The Stolen Earth

"The human harvest will commence."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 28th June 2008

Series: 4.12

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Donna, Rose, Martha, Captain Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Sarah Jane, Luke

Synopsis 

Planets are disappearing. Earth has moved in space. The Daleks are the planet's new masters and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. Davros has returned and his creations are more powerful than ever. Can the Doctor's former companions unite and contact the Time Lord before all is lost?

Verdict 

The Stolen Earth is an incredible episode and serves as a quite brilliant first part to the finale of the fourth series. Not only does it unite all of the Tenth Doctor's companions but it also acts as a crossover between Doctor Who, Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. As if that wasn't enough, we see the return of the Daleks but rather more significantly we see their creator for the first time since the revival in 2005. Davros is an incredible character and his return here really is superb. He's still devious, insane and downright evil and I loved how good of a job the production team did in bringing him back to life with a bit of a revamp. We saw continuation from Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks with the details behind Dalek Caan's emergency temporal shift revealed. He flew into the Time War itself and saved Davros from death. The Doctor's reaction, and Sarah's, to hearing his voice was fantastic. It was a look of pure horror and disbelief and that sold to the newer viewers just how important Davros was and the threat he provided. The emergence of a red Supreme Dalek was great and I really liked the voice and appearance standing above the other Daleks. Seeing the Torchwood team in a Doctor Who episode was marvellous and actually seeing the inside of the Hub was excellent for me as it's been a long time since I blogged an episode in which that featured. I have well over 800 blog entries by now but not one of them is of a Sarah Jane Adventures story yet so seeing Luke and Mr Smith again was a real treat as it must be at least five years since I watched one of those stories. The concept of planets disappearing was great and I liked how that sparked references to The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Partners in Crime and The Fires of Pompeii. There were also brilliant mentions of Genesis of the Daleks, The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky and Midnight. The return of Harriet Jones was both comedic and emotional as she actually united those who knew the Doctor through the subwave network but was still sure to remind even the Daleks of who she was. Rose not being able to communicate was rather sad and it was tough to see her left out of things. Her reaction to Martha was quite funny though. I loved Wilf's efforts of dealing with the Daleks with a paint gun almost as much as Gwen's reaction to the Doctor. I'm not sure Rhys would approve! The communications between all of the companions was a wonderful sight to behold and I also enjoyed the references to The Lost Boy and Exit Wounds. The Doctor and Donna heading for the Shadow Proclamation was excellent and I must commend David Tennant for delivering his speech in the language of the Judoon. I was very impressed with how he kept a straight face. The efforts of the companions, or 'Children of Time' as Davros dubbed them, to contact the Doctor was superb and I liked how they eventually broke through. The Doctor was brought up to speed on events and found his way back to Earth, and was reunited with Rose. Or, he almost was. They saw each other from afar and started running towards one another, only for a Dalek to appear and exterminate the Doctor. Talk about cruel! Jack arrived to deal with the Dalek but the damage had been done. He was quickly helped into the TARDIS and Rose and Jack knew what was coming next. The regeneration started and one of my all time favourite cliffhangers took place. I remember watching on broadcast as an 11 year old and being completely shocked. I was stunned and that's what you want out of a cliffhanger! Overall, an incredible episode to start the finale.