The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

So frankly this is probably the best of series 1.

So frankly this is probably Moffat’s best episode.

So frankly this is probably the best of New Who so far.

So frankly this is probably the best of Who.

I could start this review with any of these three sentences and they’d be instantly correct. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances 2-parter really is amazing TV and wonderful Who.

Constantly people argue when a New Who story seems like Classic Who etc. etc. and frankly this episode does it the most. It really is just plainly and solidly ‘who’ and no doubt about it. It is of course able to beat any episode you put up against it but we’ll stay off that subject as it may cause some slight (but wrong) debate.

We kick off with ‘The Empty Child’ diving directly into the action. The Doctor and Rose are chasing a vessel through the time vortex and things don’t seem to be going too great. No instead the vessel jumps time tracks to World War Two London at the height of the blitz.

What follows are some brilliantly funny scenes where The Doctor works out exactly where they are, and Rose gets hung from a hot air balloon – as you do.

How come you never told me not to cling to strange ropes mummy?

In pops Captain Jack – frankly one of the best creations of New Who – and the episode takes a whole different tone, instead things slow down – both allowing us to get to know Jack, plot exposition to be set up and of course for creepy zombie child to rage across London looking for his mummy.

To be honest there isn’t much to talk about in these two episodes other than mainly Jack and the Gas mask monsters. Usually I can talk about every scene and character and what works, but this is the first episode that feels really tight with the whole plot revolving around itself and to be honest just has nothing to complain about.

Jack is just fantastic, sexually-open, charming, sexy, action packed, he is all in all a very strong character, but looking here he sounds rather clichéd. He really isn’t though and it all feels completely and 100% new in how the character acts and basically exists. Adding another layer – one which is far too often forgotten by Torchwood fans in their personal characterisation of Jack – he’s a bad man. He’s a con artist and really is an incompetent one. Cowardly and untrustworthy, Jack gets some amazing characterisation – leading to his complete turnaround at the end of part 2, put down quite simply by The Doctor as ‘psychology’, its with this story that Jack makes such a big mark on Sci-Fi despite only appearing in 3 stories, something that always surprises me.

In one noticeable scene, Jack literally stops time spinning, just by dancing.
This is because Jack's blood is Awesome Positive (A+ short-hand)

Onto the gas mask monsters. Probably one of Moffat’s best in my opinion, though fandom probably forgets them amongst the debate just because they don’t really lend to a sequel called ‘Time of The Gas Mask Monsters’. Instead there simply terrifying with ‘Are you my mummy?’ really defining Doctor Who and to be honest under many other Executive Producers it would have been all thrown in the bin for being too scary and too dark – of course they’d have been an idiot and the show would be cancelled by now. The concept behind a wee boy looking for his mummy is very strong and out rates the rather dull reasoning behind flesh eating zombies which is they revert to their sole existence – ‘to feed’ – instead a little boy just wants his mummy. Other than the emotional side of things, the scary side of things, the idea of peoples physical and mental existence completely changing really is terrifying – its an unstoppable enemy, unbeatable, once it gets you – that thing is going to happen to you and you will become one of ‘them’.

Also you have to love the cheeky cliffhanger get out:

'Go to your room!'

'I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words.'

Probably being the most surreal, amusing and straight forward resolution you could imagine. In fact the story stumbles nowhere and so any moment such as this makes you think 10/10, and unlike all the episodes I've reviewed so far Moffat continues this for the entire 2-parter and never lets up. 

It sounds daft but honestly no scene in this 2-parter is wasted or is any worse than the last - its all important, funny and tense - every second of it.

This brings us to the lovely plot and emotional centre point - Nancy. I do love Nancy, shes just a wonderful character and to be honest if theres something to back the idea of 'themes' in TV then its this episode as the sexual theme throughout is so important here and its all done rather brilliantly. The revelation that she is in fact the mother of the empty child is one of Moffat's great talents - making the seemingly obvious completely oblivious to us. We really don't see it coming and somehow he keeps it hidden behind the surface when really it makes complete sense and is the only explanation for what is going.

The real Dark Fairytale - and an emotional one at that.
More this please Moffat.

The directing in this should also be noted, in fact the entire production is fantastic. This type of episode is make or break in terms of its directing, and it really shines here - brilliantly sweeping along with Moffats writing.

So for this episode I'll award a nice 10/10 - Brilliant, fantastic, wonderful. Doctor Who. Nothing more anyone could ask for frankly.

So with Jack now on board we speed ahead into Boom Town as the show really finds its footing, and like series 3 we get a brilliant second-half run of episodes.