The second official adventure for the tenth Doctor was written by Russel T Davies, and was titled "Tooth And Claw."
This episode certainly was one of the closest that Davies had come to paralleling the formula for a Doctor Who story established by the original series. Most of the negatives in this episode were not of the plotline itself, but of overdoses here and there of modernization. For example, the opening scene of the "ninja fight" was a bit unecessary, but I'm sure it was there to pump up the action for the iGens watching.
However, after the title sequence for the next 30 minutes, the pacing and style of the episode followed traditionalism. The Doctor once again under
shoots 1979 by 100 years, arriving in 1879 Scotland. Exiting the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose are met by travelling Queen Victoria, en route to the Torchwood Estate. A terrific display of classic Doctor Who is written here, where circumstances passively force the Doctor and Rose to leave the TARDIS in an open meadow, just off a beaten path.
Arriving at the Torchwood Estate, the pacing continued to follow that of classic Who, with most of the dialogue scenes music-less; particularly the scene at the front door of the estate, and then the conversation over supper at the table. Ofcourse, probably the most notable thing Davies wrote into this episode that follows typical classic Who standards is the temporary capture of the Doctor's companion, along with another house-maid she befriends while changing into more 19th century appropriate clothes.
I have often said that Doctor Who episodes like this work well in confined spaces - not to the degree of "Midnight," but the setting of this episode - entirely inside the Torchwood house - always makes for a terrific Doctor Who episode. This episode very loosely reminds me of "Image of Fendahl" from the Tom Baker era. I suppose this is due to the entire story being set inside the house, only this time it was a werewolf at the other end of the hall.
The biggest minuses this episode got from me was the overuse of bombastic, orchestrated music to accompany the action sequences while the Doctor & company were running from the werewolf. I'm not saying the sequence should be like the dialogue scenes - it just would have done more for the episode's review score if the music had been toned down a bit. The other minus is the ending scenes of the episode. The Doctor and Rose are seen hopping off a wagon and then strolling across the meadow back to the TARDIS, as they exchange final thoughts on the previous nights' events. The two enter the TARDIS, and it then dematerializes. That moment would have made a terrific time for the "sting" of the closing theme, but we are suddenly thrown back to the Torchwood Estate that night for a sort of "epilogue" of the story. Granted, the final scene with Queen Victoria was there to set up the story arc for this season - that being Torchwood.
Otherwise, a terrific episode. It certainly had the flavor of Doctor Who, and for once Davies was able to exercise restraint on his usual gay humor themes and soapy romance for the One Tree Hill fans & fangirls. This episode was 45 minutes of Doctor Who, focusing solely on the issue at hand.
This episode certainly was one of the closest that Davies had come to paralleling the formula for a Doctor Who story established by the original series. Most of the negatives in this episode were not of the plotline itself, but of overdoses here and there of modernization. For example, the opening scene of the "ninja fight" was a bit unecessary, but I'm sure it was there to pump up the action for the iGens watching.
However, after the title sequence for the next 30 minutes, the pacing and style of the episode followed traditionalism. The Doctor once again under
shoots 1979 by 100 years, arriving in 1879 Scotland. Exiting the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose are met by travelling Queen Victoria, en route to the Torchwood Estate. A terrific display of classic Doctor Who is written here, where circumstances passively force the Doctor and Rose to leave the TARDIS in an open meadow, just off a beaten path.Arriving at the Torchwood Estate, the pacing continued to follow that of classic Who, with most of the dialogue scenes music-less; particularly the scene at the front door of the estate, and then the conversation over supper at the table. Ofcourse, probably the most notable thing Davies wrote into this episode that follows typical classic Who standards is the temporary capture of the Doctor's companion, along with another house-maid she befriends while changing into more 19th century appropriate clothes.
I have often said that Doctor Who episodes like this work well in confined spaces - not to the degree of "Midnight," but the setting of this episode - entirely inside the Torchwood house - always makes for a terrific Doctor Who episode. This episode very loosely reminds me of "Image of Fendahl" from the Tom Baker era. I suppose this is due to the entire story being set inside the house, only this time it was a werewolf at the other end of the hall.
The biggest minuses this episode got from me was the overuse of bombastic, orchestrated music to accompany the action sequences while the Doctor & company were running from the werewolf. I'm not saying the sequence should be like the dialogue scenes - it just would have done more for the episode's review score if the music had been toned down a bit. The other minus is the ending scenes of the episode. The Doctor and Rose are seen hopping off a wagon and then strolling across the meadow back to the TARDIS, as they exchange final thoughts on the previous nights' events. The two enter the TARDIS, and it then dematerializes. That moment would have made a terrific time for the "sting" of the closing theme, but we are suddenly thrown back to the Torchwood Estate that night for a sort of "epilogue" of the story. Granted, the final scene with Queen Victoria was there to set up the story arc for this season - that being Torchwood.
Otherwise, a terrific episode. It certainly had the flavor of Doctor Who, and for once Davies was able to exercise restraint on his usual gay humor themes and soapy romance for the One Tree Hill fans & fangirls. This episode was 45 minutes of Doctor Who, focusing solely on the issue at hand.
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