Doctor Who (2005) s01e04 – Aliens of London
Director Keith Boak is back and it’s obvious from go some of the problem with Boak-directed episodes is Boak’s a bad director. Some of the problems are budgetary, but Boak and cinematographer Ernest...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e05 – World War Three
Digital video in the mid-aughts was still very rough. Around the time World War Three came out, some of the best DV cinematography wasn’t being done in film or television but in art and technical...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e06 – Dalek
Okay, this one requires some disclaimers. First, when I watched the last episode and saw the preview of this one, I thought it looked terrible. Like, rolling my eyes terrible. Second, I was visually...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e07 – The Long Game
This first half of this episode is really strong. The second half, not so much. Even after stunt guest star Simon Pegg gets better in the second half it’s not any better. Writer Russell T. Davies...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e08 – Father’s Day
I went into Father’s Day with high hopes; Joe Ahearne directing, Paul Cornell writing. I remember hearing about the episode (albeit vaguely) when it first aired because I knew Cornell’s comic book...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e09 – The Empty Child
It’s a really creepy episode. Like, really creepy. Writer Steven Moffat comes up with a fantastic “villain,” this little kid in a gas mask who calls out, “Mummy,” over and over again. And then when he...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e10 – The Doctor Dances
It’s a disappointing conclusion. It’s not a bad episode, but it’s a fairly obvious, kind of silly finish to the much stronger first episode. Partially because the show never really finds its footing...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e11 – Boom Town
This episode is easily writer Russell T. Davies’s best so far. Maybe it helps he’s got Joe Ahearne directing, who’s even able to weather the Noel Clarke storm. Though it’s a new Noel Clarke. A moody...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e12 – Bad Wolf
At least it’s got Joe Ahearne directing. I mean, it’s not terrible. Guest star Jo Joyner is a nice “romantic” interest for Christopher Eccleston, which is this standard thing where Eccleston and Rose...
View ArticleDoctor Who (2005) s01e13 – The Parting of the Ways
This episode just ought to be called Deusest Ex Machina because it turns out everything this season has been building towards is a giant reset for the series. Which does make sense, given the Doctor...
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