Doctor Who: The Empty Child + The Doctor Dances - REVIEW - The Trip of a Lifetime

[@MrTARDIS]

"Are you my Mummy?" Thanks for checking out the episode of my Series 1 retrospective! If you want to help support my videos, please hit that "like" button, subscribe and leave any comment down below to appease the almighty algorithm!

[@ollytomlinsonmusic]

"Rose... I'm resonating concrete" is my favourite line in the whole show

[@yannatoko9898]

*"I'm trying to resonate..."

[@quintuscrinis]

It's good but what about "my leg's grown back" " is it possible you miscounted!!"?

[@mayotango1317]

And later he did that in The Star Beast.

[@ninjahunter101]

"Does the Doctor fu-" Credits: Rolling Me: Dead from laughter. Hotel: Trivago

[@benw4409]

Richard Wilson is only on screen briefly but gets one of the most iconic scenes in the show's history. What a classic story.

[@k.stewart007]

Funny, because in my head I never remembered his appearances being so brief. Theres literally just that one scene in the hospital and then at the end at the bomb site. It really feels like he had several more appearances throughout both eppisodes but he never. That's definitely how you make your presence felt in a TV show.

[@benw4409]

@@k.stewart007 Bill Nighy in Vincent and the Doctor is similar. You think he's in way more than he actually is.

[@keirjarvie6998]

“Are you my mummy?” Despite what you think of Steven Moffat, you cannot deny that this two parter is an absolute classic. I’ll be sad to seeing this Trip of a Lifetime series coming to an end next week. Oh well. To make it last longer for me, I’ll be rewatching the Dalekcember episode for Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways after I watch the review for Boom Town. Maybe a look at Series 2 in a similar style soon please?

[@ftumschk]

22:17 Where did Nancy find the chairs? Extended families could be huge in those days; my maternal grandparents each had five siblings, for example. Although they lived in a modest council-house, they had a stash of spare chairs which were wheeled out during family get-togethers, at Christmas and the like.

[@DanniDerpy]

that or like they just robbed chairs from the neighbours

[@nightowl8477]

Chris had a lot of fun with this story. He said he never really knew what Russell wanted from him performance-wise, stating he was _"better at writing the companion."_ But Steven, he thought, knew what he wanted, so Chris knew what to give him.

[@masterv8775]

I love when the 10th Doctor randomly references these episodes in S4!

[@bandicootwhovian2759]

James Hawes is one of the greatest directors this show has ever had. This story is beautifully shot as are his series 2 stories. (He later directed two of the best Black Mirror episodes: Hated in the Nation and Smithereens.) Series 1 of Doctor Who is my favourite series and a big part of that is down to the masterful direction of Euros Lyn, Joe Ahearne and James Hawes!

[@christianwise637]

"I was evacuated." "Why did you come back?" "There was a man..." It flies over your head as a kid, but rewatching it as an adult, the implications of that exchange are really freaky

[@nightowl8477]

14:05 Jack is the Doctor, but more approachable, with his _"dating and dancing."_ A more conventional pairing. So when, two stories later, 9 regenerates into a man who dates and dances...He changes for her. It's both sweet and cumbersome, given where it will lead for this Doctor by the time we reach The End of Time.

[@nightowl8477]

I think this aspect of the Doctor's and Rose's relationship isn't discussed enough. Everyone talks about how Rose becomes too much like the Doctor, but not enough about how he becomes too much like Rose. They act out of love, but it's a toxic, corrupting love.

[@SamyulDavis]

It still must be the scariest Doctor Who ever televised. It has the mood, immediate threat inches away and genuine adrenaline all the way through. I'll take no challengers.

[@bookswithike3256]

Midnight?

[@astrosleep9625]

Funnily enough I just watched your video on ghostlight @DAVIS I'M STRUGGLING TO ARGUE AGAINST!

[@McEdam]

That’s got to be the best intro yes, I can’t stop laughing

[@smashstuff86]

14:53 The phrase, "I'm trying to resonate concrete," now has a brand new meaning.

[@pcb1175]

And it would be 18 years till we see the Doctor actually resonate concrete onscreen

[@Thomas_of_the_forest]

3:36 , yes... Creature from the Pit is one of the most frightening things the show has had

[@S-1ushyy]

Ah yes the thing with the green filter and the Tom Baker dick pat😂

[@HoojipIsHere]

My absolute favourite 9th Doctor scene is him asking Nancy ‘who did you lose?’ He knows how loss, and feeling responsibility for it, affects people and sees it in Nancy instantly. It’s not a big moment where they connect over having lost people, he just lets her talk about it, tells her how much value he sees in her, and the whole human race, then they both go to save the world. An understated gem that might even eclipse ‘everybody lives’ for me

[@OverlyPositiveFanboy]

"Give me some Spock." Rose, the Doctor is more Spock than anyone else in this story. If anything, Jack is a more extreme Kirk.

[@marionbaggins]

I am watching this review on Mother's Day!!!

[@Canalman]

Fun fact, this episode was aired the day I was born. It's also the only Doctor Who episode (A show infamous for making children hide behind the sofa) that actually make me hide behind a sofa.

[@samuelbarber6177]

The ultimate Doctor Who horror story. As good as Waters of Mars, The Curse of Fenric, or even Haunting of Villa Diodati are, they really don’t hold a candle to the sheer horror served up in The Empty Child, and I think it comes from Moffat’s use of sound. Both this and Girl in the Fireplace use this system of establishing where a sound may come from, but then revealing the actual source in a jump scare reveal, this is especially unsettling when the child takes control of mechanical devices like the typewriter and I’m surprised this idea isn’t used more often. It’s also a pretty good zombie story, with a still very optimistic ending.

[@hugoalynstephens9166]

"Everybody Live, Rose. Just this once- EVERYBODY LIVES!" My favourite line uttered by Christopher Eccleston's Doctor.

[@russelltietjen4407]

It felt weird rewatching this recently because it feels so unlike Moffat's later scripts. And I don't mean that from a quality point of view, but more than you associate a Steven Moffat script with Timey Wimey elements and a general fairytale feel. Not only does this story stay in one time and place, but it feels real and grounded. We're in a very bleak, very real setting and it makes it the perfect little horror story!

[@christianwise637]

It's weird really, this story feels completely different to the kind of stories he'd usually write (I'd argue the first typical Moffat story was his next one, "The Girl in the Fireplace"), yet this two-parter still clearly has his fingerprints all over it

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Say does everyone remember his original review of The Doctor Dances when he joked about Captain Jack's ship 'with the German bomb' blowing up with the Super Mario Bros death music? Man that was the good old days.

[@jimmy2k4o]

This episode infuriates me because despite how good it is, Captain Jack lights up Big Ben to impress a girl…………..during a black out because of a German air raid attacking London. The whole point of blackouts is so the planes can’t make out physical landmarks to help target their bombs. Jack just highlighted where the Palace of Westminster (British equivalent of the US capital building) is to the Luftwaffe.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

I better get this lovely Dr Who quote out of the way, And Yes I said 'lovely quote' because I'm happy when he said that... "Just this once.. EVERYBODY LIVES!"

[@pious83]

_"Everybody lives"_ A great line. But also a precursor to another, less endearing aspect of Moffat's writing.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

16:16 And cue Eastenders audio clip already used in his original review of The Doctor Dances.

[@darynvoss7883]

Some very funny lines here as well. Rose: Doctor, that bomb. Doctor: Taken care of it. Rose: How? Doctor: Psychology. This story also has probably the dirtiest line in DW history. Jack: Much bigger on the inside. Doctor: You'd better be.

[@DalekTheSupreme]

These episodes terrified me as a kid and still holds up strong as an adult. People like to dunk on Moffat for his latter day scripts, but the guy has talent, and it is evident in this story.

[@jvblhc]

This two-parter is in my top five episodes of all time. Brilliant from beginning to end. As to John Barrowman and Noel Clarke - well, when I am watching Doctor Who, they are Mickey and Captain Jack. (Of course, Mickey is not in this story, but I'm just making a point). Outside of Doctor Who, I'm not a fan of Noel and and to a lesser extent John. But - again - this is a superb story, right up there with Human Nature/Family of Blood, and Heaven Sent.

[@guygrist4436]

I know I spent a lot of time criticising most of Moffat's later work, but this story is bloody marvellous.

[@joedee6879]

I was terrified of WW2 gas masks for years after watching this. Every time we went to a museum I had to close my eyes whenever there was one on display because of how much this episode scared me. I'm over it now though and I can appreciate how good these episodes are

[@sahiladam7404]

PLEASE continue this marathon and review series two plus

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Next Time on the final conclusion of The trip of a lifetime AKA Dr Who Series 1, The Return of an old enemy, An dinner scene, And an void explosion ready to happen in Wales, Get ready for a Boom Town, The Trip of a lifetime will certainly end with a Bang!

[@dillondjenkins]

will there be a ranking of all the episodes in series 1 like you did for Dalekcember and Cybercember?

[@SuperSweetBoy]

I have a big attachment to this season because it was the first time I ever watched Doctor Who, and while The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances was the first time I tuned in (I can’t remember which episode), it really stuck with me. Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways was what really made me a fan of the show.

[@williamhowe1]

"Everybody lives Rose, just this once EVERYBODY LIVES!"

[@scix8794]

My fav who writer's entry. This is a phenomenal story.

[@tTaseric]

Is Richard Wilson type-cast as Doctor characters? I swear I've never seen him in a role where he isn't one. BTW if you want more of that type of character from him, I'd recommend BBC's Merlin show that aired a couple years later. He plays pretty much the same character (albeit more childish to fit with the tone of the show) but he gives some seriously great performances there.

[@booradley8895]

One foot in the grave he is not a doctor character if you can believe it

[@ruairiedwards8616]

This will always be my favourite Ninth Doctor adventure

[@SamJamesBLOODOFCHUCKYGUY]

“Does the doctor fu” I knew this was as gunna be one of those types of reviews I’m gunna love

[@nightowl8477]

13:45 she left him behind and was right to do so. Again, Mickey becomes a more sympathetic character as time goes on, but he was never originally meant to be; we weren't going to see him much beyond the pilot until a script fell through and Russell had to write Boom Town in the eleventh hour. He was a selfish, possessive, implied to be cheating boyfriend whose entire character in Rose serves to represent what's been holding her back. Sorry, but any woman is well within their rights to seek out other men when they're being neglected. All I'd hold against Rose is that she never officially leaves Mickey, at least not on-screen. I can see why it's there tho; Rose is a selfish character (not a bloody criticism; it's the most interesting thing about her, just as 9's manipulative nature is his), and a lot of relationships _don't_ end so officially. People change and slowly move away from each other. It happens, and it's good drama.

[@MidnightChimey]

3:35 I mean, yeah that scene from The Creature from the Pit is freaky I'll give it that

[@IsaacWhittakerDakin]

My favourite Ninth Doctor story, utter perfection!

[@mathieuleader8601]

the nanogenes returning would have made a better villain than the Pting in that hospital ship episode

[@SamyulDavis]

no Pting slander please and thank you

[@natsmith303]

You can't convince me that either Rose or Jack didn't at least propose the idea of a threeway aboard the TARDIS. I'm not saying it necessarily happened, or if it did that it was a recurring thing, but someone had to think about it.

[@samuelbarber6177]

“Wonder what all those people are thinking.” “Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box.” To quote Boom Town.

[@SudrianTales]

There's a reason the TARDIS torments Clara, she remembers last time the Doctor had a love aboard

[@cat_tee_vee]

Are going to extend this show into series 2, 3, 4, etc?

[@jstan626]

oh boy did this terrify me as a child. 100% agreed that its the scariest episode(s)

[@matthewbolitho-jones]

I like The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances

[@nocturne8333]

I really miss Moffat now. He was really underrated while he was showrunner.

[@TheCyberman1966]

So for a bit of fun at my end of things when I Watched this episode on broadcast it scared the s**t out of me to a point I actually missed the following episode boom town and when the following episode after bad wolf came out I caught the e d with the dalek reveal it made me want to see more

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Ahh finally, A good Steven Moffat story, Before he went out of control.

[@mayotango1317]

We hate Chibnall now. Remember that.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

@@mayotango1317 What you mean 'we?' I don't.

[@nevem5010]

👍👍

[@ireallydidntwanttomakeanac575]

Man, I miss the asexual tone of The Doctor's character. I'm glad that Jodie's Doctor retains it.

[@OverlyPositiveFanboy]

Capaldi had it too by my recollection.

[@SudrianTales]

Part of me wishes Lungbarrow got adapted so the genetic looms would be in place

[@meitner07]

1st