Winter is Coming
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Doctor Who review: Bad Wolf is a bonkers beginning to an extremely dark story

By James Aggas

The Ninth Doctor faces the Daleks once more in Bad Wolf.Courtesy BBC
The Ninth Doctor faces the Daleks once more in Bad Wolf.Courtesy BBC /
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The most recent story watched on Doctor Who Lockdown, we look at the episode Bad Wolf, and why it’s such a strong start to Series 1’s two-part finale.

Have you been enjoying Doctor Who Lockdown? We have. It’s been an absolute delight to not just re-watch brilliant stories like The Husbands of River Song, Turn Left, and The Pilot, but to enjoy them as part of the fandom, too. The most recent story selected – one that’s particularly important for companion Captain Jack Harkness, who will be returning very soon – was the two-part finale Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways.

When it comes to the first part, it’s easy to forget just how bonkers it is when it begins. The Doctor and his friends arrive in sci-fi versions of Big Brother, The Weakest Link, and What Not to Wear – all very popular shows back in 2005. It’s a bold idea, and in some ways, it instantly dates the story – a huge reminder that it really has been 15 years since Series 1 was broadcast.

But that’s not a problem, because the story itself still works well on its own terms. Presenting a dystopian future where humans are selected at random and killed just for the sake of viewers is certainly a horrifying idea. But perhaps not as horrifying as the Doctor finding out he’s responsible for creating it…

Consequences

Earlier in Series 1, the Doctor arrived on Satellite 5 and defeated the evil controlling it in The Long Game. While that episode wasn’t exactly one of the best stories of the series, it is nice to see this finale explore the consequences of it – particularly how sometimes, the Doctor doesn’t simply make everything better when he “saves the day”. That’s something that we hadn’t really seen explored before, and it makes the story feel even more personal to the Ninth Doctor, as a result.

In fact, despite its initially quirky setup, Bad Wolf is unquestionably an extremely dark episode. One of the most shocking moments is Rose being “disintegrated”, just as the Doctor and Jack finally reach her. Even when you know that she’s not really dead, the moment doesn’t lose its impact, especially thanks to Eccleston’s excellent performance. There are very few moments where you see his Doctor looking quite as broken as this one.

The final ten minutes throw a lot of satisfying and emotional revelations at the viewer. While there’s a moment of hope for the Doctor at finding out that humans aren’t disintegrated but transported somewhere else, that hope quickly leads to horror when he finds out who’s really behind everything…

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Cliffhanger

The revelation of the Daleks  (see what I did there?) is so brilliantly well-handled. The look of horror on the Doctor’s face; the shot of 200 ships; Murray Gold’s music – it’s all fantastic build-up to a brilliantly executed reveal. Of course, that reveal was spoiled in a big way by the BBC actually showing the Daleks in the trailer included at the end of the previous episode, but it still works well. And I’m sure they’d never spoil an episode that badly ever again. Certainly, there’s no way they could’ve spoiled an even bigger surprise…

Regardless, there’s no question that the cliffhanger ending still has plenty of impact. The Doctor promising to rescue Rose still stands out as one of his most gloriously heroic moments. Russell T Davies could have easily gone for an ending of total despair with this cliffhanger. Instead, he turns it into one of pure hope. It’s a great way of rounding off the first half of an incredible regeneration story.

Next. Masterful – Release date revealed for Master’s 50th anniversary story. dark

What are your thoughts on Bad Wolf? Is it one of your favorite episodes from Series 1? Let us know in the comments below.

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