The Long Game

Cameos a plenty in the seventh episode of the Doctor Who reboot, which I felt was the most enjoyable episode of the run so far.

Arriving in the year 200,000 with Adam (Bruno Langley) still on board, The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper) are on a news broadcasting space station at the heart of the fourth great Human Empire. But things are wrong. The Empire is not progressing as The Doctor knows it should have, it has been stunted. Two workers on the platform, ambitious Cathica (Christine Adams) and her friend Suki (Anna Maxwell Martin) explain how the station works, and Rose and The Doctor investigate just what is happening on the 500th floor. But Adam has a plan of his own.

So, yes. Plot wise I think this was the best episode I've seen so far. I only have the one question, in that I didn't really understand what the endgame was for the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. But beyond that, everything else rang true. I like that rather than fixing the problem himself, the Doctor inspired Cathica to investigate properly and save the day. I also liked that we got rid of Adam as there wasn't much in Bruno Langley's performance to get attached to. I actually thought he died, but actually being dumped home and needing to keep quiet was much more fitting. One funny aspect is that the theme of the show, bias within news media, is probably is more relevant now that it was in 2005

What's most striking about this episode is the number of recognisable actors in it. Simon Pegg and Tamsin Grieg would have been notable cameos at the time, with "Spaced", "Black Books" and "Shaun Of The Dead" all having been made by this point. Christine Adams has worked consistently on both sides of the Atlantic for years now most recently (at time of review) in "Black Lightning". Anna Maxwell Martin is probably the biggest star though, looking particularly young here, she's gone on to star in virtually every Dickins adaptation made since.

I enjoyed this one, it's was an amusing knockabout adventure elevated by its guest stars.

On Satellite 5 you can mind-read all about it: but In the Earth year of 200,000 the truth and the news is not what it seems, and a 90-year old regression is quite normal and the means. Searching for the answers, the Doctor and Rose (eventually) make their way to floor 500 where others have previously blundered (albeit out of ignorance) and are imaginatively confronted by a slimy mucous media mogul and his pundit - but that doesn't peg them back. When the temperature starts to rise, there is not a great deal of surprise, and the baddies are quite justly chastised, and some. Meanwhile Adam, who we met in the previous instalment consumes viewing minutes to ensure this episode fits the delegated TV time slot.

As a Follow up it isn't the best, or superb. But the action and the story to set up the Finale works wonders. The new human race was an Entertaining introduction and it was amazing to see how it had advanced and progressed in a creative way. The story was progression for Series 4's Finale too in my mind as they used the Daleks, but also the time so they had gotten out of time, this was the episodes biggest strength. And it's a good one.

The characters feel better as side kicks as they atleast have more to do, and work with. They aren't great, but their still interesting and have a decent dynamic.

However the episode is mostly just okay, the pacing was good, but the story did just feel like set up and filler. But it was good at it, and the time elements being taken out and taking it to the future is the exact same as Series 4'S Finale.

Without doubt this is the weakest story of the first season of the DOCTOR WHO relaunch and it's all down to writer/executive producer . Like most episodes written by RTD it has a very good opening hook and a very good closing sequence but in between we have a fairly bad structured and paced story where nothing much happens

The opening revolves around new companion Adam experiencing his first trip into space with humorous results and it's at this point the audience are left rubbing their chins thinking hey this guy might be a really good addition to the Tardis crew but unfortunately as the story progresses it becomes obvious that he's only included to take up some running time and to set up a joke at the end . Likewise the inclusion of both Simon Pegg and Tamsin Grieg seems more like gimmick casting in order to make the episode more memorable than it really is and there's no way you'll believe this story was part of the Bad Wolf running theme . As always Ecclestone's performance as possibly the most callous incarnation of The Doctor is fantastic

In an ironic twist of fate, the best episode of Doctor Who's first season, Dalek, is followed by the weakest, The Long Game. Adding to the crushing sense of disappointment is the fact that the incriminated 45 minutes are written by none other than Russell T. Davies, the man responsible for bringing back the Doctor in the first place.

This time, it all takes place in the year 200,000. The specific location is Satellite Five, the heart of the Fourth and Bountiful Human Empire, an ideal place for Rose's first "date" with new companion Adam (Bruno Langley), who joined our time travelers in the TARDIS after the Van Statten incident. It all looks perfect, which means it obviously isn't: something or someone is blocking every kind of human evolution, effectively enslaving and entire race. The prime suspect is the malevolent Editor (Simon Pegg), but the increasingly deteriorating situation indicates something more serious than one man's machinations have to be behind this. And it's up to the Doctor to save the day. Again.

Normally, Davies' stories are among the best of each season because they're (usually) part of a more complex mythology arc, similar to what Chris Carter conjured on The X-Files. But whereas Carter never wrote an X-Files episode that couldn't be enjoyed without considering the bigger picture, Davies has managed to come up with a story that makes little sense on its own and seems to exist solely to set up a more important story later on in the season. The consequence is that most of The Long Game passes by without leaving anything memorable behind. Only Eccleston, always a gas no matter how silly things get, and Pegg (a huge fan of the show), reversing his slacker image with an OTT but utterly enjoyable villainous turn, save the episode from being a throwaway experience.

6,5/10