In Review: Doctor Who – The Waters Of Mars Special
Written by Ian Cullen on November 17, 2009 – 11:00 am -
Synopsis: The Doctor joins forces with his oldest companion to date when a scientific research base comes under attack from sentient waters. It may be another stand against immeasurable odds, but waiting in the wings for the Time Lord is a sign that all songs must end…
The Review: For those that thing Russell T. Davies can’t write a dark episode of Doctor Who. Think again, because this team effort between RTD and Phil Ford is pretty dark, and takes the Doctor to a pretty dark place.
For me. This was the strongest special thus far. In last years Christmas Adventure The Next Doctor, we got light and fluffy, which led nicely into the first of the 2009 specials The Dead Planet, which offered up a mixed bag of dark and light, with enough humour to keep us smiling.
With Waters of Mars it’s defiantly approaching end game for Doctor Number Ten, despite him trying to deny it. The Doctor winds up having to accept that the end is near for this incarnation, and that is made clear as Crystal by the end of the episode when we see our hero second guessing himself and finally realising that he’s made a terrible mistake, a mistake he voices when he says, “I’ve gone to far…” that line of dialogue and the spectra we see looming by episodes end is enough to reinforce that we’re all seriously approaching the end game.
Whereas Planet Of The Dead seemed very stretched out to fill out an hour. The tension and layered writing for this episode could easily have filled 80 minutes to two hours.
David Tennant was ever the Doctor, and it was interesting to see the interaction between him and an older companion in the form of Adelaide Brooke who was played by the brilliant Lindsay Duncan.
What this episode truly illustrates is what happens with The Doctor when there isn’t a regular companion around to stop him and temper the arrogance of the self styled “Time Lord Victorious”, which serves to reinforce the responsibility of having great power.
This episode works well as a cautionary tale, which generally warns that not even the sole surviving Timelord can defeat time.
Score 8/10
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- Review: Doctor Who – Planet Of The Dead
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Tags: david tennant, Doctor Who, Russell T. Davies, Waters Of Mars
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