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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Production Code

4.11

Written by

Russell T Davies

Directed by

Graeme Harper

Runtime

50 minutes

Story Type

Doctor-Lite

Story Arc (Potential Spoilers!)

Doctor-Donna, Lost Planets

Inventory (Potential Spoilers!)

Sonic Screwdriver

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Shan Shen, Earth, England, London

UK Viewers

8.09 million

Appreciation Index

88

Synopsis

On an alien planet, Donna meets a fortune teller, who launches her into a world based on one question: "What would happen if Donna never met the Tenth Doctor?" Without the Doctor, the whole world is in ruin, and a mysterious blonde tries to warn Donna of the oncoming darkness... Now a simple refugee, Donna is the only one who can undo the damage. But how?

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Reviews

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1 review

This review contains spoilers!

For a story that more or less resets by the end, taking place entirely in an alternate reality, this is truly affecting and harrowing in parts. In particular when a kind immigrant family is taken away by soldiers and Wilf reacts with “it’s happening again.” The show is extremely confident at this point, weaving in continuity galore without fear of alienating viewers - fully aware most people watching have done all the required viewing.

Billie Piper seems a bit alien in all this - from a totally different era. She’s brilliant but Catherine Tate continues to steal the show in this Doctor lite story, which sees her taking on the entire dramatic weight of the plot.

If I had any criticism is that it is a little too continuity heavy - relying on plot points gone by. But this is a nitpick as Doctor Who rarely enters this “what if?” territory, so it serves as an interesting flavour.


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Statistics

AVG. Rating640 members
4.51 / 5

Trakt.tv

AVG. Rating1,227 votes
4.31 / 5

The Time Scales

AVG. Rating219 votes
4.40 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

1304

Favourited

243

Reviewed

1

Saved

3

Skipped

0

Owned

9

Quotes

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DOCTOR: Sometimes I think there's way too much coincidence around you, Donna. I met you once, then I met your grandfather, then I met you again! In the whole wide universe, I met you for a second time! It's like something's binding us together.

— Donna Noble, Turn Left

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Transcript Needs checking

[Market place]

(Pagodas and flying cars above small wind turbines. Down in the streets, lots of banners with Chinese symbols on them. The Doctor hands Donna a mug of foaming drink.)

DOCTOR: Oh, ho, ho.
DONNA: I'd rather have a water.
DOCTOR: You are going to love it. One, two, three!
DONNA: Lovely!

(They carry on through the market.)

SALESWOMAN: You want to buy shukina? Or peshmoni? Most beautiful peshmoni in all of Shan Shen?
DONNA: Er, no thanks.


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