"Doctor Who" Turn Left (2008)

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writer:

Russell T. Davies (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

21 June 2008 (Season 4, Episode 11)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

What would happen if Donna never met the Doctor? How would Earth handle the Racnoss, the falling Titanic or the Sontarans? Aided by a familiar blonde time traveler, Donna corrects the alternate time line from happening. |

Plot Keywords:

Titanic | Parallel Time | Lottery Ticket | Telescope | Alternative Reality

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Bernard Cribbins	...	Wilfred Mott
Jacqueline King	...	Sylvia Noble
Chipo Chung	...	Fortune Teller
Joseph Long	...	Rocco Colasanto
Noma Dumezweni	...	Capt. Magambo
Bhasker Patel	...	Jival Chowdry
Clive Standen	...	Private Harris
Suzann McLean	...	Veena Brady
Natalie Walter	...	Alice Coltrane
Neil Clench	...	Man in Pub
Marcia Lecky	...	Mooky Kahari
Catherine York	...	Female Reporter

Runtime:

49 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Company:

BBC Wales

Trivia:

David Tennant was only required for a day.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When we see the flashback of Donna making the wrong turn, this event is 6 months before she meets the Doctor, and that event is December 2006. The flashback then relates to a time of July 2006 and the reg of the car is 56 - a reg not available until September 1st 2006.

Quotes:

Woman in Door-Way: Used to be a nice little family living at Number 29. They missed one mortgage payment, just one, they got booted out. For you lot!
Donna Noble: Don't get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth. Pop your clogs on and go feed whippets!

Movie Connections:

References "The Sarah Jane Adventures" (2007)

What If?

This (finally) aired on Sci-Fi last night and having just finished watching it, I was mighty impressed. I expected the Doctor Who equivalent to a "clip show" but what I got instead was a wonderful sort of "what if?" story.

Russell T. Davies has managed to take elements from Series 3 & 4 and weave them into an alternate story that doesn't feel pushed or forced. From the events of the Runaway Bride onwards we get a glimpse into a world without our favorite Time Lord. It's a world where everything goes downhill to say the least.

This episode also gives Catherine Tate her best chance yet to show off her acting chops and she does beautifully in this episode. This Donna makes a journey from unassuming and unbelieving temp to a person willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. In a single episode, Tate and Russell T. Davies show the journey that Donna Noble has taken over the last series. Together with Billie Piper's Rose Tyler who also seems to be changed and to see these two characters in a scene together adds a lot more depth to it all.

Then there's the twist at the end. The moment Rose reappears one knows that something is up but it isn't until the last dew minutes that what it is becomes obvious. When it comes, be prepared. What might have seemed at first to have been a fascinating little one off has bigger implications to come.

To sum up: Turn Left is one of this series better episodes. While it might be Doctor-lite that's no reason to hate it. In fact by being Doctor-lite we get a chance to see two things we don't normally see: a chance to see a world without the Doctor and a companion's making an amazing emotional journey. Bravo Catherine Tate and Russell T. Davies...Well Done.