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Father's Day (Doctor Who)

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163 – "Father's Day"
Doctor Who episode
File:Fathers Day (Doctor Who).jpg
The terrifying reapers begin to emerge.
Cast
Guest
Production
Directed byJoe Ahearne
Written byPaul Cornell
Script editorHelen Raynor
Produced byPhil Collinson
Executive producer(s)Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner
Mal Young
Music byMurray Gold
Production code1.8
SeriesSeries 1
Running time45 minutes
First broadcast14 May 2005
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Long Game" 		Followed by →
"The Empty Child"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"Father's Day" is the eighth episode in series one of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on 14 May 2005. The Doctor brings Rose to 1987 to comfort her father as he was dying, but when she prevents his death from happening, the monstrous Reapers are unleashed upon the Earth.

This episode marks the first appearance of Rose Tyler's father Pete Tyler, played by Shaun Dingwall, who would later reprise his role in the 2006 series as a Pete from a parallel universe.

Plot

The episode opens with a flashback of Jackie Tyler telling a younger Rose about her father Pete, who died in a hit-and-run accident on the way to a friend's wedding.

In the TARDIS, The Doctor agrees to take Rose to the day her father died so that she can be there when it happens. They witness the accident but Rose is unable to move when The Doctor tells her to go comfort her dying father. Rose asks The Doctor if she can try again, and the Doctor allows it but warns Rose to not run until their former selves have left to prevent a paradox. As the accident is about to happen, Rose suddenly runs out and pushes Pete aside, saving his life. The older versions of the Doctor and Rose vanish. Rose and the Doctor fight about her actions, with the Doctor rebuking her for potentially damaging the timeline. The Doctor takes Rose's TARDIS key back and storms off without her. Rose decides to go with Pete to the wedding, while the Doctor walks back to the TARDIS only to find that it is now an empty shell. Strange flying beasts called Reapers appear and begin consuming people.

Rose and Pete drive to the wedding together, and the car that had been meant to kill Pete nearly collides with their car. They join the other guests, including Jackie who has brought the infant Rose with her. Rose is surprised to find that Jackie and Pete argue frequently. A young Mickey runs in to warn the guests about the Reapers, who think it's a joke until a Reaper appears above and attacks them. The Doctor runs to the church and directs everyone inside, noting that the age of the church will protect them against the Reapers. The Doctor explains to Rose that her actions have caused a paradox that normally the Time Lords would have prevented. Without them, the Reapers are sterilising the wound in time by consuming everyone within it. The Doctor further warns Rose not to touch her infant self, as it could cause further damage to time and allow the Reapers into the church. Feeling that his TARDIS key is still warm, the Doctor sets it up in the middle of the church and the TARDIS slowly begins materialising around it.

While waiting in the church, Jackie sees Pete talking to Rose and thinks he is having an affair. Pete and Rose talk alone, and he comes to realize that she is his daughter. When Rose is unable to answer questions about how good of a father he was, Pete realises he was meant to die in the accident. Jackie thinks Rose is Pete's daughter with another woman, and in a fit of frustration Pete hands the baby Rose to adult Rose. The paradox worsens and a Reaper is able to enter the church. The Doctor declares himself the oldest thing in the church and offers himself to the Reaper, who consume him and disappears. The TARDIS key goes cold and drops to the ground. Pete realizes that they now have no other choice and that he must die in order to restore the timeline. He bids Rose and Jackie an emotional farewell and races out of the church in front of the car. The timeline is repaired, and those previously consumed by the beasts reappear. The Doctor sends Rose off to be with her dad as he dies and she holds his hand until he is gone. Rose and the Doctor walk hand-in-hand back to the restored TARDIS.

The episode ends with a flashback similar to the opening, as Jackie explains to a young Rose that Pete didn't die alone. Jackies tells Rose about a young woman stayed with him until he died, leading the adult Rose to eulogize about her father.

Continuity

Continuing the "Bad Wolf" arc of the series, a poster advertising a rave on a wall near where Pete was supposed to die in the beginning has the words "BAD WOLF" defacing it.[1][2] Rose refers to the ending of this episode in "The Parting of the Ways", telling Jackie that she met her father and was the girl who held Pete's hand as he died. Although Pete Tyler dies in this episode, an alternate universe version of him appears in the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen"/"Age of Steel" and again in the episodes "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday".

Production

Working titles for the episode included "Wounded Time" and "Wound In Time".[3] Showrunner Russell T Davies came up with the final title of "Father's Day" in February 2005, shortly before the series began airing.[4] In the DVD commentary for this episode, writer Paul Cornell and producer Phil Collinson mention that in the original script, in the scene where the Doctor opens the TARDIS doors and discovers only a police box interior, the police box fell apart. This was changed for reasons of cost, and Cornell said on the commentary that he thinks the change is an improvement.[5] Cornell also states that the character of Pete Tyler is based on his own father, who attempted many different jobs and schemes (including, like Pete, selling health drinks) before eventually finding success running a betting shop. Pete's line "I'm your dad, it's my job for it to be my fault" is taken from something Cornell's father once said to him.[5] Billie Piper says on the commentary that this was her favourite episode of the first series, and the most emotionally taxing for her to perform.[5] Christopher Eccleston has also stated that this was his favourite episode, due to its many emotional layers.[citation needed]

Outside references

Posters seen advertising the Socialist Worker read 'No Third Term For Thatcher', serving to campaign against re-electing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the General Election in June 1987. "The Lamb and Flag", a pub from the sitcom Bottom, is referenced in the episode.[1] When time is damaged, one of the effects is that mobile telephones all begin to repeat the message, "Watson, come here, I need you," purportedly Alexander Graham Bell's first words ever spoken over a telephone. However, according to a recording by Watson reminiscing about the event, the words were "Watson, come here, I want you."[6] The error was not present in Paul Cornell's original script, but crept in at some point during production.[citation needed]

The episode features two of the biggest hits from 1987, "Never Gonna Give You Up" performed by Rick Astley and "Never Can Say Goodbye" performed by The Communards, both of which have some relevance to the basic themes of the story. It also features the 2002 song "Don't Mug Yourself" by The Streets, indicating the damage to the timeline.[1] Rose believes Pete to be "a bit of a Del Boy", referring to the character from Only Fools and Horses, which was airing around the time this episode is set. Humorously, Shawn Dingwall later went on to play Del Boy's father Reg Trotter in the Only Fools and Horses prequel Rock and Chips first aired in 2010.

Broadcast and reception

"Father's Day" received final ratings of 8.06 million viewers in the United Kingdom.[7]

SFX praised the way the concept of time was explored as well as the accurate representation of the '80s, and stated that Dingwall gave "one of the series' best performances" as Pete Tyler. However, the reviewer thought that the Reapers were the let-down of the episode, finding that "the episode doesn't feel as much like horror as it should".[8] Arnold T Blumburg of Now Playing gave the episode an A for the emotional impact and the acting. Blumburg did note, however, that there were "enormous logical gaps" involving "glowing TARDIS keys and under-explained paradoxes".[9] In 2013, Radio Times reviewer Mark Braxton described it as "a time-travel tale with immense heart" and highlighted the shift of identification from the Doctor to Rose and the acting of Piper and Dingwall. Braxton, on the other hand, felt that the Reapers were redundant and the episode would have done "equally well if you scythed the Reapers from the script".[10]

The episode was nominated for the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form; the episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" won. "Father's Day" topped the third place category in terms of votes.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Father's Day: Fact File". BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Bad Wolf: Clues". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
  3. ^ Back to the Vortex. Telos Publishing Ltd.
  4. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (17 October 2009). "Father's Day". A Brief History of Time (Travel). Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Collinson, Phil; Paul Cornell; Billie Piper (2005). Audio commentary for "Father's Day" (DVD). Doctor Who: The Complete First Series: BBC.
  6. ^ Lost and Found Sound: The Stories
  7. ^ Russell, Gary (2006). Doctor Who: The Inside Story. London: BBC Books. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-563-48649-7.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who: Father's Day". SFX. 14 May 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  9. ^ Blumburg, Arnold T (18 May 2005). "Doctor Who — "Father's Day"". Now Playing. Archived from the original on 24 May 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  10. ^ Braxton, Mark (12 March 2013). "Doctor Who: Father's Day". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form". 2006 Hugo Award & Campbell Award Winners. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2006.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ninth Doctor.

Reviews

Template:2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

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