"The Fires of Pompeii"

For Donna’s first trip in the TARDIS, we are taken to Roman times but the Doctor does not land in Rome as expected- there is only one hill on the horizon and the tremors indicate just which Roman city they are in. The destruction of Pompeii (and the nearby town of Herculaneum) forms a great backdrop to a hugely enjoyable story. The magma chamber of Vesuvius is host to a race of igneous invaders, the Pyrovilesm who have been awoken by the increasing volcanic activity. However, this is not the only odd thing. As with all Roman cities, there are augaries and soothsayers, but the prognosticators of Pompeii are not full of vague mumblings about the future- every soothsayer tells the truth, because the eruption was so violent that it briefly cracked the structure of space-time. Of course they don’t know this and insist that it is because they imbibe the vapours of Vesuvius. The trouble is, the Pyroviles are silicon based life forms and they are reconstructing themselves in the bodies of those who inhale the sands of their remains. This is a plot full of great ideas, yet there is much room for humour. The names of Caecilius, Metella and Quintus are pretty familiar to anyone who studied Latin in the Anglophone world. Other names have a touch of Asterix about them. There is a priceless homage to Mary Poppins and the gag about the TARDIS translation system- if you speak actual Latin, a Roman thinks you’re speaking ‘Celtic’ (which prompts Caecilius to respond with every stock Welsh phrase short of ‘boyo’). There are a very few clunky bits (notably Caecilius coining the word ‘volcano’) but they are very much in the minority.

The characterisation is not as good as it could be, but this is more than made up for by the strenth of the performances. Peter Capaldi’s impressive range as an actor can be seen in his two most famous roles- the sweet, gawky Danny in Local Hero and the human spitting-cobra that is Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of it and In the Loop. Capaldi is utterly charming as Caecilius and his family is also great fun (although it was odd seeing Francesca Fowler, as the only other thing I have seen her in is a very different sort of character in HBO’s Rome). We also have the brilliant Phil Davies as Lucius Petrus Dextrus and a nice little cameo for Phil Cornwell.

Colin Teague makes the whole thing look fantastic. There is a real energy to the scenes, of which many stand out- the ‘prophecy face-off’ between Evelina and Petrus, the brilliantly atmospheric scenes set in the chamber of the Sybilline Sisterhood. A mention must be made of the special effects, which are truly outstanding. The Pyroviles are excellently realised and there is the fantastic eruption- the scene where the Doctor and Donna are running from the escape pod has a complicated CG effect in a tracking movement, something that feels positively cinematic. The production design is flawless helped, no doubt, by the shooting at Cinecittà Studios in Rome.

Above all, this is a great story for the Doctor and his companion. Donna is, at first, thoroughly enthused by Pompeii, but she becomes angry at the Doctor for his refusal to prevent the deaths, and her anger becomes tearful pleading. The Doctor, as we are explicitly told for the first time, cannot change certain events and it is here we find out why- if Pompeii had not been destroyed, the Pyroviles would have enslaved the earth. Yet Donna manages to convince him to save Caecilius and his family in a scene of great power and wonder- I like to imagine that the Doctor was thinking of leaving Anne Chaplet to her fate in The Massacre. Tate and Tennant are both utterly stunning in this story, a good sign for the future.

This is a hugely enjoyable story that manages to overcome all the obstacles in its path. Even the ending, which should be cheesy, is touching. A real favourite.

NEXT: "Planet of the Ood"

"The Sound of Drums"/ "Last of the Time Lords"

"He who would Valiant be
'Gainst all disaster.
Let him in constancy,
Follow the Master."

The name ‘Mr Saxon’ has been cropping up all over the shop in this season and here, we discover his identity. The Master has returned and is now Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is here that the longest story the programme has had since its return, continues. "The Sound of Drums" has the TARDIS crew more helpless than they have ever been before- there are no old friends that they can rely on, no allies they can convert- they are on their own. The Doctor formulates a plan to stop the Master, but he is outguessed and the Master punishes the Doctor with a gleeful sadism, before opening the door to an invasion of Earth. There is no stopping this and the planet suffers under the Master’s rule for a year. In "Last of the Time Lords", the Doctor is humiliated on a daily basis and Jack is tortured and killed over and over again. The only hope is the legendary figure of Martha Jones, who wanders the planet armed with the knowledge that will finally defeat the Master. A very vocal minority of fans seem to regard this story as a travesty but in my opinion, they are so unbelievably wrong that I sometimes wonder whether they were watching the same thing as I was. This is a story that shows how effective an adversary the Master is- he seemingly has the Doctor outmanoeuvred at every turn. Russell T Davies makes him a match for the Doctor in every respect- he has the same wit and way with words, the same intelligence. This is clearly not your usual adversary, which is why Davies’s script doesn’t follow the typical finale pattern, but has surprises at every turn.

The effectiveness of this is due to Davies’s usual strong writing, most crucially in the characterisation. This is a story that paints images of humanity crushed, of floating killer spheres patrolling the skies, of entire countries being incinerated, of a fleet of spaceships stretching across continents, poised to hurl themselves into interstellar war. However, that is not what the story is about. The story is about the Doctor and the Master. From the start, it is clear that the Doctor’s attitude to his adversary is very different. The grim determination against an adversary is there, as usual, but there is something else- the Doctor actually needs the Master as a peer. The Master comes across as a truly awesome adversary here, a man who gasses the people who helped him into office, who obliterates Japan and piles humiliation on those he has defeated. Yet there is something else there. The Master is married, yet this is more than a sham and it is made obvious that Lucy has not been hypnotised or possessed. He calls the ‘Toclafane’ his ‘children’ and it is clear that they are not just a race he has allied himself with, or his pawns. The Master is a more rounded, yet more mysterious figure than ever before- even the ‘explanation’ for his motivation (with the beautiful flashback to Gallifrey) only adds to the character. The dynamic between the two characters is sublime, with their first phone call between them being a highlight. There is an undertone in the Doctor’s voice that the Master gleefully picks up on- ‘Are you asking me on a date?’, yet he freely tells the Doctor of his fears in the Time War. David Tennant and John Simm play the dynamic to perfection throughout and the final result is only evident in their last scene together. The Master has been shot and, while the Doctor cradles him in his arms, he refuses to regenerate, while the Doctor tearfully begs him (the first time the Doctor has actually cried). It is (to be pretentious) like David and Absalom and an immensely powerful scene. Throughout, Simm makes the Master gleeful sadistic and unpredictable, but he never seems one dimensional- this is someone who is capable of doing anything and probably would. Tennant’s performance is more restrained, as befits the writing for the character in the story and he is brilliant throughout.

Which brings us to the other ending. The use of the faith of humanity to restore the balance is tied in with the plot excellently and whether you see it as being a wonderful affirmation of humanity or a sci-fi version of Peter Pan is up to you. There are those who see the ‘reset button’ as a cop out, some even saying it is a ‘deus ex machina’, which is wrong, unless ‘deus ex machina’ is Latin for ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about’. The cannibalising of the TARDIS to make the Paradox Machine made it obvious that this was something that was going to be reversed. Some have compared it unfavourably with Lay Down Your Burdens the season two finale of Battlestar Galactica (the excellent, if somewhat overrated remake). Here, there is a two-part finale with part two taking place a year later than part one but there is no reset. It seems that there are many people who still do not understand what type of programme Doctor Who is. It has to be grounded in a reality we can understand, meaning that the contemporary Earth that the Doctor visits has to be reasonably similar to the real one, which makes the strange worlds and periods the Doctor visits all the more effective. Lumbering Doctor Who with a permanently ravaged contemporary Earth is stupid. It is not as if there are no consequences- the Doctor is left alone once again and Martha has changed forever. Dramatically, it is no more of a cop-out than having the destruction of Earth occur in a fascist parallel universe in Inferno or the Doctor being brought back to life in "Father’s Day".

Colin Teague directs wonderfully with a plethora of great scenes- the sky cracking open to allow the Toclafane entry to the sound of the Rogue Traders, the aforementioned scenes between the Master and the Doctor, the wonderful Gallifrey flashback. There are moments of terror, of awe and of introspection, excellently handled by Teague. The best example is the death of Mrs Rook, a combination of terror, black humour and farce that works perfectly. The special effects are awesome throughout and help to give the story a truly epic feel. The performances are also excellent, with the Jones family being on fine form, particularly Adjoa Andoh as Francine. Alexandra Moen is very effective as Lucy- I love her Sloane-ey dance in "The Sound of Drums" and there are great turns by Tom Ellis as Dr Milligan and Ellie Haddington as Professor Docherty.

This is also Martha’s last story as a regular and Freema Agyeman is, again wonderful. In "The Sound of Drums" , Martha is wonderfully defiant of the Doctor when her family is threatened and her tearful departure is very well done. "Last of the Time Lords", however, has a Martha who is hardened but still compassionate- the moment where she laughs at the Master is truly brilliant. It also confirms one thing- Martha has responsibilities that Rose never did, which means her exit scene (again, beautifully written) gives her a great deal of dignity. At times, the shadow of Rose was cast a bit too strongly in the scripts for my liking, but Agyeman was so strong that this never really mattered.

Doctor Who again ends with a bold, yet ultimately very successful attempt to do something different for the finale. Ignore the naysayers and tuck in!

NEXT: "Time Crash"