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Aug 08 2008
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Dan Owen reviews
Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday April 23rd, 2005
Director:
Screenplay:
Cast:
Synopsis: The alien Slitheen unleash their plot upon the Earth, while The Doctor and Rose try to save the world with the help of local MP Harriet Jones. After last week's enjoyable, yet ultimately daft opener, this two-part episode continues on a similar vein. However, the script manages to plug some of the logic gaps presented last week (including a plausible reason for the alien farting), and without many special-effects to distract viewers from the absurdity, this episode manages to improve upon the story, too. Ultimately, the promise presented by the title World War Three never materializes fully, but The Doctor's machinations in Number 10 Downing Street - trapped in a sealed room with Rose and MP Harriet Jones, is enjoyable. Particularly good is the way Jackie Tyler and Mickey are integrated into the story to battle the aliens - via Roses' "super phone".
I have my doubts with Russell T. Davies' abilities as a science-fiction writer, and "World War Three" only reinforces those concerns. As a contemporary update of Doctor Who cheesiness and ridiculousness - it's an undoubted success - but those elements of the show are perhaps not to be revered as highly as Davies obviously does... For every genuinely effective moment, there's a weak gag or implausible moment just around the corner. These moments give the show a distracting up-and-down feel between overtly ridiculous alien clowning, melodramatic peril with The Doctor, occasional moments of brilliance, and often turgid family soap moments at the Tyler household. Above all, this episode (and, so far, all of Davies' output) just lacks bite. It's all very simple, safe, silly and family-oriented. For a Saturday evening show at 7pm, this is perhaps to be expected, but I get the feeling I'm not the only person hankering for Doctor Who to "get serious" and give us something meaty to grapple with. Next Week: Two words: "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE".
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.E-mail Dan Owen
The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date : 2008 Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen And the Audio CDs : 2000 04: The Land of the Dead 2000 06: The Marian Conspiracy 2000 10: Winter for the Adept 2000 12: The Fires of Vulcan 2000 14: The Holy Terror 2000 15: The Mutant Phase 2001 16: Storm Warning 2001 18: The Stones of Venice 2002 28: The Chimes of Midnight 2002 30: Seasons of Fear 2002 31: Embrace the Darkness 2002 35: ...Ish 2002 39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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