Arriving on Mars circa 2059, The Doctor is excited to see evidence of human colonization, but upon entering Bowie Base One he soon realizes that he's stumbled into a terrible event "fixed in time" that he's forbidden to alter. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the base, led by Adelaide Brooke (Lindsay Duncan), are infamous victims of an unexplained explosion that took their lives but helped shape the future of mankind -- primarily by inspiring Adelaide's granddaughter to become the first person to travel faster-than-light, literally launching mankind's journey into the cosmos.
As is usual for The Doctor, his arrival coincided with escalating alien malevolence; in this case, an outbreak of a Martian virus that had infected the water supply and started turning the crew into soaking wet zombies with mouths like cracked mosaic tiles, who are able to project water from their mouths and arms to infect anyone who comes into contact with the slightest drop. And they have a plan to get from the red planet to the luscious neighbouring blue planet, potentially infecting the billions of people on Earth...The first half of "The Waters Of Mars" was breezy, formulaic stuff we're now very familiar, reminding us of various other stories in the Doctor Who's recent history -- most obviously "The Impossible Planet". There was another mélange of tolerable actors (some doing unconvincing accents), a "funny robot" called Gadget as a concession to the kids, countless foot pursuits up dark corridors, jarring musical cues, encounters with an enemy behind a porthole, and more evidence of Russell T. Davies' fascination with segways (as the aforementioned robot was turned into a makeshift version thanks to the multipurpose sonic screwdriver.)
But, it was still a very engaging first half, primarily because "The Flood" enemy were genuinely creepy creations, and the dialogue crackled between The Doctor and Adelaide. A few sequences of infected people quivering as they were drenched in water were effective and unnerving for a show skewed towards families with six-year-olds watching, too. But the real success behind "The Waters Of Mars" came in the gripping second half, when The Doctor decided to leave everyone behind to meet their doom and ensure the timeline was maintained*... only to have second thoughts when it dawned on him that, as the last of the governing Time Lords, it's really up to him how things pan out...
Interestingly, this was the first time I can remember it feeling wrong to see The Doctor valiantly try to save lives (no matter how many heroic poses the camera afforded him), and there were some beautifully-played moments in the denouement when the victorious Doctor eventually suspected he'd gone too far in altering time and saving the day. Although I'd have preferred it if The Doctor had remained oblivious to the fact the rescued Adelaide committed suicide seconds after he dropped her off on Earth, in a sacrificial attempt to keep her granddaughter's future intact.
That final scene was particularly fascinating. The Doctor now thinks of himself as a "winner" of the notorious Time War, not a "survivor"... and has a newfound desire to bend history to his will, which is obviously a dangerous attitude to have and power to wield. After all, even a Dalek (seen in a flashback to "The Stolen Earth") knew it was in everyone's best interest to let a young Adelaide live to fulfill her destiny... and you have to take a look at yourself in the mirror if a Dalek has a better moral compass, don't you?
Overall, "The Waters Of Mars" was swift and snappy with a welcome tincture of creepiness, but it wasn't until the final twenty minutes that it really started to give us something new and exciting to chew on. The horror of a Time Lord facing his own mortality and consequently losing his grip in a twisted act of benevolence was fertile ground for great drama, and the best ever evidence that The Doctor needs a human companion to keep him grounded and his judgement balanced.It's perhaps wise of Russell T. Davies to be moving on from Doctor Who after four years, if his stories are generally starting to remind you of earlier episodes -- only with different people being imperiled by aliens with slightly different quirks -- but at least Waters Of Mars left 9.1 million of us with the impression Davies is going out on a high, by taking The Doctor's character into some captivating, darker territory come his festive swansong...
15 November 2009
BBC1/BBC HD, 7pm
written by: Russell T. Davies & Phil Ford directed by: Graeme Harper starring: David Tennant (The Doctor), Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke), Peter O'Brien (Ed Gold), Chook Sibtain (Tarak Ital), Alan Ruscoe (Andy Stone), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Maggie Cain), Gemma Chan (Mia Bennett), Aleksander Mikic (Ulrika Ehrlich), Cosima Shaw (Steffie Ehrlich), Michael Goldsmith (Roman Groom), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma)
* I guess nu-Who is ignoring its own mythology established in "Father's Day", where winged creatures arrived to restore damage to a timeline Rose altered. Okay, then. That always did seem stupid. But it does irritate me that Doctor Who's rules and lore are so flexible.
