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DOCTOR WHO SERIES TWO
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APRIL-JULY 2006
(aka DOCTOR WHO SEASON 28)
EPISODE GUIDE
SERIES 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2009/10 SPECIALS
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DOCTOR WHO - Episode3 - SCHOOL REUNION - Billie Piper
03 - SCHOOL REUNION - Photos below
 
"...the universe has to move forward. Pain & loss
define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it is
a world or a relationship. Everything has its time..."

PLOTLINE

Present Day. Deffry Vale High School, Earth.

Why is a Secondary School being investigated by the Doctor's former TARDIS companion, Sarah Jane-Smith (aided by an electronic mobile computer, K9)?

What is the seemingly charming Headmaster, Mr Finch, protecting? What are the vile flying Krillitanes?

EPISODE THREE REVIEW

In the pre-title sequence we observe one of the most psychological disturbing scenes.

HEADMASTER: It's nearly time for lunch.

.in the show's history, it seemed that SCHOOL REUINION would be a dark, morality essay on modern life. Unfortunately, for those viewers expecting more 'blood & guts' gorged upon in the preview week's episode Toby Whithouse's debut DOCTOR WHO script was no more shocking that static electricity from a polyester sweater.

It would a surprise if Whithouse would be given a second opportunity, though there were flashes of genius (inspired by Russell T Davies' input?).

All the elements were there (impressive guest-stars, continually stunning CGI, effortless James Hawes direction, and the occasional throwaway line that makes this current incarnation of the series genius: Rose: "I'm a dinner-lady".) but it didn't have any punch. It seemed that the story plot was second to the relationship resolution between the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.

Does it matter that the plotline failed to engage? Probably not, this was Sarah Jane & K9's spotlight appearance. The cast could have spent 45 minutes in the café chatting about "Spaghetti Bolognese" or chequered tablecloths and viewers would have been satisfied.

Long-time fans favourite, Elisabeth Sladen looks exactly the same, sounds the same, acts the same. Like a comforting mug of hot chocolate, Sladen reassures those over thirty that the CLASSIC series was not as 'wobbly' as critics infer.

What happens to a ditched Doctor assistant? Personally, I haven't considered it but then again a mortgage, two kids at school and a husband that is entering the Guinness World Records as a professional 'couch potato' tends to occupy the mind. If the Doctor doesn't care, why should we?

THE DOCTOR: Hello, Sarah Jane.

SARAH JANE SMITH: It's you. Doctor. Oh my God, it's you isn't it. You've regenerated.

THE DOCTOR: Yeah, half a dozen times since we last met.

SARAH JANE SMITH: You look.incredible

THE DOCTOR: So do you.

SARAH JANE SMITH (modestly): I got old

It may be a blink of an eye for him and thirty years for her but there is an unspoken 'knowing' between them. With so many previous adventures, so many times that both have stared death in the face, so many times that that have disagreed and so many times that they have loved each other. In the café, whilst Rose and Mickey eat chips, the Doctor gets a mouthful too:

SARAH JANE SMITH: Did I do something wrong? Because you never came back for me. You just dumped me.

THE DOCTOR: I told you, I was called back home and in those days humans weren't allowed.

SARAH JANE SMITH: I waited for you. I missed you.

THE DOCTOR: Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life.

SARAH JANE SMITH: You were my life.

Clearly, travelling with the Doctor (the un-common man) is worst than bereavement. You think that it is the end and don't expect a resurrection. For Sarah Jane it happened. For Rose Tyler it demonstrates that it, without equivocation, will happened to her unless she dies first.

THE DOCTOR: I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you.

(He fights back finishing the sentence)

ROSE TYLER: What, Doc-tor?

THE DOCTOR: You can spend the rest of your life with me. but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords

Desperate to see a glimmer of humanity within the Doctor, Rose is emotionally abandoned. Would life without him be better? It could be worse: she could be Mickey.

Mickey Smith a misfit. It may not be his fault. A nice guy you'd want to go to the pub with to watch the match but not a two-week holiday in Benidorm. He is the 'tin-dog' - reliable, ever-present and useful at times - and his is 'Adric' - eager to please, ever-present and annoying. Time to die in order to save his true love.

So, the plot. Children, imbued by intelligence-accelerating oil used to cook chips in, unknowingly forced aliens, disguised as Earth teachers to crack the God Maker/the Universal Theory code (The Skasas Paradym). The aliens, Krillitanes, have scavenged the universe distilling the 'best bits of other races' and over time have become toxic to their own Krillitane oil.

There seemed to be some plot flaws too, like if the majority of pupils (we assume) eat Krillitane oil soaked chips then why does only Milo - in the Doctor's Physics class - answer the questions posed.

It was irrelevant, and was a means to an end.

Anthony Stewart Head validates his appearance with a surreally sterile performance as Krillitane, Brother Lassar, delivering a precise menace that, yes, could have been mistaken (on paper) as the evil renegade Time Lord, the Master.

The CGI realisation of the Krillitane was creative and more polished than SERIES 1's Reapers (FATHER'S DAY). The work of The Mill continues unabated to outperform Hollywood in its achievement in meeting perfection.

Murray Gold's score was strange and echoed, particularly in the pre-title sequences, the 1983 MAWDRYN UNDEAD. Watch both stories and see the similarities.

Overall, SCHOOL REUNION was an exhale of breath after the breakneck pace of TOOTH AND CLAW and the passionate embrace that is expected by THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE.

However, I hope that Sarah Jane and K9 are not strangers to Doctor in the future, especial now that the 'tin dog' has "omniflexible hyperlink facilities".

Goodbye.

EXTRA

DOCTOR WHO FOLKLORE Brother Lassar tempts the Doctor in joining him in using the Skasas Paradym for 'good', saving such worlds/races as Ascinta, Perganon and the Doctor's own world.

DOCTOR WHO FOLKLORE K9 Mark III appears for the first time since 1983's K9 AND COMPANY - A GIRL'S BEST FREIND (written by Terrance Dudley), co-starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.

DOCTOR WHO CONTINUITY ERROR Just before Mickey drives the Sarah's car into the school main doors, he hits K9 (in an attempt to activate him). K9's 'red eye' is missing in the car but it appears affixed when it appears in the canteen.


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As part of the pre-publicity for SCHOOL REUNION, Elisabeth Sladen appeared on BBC NEWS BREAKFAST on 27 April 2006.


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Review - MATTHEW WALTER
EOH RATING




CAST
DOCTOR WHO
David Tennant
ROSE TYLER
Billie Piper
SARAH JANE SMITH
Elisabeth Sladen
K9 [voice]
John Leeson
MR LUCAS FINCH - HEADMASTER
Anthony Stewart Head
MICKEY SMITH
Noel Clarke
MR WAGNER
 
Eugene Washington
KRILLITANE
 
Caroline Berry
KRILLITANE
 
Rod Arthur
KENNY
 
Joe Pickley
MELISSA
 
Lucinda Dryzek
NINA
  Heather Cameron
MILO
  Clem Tibber
LUKE
  Benjamin Smith
PRODUCTION CREW
 
1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Jan Older
2nd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Steffan Morris
3rd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Lynsey Muir
LOCATION MANAGERS
Lowri Thomas
Gareth Skelding
UNIT MANAGER
Justin Gyphion
PROD.
CO-ORDINATOR
Jess van Niekerk
PRODUCTION / SCRIPT SECRETARY
Claire Roberts
PRODUCTION RUNNERS
Debbie Meldrum
A/PROD. ACCOUNTANTS
Debi Griffiths
Kath Blackman
Bonnie Clissold
CONTINUITY
Llinos Wyn Jones
SCRIPT EDITOR
Simon Winstone
CAMERA OPERATOR
Julian Barber
FOCUS PULLERS
Marc Isaac
GRIP
 
BOOM OPERATOR
  Jeff Welch
Rhydian Yeoman
GAFFER
  Mark Hutchings
BEST BOY
  Peter Chester
STUNT
CO-ORDINATOR
  Peter Brayham
STUNT PERFORMERS
  Dean Foster
Kim McCarrity
Maurice Lee
SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR
  Stephen Nicholas
ART DEPT PRODUCTION MANAGER
  Jonathan Marquand Allison
STAND-BY ART DIRECTOR
  Nick Burnell
ASST SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR
  James North
DESIGN ASSISTANTS
  Matthew Savage
Ben Austin
STANDBY PROPS
  Phil Shellard
STANDBY CARPENTER
  Silas Williams
STANDY RIGGER
   
SET DECORATOR
  Julian Luxton
PROPERTY MASTER
  Adrian Anscombe
PRODUCTION BUYER
  Catherine Samuel
PROPS STOREMAN
  Stuart Wooddisse
SPECIALIST PROP MAKER
  Mark Cordory
PROP MAKER
  Penny Howarth
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
  Matthew Hywel-Davies
GRAPHICS
  BBC Wales Graphics
COSTUME ASSISTANT
  Lindsay Bonaccorsi
Barbara Harrington
MAKE-UP ARTISTS
  Anwen Davies
Steve Smith
Moira Thomson
CASTING ASSOCIATE
  Andy Brierley
ASSISTANT EDITOR
  Ceres Doyle
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
  Chris Blatchford
Samantha Hall
POST PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR
  Marie Brown
ON LINE EDITOR
  Matthew Clarke
COLOURIST
  Mick Vincent
3D VFX ARTISTS
  Chris Petts
Paul Burton
Jean-Claude Deguara
Nicolas Herhandez
Andy Howell
Matthew McKinney
Neil Roche
Chris Tucker
Mark Wallman
Nicj Webber
2D VFX ARTISTS
  Sara Bennett
David Bowman
Melissa Butler-Adams
Joseph Courtis
Bronwyn Edwards
Michael Harrison
Simon C Holden
Russell Horth
DIGITAL MATT PAINTER
  Alex Fort
VISUAL EFFECTS CO-ORDINATOR
  Kim Phelan
DUBBING MIXER
  Tim Ricketts
SOUND EDITORS
  Paul McFadden
Doug Sinclair
SOUND FX EDITOR
  Paul Jefferies
     
With thanks to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
   
ORIGINAL THEME MUSIC
  Ron Grainer
CASTING DIRECTOR
  Andy Pryor CDG
PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT
  Endaf Emry Williams
SOUND RECORDIST
  Simon Fraser
COSTUME DESIGNER
  Louise Page
MAKE-UP DESIGNER
  Sheelagh Wells
MUSIC
  Murray Gold
VISUAL EFFECTS
  THE MILL
VISUAL FX PRODUCER
  Will Cohen
VISUAL FX SUPERVISOR
  Dave Houghton
SPECIAL EFFECTS
  ANY EFFECTS
PROSTHETICS
  Neill Gorton and Millennium Effects
EDITOR
  Llana del Giudice
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
  Edward Thomas
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
  Ernie Vincze BSC
PRODUCTION MANAGER
  Tracie Simpson
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
  Helen Vallis
   
PRODUCER
  Phil Collinson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
  Mal Young
Julie Gardner
Russell T Davies
DIRECTOR
  James Hawes
  Produced by
BBC WALES
WRITER
  Toby Whithouse
     
INFORMATION
BROADCAST DATE
29 April 2006
 
REPEATED DATE
  30 April 2006
     
FIRST RUN UK RATINGS (millions)
Official: 8.31 million (39.8% share)
 
DVD RELEASE
June 2006 (Series 2 Volume 2)

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