"Doctor Who" The Stolen Earth (2008)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writer:

Russell T. Davies (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

28 June 2008 (Season 4, Episode 12)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The return of an old enemy leaves Earth along with 26 other planets stolen from their places. As the Doctor and Donna look for the whereabouts of Earth, former companions of the Doctor assemble a resistance against the new Dalek Empire. |

Plot Keywords:

Dalek | Dyson's Sphere | Evil Genius | Crossover | Alien

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

5:00 AM

SYFY

The Stolen Earth

#4.12

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Freema Agyeman	...	Martha Jones
John Barrowman	...	Captain Jack Harkness
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith
Penelope Wilton	...	Harriet Jones
Gareth David-Lloyd	...	Ianto Jones
Eve Myles	...	Gwen Cooper
Tommy Knight	...	Luke Smith (as Thomas Knight)
Bernard Cribbins	...	Wilfred Mott
Jacqueline King	...	Sylvia Noble
Adjoa Andoh	...	Francine Jones
Julian Bleach	...	Davros
Michael Brandon	...	General Sanchez

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Company:

BBC Wales

Trivia:

To portray Davros, Russell T. Davies cast Julian Bleach after his performance as the Ghostmaker in the "Torchwood" (2006) episode "Torchwood: From Out of the Rain (#2.10)" (2008).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In "The Stolen Earth", a newscaster with an American accent refers to the UN issuing an "edict", which she pronounces with a short E. Americans pronounce edict with a long E.

Quotes:

Dalek: Halt! You will come with me!
Wilfred Mott: [holds up his paintgun] Will I heck!
[Wilfred shoots the Dalek's eyestalk with paint, the paint burns off]
Dalek: My vision is *not* impaired.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "The Paul O'Grady Show" (2004)

Edge of the seat first parter from messrs Davies and Harper

"The Stolen Earth" is an important milestone in "Doctor Who" mythology. Here we have the largest gathering of "Who" characters since "The Five Doctors"....companions old and new are faced with not just the dreaded Daleks but also their creator.

It's been a long wait for Davros but this has made his appearance all the better. As Davies has commented, he wanted the character to remain the same - there's no re-imagining like the "new" Cybermen here.

This is an ambitious tale and it's in safe hands with Graeme Harper. The tale builds to a very memorable cliffhanger. It's an agonising wait for next week's episode and there's no teaser present to put viewers out of their misery.

10 out of 10. Great continuity, beautiful effects and a smörgåsbord of "Who" characters - what more could anybody ask for?