Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #6 – The Doctor’s Daughter

Rick Marshall

Rick Marshall was Online Managing Editor for ComicMix before joining MTV's SplashPage. Previously, he was Online Content Manager for Wizard Entertainment. He has written for several daily newspapers, alternative weekly newspapers, trade magazines and online media, and was named "Writer of the Year" by the New York Press Association in 2005.

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7 Responses

  1. Vinnie Bartilucci says:

    Georgia Moffet was actually on the short list of actresses to play Rose for the first season of Doctor Who. RTD and Co. decided she was just a bit young for the part, but were determined to keep an eye on her, confident that she'd only get better in a few years. Indeed, she came this season in for a smaller part in another episode, but they asked her if she could keep her schedule open for a "slightly" larger part later in the series. She could and did, and the rest is history."Chinese Whispers" is a more British term for the kids' game "telephone" where an oft-repeated phrase rapidly degenerates to nonsense.One of the common complaints the team expected for the death of Hath Peck was wondering how a fish-creature drown in a slurry of mostly water. While it wasn't explicitly explained in the episode, the hath actually breathe and nourish themselves through that phial of nutrient-rich liquid mounted on their faces. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of shattering glass as he sinks into the quicksand, attemtping to indicate his impending doom. I fully expected him to sink to the bottom, walk or climb his way out and meet up with them letter. But I expect one miraculous survival is enough for any Doctor Who story.Liz Shaw was a good example of an attempt to give The Doctor a more peer-like companion in the Pertwee years. She was an established scientist, able and willing to stand up to Doctor, and was able to make the odd helpful suggestion on occasion. When she was eventually replaced by Jo Grant in a later season, Liz (as quoted by The Brigadier) says that all The Doctor really needed for an assistant was "someone to hand him test tubes and tell him how brilliant he is". Liz was a memorable companion, and Caroline John returned to play her in a series of BBV fan-produced stories about a UNIT/Torchwood-like organization called PROBE.Guest Star report – Cobb, the leader of the humans is played by Nigel Terry; quite the busy actor in England, but best known in America for the role of King Arthur in Excalibur. That magnificent voice is still instantly recognizable, and he actually looks quite a bit like he did when the old-age makeup was applied in the film.I get the distinct impression that there are indeed no concrete plans to see Jenny again anytime soon, it's just another delicious open plot thread that the creators are leaving for future teams to pick up on. They gave us the Flash Gordonesque shot of a lady's hand picking The Master's ring at the end of last season, and there's more than a few reverse breadcrumbs coming in the next few episodes. Of course, if she's the Doctor's (genetic) daughter, she could call herself Nurse Jenny is that name wasn't already taken…

    • Neil Ottenstein says:

      In the commentary (directory Alice Troughton, Russell Davies and David Tennant), they mentioned that small part she auditioned for was in the next episode – Unicorn and the Wasp. They also mentioned the audition for Rose (and most of the info your first paragraph) and Russell Davies tells that it was Steven Moffat's idea for Jenny to live. They also said that The Source was originally going to be in a factory corridor, but it was Phil Collinson's idea to have a green house. They had to block the windows for filming. They also mention a nice blooper on the "funeral" scene – Alice Troughton on viewing that says, "the t-shirt has regenerated." There is no longer a bullet hole in it. They do discuss the Peck and Gable, but I can't remember much about that besides them indicating the reference to the actors. The episode straddled Christmas in filming. One of the tunnels became a Santa's grotto while they weren't using it.Russell Davies brought up the question about the TARDIS' translation circuits and why we couldn't understand the Hath. He said that Martha did start to understand them and but having them speak in bubbles – "it is more fun." They also mention that it was Freema's idea to look at her engagement ring at the end. David Tennant mentions that they cut out a brief bit of him either miming or asking her to call him.

  2. John Ostrander says:

    I'm glad they didn't kill Jenny off permanently as I would have found that a bit too predictable.In fact, as I watched, I noted that she was cannon fodder, someone who existed to make the Doctor feel terrible and let Tennant play anguished — which he does very well. Instead, they pulled a Spock — terraformed planet revives her, or so it seemed to me — and let her go racing off to the stars which made ME feel good — which I like a Doctor Who episode to do. Moffat had it right, IMO. Makes me feel good about his upcoming tenure as well.

  3. mike weber says:

    Those who don't want to see even mild spoilers would do well to skip this comment:SPOILERSPACESPOILERSPACEFAMILY MATTERS: After spending much of the episode trying to convince The Doctor that he should consider Jenny his daughter, he explains that his resistance to the notion is the result of having had a family in the past — and losing them. While some might wonder where that revelation came from, the idea of The Doctor having a family harkens back to the very first episode of Doctor Who, "An Unearthly Child." For much of the first few seasons, The Doctor traveled with his granddaughter, Susan Foreman, as well as two of her teachers. The Doctor has also mentioned having a family several times throughout the new series, such as the time he told former companion Rose Tyler that he "was a dad once" in the episode titled "Fear Her."Couple of episodes down the road – "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of Death", written by Moffat, we meet up with Doctor River Song, an archaeologist who knows the Doctor – but who the Doctor has not met. She carries an obviously old an well used (and thick) diary, decorated to resemble the TARDIS, which she will not let the Doctor read – at his behest, because it contains spoilers, she says.She possesses certain objects that she says the Doctor is going to give her.A lot of fanboy types are guessing that she is the Doctor's (future) wife, or perhaps his daughter (not Jenny).Remember the remark the Oud made, that we thought meant that the Doctor is coming up on another regeneration soon? The one about his "song" ending soon?NAME GAMES: Jenny becomes the latest character to ask The Doctor about his real name in this episode. Very important (but tantalisingly unresolved) reference to this coming up.According to various reports (including David Tennant's page on Wikipedia), Tennant is currently involved in a serious romantic relationship with Georgia Moffet, who plays his character's "daughter" in this episode. Well, Tom Baker was married to Lalla Ward for 16 months…

  4. VinnyC says:

    With just one line "You talk all the time but you don't say anything", Donna Noble becomes the greatest companion ever.

    • mike weber says:

      On the other hand, there's that great bit in "Runaway Bride" in which the Doctor is working on opening a door with Donna standing behind him and he's ramblin on about this and that an suddenly without a pause he says "…and you've never been quiet for this long…", looks around, and, indeed, Donna has been snatched.

  5. grantsolo says:

    the expression "Chinese Whispers" is commonly used in the UK..it's actually a kids game where you all sit in a circle, you whisper a phrase to the person next to you, they whisper it to the person next to them and so on.. when it comes back around to the first person, it will have changed somewhat in the telling.. thats the game!