I still find the direction of this episode amazing, especially as it clearly shows what happens when the Doctor is without a companion. They are the ones who pull the Doctor back when he gets lost in the darkness, serving as the voice of reason and conscience for him.
I agree one of the reasons why the Doctor hangs out with a human is because they look just like him and he’s the only one left back then he didn’t really have anyone to hold on to not even his people so. Having someone that looks just like him - her - The Doctor has always had a right heart warming bond to his Companions - And leaving him alone and dealing through time and past Trauma isn’t good for him and it’s always good to have someone to cry to rather then being alone in his box all the time - Which to me Echoes on his depression and doesn’t say anything and that is a great Reflection between him and the Tardis he just can’t be trusted alone and that scene was so Villainy that he is losing his touch of connection and that he needs someone with him rather then being Isolated ❤️
The one image of the Dalek taking a look at Adelaide and flying away leaving her alone, shows even a Dalek has to obey the laws of time, which shows how far the Doctor falls in this episode
That was already foreshadowed by Dalek Caan. When he broke through the timelock to save Davros. It drove him mad, but actually he was obeying the laws of time, making sure everything happened as it was supposed to. In a way, Caan's actions lead directly do this moment and Adelaide's fate.
But wasn't the Daleks/Davros's plan to rid the universe and destroy reality? That would have stopped Adelaides future from happening anyway so why where they so strict about following that fixed point? They were going to destroy others.
@@stephies5352 I kind of assumed the Daleks, at least those who were in the know about the final plan, were counting on the Reality Bomb being enough to break the fixed events by destroying the underlying framework; it's a reasonable guess that destroying reality itself would negate the underlying laws enforcing fixed events, but poking them without that would be a bad idea. It's also probably worth noting that Daleks tend to give following orders priority over carrying on as normal, as seen in Dalek, and with Evolution of the Daleks when Sec didn't expect the cult to betray them. So in this case the result is the Daleks won't mess with time on their own initiative but won't disobey if their commanders are planning to do so.
The Doctor's actions and words at the end are very similar to the Master's in series 3. Remember when questioned about bringing the Toclafane back and wiping out the human race, he said "I'm a Time Lord, I have that right.".
Definitely a subtle recurring theme in this episode! In Classic Who when the Master would hypnotise people, he’d say “I am the Master, and you will obey me.” Feel like we got a very deliberate parallel in this episode when the Doctor says “the laws of time are mine, and they will obey me.”
this is absolutely my favourite episode of Doctor Who ever, and easily solidified the Doctor as my favourite character of all time. beautiful tragedy, exquisite horror, wonderful cinematography, enough laughs to not feel too heavy at all times, and probably the most terrifying moment for the Doctor when he basically declares himself the winner of the Time War - not a survivor, but the one who beat everyone else. truly a highlight of the series!
I feel like the best episodes of Doctor Who are when they fully lean in on the darker tones of how tragic it is to live the life of The Doctor, the burden he bares to try and do the best for Humanity, even if that means making sacrifices.
@@Erimgard13 I don't know about a huge gap... 😄I can fill up a whole roster with episodes that are nearly as good as Waters of Mars: Silence In the Library/Forest of the Dead, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Blink, Zygon Invasion/Zygon Inversion, Pandorica Opens/Big Bang, Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, The Doctor's Wife, Midnight, Turn Left, The Girl in the Fireplace, Extremis, A Christmas Carol, Day of the Doctor... I could go on and on, there are loads I've missed out. Waters is definitely a standout episode, but in a show chock full of standout episodes, it's difficult for me to say there's anything more than a sliver between a huge number of them.
@Dexedus I never really like the story of the family of blood. Possibly because The Doctor was so different. It felt like I was watching a different show.
I love the emotional impact of this episode. So much of it is spent as a "scary monster" episode, but in the end, it's not about that, it's about the people, and the Doctor. You can really see how dark things could get if he embraced "The Time Lord Victorious" and how narrow the line between him and the Master really is.
I think the reason Mia and Yuri were so unsettled was because of the Doctor's reaction. Normally he would be comforting after such a traumatic situation, instead he just gives them "isn't anyone going to thank me?"
He didn't explain anything at all. All the traumatic horrors they were facing were either known threats or plausible within physics that they could work out a logical procedure for. Then the Doctor just changed reality around them in ways that make absolutely no sense and all but laughed about it. They technically don't even find out he's alien, but the first warning they get that he's not a normal human is when he casually disregards everything they know about modern physics and simple geometry while ranting about "fighting time itself". And the only real clue as to what the hell just happened is a brief glimpse of an impossible room full of unrecognisable machinery.
One of the rules for writing Doctor Who: You're not allowed to use the TARDIS to solve plot. Here we have the Valeyard Victorious, solving plot with his TARDIS.
This is one of my favorite episodes and probably the one I rewatch the most when I want to see the 10th Doctor era. It's terriffying and so good! I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I really can't wait for the finale. I'm not sure if it's going to happen next week or not, because I think next saturday it's going to be a movie reaction, but I'm so ready for it now! It's gonna be chaotic!
“The laws of time are mine and they WILL OBEY ME” - the Doctor, 2009 “I am the Master and you WILL OBEY ME” - The Master’s classic catchphrase from the 70s That’s how we knew that in this moment the Doctor had turned into the Master. And speaking of the Master.
Highly regarded is an understatement. Caves of Androzani is, deservedly, a frequent inclusion in the top five stories Classic Who ever produced. It was the last truly great script by Classic Who's best writer, Robert Holmes, whose work dominates pretty much every 'best of' lists for Classic serials, and additionally other than one slightly dodgy bat creature (luckily rarely seen) the set, wardrobe, and props departments all delivered great work, there is an excellent guest cast, real peril, and Harper's bold direction brings all those great elements together into a smart and riveting 90 minutes. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get an appreciate for Classic Who. Personally, I would say the only better 'gateway' serial into Classic Who is Pyramid of Mars (also almost entirely written by Holmes, although under a pseudonym due to complicated BBC rules on credit for things at the time), which is the same level of overall quality, but is overall a bit more accessible to someone unfamiliar with the show.
The number one most upsettingly scary episode. Episodes like Blink are just scary and freaky, but Waters of Mars is something completely different. Insanely upsetting and the beginning of the end for the timelord victorious.
Mere words can't describe how superb this episode is. One of the scariest, one of the most emotional, one of the most exhilarating, and one of the most impactful episodes of Doctor Who. All it took to end the reign of the Time Lord Victorious was the death of one human, one brilliant strong amazing human. You're absolutely spot-on about him needing someone like Donna, someone to help him and keep him grounded. Being the last of your species with all of time and space at your fingertips, it's scary to think all it takes is one bad day to turn the benevolent kind Doctor to the terrifyingly powerful Time Lord Victorious. Beautiful, devastating reaction to a beautiful devastating episode.
My favorite part of this was the Doctor deciding to give up on Gallifrey’s sacred timeline, to borrow a phrase. This completely changes his outlook on peoples timelines.
The Doctor Who equivalent term to the "Sacred Timeline" would be the "Spiral Politic". It's mostly from the books but it's the Time Lord term for the central structure of time and space.
Waters of Mars is so good. It would've been cool to have an "evil" doctor for a bit longer, but the small glimpse conveys well why he really needs a companion with him.
There is actually a bunch of stories under the moniker of 'Time Lord Victorious' if you're interested in that. There's audio dramas, books - all sorts.
In 2009, David Tennant wanted to play Hamlet on stage, so there were fewer episodes to accomodate him. Also, he was having back problems which I believe required surgury.
Given the way that Tennant tended to throw himself around the set (and still often does to this day), it is a never-ending surprise to me that of all things that caused him to throw his back out, it wasn't his acrobatics in Who, it was playing Hamlet onstage.
11 years later, the Timelord Victorious got expanded on in the form of a multimedia story event (set immediately after The Waters Of Mars for the Tennant Doctor): having The Tennant Doctor become the Timelord Victorious again and going up against the alien inspiration for the Grim Reaper, as well as going up against the McGann Doctor & Daleks and Eccleston Doctor & Vampires in the early days of the universe). In The Fires Of Pompeii, we're in the past of the modern day (August 79AD to April 2008) while in The Waters Of Mars we're in the future (November 2059 to November 2009). Obviously Fire vs Water. Doctor chooses to stick to the Web Of Time and not save anyone despite Donna's repeated insistence until he saves one family, with History being fine. Here the Doctor chooses to change history and then it causes Time to fracture. Like George Lucas said about the Star Wars Prequels compared to the Original Trilogy-"its like poetry, they sorta, they rhyme".
oh crap, the 3 christmas specials are totally an homage to a Christmas carol. Companions of Christmas past, present, and future. It took me over a decade to see it. there was even a death to fear for the third that set him straight.
The Doctor reminding you of the Master was absolutely intentional: in the classic series the Master actually used variations of "And You Will Obey Me" as a quote a few times. The other classic reference in this story is that the Doctor has indeed encountered ancient martians in the past; specifically the Ice Warriors. One scene that was never filmed but made it into the novelization involved the Doctor finding a warning left behind them about not breaking open the glacier, implying they'd encountered and contained this thing.
The beauty of this episode is that it makes you think like the Doctor. You feel great when he comes back. And you feel shall we say: Victorious Then you see what that means
If not seen try Superman III (1983) in which Superman becomes evil after exposure to Red Kryptonite. Not as highly rated, but my personal favourite of the Christpher Reeve movies, for tat reason. A fun romp.
At the beginning of Series 5, we change show runners from Russell T Davis to Steven Moffat. There may be other reasons why there was a long pause between 4 and 5 but I’m guessing they were getting new contracts set up, set designs, and all that stuff finessed before handing it over.
Still my all-times favourite DW episode. They way they build emotion, from despair to resolve to exhaltation to regret, always gets me. Let alone the fact that this kind of episode (the stranded crew with aliens/demons/whatever taking over) is always so fascinating for me.
This is my fave Tennant episode. I think it shows perfectly why the Doctor needs a companion. It also demonstrates the arc of 10 perfectly - all that ego, all that refusing to let go - taken to it's most messed up conclusion. It's so terrifying - in a way he's even worse than the Master, cause think of how many times the Master has been stopped, think how many times the Doctor has and what they could do if they got rid of their rules. Watching it again that line of the Adelaide Brook saving the Doctor really stands true at the end of the episode. Saving him from himself.
The Time Lord Victorious is one of my favourite versions of The Doctor, he went to wipe out a species, battled Daleks, Vampires, The 8th and 9th Doctors all at once
For me, that moment of "what's happening to the Doctor?" only ever happened once. After the rescue. When what has happened has already taken place. On every subsequent viewing, knowing what's to come, the signs are there the moment he reappears to save them. It is emotional, it is tragic, and it is quite possibly the best character descent I've ever witnessed.
As a kid, the first episode of doctor who I watched live was 42, from season 3, with David Tennant. I fully acknowledge that that episode was a discount of The Waters of Mars despite being its predecessor.
One of the best episodes. Thank you Emme for the reaction, first time watching this also leaved me very confused, now I cry all the time knowing what's going to happen with the Doctor in the end. Superior cinematography, I would call that.
I absolutely loved this season, and this upcoming season finale is one of my top favorite finales and I am so incredibly excited to see your reaction to the next episodes!!
18:00 Despite the Doctor's rather poetic interpretation of this event, it could simply be the moment that all Daleks were recalled to the Crucible in anticipation of the Reality Bomb detonating. Life is awash with such serendipity. ^_~
Possibly - but it did hover and look for quite a long time. At that point they were pretty much in see and shoot mode, having collected the subjects they needed for the test. That in itself says much about the Dalek mentality. Since they plan to wipe out everything with the Reality Bomb all of the other extermination has no benefit to their goal.
That ood apparition is really unsettling to me for some reason, combined with the music and the rest of the scene, there truly is something eerie, almost uncanny to it, which I love about this 'family show'
Location report: the dome is the Great Glass House in the National Botanical Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Unlike some other greenhouses its specialises in Mediterranean biomes. The house is in Newport, Gwent, just off the city centre.
Phenomenal episode, and a great exploration of the character's darker side, and how important someone to keep him grounded is. One of Davie's Darkest and best episodes, with superb performances all around, and fantastic direction from Graham Harper, who got his start with the BBC, and first directing job, with Doctor Who in the 70's and 80's respectively.
I don't know how intentional it was, but a great parallel I only noticed watching this reaction is to the Christmas special when we first meet Donna. The iconic scene of Doctor standing there, surrounded by flames and water, somewhat repeated in the climax of this episode. Kinda cool.
Oh boy its time!!! I have 4 top episodes, equally rated, but this has been up there the longest i think. It is just phenomenal. So much so that expanded media came back and produced a different timeline from it… My number 5 is all the way at the end of a distant season. But for me this era is the end of peak doc who! And it was brilliant! Seeing what the doc was like without a companion is just chilling, and these are the scariest monsters, not just the flood but the timelord victorious himself! The montage of them dying is just heartbreaking.
I've watched this episode many times now, and yet you've still given me new things to think about, specifically how the Doctor completely failed to consider how his words and actions would be interpreted by the human crew of Bowie Base One. Even before the ending. How would anyone react if they were told "I can travel through space and time, and by the way you're going to die today and I'm oh so very sorry but I can't do anything about it byeee?" He could have kept a lot of that from them, or lied, and left. Once he'd rescued them, he could have asked them if they were okay, or discussed their options with them. He can't decide whether to tell them nothing or take the time to discuss their situation, and the middle ground he ends up with is worse than both options. How would anyone react if they were told "you have to die, I know this because I'm a time traveller, for sure, 100%, if you live who knows what'd happen to the universe, let alone humanity, actually never mind you can survive I'm pretty sure nothing can go wrong trust me?" By the end he is confident that he's right, but he doesn't stop for a second to consider that he's given the survivors little reason to trust him and no emotional support whatsoever.
Best emotional speeches of the Doctor...."The laws of time are mine and they will obey me!" and "...we are fighting time itself and I'm gonna winn!" always give me chills...and the great ending....Timelord victorious. That is the Doctor he could be...arrogant and inhuman.
Yeah, this was a really deep episode. Shows why the Doctor needs a companion, also the manifestation of his anger at what happened during the Time War.
Scariest monsters in whoniverse: The Flood, the time lord victorious, and torchwood season 3. And 2 of them are this episode, and the other is happening while this episode happens 0_0.
8:42 ask and you shall receive 9:49 21:40 such a sad moment 28:53 no one should have that much power Emme 34:46 I like how the Ood was like a jump scare to you lol Enjoyed your reaction as usual
27:27 The doctor suffered a fugue of his own, almost like the Jackson Lake Doctor. Couldn't shoulder the responsibility of being a Time Lord together with being alone in the universe.
Season Three: "I'm a Time Lord. I have that right." (to change history)-The Master. The Waters of Mars: "The Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!"-The Doctor.
So, as mentioned in this episode, there are Martians. They're a group of classic monsters called the Ice Warriors. The Second Doctor encountered them first, and the Third Doctor met them as well. It's an awesome call back in a brilliant episode. And, yeah, there has been a break in regular series of Doctor Who before. Between 1989 and 2005. Be glad that you don't have to wait that long between series. The classic series was cancelled in 1989 (with the Seventh Doctor), and the new series launched in 2005 (with the Ninth Doctor). Between those two points in time, we only got a single canon adventure, which was *Doctor Who - The Movie (1996)* and features the Eighth Doctor. The Movie is an oddity because it is an American and British co-production. If you ever go back and watch any classic stuff, *Doctor Who - The Movie (1996)* should definitely be on your watch list, purely because it is the "episode" which aired before the 2005 series started and because it is going to be somewhat significant to some upcoming future episodes.
2:27 It was a joke because they’re alone on a new planet and obviously no one’s gonna come up. But the Doctor did come and so it’s obviously a concern how someone got there.
I'll never forgive my Dad for what he did when this episode first came out. I was about 10, and when he brought me a glass of water at night, he started convulsing and it freaked the hell out of me.
5:05 - Yes he had to leave. Because to the Doctor it's established history. He's probably read the obituaries. You can't change an event you know happened. 1. Imagine you wanted to stop a well known catastrophic event like WWII from happening. 2. If you go back and stop it then WWII will never have happened. 3. But if it never happened, you would never have known about it. 4. If you had never known about it then there would have been no motivation for you to go back in time to stop it happening. 5. Hence you would never have gone back in time. 6. If you did not time travel then WWII would happen and Step 2 and everything following it would never have happened. It would be a paradox. If Time Travel ever is invented then Rule 1 would have to be this: Established History must not be altered. If you've read about an event that has happened then you can't change it.
This was a fantastic one when I first saw it and it's still been a longstanding legendary episode after over 15 years later. And you're right, he did slip into the same thought processes and arrogance that The Master is known for, but at this point, The Doctor has also grown very sick and tired of losing so many great people as well as watching them go down, whether they're companions or not. Interesting facts, Lindsay Duncan, the actress who played Adelaide Brooke, plays Alice's mother in the Tim Burton adaptions of the Alice in Wonderland films. Gemma Chan, the actress for Mia, has been in a few major films like Transformers: The Last Knight, Crazy Rich Asians, and Captain Marvel and was the voice of Erys in Diablo IV video game. Alan Ruscoe, who played Andy Stone, you've actually seen him before; he played different characters in Star Wars Episode I and Lott Dod in Episode II. He was also in previous Doctor Who episodes; he was the Auton in "Rose", Lute in "The End of the World", the Slitheen in the three episodes they appeared, and an android in the season 1 two-parter finale.
Hey Emme. Yeah this episode always makes my soul hurt in so many ways. From the Doctor who is lost, to hopelessnees, to have hope, to the weight of fate. See you for the next one.
This episode gave me nightmares the first time I watched it would have been 9 or so it was only years later I released the reason it unsettled me so much was seeing adelaides death and the fact the doctor went to far and him then panicking an questioning if he's went to far before deciding to basically run away from what he just did
The Doctor did save two people here (as far as we know, nothing happened to the other two survivors). He was able to change things- just not everything.
Can never avoid wondering why he did not simply take them to the future instead of their present, then there was no problem with the rescue. They could have lived entire lives a few centuries down the line and have changed nothing in the progression of events whatsoever.
Don't know if it was intentional but when the doctor is listening to everyone die the lights in his helmet light up his face in such a way that it looks like a skull, his eyes are completely in shadow and they look like eye sockets and the lights are so bright that the lit parts of his face are bone white
The end of this episode could have been much different: instead of instantaneously arriving on earth, and making explanations after exiting the Tardis, the Doctor could have talked them all through the ramifications while they were still on board. Travel via the Tardis takes as long (inside the Tardis) as needed for the plot, and still arrives at the destination when intended. If they had had just a bit more time to come to grips with the concepts, events after debarking would have played out much differently.
the doctor and the master can be not so different after all. Two table spoons of loss and a dash of determination makes for a delicious cake to break your diet of rules and boundaries. Older versions of the doctor have their callous moments as well. Especially the 6th! Age, wisdom and experience tends to make one throw compassion out the window and you come off to be viewed as crass and cold hearted.
I still find the direction of this episode amazing, especially as it clearly shows what happens when the Doctor is without a companion. They are the ones who pull the Doctor back when he gets lost in the darkness, serving as the voice of reason and conscience for him.
I agree one of the reasons why the Doctor hangs out with a human is because they look just like him and he’s the only one left back then he didn’t really have anyone to hold on to not even his people so. Having someone that looks just like him - her - The Doctor has always had a right heart warming bond to his Companions - And leaving him alone and dealing through time and past Trauma isn’t good for him and it’s always good to have someone to cry to rather then being alone in his box all the time - Which to me Echoes on his depression and doesn’t say anything and that is a great Reflection between him and the Tardis he just can’t be trusted alone and that scene was so Villainy that he is losing his touch of connection and that he needs someone with him rather then being Isolated ❤️
Just watch the classic Who. Tennant never was the Doctor.
@ well na shhh Sherlock🙄
@@mayotango1317 Why are you here then?
"He never asks to be thanked" - Martha referring to the Doctor back in the Series 3 finale
"Isn't anyone going to thank me?" - The Doctor right now
Also, more recently to this episode, in The Next Doctor too
That's when you know he's had enough.
Jackson Lake said it too.
Jackson Lake pointed it out too - part of why the doctor doesn't like accepting salutes.
The one image of the Dalek taking a look at Adelaide and flying away leaving her alone, shows even a Dalek has to obey the laws of time, which shows how far the Doctor falls in this episode
That was already foreshadowed by Dalek Caan. When he broke through the timelock to save Davros. It drove him mad, but actually he was obeying the laws of time, making sure everything happened as it was supposed to.
In a way, Caan's actions lead directly do this moment and Adelaide's fate.
But wasn't the Daleks/Davros's plan to rid the universe and destroy reality? That would have stopped Adelaides future from happening anyway so why where they so strict about following that fixed point? They were going to destroy others.
@@stephies5352 I kind of assumed the Daleks, at least those who were in the know about the final plan, were counting on the Reality Bomb being enough to break the fixed events by destroying the underlying framework; it's a reasonable guess that destroying reality itself would negate the underlying laws enforcing fixed events, but poking them without that would be a bad idea. It's also probably worth noting that Daleks tend to give following orders priority over carrying on as normal, as seen in Dalek, and with Evolution of the Daleks when Sec didn't expect the cult to betray them. So in this case the result is the Daleks won't mess with time on their own initiative but won't disobey if their commanders are planning to do so.
In the original timeline, Adelaide saved Earth from the water.
In the new timeline, Adelaide saved the entire universe from the Doctor.
From THIS version of Doctor. Time Lord Victorious.
The Doctor's actions and words at the end are very similar to the Master's in series 3. Remember when questioned about bringing the Toclafane back and wiping out the human race, he said "I'm a Time Lord, I have that right.".
"Tough!"
Definitely a subtle recurring theme in this episode! In Classic Who when the Master would hypnotise people, he’d say “I am the Master, and you will obey me.” Feel like we got a very deliberate parallel in this episode when the Doctor says “the laws of time are mine, and they will obey me.”
You really see how they could have gone opposite ways.
The actress who plays Steffi is so good in this. The moment where she is watching her daughter on the screen is heartbreaking 💔
this is absolutely my favourite episode of Doctor Who ever, and easily solidified the Doctor as my favourite character of all time. beautiful tragedy, exquisite horror, wonderful cinematography, enough laughs to not feel too heavy at all times, and probably the most terrifying moment for the Doctor when he basically declares himself the winner of the Time War - not a survivor, but the one who beat everyone else. truly a highlight of the series!
I wouldn't call it my favorite, but it's certainly in my top ten. Such an amazing episode
I feel like the best episodes of Doctor Who are when they fully lean in on the darker tones of how tragic it is to live the life of The Doctor, the burden he bares to try and do the best for Humanity, even if that means making sacrifices.
Bears, although he does bare it to us here, I suppose (mainly the reason I'm mentioning it).
In my opinion this is literally the best doctor who story period.
For me it’s The Family of Blood but this is great too
Heaven Sent for me, but this is sooo close.
@@robertwareham8466 I was going to say the same thing. Heaven Sent then Waters of Mars, then a huge gap before everything else (which is also great!)
@@Erimgard13 I don't know about a huge gap... 😄I can fill up a whole roster with episodes that are nearly as good as Waters of Mars: Silence In the Library/Forest of the Dead, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Blink, Zygon Invasion/Zygon Inversion, Pandorica Opens/Big Bang, Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, The Doctor's Wife, Midnight, Turn Left, The Girl in the Fireplace, Extremis, A Christmas Carol, Day of the Doctor... I could go on and on, there are loads I've missed out. Waters is definitely a standout episode, but in a show chock full of standout episodes, it's difficult for me to say there's anything more than a sliver between a huge number of them.
@Dexedus I never really like the story of the family of blood. Possibly because The Doctor was so different. It felt like I was watching a different show.
I love the emotional impact of this episode. So much of it is spent as a "scary monster" episode, but in the end, it's not about that, it's about the people, and the Doctor.
You can really see how dark things could get if he embraced "The Time Lord Victorious" and how narrow the line between him and the Master really is.
Love the random cat paw sticking out
I think the reason Mia and Yuri were so unsettled was because of the Doctor's reaction. Normally he would be comforting after such a traumatic situation, instead he just gives them "isn't anyone going to thank me?"
And Martha once told people asking to be thanked is something he doesn't do
He didn't explain anything at all. All the traumatic horrors they were facing were either known threats or plausible within physics that they could work out a logical procedure for. Then the Doctor just changed reality around them in ways that make absolutely no sense and all but laughed about it. They technically don't even find out he's alien, but the first warning they get that he's not a normal human is when he casually disregards everything they know about modern physics and simple geometry while ranting about "fighting time itself". And the only real clue as to what the hell just happened is a brief glimpse of an impossible room full of unrecognisable machinery.
One of the rules for writing Doctor Who: You're not allowed to use the TARDIS to solve plot.
Here we have the Valeyard Victorious, solving plot with his TARDIS.
This is one of my favorite episodes and probably the one I rewatch the most when I want to see the 10th Doctor era. It's terriffying and so good!
I'm glad you enjoyed this one! I really can't wait for the finale. I'm not sure if it's going to happen next week or not, because I think next saturday it's going to be a movie reaction, but I'm so ready for it now! It's gonna be chaotic!
“The laws of time are mine and they WILL OBEY ME” - the Doctor, 2009
“I am the Master and you WILL OBEY ME” - The Master’s classic catchphrase from the 70s
That’s how we knew that in this moment the Doctor had turned into the Master.
And speaking of the Master.
“The music as well” yeah, the haunting beautiful music of Murray gold
This was the last Doctor Who story to be directed by Graeme Harper. His first was another highly regarded story, The Caves of Androzani, in 1984.
Highly regarded is an understatement. Caves of Androzani is, deservedly, a frequent inclusion in the top five stories Classic Who ever produced. It was the last truly great script by Classic Who's best writer, Robert Holmes, whose work dominates pretty much every 'best of' lists for Classic serials, and additionally other than one slightly dodgy bat creature (luckily rarely seen) the set, wardrobe, and props departments all delivered great work, there is an excellent guest cast, real peril, and Harper's bold direction brings all those great elements together into a smart and riveting 90 minutes. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get an appreciate for Classic Who. Personally, I would say the only better 'gateway' serial into Classic Who is Pyramid of Mars (also almost entirely written by Holmes, although under a pseudonym due to complicated BBC rules on credit for things at the time), which is the same level of overall quality, but is overall a bit more accessible to someone unfamiliar with the show.
The number one most upsettingly scary episode. Episodes like Blink are just scary and freaky, but Waters of Mars is something completely different. Insanely upsetting and the beginning of the end for the timelord victorious.
Mere words can't describe how superb this episode is. One of the scariest, one of the most emotional, one of the most exhilarating, and one of the most impactful episodes of Doctor Who.
All it took to end the reign of the Time Lord Victorious was the death of one human, one brilliant strong amazing human.
You're absolutely spot-on about him needing someone like Donna, someone to help him and keep him grounded. Being the last of your species with all of time and space at your fingertips, it's scary to think all it takes is one bad day to turn the benevolent kind Doctor to the terrifyingly powerful Time Lord Victorious.
Beautiful, devastating reaction to a beautiful devastating episode.
My favorite part of this was the Doctor deciding to give up on Gallifrey’s sacred timeline, to borrow a phrase. This completely changes his outlook on peoples timelines.
The Doctor Who equivalent term to the "Sacred Timeline" would be the "Spiral Politic". It's mostly from the books but it's the Time Lord term for the central structure of time and space.
Waters of Mars is so good. It would've been cool to have an "evil" doctor for a bit longer, but the small glimpse conveys well why he really needs a companion with him.
"Evil" is a stretch. More like a vigilante Doctor.
@ I did use it in quotation marks for a reason.
There is actually a bunch of stories under the moniker of 'Time Lord Victorious' if you're interested in that. There's audio dramas, books - all sorts.
@@AStupidID I recently saw by coincidence. I’ve not had time to look into any of the audio dramas really.
@@computernerd1101Was the Valeyard not an evil incarnation of the Doctor back in the days?
In 2009, David Tennant wanted to play Hamlet on stage, so there were fewer episodes to accomodate him. Also, he was having back problems which I believe required surgury.
Given the way that Tennant tended to throw himself around the set (and still often does to this day), it is a never-ending surprise to me that of all things that caused him to throw his back out, it wasn't his acrobatics in Who, it was playing Hamlet onstage.
11 years later, the Timelord Victorious got expanded on in the form of a multimedia story event (set immediately after The Waters Of Mars for the Tennant Doctor): having The Tennant Doctor become the Timelord Victorious again and going up against the alien inspiration for the Grim Reaper, as well as going up against the McGann Doctor & Daleks and Eccleston Doctor & Vampires in the early days of the universe).
In The Fires Of Pompeii, we're in the past of the modern day (August 79AD to April 2008) while in The Waters Of Mars we're in the future (November 2059 to November 2009). Obviously Fire vs Water. Doctor chooses to stick to the Web Of Time and not save anyone despite Donna's repeated insistence until he saves one family, with History being fine. Here the Doctor chooses to change history and then it causes Time to fracture.
Like George Lucas said about the Star Wars Prequels compared to the Original Trilogy-"its like poetry, they sorta, they rhyme".
In this story you are seeing the true origin of the Master. The Doctor is on the edge of becoming exactly like him.
Ahh the Waters of Mars.... Such a slippery path the doctor walks...
That's because the floor is wet.
If he had allowed Christina to travel with him in the previous episode then things may have been better. Maybe
@@thepandorica1660 If only because he would have been reminded that he had a duty of care for his companion.
oh crap, the 3 christmas specials are totally an homage to a Christmas carol. Companions of Christmas past, present, and future. It took me over a decade to see it. there was even a death to fear for the third that set him straight.
The Doctor was so close to becoming like the Master.
"I am the Doctor, and the laws of time will obey me."
The Doctor reminding you of the Master was absolutely intentional: in the classic series the Master actually used variations of "And You Will Obey Me" as a quote a few times. The other classic reference in this story is that the Doctor has indeed encountered ancient martians in the past; specifically the Ice Warriors. One scene that was never filmed but made it into the novelization involved the Doctor finding a warning left behind them about not breaking open the glacier, implying they'd encountered and contained this thing.
The beauty of this episode is that it makes you think like the Doctor.
You feel great when he comes back. And you feel shall we say: Victorious
Then you see what that means
this episode is like that meme of the WWII soldier looking at the camera in horror
When the Doctor is the scariest thing in the episode...
3x11 "Utopia"
Doctor: "Master, please."
Master: "Tough!"
The Waters of Mars
Adelaide: "No one should have that much power."
Doctor: "Tough."
This is maybe the first time I’ve watch a hero I’ve loved so much slowly break into the worst version of themselves.
If not seen try Superman III (1983) in which Superman becomes evil after exposure to Red Kryptonite. Not as highly rated, but my personal favourite of the Christpher Reeve movies, for tat reason. A fun romp.
At the beginning of Series 5, we change show runners from Russell T Davis to Steven Moffat. There may be other reasons why there was a long pause between 4 and 5 but I’m guessing they were getting new contracts set up, set designs, and all that stuff finessed before handing it over.
Still my all-times favourite DW episode. They way they build emotion, from despair to resolve to exhaltation to regret, always gets me. Let alone the fact that this kind of episode (the stranded crew with aliens/demons/whatever taking over) is always so fascinating for me.
This is my fave Tennant episode. I think it shows perfectly why the Doctor needs a companion. It also demonstrates the arc of 10 perfectly - all that ego, all that refusing to let go - taken to it's most messed up conclusion. It's so terrifying - in a way he's even worse than the Master, cause think of how many times the Master has been stopped, think how many times the Doctor has and what they could do if they got rid of their rules. Watching it again that line of the Adelaide Brook saving the Doctor really stands true at the end of the episode. Saving him from himself.
The Time Lord Victorious is one of my favourite versions of The Doctor, he went to wipe out a species, battled Daleks, Vampires, The 8th and 9th Doctors all at once
For me, that moment of "what's happening to the Doctor?" only ever happened once. After the rescue. When what has happened has already taken place. On every subsequent viewing, knowing what's to come, the signs are there the moment he reappears to save them. It is emotional, it is tragic, and it is quite possibly the best character descent I've ever witnessed.
As a kid, the first episode of doctor who I watched live was 42, from season 3, with David Tennant. I fully acknowledge that that episode was a discount of The Waters of Mars despite being its predecessor.
Oh boy, i have WAITED for the next 2 episodes...
One of the best episodes. Thank you Emme for the reaction, first time watching this also leaved me very confused, now I cry all the time knowing what's going to happen with the Doctor in the end. Superior cinematography, I would call that.
I absolutely loved this season, and this upcoming season finale is one of my top favorite finales and I am so incredibly excited to see your reaction to the next episodes!!
I always think of the master in this episode when you realise how easy a timelord can turn.
18:00 Despite the Doctor's rather poetic interpretation of this event, it could simply be the moment that all Daleks were recalled to the Crucible in anticipation of the Reality Bomb detonating. Life is awash with such serendipity. ^_~
Possibly - but it did hover and look for quite a long time. At that point they were pretty much in see and shoot mode, having collected the subjects they needed for the test. That in itself says much about the Dalek mentality. Since they plan to wipe out everything with the Reality Bomb all of the other extermination has no benefit to their goal.
That ood apparition is really unsettling to me for some reason, combined with the music and the rest of the scene, there truly is something eerie, almost uncanny to it, which I love about this 'family show'
Location report: the dome is the Great Glass House in the National Botanical Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Unlike some other greenhouses its specialises in Mediterranean biomes. The house is in Newport, Gwent, just off the city centre.
And it's an awesome structure.
@@simongiles9749 it certainly is, the largest single span greenhouse in the world. The botanical garden is fantastic - well worth a visit.
Phenomenal episode, and a great exploration of the character's darker side, and how important someone to keep him grounded is. One of Davie's Darkest and best episodes, with superb performances all around, and fantastic direction from Graham Harper, who got his start with the BBC, and first directing job, with Doctor Who in the 70's and 80's respectively.
this was SO FRIGGIN' GRUESOME! ...THOSE MOUTHS! 😱 really enjoyed your reaction! 👍☺
I know right? I think the same thing!
Best episode of the show for me. Just phenomenal on every level! And soooo full of emotion 💔
I don't know how intentional it was, but a great parallel I only noticed watching this reaction is to the Christmas special when we first meet Donna. The iconic scene of Doctor standing there, surrounded by flames and water, somewhat repeated in the climax of this episode. Kinda cool.
Oh boy its time!!!
I have 4 top episodes, equally rated, but this has been up there the longest i think. It is just phenomenal. So much so that expanded media came back and produced a different timeline from it…
My number 5 is all the way at the end of a distant season. But for me this era is the end of peak doc who! And it was brilliant! Seeing what the doc was like without a companion is just chilling, and these are the scariest monsters, not just the flood but the timelord victorious himself! The montage of them dying is just heartbreaking.
I've watched this episode many times now, and yet you've still given me new things to think about, specifically how the Doctor completely failed to consider how his words and actions would be interpreted by the human crew of Bowie Base One. Even before the ending. How would anyone react if they were told "I can travel through space and time, and by the way you're going to die today and I'm oh so very sorry but I can't do anything about it byeee?" He could have kept a lot of that from them, or lied, and left.
Once he'd rescued them, he could have asked them if they were okay, or discussed their options with them. He can't decide whether to tell them nothing or take the time to discuss their situation, and the middle ground he ends up with is worse than both options. How would anyone react if they were told "you have to die, I know this because I'm a time traveller, for sure, 100%, if you live who knows what'd happen to the universe, let alone humanity, actually never mind you can survive I'm pretty sure nothing can go wrong trust me?" By the end he is confident that he's right, but he doesn't stop for a second to consider that he's given the survivors little reason to trust him and no emotional support whatsoever.
Why DIDN'T they bring back the Ice Warriors for the first Mars story in what? 40-50 years?
Best emotional speeches of the Doctor...."The laws of time are mine and they will obey me!" and "...we are fighting time itself and I'm gonna winn!" always give me chills...and the great ending....Timelord victorious. That is the Doctor he could be...arrogant and inhuman.
And in the words of Heath Ledger’s Joker in the dark knight. “And here we go!!”
Probably my favourite episode of Doctor Who. Sooooo good!!
This is one of my favorite specials by far.
Finally caught up on all your Doctor who reactions. Looking forward to continuing to watch your videos of this show
10th doctor chased by Zombies
2:02 that's exactly where he got this space suit
I like how he speaks ancient north martian cause the old creatures from classic who from mars exist back in the day :)
Yeah, this was a really deep episode. Shows why the Doctor needs a companion, also the manifestation of his anger at what happened during the Time War.
Love your Emme award winning reactions ❤️🙂😉
Really glad you caught the similarity between The Master and The Doctor when they are not grounded by something or someone.
Since you're ahead a few episodes, you can hear hints of theme music from the Eleven era.
Next episode might technically be “the end”, but I think the 10th Doctor’s character really climaxes here.
One of the show’s best.
Five words that will stab your heart.
Scariest monsters in whoniverse:
The Flood, the time lord victorious, and torchwood season 3. And 2 of them are this episode, and the other is happening while this episode happens 0_0.
This is my all-time favourite Doctor Who episode
1:00 Martians do exist, as you see from a later dialogue between Doctor and Adelaide! You'll meet the Ice Warriors in the future.
You see how cozy yuri looked with Mia in that picture? He did more than look after her. He walked away the real winner in this episode.
One of the greatest Doctor Who episodes of all time.
yesss, you are getting closer towards the 11th Doctor!
She's already onto his era on Patreon
This is one of the best stand alone episodes.
8:42 ask and you shall receive 9:49
21:40 such a sad moment
28:53 no one should have that much power Emme
34:46 I like how the Ood was like a jump scare to you lol
Enjoyed your reaction as usual
Ahhh, I can't wait for the next few episodes!!
27:27 The doctor suffered a fugue of his own, almost like the Jackson Lake Doctor.
Couldn't shoulder the responsibility of being a Time Lord together with being alone in the universe.
out of the five specials, this is my favorite.
Peak Doctor Who right here, but theres so much great stuff to come. God I love this show
the next two part special is one of the best I also loved this episode its honestly one of my top 10
Season Three: "I'm a Time Lord. I have that right." (to change history)-The Master.
The Waters of Mars: "The Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!"-The Doctor.
So, as mentioned in this episode, there are Martians. They're a group of classic monsters called the Ice Warriors. The Second Doctor encountered them first, and the Third Doctor met them as well. It's an awesome call back in a brilliant episode.
And, yeah, there has been a break in regular series of Doctor Who before. Between 1989 and 2005. Be glad that you don't have to wait that long between series. The classic series was cancelled in 1989 (with the Seventh Doctor), and the new series launched in 2005 (with the Ninth Doctor). Between those two points in time, we only got a single canon adventure, which was *Doctor Who - The Movie (1996)* and features the Eighth Doctor.
The Movie is an oddity because it is an American and British co-production.
If you ever go back and watch any classic stuff, *Doctor Who - The Movie (1996)* should definitely be on your watch list, purely because it is the "episode" which aired before the 2005 series started and because it is going to be somewhat significant to some upcoming future episodes.
2:27 It was a joke because they’re alone on a new planet and obviously no one’s gonna come up. But the Doctor did come and so it’s obviously a concern how someone got there.
I'll never forgive my Dad for what he did when this episode first came out. I was about 10, and when he brought me a glass of water at night, he started convulsing and it freaked the hell out of me.
So after watching this episode, do u want a glass of water?
5:05 - Yes he had to leave. Because to the Doctor it's established history. He's probably read the obituaries.
You can't change an event you know happened.
1. Imagine you wanted to stop a well known catastrophic event like WWII from happening.
2. If you go back and stop it then WWII will never have happened.
3. But if it never happened, you would never have known about it.
4. If you had never known about it then there would have been no motivation for you to go back in time to stop it happening.
5. Hence you would never have gone back in time.
6. If you did not time travel then WWII would happen and Step 2 and everything following it would never have happened.
It would be a paradox.
If Time Travel ever is invented then Rule 1 would have to be this: Established History must not be altered. If you've read about an event that has happened then you can't change it.
This was a fantastic one when I first saw it and it's still been a longstanding legendary episode after over 15 years later. And you're right, he did slip into the same thought processes and arrogance that The Master is known for, but at this point, The Doctor has also grown very sick and tired of losing so many great people as well as watching them go down, whether they're companions or not.
Interesting facts, Lindsay Duncan, the actress who played Adelaide Brooke, plays Alice's mother in the Tim Burton adaptions of the Alice in Wonderland films. Gemma Chan, the actress for Mia, has been in a few major films like Transformers: The Last Knight, Crazy Rich Asians, and Captain Marvel and was the voice of Erys in Diablo IV video game.
Alan Ruscoe, who played Andy Stone, you've actually seen him before; he played different characters in Star Wars Episode I and Lott Dod in Episode II. He was also in previous Doctor Who episodes; he was the Auton in "Rose", Lute in "The End of the World", the Slitheen in the three episodes they appeared, and an android in the season 1 two-parter finale.
Hey Emme. Yeah this episode always makes my soul hurt in so many ways. From the Doctor who is lost, to hopelessnees, to have hope, to the weight of fate. See you for the next one.
This episode gave me nightmares the first time I watched it would have been 9 or so it was only years later I released the reason it unsettled me so much was seeing adelaides death and the fact the doctor went to far and him then panicking an questioning if he's went to far before deciding to basically run away from what he just did
One of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who!
The Doctor did save two people here (as far as we know, nothing happened to the other two survivors). He was able to change things- just not everything.
One of the few Who/MCU crossover actors - Gemma Chan.
I don’t mind Doctor Who series 4
Can never avoid wondering why he did not simply take them to the future instead of their present, then there was no problem with the rescue. They could have lived entire lives a few centuries down the line and have changed nothing in the progression of events whatsoever.
Don't know if it was intentional but when the doctor is listening to everyone die the lights in his helmet light up his face in such a way that it looks like a skull, his eyes are completely in shadow and they look like eye sockets and the lights are so bright that the lit parts of his face are bone white
The end of this episode could have been much different: instead of instantaneously arriving on earth, and making explanations after exiting the Tardis, the Doctor could have talked them all through the ramifications while they were still on board. Travel via the Tardis takes as long (inside the Tardis) as needed for the plot, and still arrives at the destination when intended.
If they had had just a bit more time to come to grips with the concepts, events after debarking would have played out much differently.
This is my favourite episode of Doctor Who.
the doctor and the master can be not so different after all. Two table spoons of loss and a dash of determination makes for a delicious cake to break your diet of rules and boundaries.
Older versions of the doctor have their callous moments as well. Especially the 6th! Age, wisdom and experience tends to make one throw compassion out the window and you come off to be viewed as crass and cold hearted.
No really.
hints of 10's dark side were present right from his first episode...just a matter of...time
my favorite character in this episode is the creator of Gadget because his name is Roman, and that's my name.
Ah yes, the one where the Doctor *loses his mind.*