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TARDIS Guide

Review of The Empty Child by DanDunn

9 May 2025

There’s just so many great ideas, characters and moments all throughout. The nightmare inducing Empty Child with his iconic catchphrase, the introduction of Captain Jack Harkness, the clever revelation of what’s causing the gas mask plague and why, the emotional ending and Eccleston’s outstanding performance. I just never get tired of revisiting this story.

Out of all of Steven Moffat’s written works, this has aged considerably better than most of his episodes. Mostly due to the fact that while it’s bursting with imagination and different ideas, he never gets over ambitious or ahead of himself. The story is kept tightly written and never veers off in a pointless direction. The characters also have a lot more dimension compared to a lot of Moffat’s later side characters whose names I can’t remember even if you held a gun to my head! Especially when this story introduces the one and only Captain Jack Harkness who absolutely steals the show. It’s a real shame Jack’s time onboard the TARDIS was as short-lived as it was, he’s easily the most fun part of the Ninth Doctor era.


DanDunn

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