New Who Review for Turn Left

[puppetmaker]

This one is the beginning of the rollercoaster that leads to the end of the 4th season. I have to yet again say that some of what I might be commenting on might not have been in the SciFi airing but in the BBC version which will be (fingers crossed) the DVD version.

And Bad SciFi! No biscuit for you with those previews of the next episode. You would have been much better served by using what the Beeb used for the preview which worked very well and didn't give away so many large plot points and one whopping surprise.

Overall it is a very interesting episode that is hard to quantify without spoilers really. I can say that it is Donna-centric. Catherine Tate, Bernard Cribbins, and especially Jacqueline King gave such wonderful performances. Ms. King's is often overlooked but just watching happening to her through out the episode and how she act, reacts, or doesn't react is just amazing.

Onto the fuller discussion behind the cut. Remember that we are only talking to Turn Left. Please hold discussion of the Stolen Earth and Journey's End until the appropriate time. Thank you.



Firefly fans probably felt right at home at the opening to this one. I half expected to see Mal and Kaylee walking around the corner.

It is one of those "what if" episodes. What if Donna had turned right instead of left? How would this have affected the world much less the universe? Well there were others to step in like Torchwood (since the creation of Jack was before Donna I expect he was there), Sarah Jane, and others. But they could only do so much and needed the Doctor not to die. The Adipose in the US was a bit of a twist and probably did put the US into a downward spiral. The Titanic crashing into the palace and blowing up London.

Having Rose there to warn Donna was a bit of a stretch but I was willing to suspend disbelief on that one. And Donna's confusion as to why her and what was on her back was very well played. Any guesses to how many Donnas we are going to see at D'Con with insect backpacks?

And having Donna figuring out the solution to the problem. What she has to do to make herself turn left. It works better than the argument she would have had with herself and her mother.

Overall a very powerful episode that can be watched more than once since there are a lot of subtle stuff going on.

Then there is the return of "Bad Wolf" which I am lukewarm on but it does set up for the next two episodes.


I am grateful for the wealth of stuff that RTD mined in this episode.

Comments

[lilia2000.livejournal.com]

I loved the episode. It was very much an emotional roller coaster for me. I knew, that in the end everything would go back to the way it was before, but still... When Donna 2 sacrificed herself in order to fix the time line, I was sobbing. Catherine Tate is amazing. I'm really going to miss her next season.

Well I know you'll be seeing at least one Donna at Con. I'm doing the Doctor Donna. I have a brown with blue pinstripe suit. *yay!* (and red hair too!)

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

Yeah! I am thinking about bringing a 10 puppet to play with at the con. We'll have to get a picture together.

[ohsospooky.livejournal.com]

Oh crap, that IS Bernard Cribbins! How did I not figure that out?!?!

Lovely, and happy to be back to reading your LJ. Hopefully you've figured out who I am. lol

[sircaliban.livejournal.com]

There was alot of forshadowing in this episode. I've been waiting to see Rose come back. While I usually like what if episodes, this one, at the time it aired, felt like a throw away episode.

Rose was pretty heavy handed and unapologetic with her.. "I'm sorry."

I think the thing that disappointed me about this episode was that while we were witnessing the world without the Doctor. I was not convinced that Donna was completely convinced that she neeeded to go back and make the opposite decision. Donna is definately stuck about being 'nothing special' and that's pretty clear in this episode. It's that lack of confidence and lack of a 'it's a wonderful life' ending that made this episode so hard for me to accept. Donna goes back... changes her mind.. without even knowing why.. and that's a pretty hard thing to sell. At least it was in my book.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed most of the episode--and hated the Bad Wolf at the end.

[jenny_evergreen]

I am just shattered that Donna isn't sticking around, you know? She's by far the best thing that's happened in the new series, imo. I'll get over it, but it makes me sad.
I said last night that Bernard Cribbens is my favorite bit part character of all time, I think.
I, too, was highly impressed by Jacqueline King's performance.
I think some people were left a bit cold because, as avid fans, we could pretty much have written the episode ourselves...there wasn't really anything new there, and bringing back Bad Wolf did seem to come out of nowhere, but I'm a patient and tolerant sort, so none of that bothers me and I know the next couple of episodes need to be watched before any conclusions can be drawn, anyway.

[laura47.livejournal.com]

(just watched "Turn Left", catching up on other people's reactions.)

The first half I was unenthusiastic about, as it wasn't anything new. Nice to see the family dynamic, but... I wasn't excited. The second half was much better. Rather depressing with the clear idea that everything would fall apart and move towards concentration camps and other miseries if things just start breaking down a bit too fast... Catherine Tate has such range, going from her shouty humor early on to such pathos at the end.

I will miss Donna! I can't believe how skeptical I was about her as a companion when it was first announced. She's delightful.