It has been almost five years since David Tennant first appeared as The Doctor in the cult British science fiction series ‘Doctor Who.’ The tenth actor to play the role, Tennant has brought good humor and enormous quantities of energy to the role but will soon be moving on to pursue other projects. Based on this penultimate adventure, it looks like he will be leaving the series on a high.
‘The Waters of Mars’ throws us into the action within its first six minutes. The Doctor arrives on Bowie Base One, humanity’s first off-Earth colony, and within moments the monsters are emerging as terror ensues.
The monsters are genuinely creepy and one of the more memorable designs in recent episodes. However to dwell on them is to miss the point of this episode. ‘The Waters of Mars’ is not about playing with the monster of the week but rather about showing the audience an internal conflict within the Doctor and the ramifications that his decision will have on him and those around him.
It turns out that the Doctor has arrived at a crucial point in time. One that is so important to the development of the human race that, should he change it, he would risk unraveling time. As the episode progresses we see him struggle with the question of whether he should attempt to save the humans around him and risk this happening or if he ought to just abandon them to history.
We have seen the Doctor address similar dilemmas before in previous episodes but here the stakes are that much higher. The Doctor is somewhat aware of his impending mortality, courtesy of a prophecy made last season. As a Time Lord he is supposed to avoid tampering with time yet if he can change an event as critical as the events unfolding on the colony then perhaps he can also avert his own demise.
The set-up is fascinating. The payoff is even better and allows Tennant a good opportunity to remind us all just how good he can be in the role. This episode explores a side of the Doctor that has previously only been hinted at, yet which can be seen as a logical development for the character after what he has endured in previous seasons.
Playing opposite Tennant throughout most of the episode is Rome’s Lindsay Duncan, here portraying the Colony’s commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. She is superb and easily one of the best guest stars brought in by the show since its 2005 relaunch. Scenes between her and Tennant sparkle and it is really satisfying to watch their relationship and characters change as she figures out what the Doctor is thinking and they debate what he should do.
The decision to jump straight into the action does lead to some corners being cut in terms of character development. Few characters get to given any opportunity to connect with or affect their audience until the time comes to dispatch them. In those moments suddenly the episode becomes more emotionally manipulative, enlisting family messages or a hint of romance to try to make us care about their demise. Such scenes are by no means bad, yet they do feel somewhat forced.
Much more annoying is the inclusion of a cutesy robotic companion for the crew, Gadget. Rumbling around and repeating its name far too frequently for my taste, its presence only serves to irritate and made me wish that he might have an unfortunate run in with a can opener.
It is possible that some may find the tone of ‘The Waters of Mars’ to be too dark for their tastes. After all, though there are a number of humorous moments running throughout the episode, the overall tone is unusually somber for the series. I would argue though that the tone ended up being entirely appropriate for this story.
‘The Waters of Mars’ is an episode in which the Doctor has to confront his values and his own mortality. If the tone feels dark it is because his death looms over him and the episode is encouraging us to make the parallels between the Doctor’s own fate and that of the colony’s inhabitants. The implication is that if he can change the future for them then he may also be able to change the future for himself, yet to do so would go against all of his people’s values.
The episode boasts one of Tennant’s best performances in the part and it certainly stands as one of the most challenging episodes of his time as the Doctor. This only becomes more remarkable when you realize that the show is continuing to explore new angles on a well established character so shortly before he will be killed off.
The result is an episode that reminds us of just how good David Tennant could be in the role and that will have fans eager to see what happens next.
– Aidan Brack
