Doctor Who: Season 38 (2002)

Introduction

Season 38 of Doctor Who, the standards of the BBC was just another season. But, for HBO, it was a make it or break season. As it was the first season with a brand new Doctor.

Behind the scenes, Jed Mercurio stayed on as the show's executive producer with Russell T Davies and Hugh Warren stepping in as the new script editor and producer respectively. With most of the writers being ones that wrote for either the previous season or for Gallifrey.

In front of the camera, Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Anthony Head was casted in the role of the Eleventh Doctor. Head was casted as a way to bring in a newer and younger audience in the US, which the show was lacking. Jo Joyner remained as companion Taylor Howard. But, it was announced just before the season began that she would be leaving the show at the end of the season.

With Davies now as script editor. He and Mercurio agreed that most episodes of the season should take place on Earth, with a couple of exceptions. Such as an episode on a spaceship, one on an alien planet and one, for a low budget episode, taking place entirely on the TARDIS. The writers for those episodes along with the rest were chosen by Davies to let each writer explore their strength as writers.

Serial One (Ep. 1-3): THE ANCESTORS OF HUMANITY

Written by Russell T Davies
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Air Dates: 30 March-13 April 2002

The opening serial begins with an eight minute long cold open, to get American audiences accustomed to the fact that there is now a new Doctor. With the entire cold open taking place in the TARDIS console room and only featuring the Doctor and Taylor. With Taylor still being skeptical, but ends up trusting the Doctor. With the cold open ending with the Doctor picking up a transmission from 21st century Earth. And with that, we cut to the opening credits, which is the same from the Lincoln era. Apart from the logo, which is a lighter color.

The TARDIS lands in upstate New York, where UNIT has a convoy at. We see Brigadier Bambera. To which Taylor is introduced to for the first time. With the Doctor in the first part of the serial, suffering from post-regeneration trauma. And with the help of Bambera. It's able to be calmed. And towards the end of the first part, the Doctor escapes the UNIT convoy, heads into town, goes into a clothes story and chooses his outfit.

While the first part focuses solely on the Doctor, we see UNIT soldiers disappear and fall underground. And part one ends with the Doctor encountering someone in the woods, and we see that it is a Silurian.

The Doctor is taken by a group of Silurian's, Taylor and Bambera try to find him. The Doctor meanwhile is taken to the Silurian's underground base where we learn that a group of Silurian's and Sea Devils waken up from hibernation chambers. With both races wanting to take back the Earth and send the human race into hibernation.

The serial becomes a Earth invasion serial as the Silurian's and Sea Devils using tactics that the Silurian's used in Doctor Who and the Silurian's to invade the Earth. Using a virus that attacks Americans in the New England area of the Earth.

In the end, the Doctor, Taylor and UNIT are able to stop the virus and the Silurian's and Sea Devils are forced into hibernation. The serial ends with the Doctor and Taylor back to where they were before the regeneration. And they go back into the TARDIS for further adventures.

Serial Two (Ep. 4): THE ANCIENT TIME MACHINE

Written by René Echevarria
Directed by Graeme Harper
Air Dates: 20 April 2002

The episode begins with the TARDIS landing on Earth in the year 7891. The two of them walk through a futuristic deiseal punk city. They enter a building where a man, Dr. Johan Pertre, stands on a stage where he is talking about innovation. He pulls back a curtain and shows a capsule. He says, "The human race, now has time travel! One that has been hiding in the core of the Earth since the beginning of time!" The Doctor, shocked says, "What!?", and then cuts to the opening credits.

After the opening credits, the Doctor tells Taylor that the human race never discovered time travel. And that the design has never been used for any time machine, ever. The Doctor and Taylor then volunteer themselves to go into the machine and travel with Dr. Pertre and see where he takes them.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Pertre takes them to several times in Earth's history. All being completely wrong. Which the Doctor ends up deducing that Dr. Pertre is a scam artist and faked having a time machine and is trying to take money off people. And that the inside of the Time Machine being a lift in the building which has several different times and places on different floors of the building.

At the end of the episode, Dr. Pertre, is exposed and is arrested for fraud, and his accomplices also arrested for fraud and conspiracy. The Doctor and Taylor work with government officials about educating the Earth about real history. And for not spreading false information.

At the time of the episode's broadcast, it was seen as a weaker episode. But in 2016, the episode went under a re-examination and was seen in a better light.

Serial Three (Ep. 5-6): THE EMPTY CHILD

Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by James Hawes
Air Dates: 27 April-4 May 2002

The episode begins with a cold open of the Doctor piloting the TARDIS with the cloister bells ringing and telling Taylor that the ship they are chasing is in distress and thirty seconds away from London. We then cut to the title sequence.

After the title sequence, we slowly learn that the Doctor and Taylor have landed in London during the Blitz in 1941.

For the first part of the two part story has the Doctor and Taylor separated as they both are being haunted by a child in a gas mask. With the Doctor meeting what seems to be the child's older sister.

For Taylor she, trying to help the child at first, climbs up a rope that is revealed to be a balloon. And Taylor floats away and begins to fall onto London being bombed. But, she is saved by some sort of alien ship.

Taylor is teleported into the alien ship is greeted by a woman (played by Jennifer Morrison), who smiles and introduces herself as, "Captain Phoenix Miller, USMC attached to the RAF." Taylor is shocked and falls unconscious. She eventually wakes up and Phoenix introduces herself to her and flirts with her. After banter back and forth. The two of them agree to find the Doctor.

The first part ends at the hospital where the child was taken care after a bomb, which is actually an alien ship, and we see that the child had infected all of the hospital. With the Doctor meeting Phoenix, who she also flirts with. And Part One ends on the cliffhanger as the Gas Mask Zombies corner the Doctor, Taylor and Phoenix.

Part Two begins with Phoenix being touched by one of the Gas Mask Zombies and the Doctor is able to temporarily defeat them. However, Phoenix is not infected with the scars that appear on the zombies instantly disappear from her skin. With Phoenix explaining that, due to a Temporal Anomaly, she has been cursed with immortality. No matter what, she cannot die. With us also getting her backstory as an ex-Time Agent.

The horror element continues throughout the second part as the Doctor deduces all of the mysteries relating to Gas Mask Zombies. And, for the very first time, is able to save the day without a single person dying.

At the end of the episode, Phoenix prepares to leave in her ship. But, the Doctor offers her a chance to travel with them in the TARDIS. Phoenix is honored. Especially as since she knows who the Doctor is. But, she declines saying that the Doctor is, "Not my style." She laughs and whispers something in the Doctor's ear. Taylor asks what she said. The Doctor says, "She'd say that we would meet again... at the Byzantium." And with that, the episode ends.

Serial Four (Ep. 7): FORTY-FIVE

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Graeme Harper
Air Dates: 11 May 2002

This serial begins with the TARDIS landing on a spaceship hurdling towards a sun, with it being forty-five minutes before the ship hits the sun.

The serial plays out in real time as the Doctor and Taylor work with a crew, that is mostly killed off one by one, to propel the ship away from the sun. And has a second act twist that the sun was secretly alive the entire and was being mined.

At the end of the serial, the Doctor and Taylor are successful in saving the ship and the remaining crew.

This serial would be the weakest of the season and was criticized for it's unnecessary second act twist.

Serial Five (Ep. 8-9): THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET

Written by Matt Jones
Directed by Jed Mercurio
Air Dates: 18-25 May 2002

This serial takes the TARDIS to the planet Krop Tor in the year 4221. The Doctor and Taylor arrive on a base on a planet that shouldn't exist as it is being surrounded by a black hole.

The Doctor and Taylor get caught up in a base under siege as a slave race called the Ood are highjacked by an unknown entity, which is later revealed to be none other than, "The Beast". Which is hinted to be Satan himself.

In the end, the Doctor and Taylor help the crew off the planet and is able to guide the planet with the Beast into the black hole, killing him permanently.

While this serial went down with no controversy in the UK, in the US. Several conservative leaning organizations publicly condemned the episode for it's usage of Satan. However, they were a vocal minority and the majority of audiences in both the US and the UK praised the story.

Serial Six (Ep. 10): DEATH OF THE TARDIS

Written by Krista Vernoff
Directed by Graeme Harper
Air Dates: 1 June 2002

This serial would begin with the Doctor and Taylor running into the TARDIS after a normal adventure. The two of them talk for a minute before the ship grounds to a halt.

The Vortisaur's, introduced two seasons ago in Storm Warning, start attacking the TARDIS and trying to destroy it. With this, the Doctor sets the TARDIS into lockdown and have it start fighting off the Vortisaur's. However, the Doctor and Taylor must take shelter in the TARDIS library.

Throughout the rest of the episode. It plays out as a two hander character piece as the Doctor and Taylor just talk. About each other, their past and the people of their past. With the episode ending once the TARDIS has been repaired and the Vortisaur's repelled back into the Time Vortex with the Doctor working on the TARDIS' shields to make sure nothing like that happens again.

This serial would be one of the more popular ones in the serial. With fans praising Krista Vernoff's writing of the Doctor and Taylor. With her dissecting the Doctor's past, his view of his own race as well as showing what it means to the Doctor to travel with him. And also explores deeply as to why the Doctor travels with people. And how he views his fellow travelers as special people.

Serial Seven (Ep. 11-13): THE MEDICAL DISASTER

Written by Jed Mercurio
Directed by Joe Ahearne
Air Dates: 8-22 June 2002

The final serial begins with the TARDIS landing on Earth in the year 2718. The Doctor and Taylor arrive at the "Ketra Surgical Hospital" in London, which is known for curing any possible disease at the time. And, until the closer of the hospital. They never had a single death. However, the Doctor and Taylor arrive there when one of the patients die due to an uncurable disease. Which shocks the Doctor as he says the hospital is not set to close for another three hundred years.

Throughout the serial, the Doctor and Taylor meet a good chunk of the hospital staff which all are dismayed to the death as they never lost a patient before. Taylor takes charge of the investigation in to the death to figure out how they died. With it being learned at the end of part one of the serial that the patient died due to an illness that came from the 21st century. One that was thought to have been irradicated centuries ago. Which causes Taylor grief as she realizes that this disease, which had not been diagnosed in her time, was something that she had. With her thinking it was nothing but now realizing that it was something.

The rest of the serial plays out as a disaster serial as patients, and later the physicians, die one after the other. And the Doctor is worried that time will break down.

This continues until the last ten minutes of the serial. Where a massive, white light shines on the hospital. And one by one, everyone that died was resurrected and Taylor is cured of the disease. And the Doctor, goes into a mental retreat, with it seemingly like he is talking to someone. But we do not know who. After the light disappears. The Doctor comes out of his mental retreat. A single tear drops down the Doctor's face. The Doctor pulls Taylor aside and says to her that. He needs to leave, and he cannot come with her. As, because of her almost destroying the timeline. She cannot leave the time zone. That and with where he has to go, normal human beings cannot go to. The two of them cry and they say goodbye to each other. The Doctor enters his TARDIS and it dematerializes. One of the physicians asks Taylor, now that she is stuck here, if she is interested in a job.

The Doctor is in the TARDIS as it is in flight and it eventually stops, the TARDIS doors open and the white light enters the console room. The Doctor, groaning, looks towards it, and says, "Don't worry. I'm coming." The Doctor walks out of the TARDIS and into the light and the season ends.

The reason that, with it being Taylor's final serial and focusing on a group of characters that weren't just her. It was announced in 2014 that the Ketra hospital was a planned spin-off by Jed Mercurio. One that could broaden the franchise's appeal. However, both the BBC and HBO declined the spin-off idea. While this wasn't made public until long later. It did factor into Mercurio's decision to leave the franchise at the end of the 40th anniversary season.

Season Conclusion

So, that was Season 38 of Doctor Who. On the whole, the partnership of Jed Mercurio and Russell T Davies laid out some popular serials throughout the season. And general audiences and critics approved of the more Earth-based serials of the season.

As already said, it was announced that Jed Mercurio would be departing following the 40th anniversary season in 2003. And it would also be announced that the 40th anniversary SEASON would be bringing back all alive past Doctors. With most serials in the following season being multi-Doctor serials.

Come Back Next Time for Gallifrey: Series Four