As a long standing
"Whovian", this is one of my favourite later "Who" episodes
coming a very close second to The Unicorn and The Wasp! It’s probably more of a surprise for me as at
the time, I did not like David Tennant's take on The Doctor initially, but in
later years, I’ve come to view his time in a different light and appreciate him
better especially when compared to more recent regenerations.
As a Facebook role player
(A more conventional and acceptable way of writing "Out of character"
fan fiction) I took on the role of
Christina de Souza before the episode aired back in 2009 and by the time
I had seen it, I had already carved out a fictional past, present and future
for "Lady C” which I am proud to say, is still going strong today.
Lady Christina de Souza, a
member of the aristocracy who was initially forced into stealing anything of
value in the vain attempt to recover the losses her father made on the
Icelandic market. It is hinted throughout the episode that she now steals
purely for the thrill and adventure which leads us to assume that her father's
losses were recuperated a long time ago and now she is an adrenaline junkie,
trying to find some sort of excitement in an otherwise boring life.
Evading the police, being
on their hit list or maybe even on London’s most wanted seeing as the long
suffering DI McMillan knew who she was and had been trying but failing to catch
her red handed, was much more exciting than the possible dull alternative the
aristocracy had to offer.
Hers was a life to be
lived to the extreme, not wasted at parties, forever the social butterfly who
needed to spread her wings. Meeting The Doctor on the number 200 bus which was
a nod in the direction of David Tennant's 200th episode, going to another
planet though a worm hole and discovering an alien race of metal armoured
sting-ray had destroyed it, not only added to the excitement she so often
sought out, but made her realise that there was more to life than having to
live the nobility of her birth right!
However, from start to
finish she is nothing but noble. A true Lady, not only in speech, stature and
sarcasm, but she showed that her upbringing was a direct result of the British
"stiff upper lip" which enabled her to take charge of the situation
she was in, The Doctor and the other passengers without so much as batting an
eye-lid to the fact that she was not only falling for an alien, but she could
be stranded with him on an alien planet that had died, that would leave her
dead if she couldn’t get back to earth and that’s to her was more thrilling
than being born into a life of entitlement!
The Doctor in this episode
in my opinion, was far more humanised than in any other. He seemed more relaxed
in his environment, as though he knew it would all turn out OK in the end. A
relaxed persona which helped those stranded on the planet with him to relax, to
trust him even though they didn't know him but knew he would keep them safe.
Even when he spoke to the stranded Tritovore race who had also crash landed on
what we now know to be San Helios, in their native tongue, he was to Christina
not an alien to be feared, but an ally, the only hope and only one who could
save them.
I don’t think at this time
that she cared about what happened to her, but she was as concerned as he was
that the others should get home safely.
Lee Evans as the character
of Malcolm provided some comic relief to the episode, but not one that could
only be filled by him. I felt Malcolm could have been played by anyone, but I
think that’s true for most guest appearances. If there's a role a certain
celebrity wants to fulfil, it doesn't necessarily have to fit them in order to
play them. However, he was as funny as usual but still just in the usual Lee
Evans style and the entire episode with the rescue and closing of the worm hole
could have happened without him in my opinion.
All the characters on the
bus though were valid in their reasons to be. I liked how the younger
characters protected and cared for the older ones, how they put themselves
forward and at risk in order to save everyone and not just themselves, not a
trait we see today. It also welcomes the
cameo by U.N.I.T who have obviously been a staple through the
"Whoniverse" and how they still value The Doctor's help many years
after their first encounter with him.
I felt the ending was
probably for the best, that denying Christina the chance to travel with him
showed how much he had grown as The Doctor but that he was also ready to leave
and regenerate when he had been denying it for so long. She of course would
never have fitted in with his ideal of a companion as she was too headstrong
and far too independent to be told what to do and how to do it! It would of led to her untimely death on a
distant planet with no name with no one ever knowing where she was and I think
she was too important for that.
She knew by the end of the
episode that the human race had a value and it was considerably more than
anything she could steal, which is why she gave The Doctor King Athelstan’s
golden chalice which she had stolen at the beginning of the episode with the
sole purpose of selling it on to the highest bidder and kept hidden in her
rucksack, to use in aid of their escape. Selling it for profit became paled in
comparison when faced with saving Earth.
As my fan fiction depicts,
I like to think that after flying off in the bus, she went her own way and
carried on doing what she did best. Stealing anything and everything just for
the thrill. Always un-captured and always eluding the police at every turn.
All In all, a great
episode but it would of been nice if she could have made a comeback in a later
episode, perhaps another one off where she meets a different incarnation or
even been the one to have stolen the Van Gogh painting at the beginning of
"The Pandorica Opens" instead of River Song doing it.
A safe and somewhat predictable episode but it
introduced the impact that The Doctor had on other people, in how their lives
changed for the better after meeting him.
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