The second part of the Human Nature story is a cracker, and fully deserving of best Who story of the new series, if not ever. I found one fault in last weeks story (the cricket ball), but as I write this I am struggling to recal one piece where the story, logic or character failed me. The two stories together read well as a single arc, not like two bits cobbled together. The acting is brilliant, the dialogue damn near perfect, and the conclusion is neither rushed nor innappropriately easy. This was just that good.
Obviously I was a fan of Jess the first episode round, she did an even better job this time. From the backing up of the Doctor, through her heroism and right to the racist undertones of the class system. And through this divisiveness, Martha gets what are arguably her best lines so far. The "Bones of the Hand" speech is one likely to be learned word for word, by Uber-Who-Nerds around the globe.
The villainous Baines again is menacing and over the top, but in a perfection not often seen in the Who bad-guy pantheon. Apparently this actor is the great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, not really relevant but hardly uninteresting. The clash of time zones, sensitivities and classes make for some of the series most dramatic moments, including the fitting ending for the Family of Blood (no spoilers, but it was certainly served up cold). The Latimer conclusion was deeply emotional and held a real sense of time-travel and it's effetcs on people.
Which brings me to the overall feeling I got from this series, and the previous two. Where the new Who has worked particulalry well and dramatically is the sense of impact you get from the Doctor crossing into your life. There's some plot, some development and even continuity from the classic series, but the strength of this post-modern Who is in the recipients/victims. Traditionally the villains are paid back, the companions grow and learn, the innocent are saved and the day is won. To some extent this is still true, but the new series has highlighted the lonleliness, the eternal nature of being a saviour, and the personal costs to damn near everyone.
Obiviously these ideas have been touched on before, e.g. Adric, then Tegan. Nowhere near as well as the new series has. Gods and Monsters made it a joke, School Reunion was painful with regret, Rose and now Joan are the searing hurt of loss. Ecclestons denouement at the hands of a farting monster Slitheen makes a lot more sense when taken in the wider spectrum of the Doctors life.
I have heard rumours that Russell is leaving the series, perhaps to hand over the reigns, perhaps to end it all. But given the set up he has created there is scope for the Doctor to be more complex and perhaps even be darker than previously. I look forward to years more of this stuff.
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