Doctor Who - The Waters of Mars

Doctor Who made a triumphant return to our screens in superb special 'The Waters of Mars' last night, a poignant and eerie episode that saw the Doctor face more of his inner demons rather than scary aliens.

The 'Waters of Mars' began with The Doctor landing on Mars in 2059 to find the Bowie Base One Crew in a situation only he could foresee. In a series of flashes (unnecessary after the fourth or fifth one) it was revealed that every crew member died that day, leaving the Doctor in a terrifying predicament as to whether to walk away from the doomed crew or stay and help.

David Tennant captured The Doctor perfectly, the guilt and anguish of such a decision evident as he battled with his conscience and the laws of time. But after deciding that he would leave, the crew's death an event fixed in time, Doctor Who moved into what it does best.

The episode's main battle combined two elements of tried and tested Doctor Who magic; a crew and base under attack and an unknown threat, one only The Doctor could defeat. 'The Waters of Mars' cleverly used water as the simple yet deadly enemy, turning ordinary crew members into scaly wet messes as the water started to seep into the crevices.

David Tennant could single-handily carry an episode alone but he was supported by an excellent cast, especially Lindsay Duncan as the strong-willed Captain Adelaide Brooke. She was in no-way The Doctor's companion or follower, a feisty Captain determined to lead and eventually save her crew but at the same time intrigued, as most are, by The Doctor's presence.

Her tough persona comically bounced off Tennant's witty Doctor in the opening sequences. Duncan's further exchanges with Tennant were just as memorable; the desperation as she begged for the Doctor to do something after he informed her of her and the crew's demise was powerful yet heartbreaking.

As crew members started to fall to their watery foe The Doctor battled with his own predicament. Whilst walking away from the doomed base The Doctor listened to the cries of the stranded crew as one by one they perished, a sound so agonising that we saw The Doctor stroll back to save the day.

But in doing so we saw a different Doctor emerge, one almost bordering on egotistical as he became convinced that the laws of time were his in his bid to save what was left of the crew and re-right time. David Tennant's flamboyant brilliance helped portray The Doctor's sudden change in attitude as he defeated the water and managed to save Captain Brooke and two of her crew.

But The Doctor's heroics would come at a cost. Back on Earth the cocky Doctor revealed in his achievement but his mis-guided joy was soon cut-short by the suicide of Captain Brooke. We had watched Duncan portray Adelaide for only around 50 minutes by this point but you wanted The Doctor to succeed in saving her, even if it had sent the Time Lord slightly nutty in the process.

Duncan portrayed Adelaide's demise heartbreakingly perfectly, the horror and almost pity for The Doctor's power and position that soon turned to acceptance of what she had to do as she pulled the gun out and shut the door behind her.

This episode needed no over-sized enemy or epic battled because it was The Doctor himself who was the most chilling element in this episode. His collapse under his own wayward desire to control time and then sudden realisation and guilt as he heard Brooke's suicide shot took the audience and David Tennant on an emotional roller coaster as we saw sides of The Doctor that inevitably were there but had always been well hidden.

We may be missing out on a full series this year but with one-off specials of this quality Doctor Who fans can hardly complain. The writers even managed to throw in a mention of Ice Warriors and a chilling dalek-encounter for a young Brooke to please the avid Doctor Who fan base.

The Doctor's superb maniac turn may yet be a snippet of things to come as The Master is soon to make a return in the next special episode. If last night's episode is anything to go by the next will be more eagerly anticipated than its predecessor, the only downside being that with each episode we are moving closer to David Tennant's immanent departure.

Picture from Sci Fi Pulse