Doomsday Army of Ghosts/Doomsday |
BBC Army of Ghosts |
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| Story No. | 186 | 
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| Production Code | Series Two Episode Twelve | |
| Dates | July 1 2006 |
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With David Tennant, Billie Piper
Camille Coduri, Noel Clark Written by Russel T. Davies Directed by Graeme Harper Executive Producers: Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner. |
| Synopsis: The ghosts have been appearing all over the world for months now. Fortunately, Torchwood's here to keep us all safe. |
Wartime... by Joe Ford 7/8/06
Is this the script where Russell T Davies has finally sold himself out to the fans? I would say yes and no with an emphasis on the no. But more on that later...
Season Two has been such an odd beast. Personally I think it has been
stronger than year one, but not in the ways that I thought it would be. I
thought by the latter half of year one that the series had found its
groove but certain episodes this year have proven that there is still a
lot for Doctor Who to learn in its new format. Certainly they seem
to have mastered the new episode length with very few episodes this year
feeling rushed or crammed (New Earth is probably
the only exception to that rule but that for me is a bleed-over from year
one). The episodes I thought I would LOVE, I have been a bit indifferent
about ( So how can Army of Ghosts possibly live up to all this
excitement? It doesn't really but then it is only part one of two and as a
build up to an explosive climax it certainly tops last year's Bad Wolf. There are a lot of plusses to this episode
that I feel I should mention simply because they have never been done
before and yet are such obviously winning ideas. Having Jackie travel in
the TARDIS is fabulous and Camille's gorgeous portrayal of this most
ordinary women is (as ever) treasurable. Her reaction to being kidnapped
("If we end up on Mars I'm gonna kill you!") is genius and the Doctor
passing her off, as his deluded, aged, rubbish-at-tea companion is worth
the admission price alone! Jackie reminds me a lot of Quark from Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine (no I don't mean you can get her off by tickling her
ears!). Quark played such an important part in that show because he was
the only person who pointed out the flaws and faults of the optimistic,
jolly, nobody-can-beat-us Federation. Jackie fulfils a similar role in
Doctor Who, asking the questions nobody wants to answer. Will my
daughter survive this life? Can you guarantee her safety? In Army of
Ghosts Jackie has an uncomfortable moment with her daughter when she
confronts her with how much she has changed, how much she acts like the
Doctor now and how if she continues this life of hers she will no longer
be Rose Tyler. It is another (unsubtle but well-written) sign that Rose is
on her way out and I hope when the next companion steps into her shoes
there is a Jackie to point out these very real dangers with travelling
with the Doctor.
There was something gloriously off-kilter about all the early scenes,
which is deliberate thanks to the ghosts and their effect on society. The
idea of the Doctor and Rose returning to London to discover something is
amiss and has been happening for a while is not a new one (Invasion of the Dinosaurs springs to mind) but
works a treat at making the Doctor feel uncomfortable. Flicking through
the TV channels didn't really work that well. I did like the mental
Chinese women and the ghost weather report but I wasn't that impressed
with Barbara Windsor or Trisha Goddard's contributions. They really did
feel like RTD going "Look how cool we are!" What was exceptional is how he
sets the stories on such a grand scale with ghosts swarming about across
the globe. Since the show has come back it is no longer just London that
sees the brunt of alien invasion. Like The
Christmas Invasion, this convincingly puts events on an international
scale which makes it seem all the more real.
Nobody who has been following the show could have missed the Torchwood
references and now at last we get to see inside the institute. I can
understand that fans are cross because this secret organisation has never
been mentioned before and yet it has supposedly been under the noses of
UNIT and the Doctor throughout all of his adventures. Come on guys, if
they are going to keep this show running they need to keep on adding new
elements and this is the sort of conspiracy-cum-government organisation
that really could have been kept a secret. Visually, it wasn't as
impressive as I was expecting, being little more than a hangar and a
control room, but the ideas behind the organisation more than make up for
it. Following on from Tooth and Claw's inception
of Torchwood it is wonderful to see that Her Majesty's ideals have been
nurtured and abused by this organisation. Yvonne's suggestion that its
sole purpose is to exploit alien artefacts and weapons to ensure Britain's
independence as an Empire is terrifying (but very interesting). The fact
that Torchwood seems to be under the impression that it is better than the
general public is also slightly worrying, as Yvonne says to Jackie the
knowledge they have gained from alien effects are for their benefit alone.
Nice continuity with the mention of the destruction of the Sycorax
spaceship too.
The first half an hour is take-it-or-leave-it Doctor Who, with
lots of nice scenes for everybody but really just marking time for the
stunning last fifteen minutes. RTD has certainly learnt a thing or two
about cranking up the tension because the climax to this episode is almost
unbearably exciting. We all knew the Cybermen were coming back thanks to
their appearance in last week's teaser, but that doesn't affect their
sudden appearance behind the plastic sheet in Army of Ghosts. The
design is so fantastic, isn't it? And Graeme Harper shoots them so damn
well that even just one comes across as a real menace. So how much better
is it when suddenly the ghosts are revealed to be the Cybermen army
bleeding through the fault lines of dimensions? The shots of them
materialising around the world and smashing their way through a family
home and menacing them on the stairs is truly classic Doctor Who.
Suddenly this feels much more important (and especially more deadly than
The Age of Steel because this is our world).
Cybermen clunking through the streets has been done before but not with a
budget like this and finally an invasion can look as realistic as it can
be.
Of course this being the lead-in to a season finale the surprises don't
end here... oh no there are two more returns which are punch-the-air
fantastic. Surprisingly it was the appearance of Mickey (looking so
lickably gorgeous I want one!) that thrilled me more. I was devastated at
the end of The Age of Steel to see him leave and
genuinely thought it was the last I would see of him. He seems more
confident, more sure of himself and much more ready to take on nasties
than he did before. If you watch this season from beginning to end
(including The Christmas Invasion), it
is Mickey not Rose who receives the most development.
And, of course, there is that ending which half of fandom will be
ecstatic about and the other half will want to crawl up and die. Cybermen
and DALEKS? Is this the work of a producer who wants to deliver a
genuinely classic slice of Doctor Who or a man who wants heavy
ratings to continue by appealing to the very thing kids will salivate
over? Personally I think they can pull it off, given what I have seen so
far but I can understand the scepticism, this is after all the ultimate
fan wank.
It could be great, it could be dreadful but by the look of the teaser -
Daleks, Cybermen, Jackie, Mickey, Jake, Pete, Rose's departure - it
certainly will be one to watch!
A Review by Steve Cassidy
27/8/06
There is no doubt in my mind that Army of Ghosts is
very very good.
It's a bit of an old-fashioned tale. One which could have come straight
from the Perwee era. In fact, I know RTD isn't a fan of the Pertwee era
but his era resembles that famed one probably more then he is comfortable
with. The whole setup - a British secret organisation formed to fight the
alien menace or at least uses its technology to perpetuate the British
empire - could easily fit into 1970-74. Quite frankly, the idea has been
done before. But to its credit perhaps not with quite enough chutzpah and
verve as we see in Army of Ghosts.
There has to be an idea. This one, to sell to the tabloids, is the
confrontation between two favourite Doctor Who enemies. In many
ways there was a good reason why they didn't do stories like this in the
past or have The Five Doctors every season. It's just
too contrived, too self-consciously spectacular. It's too much of what you
love. It's done, the idea has been realised - what you have had in your
head for the last twenty years is finally put onto the screen. So how is
that going to be topped for the next season finale? Where are the Daleks
going to appear next? Which enemy are they going to fight in season 3?
Whatever you think it so far has been a massive improvement on Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways. This episode starts
with an intriguing mystery and builds and builds until the big nasties
appear at the end. A round of applause must go to Graham Harper who
certainly understands Who and gives the whole production a massive
kick in the pants. He was certainly the right man for the right job.
And understanding Who is the key to this thing. Whatever Julie
Gardner says at the BAFTA's about "emotional journeys" Who is and
always was about monsters. Its core audience has always been eight year
old boys who like explosions, Daleks, and people being killed by Cybermen.
My friend said he hated season 7 at the time when he was ten because it
didn't have Jamie and the Cybermen. If you want to get bums on seats then
a monstrous threat is what you need. And this is why this adventure works,
the threat is built up all the way through the episodes. What is behind
the magic door? Was that a Cyberman hiding in the shadows? It doesnt stop
for yet another RTD meaningful bit of dialogue - it just ploughs on with
the story and carries you with it. The only exception is the bit in the
TARDIS is where Jackie says "you're beginning to look like him now..." but
as the scene is so brief it works along with everything else. When handled
sparingly Jackie Tyler and the Powell Estate can work within a science
fiction framework.
And of course there is Torchwood. Little nuggets of information have
been used through the series with the subtley of a sledgehammer. The new
Torchwood series looks like it's going to be an earthbound group of
individuals who all look and dress like supermodels. This is TV in 2006,
Torchwood can't look like an old garage staffed by scruffy university
proffessors but has to be a fashion magazine penthouse with nice views
over Docklands. In fact there is something of Anna Wintour about Yvonne
Hartman, a character who would have been played by Stephanie Beacham with
massive shoulderpads in the eighties. I liked her, I think she was one of
the best parts of the adventure. She was simply a professional who had
worked her way to the top and got the job probably through efficiency and
a massive streak of patriotism. The "British Empire" part was wonderfully
telling, are the powers that be still aiming for greatness? Have they
never forgotten we used to own a third of the world? Torchwood has a
slightly sinister side which I approve of. As Tracy Ann Oberman says in
Confidential - there is something of the pseudo-fascist about Yvonne
Hartman. And office rule numer #1257 - anyone who mentions she is a
"people person" so obviously isn't one.
The ghosts is a good lead intro and the CGI is well designed. There is
a lovely part about how both sexes see their appearance. Jackie sees it as
a good thing, an emotional plus as families are reunited. The Doctor looks
at the big picture about how it upsets the natural balance of things and
how it can only cause problems. The sense of scale we got with The Christmas Invasion is found here.
And, whatever his faults, Russell T Davies writes BIG!! It was nice to see
the symbols of internationally involved peril - the Eiffel Tower and the
Taj Mahal. I would love to have seen what the Cybermen made of India. I've
been to the Taj and they would have been a great way to deal with the
hawkers and taxi drivers in Agra. One raised voice and zappp!!! And
another British icon makes an appearance: Canary Wharf. With the
government crisis centre in the Tower and Torchwood hiding up in Canary
Wharf I can't but wonder what else is hidden away? A spaceport under
Buckingham Palace? An alien infirmary under York Minster?
The production design and direction cannot be faulted. I noticed Harper
gives an extra push to the proceedings allowing Oberman and Tennant to get
a bit more bite into their roles. I still haven't warmed to Tennant - I
think he is an OK Doctor not a great one. And I am aware that he is
self-consciously "acting" the role. He is not a natural eccentric, he has
to "act" it. And sometimes when he is doing it such as the "Can I have a
cup of tea" scene it can take you out of the story. The enforced wackiness
sometimes doesn't work; he is much better at the serious stuff such as
warning them about opening the "Genesis Ark". His actions enforce the
sense of foreboding about the sphere. It certainly is much better then the
"ghostbusters" impression at the beginning. Yet another contemporary
reference inserted in there. And what is it with RTD and Eastenders? The
Peggy Mitchell/Den Watts part is thankfully brief and probably means
nothing to anyone outside the United Kingdom. And Barbara Windsor, fan
that I am of her, delivers her few lines atrociously.
The regulars are rather good. If someone had told me last year that I
would have enjoyed Jackie Tyler tagging along I would have laughed in
their faces. But here she is a pleasure, the jokes at her expense are
genuinely funny and she provides a good balance to the overly pretentious
Yvonne Hartman. And Rose is back to being Rose, a slightly useless but
caring twenty year old who loves being part of the Doctor's operation.
Gone is the supercillious and bitchy girl who was with us from Tooth and Claw to The Idiot's
Lantern. The caring, down-to-earth Rose of season one seemed to come
back in Fear Her. And for her penultimate story
she works wonderfully and played with a certain likeability. The others do
well too: Noel Clarke's return as Mickey Smith doesnt seem as contrived as
it could be. In fact considering the number of people who are coming over
with the Daleks/Cybermen from the alternative universe, my worry for the
climax is that Torchwood Tower could become more than a little crowded as
RTD shoehorns in as much season 2 continuity as he possibly can.
Less clever, and in fact a rather dubious piece of scripting by Davies,
is the idea that this ultra-secret alien-bothering organisation could
allow some building works to be going on right in their midst without
anybody having the slightest clue that the Cybermen have set up camp down
there and are snaffling up Torchwood employees as they head off for their
coffee-and-kissing breaks. One wonders if this is what the Torchwood
series is going to be like: gorgeous people getting off with each other
and occasionally doing a bit of sci-fi. Well, there you go - what can I
say?
Army of Ghosts is a good all-rounder. People have criticised it
for being a "greatest hits" package. RTD lines up the cast/monsters to do
their piece while everything builds for the cliffhanger. I have no problem
with this. There's a reason that the Daleks and Cybermen keep coming back
- they are lip-smackingly good. And to have two together battling over
London is a fanboy's dream. The spectacular finale we were hoping for.
Which begs the question...
Just where do they go from here?
Ghostbusters by Noe Geric
25/9/23
And here we are, the beginning of the end of a chapter for Doctor Who. Rose Tyler, the companion that began as one of the best and ended up as one of the worst. But am I being a little too hard with her? Actually, no. Rose had so much potential in Series One. She was a fun little adventuress that cared for others and was able to shout at the Doctor when he was doing some crap. But since the glamorous Tennant came aboard, Rose began to fall into the character she actually is in this episode. The most terrible moment for the character was when Jackie talked about her dying. What would happen to Rose? Would she live in the TARDIS until she dies? Because it would be a terrible fate. I can see why people like Amy/Rory and Clara popped in the TARDIS from time to time and otherwise continued their normal life. It would be terrible to grow old while traveling through time with a man that lives longer than you.
Rose is the spoiled little girl of Series Two from the moment we see her to the last moments of Doomsday. Gone is the young girl who wanted to find out about the universe and cared for Mickey. Now she just jumps on the scene with the psychic paper and tries to be like the Doctor. Tennant is still at his annoying stage, jumping everywhere and shouting a lot. He has not reached the Series Four phase where the character grows a little more and the actor too. I can't lie: he has terrific chemistry with Jackie. She could've been his companion, I wouldn't have been bothered. Writing little comedy moments into big stories is RTD touch. I really love that.
At least we get a proper introduction to Torchwood, the spin-off is yet to come. Hartman may be an irritating woman, but I still think Torchwood is a brilliant creation (well, I'll forget about the Forge, which Big Finish introduced earlier and with the same concept). Perhaps the ghost plot is a bit sidelined, but the end reveal is shocking. This is why I hate BBC policy of spoiling everything in the "next time" trailers. It was the same for Bad Wolf in which the Dalek return had been completely revealed at the end of Boom Town. If you've not noticed, the whole episode is just exposition. Every character take his place on the battlefield for the battle coming. Mickey's return was a brilliant twist and still one of my favorites. The character has changed so much since Series One, I would've loved to see him more aboard the TARDIS. Martha Jones, well the future Martha Jones, even makes a small cameo in this episode. She doesn't makes any particular impression on me except that Freema Angyeman will become a regular companion the next year, and I don't think it was a wise move. It brings an explanation like ''it was my cousin'', and it's still unbelievable.
There's still this little scene I can't bring myself to watch without eating my fist: the Doctor trying to reference Ghostbusters is a step too far into sitcom jokes territory. It's far too ridiculous, and Rose's reaction is even worse.
Army of Ghosts isn't an action-packed story. It's just exposition, but good exposition. The dialogue and the characters are trying to put everything at the right place for the last stage. It isn't the greatest story ever made, but it's still a decent and enjoyable story. I'm happy Rose will leave soon, because she began to get on my nerves. This is the perfect example of a character that stayed too long (Clara is another one). Tennant is slowly turning into the perfect Tenth Doctor but not too fast, sadly. This is the sort of episode every big series finale needs. Something to settle the various elements of the story, it manages to avoid rushed endings like The Wedding of River Song. Very fun to watch, but it's only a beginning; the final battle is coming next. 9/10