Bad Wolf

"This isn't just a game."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 11 June 2005

Series: 1.12

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack

Synopsis

The Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack have to fight for their lives on board the Game Station formerly known as Satellite 5. A dangerous threat is lurking just out of sight and the Doctor soon realises that Armageddon is fast approaching...

Verdict

Bad Wolf was an excellent episode to serve as the penultimate episode of the first series of the revived Doctor Who and to kick off the season finale! I was excited to watch this one again because I know just how good it is, but I don't think I was excited as Gemma as this is her favourite of the Ninth Doctor outings. She's a huge fan of reality television so seeing the Doctor in a futuristic Big Brother house was right up her ally. And to be honest, the idea behind this is outstanding and it's so close to the borderline of silliness and stupidity that the fact it doesn't cross it is what makes this work so well. Despite it being set 200,000 years into the future, this episode is so noticeably of its time with the 2005 broadcast and having the likes of Big Brother, The Weakest Link and Trinny & Susannah turned into Doctor Who is just so good. I love how the pre-titles sequence ends with the Doctor called to the Diary Room of the Big Brother house and Eccleston plays the reaction ever so well. He's absolutely sublime throughout and the unique nature of splitting the TARDIS trio for much of the episode provides a really good dynamic. We get introduced to some really good characters and of course the highlight of those is unquestionably Lynda. Her adherence to the rules of the Big Brother house and the Game Station in general is really good and she's a wonderful way to introduce us to the society and state of the outside world. The prospect of the games carrying a deathly end was brilliant and the Doctor's reaction to the first eviction was magnificent. It bucked him into action and the simplicity of him going from being relaxed to sitting up and showing attention was very good. I liked the continuity from Boom Town with it referenced how they had returned Margaret the Slitheen to Raxacoricofallapatorious before a dangerous outing in Japan preceded their being transported from within the TARDIS. The Doctor cottoning on to the fact he was wanted on the Game Station was very well done and it was fun to see him use that status when it came to forced eviction. His realisation that he was back on Satellite 5 a century after the events of The Long Game was great and I loved how Lynda was able to explain how everything went wrong from the moment the Jagrafess was defeated. The Doctor's realisation that he was the reason for history going wrong again was an incredible moment full of power and a huge sense of guilt. Rose's reactions to her surroundings on The Weakest Link were amusing and I loved how they soon changed following the first vote off and the disintegration that followed. Jack's humour with his robot makeover was right up his character's ally and the line about viewing figures going up was so much fun, as well as some of the places he touched the robots! His pulling out the laser gun was just delightful. The highlight of the episode for me is the Doctor's motionless reaction to Rose's apparent disintegration after she loses in the final round of The Weakest Link and the direction cut to the dust along with Eccleston's performance is simply sublime. The Bad Wolf arc coming full circle with the emergence of BadWolf Corp here was great and the little montage of references throughout the series was a lot of fun. The Controller is such a unique character as well and her reveal as bringing the destruction of her masters in the form of the Doctor was sensational. I was a huge fan and I liked how the Daleks were revealed as the puppet masters that had been controlling the human race for centuries. The Doctor's reaction to seeing so many Daleks was fantastic and the way he assures Rose he's coming to get her without any plan or weapon was just excellent. Overall, a tremendous episode!

Rating: 10/10