Review: World War III (9th Doctor)
World War III by Russell T. Davies is the second half of a two-parter. I like the second half of this one slightly better than the first half. Perhaps it’s just that this half has some of my favorite lines. Which ones would those be? Go forth into the spoilers to find out.
Episode: World War III by Russell T. Davies
Rating (1 to 5): 3.8
Baddie: The Slitheen family of Raxacorricofallapatorius.
Rose is Trapped: in the Cabinet room with The Doctor and Harriet Jones.
The Doctor is Trapped: in the Cabinet room with Rose and Harriet Jones.
The Doctor Enjoys: trouble, from the look of things.
The Doctor Dislikes: the idea of a proper sit down tea…too domestic. Graffiti on the TARDIS.
Doctor-y Strangeness: He doesn’t get electrocuted like the others.
Scary Stuff: People with zips in their foreheads and big green aliens inside.
Does someone local help out? Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North & Mickey Smith
Bad Wolf? Spray painted on the TARDIS
What we learn: The Doctor isn’t as easy to electrocute as humans. “Slitheen” is a surname. The Slitheen family is from Raxacorricofallapatorius. Harriet Jones is the architect of Britain’s Golden Age. The TARDIS has a phone.
The Doctor’s Death Wish: he gets Mickey to shoot a missile at him. That and he keeps smiling at people with guns.
The Doctor Apologizes To: Indra Ganesh’s body.
My Favorite Bits: “Deadly to humans, maybe.” The Doctor escaping being shot in the lift. The Doctor’s interactions with Harriet, especially their introduction. The Doctor’s history lesson about the Cabinet Room. “You kiss this man?” The look on The Doctor’s face when he tells Margaret that he will stop her from inside his box. (Leave this planet or I’ll stop you.) “I could save the world, but lose you.” “You’re stuck with me. Ha!”
Observations and musings:
Rose really shows her initiative in this episode. First, when she grabs Harriet’s hand and pulls her around the electrified Slitheen and out of the Cabinet Room, and again when she gets them all to ride out the explosion inside a closet. Rose is getting used to this sort of adventure. She’s begun to joke about them. Also, she seems to trust The Doctor completely. She’ll just let him do what he thinks is best. That includes the whole missile being launched at them thing.
The Doctor can really run, can’t he? I suppose that he has to. He’d have been dead years ago otherwise. I loved The Doctor’s reaction to Jackie’s harangue about keeping her daughter safe. He looks very uncomfortable. He is very much “saved by the bell” when Mickey takes the phone away from her. Apparently, The Doctor doesn’t like the port in the Cabinet Room. Did you see the look on his face after he took a sip? He also seems to have formed a strong attachment to Rose. The Mickey tormenting is a symptom of this, I think. And then there is the “I could save the world, but lose you” moment. Perhaps it’s that she’s given him a reason to live? Something to ponder, anyway.
Even Mickey manages to shine in this episode. Not only does he save Jackie from the Slitheen, he also saves the world by launching a missile at the aliens. He even tried to get Jackie to run when the Slitheen attacks his apartment. Not bad, eh? Random question: Why didn’t the Slitheen smell The Doctor when he was hiding from them? Does he not sweat, then? Perhaps they were distracted. Just wondering. Harriet Jones seems like such a good candidate for prime minister here. She seems so down to earth. Am I the only one who will always remember how to spell buffalo, now? (2 “F”s one “L”) May I just say, Ew…Exploded Slitheen! (Danger, Un-exploded Slitheen? …never mind.) Good ep. See you next time for “Dalek.”
World War III, Russell T. Davies, Doctor Who, 9th Doctor
Image Source: http://www.time-and-space.co.uk/
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:14 am
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