#7 (1.8): Father's Day.

Peter Alan Tyler (Shaun Dingwall):
An ordinary man who should not be alive.

1 episode. Approx. 43 minutes. Written by: Paul Cornell. Directed by: Joe Ahearne. Produced by: Phil Collinson.


THE PLOT

Pete Tyler (Shaun Dingwall), Rose's father, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 1987. Rose begs the Doctor to take her to 1987, so that she can be with him when he dies. "He can't die alone," she pleads. Despite his misgivings, the Doctor agrees - only to watch in horror as Rose sprints out into the street and pushes her father out of the path of the oncoming car.

"There's a man alive who wasn't before... That's the most impotant thing in the world!" The Doctor recognizes the significance of what Rose has done. When he storms back to the TARDIS in anger, unlocks the door, and discovers that the inside has become na empty box - At that point, his worst fears are confirmed. Rose's actions have damaged time. Now the Reapers are coming to clean the wound... by destroying all life on Earth!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Somewhat ironically for a story in which he spends much of the running time furious with his companion, this is overall the gentlest characterization the prickly 9th Doctor has yet received. For all his anger at Rose, he still instinctively wants to protect her. He may snap at her, but he has no intention of allowing Pete to die again, even though he realizes that his death would end the Reapers' rampage. He also shows genuine compassion for the young couple whose church wedding becomes the site of the final standoff. When the bride asks if he can save them, he surveys this very ordinary young couple, asks a few personal questions, then gives them a warm smile as he assures them that he will do everything he can to get them out alive.

Rose: Has built her father up in her mind to a degree that insures that the real man will disappoint. "I thought he'd be taller," she says upon seeing him in person for the first time. No doubt the Imaginary Pete in her mind towered above all others. Why not? In the stories told by her mother, Pete is nearly perfect, clever and creative and "the most wonderful man in the world." The real Pete is not a bad man by any means, but he is ordinary: His so-called inventions are largely junk destined to go nowhere, and he has no problem with flirting with other women (and possibly more than just flirting) despite his marriage. When Rose describes him as the perfect father, Pete listens, then sadly admits, "That's just not me." 


THOUGHTS

"I'll get it right, love. One day soon, I promise you, I'll get it right."
-Peter Alan Tyler, on the last day of his life

Father's Day is very well-placed in the season. The Long Game ends with a would-be companion booted from the TARDIS for misusing time travel for his own gain. That is fresh in the viewer's mind as Rose does the same thing for different reasons, and therefore there's at least a doubt as to whether the Doctor does truly mean to leave her at this point. It's not a serious doubt - we'll always forgive those we love a lot more than those we barely tolerate - but even the slight doubt wouldn't exist if this had been placed any earlier in the season.

The episode highlights one of the largest divisions between the old series and the new: Emotion. Classic Who was rarely driven by emotion. The stories were external threats, almost invariably faced down by the regulars with courage and resourcefulness. Any emotional material had to squeeze itself around the plot.

This story is driven by emotion. There is no external threat, not until Rose's impulsive actions bring a threat into being. Even then, when the Reapers surround the church leaving the survivors under siege, they are not the story's focus: Rose and her father are. Just as Rose brings the Reapers down by saving her father, the Reapers are driven away by her father saving her and everyone else. Their two acts - one instinctive, the other thought out - bookend the threat, with both deeds based on their relationship as father and daughter.

Paul Cornell's script is manipulative, brazenly so. It's a good script, though: tightly structured, with no real fat at any point, and populated by characters who feel authentic. Pete is as flawed as his marriage to Jackie, which makes him feel real, and makes their marriage feel real. All of this makes the viewer's connection to him and to them so much stronger than might have been. The writer's heavy hand may be very evident, particularly near the end, but that doesn't stop it from packing a wallop.


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Story: The Long Game
Next Story: The Empty Child 


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