New Who Review for "Father's Day"

[puppetmaker]

This is I think one of the more powerful episodes of the season. I also think it really resonates with fathers and daughters. Peter and Ariel sat next to each other with Caroline in his lap watching this episode. They ended the episode very close to each other. I knew what was going to happen and still it affected me greatly. Spoilers behind the cut.

Next week is the beginning of a two-parter which goes down as one of the creepiest episodes of Dr. Who in my book and the introduction of a character that love him or hate him he will make an impression on you.


The Doctor is forever saying that going back in time and changing something you want to change is bad. Now we have an episode that centers on the fact that the most ordinary of people can't be saved without consequence. Rose has heard about her father from her mother over the years about how wonderful he was and what kind of father he would be. I think if he had lived, either he would have been the best father ever or he and Jackie would have gotten a divorce. Rose learns by listen the reality of her parent's marriage. She also learns for herself what kind of man her father was. He is willing to sacrifice himself knowing that he is going to die to save his wife and daughter.

Bad Wolf reference in the playground. And I still don't like the SciFi cuts because this time we lost a couple of really nice scenes.

We now have 4 episodes before the season final. The ball really starts to roll down the hill fast.

Comments

[auryn29a.livejournal.com]

I've got a problem with this episode. I like the father theme. It's something rather close to me. But I just can't get past the freakin' langoliers. I have a really hard time suspending my disbelief enough to imagine that those things exist in the Doctor Who universe. Call me crazy. And I'm unable to differentiate what Rose did from what the Doctor does every week. Maybe I'm just really missing something.

[querldox.livejournal.com]

They covered the difference in a bit of technobabble. Remember, the Doctor said that time was particularly weak because there were already two versions of him and Rose there at the crash (technically, I suppose, there were at least 3 versions, counting baby Rose and the likely assumption that the 1987 Doctor was somewhere on the planet, but regeneration might account for that).

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

I think the difference is that the Doctor and Rose doubled themselves up, then encountered each other (Rose brushed by herself when she ran out to save her dad, then she touched her baby self in the church) which caused paradox. I get the impression that if Rose had saved her dad the first time round, things wouldn't have been as bad. (The Doctor probably still would have been pissed, though...)

Also, it seems like the Doctor generally corrects timelines other people have screwed up, a la "Quantum Leap," whereas this time Rose was the one doing the screwing-up.

Personally, I really liked this episode -- they took a story that was utterly predictable from Minute One, and made me enjoy it regardless. There was some beautifully done character work and emotion, which made it worthwhile for me. Plus, the Tardis disappearance was creepy as all get-out.