Ever
since she turned him down at Christmas, Donna has been determined
to find the Doctor again. Doing her own investigating, she
has made the logical conclusion that strange goings on will
intrigue the Doctor he will appear. The problem is that
her investigations of the latest miracle diet pill called
Adipose, brings her to the attention of its inventor Miss
Foster, who will do anything to keep its method secret.
Doctor
Who returns for its fourth season (since its regeneration),
and after losing Rose, Martha and Astrid, the Doctor discovers
that an old friend wants to be his new travelling companion.
After
the monumental battle with The Master at the end of season
three, Russell T. Davies and his creative team had a hard
act to follow. The decision to drop Martha Jones (Freema
Agyeman) at the end of the series (she appeared in season
two of Torchwood and will join the cast permanently
in season three) meant that the Doctor needed a new companion
for season four.
Controversially,
they opted to bring back Donna Noble. The co-star of the
Christmas Special ‘The
Runaway Bride’, British comedian Catherine Tate’s
appearance wouldn’t have been the first choice of
Whovians, but it looks like we have our new companion for
this season.
This
is a new Donna, however, one who has become obsessed with
finding the Doctor again after stupidly turning down the
Time Lord’s offer to join him in the T.A.R.D.I.S.
She has become an investigator of the strange and bizarre,
hoping that the Doctor will be looking into these occurrences
and that they will meet again. She seems more focused and
less annoying than she was in the special, which should
diminish many of the fears that fans had for the new companion.
Just
as every episode of a new season, this is an introduction
show were we are reintroduced to Donna’s mother Sylvia,
played again by Jacqueline King, and her grandfather Wilfred
Mott, played by the British comedy great and 60s/70s/80s
children’s favourite Bernard Cribbins.
We also
have a guest villain in the shape of Miss Foster, played
by former Coronation Street soap star Sarah Lancashire.
She is the woman behind a new diet wonder pill, under which
you may lose a kilogram a night. You will be amazed and
wondering what the marketing people will think of next,
as it revealed how the weight is actually lost.
With
David Tennant extremely comfortable in his role, Doctor
Who season four has a solid start. With this being
just an introductory episode, the tone of the season is
not really set but there is a big clue as to where it might
be heading and the people who could be involved in what
is bound to be a gripping conclusion.
