This may be the toughest Doctor Who entry I’ve yet to attempt.
What is there to write about? The skewering of reality TV? I already kinda did that this week in the Coyote Ugly entry. The three series (Big Brother, The Weakest Link & What Not to Wear) our trio of time travelers are each dropped into are sent up with equal amounts of affection and ridicule. That the hosts of each series (Davina McCall, Anne Robinson and Trinny Woodall & Susannah Constantine, respectively) agreed to join in the fun by providing their vocal talents is an indication, I guess, that the whole thing is played for laughs more than as a serious condemnation of reality TV. Or maybe it goes to show the kind of respect the Doctor commands over in the UK - actors, celebrities and presenters are all eager to be on the show and work for Russ Davies & Co.
Mostly “Bad Wolf” is a vague indictment of the Doctor’s haphazard, devil-may-care lifestyle, as was pointed out to him by Margaret in “Boom Town”. Upon his exit from Satellite V at the end of “The Long Game”, his attitude was as if his work there was finished and humanity could & would take care of itself. As the events of “Bad Wolf” reveal, this wasn’t the case – humanity was so frail, and had for so long been unable to think for itself, that it fell deeper into a cheap lifestyle which allowed a force greater and more insidious than the Mighty Jagrafess to take control. (There may be some very subtle themes at work here – stuff I’m realizing even as I type – for which I previously failed to give the episode credit.)
It’s also the first half of a two-parter, and a peculiar first half at that. This is a case of the buildup having little to do with the events of the finale. The two episodes almost exist independent of each other, married only by the characters, the location, and the final five minutes of the episode. Don’t expect any more reality TV jabs next week (well maybe one…), because it's going to be all about…
DALEKS! You silly Daleks. Oh you goofy little Daleks. If you’re new to Who, then the lone Dalek from earlier in the season ended up a bit of a wimp compared to what we get next week. These are the real, badass, mutha' fuckin' snakes-on-a-space station deal. You'll get no tentacles-reaching-for-sunlight in next week's installment - that I will gleefully toss out as a spoiler.
“Bad Wolf” is not a perfect episode, but it is a fantastic buildup to the season finale. It begins tying together numerous other themes and stories which have been constructed throughout the season, all leading toward next week's operatic big finish. It likely could have done whatever it wanted to do and I’d have forgiven it based on the final moments alone, which are some damn fine Chris Eccleston & Dalek-driven Doctor Who:
Dalek: WE HAVE YOUR AS-SO-CI-ATE! YOU WILL O-BEY OR SHE WILL BE EX-TERM-I-NATED!
The Doctor: No.
Dalek: EX-PLAIN YOUR-SELF!
The Doctor: I said no.
Dalek: WHAT IS THE MEA-NING OF THIS NEG-A-TIVE?
The Doctor: It means “no”.
Dalek: BUT SHE WILL BE DE-STROYED!
The Doctor: No! ‘Cause this is what I’m gonna do: I’m gonna rescue her. I’m gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet. And then I’m gonna save the Earth and then – just to finish off – I’m gonna wipe every last STINKING Dalek out of the sky!!!!
Dalek: BUT YOU HAVE NO WEA-PONS! NO DE-FEN-SES!! NO PLAN!!!
The Doctor: Yeah! And doesn’t that scare you to death? (beat) Rose?
Rose: Yes, Doctor?
The Doctor: I’m coming to get you.
