Father's Day

Pterodactyl Bat Witch Scorpions are unleashed on the unsuspecting after Rose interferes with an event that even the most cavalier of Doctors could not prevent. Salvation is found within a building that pays homage to a character who is less likely to exist than the scorpionlike creatures flying around the structures anterior (and posterior). Thankfully a sacrifice is made (as all religions require), the debt is repaid, and a body can be re-laid or laid (take your pick, but will it rise again?) and the sky stops falling down. All praise the lord (of time), although he was not much help on this occasion but we should still raise a few halleluiahs just to be safe.

Emotional. Heartfelt. Crushing. Uplifting. The un-appreaicted gem of the season, an incredibly engaging and thought-provoking plot is capitalised upon with hard-hitting acting and the freakish Reapers - the adversaries of the piece. The deletion of a few un-needed scenes and tighter editing are the minimal complaints one can have with this, sensitive chapter which represents coming to terms with loss and death.

What's with the bad reviews on this episode? The idea and concept of this episode were cool. The execution of said ideas and concept was pretty good. The monster is amazing and the episode was good. I liked it.

Father's Day has been criticized by some fans for having a supposedly absurd premise which would effectively contradict the essence of the show itself. That's not the case. Instead, it's a pretty touching story that centers on Rose and allows the character to be a lot more than just another sidekick.

With the Editor defeated and the "boyfriend" gone, Rose asks the Doctor to take her back to the day her father Pete Tyler (Shaun Dingwall) died, since she never really got to know him and would like to see him one last time. The Time Lord complies, but warns her that if a time traveler alters his or her own life story, a time paradox will be created. Obviously, Rose doesn't pay attention, and so she saves Pete from being run over by a car. The consequence is that strange winged creatures appear and start wreaking havoc. Everyone (including a younger Jackie Tyler and an infant Rose) hide in a church, but that won't solve the problem: the only way to get things back to normal is to restore the original time-line, otherwise they will all die.

The main criticism aimed at the episode is that it's quite ridiculous for the Doctor to talk about paradoxes when he alters events on a daily basis (well, as daily as it gets for someone who constantly leaps through time and space). In reality, it's a widely accepted notion in science fiction literature, cinema and television (and it's fiction, not real science) that time travelers can do whatever they want, as long as they don't try to mess with their own history (case in point: the 2002 film version of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine states pretty clearly that the protagonist can't change his own past, no matter how hard he tries). This is also why the Doctor has never considered going back in time and saving the other Time Lords - he can't do it without possibly destroying the Universe.

That said, does Father's Day qualify as a good episode? Yes, because it does to Rose what the Dalek episode did to the Doctor: it gives the characters an opportunity to show the full extent of their internal tragedy, thus establishing them as real people (in the Doctor's case, as real as a 900-year old alien can get) and not just two goof-balls who use the TARDIS whenever they please. Dingwall, playing a role originally intended for Simon Pegg (who took the part of the Editor in The Long Game because of scheduling conflicts) adds plenty to the dramatic arc, and Camille Coduri gets to do a bit more as well, as opposed to the pure comic relief she was asked to provide in earlier episodes.

Any downsides? Well, there's the usual problem with some of the visual effects (the winged creatures look like video game monsters), but that's about it. Everything else - writing, directing, Eccleston, Piper et al - makes for another 45 minutes of above-average British sci- fi.

Peter Alan Tyler , Rose's dad died in 1987, during the wedding of Sarah Clarke and Stewart Hoskins. Rose decides she wants to travel back to that time to meet her him. We discover he's dies alone because of a hit and run driver and Rose wants to be there for him. After a failed attempt, the pair return and the second Rose breaks all the rules of time by saving him. The Doctor gives Rose a glare that we've not seen the like of before and indicates that changes to the time line can have huge consequences. How right he was, Rose's meddling has indeed wreaked havoc, giant creatures are appearing all over the skies and eradicating everyone. The Doctor, Rose and surviving wedding guests retreat into the Church (which boasts a stunning Stained glass window.) Rose realises that her parents didn't perhaps have the dream marriage she thought, Pete is a bit of a letch. We get to see the monsters that have taken advantage of the change in time, they attack and drive everyone into the locked church. The monsters try but fail to gain entry, but all goes wrong when Rose touches her junior self, causing another crack in time enabling one of the creatures to appear inside the church and destroy the Doctor. Only Pete can save the day by resigning himself to his original fate in a heartbreaking scene.

Filmed in Cardiff, it looks very much of the time period, with no obvious goofs I can spot (maybe an out of place BMW 3 Series and Ford Fiesta.) It has some lighter moments, Peter and Jackie's wedding is hilarious as is Jackie's 80's hairdo and peach bridesmaid's outfit. The fashions were meticulously selected, totally 80's. This really tugs on the heart strings when Pete realises Rose is his daughter, the pair play out a beautiful and highly moving scene, it's amazingly well done.

The scenes of abandoned cars, bikes and shoes etc are very reminiscent of the opening scenes from Invasion of the Dinosaurs, very nicely done.

Without a shadow of a doubt my favourite episode of Series 1, Paul Cornell's script is glorious, the acting is first rate, as a viewer I totally connected with the characters. Father's Day is an emotional roller-coaster and will bring a tear to the eye. The best from Series 1, and one of Nu Who's best too. A stonking 10/10