Things I've Learnt from Watching My Favourite Doctor Who Stories: Part 30 - The Stolen Earth & Journey's End

 30: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End 

You are not Alone (especially with a webcam!)



The first new series two parter to hit the list and we're at the halfway point. This is was the biggest Doctor Who adventure to that point. Journey's End was the first (but not the last!) episode to be THE number one TV show of the week. 

The series has been exceptionally popular since its return, consistently rating in the top 20 shows of the week, sometimes even in the top 10. Fans are frequently worried about viewing figures, as if high ratings are a guarantee of success and quality. But if that's true, Inferno would be the worst Pertwee adventure while part four of Underworld is the pinnacle of Season 15! 

Like football fans worrying about stats of their teams, Who fans are constantly worrying that if the viewing figures show any sign of dipping, it's the "end" just as it was in 1989! But here's a stat for all you naysayers and worriers. 

In 1989, Doctor Who reached 5 million viewers, compared to Coronation Street which averaged 15.5 million viewers *

In 2022, Doctor Who reached 5 million viewers, compared to Coronation Street which averaged, erm... 5 million viewers! 

So, there's really no need for the guys on Gallifrey Base to get that gif of Lucille Ball out! 

But on that night in 2008, Doctor Who beat all the opposition with 10.5 million viewers on a hot July evening. The previous week we had over 8 million watching The Stolen Earth which was impressive enough. This was a story written by Russell T Davies with the gloves off! It was as if Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson has locked him in a room with a load of sweets told him to "write whatever you want!" 

At the time it felt like a modern day Five Doctors with everyone coming back for one last hurrah! Rose, Martha, Sarah-Jane, Luke, Mickey, Jackie, Francine, Wilf, Sylvia, Jack, Gwen, Ianto, even Harriet Jones, former prime minister! Oh and Davros! Add to all that. the Daleks invading Earth, Graeme Harper as director and you have a blockbuster. It was amazing, like the Doctor Who equivalent of a sugar rush! 

But it wasn't just all spectacle and no substance. Each character gets their moment to shine, Russell balancing each character to keep them true to themselves. Sarah Jane's reaction to the Daleks is terrifying, to see her on tears hugging Luke emotional. There's Wilf shooting a Dalek with a paintball gun, Martha, now working for UNIT of course, being brave trying to escape via the mysterious Project Indigo and Rose desperately trying to get back to the Doctor. 

The moment she and the Doctor are reunited is magical (I love Donna's warm smile when she sees Rose!) but of course it's not to last. A Dalek turns up, shoots the Doctor and in a cliffhanger ending he's about to regenerate! Except he doesn't of course and we have two Doctors (third story in a row on this list!) and the DoctorDonna!

If it was being critical, I'd say it was a bit too convenient. The Reality bomb is a bit of an overblown plan, the Shadow Proclamation looks like a staircase on a Leisure centre (probably because it is!) but I won't, cos it's all done with a level of absolute confidence that the show never had before, and possibly since. And that last five minutes is so heartbreaking. Catherine Tate won over the public with her performance as Donna, so much so, the anticipation of her returning is phenomenal. Bernard Cribbins is my favourite though, from the cheeky joke about webcams, to the plaintive cry of "but she was better with you!" 

We were so blessed to have him as Wilf! 

The Stolen Earth and Journey's End represent Doctor Who at its biggest and boldest, it's brash and exciting, it makes me laugh, it made me cry! That's entertainment! 


* https://coronationstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Coronation_Street_in_1989


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