Writer: Russell T Davies
“And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it.”
Davies returns in the fourth and fifth episode in the series with the iconic ‘Aliens of London’ and ‘World War Three’, which marks the very first appearance of the Slitheen, one of Doctor Who’s most recognisable and alien aliens, and the first two-part story in the revived series. The choice to stick to standalone stories and serials no longer than two parts is a fantastic one, meaning that the audience can jump in at any point, and not feel as if they’re not privy to a pantheon of information that they need in order to understand the simplest concepts of the episode, something that Classic Who suffers from in spades, particularly in epic ten-plus-part serials like the phenomenal “The War Games”. Given that the show was returning from a 16-year hiatus, with new people joining every single week, this pacing choice would’ve been essential to successfully cultivate a new fan base episode to episode.
This story returns to present-day Earth, back to London in 2006, where we are introduced to the reoccurring gag that the Doctor, despite hundreds of years of experience, can’t really pilot the TARDIS very well. At all. This becomes all too apparent when Rose greets her mother in an off-hand way, telling her mum that this isn’t the first time she’s stayed out all night, as her mother drops her cup of tea on the floor and tightly embraces her, sobbing loudly. Turns out Rose hasn’t been gone for a few hours like the Doctor lead her to believe. In fact, she has been gone, without a trace, for an entire year. And Mickey has been framed for her murder.
This sequence serves to again drive home the consequences of travelling with the Doctor, as is seriously helpful in making Rose’s family feel like real characters with motives and personalities, rather than just 2D consequence markers with no recognisably human qualities. Jackie’s total disillusion with the Doctor serves as a tonally stark contrast to almost every single other character in the show, save for Mickey, who reserves his adoration for Rose, resulting in some touching scenes between the two. Another highlight in the character department is the assertive and emphatic Harriet Jones (MP, Flydale North), who provides a much-needed equilibrium to the Doctor’s commanding presence.
The main antagonists of the episode, the Slitheen, effortlessly install themselves alongside classic monsters like the Cybermen and the Daleks, by fulfilling the narrative checkboxes that every great monster must: An ingenious plan, excellent design, a genuine fear of their presence and the consequences of their actions, and a distinct character trait. For the Daleks, this character trait revolves around their total lack of emotion other than pure hatred, and the Cybermen operate on a similar level, save for their lack of any emotion whatsoever. The Slitheen, however, has an undercurrent of gallows humour to every single interaction. Before the anticipated launch of the nuclear devices that should raze the Earth to nothing more than molten rock, the Slitheen declare that “Victory should be naked!”, which carries such a humorous undertone to what is otherwise a pretty harrowing vision of “victory”. Similarly, their constant flatulence while in human disguise is a very basic and immature form of humour but also carries a sense of unease, as we the audience are privy to the secret that they carry, and the catastrophic damage that could be caused if that secret is laid bare.
While I really enjoy the characterisation of the Slitheen, as well as the depth with which the secondary characters have been integrated into the narrative of the episode and the wider narrative of the series, I do have some problems with this two-parter. In particular, ‘Aliens of London’ is a bit of a slow burner, and leaves us with a cliffhanger of rather silly proportions. The Doctor isn’t going to die at the hands of the Slitheen in 10 Downing Street, obviously, and | feel that the ultimate conclusion to the episode, with Mickey, hastily becoming a computer hacker able to gain access to the missile depots of the largest paramilitary on the planet in astonishingly easy fashion, despite never once displaying any form of exceptional intelligence or astounding technical know-how, is a little ridiculous. It feels as if Davies wrote himself into a bit of a tight spot and couldn’t manoeuvre his way out very well. This explanation doesn’t sit very well with me at all though, knowing what a fantastic writer Davies can be, and his mastery over narrative foresight.
These problems aside however, the introduction of such a fantastic monster is more than enough to make this episode stand out amongst such a high-calibre series and one of my personal favourites. Aside from everything else, it’s just a lot of fun. Which is rather the point of entertainment.
7/10
P.S. Mickey is the single most unfairly treated character in all of history and I would like to apologise to him on behalf of the entire universe. Sorry, Mickey.
Joe Porter 