Partners In Crime (Doctor Who)
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"Partners in Crime" is the first episode of the
fourth series Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
of the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. It was broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 5 April 2008. The episode reintroduced actor and comedian
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), ...
as the temp
Donna Noble Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Docto ...
, who had previously appeared in the 2006 Christmas Special " The Runaway Bride". In the episode, Donna and the alien time traveller the
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
(
David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
) meet while separately investigating Adipose Industries, a company that has created a revolutionary
diet pill Anti-obesity medication or weight loss medications are pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These medications alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absor ...
. Together, they attempt to stop the death of thousands of people in London after the head of the company, the alien
Miss Foster This is a list of villains from the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. For other, related lists, see below. See also * List of ''Doctor Who'' supporting characters * List of ''Doctor Who'' henchmen * Lis ...
(
Sarah Lancashire Sarah-Jane Abigail Lancashire (born 10 October 1964) is an English actress from Oldham, England. She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986 and began her career in local theatre, whilst teaching drama classes at the Sal ...
), creates the
Adipose Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular ...
, short white aliens made from human
body fat Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular en ...
. The episode's alien creatures, the Adipose, were created using the software '' MASSIVE'', commonly used for crowd sequences in fantasy and science fiction films. "Partners in Crime" features the return of three recurring characters:
Jacqueline King Jacqueline King is a British stage and television actress known for her role in Alan Ayckbourn's theatre production of '' GamePlan'' and as recurring character Sylvia Noble in ''Doctor Who'' from 2006 to 2023. Career King trained at the Brist ...
reprises her role as
Sylvia Noble Over the course of its many years on television, the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' has not only seen changes in the actors to play the Doctor, but in the supporting cast as well. Companions The Doctor ...
from "The Runaway Bride";
Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...
reprises his role as
Wilfred Mott Wilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of her mother, Sylv ...
from "
Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events conc ...
", to replace the character of Geoff Noble after actor
Howard Attfield Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
died; and
Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
briefly reprises her role as
Rose Tyler Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, Rose was introd ...
for the first time since the
second series The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
' finale "
Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...
" (2006), in a scene that was not included in preview showings. The episode received many positive reviews. Most critics liked the special effects used to create the Adipose. Critics also praised Tate's subdued acting in comparison to "The Runaway Bride"; Donna was changed from a "shouting
fishwife A fishwife, fish-fag or fishlass is a woman who sells fish. Some wives and daughters of fishermen were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed, as noted in the expression, ''To swear like a fishwife'' as they sold fish in the marketplace. One reaso ...
" to a more emotional person when she became a full-time companion. Critics' opinions were split over the episode's plot: opinion on executive producer
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
' writing ranged from "pure pleasure" to "the back of a fag packet".


Plot

Donna Noble Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Docto ...
finds herself regretting her decision to decline the
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
's invitation to travel in the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
. She has started investigating conspiracy theories in the hope that she will find him again. The Doctor and Donna, neither one aware of the other's involvement, both investigate Adipose Industries, which is marketing a special
diet pill Anti-obesity medication or weight loss medications are pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These medications alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absor ...
to the people of London. They find that the pills use latent body fat to
parthenogenetically Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...
create small white aliens called Adipose that spawn at night and leave the host's body. The Doctor and Donna separately infiltrate the offices of Adipose Industries, each unaware that the other is there. As they explore the building, they suddenly encounter each other through opposite windows in an office. They are confronted by Miss Foster, an alien who is using Britain's overweight population to create the Adipose babies for the Adiposian First Family. Miss Foster pursues the Doctor and Donna around the building, finally catching them in an office. She tells the Doctor that the Adipose lost their breeding planet and hired Miss Foster to find a replacement. The Doctor uses Miss Foster's sonic pen and his
sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multi-tool, multifunctional tool in the British television science fiction, British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor. Like th ...
to create a diversion and escape. Miss Foster accelerates her plans, knowing that the Doctor will attempt to stop her. Throughout London, the Adipose begin to spawn and soon number several thousand. The Doctor and Donna prevent total emergency parthenogenesis from occurring, which would have killed those who had taken the pill, and the remainder of the young Adipose make their way to Adipose Industries. The Adiposian First Family arrive in a spaceship and begin collecting their young. The Doctor tries to warn Miss Foster about her safety, but she disregards him and is killed when the Adipose drops her from their transport beam to her death, to cover their unsanctioned colonisation efforts. The Doctor refrains from killing the young Adipose because they are children, to which Donna remarks that his previous companion
Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
made him more human. Donna accepts the Doctor's original offer to travel in the TARDIS. Donna makes a detour to leave her car keys in a litter bin, telling her mother Sylvia to collect them later. While there, she meets a blonde woman and asks her to help Sylvia find the keys. The woman turns out to be
Rose Tyler Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, Rose was introd ...
, who fades from view as she walks away from the area. When Donna returns to the TARDIS, the Doctor asks her where she would like to go, and they fly past Wilf at the top of the allotment hill, who waves Donna off in the TARDIS and dances with glee.


Production


Casting

"Partners in Crime" features several actors returning to the series. Catherine Tate was offered the opportunity to return as Donna Noble during lunch with executive producer
Julie Gardner Julie Ann Gardner (born 4 June 1969) is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off shows ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. ...
. Tate, who expected Gardner would ask about appearing in a
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
, later admitted it was "the furthest thing from ermind". Tate's return was controversial amongst ''Doctor Who'' fans; the criticism she received was compared to
Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
after he was cast as
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
. Howard Attfield, who appeared as Donna's father Geoff in "The Runaway Bride", filmed several scenes for this episode, but died before his scenes for the remainder of the season were completed. The producers retired his character out of respect, and dedicated him in the closing credits for the episode. Producer
Phil Collinson Philip Collinson (born 26 August 1970) is a British television producer. He was initially an actor, before switching to working behind the cameras in the industry as a script editor and writer on programmes such as ''Springhill'' and ''Emmerda ...
suggested transferring his traits to the unrelated character Stan Mott from "
Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events conc ...
", and rewriting his role as Donna's grandfather. Executive producers
Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
and Gardner liked the idea and recalled
Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...
to the role to re-film Attfield's scenes, with the character renamed as Wilfred—a name Davies favoured for Donna's grandfather—in time for the credits of "Voyage of the Damned" to be changed.


Writing

Davies took a different approach while writing the episode. David Tennant and Sarah Lancashire noted the character of Miss Foster had good intentions but was morally ambiguous. The premise of the Adipose pill was equally ambiguous with rare side-effects, but was a "win-win situation" for anyone involved. Davies based the character of Miss Foster on ''
Supernanny ''Supernanny'' is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family wher ...
'' star
Jo Frost Joanne Frost (born 27 June 1970) is an English television personality, nanny, and author. She is best known for the reality television programme '' Supernanny UK'', in which she was the central figure. The show first aired in the United Kingdom ...
and
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
philanthropist and politician
Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 194 ...
, and Lancashire compared her character to
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
. The Adipose are a different style to regular ''Doctor Who'' villains; antagonists such as Lazarus in "
The Lazarus Experiment "The Lazarus Experiment" is the sixth episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 May 2007 and stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Freema Agyeman ...
" or the werewolf in " Tooth and Claw" were singular monsters designed to scare the audience; the Adipose were written as "cute" to provide a "bizarre ndsurreal" experience. Davies made some changes to Donna's character. The character was "rounded ... out from being a shouting
fishwife A fishwife, fish-fag or fishlass is a woman who sells fish. Some wives and daughters of fishermen were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed, as noted in the expression, ''To swear like a fishwife'' as they sold fish in the marketplace. One reaso ...
to someone who's quite vulnerable and emotional". Donna was written to provide a "caustic" and "grown-up" attitude towards the Doctor, in opposition to Rose and Martha, who fell in love with him. Tate considered Donna to be more equal to the Doctor because her character did not romanticise him, allowing her to question his morality more easily.


Donna's mime

In this production, the script requires Catherine Tate, as Donna Noble, to reintroduce herself to the Doctor in mime. The stage directions by writer Russell T Davies are as follows. Tate says Davies had suggested that she might come up with something on the day. She improvised her
mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...
during filming.


Filming

The episode was in the fourth production block in the season, and was filmed in October 2007. The out-of-sequence filming allowed producers to use props to "seed" later episodes; ATMOS, a plot device in the episodes "
The Sontaran Stratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem" is the fourth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as The Doctor. The episode was broadcas ...
" and "
The Poison Sky "The Poison Sky" is the fifth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 3 May 2008. The episode features both former companion Martha Jones and the alien Sontarans. It ...
", is referred to by a sticker on a taxi's windscreen. As the episode mostly takes place at night, many scenes were filmed in the early morning. The scene where Donna and the Doctor investigate Adipose was difficult to film. The scene took thirty shots to complete, and Tennant and Tate experienced problems avoiding each other on-screen. The scene was filmed in Picture Finance's call centre on the outskirts of
Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
on an early Sunday morning, with the company's telephonists serving as extras. Exterior shots of Adipose Industries were filmed at the British Gas building ( Helmont House) in Cardiff's city centre. For health and safety reasons, Tennant was prohibited from performing his own stunts in the window cleaning platform. His only shot that required stunts was when he catches Miss Foster's sonic pen, a shot that took several takes to perfect.


Adipose

The Adipose were inspired by a stuffed toy Davies owned. The name comes from the scientific name for body fat,
adipose tissue Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular e ...
. Davies' brief outlined a "cute" child-friendly creature shaped like a block of
lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...
, similar to the
Pillsbury Doughboy Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for GEICO between 2009 and 2017) en ...
. Further consultation with
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...
team The Mill resulted in the ears and the single fang each Adipose has.
Stephen Regelous Stephen Regelous is a pioneering computer graphics software engineer from New Zealand. He is best known as the creator of the '' Massive'' simulation system that generated the battle scenes of the Peter Jackson movie trilogy ''The Lord of the Ring ...
, who won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for his software '' Massive'', flew to London to supervise the creation of the crowd special effects. Regelous, a ''Doctor Who'' fan, was enthusiastic about helping The Mill with special effects, stating that "When I first found out that the Mill was working on ''Doctor Who'', I was quietly hoping that Massive might be used to create hordes of Daleks or Cybermen and with series 4, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved." The Mill created two types of Adipose: extras with artificial intelligence and independent movement, and "hero" Adipose, which were hand-animated.


Broadcast and reception


Broadcast and ratings

The episode was broadcast on 5 April 2008 at 18:20, the earliest timeslot since the show's revival in 2005. Davies criticised the BBC's scheduling department and claimed the show could lose 1.5 million viewers. The show retained a similar time of broadcast for a further four episodes, before returning to around 19:00. from "
The Doctor's Daughter "The Doctor's Daughter" is the sixth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 10 May 2008. Set on the planet Messaline, the episode features Georgia Moffett as Jen ...
" onwards. The preview version of the episode supplied to the press and aired at the press launch omitted the scene that features Rose; before broadcast, only the production team, Tate, and Tennant had seen the scene. The scene contains Rose's departure
theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
, "
Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...
". Tennant commented "on the night of transmission ... the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' won't have told you it's coming, it'll come as a genuine  ..prickle up the spine". Overnight figures estimated the show was watched by 8.4 million viewers, with a peak of 8.7 million, 39.4% of the television audience. The consolidated rating was 9.1 million viewers. ''Doctor Who'' was therefore the most watched show on 5 April, although the
Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
had a higher peak with 10.1 million viewers. The episode's
Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
was 88 (considered "Excellent"), the highest for any television show aired on 5 April.


Critical reception

The episode received many positive reviews. John Preston, writing for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', called the episode an "undiluted triumph". Opening his review, he said "last night's episode struck me as being as close to 50 minutes of pure pleasure as you're likely to get on television". He noted the episode's clever tackling of the topical theme of obesity, and its mixture of emotion and special effects. In closing, he said "the dejected critic, denied even the smallest nit to pick, walks glumly away". Scott Matthewman of ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' lamented that the Adipose were not threatening enough. He liked the Adipose's execution of Miss Foster, a "momentary pause in mid-air, gravity only kicking in when the character looks down", comparing it to
Wile E. Coyote Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode, t ...
and
Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...
, which " asa nice little touch in an episode ... full of them". He also appreciated Tate, saying that "David Tennant finally has a partner who is approaching an equal". Sam Wollaston of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote that Tate was "not right for this role" and "too hysterical, too comedy, not cool enough", and felt her inclusion was an attempt to trade on the popularity of her own series and "broaden the appeal of
r Who R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...
still further". He also found the music "a bit oppressive" but concluded that, despite these criticisms, the show was "still awfully nice television". Keith Watson of ''
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' gave the episode 4 stars out of 5. He admitted that despite his dislike of Tate, "she isn't that bad". His review of the Adipose was positive, citing them as a reason of the quality of the show. Closing, he said "it split issides". Jon Wise of ''
The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'' said "Doctor Who is a super-galactic way of spending a Saturday night indoors", and appreciated that Donna was not romantically interested in the Doctor, unlike Martha or Rose. Ben Rawson-Jones gave the episode a wholly positive review, summarising it as containing "pure fantastic family fun, delivering a winning blend of action, comedy, poignancy and one unexpected shock cameo". The episode received several negative reviews. Andrew Billen, writing for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', lamented that Davies had "forgotten that Doctor Who's main task is to send children scuttling behind sofas while entertaining their fathers with the odd philosophical idea, the occasional classical reference, a joke or two they would probably not wish to explain and a wee bit of space totty". Billen also criticised the writing and acting, but commended Tate for a "toned down performance". Alan Stanley Blair of
SyFy Portal Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films. History After a collaboration between Michael Hinman and Greg Boubel, the site debuted August ...
summarised it as "a runaway Saturday morning cartoon in desperate need to a solid story". Blair found flaws with the comedy and the music in the episode, but was impressed with Tate's acting and Piper's cameo. Kevin O'Sullivan of the ''
Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' criticised Tate and Tennant for overacting, and had concerns about the writing: "It didn't exactly ooze tension. All we got in the way of terrifying space enemies was Sarah Lancashire hamming it up as an intergalactic super nanny, a couple of security guards with guns and lots of cute little fat babies." Ian Hyland of ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' criticised the child-friendly storyline, comparing it to "the back of a fag packet". He also criticised Tennant for appearing "jaded" and Tate for "still shouting".


References


External links

* *
Shooting Script for "Partners in Crime"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Partners In Crime (Doctor Who) Partners in Crime 2008 British television episodes Television shows written by Russell T Davies Doctor Who stories set on Earth Television episodes set in London Television episodes about obesity Films directed by James Strong (director)