Tooth and Claw

Tennant is very likeable at the start, just a great Doctor. Everything worked out on this episode, bravo!

As my specific recollections about the episode start to get a little less clear, I'm feel like I'm finding them anew in some cases, and in the case of this one, it was a pleasant surprise just how good it was.

Despite aiming for the Top Rank in Sheffield, 1979, to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose (Billie Piper) land in 1879 Scotland and into the company of none other than Queen Victoria (Pauline Collins) as she makes an annual pilgrimage. However, her arrival has been anticipated and a trap awaits her at Torchwood House, in the form of shaolin monks and a werewolf they have in their possession.

Let's start with the opposite remark to something I've said in a number of my reviews so far, the CGI effect for the Werewolf is really good. There is a classic transition, which is passible without being too scary for the children who might be watching, but then the creature itself is a pretty solid effect, maintains scale throughout and interacts with various characters and objects without giving itself away.

The rest of the episode is decent. The warrior monk aspect was a little corny, especially with the fight scene at the start, but once that was over with they played their part OK. The story was well thought out and foreshadows the ending well enough that you can follow the Doctors' reasoning. Piper and Tennant remain an engaging pair together, there's more comedy again, with Rose trying to get Queen Victoria to say that she's "not amused". I really liked the turn at the end, we're so used to characters saying thank you and goodbye to the Doctor after he saves them, that seeing Queen Victoria turn on him and banish him from the Empire, as well as trying to exhort her own control of the world she's now aware of, seems like a logical way to go - as well as seeding much of the arc of this season, and laying the foundations for the "Torchwood" spin off.

Good episode.

Overall, Tooth and Claw is very enjoyable. And now this episode sets up Season's 2's arc nicely, with Queen Elizabeth addressing and announcing to the Doctor about Torchwood. There's often not enough mention about this episode, but I find it quite interesting. There's alot of nice scenery, and some cool stunts, and terrifying Weareolf which does seem pretty cool, yes admittedly the ending and the death of the Weareolf Is a cop-out. But don't let that distract you from a very good episode that handles the cinematography and the tension between the assassins and the people distract you from a disappointing and lackluster last 5 Minutes. As facing off against a Weareolf is quite a fun premise. With the start of an arc.

This episode reminds me in a very good way of the greatest era of the show in the early seasons of Tom Baker's era as the 4th Doctor in that it has gothic horror themes and is properly creepy, atmospheric, exciting and scary as well as having some great witty humour.

The story has the TARDIS taking the 10th Doctor and Rose to Victorian era Scotland where they actually meet Queen Victoria. Meanwhile a werewolf type creature appears and the Doctor has to try to save the day whilst dealing with the Queen and her entourage at the same time.

The humour is great, the scares are great and Tennant well and truly shines in the role of the Doctor . Pauline Collins (who appeared in a 2nd Doctor story in the 1960s called The Faceless Ones) is marvelous as Queen Victoria and the acting and production all round are impressive.

It is not, for me, an absolute all time great 10/10 but is very close so I rate it 9.5/10.

The Doctor intends to take Rose to 1979, but the TARDIS due to its typical erratic nature takes them to 1879, where the pair of them meet Queen Victoria in Scotland. The Doctor poses as the Queen's protector under the pseudonym of Dr. James McCrimmon, and the Time Lord and his companion travel along with her Majesty and her entourage to the home of Sir Robert MacLeish. Unknown to them, Sir Robert's wife and his servants have been kidnapped, and imprisoned in his own home by a group of monks who have fallen from grace, and want to bring about the rise of "The Empire of the Wolf." A new order ruled over by an alien creature, resembling a Werewolf, whose bite or scratch can essentially transform the recipient of said bite, into a wolfish creature. The intention is that it will kill Queen Victoria, and bring about its existence.

The Second episode of Series 2, of NuWho, "Tooth and Claw" is one of the better episodes of Russell T. Davies's run not only as Showrunner but as a writer. It's a simple concept, but one delivered with some considerable verve. David Tennant is on solid form as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, as is Billie Piper, who continues to impress as his companion Rose, who proves that acting was always going to be her true calling, rather than her brief stint as a teen princess pop-singer. Many balked at her casting and were too quick to make assumptions about her abilities as an actress. But she proved the naysayers wrong, winning two British television Awards for her work on the series.

Guest appearing is veteran actress, Pauline Collins of Shirley Valentine and Upstairs Downstairs fame, who provides reliable and solid support as Queen Victoria, and brings the required amount of sovereignty and dignity to the role. The rest of the supporting cast for the most part equals her considerable talents. That said Michelle Duncan who plays Sir. Roberts's Wife, Lady Isobell proves to be a weak link, who proves to be lifeless as a corpse, although given the relative smallness of her role proves to be a minor flaw that doesn't impact too much on the overall quality of this outing.

What makes the story all that bit enjoyable, and brings an ounce of nostalgic Whoish, fan-boy joy to it, is the Doctor using the alias of James McCrimmon, an obvious reference to his former Jacobite rebel companion, Jamie (as once played by veteran actor Frazer Hines) from the late 1960s run of the series.

The story is fanciful enough, although its final code foreshadows the introduction of the Torchwood Institute that would be introduced at the end of the series, as it would the spin-off show. A TV series that had an all-too-short run, and would give, former traveling companion, the dashing Captain Jack Harkness (as played by the charismatic and handsome John Barrowman) his own TV series. It does however feel a bit too phoned in its delivery. Not to mention that the martial-artistic abilities of the Monks, although it does make for an entertaining hook, are somewhat anachronistic, it's something I can forgive because, what can I say, it still looks goddamn cool. Hell, this is Doctor Who after all. Tooth and Claw is immense fun, with minor flaws that I am willing to look over, because of its steady breakneck pace, embracing characters, and the discernibly palpable chemistry between David Tennant and Billie Piper. In short, don't give this one a miss.