Doctor Who – “Human Nature”

10/10 – Brilliant!

Plot – The story is told partly in flashback to scenes in which the TARDIS is being pursued, under attack using some kind of energy beam weapon. The Doctor tells Martha that those who are pursuing him could trace him across the universe, and he must undergo a transformation to turn him into a human.



His plan is to transform into a human via the “chameleon-arch” leaving his Time Lord configuration is stored in a pocket watch and Martha is charged with guarding it.





As a human, John Smith, is a school teacher in a private school in England in 1913. Smith is unaware of his previous life as a Time Lord, and his character is quiet, a little timid and introspective. He has dreams of being a in the future (“in the year of our Lord 2007”) and sometimes sketches them in a notebook. Martha is his maid.





His pursuers, who refer to themselves as the Family, show up on Earth in an invisible spaceship and take over the body of a school prefect who stumbles upon their ship while digging up a hidden cache of beer. They have scarecrow creatures as their henchmen, who round up more victims to use as vessels.




Smith is cajoled by the school nurse, Joan Redfern, to attend a dance.



Martha is distraught as she realizes that he has fallen in love with a human other than her. The Doctor left recorded instructions telling her what to do in any nearly eventuality. One of these was "Don't let me abandon you". But his instructions did not foresee that he might fall in love.



Meanwhile, one of Smith's pupils, Timothy Latimer, who has previously demonstrated extrasensory perception in an encounter with other students, finds and takes the pocket watch, having heard the Doctor's thoughts despite the perception filter the Doctor had placed on it. When he briefly opens the watch, the Family sense that the Time Lord they are hunting is located somewhere within the school.





The climax comes at a dance where the Family locate Smith, one of them having overheard Martha trying to convince Smith he is the Doctor. Martha is unable to restore him to his Time Lord configuration because she cannot find the pocket watch.




Meanwhile, the pursuers crash the dance and take Martha and Joan hostage, demanding that he "change back" into a Time Lord and asking him to choose which they will kill: "Maid or matron, your friend or your lover. Your choice," as the episode ends with a horrified Smith unable to choose.


Rant – There really isn’t much to rant about here. The story is by Paul Cornell and is based on his Virgin new adventures novel in the late 80s-early 90s. The novel is long out of print, but the clique (again, this small band that seems to dominate the show from the cancellation to the present day) have kept its memory alive. I never read any of the New Adventures (because I hated Sylvester McCoy) but even I’ve heard of it.

THEN


NOW



Paul Cornell wrote the 2005 season’s big tear jerker, “Father’s Day.” And while I have come to some terms with it, my initial reaction was “that’s it … doctor who’s has been taken over by Eastenders!” Paul Cornell wrote some of the new Robin Hood series and, despite claims that he’s “turning down big TV shows” he will be working on season two of “Primeval” … so, he’s a liar ... though I wouldn't be ashamed to be working on high-profile shows.

So, there was much negative baggage.

In fact, so much so that when I was alone in a hall with Paul Cornell at the 2006 Gallifrey I didn’t even speak to him. I just couldn’t think of a polite way to say “Hi … er … your novelization of “Scream of the Shalka” was … better than the script you wrote …” that was something I could only think of later …

I just looked away sheepishly and it his “I’m a Geek God” look will haunt me forever. I mean, he’s not exactly got anything else over me …


Review – BUT …

This story reminds me of classic Doctor Who in terms of writing and pacing, with all the benefits of modern CGI special effects. But, in 1913, there really isn’t much need for special effects, apart from an invisible spaceship and a few laser blasts.




There are plenty of nostalgic nods to the past, including John Smith’s journal where a page of shows drawings of previous Doctors. (Clearly visible are the Seventh, Eighth and First incarnations; the hairlines of the Sixth and Fifth Doctors are also just visible.)




The Doctor saves a baby from a falling piano by throwing a cricket ball triggering a long chain of events.



Smith tells Joan that his parents Sidney (Newman) and Verity (Lambert) who were essentially the parents of the program itself back in 1963.

The Doctor falls in love ...





Well, this is exactly the sort of story where this could make sense, because the Doctor literally becomes a human (one heart, the whole bit.) Normally my fan “gene” keeps me from wanting overt and soapy emotional story, but this seemed effortlessly done … both completely believable in the overall Doctor Who story … and as a character piece in the fictional world of 1913.

The sense of “absence of the Doctor” that everyone in the production team has been talking about since this story was first discussed is readily apparent and very effective. Because the Doctor is literally not himself, the plot carries some precarious sense of overall danger that usually isn’t present. The cliffhanger may not be the most brilliant, but it certainly feels the most effective I’ve seen in a long time.




Since this is a 2-part story, it is a little hard to award such high marks, but “Human Nature” really did do quite a good job.