Doctor Who: "The Stolen Earth" Review - IGN
- ️Travis Fickett
- ️Mon Jun 17 2024
The Doctor gets a little help from his friends.
That's the case with "The Stolen Earth." The first mark against this episode, in my opinion, is that it's the Daleks – again. Granted, it had been a while since we'd seen them, but it does feel as though we're hitting this well one time (three times) too many. Davies did a good job reinventing and reintroducing the Daleks to Doctor Who. The first season episode "Dalek" – specifically singular – introduced the idea of the Time War and that the Time Lords were extinguished with the Daleks. It was a great idea, and by showcasing the power, ferocity and potential evil of a single Dalek – an outdated and somewhat silly (they're pepper pots!) villain was made new again.
That season ended with the great two part finale that gave us "Dark Rose" and the regeneration of the 9th Doctor. It was all suitably epic and terrific – great treatment of the Doctor's most (or is it second most?) classic villain. The second season saw the Daleks return as a surprise enemy that combined with the threat of the Cybermen. That was another great use of the Daleks – because we'd never seen them paired with the Cybermen before. It was also, admittedly, straight "fan service" – but it worked.
Then came the two-part story that featured the Daleks in 1920s Manhattan. These were overall disappointing episodes that made the Daleks goofy and undid some of the reinvention that had occurred thus far. We didn't see The Daleks again for a season and a half – which was smart. Yet here they are again – and does it work?
In a word (or two) – sort of. Davros is back, which I suppose is meant to up the stakes. It's not quite clear how he's back – but his presence does little to enhance the mythology of the Daleks in any significant way. If you compare the performance of Julian Bleach to that of past Doctor Who villains (John Simm for one) – it's way over the top, screeching and one-note. It reminds me of the Ricky Gervais joke from Extras where he's a giant plastic slug.
Meanwhile – everyone is in this episode. Jack, Ianto and Gwen from Torchwood, Sarah Jane Smith and Luke from Sarah Jane, Martha and Rose return along with Harriet Jones. Harriet is the voice of dissent who galvanizes all of the Doctor's former companions into action – through what is best described as an extended web-cam sequence. There's something not quite right about having Billie Piper separated from this scene, watching and talking to herself while the other characters interact. And yet – Piper holds down the fort all on her own, perhaps on the expectations of their meeting.
The plot revolves around the Daleks being stuck outside time, capturing the Earth and then there's the internal intrigue of the "insane" Dalek Caan who rescued Davros from the Time War. Unfortunately, Caan's construction is a bit goofy, and looks like a silly and spastic, albeit terribly ugly, puppet. His voice is a loopy and lilting take on the Dalek's traditional robotic warble. The setup involving Davros, the Time War, the Cult of Skarro, Time Lords, and more – is an awful lot of stuff to digest in a single episode.
But that's what this is. It's all setup and forward momentum driving towards what is the biggest episode of Doctor Who ever produced: "Journey's End." The Journey it's referring to is, at least in part, the journey of producer Russell T. Davies who is finishing up his final regular season of the series. Whatever the conclusion of this season, Davies run on this series is an enormous achievement. He revitalized the character and the series and created one of the most vibrant and creative television shows of all time. How many people can say that?
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Doctor Who: "The Stolen Earth" Review
