Doctor Who Series 4 Episode 5 - The Poison Sky (Part 2) - Review
Starring: David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Freema Agyeman & Ryan Sampson
Written By: Helen Raynor
Directed By: Douglas Mackinnon
Welcome
back to my review of The Sontaran Stratagem and The
Poison Sky. You can find my review of Part 1 here:
So
let's waste no more time and crack straight on with Part 2: The
Poison Sky.
Carrying
on directly from the end of last week's episode, the Earth is being
choked by the gas from the ATMOS cars and the Sontarans are preparing
for war against U.N.I.T. When the Doctor sends Donna to the TARDIS
for safety, he doesn't anticipate the Sontarans transporting it to
their ship, and he finds himself stuck on Earth having to rely on
Donna to take on the Sontarans. With Martha's clone manipulating
U.N.I.T undercover, and the rest of the world preparing a nuclear
attack, time is ticking, especially as it seems that the gas isn't
just poison...
It's
no exaggeration to say that The Poison Sky has big
shoes to fill, especially if it wants to top The Sontaran
Stratagem. But while last week's episode was action-packed,
The Poison Sky somehow manages to take things to an
even higher level and actually bests Part 1. There's even more going
on here, such as the fact we finally get to see the Sontarans going
into battle against U.N.I.T and Donna ends up going head-to-head with
the Sontarans on their ship. (Spoiler Warning!) Not to
mention, Sylvia saves Wilf from being poisoned in the car by smashing
in the windshield with an axe. It's a very early scene, but already
it's one of this episode's best, for reasons I shouldn't have to
explain... It's worth pointing out though that while this episode
sees a lot of battle and fighting, it isn't just plain red-shirts
that we lose in the firefight. Characters that we genuinely care
about do end up getting killed, though I won't spoil who it is here.
While initially it seems one-sided and unfair that the Sontarans are
able to cut U.N.I.T down without a single casualty to their side,
things become much more interesting once U.N.I.T are able to fight
back. Also, the surprise brief reappearance of the Valiant made for a
nice bit of continuity.
While
last week we embarked on a global story that made me believe the
world was engaged in a worldwide struggle against the Sontarans, The
Poison Sky broadened these horizons further still. This week,
that sense of scale is fully realized. With the UK, America, France,
India, Pakistan, China and North Korea all working together to launch
a nuclear strike against the Sontarans, events feel truly global and
I suppose it's nice to see all these countries working together
against a bigger threat. In my past reviews, I've made it clear that
whenever we're watching an Earth invasion story, I love a sense of
scale. It's a fairly easy thing to create, but something that's
really necessary in this type of story, and can be accomplished with
things as simple as seeing news reports from around the world. This
is something else this episode uses, always reminding us of the gas
levels in different countries and reminding us that time is ticking.
While
this episode may be big and bombastic, it also knows how to function
in its quieter moments. The Sontarans don't just wade their way into
war, and have to use Martha's clone to infiltrate U.N.I.T from behind
the scenes. They may be a war-loving race, but the Sontarans are
still intelligent, even if they're misguided in that intelligence. I
also found it an interesting turn of events that the gas poisoning
Earth isn't just poison, but in fact has a higher purpose –
something that definitely helps to distinguish it from other invasion
stories. Another area of improvement for The Poison Sky was
that it gave Martha and Donna a fair bit more to do, playing
important roles in this episode's story, and both Freema Agyeman and
Catherine Tate impress once again.
My
main complaint with last week's episode was the character of Luke
Rattigan, simply because I found him to be over-the-top and
thoroughly unengaging, mostly because of how he was written. However
I was very pleased to find that The Poison Sky once
again improves in this area compared to its predecessor. Luke is far
more manageable and toned down from last week, thus making him much
more watchable. Helen Raynor shows impressive and mature writing with
this character in an otherwise very straightforward and basic
episode. To change my feelings on a character so much and with such
limited time is an admirable feat and not easily accomplished.
(Spoiler Warning!) Midway through the episode, it's almost
upsetting to see him double-crossed by the Sontarans, and seeing his
ambitions and ideas crumble around him. And let's not forget that his
final acts in this episode should make many a viewer stop and
reconsider their opinion of him.
To
be honest, there's not much more to add about The Poison Sky
that doesn't apply to The Sontaran Stratagem,
other than it improves on many things that were already of a high
quality in Part 1. The biggest improvement is easily how Luke
Rattigan is handled, but even without that it's still worth watching
just for the constant stream of action, fun and the global threat the
Sontarans present. I know this is a two-parter that's generally
considered middling among the majority of fans, but I really love it.
I think someone best summed it up as “great if not hugely
intelligent entertainment”.
Final Score for The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
9/10
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