Doctor Who: The Stolen Earth

So, that episode happened. Whatever one might think of the episode as a whole, the cliffhanger was pretty spectacular. But more on that later.

But first and foremost, the episode itself. The clever plotting and interesting characterisation that we have seen so much of in every episode since The Unicorn and The Wasp went straight out the window. Instead, we got a whole host of bangs, crashes, and Hollywood style visual FX. Which is no bad thing, really. There is a place for clever plotting and strong characterisation, and there is a place for action. The new series of Doctor Who seems to be getting the balance between the two right.

There were problems with the episode. The plethora of companions and spin-off characters meant it was hard to keep the momentum of the story going for each of the main characters – and for the likes of Torchwood to hide downstairs whilst the world is blown away by the Daleks over their heads seemed somewhat out of character. Plus, the production team needs to be careful with the special effects. At some points, particularly as the TARDIS floated in the Medusa Cascade, I did wonder whether I was watching a live-action drama or a cartoon. CGI is great, but it is not and should not become the be all and end all of Doctor Who.

However, the great moments far outweighed the drawbacks. The concept of the stolen earth was great. It was good to see Harriet Jones again, particularly given her fall at the end of The Christmas Invasion, and it was nice to see her character given the chance to be heroic again, albeit in a very tragic way. And finally, there was Davros. Back from the dead, a looking just as he should. He was brilliantly brought to life, and the concept that he had built the new Dalek army from his own desiccated chest was chilling and nauseating – I am amazed (and impressed) that such an image was broadcast before the watershed.

And finally we have the cliffhanger. That cliffhanger. The Doctor suddenly being forced into regeneration. Arguably the most popular and iconic Doctor since Tom Baker being cut down almost arbitrarily by Dalek gun fire, before starting to change with barely a moment’s notice. It is an incredible cliffhanger – one that left me shocked, and dying to know what happens next.

The question that should be one every viewer’s lips should be “is the Doctor actually regenerating?” Well, it certainly looks like it. He was effectively killed, his body began to change, and then there was the regeneration effect that we saw when the Master changed at the end of Series Three and when the Doctor changed at the end of Series One. It sure as hell looks like he is regenerating.

However, I'd throw in a note of caution. The Doctor might not be regenerating, or something might happen that stops it all. Within the story, the Doctor's severed hand was being seen a lot in that episode - it is linked to regeneration, so it could act as a help or hinderance to the apparent regeneration.

But it is more the production side than the plotting that makes me cautious about stating that Tennant is regenerating. First of all, if that was his last episode, then his Doctor went with a whimper rather than a bang. The episode was great - but the Doctor himself did very little. He landed on earth, went to the space police, moped a bit, then got called by his far more resourceful companions before getting zapped by a Dalek almost by accident. No big, epic final scene; no face to face confrontation with Davros. It might be a way of showing the arbitrary nature of death, but I honestly think that both Davies and Tennant would want to give the Tenth Doctor a bigger send-off.

And could they really have kept the regeneration a secret if Tennant is leaving? With the best will in the world, things leak these days. And changing the star of the BBC's biggest programme of the moment (ok, ok, it is going head to head with Eastenders, but it is still in the top two of current BBC programmes) would be a story that the tabloids would pay an absolute fortune for. And someone, somewhere, would leak it for the cash.

Which leaves the series in a slightly awkward position – either the Doctor *is* regenerating and Tennant got a lacklustre final episode, or the story is somehow going to stop the regeneration process and effectively undermine the cliffhanger. Neither proposition is great, but as far as I can see those are the only options open to resolve this cliffhanger. Then again, this production team has always been full or surprises so maybe they have something to pull out of their hat that will prevent this from being an anti-climax.

Still, whatever happens, it was a pretty special episode and an awesome cliffhanger. And I genuinely cannot wait to see what unfolds on Saturday...