Partners in Crime (Doctor Who): Difference between revisions

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|publisher = [[BBC]]
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|accessdate = 2008-04-05
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}}</ref> Tate's return was controversial to ''Doctor Who'' fans; the criticism she received was compared to what [[Daniel Craig]] received for accepting the role of [[James Bond (character)|James Bond]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/galleries/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=7349404|title=Catherine Tate - Are You Bovvered?|accessdate=2008-04-07|first=Lorna|last=Cooper|publisher=[[MSN]]|work=MSN UK Entertainment|location=[[United Kingdom]]}}</ref> Howard Attfield, who appeared as Donna's father Geoff in "[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]", filmed several scenes for this episode, but died filming the remainder of the season. The producers retired his character out of respect, and dedicated him in the closing credits for the episode.<ref name="pod" /> Producer [[Phil Collinson]] suggested transferring his traits to the originally unrelated character [[Wilfred Mott]] and rewriting his role as Donna's grandfather. Executive producers [[Russell T Davies]] and Gardner liked the idea and recalled [[Bernard Cribbins]] to the role to re-film Attfield's scenes.<ref name="pod" />
}}</ref> Tate's return was controversial to many ''Doctor Who'' fans.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/galleries/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=7349404|title=Catherine Tate - Are You Bovvered?|accessdate=2008-04-07|first=Lorna|last=Cooper|publisher=[[MSN]]|work=MSN UK Entertainment|location=[[United Kingdom]]}}</ref> Howard Attfield, who appeared as Donna's father Geoff in "[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]", filmed several scenes for this episode, but died before filming the remainder of the season. The producers retired his character out of respect, and dedicated him in the closing credits for the episode.<ref name="pod" /> Producer [[Phil Collinson]] suggested transferring his traits to the originally unrelated character [[Wilfred Mott]] and rewriting his role as Donna's grandfather. Executive producers [[Russell T Davies]] and Gardner liked the idea and recalled [[Bernard Cribbins]] to the role to re-film Attfield's scenes.<ref name="pod" />


===Writing===
===Writing===

Revision as of 09:08, 8 April 2008

193 – "Partners in Crime"
Doctor Who episode
The Adipose, CGI aliens created using Massive FX, march through Central London towards Adipose Industries.
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byJames Strong
Written byRussell T. Davies
Produced byPhil Collinson
Executive producer(s)Russell T. Davies
Julie Gardner
Production code4.1
SeriesSeries 4
Running time48 mins
First broadcast5 April 2008
Chronology
← Preceded by
"Voyage of the Damned" 		Followed by →
"The Fires of Pompeii"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

"Partners in Crime" is the first episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 April 2008 at 6:20pm. In the episode, comedienne Catherine Tate reprises her role as Donna Noble, who previously appeared in "The Runaway Bride". Donna and the Doctor (David Tennant) meet while separately investigating Adipose Industries, a company creating a revolutionary diet pill. Together, they attempt to stop alien businesswoman Miss Foster (Sarah Lancashire) from killing thousands of people in London during the birth of the Adipose, short white aliens made from body fat.

The episode's alien creatures, the Adipose, were created using the software Massive FX, commonly used for crowd sequences in fantasy and science fiction films. The episode is stylistically different from other Doctor Who episodes; the episode is based on moral ambiguity, and the antagonists are in a different style to Doctor Who's regular "big and scary" monsters.

The episode also features the return of three other characters. Jacqueline King reprises her role as Sylvia Noble from "The Runaway Bride". Bernard Cribbins reprises his role as Wilfred Mott from "Voyage of the Damned". Cribbins was recalled to replace the character of Geoff Noble after actor Howard Attfield died. Billie Piper also briefly reprises her role as Rose Tyler for the first time since the second series' finale "Doomsday", in a scene that was not included in preview showings.

Plot

The episode primarily focuses upon Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), a previous companion who appeared in "The Runaway Bride". Since her last encounter with the Doctor (Doctor Who), she has had a major change in personality. She became disenchanted with normal life, and began searching for the Doctor, regretting declining his invitation to travel in the TARDIS. She also starts believing conspiracy theories—apart from one about "the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day". She confides her regrets in her grandfather Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins), an amateur astronomer who met the Doctor shortly before the episode's events.

The episode's events concern Adipose Industries, who are marketing a diet pill to London's population with the slogan "the fat just walks away". Believing the treatment to be otherworldly, the Doctor and Donna investigate separately, and find that the slogan is literal—the pills use latent body fat to parthenogenetically create the Adipose, small white aliens. In an emergency, multiple Adipose can spawn by using all of the host's organic tissue. When the Doctor and Donna meet, they are confronted by Miss Foster (Sarah Lancashire), an alien who is exploiting Britain's overweight population to create the Adipose for the Adiposian First Family.

Foster accelerates her plans, feeling threatened by the Doctor's invocation of galactic law and fearing he may "inform the Shadow Proclamation", an intergalactic code and council.[1][2] Throughout London, the Adipose begin to spawn, soon numbering several thousand, and make their way to Adipose Industries, though the Doctor and Donna are able to prevent full parthenogenesis occurring. The Adiposian First Family use their spaceship to collect the Adipose, but kill Foster to hide any evidence they used Earth illegally. The Doctor defers from killing the Adipose because they are children; Donna notes that Martha, his previous companion, made him more human, citing his infanticide of the Racnoss in their previous encounter.[3]

At the end of the episode, Donna accepts an offer to travel in the TARDIS. She makes a detour to leave her car keys for her mother Sylvia, and asks a blonde woman to help Sylvia (Jacqueline King) find the keys. The woman turns towards the camera, revealing her to be Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), and fades as she walks away from the area.

Production

Casting

"Partners in Crime" features several actors returning to parts in the series. Catherine Tate was offered to return to the role of Donna Noble during lunch with executive producer Julie Gardner. Tate, who expected Gardner would ask about appearing in a biopic, later admitted it was "the furthest thing from [her] mind".[4] Tate's return was controversial to many Doctor Who fans.[5] Howard Attfield, who appeared as Donna's father Geoff in "The Runaway Bride", filmed several scenes for this episode, but died before filming the remainder of the season. The producers retired his character out of respect, and dedicated him in the closing credits for the episode.[4] Producer Phil Collinson suggested transferring his traits to the originally unrelated character Wilfred Mott and rewriting his role as Donna's grandfather. Executive producers Russell T Davies and Gardner liked the idea and recalled Bernard Cribbins to the role to re-film Attfield's scenes.[4]

Writing

I see her as a slightly warped Mary Poppins. She's quite austere. She's a strong woman. When I first read the script, I thought, oh, well, of course she's a baddie... but the more I read it, I thought, 'No, she's doing what she's doing for legitimate reasons.'

Sarah Lancashire[6]

Davies took a different approach while writing the episode. David Tennant and Sarah Lancashire noted that the character Miss Foster had good intentions but was morally ambiguous.[7][6] The premise of the Adipose pill was equally ambiguous with rare side-effects, but was a "win-win situation" for anyone involved.[7] Davies based the character of Miss Foster on the "Supernanny" Jo Frost and Argentinian philanthropist and politician Eva Perón, and Lancashire compared her character to Mary Poppins.[7] The Adipose are a different style to regular Doctor Who villains; antagonists such as Lazarus in "The Lazarus Experiment" or the werewolf in "Tooth and Claw" were singular monsters designed to scare the audience; the Adipose were written as "cute" to provide a "surreal experience".[7]

Davies made some changes to Donna's character. The character was "rounded [...] out from being a shouting fishwife to someone who's quite vulnerable and emotional".[8] She provides a change in the lead companion's attitude to the Doctor; Rose and Martha both fell in love with the Doctor, but Donna was written to provide a more "caustic" and "grown-up" attitude towards him. Tate considered Donna to be on a "level pegging" with the Doctor because her character did not romanticise him, allowing her to question his morality more easily.[7]

Filming

The episode was filmed in October 2007.[7] It was in the fourth episode filmed of the series, in the fourth production block in the season; this allowed the producers to use props to "seed" later episodes.[4] Due to the episode taking place at night, most scenes were filmed in the early morning.[7]

The scene where Donna and the Doctor investigate Adipose was a "nightmare to film". Tennant and Tate experienced problems avoiding each other on-screen, and the scene took thirty shots to film. The scene was filmed in a loan company's call centre in Cardiff's outskirts on an early Sunday morning, with the company's telephonists serving as extras.[4]

Exterior shots of Adipose Industries were filmed at the Welsh Gas Board building in Cardiff's city centre. For health and safety reasons, Tennant was prohibited from performing his own stunts in the window cleaning platform. His only shot which required stunts was when he catches Miss Foster's sonic pen, a shot that took several takes to perfect.[7]

Adipose

The Adipose were inspired by a stuffed toy Davies owned.[7] The name comes from the scientific name for body fat, adipose tissue.[9] Davies' brief outlined a "cute" child-friendly creature, shaped like a block of lard. Further consultation with post-production team The Mill resulted in the ears and the singular fang each Adipose possessed.[10] Stephen Regelous, who won an Academy Award for his software Massive, then flew to London to supervise the creation of the crowd special effects.[9] Regelous, a Doctor Who fan, was enthusiastic about helping The Mill with special effects, stating that "When I first found out that the Mill was working on Doctor Who, I was quietly hoping that Massive might be used to create hordes of Daleks or Cybermen and with series 4, I jumped at the opportunity to be involved."[11] The Mill created two types of Adipose: extras with artificial intelligence and independent movement, and "hero" Adipose, which were hand-animated.[9]

Broadcast and reception

Billie Piper's return was described by Tennant as a "genuine prickle up the spine".

Broadcast and ratings

The episode was broadcast at 6:20pm on 5 April 2008, the earliest time since the show's revival in 2005. Davies criticised the BBC's scheduling department and claimed that the show could lose 1.5 million viewers.[12] Davies negotiated with the BBC for the schedule to be changed to gain higher ratings, and was able to have the latter half of the series aired in its regular slot at 7:00pm.[13]

The preview version of the episode supplied to the press and aired at the press launch omitted the scene which contained Rose; before broadcast, only the production team, Tate, and Tennant had seen the scene.[4] The scene contains Rose's departure theme, "Doomsday". Tennant commented "on the night of transmission... the Radio Times won't have told you it's coming, it'll come as a genuine ... prickle up the spine."[4]

Overnight figures estimated the show was watched by 8.4 million viewers, with a peak of 8.7 million, 39.4% of the television audience. Doctor Who was therefore the most watched show on 5 April; second was Casualty, with approximately seven million viewers, although the Grand National had a higher peak than either show with 10.1 million viewers.[14][15][16] The episode's Appreciation Index was 88 ("Excellent"), the highest for any TV show aired on 5 April.[17]

Critical reception

The episode received generally positive reviews. John Preston, writing for The Daily Telegraph, called the episode an "undiluted triumph". Opening his review, he said "last night's episode struck me as being as close to 50 minutes of pure pleasure as you're likely to get on television." He emphasised the topical nature of the episode and the show's mixture of emotion and special effects. In closing, he said "the dejected critic, denied even the smallest nit to pick, walks glumly away."[18] Scott Matthewman of The Stage lamented that the Adipose were not threatening enough. He liked Miss Foster's death, a "momentary pause in mid-air, gravity only kicking in when the character looks down", comparing it to Wile E. Coyote and Chuck Jones, and concluding by saying it "[was] a nice little touch in an episode which is full of them." He also appreciated Tate, saying that "David Tennant finally has a partner who is approaching an equal."[19] Sam Wollaston of The Guardian, however, wrote that Tate was "not right for this role" and "too hysterical, too comedy, not cool enough", and felt her inclusion was an attempt to trade on the popularity of her own series and "broaden the appeal of [Dr Who] still further". He also found the new music "a bit oppressive" but concluded that, despite these criticisms, the show was "still awfully nice television".[20] Keith Watson of Metro gave the episode 4 stars out of 5. He admitted that despite his dislike of Tate, "[Tate] isn't that bad." His review of the Adipose was positive, citing them as a reason of the quality of the show. Closing, he said "Well, it split my sides."[21]

Lizo Mzimba, anchor and reporter for CBBC's Newsround, gave the episode four out of five. He stated that "this is a pretty good start to the series thanks to a script filled with emotional moments, ranging from incredibly funny to terribly sad." He also wrote a section praising the continuity in this episode, especially in cases that "don't quite seem to make sense". The use of special effects, especially the Adipose, was praised, and Mzimba ended his review by saying the episode "promises much over the next thirteen weeks".[22] Alisdair Stuart of Firefox News called the episode "the strongest season opener since 'Rose'". He called the miming scene between the Doctor and Donna a "glorious, long overdue parody of the silent 'I’ll save you' moment from 42", and applauded the scene's ability to be overdrawn but still funny.[23] Jon Wise of The People said "Doctor Who is a super-galactic way of spending a Saturday night indoors.", and appreciated that, unlike Martha or Rose, Donna wasn't romantically interested in the Doctor.[24] Ben Rawson-Jones gave the episode a wholly positive review, summarising it as containing "pure fantastic family fun, delivering a winning blend of action, comedy, poignancy and one unexpected shock cameo."[25]

The episode received several negative reviews. Andrew Billen, writing for The Times, lamented that Davies had "forgotten that Doctor Who's main task is to send children scuttling behind sofas while entertaining their fathers with the odd philosophical idea, the occasional classical reference, a joke or two they would probably not wish to explain and a wee bit of space totty." Billen also criticised the writing and acting, but commended Tate for a "toned down performance".[26] Alan Stanley Blair of SyFy Portal was summarised as "a runaway Saturday morning cartoon in desperate need to a solid story". Blair found flaws with the comedy and the music in the episode, but was impressed with Tate's acting and Piper's cameo.[27] Kevin O'Sullivan of the Sunday Mirror criticised Tate and Tennant for overacting, and had concerns about the writing: "It didn't exactly ooze tension. All we got in the way of terrifying space enemies was Sarah Lancashire hamming it up as an intergalactic super nanny, a couple of security guards with guns and lots of cute little fat babies."[28] Ian Hyland of News of the World criticised the child-friendly storyline, comparing it to "the back of a fag packet". He also criticised Tennant for appearing "jaded" and Tate for "still shouting".[29]

References

  1. ^ Writer Russell T. Davies, Director James Hawes, Producer Phil Collinson (2005-12-25). "The Christmas Invasion". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Writer Russell T. Davies, Director Keith Boak, Producer Phil Collinson (2005-03-26). "Rose". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Writer Russell T. Davies, Director Graeme Harper, Producer Phil Collinson (2006-12-25). "The Runaway Bride". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Tennant, David; Tate, Catherine; Collinson, Phil. Partners In Crime (Podcast; MP3). BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-05. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Cooper, Lorna. "Catherine Tate - Are You Bovvered?". MSN UK Entertainment. United Kingdom: MSN. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  6. ^ a b "Super Nanny". Doctor Who microsite. BBC. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "A Noble Return". Doctor Who Confidential. Season 4. Episode 1. 2008-04-05. BBC. BBC Three. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "A Noble Calling". Radio Times (5-11 April 2008). BBC: p 23. 2008. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ a b c "Little Monsters?". Radio Times (5-11 April 2008). BBC: pp 25. 2008. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ McKinney, Matt (2008-04-05). Making the Adipose (FLV). BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  11. ^ Brook, Stephen (2008-04-03). "Doctor Who: a special effects sneak peek". Organgrinder. The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Davies, Russell T (2008-03-25, aggregated on 2008-03-28). "Davies criticizes Time Slot". Ariel, Outpost Gallifrey. Retrieved 2008-03-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Time Slot will change later in Series". Outpost Gallifrey. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Marcus (2008-04-06). "Partners in Crime - Overnight Ratings". Outpost Gallifrey. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "8.4m viewers see Doctor Who return". United Kingdom: Press Association. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Doctor Who attracts 8.4m viewers". BBC. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Marcus (2008-04-07). "Partners in Crime: AI figure and Ratings update". Outpost Gallifrey. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Preston, John (2008-04-06). "Doctor Who is as close to pure pleasure as you'll get on television". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Matthewman, Scott (2008-04-06). "Doctor Who 4.1: Partners in Crime". TV Today. The Stage. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Wollaston, Sam (2008-04-07). "The weekend's TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Watson, Keith (2008-04-07). "The Weekend's TV: A right Who ha". Metro, MetroLife. Associated Newspapers Ltd. p. 28. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Mzimba, Lizo (2008-04-06). "Lizo reviews first episode of Dr Who". CBBC Newsround. BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Stuart, Alisdair (2008-04-05). "Doctor Who 4.01 'Partners in Crime'". Arizona: Firefox News. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Wise, Jon (2008-04-06). "Tardis in a spot of bovver". The People. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Rawson-Jones, Ben (April 2008). "S04E01: 'Partners In Crime'". Cult: Doctor Who. Digital Spy. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Billen, Andrew (2008-04-07). "Doctor Who; Louis Theroux's African Hunting Holiday". The Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Blair, Alan Stanley (2008-04-05). "Review: 'Doctor Who' - Partners In Crime". SyFy Portal. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ O'Sullivan, Kevin (2008-04-06). "Not bovvered by the Doctor". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Hyland, Ian (2008-04-06). "Tate's on board, I ain't bothered". News of the World. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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