We'll come to those in a minute, because it can not be denied that this is a powerful emotional drama working on a scale seldom seen in Doctor Who. There can't surely have been anyone left to win over by this point, but once again Catherine Tate proves why she was such an excellent, albeit unexpected, choice for companion. We've watched Donna's gradual development over the course of Series Four, but here we get to see her do it all again in just forty-five minutes as one Doctor-less crisis after another reduces Britain to chaos. It's a reminder that the companions don't necessarily need the Doctor in order to achieve their potential. Yes, Rose arguably locums here and pushes her to make the right decisions, but the overall progress (from Runaway Bride loudmouth to Journey's End saviour-of-the-universe) is Donna's achievement.
I'm not sure that watching so much Doctor Who so close together is such a good thing. It's good to run some episodes together (I love being able to watch The Eleventh Hour straight after The End of Time), but most stories deserve a little space afterwards to let them sink in. On the other hand, binge-watching is great for Turn Left: it's the most ridiculous continuity-fest, but having all these previous adventures and calamities-that-weren't fresh in the mind makes it more intense and helps knit things together. My favourite callback is the newsflash that announces the Adipose have struck America: it's funny and dark and contrives to be a surprise - we had all forgotten about the little Adipose, and transplanting them to the country that serves cheese with everything is a masterstroke.
Best of all is the terrifying and wonderfully underplayed moment when poor Mr Colassanto and family are dragged away to the labour camps. Doctor Who rarely gets this dark, but the hints of genocide and xenophobia still fly straight over the kids' heads. I wonder if that's a bad thing? History repeats itself because the original impact of the awfulness recedes over the generations - maybe we should make a point of horrifying the children with the facts as soon as possible? But then we wouldn't get this beautiful horrible moment: a look, shared by Wilf (Cribbins, you legend) and Colassanto. The old men can do nothing else but remember.
And then there's Rose. You won't be surprised to learn that I'm not pleased by her return. The more I think about it, I realise that my problem isn't with her (although she's still way down my list of favourite companions), but with the effect that she has upon the Doctor. She can be as lovesick over him as she likes - that at least makes sense - but I'll never understand why he feels the same way about her. His absence from Turn Left postpones the inevitable weirdly drippy reunion but Rose's Doctorless reappearance still doesn't quite ring true. To be blunt, this isn't the Rose we remember and, whatever the reason (is it Piper's performance? direction/production decisions? all the ADR?), she's oddly vacant here, a shadow of her former vivacious self. It's a shame and lessens the impact of having her back.
The episode ends with an unexpected cliffhanger as everything turns Bad Wolf. It's dramatic and exciting and I can't help but love it and the impetus it provides as we move towards the series finale - but, at the same time, it just doesn't make any sense and that infuriates me. I seem to remember that in the Confidential for this episode, David Tennant, on set for these scenes, teasing RTD, repeatedly asking "Yeah, but what does Bad Wolf mean?" He didn't get an answer. It's just a flourish: wonderful and exciting, but ultimately meaningless.
Of course the boys LOVED it, William so much that he forgot not to comment. "Wow," he said and walked off. Chris sat there open-mouthed, trying to collect his thoughts.
"One simple choice," he breathed, his head spinning, "and the course of EVERYTHING changes! And Rose and Donna had to work together to save the whole universe. That is so cool."
And he's right, and RTD is right, and I am just old Mr Grumpy Face.
NEXT TIME...
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