"Turn Left"

Ever since It’s a Wonderful Life, the ‘What if X was not there?’ storyline has been used many times in film and television and it was time for this question to be asked in a Doctor Who episode: What if the Doctor wasn’t there to save us? We are presented with a world where the Doctor died as a result of the encounter with the Empress of the Racnoss. As a consequence, Martha dies when the Judoon steal the Royal Hope Hospital (together with Sarah Jane, who was the only one who stepped up in the absence of the Doctor). The starship Titanic crashes into Buckingham Palace, causing a nuclear explosion that devastates the south of England, causing the breakdown of British society. The USA would help, but the Adipose have harvested their young from the fat of America (one wonders why they didn’t do that in the first place!) Torchwood (with the obvious exception of Captain Jack) also give their lives immolated with the burning of the poison sky. We are presented with a Britain that is truly broken, where martial law is in operation and, eventually, non-British people get shipped off to labour camps. Some may find this a bit too grim, too 'adult', but this is what life would be like without the Doctor- a bit too close to real life for comfort. And it is clear that it isn’t just Britain or even the Earth that is affected. Overhead, without any fuss, the stars are going out...

I have said that the question is what if the Doctor wasn’t there to save us. However, it is soon obvious that the real question is what if Donna wasn’t there to save the Doctor? For the whole thing is brought on by a mysterious fortune teller on the planet of Shan Shen. Somehow, she is persuaded not to take up the job that led to her meeting the Doctor. This is the story of Donna Noble, the temp from Chiswick, whose normal life was ruined, but not destroyed by the horrors that were unleashed upon Britain. This episode is very much Catherine Tate’s and any lingering complaints about her performance should have been thoroughly eradicated. Donna is recognisably the same gobby woman from "The Runaway Bride", but Tate gives her more depth, understanding that Donna is not the one-shot character she once was. She can be crass and rude (such as in her initial treatment of Rocco Colasanto) but she shows real determination and grit and we love her for it. Bernard Cribbins works his inestimable magic in another delightful performance as Wilfred, but Jacqueline King deserves special praise for her excellent performance as Sylvia, effortlessly showing the fight draining out of her. Rocco is played by Joseph Long in a performance that initially screams ‘comedy foreigner’, which makes his eventual fate even more shocking and tragic in a wonderfully judged performance. However, there is another significant character- a mysterious blonde woman who rushes into Donna’s life at key points. Rose is back, although it has to be said that Billie Piper seems to be a tiny bit uncomfortable in the role, like wearing an old pair of shoes. It is wonderful to see her again, however, and her performance is good, in spite of Piper’s uncertainty.

Davies wrote the great script, but it is the masterful direction of Graeme Harper which binds it all together. Scenes of office mundanity are punctuated with tragedy, a bucolic Christmas is shattered by nuclear holocaust. Then, of course there is the unforgettable scene where Donna travels back in time. The beetle on her back is a very basic animatronic creation, but Harper’s direction makes it genuinely creepy. Harper also makes sure that the effects are as blinding as they have always been and Murray Gold provides another outstanding score.

This is a triumphant and thrilling story anchored by a phenomenal performance by Tate. Donna not only saves the Doctor, but saves the world (This is most emphatically *not* a reference to the execrable Heroes). However, Rose whispers two words that, as before, appear everywhere. The cloister bell rings...

NEXT: "The Stolen Earth"/ "Journey's End"