World War Three

"I think you'll find the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 23 April 2006

Series: 1.05

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

Downing Street announces mankind's first interplanetary war, but the real danger is much closer to home. The Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones race against time to unmask the villainous Slitheen, but only Rose's mum and boyfriend hold the key to salvation.

Verdict

World War Three was a very good episode to continue my Series 1 rewatch! It continues the story already started in Aliens of London in great fashion and whilst it isn't quite up to the level of the first part, it's still an impressive and enjoyable episode in its own right. I think this is a case of the build being slightly better than the reveal and when the Slitheen get into action, they aren't quite as interesting as when we didn't know what was happening on Earth with the UFO crash landing. Having much of the episode inside Downing Street is magnificent and Christopher Eccleston once again shines as the Doctor. It's wonderful to see the relationship with Rose grow and even this early on into her travels, she is devoted to him and willingly would give her life if it meant saving the human race. One thing I would say about this episode though is that the cliffhanger (which was an excellent one) was resolved far too quickly. I feel that having it resolved almost instantly and before the opening credits is just far too soon, and I also think the Doctor should really show a little more compassion for the human experts who perished via electrocution by ID card. The Slitheen getting more show in their naked form is a lot of fun even when it borders on the line of silliness, but it's definitely a good one for the children which is obviously what the farting is for. Their reaction when the Doctor refers to the Slitheen as being their species was good and I liked learning that they were actually a family. The scene inside Downing Street with Rose and Harriet Jones providing characteristics of the Slitheen to narrow down their planet of origin for the Doctor to work out a solution to save Jackie and Mickey is splendid. The use of the pickled eggs and onions mix amongst other vinegar properties was good and Gemma felt pretty sick seeing the Slitheen explode! She's pregnant at the moment so she is easily repulsed which amused me. I enjoyed how the Slitheen knew when one of their brothers perished and their plan being to engage the nations of Earth into nuclear war with each other to reduce the planet to a molten crisp and sell it off as a profit. Their signal shot into space being an advertisement was really good and the Doctor's reaction to that was fantastic. I loved his relationship with Harriet Jones and it was clear that he thought she was companion material. The name ringing a bell was a nice touch and the Doctor mentioning the supposed future with her being elected for three successive terms was intriguing, because her fate in The Stolen Earth would see that changed. The anticipation surrounding the UN releasing the nuclear warhead codes was brilliant and the image of all of the Slitheen waiting anxiously for the call confirming the codes was terrific, especially when interrupted by a soldier. The Doctor's ability to guide Mickey into launching a missile was fantastic and I liked how he was honest with Jackie about not guaranteeing Rose's safety. The idea of bringing a missile on top of Downing Street whilst inside was unique to say the least but I did like how it showed the scale of the threat. Rose's intuition to try and survive the strike via a sturdy structure was good, but the fact that she, Harriet and the Doctor all survive without a scratch isn't exactly believable! I do like it and it's an emphatic way to wipe out the Slitheen, but to see the trio all fine was a bit too much to accept. Still, a very good episode!

Rating: 8/10