"He will knock four times..." With these words the tenth Doctor realises his time is nearly up. And mine was nearly up too after a pretty close call!
Usually I watch Doctor Who in the evenings. I know it would make more sense to watch it as soon as possible in the day but it doesn't feel right somehow to watch it in the morning. It's an evening thing! So I sat down to watch this episode about 5pm.
Meanwhile my mates Tom and Ben were watching rugby in the pub. Watching big sweaty men run around a field getting all muddy and rolling over each other, I don't really see the appeal...although...NO I'm straying from the point!
So Tom was moving down to Newquay the following day (or Day 810 as everyone should know it by!) so I said I couldn't not go out for a final few drinks with him. Hearing that Tom was only going to be out until the rugby finished I decided it was best that I leave the episode halfway through and head to the pub knowing that I would be home by about 7ish at the latest so would have plenty of time to finish watching it. Unfortunately things got slightly out of hand with many more drinks than intended and general enjoyment until before I knew it the episode had completely left my mind!
I think if I hadn't watched any if it before I came out then I would not have let myself forget but the fact that I had watched some of it somehow fooled my brain into prematurely relaxing about the whole thing. As such I have to thank Ben for casually asking me how I was getting on in my challenge and to thank both Tom and Ben for then putting up with the near hysteria that ensued. Fortunately this was only about 9:30pm so I had plenty of time to correct my mistake but what made me feel sick to my stomach was the fact that I COULD forget! After 808 days of constant daily doses of Doctor Who I was still capable of screwing up by simply forgetting. With less than 100 days to go it's pretty terrifying!
So to the episode itself. A 2009 Easter special with the gist of it being that a double decker bus from London finds itself transported across the universe onto a desolate desert planet. Fortunately for the passengers, the Doctor is onboard. Unfortunately for the Doctor, he does not have his TARDIS. Meanwhile a swarm of alien creatures is getting ever closer to the bus, intent on consuming the bus and all inside of it.
First of all I have to say that the site of a double decker bus in the middle of the desert is a beautiful site to behold. It's just so bizarre and in a way makes me think back to the very old days when the site of a normal looking police box in the middle of an alien landscape must have looked equally strange!
The Doctor's main companion for this story is Christina. A jewel thief who pretty much doesn't need to rob for the money but just does it for the thrill. The Doctor kind of approves with this which seems a little odd but considering he stole the TARDIS then I guess he can't judge her that harshly!
UNIT make a another return to the series, this time trying to get the bus back and close the wormhole before the alien creatures can swarm through and destroy the Earth. We also meet the new scientific advisor in the form of Malcolm played by Lee Evans. I've got mixed feelings about this character. Basically he turns the whole role into a joke which I don't like because it takes some of the drama out the situation but at the same time he is bloody funny so overall I approve. I don't think he would make a good returning character but for a one off appearance in a special then he's very good.
With the bus safely returned to our world the Doctor thinks its time he sets of for new adventures but before he goes he receives an ominous warning from a lady on the bus who has presented psychic tendencies. She tells him that something is returning thorough the dark, he will knock four time and that "your song is ending.." As ominous prophecies go, that's pretty damn ominous. That's like text book ominous!
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