Plum Crazy

You start to see this in Tooth and Claw. Now, if you're a Doctor Who fan, you might be thinking "Queen Victoria. Evil, fighting monks. An alien cum werewolf. How can this not be as cheesy as anything that doesn't contain Daleks?" Somehow, though, it isn't. I'm not going to go as far as to say it's really good television, but it does manage to transcend the cheesiness of that plot. Part of this is David Tennant's obvious fun at playing the role and speaking with a Scottish accent. Since he is Scottish, the latter shouldn't be a great surprise. It may well have just been easier for him to speak with a Scottish accent than the more proper English accent he adopts as the Doctor. Regardless, it works.

Tennant really starts to come into his own, though, in School Reunion. The subplot with the intelligence-sucking aliens (it's a bit more complex than that, but leave it as is for now) is somewhat annoying. However, the main plot - the reunion of the 4th Doctor's primary companion, Sarah Jane Smith, with the 10th Doctor and her ultimate bonding with the "competition", Rose - is fantastic. Tennant manages to portray the Doctor's mix of emotions at seeing Sarah Jane again astonishingly well. His joy at being reunited with her. His pride in her achievements. His sadness at knowing that she will continue to age and, eventually, die while he remains alive. His ability to get Rose to really understand that one day, she will no longer be his companion either. It's here that you first begin to see what will define the 10th Doctor. The joy of time travel, of exploring the universe, sweet yet bitter as intermingled with the loneliness of being the last Time Lord in a universe where all other creatures, all other friends, will eventually die. In a way, this makes him the most rounded of all the Doctors.

The Girl in the Fireplace cements this incarnation of the Doctor. It has been the best episode of this round of episodes. Again, the bare plot wouldn't lead you to think that. A seemingly deserted spaceship with a series of time windows onto the life of Madame de Pompadour. Clockwork creatures in 18th century French costume trying to scavenge her brain to power their broken spaceship. The Doctor appearing through these time windows to save her. On the face of it, it sounds quite silly. But it isn't. It's haunting. In part, the music that plays under the scenes between Madame de Pompadour and the Doctor contributes to that feeling. In part, the portrayal of Madame de Pompadour by Sophia Myles (who was great in Art School Confidential) contributes. The most important element, though, is David Tennant's ability to play sheer exhilaration always tinged with loneliness.

The only criticism I have of the episodes with Tennant is not one against Tennant himself. It's that the characters of Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith become increasingly irrelevant as Tennant plays against his guest stars. I think that Billie Piper and Noel Clarke just can't stand up against him. I almost find myself wishing that the 10th Doctor would travel without companions, freeing him up to interact with the people he finds without the distraction of his companions. That, though, would not be true to what Doctor Who is. As Billie Piper is departing the series after this season, here's hoping Freema Agyeman, her replacement, can stand up to David Tennant's Doctor.

Long live the 10th Doctor!

*Other than an abiding affection I have for Rowan Atkinson's portrayal of Doctor Who in a Comic Relief sketch. Of course, it's not serious, but the thought of Edmund Blackadder flitting about through time and space fighting plunger-headed aliens and Jonathan Pryce as the Master is awesome. This particular sketch had the added benefit of Joanna Lumley becoming the final incarnation of the Doctor, the first, and likely only, female Doctor. She and the Master ran off together.