Radio Times: 31st March - 6th April 2007
Excerpts from Russell T. Davies' Episode break-down
3.1: SMITH AND JONES
Writer: Russell T Davies
Guest stars: Anne Reid, Roy Marsden
“Welcome on board, Martha Jones!” says Russell T Davies. “She’s 23, a medical student, and her family’s going into meltdown. Dad’s run off with his secretary, Mum’s boiling with fury, brother Leo’s got a six-month old baby, and sister Tish is all ambition, thinking only of her next job. Martha’s stuck in the middle, as the peacemaker. Just the sort of woman who needs an escape.
“Before you know it, mysterious storms are sweeping across London, sinister motorcycle couriers are stalking the hospital and Martha finds herself transported to the Moon! That’s just the beginning of her troubles, as the alien Judoon arrive in a fleet of mighty spaceships — big, brutal space police! Only one man seems to know what’s going on: a patient called John Smith. And he claims he’s some sort of Doctor.
“When we first introduced Rose [in 2005], we were introducing a whole new audience to the concepts of Doctor Who at the same time, so sci-fi events invaded her life gradually over her first episode. With Martha, it’s the opposite — she’s thrown straight in at the deep end, away from Earth, surrounded by aliens and struggling to save the lives of everyone around her. I did think of calling this episode Baptism of Fire!”
3.2: THE SHAKESPEARE CODE
Writer: Gareth Roberts
Guest star: Dean Lennox Kelly
“Martha’s baptism continues. With any new companion, it’s important to show them the sheer range and breadth of the Doctor’s life, so we’ve taken her back to 1599, when Shakespeare’s at the height of his powers, in London’s Globe Theatre [below]. But if you’re ten years old and the word ‘Shakespeare’ makes you groan, then rest assured, this isn’t just a history lesson. There are witch-like creatures at work, strange deaths — a man drowns on dry land! — some terrible puns and a fearful plot dating back to the dawn of the universe.
“I think this might be our most lavish production yet. We try to film in and around Cardiff, but there aren’t many Elizabethan settings around here, so the team had to travel to Warwick, Coventry and to the Globe itself for some magnificent location filming. And many thanks to the Globe for allowing us in — I hope we increase ticket sales!”
3.3: GRIDLOCK
Writer: Russell T Davies
Guest star: Ardal O’Hanlon
“Martha’s eyes are opened even further, as the Tardis returns to the year five billion, on the planet New Earth, where the Doctor and Rose last fought off cat-nurse nuns and zombie patients. It’s a bit like the Doctor taking Martha to places where he took his ex — which Martha soon notices! But before long, greedy Pharmacists, hapless kidnappers and terrifying Beasts from Below have thrown her into danger. And all because the Doctor told a lie.
“I love these futuristic, far-off adventures because it’s a chance to see every single design department working at full tilt — sets, costume, make-up, prosthetics and CGI, all creating an extraordinary and deadly world. At the heart of which, the Doctor’s old friend, the Face of Boe, is waiting with a secret.”
3.4: DALEKS IN MANHATTAN
3.5: EVOLUTION OF THE DALEKS
Writer: Helen Raynor
Guest stars: Miranda Raison, Hugh Quarshie, Ryan Carnes
“Another baptism of fire — this time for our script editor, Helen Raynor, who’s an equally fine writer. Sometimes I give writers a shopping list of elements, and this was the barmiest one yet: 1930s New York, Pig Men, sewers, showgirls and the Empire State Building. Oh yes, and Daleks, too. Make a story out of that!
“Helen’s done a brilliant job, combining the Depression with the Daleks’ desperation to survive and adding a good bit of The Island of Dr Moreau. Not to mention Frankenstein! Be prepared to see the Daleks as you’ve never seen them before.”
3.6: THE LAZARUS EXPERIMENT
Writer: Stephen Greenhorn
Guest stars: Mark Gatiss, Thelma Barlow
“Marvel Comics! That’s what I said to Stephen Greenhorn. Give us a good old mad scientist, with an experiment going wrong, and an outrageous supervillain on the loose.
“The episode also marks a return to modern-day Earth and a chance to find out what’s been happening to Martha’s family in her absence. With every series, we’ve woven in a small linking theme, which gradually builds to the series climax — series one, we had the mystery of Bad Wolf, and series two saw the creation of Torchwood. This time, pay attention to the enigmatic paymaster of Professor Lazarus as a trap plotted across the whole of time and space begins to close . . .”
3.7: 42
Writer: Chris Chibnall
Guest star: Michelle Collins
“The 42nd century, a spaceship in a far-flung galaxy, saboteurs at work, crew members possessed, and the terrifying catchphrase ‘Burn with me’.
To be honest, I love that title as I can’t wait to see the Radio Times billing for this episode: (7/13. 42). Dial that number, you get a free pizza.”
3.8: HUMAN NATURE
3.9: THE FAMILY OF BLOOD
Writer: Paul Cornell
Guest stars: Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson), Harry Lloyd
“A very different sort of story — though still with monsters and scares galore! But when you’ve got David Tennant as your lead actor (call me biased, but The Best Actor in the Land, frankly), then you want to write stories that push the Doctor into completely new territory. And these two episodes take the Time Lord to places he’s never been before, all in the haunting setting of a boys’ public school in 1913; the winter before the War, with a chill in the air, and mysterious lights in the sky. If ever you thought scarecrows were scary, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
3.10: BLINK
Writer: Steven Moffat
Guest star: Carey Mulligan
“The King of Terror, that’s Mr Moffat. He was the genius behind that gas-mask child with his sinister lament of ‘Are you my mummy?’ and the tick-tock clockwork droids who stalked Madame de Pompadour. But this one!
“To be honest, Doctor Who rarely scares me, because I’ve seen all the behind-the-scenes prosthetics and computer trickery, and I’ve lived with the scripts for months. But when I watch this episode — I’m not kidding — I’m scared to death! Go on, I dare you. Close the curtains. Turn the lights off. Huddle round the TV. Clutch your loved ones. And shiver.”
3.11: UTOPIA
Writer: Russell T Davies
Guest stars: Derek Jacobi, John Barrowman
“Jack’s back! As John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness comes storming back on board the Tardis — with an arrival like no companion has ever had before — it’s time for the Tardis’s wildest ride yet! It hurtles out of control, taking the crew to the distant planet Malcassairo, where a lonely and patient professor is giving his all to save his people from extinction.”
3.12: THE SOUND OF DRUMS
3.13: LAST OF THE TIME LORDS
Writer: Russell T Davies
Guest stars: John Simm, Tom Ellis, Nichola McAuliffe
“The season finale! And the trap closes, as the Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack find themselves in a desperate fight for survival.
“Who are the Toclafane? What is the power of Archangel? And what terrible secrets are stored at the heart of the Valiant? It’s an epic and heartbreaking story, as the Doctor faces his greatest enemy yet. Now, I wonder who that could be . . ?”
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