Doctor Who: Fear Her

London, 2012: The Doctor and Rose arrive to see the Olympics, but instead find a street where children are going missing.

This is last week’s episode; a review of this week’s penultimate episode will follow tomorrow.

Cast and Crew

David Tennant as the Doctor
Billie Piper as Rose Tyler
Nina Sosanya as Trish
Abisola Agbaje as Chloe
Edna Dore as Maeve
Tim Faraday as Tom’s Dad
Abdul Salis as Kel
Richard Nichols as Driver
Erica Erian as Neighbour
Stephen Marzella as Police Officer
Huw Edwards as Commentator

Written by Matthew Graham

Directed by Euros Lyn

Originally aired on the 25th of June 2006 on BBC One in the United Kingdom.

Synopsis

London, 2012: as the city prepares for the start of the Olympic Games, the Doctor and Rose arrive in a street where children have been mysteriously disappearing.

High Points

  • The TARDIS landing the wrong way round at the start
  • I loved the Doctor’s obsession with ‘edible ball bearings’. My sister takes a similar attitude to them
  • ‘Fingers on lips!’

Low Points

  • The council asphalting man’s reaction to Rose stealing his pickaxe is a little too comedic for my taste.

The Scores

It’s not absolutely original, but it is fresh. Five out of six.

The effects were excellent, with some particularly suitable hand-drawn animation. Six out of six.

The story presents an ominous mystery, and is good at hiding some of the critical things until the appropriate moment. We also see Rose working with very little assistance from the Doctor. I suppose the ending was inevitable, but it was a little too obvious for my taste. The Doctor would not be allowed to just run into the Olympic stadium like that. When the actual event happens, security will be extremely tight and trying that would be a good way to get shot. Five out of six.

Again we see some excellent acting from the majority of the cast. Five out of six.

The tension builds up a good emotional response, but mostly in the first half of the episode, unfortunately. Four out of six.

The production did London a bit better than last time they visited, probably because it’s set in the new housing due to be built as part of the East London regeneration so it doesn’t have to look like any part of London we know. The appearance of East London Police was a little incongruous, but it does avoid the enormous fees for using the Metropolitan Police’s logos. The lighting and the camera work are just right for setting the mood, particularly in Chloe’s house. Five out of six.

Overall an excellent episode. Six out of six.

Fear Her receives a grand total of thirty-six out of forty-two.

7 replies on “Doctor Who: Fear Her”

  1. First!
    Wasn’t too keen on the plot, but it wasn’t as bad as idiot’s lantern.

    Did anyone else think that ‘dad’ in the closet was The Beast at first? That could have made it a lot better.

    • Re: First!

      Wasn’t too keen on the plot, but it wasn’t as bad as idiot’s lantern.

      Did anyone else think that ‘dad’ in the closet was The Beast at first? That could have made it a lot better.

      I still think it’s the Beast. :)

      -Joe

  2. You lied to me!
    I was told the reviews would catch up today! For SHAME! ;-)

    Man, that review is gonna need some heavy spoiler guards…

    • Re: You lied to me!

      I was told the reviews would catch up today! For SHAME! ;-)

      Man, that review is gonna need some heavy spoiler guards…

      Me too!!! I was looking forward to that review. :) Shame on you Ehldrin for having a life. :P

      • Re: You lied to me!

        I was told the reviews would catch up today! For SHAME! ;-)

        Man, that review is gonna need some heavy spoiler guards…

        Me too!!! I was looking forward to that review. :) Shame on you Ehldrin for having a life. :P

        Sorry. I should’ve said ‘soon’. My PhD is collapsing around me at the moment so I’m a bit too stressed to write reviews! It’s up now though.

  3. My low point…
    The TV commentator. The amount of drivel coming from him was almost too much to bare.

    A small dark spot in an otherwise great episode! Now I must get back to my dark room with no TV … trying to avoid any spoilers for next weeks episode!

    • Re: My low point…

      The TV commentator. The amount of drivel coming from him was almost too much to bare.

      A small dark spot in an otherwise great episode! Now I must get back to my dark room with no TV … trying to avoid any spoilers for next weeks episode!

      Hey!! At least they got the commentary RIGHT! During the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics this year, my kid kept asking "When are they going to light the torch.", and also noted "this is reallly boring."

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