Stories Television Doctor Who (2005-2022) Doctor Who S3 Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 The Family of Blood 1 image Overview Characters How to Watch Reviews 1 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 4 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, June 2, 2007 Production Code 3.9 Written by Paul Cornell Directed by Charles Palmer Runtime 45 minutes Story Type Two-Parter Time Travel Past Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) War, World War I, Consequences, The Doctor’s Name, Body Possession, Mind Control, Shape Shifting Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!) Chameleon Arch, You Are Not Alone Location (Potential Spoilers!) Earth UK Viewers 7.21 million Appreciation Index 86 Synopsis It's 1913, and war comes to England a year early as the terrifying Family hunt for the Tenth Doctor. Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Characters Tenth Doctor David Tennant Martha Jones Freema Agyeman Joan Redfern Aphasia The Family of Blood Daughter of Mine Show All Characters (6) How to watch The Family of Blood: Watch on iPlayer Blu-Ray The Complete Third Series [Steelbook] Blu-Ray Series 3 DVD The Complete Third Series DVD Series 3 Volume 3: Human Nature – The Family of Blood – Blink Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Newest First Oldest First Most Likes Highest Rating Lowest Rating Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 1 review 25 April 2024 · 272 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 2 This review contains spoilers! My word. How do you follow up a mid-season lull? This will do nicely! It makes you wonder why they never did another book adaptation after such a barn storming success like this. Obviously we don’t know which bits were Paul Cornell and which bits were Russell T Davies, but it also seems a shame that this is Cornell’s final outing - given the obvious quality on display here. It feels like a mixture of classic and modern Doctor Who. There is a patient, talkative, literary quality peppered with moments of high adrenaline, edge of your seat drama, romance and fantasy. The old fashioned educational setting and the invisible spaceship remind me of Shada - but done right. It just *feels* very deliberately Doctor Who-ish. I remember being so excited by seeing John Smith’s diary onscreen back in 2007 - the first time we saw that level of continuity in the new series. The Doctor enters a self-contained dream world which unintentionally catfishes poor Joan. A touching tale. The doomed romance makes this a story which lingers in the mind long after it has finished. Jessica Hynes perfectly plays the poorly treated Joan with dreams of a life with John Smith. It’s a stellar cast all round - but she stands out. The emotional stakes are more than matched by David Tennant playing John Smith in his human form. This is David’s best performance in Doctor Who. Joan’s final question to The Doctor, asking whether anyone would have died if he had not chosen her home place and time as a hiding place, is a brutal blow. Like Liked 2 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating623 members 4.20 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating1,251 votes 4.20 / 5 The Time Scales AVG. Rating228 votes 4.65 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 1306 Favourited 190 Reviewed 1 Saved 2 Skipped 0 Owned 11 Related Stories Doctor Who S3 • Episode 8 Human Nature Rating: 4.15 Story Skipped Television Reviews(2) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Doctor Who (2005-2022) Set of Stories: Tenth Doctor Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Doctor Who Lockdown Shadow of a Doubt Rating: 3.77 Story Skipped Webcast Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Doctor Who Lockdown Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Doctor Who Lockdown The Shadow in the Mirror Rating: 3.57 Story Skipped Webcast Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Doctor Who Lockdown Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite LATIMER: He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. DOCTOR: Stop it. LATIMER: He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe. DOCTOR: Stop it! I said stop it. LATIMER: And he's wonderful. — The Family of Blood Show All Quotes (4) Open in new window Transcript (Cold Open) [Village hall] JENNY: Make your decision, Mister Smith.BAINES: Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge. (Out of sight, Latimer takes the watch from his pocket, and opens it. Golden energy shimmers and the Family turn their heads quickly.) VOICE: Time Lord.BAINES: It's him! Show Full Transcript Open in new window