TV Review: Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
Published June 22, 2008
THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE BBC BROADCAST OF DOCTOR WHO. IF YOU'RE WATCHING IN THE U.S. ON SCI-FI, THIS EPISODE HAS NOT YET AIRED, SO READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WISH TO BE SPOILED!
I hate Russell T. Davies. When he isn’t churning out absurdly contrived episodes of Doctor Who he’s throwing out the most frustrating cliffhangers and upcoming teasers for which we have to wait a whole week to see what happens next. The ending of an episode of 24 is nothing compared to the multi-part storylines in Doctor Who.
While on a distant planet inspired by Far Eastern culture, Donna is urged into a fortune-teller’s booth where she finds herself recalling the events that led her to meet The Doctor. It all began at a junction near her house. Turn left, she meets The Doctor; turn right, apocalypse.
Donna is inexplicably transported back to that moment, and she turns right. Oh dear. After a good start with a promotion and Christmas with the girls, she finds herself standing on the sidelines of the events that have unfolded in the past three series.
When the star-like spaceship of the Racnoss is destroyed, a body is wheeled into an ambulance, the face covered. Donna watches as the trolley is accidentally jolted. An arm drops out from under the cover, and a sonic screwdriver falls inconspicuously to the floor. The Doctor is dead.
Of course Donna does not know him, but someone comes running up behind her who certainly does know him. It’s Rose.
She of the blonde hair and broad smile is back, having travelled through lots of parallel universes to find Donna. All that universe jumping must have affected her speech, as she mumbles her way through the whole episode. Donna may have a reputation for shouting, but at least we can understand her.
Rose refuses to tell Donna her name, but is more than happy to tell her that she is the most important person in the universe. Donna is sceptical to say the least, but takes Rose’s advice to accept first prize at her work’s raffle, despite being previously fired.
While Donna, her mother and grandfather are staying at a fancy hotel in the countryside over the following Christmas, the Titanic crashes into Buckingham Palace, and the City of London is destroyed. To Donna’s disgust she and her family are relocated to Leeds, where they share a tiny terraced house with two other families, one of them especially large.
Fed up with cramped conditions and strangers looking at something invisible on her back, Donna goes to Rose; she is ready to do what she must. Taken to a UNIT facility, Donna once again meets the Tardis, and Rose tells her that she has to go back to the junction and turn left.
She is successful, and finds herself back in the fortune-teller’s booth. The Doctor enters, and Donna tells him the two words Rose told her to say to him.
Bad Wolf.
Unfortunately there is not enough Doctor in this episode, but it’s one that has to be seen to lead up to the two-part conclusion, which looks set to be the most ambitious, emotional roller coaster of a finale of the new series yet.
- TV Review: Doctor Who - "Turn Left"
- Published: June 22, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Cult, Video: Television, Video: SF
- Writer: Catherine Tuckwell
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Comments on this articleComments
"Unfortunately there is not enough Doctor in this episode"
But that's because this is the "Doctorless" episode, (a la Love and Monsters or Blink), which allows a Xmas special to be filmed without David Tennant and the companion exploding from over-work. It's just this season they have split it as a "Donnaless" episode ("Midnight"), and this "Doctorless" episode.
It is a good episode, I didn't say it was a bad one, and I apologise if this is how it comes across. I did enjoy it, but the only time I was on the edge of my seat was when the teaser for next week's episode came on. I agree, the labour camp moment was chilling; I just didn't want to get too involved in the review.
Thinking about the "Doctorless"/"Donnaless" thread, it does seem rather clever to show how they function without each other. From this episode it would seem that Donna works better on her own than The Doctor does. That moment in "The Runaway Bride" where she told him to stop was the part that stuck in my mind the most, and I'm glad it's now of such significance.
Am I the only person alive that finds Catherine Tate, as comedienne or the Doctor's companion, to be totally boring and/or unconvincing? She only has one character and that's Catherine Tate - loud, obvious and repetitive.
Catherine Tate is one of the finest stars to grace Doctor Who.
Yes, Chrissie Rosy, it is just you.
Oh, OK, I must have missed when monotonous, humourless personality replaced acting. Sorry about that.
Definitely not one of the better episodes. There is always a big danger with time travelling stories getting just plain silly, but normally Dr Who does a much better job of avoiding the worst "oooh it's another time paradox" cliche. Just when I had completely despaired the last five minutes of the episode and teaser suddenly got interesting though.
I agree about the last five minutes and teaser, it was like last year's Utopia in that sense, when everything happened at the end.
I wonder if Donna frightens off the Daleks by shouting at them...
I thougth the ep was great even if a little cliche- they did address the part about Donna and her sacrifice- Rose's last ep was her "death" in our universe...when the Dr was human John Smith sacrificed himself to bring the Dr back- Donna does the same thing- litterally. It's Sci Fi and time travel you are bound to run into scenarios where it all resembles one another - I thought it was still brilliant and I can't wait for the last few eps- though I'm trying to download them, being states-bound.
BTW- good point about the donnaless/doctorless eps but I have to point out that British seasons/series are way shorter than those in the states and the main characters don't usually get a "break" ep...our seasons/series are about 20-23 eps!! Yeah, yeah...Americans are workaholics...I know. Still wish Dr Who was a FEW eps longer!!
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One of the best episodes yet and far far more involved than the above review gives it credit for. Brilliant acting by Catherine Tate and thought provoking moments when labour camps were brought into the story, a sharp reminder of the horrors that humanity is capable of inflicting on the vulnerable members of society.