NuWho Review: Series 1 Episode 9 “The Empty Child”

By: Steven Moffat

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet watched this episode, please go and do so before proceeding. 

            At last I get to review this episode! I’ve been looking forward to having an excuse to watch it again for some time. So without further ado, let us dive in.


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- The Empty Child opens with The Doctor and Rose on an exciting high-speed chase through the Time Vortex. This is a brilliant, adrenaline-filled beginning that both grabs the audience’s attention and kicks the plot into high gear from the get-go. Not to mention the funny touch about ‘Code Red’ vs. ‘Code Mauve’!

- So The Doctor and his faithful blond companion land in a dirty back street of London; bickering about time tracks, milk, and Spock as The Doctor tries to pick a lock and Rose hears a little child calling for ‘Mummy’.

- It is within this scene when the child is first introduced that the genius of James Hawes’ direction really shines. The child is standing on top of a building and is backlit by one of the searchlights, making it near impossible to make out the gas mask under his mop of wild blond hair. The atmosphere of this episode is just perfect...ranging from warm and homey to cold and creepy with the blink of an eye. No wonder Rose went to investigate this kid; that shot made me want to know more the first time I watched it!

- While Rose is climbing the fire-escape, The Doctor gets the door open and enters a club where he swipes the microphone to speak to the masses. Poor bloke! Much as I hate to admit it, Rose had a point when she was nagging him about scanning the surrounding area with the screwdriver. If he had he might not have made the hilarious and awkward gaff that he did. I mean, it was the London Blitz, after all. No wonder everyone laughed when he asked if they had noticed anything falling from the sky!

- And that brings me to the impressive (and doubtlessly expensive) scene where Rose is given an up close and personal tour of the bombings via barrage balloon. Many have accused Rose of being an idiot for getting stuck on that balloon rope in the first place. I respectfully disagree. While I am by no means a Rose Tyler fan, my dislike of her does not stem from any intelligence she may or may not inherently possess. As to why she didn’t let go of the rope; well, she was already pretty high up when the balloon began to drift and it started near enough to the edge of the roof that in no time at all she couldn’t let go. Besides, would you have had the presence of mind to let go in a situation like that? Why she failed to notice that her rope was part of a barrage balloon before she started to climb is anyone’s guess, (though she has exhibited obliviousness before, most notably in the case of plastic!Mickey) In the interest of being fair, though, I’ll bet my boots that it was because she was rather focused on helping a lost child. 

- Now that that little issue is cleared up, let’s talk about the aforementioned Blitz scene. While The Doctor is conversing with cats and receiving mysterious phone calls accompanied by cryptic warnings, Rose is taking an impromptu trip through the skies of WWII London. Bombs are dropping, German planes are zooming all around, and Rose is wearing her new Union Jack T-shirt. It’s almost like she’s Batman’s Robin with a target painted on her front! Enter an American RAF Captain and his suspiciously high-tech, futuristic binoculars…

- Although, how the Germans (or anyone else, for that matter) did not notice the extremely flashy beam of light he uses to catch her is beyond me.  Still, it is a memorable entrance that quickly establishes Jack’s character for us. His manipulation of Rose’s psychic paper reading is a joy to watch, as is his ‘date’ location for her by Big Ben. 

- Still, despite the beautiful visuals as they dance on Jack’s ‘terrace’, the one thing I thought as I watched this scene was: “What is Rose thinking? She has a boyfriend back home! Why is she describing herself as, and I quote: ‘Footloose and fancy free’?” First it was Adam she sort of hooked up with and now it’s Jack? Poor Mickey! He should just go ahead and dump her so he can move on with his life.

 - So now that I’ve complained some more about Rose, shall I move on to the other girl in this story? Nancy, possibly named after the character from Oliver Twist, is a quiet and determined girl who knows something about the mysterious object that The Doctor chased through the Vortex. She wanders the streets of London, waiting for an air raid so that she can find a deserted pantry or table to supply the children in her care with food. Nancy takes care of street kids who were orphaned by the bombs. When she sees the over-full table of the Lloyds, she instantly calls for the children and brings them into the house while something watches from the shadows.

- This is an example of the ‘warm and homey’ atmosphere that I mentioned earlier. Nancy carving the roast and attempting to instil some basic manners into the kids as she serves them supper is a treat to watch, as is the moment when The Doctor pops up amongst them. It is remarkable how at-ease the old alien looks at this gathering. He looks more comfortable at this children’s table than I think we’ve ever seen him before. Naturally, though, the happy mood is ruined when another child comes knocking at the door. Except this is a child who is not a child. Part of the brilliance of this script is the fact that we have been so drawn in by the intricate, witty plot and charming Captains that we forget all about the child in the gas mask searching for his 'mummy'. That is to say, we forget him until he shows up at this makeshift family gathering and makes them scatter in terror. 

- Before that moment (if you hadn’t already read spoilers for the episode) you wouldn’t really have any inkling that the child was a threat. It is not until this point that we realize that the child was not just a random comment or plot device but rather the point of the entire episode. That is one of the things I admire so much about this story. Nothing goes to waste. Not one little detail is ever mentioned unless it is going to play a prominent part later in the tale. Take Rose’s T-shirt, for example. It went from being a bit of humorous (but pointless) banter between The Doctor and herself to being a tangible danger to her as she hangs in the Blitz-torn sky.

- It should also be mentioned here that the scene where the child hacks the phone, the radio, and a wind-up monkey simultaneously is creepy as all get out. His cries, while pitiful, start to have a real menace to them.

- Yet he doesn’t exist simply for the purpose of a few scares. That is the best kind of villain: the kind that have depth and personality – the type that make you sorry for them even as you shudder in fear. While the boo-hiss, I’m-So-Glad-They’re-Dead villains are great fun, the truly memorable ones are similar to this child. I also find The Doctor’s comment about being the only child left out in the cold rather intriguing. Are we going to find out more about his childhood on Gallifrey? Now that I would be interested to hear!

- Another thing that was fun about this part of the episode was the chance to get to watch The Doctor and Nancy work together – and to hold out the hope that Nancy might be taken on as a companion since she clearly has the brains and heart for the job. Besides, her comment about The Doctor’s ears and nose is priceless!

- So, Nancy tells The Doctor that if he wants to know more about the child he should go talk to ‘the doctor’. True to form, after a bit of puzzling, he makes his way to Albion Hospital to find the man with the information. Let me just park here for a moment and talk about Dr. Constantine. After I got over my amusement at seeing Richard Wilson as the good doctor (I know him best as Gaius from Merlin and he was working at ALBION hospital...) I found myself enjoying his character quite a bit, although I am curious as to how he managed to stave off the transformation for so long.

- Even though Dr. Constantine’s presence here is for little more than exposition, Wilson manages to sell the informative monologues in an interesting way while also making we the audience feel for the lonely, faithful physician who refuses to abandon his patients. Also he gets to give us the most terrifying moment of NuWho thus far: the transformation of his head into a gas mask. According to Doctor Who Confidential, the fear factor of this scene was so high that they had to go back in and re-edit it (taking out the cracking noises Constantine’s skull would have made as it transformed). I’m not entirely sure how accurate that is as there are differing accounts. But no matter what, this scene is still intensely creepy.  

- It is a relief when Rose and Jack show up mere seconds later. And, oh the look The Doctor gives her when she says that she told Jack they were Time Agents and that she had christened him Mr. Spock! 

- The light moment doesn’t last long, though, as Nancy is cornered by her little brother “Jamie” who is the child in the gas mask when she goes back into the Lloyd’s house to gather more food. Then follows a rapid-fire sequence where Jack admits to being a conman and that the ‘Chula Warship’ is really just an ambulance. I still want to know how he threw it at the TARDIS, but that’s just a minor, personal nitpick that is quickly overshadowed by the gas mask zombies. Moffat has guts to throw not one but two cliffhangers at us at once, but it pays off.  

What else can I say about this episode? I’ve already spent three pages singing its praises and, as it is the first instalment of a two-parter it is hard to pass judgement on the story until it is truly finished. For this episode alone, I give it a 5/5 in terms of concept, storytelling, and atmosphere. It doesn’t get much better than this, folks. If you’re going to watch the show than The Empty Child is one episode that you simply can’t miss.

           

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?