The Runaway Bride is the 2006 Christmas special which has to bridge the gap between Rose’s departure and the introduction of the next companion. The introduction is quite funny and finally the proper logo is used in the title sequence instead of the weirdly textured thing used in series one and two. Donna is quite funny at first but she is a bit too overplayed to the point where she does start to be a bit annoying. There are several moments throughout the episode where she shows that she is more than just a joke and does have a real character to her but ultimately she serves her one-off companion purpose well while still having more to her that could be used later in her return which is good.
This episode does have some rather funny moments throughout and has a mostly light hearted tone, only getting dark towards the end. The sequence where the Doctor and Donna are trying to get money and a taxi is fun and the robot santas do build up some nice tension. The Tardis on the motorway scene is really cool with some pretty decent cgi and little touches like the Doctor using string just add a lot of charm. The mention of Rose feels a bit forced though and the kids are so unnecessary and just make it too cheesy. Rose gets mentioned way too much in this episode, the only times it works are in the bit with the Doctor and Donna on the rooftop and at the end of the episode. The worst example is the bit where the Doctor has Rose flashbacks at the wedding reception – we get it Russel T Davies, you are sad that Rose is gone and you want us to be sad too, stop rubbing it in!
There is a little bit of laziness where the cameraman has camera footage that is literally just a clip from the episode itself instead of something he actually could’ve filmed. Other than that and a few dodgy bits of cgi like the baubles the production values on this episode seem pretty solid. The first look at the legs and mouth of the Racnoss are good at building up for the later reveal but the voice and erratic movements come off as over the top. The Racnoss moves her body in such a weird way it can’t be taken seriously at all.
Donna not remembering the alien invasions from series two is quite interesting. The story here as a whole is relatively interesting, not great or anything but it gets the job done. The bit with the segway things I find a bit odd and unnecessary. There is also some really awful green screen work in the room where the Doctor and Donna confront the Racnoss. It never usually looks this bad.
The Racnoss is extremely impressive to look at but its voice and movements are just far too silly for it to be taken seriously. The bit with Lance and the axe feel like just forced tension as it doesn’t really make sense for him to do it. Lance is such an asshole though to the point where I struggle to believe that any person could be that malicious unless he is literally mentally insane or a criminal or something. He is just too over the top to be considered a believable human. The bit where Lance completely roasts Donna is just brutal and pretty tragic to watch.
The Racnoss’ plan makes no sense. She easily could’ve kidnapped someone and forced them to drink the water, like she eventually does to Lance, but for some reason she decided to wait six months while slowly giving it to Donna. It’s such a stupid plan.
The Doctor drowning all the Racnoss’ children is pretty damn dark and horrible as you hear their screams and the Doctor just stands there. I love it though as it finally starts to show the Tenth Doctor’s darker side that was completely absent in series two, it makes sense as well as he is vulnerable after losing Rose and has pent up rage. The water and fire looks really cool as well. It’s just a shame the Racnoss’ over the top screaming ruins it a bit. Also, surely drowning the Thames would kill or just ruin the day of all the people on boats? The snowing bit is a bit cheesy as well, doing it The Christmas Invasion was one thing but doing it again is pushing it. I like the ending where Donna is scared of the Doctor and decides to stay as it does seem like a very realistic reaction.
Overall, this is a good episode. The villain is a bit crap but the story moves at a pretty fast pace, Donna is a good character for the most part, the music is good and there are some quality moments throughout.
7/10
Advertisements Share this:
