Doctor Who (The New Doctor Who): "The Fires of Pompeii"

For the 42 Challenge
(TV Series)
Season 4, Episode #402
Written by: James Moran
Directed by: Colin Teague
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble)

The Doctor and Donna travel back to the year 79 A.D., where they discover psychic powers and beasts of stone running riot in the streets of old Pompeii. The time-travelers face their greatest challenge yet: Can established history be safely changed, or must the Doctor let everyone die? [BBC]

This was the first of the New Doctor Who shows I've watched this season. No, wait a minute. I did watch the one with Kylie Minogue. But I don't think I watched any episodes from season three. After the first two seasons of the New Doctor, I got so turned off by the Rose Tyler character and all her baggage that I finally just couldn't take it anymore. And Christopher what's-his-name wasn't really my idea of a good Doctor anyway – much too frenetic, he was always jumping all over the place.

But it was the companion that really drove me away. It seemed every episode was devoted to Rose and her bleedin' family and friends. Like East Enders in Outer Space. Sorry, but I think Doctor Who should revolve around the Doctor, not his companions. The companions are just supposed to stand around and say, "What do we do now, Doctor?" They're not supposed to flirt with the Doctor or upstage him or have their own story lines. And he's most definitely not supposed to fall in love with them.

Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) is a much more satisfactory companion, even if she does rake the Doctor over the coals a little too often. I do have a bit of trouble understanding what she's saying – the accent is a little thick. But, so far, she's not too off-putting. A little chunky though, isn't she?

Now David Tennant, however, is a much more likely Doctor – definitely in the same vein as Tom Baker (my fave Doctor) and Sylvester McCoy (another one I liked). Funny and a little bizarre. And he's cute, too. Which is not a requirement, but always a nice plus.