Tags: Doctor Who
Oh my, it appears that Russel T. Davies wants to go out with a big big big bang. The Stolen Earth is essentially the middle episode of a three part story, which began with Turn Left. In the previous episode we were left with an ominous warning from Ms. Bad Wolf that darkness was coming. Of course that Rose was able to get to the same universe as the Doctor meant something seriously bad was happening. The "darkness" was spreading across all universes, but in this episode did not match with what I expected. I expected something like a blanket sucking energy out of everywhere, but in this episode we have several (27) stolen planets ... hmmm.. just how is that a blackness spreading across all universes? Either they have a continuity problem or it's going to be addressed in the next episode.
A little aside -- I'm an electric vehicle enthusiast and in episode begins with what I think is an electric vehicle. The milk truck which drives up, it's a
Milk Float which is A milk float is a small battery electric vehicle (BEV), specifically designed for the delivery of fresh milk....They are very quiet, suiting operations in residential areas during the early hours of the morning or during the night. Maybe these are (were) common in Britain and didn't deserve any remarking on its presence, but here in the gasoholic U.S. (where I live) to see an electric vehicle is rare. Unless you look in my driveway, that is. Anyway, back to the show.
Why is it the Doctor just barely misses personally witnessing the events? Anyway it was curious how the camera panned over the prop of his hand. The Doctors hand reminded me of the Hand of Omega which was shown in The Remembrance of the Daleks, and makes me wonder whether in the future if this hand of the Doctors might become a power artifact.
The Doctor sees the milk float, runs back into the Tardis, and immediately after there's an earthquake and then Rose appears. All through these episodes the Doctor has been just missing Rose. Earthquake...? After several shots of people's reactions looking at the sky saying "that's impossible" we see a sky full of other planets. And Rose pops in to say "All right, now we're in trouble, it's only just beginning".
It's an "All Hands on Deck" situation with Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, UNIT, the Torchwood gang, Sarah Jane, and Donna's family... As the Doctor's enemies (the Daleks) say later, these are the Children of Time. These different units of people, because of their familiarity with the Doctor they know better how to interpret this than the rest of the people around them who go to looting and fear. Or "ULTIMATE CODE RED".
Doesn't it strike these humans how "ULTIMATE CODE RED" is the same as the Daleks statement "EXTERMINATE" or "DALEKS are MASTERS OF THE EARTH". Both are the same statement just said by different people. They're all saying "MAXIMUM EXTERMINATION".
Orstenhagen key is an anagram of "Earths Gone". It's not discussed as to what it is, but Harriet Jones firmly states it's not to be used.
"The Shadow Proclamation" is a place? I thought it was just an agreement..?
"There's something on your back" .. but they got rid of that thing on her back in the previous episode. Why is there still something on her back?
"I'm just a temp" is an interesting self identification. But what if Rose comes back fully and Donna thinks "I'm just a temp" and takes Rose's reappearance as the ending of her temporary situation.
"I'm so sorry for your loss.. the loss that is yet to come..." Was that referring to..? The Doctor was about to die at the end of the episode? Or more?
"You, Doctor, will lead us into battle" must have struck him in his memories of the Time War where he led a massive battle force in an ultimate battle against the Daleks. In this case when the Shadow Proclamation said they were declaring war across the universe, offering him the lead position, he simply ran from it. Perhaps in the Time War he chose to take that leadership position.
Again.. as in the Last of the Time Lords they work to contact the Doctor by harnessing everything on earth into a unified broadcast with everybody broadcasting the same signal. In Last of the Time Lords it was all people thinking the Doctor's name, but in this one it's all cell phones (amplified) making a call to the Doctor's cell phone.
Dalek Caan was one of the surviving Daleks revealed in
Evolution of the Daleks. Dalek Caan and three other Daleks had survived the Time War and appeared a couple times in the 2005-2007 episodes. Three of those four were clearly killed but Dalek Caan did an emergency time shift and escaped, only to reappear...NOW
Davros is a scientist from the planet Skaro whose people, the Kaleds, were engaged in a bitter thousand-year war of attrition with their enemies, the Thals. He is horribly scarred and crippled for reasons that are never explained, with only one functioning arm and one cybernetic "eye" mounted on his forehead; for much of his existence he depends completely upon a self-designed mobile life-support chair which encloses the lower half of his body. It would become an obvious inspiration for his eventual design of the Dalek. Davros is a megalomaniac who believes that through his creations, the Daleks, he can become the supreme being and ruler of the universe. He is a brilliant scientist who has demonstrated mastery of robotics, metallurgy, chemistry, artificial intelligence, cloning, genetic engineering, biology, military tactics, and cybernetics. His last appearance in the Doctor Who continuity was Remembrance of the Daleks during the Seventh Doctor's episodes.
It was said in this episode Davros had died in the first year of the Time War. Clearly Dalek Caan rescued Davros from that war.
Harriet Jones, Sarah Jane and the Torchwood crew are all found by Daleks and threatened with EXTERMINATION. However their actual death is not shown. Perhaps they will return in the next episode?
Speaking of Harriet Jones.. again she mentions knowing of a time when the Earth might be in Danger and the Doctor would not be there to help them. The previous episode, Turn Left, also explored how would the earth prevail against one of these threats if the Doctor was not there. Here again we have the same question.
"Everlasting death for the most faithful companion" ...? What does that mean?
“He is coming: the Threefold Man. He dances in the lonely places. Oh, creator of us all – the Doctor is coming!” – Dalek Caan - What does that mean???
Dalek Caan also said something, while looking at Sarah Jane, about the one who was with them in their beginning. Dalek Caan was formed in the presence of Martha Jones, so it can't be a reference to that story. However in
Genesis of the Daleks the fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane were sent back in time to Skaros to the time of the war during which the Daleks were created. Davros had been a scientist developing weapons for use in a long running war on Skaros, and the Daleks were developed by Davros as weapons in that war. However in the wikipedia's page on Dalek's it's clear that Genesis of the Daleks marks a drastic change in the history of the Daleks. Whatever.
The ending of the show -- the Doctor shot by a Dalek death ray, being killed and going into regeneration. It's the same regeneration effect the 9th Doctor underwent when he became the 10th. According to the
Wikipedia David Tennant is scheduled to appear in the episodes aired during 2009, however there is only to be 3-4 of these. On The Register they ask Who will be the next Doctor? First, that assumes the Doctor really did die. Since Donna still has "something" on her back perhaps they are still in an alternate timeline based on some other choice which has been manipulated. It would be weird, perhaps, to have a three episode series that ends with it was all just a dream and somehow everything is all magically set back to how it had been before. But isn't that exactly what happened The Sound of Drums and The Last Time Lord?
