The Rundown: In-between Donna Noble and the “Eleventh Hour,” Doctor Who ceased producing episodes for a hiatus, instead producing four specials instead. With the exception of Planet of the Dead, they all have some awesome nuggets of Doctor character development, and really set the stage for what is to come.

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In the wake of losing almost everything to Davross in the previous season, the Doctor now finds himself traveling completely alone for the first time since we met him in Season One. Apart from some mysterious warnings about ‘knocking four times’ he has no real direction and so just bounces around the galaxy finding adventure, or in many cases having adventures find him. Throughout these adventures we get amazing glimpses into some of what being the Doctor is like, and the answer to some questions you might have had after being like ‘wait… he has a TIME MACHINE…’ It’s awesome, and leads up amazingly to the next season.

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These specials are pretty amazing to start. Even Planet of the Dead, which has very little actual character development and plays more like an average episode, is still really fun to watch. By this point, Tennant has been the Doctor for a while and has really hit his stride. My favorite nugget is probably The Waters of Mars which, while it plays like a bad horror flick, has the best Doctor moments in it. You really see that having lost his entire people, and then losing what little he had left after, leaves him a little off.

He has failed so many times, he really needs a win. In The Next Doctor the writers really like to mess with us hinging on rumors that Tennant was preparing to regenerate. The Doctor on Doctor interactions here are phenomenal and a lot of fun. Still not a lot of substance, though, but it’s not until The End of Time that the real party starts.

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With The Waters of Mars and The End of Time we really see some of the best parts of Doctor Who; what really drew me to it in the first place. You see the effects the lifestyle the Doctor leads has on him when things don’t go as planned — when he can’t save everyone. Starting the new series with Gallaffrey dead and gone comes to a glorious head at the end of these specials, and it brings in all the best parts of the previous four seasons put together. Tennant really shines here, and it’s his best work as the Doctor, no exceptions.

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These specials not only were there to give Tennant the send-off he so rightly deserved, but also to help the series runners manage the transition to a new head-writer, as well as casting a new Doctor. It also gives some great insight into the Doctor as a character that only continues into the next season. Season Four was a roller coaster, and the specials keep the momentum up even if the lack of a companion does make the Doctor go a little loopy. Now, on to the “Eleventh Hour” and Matt Smith goodness!

 

 

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