Things I've Learnt from Watching My Favourite Doctor Who Stories: Part 14 - Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

14. Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways

She was the Bad Wolf all the time

Let's talk about Billie Piper! (Why? Because we want to...) She's a respected and revered actress on stage and screen, with so many awards her house must have a mantelpiece in every room. But back in 2005, fans had jitters about this ex-pop star becoming the Doctor's new companion. Including this one!

Oh how we worried, oh how we scoffed. 

Oh how wrong we were... 

By the time we got to that last scene in Rose, I was totally bowled over by her. I was absolutely convinced Billie was Rose, from that wonderful smile as she runs into the TARDIS, to her brave words about getting the bronze in the Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team gymnastics. As an aside, I love the fact it's the bronze! Not the gold, or the silver, but the bronze, RTD showing that third place is something to celebrate and this isn't Star Trek where anything less than 100% is abject failure... 

Anyway, I quickly became a fan and absolutely adored her. Some say Rose is better with Ten than she is with nine and others say Ten and Rose can be insufferable. There's undeniable chemistry between the two of them, but to me, Nine and Rose feels a more traditional Doctor/Companion relationship. Of course by now we have Jack added into the mix and this two part season finale serves them all extremely well. And I have to say, I don't think this two-parter has never been bettered in terms of a finale. The classic series never did big season finales, except perhaps The War Games, and that was because they had to, rather than by design. 

It's definitely a game of two halves; Bad Wolf has a wicked mix of then-current reality shows including Anne Robinson, and fashion gurus Trinny and Suzannah gamely voicing their deadly robotic counterparts. This is Vengeance on Varos done without the sadism. Perhaps reality shows in Varos would have been more fun than what we got? A deadly version of the Adventure Game where contestants really do get evaporated by the Vortex, or Blankety Blank where a robotic Terry Wogan shoots at contestants and the winner is the one who's bullet is a blank? 

We're introduced to one of the modern series most endearing would-be companions Lynda with a Y, played by Jo Joyner. Lynda is, as the Doctor puts it, sweet and she's adorable with the Doctor. Suddenly Rose gets blasted by the Anne Droid, the Daleks turn up and the mood darkens considerably... 

The Parting of the Ways is a battle to the death and sees the Daleks at their most brutal. And there's dozens of them too. (OK, technically only three but the scene where they're all filing into Satellite 5 looks amazing!) The scene where they go to floor zero, simply to exterminate the passengers because they're there is horrible as are the scenes where they move through Satellite Five blasting everyone they can. 

The two programmers are swiftly dispatched after arranging a date in a charming little scene that adds nothing to the plot but helps us care about the characters when they're killed more than characters in say, Resurrection of the Daleks. Poor Lynda with a Y gets a horrifically memorable death scene that's a real heartbreaker and even Jack gets gunned down, although not before John Barrowman gets his own Henry V St Crispin-style speech, which shows he's got the acting chops to lead a spin off series of his own. It's bleak and grim, yet manages to avoid the sadism of Varos, mainly because we care about the characters. 

Meanwhile the Doctor sends Rose back to the 21st Century and her mother and boyfriend. But first we get the tearjerking hologram scene where acting, writing, direction and Murray Gold's Rose theme combine to make a scene that is beautiful. I don't agree that the classic series didn't do emotion, but it was usually confined to when a companion leaves, so this is certainly a step up in terms of drama. 

Then we have the speech - Rose rails against Jackie and Mickey's apathy. It's inspiring words, a mantra for life and should be what we all aspire to. "...you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right..." Billie Piper's performance is electric, what could have been a whiney empty homily in the hands of a lesser actress, comes to life with a pain and rawness that is astounding. 

Rose doesn't give up, if I was a cynic I would say she's feisty just like any other Doctor Who companion, but it's actually because she loves the Doctor. And he has shown her that you make a stand for what's right. A cynic might say the whole Bad Wolf denouement is a bit deux ex machina but actually, I think it's expertly seeded throughout the series. And even though we knew Christopher Eccleston was leaving, pretty much as soon as he'd started, the ending still packs a punch. 

This is quality Doctor Who, written by a quality Doctor Who writer and brilliantly directed by Joe Ahearne, criminally on his last directing assignment for the series. This set the bar exceptionally high for season finales, and while others might be bigger, I don't think any of them have been better than this! 

Next Time: Never trust a character played by John Challis...