Amph The OFFICIAL Doctor Who Episode Countdown - Nos. 3 & 4

You're right in that The Empty Child is one of the most frightening episodes in NuWho. And I totally agree that this horror and suspense was certainly an aspect of Classic Who. I'm nearly done with season 1 and it's been interesting seeing just how much 'horror' stuff there is. Not in the historical episodes, but in the otherworldly stories the universe is often portrayed as an incredibly frightening and dangerous place. And because the Doctor is frail and underpowered, the danger feels even stronger.

Er... but I should talk about that in the Classic Who thread In any case, I rewatched The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances last week and I have to say that personally I probably prefer the second episode. You know me, character development, blah blah blah

Sooo can we maybe get the next ep in the countdown? This thing has been going on for nearly a year, you know...

 

The countdown so far...

87 Fear Her 6.36
86 Love & Monsters 7.45
85 Aliens of London 7.55
84 World War Three 7.64
83 Boom Town 7.82
82 Evolution of the Daleks 9.82
81 The Idiot's Lantern 10.00
80 The Lazarus Experiment 10.09
79 Daleks in Manhattan 10.36
78 The Curse of the Black Spot 10.45
77 Night Terrors 10.55
76 The Doctor's Daughter 10.55
75 42 10.55
74 Planet of the Dead 11.09
73 The Poison Sky 11.27
72 The Sontaran Stratagem 11.36
71 The Unquiet Dead 11.55
70 Victory of the Daleks 11.64
69 Vampires In Venice 11.73
68 Voyage of the Damned 11.91
67 Partners in Crime 11.91
66 The Long Game 12.09
65 The Age of Steel 12.36
64 Rise of the Cybermen 12.36
63 Bad Wolf 12.36
62 The Next Doctor 12.36
61 Rose 12.45
60 The Hungry Earth 12.55
59 The End of the World 12.64
58 New Earth 12.82
57 The Runaway Bride 13.00
56 Army of Ghosts 13.00
55 Gridlock 13.09
54 Cold Blood 13.09
53 The Beast Below 13.18
52 The Unicorn and the Wasp 13.27
51 Journey's End 13.27
50 The Rebel Flesh 13.36
49 Last of the Time Lords 13.36
48 The Lodger 13.55
47 The Shakespeare Code 13.59
46 Planet of the Ood 13.64
45 The Christmas Invasion 13.64
44 The Stolen Earth 13.64
43 Smith and Jones 13.73
42 Doomsday 13.82
41 Closing Time 13.82
40 The End of Time Part 2 13.91
39 The Almost People 13.91
38 The End of Time Part 1 14.00
37 Father's Day 14.00
36 Tooth and Claw 14.09
35 The Waters of Mars 14.09
34 The Sound of Drums 14.18
33 School Reunion 14.36
32 Turn Left 14.45
31 The Parting of the Ways 14.50
30 The Fires of Pompeii 14.73
29 The Impossible Planet 14.91
28 The Satan Pit 14.91
27 Dalek 15.27
26 The God Complex 15.45
25 The Wedding of River Song 15.73
24 Amy's Choice 15.91
23 A Christmas Carol 15.91
22 Vincent and the Doctor 15.91
21 Midnight 15.91
20 Let's Kill Hitler 16.00
19 The Girl Who Waited 16.05
18 The Pandorica Opens 16.09
17 Utopia 16.18
16 The Time of Angels 16.18
15 A Good Man Goes to War 16.27
14 Flesh and Stone 16.27
13 The Big Bang 16.36
12 The Impossible Astronaut 16.36
11 Day of the Moon 16.55
10 The Eleventh Hour 17.09
9 Forest of the Dead 17.14
8 Silence in the Library 17.18
7 The Empty Child 17.27


And so onwards!!



6. The Doctor Dances

The Child's plague is spreading throughout wartime London, and its zombie army is on the march. The Ninth Doctor and Rose form an alliance with intergalactic con man Captain Jack, but find themselves trapped in the abandoned hospital. The answer lies at the crash site, but time is running out...

Score: 17.36
Lowest: 14
Highest: 20





TRIVIA

When Nancy approaches the crashed ship and cuts the barbed-wire fence, the score features the brisk string motif that would become the featured motif in the Torchwood TV series theme.

The word dancing is frequently used in this episode as a metaphor for sex. Writer Steven Moffat would use the innuendo again in The Girl in the Fireplace, in which it is hinted that the Tenth Doctor might have some form of romantic dalliance with Madame de Pompadour.

 

*faints*

 

One more per day (number one on Friday) leading up to 'The Name of the Doctor' on Saturday, eh?

 

Holy Dalek bumps! The Countdown is back!

Are we all ready to do it all again for Series 7?

 

Once it's finished, yes, but it should definitely be done by someone else than halibut.

 

That hurts, Mar. That hurts

 

The truth usually does hal.

 

She speaks the truth. 245 days is not an acceptable gap between entries in a countdown.

 

That's nothing compared to the time between Doctors 7 and 8, and 8 and 9. You people are spoiled.

 

EVERYBODY LIVES!

 

So where's number five?

 

Ok, but you won't like it

5. The Doctor's Wife

The Doctor receives a distress signal from an old friend. Could there really be another living Time Lord out there? Hopes raised, he follows the signal to a junkyard planet sitting upon a mysterious asteroid in a bubble universe, populated by a very strange family.

Score: 17.82
Lowest: 12
Highest: 20





TRIVIA

The Corsair is the first Time Lord confirmed in dialogue to have changed genders through regeneration.

Idris/The TARDIS states that police box doors are meant to open outwards, and the Doctor has been ignoring those instructions all along. The "Pull to Open" instructions referenced are on the phone compartment, however, and seem to only refer to its own small door as seen in The Empty Child.

 

So low?! This is an outrage!

 

I really enjoy The Doctor Dances. I mean, it was definitely the first time in the show that I really felt the wonder of the Doctor and what he does (well, culminating in that after The Empty Child, but the second half in this case is where all the punch is). Father's Day was the first one that got to me emotionally, but that was about Rose and her dad. This one was unequivocally about the Doctor and giving him perhaps his first chance to really be joyful about something post-Time War. Love it.

Now, The Doctor's Wife.... I would agree it's a bit low, except that I can think of two episodes I would put ahead of it, then I'm sure that Blink is up there because everyone loves it just a little too much So I'm not that surprised at this placement. But yes, let's all acknowledge that this is a brilliant episode. It would be just with the Doctor's interactions with Idris/The TARDIS/Sexy, which clarify and give breath to something we have known a long time: the TARDIS takes care of him, so much that it takes him where he needs to go. I mean, it's the only explanation that makes sense of why the Doctor can't ever fly her where he wants to (unless it's part of a vital mission, really), but always manages to wind up places that he is needed anyway. But then on top of this there's a great plot with Amy and Rory, messing with our heads and culminating in teaching us the word petrichor. Just a fantastic episode all around, without a misstep and with a lot of heart for all characters.

Also, the Doctor opens the TARDIS doors inward. Yes. So why at the end of the new credits do they open outward? This bugs me.

 

They do?

 

I love the word "Petrichor"

 

*cough*fiveminusoneisfour*cough*

 

4. The Family of Blood

Score: 17.82
Lowest: 12
Highest: 20

3. Human Nature

Score: 18
Lowest: 16
Highest: 20

England 1913, school teacher John Smith experiences amazing dreams of living an incredible life as a mysterious adventurer called "the Doctor", fighting monsters and seeing far away worlds. Is this man just a look-a-like of the real Doctor with a psychic link, or could there be another answer for all this?






TRIVIA

When the Doctor is speaking to Joan he names his parents as Sydney and Verity. This is clearly a reference to Sydney Newman, the original creator of Doctor Who, and Verity Lambert, the first producer.

During the video instructions that the Doctor has recorded for Martha, a deleted scene for the episode reveals that instruction number five stated that the Doctor hated pears (before a number of improvised statements by Tennant that were intended to be "fast forwarded" when shown). The declaration of the Doctor's distaste for pears was removed, and the fast forward implemented just before this instruction was said, as the BBC felt that it may encourage children to stop eating pears.

 

We're not gonna have to wait until the eve of the 100th anniversary for number two, are we?

 

Hal - I had to abbreviate the title - your request was just a little too long.

 

Never satisfied!

 

Nevar!