Review By Brian Edwards, 3.5 out of 5
So the second episode of series 4 of Doctor Who has just finished. I missed a review of last weeks episode (slap wrist) so we can consider this a catch up.
Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 1 ?Doctor Who Partners in Crime.
As I am sure everyone is aware by now, this episode was stolen by the ever so cutesy ‘Adipose’ creatures, little animated balls of human fat. But their presence is secondary to the r introduction of Donna (Catherine Tate) who originally graced our screen in the 2006 Christmas special ‘The Run away Bride’. Now as I see the biggest problem with Catherine Tate becoming a major character in any ongoing drama series is that she has already set herself up with a plethora of clever and memorable comedy characters from her comedy sketch show ‘The Catherine Tate Show’. The ghosts of these characters dogged her performance in The Run Away Bride ?but with the reintroduction of Donna in Partners In Crime I can begin to see these fading and the genuine character of Donna take a step forward.
The story itself doesn’t go on to set the world on fire, but acts as a nice reintroduction of Donna and shows the first embers of a good chemistry between The Doctor and his new companion.
Donna is not the brightest spark, but is determined and honest. She has the ability to question The Doctor ?not so much his science or method, but his Humanity.
This last characteristic really comes into its own in the second episode ‘The Fire Of Pompeii’ as not only does she question the Doctor’s god like authority over the events of history, but some of the little niggles of the whole Doctor’s companion experience. Upon finding she is actually heard as talking Latin when in Pompeii, she asks the question what would happen if she used a Latin phrase that she already knew.
This is a much stronger episode than the first, it takes it’s toll on the viewer emotionally, as well as expanding the complexity of the Doctor’s character.
The first 2 episodes give ground to be built on even if they are not the strongest of episodes so far.
I can only wait for next weeks episodes and hope that the reintroduction of the Ood take the series up a notch.
Yes I have also noticed that for the first 2 episodes the word reintroduction is a strong flavour. It promised to only get stronger throughout the 4th series run.
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