The Family of Blood (2909/309)

[Matt G]

1. Martha's best ep yet.

2. "I don't think England is ready for this". Cue Blitz in 1913.

3. Interesting how Joan exposed the holes in John Smith's backstory to himself.

4. The life times for both John Smith and the kid were cool.

5. "If the Doctor hadn't chosen this place...would anyone have died?" Ouch!

6. We know the Doctor can be ruthless and he'd have argued that the Family using the people of England 1913 in the way they did was foul play.

The most multilayed ep of New School Who ever! Great work!

[The Signal]

translation
below par

Personally, I liked Random Shoes in Torchwood, though I didn't like L&M. On the plus side, Steven Moffat is behind this one, so it stands a good chance at being a good episode IMO

[Hulabaloo]

Fantastic episode. Really and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[ShadowMaat]

Wow, talk about an emotionally-charged ep! Brilliant performances all around and a really bittersweet conclusion (though we knew going in that it could only end in tears).

If I had any complaint at all it'd be that in nine short eps (eight if you start last week) Martha has become as obnoxiously clingy and mawkishly possessive as Rose was by the end of her run.

I'm sorry, but this whole obsessive love thing drives me absolutely bonkers. I loathe it. I despise it. I abhor it. It's a repugnant and virulent element in an otherwise great story. I don't know why RDM feels compelled to have the Doctor's Companions fall madly in love with him and I don't know why that love has to manifest in such ostentatious and invasive ways, but I wish he would by-gods give it the hell up and stick to the good storytelling. Or at the very least tone it the hell down and KEEP it toned down. Jeez. Martha may not be as catty about it as Rose was, but she's coming awfully close.

Anyway, it was a great, heartbreaking conclusion. John's indecisiveness and his inner battle... in a way I think that there's a part of the Doctor who would have loved to turn his back on the universe and hide in the little life he'd invented for himself, surrounded by the comfortable lie of friends, work, and a family of his own. Poor John. Poor Doctor.

And can I say again how completely horrifying I found Harry Lloyd? *shudders* The mannerisms and that godawful smile, like someone pulling wires at the corners of his mouth.

[sueKay]

Fantastic episode...loved it!

[Alipeeps]

That was so poignant. The bit where Joan asked him if anyone would have died if he hadn't come, and his face changed completely; that was just the saddest thing.

And brilliantly creepy. The voiceover from the Son of the Family, describing their various imprisonments...

That was seriously dark, wasn't it? And I loved it! I think those little glimpses of the darker, vengeful side of the doctor are wonderful (like in The Christmas Bride), particularly when contrasted with the generally lighter overall feel of the show. The Dr is so deliberately charming and cheeky and it's easy to forget just what he is: that he has lived for so long and seen so much and had to make terrible choices.

The guy saying TARDIS in a farmer's accent was brilliant and the guy playing the evil kid I thought was brilliantly menacing, possibly the most chilling bad guy I've seen on Who with the possible exception of the Empty Child.

Edit: When the Doctor entered te Familly's space ship and started pressing buttons I knew he was just pretending to be John. Next week's episode looks really odd.

Baines was one of the creepiest damn villains ever - amazing acting job there.. and when you see the guy being himself on Confidential, he's so different that it doesn't seem possible that he could be this freaky, malevolent creature. He really made the viewer believe that he was an evil alien lifeform living inside a human being.

Next weeks looks like it will just be a 'filler-episode' though. Anyone else agree?

Apparently it's this seasons "Doctor-Lite" episode similar to Love and Monsters Random Shoes in Torchwood.

Damn, that hadn't occured to me until just now but I remember hearing that there would be another "L&M" type ep this season. Why do they need to do that? I know last season it was to give them more time on filming The Satan pit 2-parter etc but, not being funny here and all credit to everyone involved for working long and hard on the show, why is it they have to have a "main character"-lite ep in a series of 13 when US shows - even those with one central character like House - routinely film 20 episodes a season?

I liked L&M as an interesting departure from the show's norms but, honestly, I watch Dr Who for the Doctor and without him the ep didn't really hold my interest. It's not one I've *ever* rewatched since initial viewing.

*sigh*

So I guess in next week's ep all we'll see of the Dr will be the type of "recorded message" type stuff we saw in the trailer?

[Shipperahoy]

That was just completely brilliant! While I love the funny almost bouncy Doctor, David Tennant does powerful and angry so very well. It really drove home all that the Doctor has been through in his lifetimes and how lonely he truly is, and most likely always will be. The storyline also makes me wonder if there will come a point where the Doctor will decide that he's had enough and choose to become human and live out the rest of his life in peace. It's an interesting thought.

I agree with Shadow about Martha though. The infatuation stuff is getting old. The thing that bugs me the most though is that at least with Rose there was a true sense of friendship and comraderie between the two of them despite Rose's posessiveness and infatuation while with Martha and the Doctor it really seems like half the time he doesn't even particularly care for her.

[Madeleine]

I think the redeeminig features of Martha's infatuation are that the Doctor *doesn't* reciprocate, and that Martha is self-aware. She's not kidding herself, and I get the impression that she wouldn't normally be the sort to moon over a bloke who was oblivious to her - too much self-respect. On the other hand, he's not just a bloke, he's fire and ice and wonderfull and all that

I hope she gets over it, but I don't mind the way it's being played half as much as I minded the Rose/Doctor stuff.

[Willow'sCat]

It did feel a bit odd when The Doctor was carrying out their imprisonments. Knocking someone into a collapsing galaxy, trapping a young person in every mirror in Britain, weighing someone down with chains then pushing them into a pit or something and freezing someone else to make them a scarecrow.

Well for me that goes back to The Five Doctors (it was that ep right?) the whole immortality thing, TimeLords are not big on that, so I give The Doctor the right to carry out that kind of "punishment" it all fits nicely in with canon.

Anyways... brilliant ep, in so many many ways. I am still trying to form a coherent response!

[Commander Ivanova]

I seem to be in agreement with the majority here that it was one of the better eps so far.
Minor query: If the Family only had 3 months to live unless they consumed the essence of a Time Lord, why did the Doc feel the need to condemn them to everlasting imprisonments? Revenge, spite, badness, to make himself feel better?
Liked the idea of the girl in the mirror, something of the Eastern European fairytale about that one.
Martha's semi-unrequited crush is getting a bit annoying, they need to give that a rest. Otherwise, very happy here.

[Madeleine]

I seem to be in agreement with the majority here that it was one of the better eps so far.
Minor query: If the Family only had 3 months to live unless they consumed the essence of a Time Lord, why did the Doc feel the need to condemn them to everlasting imprisonments? Revenge, spite, badness, to make himself feel better?

I think it was because he couldn't get away from them. At the start of the story he was in his position of strength - in his TARDIS - and yet they were gaining on him and only a desperate measure would hide him. By the end he was in a weaker position by far: The Family were holding an English village hostage, not to mention standing guard on his TARDIS and keeping him from it.

He let them take the lives because they were going to get them anyway, but this way it was done on his terms, allowing him to remedy the situation - at least, for humankind.

[Willow'sCat]

I seem to be in agreement with the majority here that it was one of the better eps so far.
Minor query: If the Family only had 3 months to live unless they consumed the essence of a Time Lord, why did the Doc feel the need to condemn them to everlasting imprisonments? Revenge, spite, badness, to make himself feel better?
Liked the idea of the girl in the mirror, something of the Eastern European fairytale about that one.

Well as I said in my post, TimeLords do not like immortality, that is basically what The Family was after, didn't the women say if John gave them the watch that The Family would be forever *or something* and 'cause destruction on planet after planet?

Well in The Five Doctors (I am sure it was that ep) in the end the TimeLord there who was seeking immortality was indeed given it, via being entrapped in the tomb (thingy, yeah I am all with the tech talk ) to me this is an continuation of what a TimeLord has to do when faced with people/aliens/beings that will seek out immortality. Whether they would have died soon or not is irrelevant they chose their path....

I didn't despite the words of the young man feel this was about The Doctor seeking revenge... yes it is squicky the way he goes and visits the little girl, but hey he has to make sure they are all where they are meant to be.

Martha's semi-unrequited crush is getting a bit annoying, they need to give that a rest.

Here here.

[scarimor]

The scene which showed a possible normal life for John Smith was interesting, married with children, and the eventual old age 10th Doctor.

Shades of The Last Temptation of Christ there.

Something I really like about Cornell's work is the strength he gives to his female characters, while at the same time maintaining the realism of time/place/social conventions. It's so easy to slip into crass with the subject, but Cornell handles it with subtley, exposes the standards with irony, and lets his characters shine. Martha and Matron were perfect.

[Alipeeps]

I seem to be in agreement with the majority here that it was one of the better eps so far.
Minor query: If the Family only had 3 months to live unless they consumed the essence of a Time Lord, why did the Doc feel the need to condemn them to everlasting imprisonments? Revenge, spite, badness, to make himself feel better?
Liked the idea of the girl in the mirror, something of the Eastern European fairytale about that one.
Martha's semi-unrequited crush is getting a bit annoying, they need to give that a rest. Otherwise, very happy here.

I think that's what the Baines VO at the end meant when he said that by hiding from them, he was being kind. He could have defeated them all along, could have done something horrible to each of them, as he eventually did, but he tried to hide and to let them just die out as the option that was kinder to them. They took away that option by tracking him down and forcing him to deal with them permanently.

That was my understanding anyway...

[Reefgirl]

This was a fabulous episode and boy am I glad I watched it alone as I pretty much blubbed all the way through it, I haven't shed this many tears since the last scene in the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth (Weird I know)

David Tennant was beyond brilliant in this, usually I can't abide Angsty Doctor but this was extremely well done and in all the right places to boot. Bains was definatly one of the creepiest villans so far, probably because he was 'Human' or at least started as human, pretty much like the boy in Empty Child who,in my book anyway, is the creepiest monster yet. I loved the ending with Old Tim at the Remeberence Day service. Apart from Martha's crush on the Doctor, I can't find a single thing wrong with the episode, here's hoping they keep Paul Cornell on the writing staff for many more years to come, if that's the standard of his work. As for next week, Meh.

Edit I also want to say the use of the music in both episodes was excellent, especially the Hymn played as the boys attacked the scarecrows, poignent