DW Rewatch - 4x02, The Fires of Pompeii

[caz963]

As usual, the TARDIS hasn’t quite ended up where it should have done. This is yet another of those always-unanswered questions in Who – how come the TARDIS will sometimes end up in the right place at the right time, but other times, it’s way off? Not that I’m complaining – I’m not that much of a stickler – it’s just something I ponder from time to time.

So here we are -





Ancient Rome!

One of the perks of being the Doctor (!) must be to see the reactions of his companions the first time they arrive somewhere like this.



You can tell he’s getting as much of a kick out of Donna’s reaction as he is from actually being there himself.



Finally!



Are we in Epcot?

I think this is a wonderful episode. Apart from the (as usual) fabulous interaction between Donna and the Doctor, he has to face an incredible moral dilemma. I’ve said elsewhere in these recaps that the show is usually about the decisions that the Doctor has to make on his travels; some of them are more difficult than others and this one definitely falls into that category.

There were moans, I think, at the time about the language used by the ‘Romans’ in the episode, in that it was too colloquial or something like that.



Well, okay, so having Phil Cornwell as a classical version of Del Boy might have been pushing it, but the bit about Donna speaking Welsh was funny.



Volcano day

Although James Moran is credited as the writer for this episode, it appears that Rusty did in fact write a fair amount of it, because Moran's script wasn't ready in time. In The Writer's Tale RTD reprints (with Moran's permission) both his and Moran's version of the opening scene, together with Moran's reaction to the rewrite. It must be so hard, as a writer to have that happen, but Moran is very complimentary - and Rusty's version is about ten times better. The dialogue is snappier and the Doctor and Donna are completely them from the outset. As EP and head writer, it's not uncommon for RTD to have 'polished' scripts; it's just interesting to find out that some of them received more than a mere surface veneer. Also - the water pistol was completely his idea!



DONNA
You're kidding. Don't tell me the TARDIS is gone.

THE DOCTOR
Okay.

DONNA
Where is it then?



THE DOCTOR
You told me not to tell you.

DONNA
Don't get clever in Latin.

Such an old joke, but they work it wonderfully



The interaction between the members of the Caecilius family may have been a bit ‘modern’, but hey, this is Doctor Who, not I, Claudius.





This bit - Positions! always reminds me of Glynis Johns in Mary Poppins!!



Something lurks below…



Donna’s looking for a bell to ring. I’m sure there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere…



You want a what?

THE DOCTOR
Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens happens. There is no stopping it.

DONNA
Says who?

THE DOCTOR
Says me.

DONNA
What, and you're in charge?



TARDIS, Time Lord... yeah.



Donna, human... no! I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself.

Love the way they mirror each others’ actions there



Typical bloke. Flounces off in the middle of a domestic. Is it any wonder people think they’re married?



Meanwhile, at the temple, the members of the Gene Simmons fan club are genning up on the blue box and its inhabitants



Mr and Mrs Spartacus



Brother and sister? Eeew… (worse than being married!)



The marble inspector



Caveat emptor



Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely. The way Peter Capaldi says that (complete with Welsh accent) always cracks me up!



The Doctor is all for buggering off as fast as possible - but Donna thinks he should prescribe a holiday for everyone



Uh-oh. The eye-rub. He’s getting annoyed



But it’s still his fault. (Oh, Donna…)



Time for some pretty. Just ‘cause.



But here’s the local soothsayer. Come to… er… say some sooths.





We’ll be off then



Ooh – shiny!



This is a really great scene that flips from being, well, flippant to spooky at the same speed as one of Ten's mood changes.



She’s from Barcelona :-P



They’re laughing at us. Those two, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us.



And now it’s a case of one-up-soothsaying- er... manship

EVELINA
Doctor. That's your name.

THE DOCTOR
How did you know that?



Man from… Gallifrey





And you, daughter of London… there is something on your back



Even the word "Doctor" is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. A lord... of time...





Poor Evelina. She should get some ointment for that.



What’s up with the central heating? (Also - pretty)



Our hero is all for heading over to Lucius’ to find out what’s going on.



And he’s not above a bit of bribery





A bit of girl-talk. TK Maximus. Heh.



Donna tries to tell Evelina about Vesuvius, but the sisters get to hear all of it as well. They’re not pleased.



The Doctor makes a discovery



He just has to work out what exactly he's discovered





Busted

THE DOCTOR
What have you got?

LUCIUS
Enlighten me.

THE DOCTOR
What? The soothsayer doesn't know?

LUCIUS
The seed may float on the breeze in any direction.



THE DOCTOR
Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that. But... it's an energy converter.

LUCIUS
An energy converter of what?



THE DOCTOR
I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing, keeps me on my toes.
It must be awful, being a prophet. Waking up every morning, "Is it raining? Yes, it is. I said so." Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius? Hmm?



Yeah. The armless gag. We all knew it was coming :-)



Suspicious rumblings underground





Get out!



Nobody listens to him. Again.





Talk to me!



While the Doctor is distracted…



Quintus to the rescue!



Just as well they hung around…



Where’s Donna?



As you’d expect, she’s giving her captors what for - This prattling will cease



That’ll be the day

To my mind, this little exchange is quintessential Ten and Donna. They’ve been together for what, a day or two at this point? – and they’re already comfortable enough with each other to joke around in a situation like this.



You alright, love?



Yeah, yeah... what time d'you call this?



*shrug* Bloody traffic



The high priestess





The whys and wherefores – but despite the newfound gift of prophecy, the sisters still can’t see tomorrow’s eruption.



I’m armed! Look at Donna’s face :-)



He’s armed… but not dangerous (well, not with the water pistol, anyway)





Best line of the episode. You fought her off with a water pistol. I bloody love you.



A choice. Someone must make a choice. The most terrible choice.



Donna still wants to know why they can’t evacuate Pompeii

THE DOCTOR
Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed.

DONNA
How do you know which is which?



THE DOCTOR
Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was... what could be, what must not. That's the burden of the Time Lord, Donna. I'm the only one left.

*wibble*



Even after that, she still can’t let it go.



Rocky IV. Heh.





He can’t resist a bad joke, can he?



Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know.



THE DOCTOR
There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world.

DONNA
But you can change it back.

THE DOCTOR
Well, I can avert the system, so the volcano will blow them up, yes, but... that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world.

And there we have it. The terrible choice. This scene is the highlight of the episode, the emotional centre. It really brings home to Donna – and to us – that nothing is ever black and white and that everything is a tradeoff. The bigger picture.



Oh my God.



If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen.

His face as the realisation hits kills me

This bit gets me every time. After all the arguing, Donna steps up to the plate wonderfully. She doesn’t moan, she doesn’t give him any more grief. She thinks they’re about to die, but she knows what’s at stake and she knows what they have to do.



But even more importantly – she’s not going to let the Doctor shoulder the burden on his own.











(The FX shots here of the smoke and ash rolling through the skies are pretty damn awesome.)

Our heroes have escaped the blast -



- but they’re not out of the woods yet.

You’d think that having just survived the equivalent of a nuclear explosion, Donna would want to get the hell out of there



But after all that, she wants to help. She’s panicked, bewildered, shocked… but she’s not thinking about herself.



Back at the villa

This scene makes the Doctor look like an utter bastard. I think it’s meant to to an extent – to remind us that he’s not human, and of course to draw such a stark contrast with Donna’s compassion, empathy and humanity. But I think there’s a bit more to it. He’s still obeying the rules, even though he hates them; he’s seen so much death, he’s caused so many deaths – not just today, but throughout his life – that he just wants to get away and not see any more of them. There’s another twenty thousand people on his conscience as it is, and he just wants to get the hell out.



I can’t think that there was anyone in doubt of Catherine Tate’s abilities as a “serious” actress after this. I remember being totally stunned. She’s amazing.



Your own planet. It burned



If I could go back and save them then I would, but I can't. I can never go back! I can't! I just... can't



You’ll note that I’ve been admirably restrained with my fangirly comments due to the weightiness of the subject matter. But seriously… guh.



Come with me.







Thank you



This is his “I’m about to admit I was wrong” face



You were right. Sometimes I need someone.



Welcome aboard.








Screencaps from Sonic Biro, The Medusa Cascade and Demon-cry.net.

Comments

[sue-denimme.livejournal.com]

This episode is one of my favorites in New Who. The dialogue is so lighthearted and quick for much of it, then it goes to serious moral dilemma territory in nothing flat. (Which no doubt some people hate, but I don't).

But even more importantly – she’s not going to let the Doctor shoulder the burden on his own.

That in a nutshell is what makes Donna stand apart as a companion. She wasn't in awe of him, but saw herself as his equal and partner. And instead of standing unhappily back and watching him make that choice, which is what any other companion would have done, she *accepted* everything it meant to be his equal and partner -- facing the challenges and dilemmas of time travel along with the danger and adventure, and sharing them with him.

That's why I love writing them more than any other pair.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

I'm with you completely. The writing - whoever did it! - is so good that I don't find it jarring or difficult to accept when the tone changes so abruptly from the teasing and banter to the serious moral territory. There are some people who just love to find fault :(

I was attracted to writing Ten and Donna through the banter first of all (they remind me of Josh and Donna in The West Wing in that respect, which is my "other" fandom) but like you, the fact that she's his equal - his counterweight - is what really clinches the deal. She knows what she's signed up for and still wants to travel with him forever, *sniffle*

[abbyromana.livejournal.com]

This has got to be the best picspam for an episode you've done yet!

I have to say I love your analysis of the episode. Obviously, there's more that can be said, but you really do a wonderful job covering the important aspects. Also, you are right about all the stuff you said about the Doctor. I don't know how familiar you are with old DW, but the Doctor has made many hard choices, had to watch many people die (some he ever cared about), and weighed decisions in a way that definitely was more alien than human. So you are sooo BANG on!

And I really liked you added details about Donna and accents of the actors. I have to say not being from the UK, I often can't tell which accent is which, so thank you for that input and the other UK references. ;)

Thank you so much for this picspam! It so made my day. :D

[caz963.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome - thank you for dropping by!

I grew up watching DW - the first doctor I remember is Patrick Troughton, but until Ten came along, Jon Pertwee was 'my' Doctor. I wrote a little bit about that here (http://caz963.livejournal.com/315453.html#cutid1). Having said that though, I'm by no means an expert and many of the stories and episodes are those I remember from when I was (much!) younger, not having seen them since, But I do remember that there were often difficult choices, and that there were many characters who died in order to help or save the Doctor.

I'm glad all the little details help. Usually, i'm just rambling, but it's nice to know that someone at least finds that useful! I'm working on the next one now :-)

[(Anonymous)]

Donna is fabulous in this. I think this was only my second time of seeing it and i failed to appreciate her properly, enjoying it as a adventure story. She is not only very funny but wow on the emotional stuff. She is very strong. 'Your own planet it burned.' Wow

The first time round i applauded the water pistol line. I think he's pretty dangerous with it.

Yeah Donna. And she is even more amazing with the Ood..

[ms-lilith.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that was me

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Donna is just awesome, full-stop. I'm about half way through the next picspam, so hopefully it'll be up later.

[hibernate.livejournal.com]

This picspam makes me ridiculously happy. This is my favourite Donna & Ten episode (and on the short-list for favourite New Who ep) and it's great reading your thoughts about it. I love the humour and the snappy dialogue, and then this:

But even more importantly – she’s not going to let the Doctor shoulder the burden on his own.

YES. They are true partners in crime, aren't they? ♥

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Donna's much more his equal than either Rose or Martha were, I think. I sometimes wonder if it's my own bias - I'm closer in age to Donna and find it easier to identify with her - but then I watch again and realise that no, she was actually written that way.
And despite the 900-odd-year age gap, and his "alien-ness", she seems to understand him instictually. I don't think the Doctor has ever had a companion like her before, and you can see that he absolutely loves the way she challenges him and the way she shares the squee over new places and new adventures.

The off-screen chemistry between David and Catherine spills onto the screen by the bucket-load; I can't help but think that if things between Ten and Donna had ever had the chance to go from platonic to romantic, they'd have short-circuited my TV!

[ms-lilith.livejournal.com]

I wouldnt have liked to see them go romantic. Although I think at this stage Id be rolling my eyes and going 'Oh come on, how many great love affairs can one man have in four years' more than whether it would have been good or not.

I loved them on the radio, all 'my mate has dropped round for a chat, ooh are we on the radio?' more radio should be like that. People enjoying each other's company.

[saiyako.livejournal.com]

It really brings home to Donna – and to us – that nothing is ever black and white and that everything is a tradeoff. The bigger picture.

Thank you for this bit - it makes it so much clearer for me why she spends so much of the episode not getting it, cos I came to the episode with that understanding even the first time and it had honestly never occurred to me that she wouldn't have it...

But then I thought about why I understand it, and a large part of it is being a Trekker and general SF fan from way back so I sort of have that idea burned into me already, that you (usually) can't save everyone and you have to choose. And while we know that Rose and Mickey have at least some SF background and have been exposed to this sort of trope too, and Martha seems like she might have as well - well, what are we told Donna's into? Reality TV and celebrity gossip and all the shallow sides of the media and that seems to be it. I'm not calling her shallow herself, I'm just thinking that maybe she's not primed for this. So the deep end is deeper for her than it otherwise might be.

Feel free to pick that apart, obviously, I'm just speculating here.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

No picking from me on this one. I think it's easy, when we've grown up with this sort of stuff, to forget that there are people who haven't. I know people who don't/won't watch anything that smacks of sci-fi, because it's just not their thing. I loathe soaps and reality shows. Each to his/her own, I suppose.

We know that RTD intended to create a world with which viewers are familiar - all the pop-culture references imply that, anyway, so I suppose it's safe to assume that there are people who don't watch/aren't familiar with sci-fi in the Whoniverse and that Donna's one of them.

I think that Donna knew she wasn't ready for this at the end of TRB - and even though she's spent the intervening time regretting her decision not to go with the Doctor and looking for him, just wanting it can never prepare anyone for the reality of it. I wonder if some of it is also due to the fact that Donnna's older and more settled in her ways than either Rose or Martha. She's certainly open to possibilities, but has had longer to, I don't know how to put it - formulate her personal "code" of ethics? So it's maybe harder for her to change her mindset. But the thing is, that once she does change it, that's it - she gets it. I said this over at the rewatch comm, but I don't think it helped that Ten didn't explain things very well. The argument "because I say so" isn't going to work well on someone like Donna - and although, dramatically, I can see why it was written that way (because we had to see Donna make that leap) it did make him look a bit unsympathetic and dictatorial.

[saiyako.livejournal.com]

I think it's easy, when we've grown up with this sort of stuff, to forget that there are people who haven't.

Yes - and it's a quite startling thing when you're talking to someone and suddenly realise they actually have never seen a Dalek before.

it's safe to assume that there are people who don't watch/aren't familiar with sci-fi in the Whoniverse and that Donna's one of them.

Definitely a safe assumption, yeah, just not one that had occurred to me till now.

just wanting it can never prepare anyone for the reality of it.

And less so when you're not used to thinking about these things. I mean, now that I'm thinking about it, Donna probably had a completely different idea of what aliens were, before she met any, than Martha and Rose did, and as far as temporal dynamics go, she really is starting completely from scratch. We have all these arguments on the comm about how time works and she's never even needed to think about it before!

I wonder if some of it is also due to the fact that Donnna's older and more settled in her ways than either Rose or Martha.

Less impressionable, yeah, she definitely is.

I said this over at the rewatch comm, but I don't think it helped that Ten didn't explain things very well. The argument "because I say so" isn't going to work well on someone like Donna

And that's true, but her being so confrontational about it didn't help as far as motivating him to explain it either. It's just a whole big clusterfrell, isn't it?

it did make him look a bit unsympathetic and dictatorial.

I suppose. Maybe this is another of those "everyone else puts themselves in the companion's place and I don't" things. Cos while I can see how you see that, I sort of... I dunno, the words aren't quite coming. But I generally can see where he's coming from better than where the companion is, whether it's Donna or Rose or Rory.

[caz963.livejournal.com]

Oh, DW is normally all about the Doctor for me, too. I grew up watching it (I remember Two but Three was MY Doctor until Ten came along) and while I adored Jo and love Sarah-Jane, Donna's the first companion to come along that I've identified with so strongly and who I've "liked as much" as the Doctor. A lot of that is, I think, due to the fact that I'm closer to her in age than to either of the others, I come from a similar part of London, I share some of her insecurities (although thank God, I get on with my mum much better!) and, as I said over at the rewatch comm, I'm also someone for whom teasing and snarking is a way of showing affection. I was also a fan of CT's before she appeared in the show, which I'm sure is also a factor.

[saiyako.livejournal.com]

I was also a fan of CT's before she appeared in the show, which I'm sure is also a factor.

Yes, I imagine it would be - I saw her first as Donna, I'd never even heard of her till then. Maybe if I'd seen her sketch show first, I'd have liked Donna more.

Although she's bothering me less this time through, maybe because I'm poking at her and trying to work her out, and therefore she's making more sense - well, mostly.