Review

At Rose's urging, the Doctor sets the Tardis to go back in time to the day her father (Pete Tyler) died, the victim of a hit and run driver. Why you would want to view your dad being run over is a question that is never addressed. Anyway, Rose decides that her father needs some comforting in his time of dying, so our duo re-visit the day for a second time, setting up the possibility of a paradox in time, with of course the Doctor and Rose already at the scene.

Sorry, major spoilers in this episode review as it's impossible to get at the marrow of Father's Day without referencing the resolution. If you haven't seen the episode then stop reading right here, right now!

There was a certain inevitability about events in Father's Day. As soon as Rose broached the idea of travelling back in time to see her Dad you knew She would get all emotional and girly and rush in where Angels fear to tread. The time rift that resulted, though providing a major plot device, was slightly problematic for yours truly. The Doctor has pointed out previously that every decision taken results in a parallel universe branching from the current one, ergo the fact that Rose's dad is now alive in this universe would mean a branch from the previous pre-ordained universe. Pass the duchy from the left hand side, we could get quite deep and twist ourselves in knots over this issue. Not being a physics geek I'm just going to put it down as a plot device and hope future episodes of Dr Who don't create a paradox in the Whoniverse for us all to fall through.

Rift issues aside, I was digging the beat going down here, though the episode did tend to dip its toes way too much on the girly side of things. Ladies, you just might need a tissue during this one, it’s a tear jerker. We get some pretty gnarly creatures, great use of CGI and excellent design, some cool red filter creature point of views, and of course the overdrive on this time machine, the Doctor himself becoming a creature victim.

A good enough yarn but a few plot holes and a touch of messing up the mythology

The Doctor's death is a key point in Father's Day and to a certain degree writer Paul Cornell misses the boat with the possibilities inherent in the development. The Doctor is at pains to point out the church, where the wedding is going down, is an old structure therefore it will be able to withstand the rift creatures longer than newer structures. Not sure on the logic there but whatever. Anyways, adult Rose comes into contact with baby Rose hence increasing the power of the already existing time paradox, and allowing one of the creatures to materialise within the church. Note that Rose is responsible for the paradox, and has now made it worse. The Doctor figures everyone should stand behind him as he is the oldest being in the church. Big mistake as our Time Lord becomes creature fodder. There's two ways you can go with this development. Either a comparison of Rose's reaction to her Dad's and the Doctor's deaths, which one affects her more. Or you could really play the blame game and have everything thrust at Rose's feet. Cornell decides not to go down either path, and to be honest doesn't do anything with what could have been a crucial season one moment. Opportunity missed for mine, and a lazy writing example in an otherwise well scripted episode.

There's some excellent scenes in Father's Day that brought a smile to my face. After the rift comes into being, the Doctor tries to fix things via travelling forward in time, only to discover the Tardis has become an ordinary police box in the new world order. Proof there once again of a parallel universe in my opinion. We learn that Jackie Tyler wasn't as glowing about her husband as she becomes in the future, when things are viewed through "rose" tinted glasses; pun intended. Actually if we needed any further proof that Jackie is a bit of a harpy then Father's Day provides it. A young Mickey clinging to Rose was also a nice touch.

What Father's Day boils down to is Rose's relationship with her father and how this will effect her decisions. The Doctor, our normal heroic resolution provider, is gonzo. The Tardis is unavailable. And it looks like our most desperate hour is at hand. Actually they could have gone with a pretty bleak outcome here as naturally next week we could pick up with an alternative universe where Rose never did cause the rift and thus consign the whole of humanity to oblivion. You really have to say she's been a very bad girl. Right through Father's Day the car that was meant to run down Pete Tyler keeps appearing then disappearing, I was actually reminded of Final Destination, with the dad-seeking car taking the death role. Pete, who has been questioning Rose about their future together and not believing a word of Rose's glowing portrayal of Tyler domestic bliss, has of course put two and two together and is aware of what needs to be done. In a fitting finale to an emotionally-charged episode he sacrifices himself to save the whole human race, and Rose finally gets to say goodbye to her dad and to comfort him in his time of dying. Not entirely sure there was enough time spent in building the bond between Rose and her dad to really nail things together, but that ending certainly hits the spot.

Not entirely sure there wasn't a few plot holes or at least developments happening due to script requirements in Father's Day. While it's an excellent episode, some of the developments will have you wondering if the Whoniverse isn't at peril of a major rift if the mythology isn't maintained. Heck, I still managed to sit through things and have a good time, so no own goals scored by either the Writer or Director.

Seems the producers of Doctor Who have a wry sense of humour. David Tennant's, (the tenth Doctor), supposed mobile number was displayed on one of the recent episodes of season four (we are behind!). The number, which proved to be real but not Tennant's real one, got hammered by Who fans phoning for information. Which goes to prove there's one born everyday and people still believe what they see on the telly, including any rubbish Sixty Minutes conjures up.

Well I really shouldn't have to mention this one to Who fans, who are going to see each and every episode regardless. From here on in during the guide take it as written that each episode is recommended to you. For those not versed in all things Doctor Who, the gals might enjoy this one a lot more than the blokes to be honest. Check it out, and I now know what a "chav" is.

ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ...