42

"I don't want false hope."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 19 May 2007

Series: 3.07

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis

On a spaceship headed straight for the centre of the sun, the Doctor and Martha arrive with only forty-two minutes until impact and inevitable doom. With a deadly parasite infecting the crew, can they escape in time?

Verdict

42 was a very good episode of Doctor Who to continue our rewatch through the modern era of the show! This seems to be the one in Series 3 that, for whatever reason, I have watched the least and I can't quite believe it's been seven years since my last viewing! I didn't remember that this episode was written by Chris Chibnall and it definitely had a familiarity for what would come in Series 11 and beyond once he took over as show runner. It was full of action which was good and I enjoyed that there was no messing around when it came to thrusting the Doctor and Martha into the action. The setting lent itself to no time to mess around and having the TARDIS arrive with the spaceship only having forty-two minutes until it crashed was great. It gave us an instant plot and something for the Doctor to resolve. The heat that accompanied the pending crash was a nice unique factor and wasn't the usual danger that accompanies a spaceship in flight. The very idea of having a ship orbiting close to the sun was excellent and something that just shouldn't be possible, so I really liked the unique nature of it. The Doctor being separated from the TARDIS was good and I liked how he was confident throughout the episode in getting everything sorted despite such an awful predicament. That was even evident when Martha was seemingly flying away into an oblivion after escaping the posse Korwin. Gemma's comment about seeing Martha glide away being the highlight of her childhood had me in hysterics as she once again showed her distain for the companion! I thought Martha had a solid episode and her frequent flyer privileges of getting universal phone signal was a really clever way of advancing the series arc despite being so far away from contemporary Earth. Francine was very much not on the side of the Doctor and we got strong indications regarding Election Day and Mr Saxon's involvement. Seeing that all come together is wonderful in hindsight. I thought the pub quiz makeup of the areas on the ship was quite fun, if not a little cheesy, and something so simple provided some tension which is always good. Kath was a good character and I enjoyed how she got on with the Doctor in such testing circumstances. Her reaction to finding out that there was no way back for her husband was sublime. I liked the idea of a sentient sun and having it posses people with the light representing that. It worked well and the remains of Abi Lerner were startling. It was a brutal way to die! The Doctor getting infected in order to remagnetise the escape mod Martha was in was really good and I loved how she never gave up belief that he would save her. The Doctor needing to freeze the possession out was good and I liked Tennant's performance in always being quite angry and forceful given the situation. That brought a good sense of realism. Korwin and Kath going out together was a fitting way to take out the threat and made for a more than solid conclusion. I'm not a massive fan of Martha kissing Riley goodbye as I think their potential romance was born out of fear of death, but it was nice that Martha was showing affection. That was more than clear when she was reunited with the Doctor though with that enormous hug! Overall, I thought this was a great episode and one that isn't quite talked about enough because of the incredible string of episodes that is to come.

Rating: 8/10