"The Doctor's Daughter" is the sixth episode of the
fourth series of 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, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''.
It was broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
on 10 May 2008.
Set on the planet Messaline, the episode features
Georgia Moffett as
Jenny, the cloned daughter of the series' protagonist, the alien
time traveller the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...
. The plot of the episode involves two factions of clones descended from a group of human and alien Hath pioneers, each of whom are seeking to wipe out the other side with a lost artefact called the Source, while the Doctor also comes to accept Jenny as his real daughter.
Plot
The
TARDIS
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
takes the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...
,
Martha
Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...
and
Donna to the planet Messaline. As they emerge from the TARDIS, they are met by human soldiers who force the Doctor to stick his hand into a progenation machine. The Doctor's cloned daughter, whom Donna later names
Jenny, emerges from the machine. They are soon confronted by the other occupants of the planet, the
Hath. The Hath take Martha hostage. Jenny causes an explosion that traps Martha on the other side of the corridor. Martha tends to an injured Hath and earns their trust. The Doctor and Donna meet with General Cobb, who explains that, initially, the humans were meant to live with the Hath, but a dispute arose over something called "the Source", which Cobb believes has the power to end the war by wiping out the Hath. The Doctor inadvertently reveals the location of the Source to the humans and the Hath. The two sides prepare for battle.
The Doctor confides privately to Donna that he is resistant to Jenny travelling with them because she reminds him too much of everyone who was killed in the
Time War. Donna becomes intrigued by a series of numbered plaques that she notices in each room. The Doctor, Donna, and Jenny reach the Source, which is a
terraforming
Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to mak ...
device within a colonising spaceship. Donna realises that the plaques represent the dates each part of the building was completed; according to the dates, the ship landed only seven days ago. The humans and Hath have bred so many generations through the progenation machines that their own history has degraded into myth. The Doctor determines the original cause of the conflict was a power vacuum created after the death of the mission commander.
By travelling over the surface with a Hath's help, Martha reunites with the Doctor and Donna near the Source shortly before both armies arrive. The Doctor declares the war to be over and releases the terraforming agent. Cobb tries to shoot the Doctor. Jenny steps in the way and takes a bullet to the chest, and the Doctor holds her as she dies. The Doctor picks up Cobb's gun and holds it to his head, but cannot bring himself to sink to his level. He declares that the humans and Hath should build their new society based on peace. Martha returns home. Meanwhile, on Messaline, Jenny suddenly revives. She then commandeers a rocket and leaves the planet.
Production
Writing
Russell T Davies has stated that this episode "
does exactly as it says on the tin".
Jenny's death was originally to take place in what Davies called "a Generic Spaceship Room", but 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 ''Emmerdale ...
suggested filming the scene at
Plantasia botanical garden in
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
.
Having Jenny come back to life at the end of the episode was
Steven Moffat
Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
's idea.
Casting
Georgia Moffett, who plays Jenny, is the real-life daughter of
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
actor
Peter Davison
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
and ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
'' actress
Sandra Dickinson.
David Tennant
David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
described the episode by saying "We get to see the Doctor's daughter, played by the Doctor's daughter." Georgia Moffett had previously auditioned for a role in "
The Unicorn and the Wasp" in 2007. Her role as Jenny was not chosen because of her father; it was entirely coincidental, but nevertheless a "great PR coup" for the series.
Moffett previously appeared alongside her father in the Big Finish audio story ''
Red Dawn
''Red Dawn'' is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius, from a screenplay co-written with Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on a military invasion of the United States by an alliance of ...
'' and drama series ''
Fear, Stress & Anger
''Fear, Stress & Anger'' is a British sitcom that aired on BBC Two in 2007. Starring Peter Davison and Pippa Haywood, it was written by Michael Aitkens. There is no studio audience or laugh track.
Cast
*Peter Davison – Martin Chadwick
*Pippa Ha ...
''. In ''Doctor Who Confidential'', Peter Davison stated that, after he finished filming "
Time Crash", he said to Moffett "
owit's your turn".
Tennant and Moffett, who met on the episode, started dating some time after filming the episode, and married on 30 December 2011.
Broadcast and reception
Unofficial figures indicated that "The Doctor's Daughter" was watched by 6.6 million viewers, giving it a 38.4% share of the total television audience. The final consolidated figure was 7.33 million viewers. While most programmes received lower figures than the previous week, ''Doctor Who'' had increased its audience. The top rated programme of the day was still ITV1's ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
'', although its audience was down by a million at 8.17 million. ''Doctor Who'' was the highest rated programme on BBC1 for the day and had the biggest share of any programme on Saturday. The episode received an
Appreciation Index score of 88 (considered "excellent").
[ (No permanent link available. Search for relevant dates.)]
"The Doctor's Daughter" received mixed reviews. David Chater of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' described it as "A wonderful episode – funny, exciting and strangely moving."
Times review 10 May 2008
/ref> Martin Anderson of ''Den of Geek!'' stated that it was "rather good – though badly plot-holed". He noted that it was yet another episode of ''Doctor Who'' "undermined by Murray Gold
Murray Jonathan Gold (born 28 February 1969) is an English composer for stage, film, and television and a dramatist for both theatre and radio. He is best known as the musical director and composer of the music for ''Doctor Who'' from 2005–201 ...
's incessant music". He also described the episode as "quite redolent of Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...
-era ''Who'', with plenty of dark and cheap corridors to run down and two under-manned warring factions for the Doctor to bring peace to". For '' SFX's'' Ian Berriman, the running up and down corridors was reminiscent of Lenny Henry
Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...
's 1985 ''Doctor Who'' spoof featured on ''The Lenny Henry Show
''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a sitcom) featuring Lenny Henry.
It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005.
History Original vers ...
''. Berriman described the episode as "underwhelming", citing that because one "always suspect she's a redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Sports
* Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...
" it is difficult to care for Jenny. Although "reasonably diverting", Berriman argues that budgetary constraints make "the story feel so enclosed" and that the episode's plot, likened to " old-school Trek", seems too similar to that of the Sontaran
The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series ''The Sa ...
two-parter immediately prior to this adventure because both involve "militarism" and "cloning". ''Newsround
''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'') is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. Originally ''John Craven's Newsround'', it was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically ...
s Lizo Mzimba
Lizo Mzimba is an English journalist and television presenter. He is best known for being a presenter for '' Newsround'' between 1998 and 2008 and is currently the Entertainment Correspondent for BBC News.
Early life
Mzimba attended the indep ...
also notes the similarities with " The Sontaran Stratagem" and " The Poison Sky". Mzimba asserts that the episode's "biggest problem" is that it tries "to cram an enormous amount into 45 minutes" with most of the "interesting" and new ideas not getting "the attention they deserve" resulting in the audience not caring about either the human fighters or the Hath and thereby limiting a "sense of danger or menace".
Mzimba observes that, since her return in "The Sontaran Stratagem", Martha shares little onscreen time with the Doctor therefore reducing the emotional impact of her departure in this episode. He describes Moffett as "superb", with Berriman calling her "cute as a button". Berriman praises Tennant's performance, but Anderson suggests that Tennant shouts too much. Anderson asserts that "Donna's role as the Doctor's conscience is beginning to take shape" describing this as "refreshing" in a companion and noting that "Tate has toned down the grating voice a tad".
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor's Daughter, The
Tenth Doctor episodes
2008 British television episodes
Works about the future
Television episodes set in London
Television episodes set in the 2000s
Fiction set in 2009