❤️50/50 = Masterpiece! = Essential!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

THE COMMENTARY:

Moffat has always been great with euphemisms, and the title of this episode is the first of many more to come.

The resolution to the cliffhanger is amazing and only works with Eccleston's take on the Doctor.

The Doctor is furious with Jack using the Blitz to further his own schemes, and this is right in line with this incarnation's general discontent with the stupidity of humans, though Captain Jack is more capable than most.

This episode builds more on the Nine/Jack relationship and their constant banter back and forth as they compare toys and knowledge.

This is where we get the famous “bananas are good!” and "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'Ooh, this could be a little more sonic?'" lines.

Both Chris Eccleston and John Barrowman are absolutely fantastic in this one.

This is one intense episode from beginning to end. There's the occasional sharp joke and dramatically charged moment, but it's an exciting fight for survival from beginning to end.

The scene with Rose asking the Doctor to dance while he is trying to resonate concrete is a lovely little moment between the two main characters.

This script is so quotable that it's become a good meme source over the years. This is why the second episode is the better-remembered of the two.

As the contagion becomes airborne and begins to affect soldiers, time is slowly running out. This nicely raises the stakes for the climax.

I love the little moment between Rose and Nancy, as Rose reveals that the Germans will lose the war, thus giving Nancy hope.

We learn that the culprits are nanogenes trying to help wounded humans, but they think they should all be scared and wear gas masks due to a simple mistake. I appreciate the transformation of something primarily benevolent into something frightening.

The climactic moments are incredibly tense and dramatic, leading to a gut-wrenching twist as the question “Are you my mommy?” is finally answered, followed by my favourite Ninth Doctor moment in one of his few moments of utter happiness (“Just this once, everybody lives!”). Every time I watch this, it brings me to tears.

I appreciate that they took the time to save Jack at the end so that he could continue traveling with the Doctor and Rose for the rest of the season.

Seeing Nine so happy makes me feel the same way, and the dancing in the TARDIS at the end is a perfect way to show this happiness (and tie everything back to the title of the episode).

In direct opposition to the classic series, the historical stories from 2005 are firm fan favourites. Not boring and stuffy but an opportunity to tell us universal truths about humanity, to give us hefty emotional stories that make us consider the cultural differences between now and then. It makes sense as the BBC have always been good at period pieces, they look and feel more grounded and impactful. Plus it is Moffat, so there are a bunch of sex jokes. They're good sex jokes though.

The gas mask zombies push body horror further than show has ever experienced before, right up to the line, to scare children witless. There is great pathos as well, because you identify with the mother posing as a sister, the orphans and Dr Constantine. The horrific transformation of characters into insensible child-like beings, before having gas masks pushed out of their faces is an iconic visual seared into the imaginations of my generation.

Moffat is a very clever writer. The most amazing thing about this first script (discounting Curse of the Fatal Death) is that although there is a highly technical explanation to why this plague has spread, it all adds up and explains the events in a natural sounding way. It never jumps the shark as the explanation is seeded so successfully. You are given everything you need to know to work out the solution in part 1, yet it still comes as a satisfying surprise in part 2.

The nanogenes are a great creation. You get your monster of the week in the empty child, but then the driving force of the menace are miniature robots that have been designed to cure acting as a virus. Its a complete accident - there are no baddies.

The lack of bad guys leaves space for the charming and morally ambiguous Captain Jack to take centre stage with our leads. He is so appealing and bounces off/ gets in the way of The Doctor and Rose in a fascinating way. He couldn't be more different from both of them, but slots in beautifully.

Because its such a well known classic I think its easy to forget just how ground breaking and seminal this story is. It sets a high water mark for the rest of the new series to live up to - many series will go by without a story at this level.