REWATCH
i love the actress who plays harriet jones; only watched her here and on downton abbey i think, but i think she's brilliant and effortlessly funny
I couldn't really feel the tension i was supposed to, all with the 'oh no i could lose rose' and rose's mom all 'it's my daughter you old bastard'... don't remember if it was the same feeling of meh the first time
While the Slitheen two-parter isn't my favourite episode from this series I think it's a great example of what makes this particular era of Doctor Who sing. From the fast paced, high intensity problem solving in Downing street to the emotional centre of Rose's relationship with her mum and her desire to travel time and space to side characters that jump of the page like Harriet Jones. Davis was firing on all cylinders here.
:pray_tone2:60% = Fine! = Skippable!
Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time: Big Ben is destroyed, aliens have a farting problem, and the cliffhanger makes a comeback!
It’s back to the present day for this one, with Rose having to deal with the consequences of her travels while trouble looms in the background. A spaceship crash lands in London, and what follows is RTD’s take on a classic alien invasion story, with an eager Nine investigating.
The adventure begins promisingly, but the focus quickly shifts to news coverage of the crash, political scheming, and running gags centred on farting aliens and Harriet Jones, of which only the latter truly works (Penelope Wilton is phenomenal). Since this is a two-parter, there’s a bit more time for the story to take its time to build tension and real stakes, and that is why the pace feels a bit less rushed. Aliens of London is essentially one big build-up for the real event in World War Three.
The Slitheen as a concept does feel silly in retrospect (they are child-friendly aliens with a great design, clearly created in hopes of sling toys), though they carry a scary quality with the head chippers and the big claws. I also like how they are a family business rather than a race that tries to take over Earth for business reasons.
The humorous tone and playful take on politics haven’t aged all that well.
There are slime tonal inconsistencies here, and the episodes clumsily jump between comedy, action, and more serious dramatic beats. However, I find the fact that the UNIT in the 21st century has certain measures in place to get hold of the Doctor if the need arises a realistic one.
I love the final few moments of Aliens of London, which cut excellently between the Doctor having a speech, Jackie being attacked by a Slitheen, and Rose and Harriet being cornered by another; all three scenes culminate in a tense reveal of the Slitheen in modern Who’s first cliffhanger.
The fast-paced plot of World War Three propels the action, with the Slitheen effectively attacking everyone. I also like how the Doctor, Rose, Harriet, Mickey, and Jackie all work together to figure out what’s going on and how to stop it while being put under immense pressure from the Slitheen. But this is also where the stakes are felt, and we realise for the first time what travelling with the Doctor might mean for Rose, in case he cannot save her every time.
Chris Eccleston continues to develop his take on the Doctor, and we get a better understanding of his views on alien races, humanity, and violence. Billie Piper doesn't get a whole lot to do, with Rose mostly reduced to a more traditional companion role. Camille Coduri fires off in this two-parter, not taking any bullshit from the Doctor while truly showing how much she cares for Rose. Mickey is still largely played for laughs but gets a couple of opportunities to step up and prove his boyfriend's chops.
The guest cast is pretty nice, with the aforementioned Wilton and the wonderfully creepy but oh-so-delightful Annette Badland standing out. David Verrey overplays his comedic aspects too much, and Rupert Vansittart is difficult to take seriously as well.
This is the 21st-century debut of UNIT (still named after the United Nations at this point), though their role is pretty minimal.
I find the music somewhat distracting in this one, and the visual effects vary hugely in quality (the crashing spaceship looks pretty good, but the Slitheen reveal at the end of Aliens of London is a bit naff, while the Slitheen costumes are great). The production design isn’t very interesting, as most of the story is set inside Downing Street, the TARDIS, or the Tyler residence.
The explosive finale feels perhaps a bit too much, but at least it ends this adventure on a high note.
Now, the aliens still have the ridiculously unamusing farts, but this episode is still almost great. The whole fight against them was pretty underwhelming to me because I hardly care about the aliens, but I have to say that the final fifteen minutes of character building was wonderful. The Doctor telling Rose that Harriet Jones would be the future Prime Minister really struck a chord with me. I actually found the emotion between Rose's mother and her to be extremely emotional. Rose chooses the Doctor over her and although it was sad, I loved it! It also has a great quote: "You're happy to believe in something that is invisible, but if it is staring you in the face, then 'nope, can't see it.'" The Doctor and Rose are so cute. All in all, with the aliens, the episode is a seven. But with the ending alone, the episode is a solid nine. To make up for it, the episode will be a high seven in my book!
It's him, it's the thing! It's the Slickeen! :sob:
Shout by AnonymousseBlockedParent2022-02-07T17:31:48Z
The most unrealistic part of this episode is when Rose's phone just happens to have the correct connector for the conference speaker. I loved this episode as a child and it is still just as well written for an adult.