‘Do not go gently into that good night…’*

Spoiler Alert – Just in case anyone hasn’t seen The Waters of Mars yet (plus, if you don't watch Doctor Who, it won't make a great deal of sense)

It’s been over a week, and I’ve not said anything about The Waters of Mars. I think that’s partly because of where they took the Doctor in this programme.

The advance blurb about this episode said that it was ‘the scariest Who’ yet, but for the first 45 minutes, I wasn’t convinced. I should have realised that this was a classic piece of RTD’s mis-direction. The scary thing wasn’t the ‘water creatures’ (who, whilst a skilful make-up job, weren’t actually that frightening, though the gradual infiltration of the base by the water was very tense), it was the Doctor himself.

A classic ‘base under siege’ tale, it had a number of similarities to Utopia, where the real focus of the episode only became apparent towards the end. For much of this, the Doctor was an observer, so much so that you wondered when he would actually do something. He actually walked away, to leave them to their fates. It was the ‘right’ thing to do, and yet it felt wrong.

And then, he didn’t. If anyone (still) needs proof that DT is the best TV actor of today, then the last 10 minutes prove it. Again, it was in his eyes, as much as in his actions. He looked dangerous, and the power of the Time Lord to save those who shouldn’t be saved was indeed scary. There really was no one to stop him, and this time, he wasn’t going to stop himself. I love the way that they have pushed the boundaries with DT’s Doctor, taking the character to places that he’s never been before.

The final scene, in the snow, as he confronted the reality of what he had become, and where it had taken him, was mind blowing. There is only one end to this journey now, but it’s been one hell of a ride.

*Not a quote from the episode, but from DT describing the Doctor’s actions in ‘Confidential’