‘FATHER’S DAY’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
Rose’s Dad and the Reapers with the Ninth Doctor and Rose
This episode by Paul Cornell is definitely a Rose story. It’s about her meeting her dad in 1987 before he got hit by a car that killed him. It’s a story about breaking the laws of time when involved in history.
Rose saves her dad from being killed and the Doctor becomes angry, since it causes a paradox. Not only does it cause a paradox, but it also allows the Reapers to enter and devour everyone out of time.
This is a real tear-jerker of an episode that is marvellously written by Paul Cornell. Paul would go on to write my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ audio anthology called ‘Circular Time’, with the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa in it.
Billie Piper delivers a lovely and strong performance as Rose Tyler in this episode. Rose goes through an emotional journey in meeting her father, seeing her parents argue and seeing herself as a baby.
Rose was told stories about her dad by her mum and it was interesting when she goes back in time to meet him. She finds he isn’t what she expected him to be and he didn’t get on well with her mum.
Christopher Eccleston is brilliant as the Doctor in this episode. Chris delivers a mixture of emotions in his performance as the Doctor when interacting with Rose from being happy to sad and being angry.
The argument scenes with the Doctor and Rose are pretty intense as they concern saving Pete’s life and changing history. It was touching when the Doctor and Rose apologised to each other in the church.
I liked the scene where the Doctor reassured the couple getting married at the church that he’ll try to save them. It was a nice little moment that demonstrates the Doctor’s compassion and love for life.
Shaun Dingwall guest stars as Pete Tyler, Rose’s dad. I really liked it when Pete meets Rose and he soon discovers that she’s his grown-up daughter. He doesn’t know it at first but he gradually works it out.
Pete is delighted to meet his grown-up daughter, though wonders why she came back in time to meet him. He soon realises that he was meant to die and takes the blame for it when Rose blames herself.
Camille Coduri returns as Jackie Tyler, Rose’s mum. It was interesting to see how Jackie told her daughter Rose as a girl about her dad and how she and Pete didn’t get on with each other in 1987.
Mickey Smith makes an appearance as a little boy in this episode. I was quite surprised to see him in this episode. It was very surreal when little Mickey runs into Rose and hugs him, echoing the future.
The Reapers are bat-like monsters who ‘come to seal the wound’ after Rose saved her dad. They’re pretty vicious and terrifying creatures when they come to attack as they make an awful, scary sound.
The 1987 setting of this episode is interesting. It feels familiar, yet there’s something different about it as ‘the past is another country’. Rose notices how ordinary the day is with her dad’s death in 1987.
The final scene where Pete Tyler makes the ultimate sacrifice is pretty emotional and upsetting. It was very touching when Pete said his goodbyes to Rose and Jackie before going off to die at the end.
‘Father’s Day’ is a very sad and emotional story for Rose Tyler. This is a very good episode with fantastic performances from Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston and it’s well-written by Paul Cornell.
The DVD/Blu-ray special features for this episode are as follows. There’s an audio commentary with Billie Piper, Sean Dingwall, producer Phil Collinson and writer Paul Cornell. There’s also the ‘Doctor Who Confidential’ episode ‘Time Trouble’.
‘Father’s Day’ rating – 8/10
| The previous story
For the Ninth Doctor was
For Rose was
|
The next story
For the Ninth Doctor is For Rose is For Mickey is |
| Return to The Ninth Doctor’s Timeline | |
| Return to Rose’s Timeline | |
| Return to The Doctors’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to The Companions’ Timelines Index | |
| Return to Doctor Who Timelines | |
| Return to Doctor Who | |
| Return to Sci-Fi |
Bradley's Basement 
I did not cry during this episode, another excellent review Tim this shows such emotion sadly lacking nowadays & Billie Piper’s performances was so believable & heartbreaking, good job I didn’t cry eh .
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Simon.
Glad you enjoyed my review on ‘Father’s Day’. It is pretty moving and emotional indeed. I enjoyed the drama featured in this story and it’s such a shame why the latest series can’t take an example of doing drama like this in this episode. Billie Piper as Rose is so lovely and engaging to watch and you can feel her emotions during these stories.
Tim. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely more watchable for me nowadays than Star Trek: The City On The Edge Of Forever. Thank you, Tim, for your review.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
Interesting remark. I never thought of comparing the ‘Doctor Who’ episode ‘Father’s Day’ to the ‘Star Trek’ episode ‘The City on the Edge of Forever’. I like that ‘Star Trek’ episode and think it’s one of the best ‘Star Trek’ episodes ever made.
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ever since The Aztecs, Dr. Who has most often seemed to have a clear-and-to-the-point perspective on why we shouldn’t try to change history, despite our natural reasons. It was particularly new when Father’s Day addressed the issue as much familiar subject matter for Dr. Who was refreshed for the new series. Although different shows about time travel like the new Quantum Leap and La Brea can be more appealingly flexible, as well as movies like Frequency that dramatize how saving your father in the past is in some sense accepted by the laws of time.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on ‘Father’s Day’. I do enjoy and often prefer the ‘Doctor Who’ stories where history can’t be changed and that there are fixed points in time. It’s done well in this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, ‘The Aztecs’ (as you mentioned) and it’s (in my opinion) ‘The Fires of Pompeii’. There were times where I got annoyed during the Steven Moffat era that ‘time can be rewritten’ and that the fixed-points-in-time rule didn’t apply in some stories. I like how ‘Father’s Day’ introduced the fixed-points-in-time concept for newcomers to ‘Doctor Who’ and it’s conveyed well through the performances of actors like Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Shaun Dingwall.
Many thanks for your comments.
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
As Terrance Dicks pointed out, it’s a question of how you do it. And as with the Prime Directive in Trek, so long as there’s no risk of exceptions doing more harm than good (which the 10th Doctor certainly had to be reminded of in The Waters Of Mars), then certain flexibilities for newer Dr. Who and Star Trek may be permissible. For Father’s Day it was simply enjoyable for Rose and her dad to finally know each other. So that’s one of our best Whoniversal lessons on what to make allowances for.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
I’m looking forward to when I get a chance to check out the latest Target novelizations of ‘Doctor Who’, including ‘The Waters of Mars’ by Phil Ford where it explores the Tenth Doctor’s attempt to change history for Adelaide Brooke. It’ll certainly be interesting to compare the book to the TV story and it’s enlightening to compare how the Ninth and Tenth Doctors tell their companions like Rose and Donna how important it is not to ‘rewrite history, not one line’.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hated how The Waters Of Mars ended. I understood the reasons for it. But it’s very depressing to see how easily the Doctor can lose his way. I felt like Jodie’s Doctor for how mellowed her authoritative nature was had remedied that enough. But when a need to disregard the rules is quite natural, it could feel stereotypical if any sense of hubris is made to seem inevitable.
For Adelaide’s fate I would have preferred the resolution seen in the first episode of Doctor Who Velocity. Because even if some fates may stay the same, what should be changeable enough is how we view or accept them. That’s the wisdom that I always appreciate most from the Doctor.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
That’s fair enough about ‘The Waters of Mars’. I’m not really a fan of ‘Midnight’, as I didn’t like how the Doctor was possessed and defeated despite being saved by the Hostess at the end. Should a Target novelization of ‘Midnight’ ever be published, I hope to expand my thoughts on why the episode didn’t appeal to me as it did for other fans.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suppose that I don’t care that much for Midnight either. Although its premise was most intriguing at the time and it was great to see David Troughton again.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks scifimike,
I’m glad it’s not just me who’s not a fan of ‘Midnight’. Yes, it was good to see David Troughton in the episode. I believe that was the first time I saw him in anything. 😀
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remembered David’s two classic Dr. Who guest star roles in The War Games and The Curse Of Peladon, and his costarring role in BBV’s The Stranger series. I seem to recall rumours that he was considered for the Doctor after Sylvester McCoy. That would have been interesting.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi scifimike,
I’ve enjoyed David Troughton’s ‘Doctor Who’ appearances both on TV and audio as well as his appearances in BBV’s ‘The Stranger’ series. I’ve also enjoyed him in episodes of ‘Grantchester’ and I’m currently enjoying him in ‘A Very Pecuilar Practice’ with Peter Davison, Barbara Flynn and Graham Crowden. Thanks for letting me know that he might have been considered for the role of the Doctor after Sylvester McCoy. That would have been interesting to see indeed.
Many thanks,
Tim 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person