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Doctor Who: The Poison Sky

Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in Doctor Who
  • Posted at 7:05pm
  • 03 May 2008
  • by WilliamGallagher-RT
  • 4 comments

Second parts are a killer. I know this because I once wrote a Tuesday episode of Crossroads and the sole fun part was standing in my kitchen talking to the writers of Monday and Wednesday's episodes about how they fit together.

But as good as it was to see actors saying my lines on TV, we three were only chatting because we needed a social life. There was no real need to compare notes like that because when you're on a soap, you are all lumbered with an intensively detailed outline, I mean preposterously detailed. When you're on Doctor Who, you're not.

Last week Helen Raynor had the Doctor, Donna and the Tardis like any other Who writer. Unusually, she was also saddled with Unit, Martha, Donna's family, Sontarans, a lot of things to cover. But otherwise, nobody told her what scene one was about, scene two, scene three. Maybe they told her they only had Bernard Cribbins for one day's filming so he'd best not be in every shot. She would've been told practical, production issues and she's a professional writer, she'd know well what the budget would allow and what it wouldn't.

But once you've written part one, once you've had that glorious and scary job of making a compelling story that builds to a big finish, you've then got an episode like this week's when you have written yourself into a corner.

Star Trek writer Michael Piller often reported that when he was writing The Next Generation's most popular episode, The Best of Both Worlds part one, he had a great time because he was leaving and someone else would be lumbered with part two. Then his contract was renewed, he was back on staff and you've already guessed what his first job was.

Raynor did better than him. The Poison Sky grabbed the cliffhanger ending from last week's The Sontaran Stratagem and raced on, swiftly and satisfyingly answering the immediate issue about Donna's trapped grandad. And then making the enormity of the Doctor's problem more enormous every inch of the way.

It was the perfect action sequel, every point ticked perfectly, but where that Trek fizzled away in a cop-out ending (the goodies put the baddies to sleep), this one worked. And it also had something I don't believe I've ever seen in an action script: it had a sparkle of reality to it. When Donna was alone in the Tardis, unable to do anything, you truly felt her impotence. When she crept out into the Sontaran ship, we've seen that a million times but here you couldn't help but sense her fear.

No question, Catherine Tate is superb. But I hope Helen Raynor's writing one of next year's Doctor Who specials.

And what about that almost-subliminal shot of Rose?

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Comments

  • Posted on 06 May 2008
  • at 5:47pm
  • by Helena Handcart

Another little gripe - I'm not really a pedant, honest - was using an axe to smash the windscreen on the car. I would say that any modern car with a laminated screen would crack, but not shatter like that. She'd have been better smashing the side door window or something.

I'll get me anorak...

:^O

  • Posted on 06 May 2008
  • at 11:57am
  • by WilliamGallagher-RT

Ouch! "Transfering!" No, I was too busy thinking they should've used an iPhone...

And Alan, I gawped but my wife did not - until I wound back Sky+ afterwards, showed her and heard her jaw.

  • Posted on 04 May 2008
  • at 7:05pm
  • by Helena Handcart

Did anyone spot the typo when clone Martha was "transfering" the data?

Just me then?

B-)

  • Posted on 04 May 2008
  • at 10:14am
  • by alan_buttifant

Hi William -- Another great Dr Who episode, and another vrey good review. I am glad it wasn't just me, but I spotted (or thought I did) the "almost-subliminal shot of Rose" too! All the best, AlanLB.

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