As soon as you said "I hoped it would be Jack" I immediately perked up like "uhhh...about that...", glad the irony is there for you too in retrospect lmao
I know I know I know it's cannon and Russell confirmed it but to me bit makes no sense that Jack is the face of boe. It's just Jack isn't an idiot when introduced to the name face of boe not once did it occur to him to say "Doctor WEIRD coincidence you know the face of boe when I was younger I was called the face of boe what are the chances lol" or even telling the doctor and Martha right after saying what will happen to him if he lives forever I was a poster boy Face of boe they call ...OMG I'M I THE BLOODY FACE OF BOE 😭 I just think it's a coincidence.
I personally didn't see it as a redemption arc for Cassandra, but rather an acceptance arc. An acceptance of her own mortality. She wasn't redeemed in any way and the Doctor didn't redeem her either, just showed her mercy in her dying moments. But I agree, it's not one of my favourite episodes tbh! I won't lie, I prefer Tens later seasons to this one
One of my favorite parts of this episode is Billie's reaction to the disinfection. Before they filmed it, nobody told her what was about to happen, so her reaction was 100% genuine.
@@BritanyBinges No problem 😊 this show has a few really cool facts like that. One of the best is about the song in The Christmas Invasion, "Song for Ten" although the song was created for the series 2 Christmas special, the actual lyrics tell the entire story for Rose and the Doctor all the way to the ending of Series 4.
I know you're up to date on Patreon so I don't mind spoiling but... seeing the face of boe and saying "I was hoping it would be Jack" is the funniest thing you could have said
The best part, to me, is David's acting when Cassandra took him over. As the Doctor, the actor doesn't have the chance to be pure comic so we got to see a little more of his ability to entertain. Beating a samba, really, lol.
Nice thought but it’s not true. RTD said it was unscripted once but that was purely as a joke in the dvd commentary. The kiss was always in the script.
Weird to think this is the first time we see the doctor take rose to an alien planet (on screen anyway) didn’t notice that for yeeears. Billie piper wanted an episode that was heavy on comedy, so they made it the series opener. Plus it was her birthday during filming
With Cassandra's body hopping, especially in the lift shaft scene, always get reminded of playing the original lego Star Wars game and getting similarly heated with sibling about needing to be a right character to progress
This is actually one of my favorites, not because of the effects ( which are awful but ok for then, I guess), but because of how much emotion and genuinely good acting this episode had.
The practical effects are pretty awesome. The digital ones are definite a product of the time (and I'm assuming budget), but they're still not terrible. I had a lot of people warn me about the effects/graphics when I released Rose, but I've been more impressed with them than not.
Little fun fact. The inside of the hospital's reception when Rose and Doctor first walk into the hospital is the Wales Millennium Centre. Which is the big copper building the Tardis lands next to in Series 1 Episode 11 BoomTown (it's where the rift is)
I didn't used to like this episode and I would always skip it on rewatches or reaction series. But I watched a video that gave me a new appreciation for it. They posited the idea of deathly sick people who just want to be able to touch each other, and that that was the cure the Doctor created, was based on Russell T. Davies' experiences with the AIDS crisis (I don't know how much you know about RTD, but he lived through it as an openly gay man and lost many of his friends during that time) and how people, including medical staff, were terrified of touching victims because there was such a lack of information (and quite a bit of misinformation) about the disease. So victims were so starved for physical affection which they desperately needed. So yeah that really recontextualised the episode for me. No guarantee that's actually what he was going for, but it helped me like the episode more so I don't really care either way.
That was a really good point that I was meaning to bring up but totally forgot about. The term "touch starved" springs to mind here. Apparently, RTD was mindful of that and really liked the idea of touching being part of the cure. On that topic his award-winning docudrama "Its a Sin" covers the time of the AIDs crisis quite well, although it is completely heartbreaking.
I'm not sure if it's a real redemption arc for cassandra, but it is a bit of a loop, at the start she tells Rose that the party is the last time anyone said she was beautiful and then it turns out it was her in chips body, she also mentions that chip is a clone of her favourite template, I'm guessing that she likes the template because he was the last person to say she was beautiful took dna from him after he died in her arms and cloned him from that, if that's true then chip is a bootstrap paradox.
"Chav" is a British term, used to refer to a very specific type of British young woman who dresses in sporty clothes but aren't necessarily sporty themselves, they're also known to speak loudly and are not very fondly spoken of lol
I like how they never told Billie she was gonna get soaked, steamed and blow dried so that was her genuine reaction. This episode was one that I used to always skip because it freaked me out. There’s another one in this series which did as well.
Girl in the Fireplace is the one from series 2 that freaked me out the most. But, it also ended up being one of my favorite episodes to date, so *shrug*. lol What's the other episodes in this series for you?
This episode is a interesting commentary on animal test experiments. Where instead of humans using animals to test drugs, medicine and diseases. It's cats that are using humans for the same thing. I think they said that they were cloned humans but i may be wrong. I haven't watched this episode in years. In our reality and the dr who reality, both sides are saying that they're doing it to help people stay healthy and to cure people so that they can live their lives. While condemning anime(/human clones) to pain and torture on the basis that they're not like us, that they don't feel like we do, that they don't think, that they matter less than the people they're saving. With animals, it's different as there are people who do want to help them and stop the testing, while there are those who are willing to let it happen due to the reasons above. But when it's humans, suddenly it's everybody's problem. And the ones doing it are using the same arguments that most of them used above.
So funny that you said you prefer Christmas Invasion to this and said you have a feeling people won't like this one, this is actually one of my favorites! As others said in the comments, I don't see it as a redemption for Cassandra but rather a kinder, doctor-ier ending. What I like about this episode is the off the charts chemistry between Rose and The Doctor, as well as all of the actors playing Cassandra and the different flare each actor brings into her character.
I love this episode. I wasn't a big fan of Christmas Invasion, but it has grown on me. I had trouble letting go of 9. But everyone is having so much fun with this episode. The actors playing with being Cassandra is the best. Everyone getting to "live" as in the resolution to The Empty Child was a great way to start things off with 10. Although coming back with Martha later makes me wonder what type of repercussions this had. I cant recall if the visits are related. That is another episode that has grown on me.
@@BritanyBinges Don't normally like to reply but just to point out - the Face of Boe prop, the rusted Cassandra frame prop & one of the Cat nurse costumes are currently in the 'Worlds of Wonder' science tour in Edinburgh.
I think there's something really touching about how Cassandra herself is the one to tell herself that's she's beautiful the way she is, in her dying moments. This person spent centuries doing every possible medical procedure to keep herself pure and beautiful, chopping off pieces of herself and losing her humanity bit by bit. It's a really poignant idea when you think about it as self-acceptance and self-love.
somebody might have already told you this, but that scene where they get disinfected. the producers only told David that there would be a shower, so him looking all prepared and enjoying it and rose looking all shocked and laughing is genuine.
For nostalgia’s sake I don’t really hate Series 2 as much as other fans, Series 1 got me interested, but Series 2 got me hooked as a kid once Tennant had established himself (although his best is yet to come). Yeah I’ll agree that this isn’t the best showcase for him, considering he spends half the episode possessed by Zoe Wanamaker. But this episode is absolutely worth it for the Face of Boe scenes and the setting which are both really cool, the Face of Boe theme played when the Doctor finds him in the hospital and starts chatting with Novice Hame nursing him, is one of my favourite bits of DW soundtrack ever. Murray Gold’s music for this season really begins to shine here!
@@TheConman761 I really do agree. There are indeed moments of greatness. The next episode is a great historical thriller. School Reunion (without spoiling it for the sake of any viewers) is a great story companion wise 😉 Girl in the Fireplace is another good one. The upcoming mid series two parter (lol best way I can phrase that without spoiling it) has some of the best vibes and design for that villain in question ever. There’s a lot to be liked about Series 2 definitely, but for Ten as a Doctor, his best overall is yet to come!
@@JackMellor498 I think the only duds really are new earth and love and monsters. The rest I enjoy. The cyber man two parter is the worst episode of all time for me but apart from that I love the rest.
The flesh, not having ever been touched, are an analogy for the AIDS virus that was big in the 1980s, and a big part of the life of the writer, Russell T Davies.
In the elevator, David Tennant new what was coming up (disinfectant, mist), but Billie Piper didn't. The reason for it was to get a genuine reaction from her character.
I think the idea for this episode is to reintroduce the Doctor and Rose and introduce the complexity of the companion relationship as it will get complicated throughout this season. David's Doctor starts light and fun and as the story progresses his darker side comes out more.
I am so delighted to have come across you. It is exciting to rewatch this with you. To know and see the hidden things missed the first time . . . What a journey you are on.
This was the first episode of New Who I ever saw... sort of. It was late night, I was up feeding a baby and flipping channels. I saw the elevator scene and a bit more, but soon headed for bed. Years later I started watching the series and when I got to this episode I had serious deja vu!
Discovered your channel a couple weeks back and haves watched all your reaction vid to doctor who 😁 hopefully you’ll be all caught up by November next year for the new ones 🤞🏻
I don't think that I will be as I'm only just recording the finale to series five next week, but you never know. So glad you're enjoying the reactions!! :)
01:31 We all fell for it, her skin exploded indeed, but her mind, located in the brain in the tank at the bottom of or machine was spared, so she survived :D I always liked the ending of that episode, having Cassandra dying in her own arms after telling herself how beautiful she was, poetic. P.S: 03:35 😶😶😉
For the rhythm of the series is does indeed make sense to think of the xmas special as the first of series 2 rather than the last of series 1, not least because this then matches up, of course, with _The End of the World_ from series 1.
Yeah, this is one i tend to skip on rewatches too. I do think that this is something of a redemption arc for Cassandra though, limited more by the timeframe than her her character growth. If she'd lived further past this, I might have grown to properly like her, she was at least on a path for it. The jump into one of the vat-grown really affected her, if she'd had enough time for it to sink in, she probably would have changed more than accepting her death and giving a lonely woman one last happy memory (yes, I think it counts even if that woman was herself).
Another (less obvious) throw-back to that "End Of The World" episode is that Novice Hame was played by actress Anna Hope who previously played the short-lived blue-faced technician on Platform 1. She's also a great author!
I don't know if you will read this or someone has mentioned it but the main reason (I think) for the reward for Cassandra is for letting her die the first time they met. Yes she did bad but should have been held accountable not let die even rose thought he was wrong to let her die. So I think it was something he needed to do.
I like the episode but I agree, it isn't my favourite and they do (as you already know) get better. I don't think Casandra really got much of a redeption arc, all she did was forcefully help the Doctor and the ill people then steal a servants body to tell herself she is beautiful. She is kinda sad and pathetic really that the only person who told her she was beautiful was herself but only realised it after she had ruined herself. I was 7 when this episode came out and I remember this epiosde more because I had a poster in my bedroom of the Doctor leaning against the TARDIS with New Earth in the background. It was in my room until 2020 to be honest and that poster was ripped and scruffed up but it was nostalgic to see. I have taken it down now but I kept the poster still. I feel like I am just leaving nostalic comments in each one of these videos haha.
Mahki Mahkila - "Chav" is a term which is used all over the United Kingdom, not just in the South of England. I'm from Swansea in Wales and we use that term as well, so it's more than just a "southern England" phrase!
@@BritanyBinges - It's a word that's used all over Britain, by the way, not just in the South of England. Mahki Mahkila has obviously never been anywhere further than Oxford!
@@kwesiidun8512 were the Welsh using the term in the 80s? I doubt it You lot may have caught up in the last 20 years, but as I said it came from Roma Gypsies in the south of England
@@mahkimahkila6396- "Chav" in the modern sense only came about in the late-1990s both in London and across the entire country, including here in South Wales, so your point about the 1980s is a bit redundant.
I love this episode and to be clear I don’t feel the treatment of Cassandra was a redemption. The doctor just doesn’t need his enemies to be redeemed in order to show them a kindness as they’re dying.
Oh, that's true! No, I didn't realize that. And, it's still Earth-related. So, that would make Impossible Planet/Satan Pit the first one not connected to Earth, right? (Unless you counted Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel since it's technically not "our" Earth.)
"Britany Binges" - yes, and I've just binged all your Season 1 reactions. Really good fun. I've been away from Doctor Who for a while (let's not get into that) and I'm trying to come back, get the excitement flowing for the 60th. Anyway, I agree, I always would skip this one - and the next one too, to be honest. From School Reunion onwards, there's a fairly good run. Anyway, let's go on to Tooth and Claw, see if it's better than I remembered.
Yeah just like you totally planned the release of the Christmas episode on Christmas eve. You TOTALLY planned for the episode "NEW" Earth to come out on new years eve right?😉🤫
I liked this one a lot more as a kid but barely ever come back to it. I really don’t like the resolution with the clones, but ya take some ya lose some. Happy New Year!
Yeah one that I'm not a big fan of either, with the exception of the final scene of Cassandra. I love that scene. Other than that though, I wouldn't rewatch this myself either.
I'm still open for that to happen, but it has been about eight months since I originally watched this episode and had to watch it again while editing this video and I can say my feelings haven't really changed so far. :-/
I like this episode, it's funny, emotional. But what I just realised s how Black Mirror the concept is, infecting people with every disease as a research tool, would for real yield incredibly useful scientific results, whilst being morally repugnant.
This used to be my absolute favourite episode for a long time. I love the interaction of Rose and the Doctor, I thought the Cassandra shenanigans were hilarious and it hit all the right emotional beats for me. However now that I am older, it is harder for me to look past the logic of the diseases which doesn't make ANY sense. Still like the episode though.
It was an "ok" episode i like the bit about the disease and Cassandra swapping bodies was funny but it got unfunny when she keeps switching bodies over and over it got repetetive after a while although that wasn't really Rose i'm still not a fan of companions kissing the Doctor romantically and i absolutely agree with you Cassandra did not need a redemption arc i prefer villains just being villains. As for the CGI it was 2006 part of Doctor Who's charm particulary Classic Who is the bad effects but the cat make-up was fantastic.
Definitley one of the weaker starts to a series. Always good to see the Face of Boe. As for Cassandra I didn't mind her return but again would not have cared if she never returned
"Not my favourite episode." Totally understandable, I wasn't fond on first viewing either. Season 2 is Tennant's most inconsistent. The great episodes are fantastic but the bad ones are really weak. Having said that, you know that already by now!
It's not my favee episode, but I don't hate it. For me, I have no issue with Cassandra at all. My issue was that I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to believe all the diseases would just be cured instantly by a concoction and they could spread the cure by hugging... though I do get that they were showing that human touch and connection are what heals us. That is what jolted Cassandra, even for just a moment , out of her selfishness... it was being able to put herself in someone else's shoes... literally. LOL, but in the real world, that is what helps us understand each other too.
As a general rule, I don't usually react to trailers because I like to avoid spoilers and go in as blind as possible. I do have trailer reactions for the Supernatural spin-off tha t premiered a few months ago, but that will likely be the only ones I ever do.
Yeah Series 2 my least favourite of the RTD era. I couldn’t easily skip this episode on a rewatch tbh and some people don’t watch ‘Christmas Invasion’ so they don’t get a strong start to the 10th doctor. Luckily there are still some bangers.
Honestly, that's a really tough one because they're all so different. If I think about it in terms of who I'm most excited to see when they pop back up in later episodes, it has to be Rose. I think I just feel the most attached to her since she was the first companion I got to know. But, if I'm thinking in terms of who I would personally want to travel with... it would be Martha.
@@TheConman761 For sure! As far as Rose is concerned, no other women should ever come in contact with the Doctor. I can't even imagine what it would've been like if it had been Rose with the Doctor in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead instead of Donna. lol
This is my least favourite season-opening episode out of all of modern Who. I feel that the script is misjudged in two key ways, with the awful juxtaposition of the comedy (which itself is only partially successful) with the truly horrifying story of how the clones had been treated, and also with the unearned redemption for Cassandra. The production values are often naff as well. About the only positive is Billie, who'd apparently asked RTD for the opportunity to try some comedy, which she does a great job of delivering. Bad Who is usually just "meh" or occasionally baffling, but when I rewatched this a couple of years ago (for the first time in years) the episode actually put me in a foul mood! It struck me then that one change that would've helped would have been if this had instead featured (say) Cassandra's sister. There could then have been some comedy as Rose assumed the sister was Cassandra, and the sister being genuinely offended that anyone might confuse the two of them, with the siblings each despising the other without realising how similar they truly were. A sister would then have earned that redemption at the end, because ultimately she'd prove herself a better person than Cassandra by having helped the Doctor (and also by not having previously been seen by us as someone who'd cheerfully kill people for financial gain). Instead we got something that doesn't work on its own terms and which also contradicts the seemingly meaningful "no second chances" declaration in the Christmas special. I've read that Series 2 effectively had a smaller budget than that for Series 1, because it was necessary to absorb the extra costs incurred by the difficult production process for that first season. If so, that would explain why this season often felt quite cheap-looking to me, and might explain the fairly uninspiring look of this particular episode. But then why not have the next episode as the opener? I'm not even a real fan of it, but it had a stronger story, it sets up certain things for the season as a whole, and it looks better! Perhaps it couldn't be got ready in time, or perhaps RTD didn't realise he was starting this new era with a misfiring clunker.
My thoughts, and many other people thoughts as far as I am aware, is it is a decent episode but a poor series opener. David didn’t get much to do in his first story, and then his first full outing doesn’t give him a full story as himself and also not much time to act with real Rose. It would have been better suited as a mid-series episode.
I didn't like this episode mostly becuase the doctor was demanding Cassandra to commit suicide, I was like, yeah good luck with that doctor, I rolled my eyes at him for this. It wasn't a good episode to start with him, but he became my favorite doctor later.
Thank you for that! It wasn't quite up to my standards, but he and I are no longer working together (amicable split) so the edits are more consistent starting with the next episode.
I really like Cassandra as a character. She absolutely did need this. Everything she ever did, all the times she changed male to female to genderless to bi gender, all her many surgeries, the racism and xenophobia, it all comes from her extreme body dysmorphia and self hatred. She is an example of what can happen to a good person when they do not get the help that they really need. As a trans person I can relate to that. The ending shows very well that she used to be kind, gentle, caring but her own hatred of her self turned her into a monster. The entire story of this episode with the patients existed to be a reflection of her. People born in pain, hideous and diseased but wanting to be loved, to love themselves, causing pain to others because of their own pain...Just like her. That is something that happens to many trans people due to the unfounded social stigma that we have and due to this I can say that I love this episode for that plot point over all. It may not mean a lot to people that have never experienced it but to us it means a lot.
This is by far the weakest series opener. _By far_ as you found out since you're way ahead on patreon apparently. Series 2 is probably 4th if I were to rank the Russell Davies era (seasons 1-4) as well.
Yeah, between the series' openers I've seen so far (1-5), it's definitely the weakest one. I know I'm definitely in the minority, but I honestly think series 3 is last for me in the RTD era. Not that you asked, but I think my ranking would be... 1. 2009 Specials 2. Series 4 3. Series 1 4. Series 2 5. Series 3
I think it had some really good highs (two of my favorite episodes are in this series), but it also has some lows as well. But, I feel like that's the pattern for most series' so far.
As soon as you said "I hoped it would be Jack" I immediately perked up like "uhhh...about that...", glad the irony is there for you too in retrospect lmao
It was like I knew the entire time. lol Except I had absolutely NO clue and was properly shocked when it was revealed. lol
I know I know I know it's cannon and Russell confirmed it but to me bit makes no sense that Jack is the face of boe. It's just Jack isn't an idiot when introduced to the name face of boe not once did it occur to him to say "Doctor WEIRD coincidence you know the face of boe when I was younger I was called the face of boe what are the chances lol" or even telling the doctor and Martha right after saying what will happen to him if he lives forever I was a poster boy Face of boe they call ...OMG I'M I THE BLOODY FACE OF BOE 😭 I just think it's a coincidence.
I personally didn't see it as a redemption arc for Cassandra, but rather an acceptance arc. An acceptance of her own mortality. She wasn't redeemed in any way and the Doctor didn't redeem her either, just showed her mercy in her dying moments. But I agree, it's not one of my favourite episodes tbh! I won't lie, I prefer Tens later seasons to this one
I can see why you would call it an acceptance arc. I do prefer his later series' as well. I like the more intense/darker version of 10.
One of my favorite parts of this episode is Billie's reaction to the disinfection. Before they filmed it, nobody told her what was about to happen, so her reaction was 100% genuine.
I didn't know that! That does make that part even better. Thanks for sharing that tidbit! :)
@@BritanyBinges No problem 😊 this show has a few really cool facts like that. One of the best is about the song in The Christmas Invasion, "Song for Ten" although the song was created for the series 2 Christmas special, the actual lyrics tell the entire story for Rose and the Doctor all the way to the ending of Series 4.
I know you're up to date on Patreon so I don't mind spoiling but...
seeing the face of boe and saying "I was hoping it would be Jack" is the funniest thing you could have said
I know right?! I was like... I can''t comment a future episode without making it spoiler-y...
But she's technically already about to enter Series 6~
Yeah I laughed out loud at that
Came here to comment exactly this. What brilliant unintentional foreshadowing.
Honestly I laughed so much at that😂
The best part, to me, is David's acting when Cassandra took him over. As the Doctor, the actor doesn't have the chance to be pure comic so we got to see a little more of his ability to entertain. Beating a samba, really, lol.
Fun fact: The kiss was actually improvised by Billie, so David’s reaction was pretty genuine 😂❤️
I didn't know that! Thanks for sharing! :)
@@BritanyBinges Another fun fact: Billie Piper honestly didn't know about the disinfection so that is a genuine reaction too
Billie Piper was absolutely amazing this episode
Nice thought but it’s not true. RTD said it was unscripted once but that was purely as a joke in the dvd commentary. The kiss was always in the script.
It's in the script.
Weird to think this is the first time we see the doctor take rose to an alien planet (on screen anyway) didn’t notice that for yeeears. Billie piper wanted an episode that was heavy on comedy, so they made it the series opener. Plus it was her birthday during filming
The hilarious thing is Billie didn't know there was going to be water sprayed all over her so that scream reaction was genuine 😂
With Cassandra's body hopping, especially in the lift shaft scene, always get reminded of playing the original lego Star Wars game and getting similarly heated with sibling about needing to be a right character to progress
The funny thing is that Billie's Cassandra voice is pretty much her normal speaking voice while Rose's is further from it
This is actually one of my favorites, not because of the effects ( which are awful but ok for then, I guess), but because of how much emotion and genuinely good acting this episode had.
The practical effects are pretty awesome. The digital ones are definite a product of the time (and I'm assuming budget), but they're still not terrible. I had a lot of people warn me about the effects/graphics when I released Rose, but I've been more impressed with them than not.
Little fun fact. The inside of the hospital's reception when Rose and Doctor first walk into the hospital is the Wales Millennium Centre. Which is the big copper building the Tardis lands next to in Series 1 Episode 11 BoomTown (it's where the rift is)
I didn't used to like this episode and I would always skip it on rewatches or reaction series. But I watched a video that gave me a new appreciation for it. They posited the idea of deathly sick people who just want to be able to touch each other, and that that was the cure the Doctor created, was based on Russell T. Davies' experiences with the AIDS crisis (I don't know how much you know about RTD, but he lived through it as an openly gay man and lost many of his friends during that time) and how people, including medical staff, were terrified of touching victims because there was such a lack of information (and quite a bit of misinformation) about the disease. So victims were so starved for physical affection which they desperately needed. So yeah that really recontextualised the episode for me. No guarantee that's actually what he was going for, but it helped me like the episode more so I don't really care either way.
That was a really good point that I was meaning to bring up but totally forgot about. The term "touch starved" springs to mind here. Apparently, RTD was mindful of that and really liked the idea of touching being part of the cure.
On that topic his award-winning docudrama "Its a Sin" covers the time of the AIDs crisis quite well, although it is completely heartbreaking.
@@MalcolmWolf I watched the first episode of It's a Sin months ago and I still can't bring myself to watch the rest.
@@bookswithike3256 I can totally understand that
I'm not sure if it's a real redemption arc for cassandra, but it is a bit of a loop, at the start she tells Rose that the party is the last time anyone said she was beautiful and then it turns out it was her in chips body, she also mentions that chip is a clone of her favourite template, I'm guessing that she likes the template because he was the last person to say she was beautiful took dna from him after he died in her arms and cloned him from that, if that's true then chip is a bootstrap paradox.
"Chav" is a British term, used to refer to a very specific type of British young woman who dresses in sporty clothes but aren't necessarily sporty themselves, they're also known to speak loudly and are not very fondly spoken of lol
I like how they never told Billie she was gonna get soaked, steamed and blow dried so that was her genuine reaction. This episode was one that I used to always skip because it freaked me out. There’s another one in this series which did as well.
Girl in the Fireplace is the one from series 2 that freaked me out the most. But, it also ended up being one of my favorite episodes to date, so *shrug*. lol
What's the other episodes in this series for you?
@Britany Binges Tooth and claw. I hated it when the werewolf changed in the cage. I lowkey love that episode now though.
This episode is a interesting commentary on animal test experiments.
Where instead of humans using animals to test drugs, medicine and diseases.
It's cats that are using humans for the same thing. I think they said that they were cloned humans but i may be wrong. I haven't watched this episode in years.
In our reality and the dr who reality, both sides are saying that they're doing it to help people stay healthy and to cure people so that they can live their lives.
While condemning anime(/human clones) to pain and torture on the basis that they're not like us, that they don't feel like we do, that they don't think, that they matter less than the people they're saving.
With animals, it's different as there are people who do want to help them and stop the testing, while there are those who are willing to let it happen due to the reasons above.
But when it's humans, suddenly it's everybody's problem. And the ones doing it are using the same arguments that most of them used above.
Love that you said I thought it was going to be jack.
So funny that you said you prefer Christmas Invasion to this and said you have a feeling people won't like this one, this is actually one of my favorites! As others said in the comments, I don't see it as a redemption for Cassandra but rather a kinder, doctor-ier ending. What I like about this episode is the off the charts chemistry between Rose and The Doctor, as well as all of the actors playing Cassandra and the different flare each actor brings into her character.
New earth is one of my favourite David Tennant episode of doctor who series 2 is my favourite series of the tenth doctor era
I love this episode. I wasn't a big fan of Christmas Invasion, but it has grown on me. I had trouble letting go of 9.
But everyone is having so much fun with this episode. The actors playing with being Cassandra is the best.
Everyone getting to "live" as in the resolution to The Empty Child was a great way to start things off with 10.
Although coming back with Martha later makes me wonder what type of repercussions this had. I cant recall if the visits are related. That is another episode that has grown on me.
I must confess Iove this ep. Agree, not every willan deserves redemption but this one is special.
"The viruses move on." That hits differently nowadays.
It's fully makeup IIRC. The only CGI is the background.
Yes, it does hit different nowadays. :-/
Thanks for answering the question about the makeup. They did SUCH a good job with that!
@@BritanyBinges Don't normally like to reply but just to point out - the Face of Boe prop, the rusted Cassandra frame prop & one of the Cat nurse costumes are currently in the 'Worlds of Wonder' science tour in Edinburgh.
I think there's something really touching about how Cassandra herself is the one to tell herself that's she's beautiful the way she is, in her dying moments. This person spent centuries doing every possible medical procedure to keep herself pure and beautiful, chopping off pieces of herself and losing her humanity bit by bit. It's a really poignant idea when you think about it as self-acceptance and self-love.
somebody might have already told you this, but that scene where they get disinfected. the producers only told David that there would be a shower, so him looking all prepared and enjoying it and rose looking all shocked and laughing is genuine.
For nostalgia’s sake I don’t really hate Series 2 as much as other fans, Series 1 got me interested, but Series 2 got me hooked as a kid once Tennant had established himself (although his best is yet to come).
Yeah I’ll agree that this isn’t the best showcase for him, considering he spends half the episode possessed by Zoe Wanamaker. But this episode is absolutely worth it for the Face of Boe scenes and the setting which are both really cool, the Face of Boe theme played when the Doctor finds him in the hospital and starts chatting with Novice Hame nursing him, is one of my favourite bits of DW soundtrack ever. Murray Gold’s music for this season really begins to shine here!
Series 2 is actually good in places it just has some mediocre stories.
@@TheConman761 I really do agree.
There are indeed moments of greatness.
The next episode is a great historical thriller.
School Reunion (without spoiling it for the sake of any viewers) is a great story companion wise 😉
Girl in the Fireplace is another good one.
The upcoming mid series two parter (lol best way I can phrase that without spoiling it) has some of the best vibes and design for that villain in question ever.
There’s a lot to be liked about Series 2 definitely, but for Ten as a Doctor, his best overall is yet to come!
@@JackMellor498 I think the only duds really are new earth and love and monsters. The rest I enjoy. The cyber man two parter is the worst episode of all time for me but apart from that I love the rest.
There’s some fan discussion around the ending of this one about whether Cassandra dies in Chip or if she jumps into her younger self.
Oh, I hadn't thought about that!
Not the best episode but I love the end scene, quite lovely.
Side note, the first CatNun to die is played by the same actress who plays Martha's Mum.
Oh, I didn't realize that! Thanks for sharing! :)
The flesh, not having ever been touched, are an analogy for the AIDS virus that was big in the 1980s, and a big part of the life of the writer, Russell T Davies.
In the elevator, David Tennant new what was coming up (disinfectant, mist), but Billie Piper didn't. The reason for it was to get a genuine reaction from her character.
I didn't know that, that's hilarious!
I think the idea for this episode is to reintroduce the Doctor and Rose and introduce the complexity of the companion relationship as it will get complicated throughout this season. David's Doctor starts light and fun and as the story progresses his darker side comes out more.
I am so delighted to have come across you. It is exciting to rewatch this with you. To know and see the hidden things missed the first time . . . What a journey you are on.
This was the first episode of New Who I ever saw... sort of. It was late night, I was up feeding a baby and flipping channels. I saw the elevator scene and a bit more, but soon headed for bed. Years later I started watching the series and when I got to this episode I had serious deja vu!
Discovered your channel a couple weeks back and haves watched all your reaction vid to doctor who 😁 hopefully you’ll be all caught up by November next year for the new ones 🤞🏻
I don't think that I will be as I'm only just recording the finale to series five next week, but you never know.
So glad you're enjoying the reactions!! :)
01:31 We all fell for it, her skin exploded indeed, but her mind, located in the brain in the tank at the bottom of or machine was spared, so she survived :D
I always liked the ending of that episode, having Cassandra dying in her own arms after telling herself how beautiful she was, poetic.
P.S: 03:35 😶😶😉
For the rhythm of the series is does indeed make sense to think of the xmas special as the first of series 2 rather than the last of series 1, not least because this then matches up, of course, with _The End of the World_ from series 1.
Yeah, this is one i tend to skip on rewatches too. I do think that this is something of a redemption arc for Cassandra though, limited more by the timeframe than her her character growth. If she'd lived further past this, I might have grown to properly like her, she was at least on a path for it. The jump into one of the vat-grown really affected her, if she'd had enough time for it to sink in, she probably would have changed more than accepting her death and giving a lonely woman one last happy memory (yes, I think it counts even if that woman was herself).
The next few episodes coming up are some of my favourites ❤
Another (less obvious) throw-back to that "End Of The World" episode is that Novice Hame was played by actress Anna Hope who previously played the short-lived blue-faced technician on Platform 1. She's also a great author!
I don't think I ever knew it was the same actress! Love her in both roles!
@@patkillian5925 She does wear "quite a lot" of make-up in both roles!
Looking forward to tonight…love the emotion in these stories, thank you for everything
Great reaction I like your video
David acting like he is Cassandra is the best thing of this episode 😅😅
So glad you enjoyed the reaction! :)
Episode gets a 10/10 for the sole reason that its an episode with the Face of Boe. The rest of the episode could have been us watching paint dry.
3:35 "I was hoping it was gonna be Jack," ....Well 😏
This maybe my favorite DW episode lol I love it to bits
They didn't actually tell Billie that she was going to have a surprise shower in the elevator so this shocked reaction was totally genuine.
I don't know if you will read this or someone has mentioned it but the main reason (I think) for the reward for Cassandra is for letting her die the first time they met. Yes she did bad but should have been held accountable not let die even rose thought he was wrong to let her die. So I think it was something he needed to do.
"I was hoping that it would be Jack." How Ironic hahaha.
I mean, I did technically get my wish... I just didn't know it at the time. lol
@@BritanyBinges Hahaha when Jack was revealed to be the Face of Bow I was ecstatic, one of my favorite plot twists at the time.
Knowing for far ahead I can say so funny “I thought it be Jack” ME:😮Well 😂
I like the episode but I agree, it isn't my favourite and they do (as you already know) get better. I don't think Casandra really got much of a redeption arc, all she did was forcefully help the Doctor and the ill people then steal a servants body to tell herself she is beautiful. She is kinda sad and pathetic really that the only person who told her she was beautiful was herself but only realised it after she had ruined herself.
I was 7 when this episode came out and I remember this epiosde more because I had a poster in my bedroom of the Doctor leaning against the TARDIS with New Earth in the background. It was in my room until 2020 to be honest and that poster was ripped and scruffed up but it was nostalgic to see. I have taken it down now but I kept the poster still.
I feel like I am just leaving nostalic comments in each one of these videos haha.
The Cassandra who exploded was controlled by the brain in the jar under it.
You have to forgive the CGI, this is an old episode. The budget for special effects grows as the show goes on 😊👍
I always try to judge the CGI based on the age of the show/movie and the budget. For the most part, it's pretty impressive.
Chav is a word used in southern England to refer to young working class people. Our version of hoodrat.
It originated in the Roma-Gypsy community
Ahhh... thanks for the info! I'm definitely familiar with the term "hoodrat", so that helps it make more sense. lol
Mahki Mahkila - "Chav" is a term which is used all over the United Kingdom, not just in the South of England. I'm from Swansea in Wales and we use that term as well, so it's more than just a "southern England" phrase!
@@BritanyBinges - It's a word that's used all over Britain, by the way, not just in the South of England. Mahki Mahkila has obviously never been anywhere further than Oxford!
@@kwesiidun8512 were the Welsh using the term in the 80s? I doubt it
You lot may have caught up in the last 20 years, but as I said it came from Roma Gypsies in the south of England
@@mahkimahkila6396- "Chav" in the modern sense only came about in the late-1990s both in London and across the entire country, including here in South Wales, so your point about the 1980s is a bit redundant.
"I was hoping it was gonna be jack" 💀
I love this episode and to be clear I don’t feel the treatment of Cassandra was a redemption. The doctor just doesn’t need his enemies to be redeemed in order to show them a kindness as they’re dying.
Chav - derogatory term for working class person.
Do you realize that this is the first episode to leave Earth (or Earth Orbit)
Oh, that's true! No, I didn't realize that. And, it's still Earth-related. So, that would make Impossible Planet/Satan Pit the first one not connected to Earth, right? (Unless you counted Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel since it's technically not "our" Earth.)
"Britany Binges" - yes, and I've just binged all your Season 1 reactions. Really good fun. I've been away from Doctor Who for a while (let's not get into that) and I'm trying to come back, get the excitement flowing for the 60th.
Anyway, I agree, I always would skip this one - and the next one too, to be honest. From School Reunion onwards, there's a fairly good run. Anyway, let's go on to Tooth and Claw, see if it's better than I remembered.
I really like the episode especially the ending.
Yeah just like you totally planned the release of the Christmas episode on Christmas eve. You TOTALLY planned for the episode "NEW" Earth to come out on new years eve right?😉🤫
I love this episode. It's fun and funny. Though I do agree it's not really a stand out for Tennant's first first full episode.
I think I enjoy this episode just for the pure comedic factor but overall it's not the best in terms of storytelling
I can see that. I'm much more into the darker/more serious themes, but this would be a good one if I were more into the comedic episodes.
I loved the cats and I think once you know the info about the face of bo it makes it better.
very enjoyable great stuff to come ....but you already know that
Isn’t that actor who was cured the guy who plays Dorian
I liked this one a lot more as a kid but barely ever come back to it. I really don’t like the resolution with the clones, but ya take some ya lose some. Happy New Year!
That's actually more like Billy's accent.
Posh British.
Yeah one that I'm not a big fan of either, with the exception of the final scene of Cassandra. I love that scene. Other than that though, I wouldn't rewatch this myself either.
Maybe as you go through the series and on an eventual rewatch your perspective of this episode may change as it has done for alot of Who fans.
I'm still open for that to happen, but it has been about eight months since I originally watched this episode and had to watch it again while editing this video and I can say my feelings haven't really changed so far. :-/
I like this episode, it's funny, emotional. But what I just realised s how Black Mirror the concept is, infecting people with every disease as a research tool, would for real yield incredibly useful scientific results, whilst being morally repugnant.
I've only seen one Black Mirror episode, but I get what you mean.
This used to be my absolute favourite episode for a long time. I love the interaction of Rose and the Doctor, I thought the Cassandra shenanigans were hilarious and it hit all the right emotional beats for me. However now that I am older, it is harder for me to look past the logic of the diseases which doesn't make ANY sense. Still like the episode though.
It was an "ok" episode i like the bit about the disease and Cassandra swapping bodies was funny but it got unfunny when she keeps switching bodies over and over it got repetetive after a while although that wasn't really Rose i'm still not a fan of companions kissing the Doctor romantically and i absolutely agree with you Cassandra did not need a redemption arc i prefer villains just being villains.
As for the CGI it was 2006 part of Doctor Who's charm particulary Classic Who is the bad effects but the cat make-up was fantastic.
Well I hope your attitude changes as the show improves 😊
Not everyone is going to love every episode.
Chaf means working class.
3:37 😂
Definitley one of the weaker starts to a series. Always good to see the Face of Boe. As for Cassandra I didn't mind her return but again would not have cared if she never returned
Yeah, between the series' openers I've seen so far (1-5), it's the weakest one. Still not terrible, though. Just not one I need to watch again.
@@BritanyBinges yeah it doesn’t help when those other series openers from 1-5 are good - especially the opener to Series 5
"Not my favourite episode." Totally understandable, I wasn't fond on first viewing either. Season 2 is Tennant's most inconsistent. The great episodes are fantastic but the bad ones are really weak. Having said that, you know that already by now!
I also really love the irony of saying you thought it would be Jack - worked out perfectly 😂
Little did I know I was actually getting my wish. lol
It's not my favee episode, but I don't hate it. For me, I have no issue with Cassandra at all. My issue was that I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to believe all the diseases would just be cured instantly by a concoction and they could spread the cure by hugging... though I do get that they were showing that human touch and connection are what heals us. That is what jolted Cassandra, even for just a moment , out of her selfishness... it was being able to put herself in someone else's shoes... literally. LOL, but in the real world, that is what helps us understand each other too.
Yeah, it definitely did seem like a pretty quick/easy/convenient way to wrap things up.
Not one of the best but definitely set up stuff for the next few seasons I'm not even joking, Y.A.N.A.
I'm actually recording the finale for series five next week to release on Patreon, so I'm familiar with Y.A.N.A. :)
Are you going to react to the 60th anniversary trailer? Also happy new year.
Why on earth would she do that when she’s on s5 lol
There are things in the trailer that would be massive spoilers for her at this stage of her watching journey.
Like what.
As a general rule, I don't usually react to trailers because I like to avoid spoilers and go in as blind as possible. I do have trailer reactions for the Supernatural spin-off tha t premiered a few months ago, but that will likely be the only ones I ever do.
Yeah Series 2 my least favourite of the RTD era. I couldn’t easily skip this episode on a rewatch tbh and some people don’t watch ‘Christmas Invasion’ so they don’t get a strong start to the 10th doctor. Luckily there are still some bangers.
Would have been better episode if Cassandra Not in it , the catkind nuns given more storyline, the body swapping bit silly ( but well acted )
I’m not fond of this episode either?! But can we appreciate Billie’s acting in this series! She’s amazing
Absolutely! Billie was the standout for me in this one.
@@BritanyBinges I know you’ve seen all of the first four seasons now so who was your favourite rose Martha or Donna??
Honestly, that's a really tough one because they're all so different. If I think about it in terms of who I'm most excited to see when they pop back up in later episodes, it has to be Rose. I think I just feel the most attached to her since she was the first companion I got to know. But, if I'm thinking in terms of who I would personally want to travel with... it would be Martha.
@@BritanyBinges yeah I feel like anyone who tries to get in the way of ten and rose just isn’t in for a fun time 🤣she’s like that’s my man back off
@@TheConman761 For sure! As far as Rose is concerned, no other women should ever come in contact with the Doctor. I can't even imagine what it would've been like if it had been Rose with the Doctor in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead instead of Donna. lol
This is my least favourite season-opening episode out of all of modern Who. I feel that the script is misjudged in two key ways, with the awful juxtaposition of the comedy (which itself is only partially successful) with the truly horrifying story of how the clones had been treated, and also with the unearned redemption for Cassandra. The production values are often naff as well. About the only positive is Billie, who'd apparently asked RTD for the opportunity to try some comedy, which she does a great job of delivering.
Bad Who is usually just "meh" or occasionally baffling, but when I rewatched this a couple of years ago (for the first time in years) the episode actually put me in a foul mood! It struck me then that one change that would've helped would have been if this had instead featured (say) Cassandra's sister. There could then have been some comedy as Rose assumed the sister was Cassandra, and the sister being genuinely offended that anyone might confuse the two of them, with the siblings each despising the other without realising how similar they truly were. A sister would then have earned that redemption at the end, because ultimately she'd prove herself a better person than Cassandra by having helped the Doctor (and also by not having previously been seen by us as someone who'd cheerfully kill people for financial gain). Instead we got something that doesn't work on its own terms and which also contradicts the seemingly meaningful "no second chances" declaration in the Christmas special.
I've read that Series 2 effectively had a smaller budget than that for Series 1, because it was necessary to absorb the extra costs incurred by the difficult production process for that first season. If so, that would explain why this season often felt quite cheap-looking to me, and might explain the fairly uninspiring look of this particular episode. But then why not have the next episode as the opener? I'm not even a real fan of it, but it had a stronger story, it sets up certain things for the season as a whole, and it looks better! Perhaps it couldn't be got ready in time, or perhaps RTD didn't realise he was starting this new era with a misfiring clunker.
My thoughts, and many other people thoughts as far as I am aware, is it is a decent episode but a poor series opener. David didn’t get much to do in his first story, and then his first full outing doesn’t give him a full story as himself and also not much time to act with real Rose. It would have been better suited as a mid-series episode.
I didn't like this episode mostly becuase the doctor was demanding Cassandra to commit suicide, I was like, yeah good luck with that doctor, I rolled my eyes at him for this.
It wasn't a good episode to start with him, but he became my favorite doctor later.
You Are Not Alone . . . Spoiler. . .
(I subscribed!)
There isn't anything wrong with the editing btw
Thank you for that! It wasn't quite up to my standards, but he and I are no longer working together (amicable split) so the edits are more consistent starting with the next episode.
@@BritanyBinges I read the description before watching the video so I was focusing on the editing. There wasn’t anything bad about it IMO
also not a favourite episode here, but enjoying your reaction videos 😄
So glad you're enjoying them!!
I really like Cassandra as a character. She absolutely did need this. Everything she ever did, all the times she changed male to female to genderless to bi gender, all her many surgeries, the racism and xenophobia, it all comes from her extreme body dysmorphia and self hatred. She is an example of what can happen to a good person when they do not get the help that they really need. As a trans person I can relate to that.
The ending shows very well that she used to be kind, gentle, caring but her own hatred of her self turned her into a monster.
The entire story of this episode with the patients existed to be a reflection of her. People born in pain, hideous and diseased but wanting to be loved, to love themselves, causing pain to others because of their own pain...Just like her. That is something that happens to many trans people due to the unfounded social stigma that we have and due to this I can say that I love this episode for that plot point over all.
It may not mean a lot to people that have never experienced it but to us it means a lot.
Not a great episode 😕 but has somw good bits
This is by far the weakest series opener. _By far_ as you found out since you're way ahead on patreon apparently. Series 2 is probably 4th if I were to rank the Russell Davies era (seasons 1-4) as well.
Yeah, between the series' openers I've seen so far (1-5), it's definitely the weakest one. I know I'm definitely in the minority, but I honestly think series 3 is last for me in the RTD era.
Not that you asked, but I think my ranking would be...
1. 2009 Specials
2. Series 4
3. Series 1
4. Series 2
5. Series 3
@Britany Binges for me, 3 is saved by the latter half. Blink and onwards are all great episodes that I greatly prefer to most of season 2.
this is such a bad episode to start off on, really a miss for the show. Season 2 has mostly good stuff, but some of it is just yikes!
Season 2 ain't great, that's as much as I'll say...
I think it had some really good highs (two of my favorite episodes are in this series), but it also has some lows as well. But, I feel like that's the pattern for most series' so far.