Doctor Who Series 4 (2008)
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Doctor Who Series 4 Review
Doctor Who Series 4 is not the greatest season of this show and not that great of a conclusion for the Tenth Doctor. It is pretty solid, but rarely truly great.
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“Sorry, I’m the Doctor, I’m very clever“
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Partners in Crime is silly, but it works because it is mostly very well executed and a very entertaining episode with a good use of Donna. As for her character, I have to say that I admire how different she is from all of the rest Doctor’s companions and she truly is a lot of fun, but she yells too much, is mostly underutilized and in the end not as great as she could have been.
The Fires of Pompeii is such a weak episode that is way too silly and action packed with such a stupid blockbuster approach to it and an unfortunate use of highly dated CGI. Planet of the Ood is quite solid, but it should have been more horrifying in its tone.
The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky are a weak duo. Yes, it was nice seeing Martha again but she is not great here and her character has always been too slim and underutilized which is unfortunate as the actress is great in the role. The Sontarans are okay here, but this is one of those bombastic stories which are not my cup of tea.
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The Doctor’s Daughter is pretty forgettable, but The Unicorn and the Wasp is such a fun episode. I have really liked the historical episodes so far during this Revival Era of the show and this is no exception. Agatha Christie is a lot of fun here and very well portrayed and acted and the overall plot and tone of the episode worked very well.
Although Forest of the Dead isn’t that great of a conclusion to The Silence in the Library, but still this two-episode story is pleasantly mysterious and intriguing in plotting and atmosphere with an interesting setting as well.
Midnight is fantastic. I love confined space thrillers and this one delivers in tension and suspense. The characterization is stupendously strong for all these one-off characters and the drama is definitely felt. The acting’s great too.
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Turn Left is a solid, but definitely unoriginal “what if” episode that delivers emotionally, if not in substance. As for The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End, both are passable episodes, but not great as the finale needs a more emotional punch and the non-stop action did not give enough time for that.
Overall, this season is solid, but highly flawed as almost none of its episodes are great, but still none of the episodes are bad either and thus the season is mostly just 3.5 material. I liked David Tennant in this role quite a bit and although he became too much of a yeller later on, he still remains one of the better Doctors so far and one who is very memorable too. It’s also unfortunate that Donna got just one season.
Worst Episodes: The Fires of Pompeii and The Doctor’s Daughter.
Best Episodes: Midnight and Partners in Crime.
