The Empty Child

"Physical injuries as plague."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast:

Series: 1.09

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis

Rose and the Doctor find themselves in London, in 1941 at the height of the Blitz. A mysterious cylinder is being guarded by the army, while homeless children, living on the bomb sites, are being terrorised by an unearthly child. When Rose meets the dashing Captain Jack Harkness, she wonders if she has found a hero better than the Doctor himself.

Verdict

The Empty Child is an excellent episode and an outstanding start to an instant classic of a two-parter. Steven Moffat's first script for the revived era of Doctor Who certainly isn't a let down and it goes all out in being an absolute thriller. The atmosphere is a key component of Doctor Who and it is just incredible throughout this episode. The setting of the London Blitz in 1941 certainly helps with that, but even before we knew that was when we were there was a really creepy and enigmatic feeling which I loved. Rose was terrific throughout and this might be my favourite episode for her as the companion on my rewatch of Series 1. She was just dying for the Doctor to scan for alien technology after arrival following their exciting chase of the Chula warship (ambulance) through time and space. The comments of her Union Jack t-shirt being followed by her hanging from a zeppelin as the Nazis provided a bombing onslaught was just tremendous. I thought the moment where the Doctor is talking to the cat and he hears his TARDIS phone ring was marvellous and his genuine surprise was a delight to see. Christopher Eccleston plays the role of the Doctor so well in this episode and his interaction with Nancy throughout is brilliant. She is such a good character and the warning she gives the Doctor when the phone rings before disappearing was a fantastic introduction. Her efforts in feeding the young homeless by taking advantage of the air raids was marvellous and the moment where the Doctor takes a slice of meat at the dinner table was wonderful. He was an instant hit with the other children with jokes and laughs and that was delightful to see. The best comedy though came with his quest for the warship and how he asked the punters at a club if they'd seen anything fall from the sky recently, only to see the air raid warning poster as the sirens started blaring. The way Captain Jack is introduced is also superb and right from the off he's an intriguing and really likeable character. His interaction and flirting with Rose after saving her from falling from the zeppelin was great and the humour that came with both of their honesty on the psychic paper was brilliant. Rose introducing him to the Doctor and pretending that they were both time agents was a huge amount of fun as well as Rose labelling the Doctor as Captain Spock. His reaction was priceless. The idea of injuries being passed on like a disease was a fascinating development and the Doctor's reaction when Constantine told him about that before revealing that all of those infected weren't actually dead was magnificent. As if the hospital setting wasn't creepy enough, a load of bodies that weren't corpses wearing gas masks did the trick. And then Constantine transformed himself with the sudden development of a gas mask from within his mouth! It was a perfect set up to what was an excellent cliff-hanger with the fate of the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack seeming fatal. The simplicity of the Doctor's reply when Rose asks what happens should the gas-mask wearing approachers touched them was also outstanding. It was so casual but just perfect in selling the threat posed. Of course, one of the most memorable elements of the episode is Jamie and his constant asking for his mummy, and there's something quite heartbreaking about that. Overall, this is a sensational episode and kicks off the mid-series two-parter in fantastic style. 

Rating: 10/10