Hath Gable: Ruari Mears
Carter: Akin Gazi
Soldier: Olalekan Lawal Jr
Synopsis:
After arriving on the planet Messaline, Martha is kidnapped by militaristic
fish-like humanoids called the Hath, and The Doctor meets his daughter...
Can you smell the oestrogen? The Doctor (David Tennant) is joined by
three female companions this week, as the TARDIS whisks him to the planet
Messaline with Martha (Freema Agyeman) and Donna (Catherine Tate)
in tow, only to be forcibly used as the blueprint for a genetically-created
"daughter" -- who comes to be known as Jenny (Georgia Moffett; real-life
daughter of Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison). And all that happens in the
opening few minutes!
To be honest, this episode was a bit too hectic for its own good, but the breathless
pace and some enjoyable moments eventually dovetailed towards a decent climax.
The Doctor discovers that the people of Messaline have been engaged in a generations-long
battle with fish-humanoid enemy The Hath (trout-headed warriors with green optics
bolted into their mouths.)
As a pacifist, The Doctor tries to end the pointless subterranean war that's
been raging (in a web of tunnels snaking out from an abandoned theatre), as
it's lost all meaning and both sides just refuse to back down -- out of stubbornness
and misplaced sense of tradition. The situation isn't helped by the fact both
sides have high-tech equipment ("progenation machines") that can create a
stream of battle-ready soldiers, so there's little chance of one side losing
through insurmountable fatalities...
Inevitably, Martha gets separated from everyone very quickly -- but befriends
an injured Hath, by helping with its dislocated shoulder, and earns their
species' trust. The creatures only talk in a flurry of bubbles, although Martha
apparently has their language translated by the TARDIS (we just don't have any
subtitles as viewers). I think writer Stephen Greenhorn missed a trick in
avoiding an Enemy Mine-style aspect to this Martha/Hath interplay, but
perhaps it would have just been too difficult to pull off in the 45-minutes allotted...
Besides, it's not long before The Doctor, Donna and Jenny accidentally help
both sides realise there's a mythical "Source" in a hidden network of tunnels.
Both societies have a Creationist myth about how they came to be, and The Doctor
has been instrumental in pointing them toward "divine knowledge" of their beginnings.
So the hunt is on, with the humans, led by a grizzled man called Cobb (Nigel Terry),
chasing after The Doctor, Donna and Jenny through a labyrinth of new tunnels,
as Martha leads her befriended Hath to the Source across the dark, windswept
planet's surface...
The Doctor's Daughter is something of a typical episode. My
first impression of everything wasn't that favourable; with the set-up and
sketchily-drawn characters instantly preparing me for a bog-standard cost-cutting
exercise. That said, it was impossible not to be swept along by everything, and
Greenhorn's story started showing signs of texture and intelligence...
As the titular Doctor's daughter, Jenny was a pure delight. Georgia Moffett's
obviously lovely to look at, but she's also great fun in the role. Issues of
parental responsibility are tackled, as The Doctor is initially dismissive of
Jenny as nothing but a genetic creation, not his true child – until he hears
her dual-heartbeat through his stethoscope. For all the episode's swagger
about war and its mystical overtone, it was at its best when dealing with The
Doctor's burgeoning affection for his offspring.
Jenny was introduced in a split-second (annoyingly), but her relationship with
her "dad" evolved very nicely, brilliantly stirred along by a more thoughtful
Donna's comments...
Yes, Catherine Tate's very good here; acting as a decent counterbalance to
The Doctor in his turmoil over being lumbered with parenthood. There are a few
"comedy bits" retorts that Tate once again lurches into ("GI Jane!"), but
for the most part I liked her interactions. She even outsmarts The Doctor in
resolving the mystery about the Source (using knowledge gleamed from a "temp
job" again, amusingly.)
On the flipside, poor Freema Agyeman finds herself stuck in another three-episode
stint where she was only required for one (see season 2 of Torchwood.) I loved
her energy, enthusiasm and quick-thinking last season, but it's clear now that
her character's run its course. This episode gives her a subplot that acts as
a balance (by showing things from "the enemy" perspective), but ultimately she's
surplus to requirement.
And you just can't imagine Martha Jones giving The
Doctor a pep talk on being a good dad, can you? She's too young. Donna's
maturity has its downsides on the show, but she's better placed to tackle The
Doctor on weightier, human issues. If we do see Martha Jones again; fine, I
like her. But I'm not signing a petition to get her re-instated as full-time
companion now, sorry...
David Tennant doesn't get high-quality witticisms and quips under Greenhorn's
pen, but he's brilliant at the emotional stuff with Jenny. His unease over her
creation, grudging fondness, followed by excitement about having a daughter
accompany him on adventures, was handled superbly. I particularly liked how
Jenny rose above her war-like "programming" to become more like her benign
father, when she decided not to kill their pursuers. The debate about whether
or not The Doctor is a soldier (just one with a no-killing edict, since the
fabled Time War) was also interesting.
SPOILERS BEGIN. The eventual demise of Jenny perhaps shouldn't have
worked (as we'd only spent 40-minutes in her company), but thanks to Moffett
and Tennant's acting skills, they pulled the death scene off very well. I
was primed to begin a Sally Sparrow-like campaign to get Jenny reinstated on
the show, so when she was joyously resurrected and blasted off into space in
her own ship (destined for a spin-off adventure series?) I had to grin. I
can't wait to see her again -- just as long as she isn't crippled by
immortality, Jack Harkness-style. SPOILERS END.
Overall, The Doctor's Daughter was an episode with a bland premise,
moderately rescued by a late-twist that put things into a fresh perspective.
But the pleasure of the episode came not from the mostly-extraneous Martha,
the awkward Hath (a shame the budget never stretches to animatronic mouths,
isn't it?), or the low-rent premise, but in seeing The Doctor fall in love
with his rebellious teenage progeny. It was Tennant's touching performance, and
the doe-eyed charms of sexy Georgia Moffett doing somersaults down a corridor
of laser-beams, that ensured this adventure didn't crash-and-burn...
Join in the discussion about this episode at
Dan's Media Digest
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2008.
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The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :
2008 Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen
2008 Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006 Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005 Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005 Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners
And the Audio CDs :
2000 04: The Land of the Dead
2000 06: The Marian Conspiracy
2000 10: Winter for the Adept
2000 12: The Fires of Vulcan
2000 14: The Holy Terror
2000 15: The Mutant Phase
2001 16: Storm Warning
2001 18: The Stones of Venice
2002 28: The Chimes of Midnight
2002 30: Seasons of Fear
2002 31: Embrace the Darkness
2002 35: ...Ish
2002 39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!
2003 Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction
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DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
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