I think I hyped Turn Left up in my memory a bit too much; its good but not the best of series 4 as I used to recall it. Don't get me wrong a lot of its really effective. The relentless dystopia of a world without the Doctor was poignantly miserable. The Nobles are my absolute favourite of companion families and they really make the episode work. Bernard Cribbins as Wilf was was charming and grandfatherly as always and my love of his character made seeing him go through all that hell more painful. But the surprising shining star was Jacqueline Kin as Sylvia. Sylvia is a really hateable character, she consistently treats Donna terribly and never fails to cut down her self esteem . But King here brought out how soul destroying her experiences in this ep were so well. The scene after Rocco's family is taken away where she stares blankly into the camera utterly drained by the horrors she's experienced that was really effective. In many ways this episode is an echo of Last of the Time Lords. But in contrast I think this one does a dystopian earth without the Doctor better because of how it's told from the perspective of the regular humans boots on the ground.
Another surprise treat for me here was Rose's porper return. I've been open that I actually didn't like her much during my series 2 re-watch but I guess absence made the heart grow fonder cause I really love her here. It feels like she's really grown since we last saw her and Piper brings a new found maturity to her character that I really enjoyed.
What didn't work for me so much was the threading of Donna as some sort of prophesized chosen one. We'll see how I like how this element plays out in the finale but I do think the suggestion that Donna is uniquely special in a magical sense doesn't work for me. One of the things oft repeated in Doctor Who is that there's no such thing as an ordinary human. And I like when the companions exemplify that by being "ordinary" people with the capacity of the extraordinary. Not because of some mystical quirk of time but because the can be brave and kind and empathetic and clever. Again I'm open to seeing how it plays out but the way the end of this episode hammered in on the Doctor and Donna being connected and there being some unetectable magic feild surrounding her since birth doesn't sit with me well.
@tshepiso_21 Shit I forgot to mention that Catherine Tate is fantastic in this episode. Feels like an oversight because its the one in the series that's entirely hers.
Review by TshepisoBlockedParentSpoilers2023-11-01T19:00:16Z
I think I hyped Turn Left up in my memory a bit too much; its good but not the best of series 4 as I used to recall it. Don't get me wrong a lot of its really effective. The relentless dystopia of a world without the Doctor was poignantly miserable. The Nobles are my absolute favourite of companion families and they really make the episode work. Bernard Cribbins as Wilf was was charming and grandfatherly as always and my love of his character made seeing him go through all that hell more painful. But the surprising shining star was Jacqueline Kin as Sylvia. Sylvia is a really hateable character, she consistently treats Donna terribly and never fails to cut down her self esteem . But King here brought out how soul destroying her experiences in this ep were so well. The scene after Rocco's family is taken away where she stares blankly into the camera utterly drained by the horrors she's experienced that was really effective. In many ways this episode is an echo of Last of the Time Lords. But in contrast I think this one does a dystopian earth without the Doctor better because of how it's told from the perspective of the regular humans boots on the ground.
Another surprise treat for me here was Rose's porper return. I've been open that I actually didn't like her much during my series 2 re-watch but I guess absence made the heart grow fonder cause I really love her here. It feels like she's really grown since we last saw her and Piper brings a new found maturity to her character that I really enjoyed.
What didn't work for me so much was the threading of Donna as some sort of prophesized chosen one. We'll see how I like how this element plays out in the finale but I do think the suggestion that Donna is uniquely special in a magical sense doesn't work for me. One of the things oft repeated in Doctor Who is that there's no such thing as an ordinary human. And I like when the companions exemplify that by being "ordinary" people with the capacity of the extraordinary. Not because of some mystical quirk of time but because the can be brave and kind and empathetic and clever. Again I'm open to seeing how it plays out but the way the end of this episode hammered in on the Doctor and Donna being connected and there being some unetectable magic feild surrounding her since birth doesn't sit with me well.