Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Paul Evans The Doctor lands on the red planet, Mars 2059. He stumbles across the first Space Colony led by the charismatic bud domineering Adelaide Brooke, Bowie Base One. On site they have a massive garden on board, their very own Eden. One of the gardeners is quickly infected with something, and becomes quickly disfigured. A worried Doctor tries to escape but is encouraged to stay and help. Another gardener, Maggie, is discovered unconscious and placed in isolation, soon after something happens to her and she too becomes infected, as does yet another member, Tarak. Water begins streaming out of all of them and their skin becomes disfigured. The crew try to take off back to Earth, but the infected humans have other ideas. The Doctor has two choices, to leave the crew to their intended fate of death, or to intercede.I have to mention Lindsay Duncan, as a huge fan of hers from her many Stephen Poliakoff dramas i was overjoyed to see her guest in Doctor Who, she did not disappoint, she was fantastic. I enjoyed her discussion about seeing a Dalek.After the nightmare that was Planet of the Dead, this was a much better episode. The hour long format is good, it allows a great development of story and characters. A far more scary episode, this time there is real menace from the infected beings, the scene of Andy infecting Tarak is quite a nasty one. Much faster paced and more dramatic, there's a real feeling of danger and threat. A slightly sour ending, the Doctor's getting a little cocky, he's starting to play God. 7/10 (on the right day maybe an 8)

igoatabase A special Doctor Who episode set on Mars in 2059 sounded like a great way to finally discover the show. However I was worried that it would be as disappointing as Torchwood, its spin-off. Now that I have seen it all I can say is that my opinion is mixed. Some elements were interesting but overall it felt like a waste of time. In fact beside the story it's also Lindsay Duncan who convinced me to watch the episode as she plays Adelaide Brooke, the new companion. I really liked her character in Rome and her performance was quite good. As expected her talent and charisma shined and without her The Waters of Mars would have been dead dry. I can't even believe she's almost 60 years old because her natural beauty was easy on the eyes. Moreover her character was fierce and strong-minded so she made a believable commander of the first human mission on Mars. However she shadowed the other cast members and revealed the seams of a questionable ensemble cast. I hope the performers were hired for their talent, not the color of their skin.As terraforming is a recurring and fascinating topic in the scientific news I was expecting something smart and controversial. But the story was predictable and written around sci-fi clichés and questionable ideas. Only after a few minutes I already wanted to switch off my TV because I thought things could only get worse. I should have because most of the time I was bored and only continued to watch the episode because of the Doctor intriguing attitude and Lindsay Duncan. I can accept they had to produce a family friendly episode but I wasn't expecting some scary scenes to be nearly as ridiculous as in Scream and other teen movies. But the worst idea was probably to include the most annoying robot I have ever seen. It even reminded me of Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars. It's like if the writers had found, dusted and followed an ancient book on Disney worst recipes and black creativity.Otherwise beside Duncan a few elements saved this episode from reaching the deep sea, where plastic bottles find a second life. First even if the story wasn't frightening I have to admit that it succeeded in questioning the morality of terraforming other planets, to feed our desire of conquest and urge to survive our own mistakes. There were also some deep and sad moments between Adelaide and the Doctor. In fact I think some scenes could be relatively disturbing for young viewers. Last but not least watching the Doctor so tortured was surprising because at first he seemed funny and joyful. However when watching him fight his inner demons should have been fascinating it wasn't because the action was sloppy and they waited for the last minutes to make the scenes more dynamic, but the execution only led to chaotic ones. The actor's performance was also over the top. Otherwise the ending was intriguing enough and made me curious about the Doctor. Because with a better story and without the junk following his adventures could be both entertaining and interesting.

siderite It was like an average Doctor Who episode, if you ask me, but it was so uneven that it oscillated between very good and very bad moments, probably because this special has a double purpose: one is to tell a story and remind Dr.Who fans that the show still goes on, the other is to prepare for the coming of the new doctor.What will probably upset most fans is that in this special The Doctor is changing personality, going more towards "the dark side". I find this development marvelous and intriguing, giving new life to the otherwise pretty used up idea of a perpetually good and balanced doctor.Bottom line: scary monsters and super freaks, but not very believable. A design of a Moon base that makes no sense. Some useless jokes. A lot of tension and it certainly makes me want to watch the Christmas episode... but it could have been better. The Gadget-Gadget bot really was out of place and, if I think about it, the best part of the entire show was the last 20 minutes.I tell you this: if Billie Piper doesn't play in the Christmas special, I will be very very disappointed! Her character is what could change the tide, so to speak...

Matthew Kresal Once in a while your favorite TV series will surprise you. I remember liking but not being blown away by The Next Doctor and being utterly disappointed by Planet Of The Dead. So I wasn't sure what to make of the next special Waters Of Mars, especially with it seemingly delayed to the point of being an afterthought to what promises to be an epic finale to the tenth Doctor era. So imagine my surprise upon finally seeing Waters Of Mars and discovering that not only was it a major improvement over the two previous specials but that here was a story featuring everything that makes Doctor Who great was in it: action, fine acting, horror and yet it being a personal tale at the same time.David Tennant turns in his best performance since Human Nature/Family Of Blood. Here we see a tenth Doctor like we have never seen before on a roller coaster ride of emotions. We first see a Doctor thrilled by adventure as he always has before realizing he's in the wrong place at the wrong time and trying futilely to not get involved. Then we see something unexpected during an incredible eleven or twelves minutes with a Doctor who throws caution to the wind and soon learns the price of doing so. Tennant's performance throughout all this is nothing short of one word: extraordinary. It's a performance that hits all the acting notes beautifully and may well be Tennant's best performance in the role.There's also a fine supporting cast as well. Lindsay Duncan plays base commander Adelaide Brooke, who in a way becomes a one-off companion of sorts. Yet she is far more then just that though. In just an hour she becomes a full fledged character with a back-story and a character arc as well. Brooke is a pioneer who finds herself caught up in a crisis with a man who knows what is about to happen and, in the end, will be utterly appalled by the actions he will take. Duncan plays the role well as she shares some fine scenes with Tennant during the back half of the special, especially during one of the most emotional scenes the New Series has yet served to its audience. Duncan was a perfect choice for the role and her presence helps to elevate the special's quality. There's also a good supporting cast as well in the form of base members including Peter O'Brien as Ed, Alan Ruscoe as Andy, Sharon Duncan Brewster as Maggie and Gemma Chan as Mia Bennett. Together they make a fine supporting cast.There's also some fine work behind the camera as well. There is some fantastic make-up and effects work in regards to the villains of the special which make them, next to the stone angels from Blink, perhaps the scariest thing to have been used in the New Series, especially in the revealing of the first one which made he jump out of my seat (literally). The base is well realized both in the form of the sets interiors (including some fine location work) and the well done CGI exterior as well. There's also a really well done version of the Martian surface as well which is almost convincing, especially with the Doctor walking on it. Then there's the robot Gadget as well which is almost a character rather then a prop. Plus there's the music of Murray Gold that, especially in the last eleven or twelve minutes, shows once again the power of a Doctor Who score. To top it all off there's the ever fantastic direction of Graeme Harper who once again proves himself to be the best director on the New Series by walking the tightrope of action, emotion, horror and suspense without ever falling off. Fine work by all indeed.Which brings us to the script. While Russel T. Davies previous collaboration with Gareth Roberts turned out to be something of a dud, his collaboration with Phil Ford proves to be among the better scripts of the New Series. Waters Of Mars takes the classic Doctor Who formula of base under siege and feeds into that formula action sequences, horror, sacrifices and the question at the heart of any time travel series: if you knew what was to happen and could change it, should you? It is that last question that occupies the Doctor throughout the special and that ultimately leads to a powerful finale that answers that question all too painfully. The script does what any great Doctor Who story should do: be exciting, horrifying and yet personal.Waters Of Mars qualifies as one of the finest stories of the New Series. It starts with fine performances from David Tennant, Lindsay Duncan and the supporting cast. It continues on into the production values including make-up, special effects, the CGI rendering of the base, the score and more of the fantastic direction of Graeme Harper. Then there's the script from Russel T. Davies and Phil Ford that hits all the right notes of action, horror, suspense and yet remaining a personal tale as well. Waters Of Mars ranks with Human Nature/Family Of Blood, Blink and Dalek as amongst the best stories to come out of the New Series and is a fine example of what Doctor Who is at its best.