Time and Space: A Doctor Who Journey

Series 1, Episode 5 : World War Three
Written By : Russell T. Davies
Directed By : Keith Boak
Villian : The Slitheen
Synopsis : Downing Street announces mankind's first interplanetary war.  The Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones race against time to stop the villainous Slitheen, but only Mickey and Jackie hold the key to salvation.

Make it stop, for the love of everything, make it stop!  Ok, so this episode is slightly better than the last one, but only because they slightly reduced the number of fart jokes in it.  I do love some of the dialogue in this episode, particularly the bit where the Doctor bluffs about increasing the flammability of alcohol.

I don't really have a lot to say about this one.  While it does set up some things in the future with Harriet Jones and the Bad Wolf internet virus, it's one of those take it or leave it episode's for me.

I really don't know why the Slitheen annoy me so much, but I always seem to skip every episode with them in it, not only in Doctor Who, but also in The Sarah Jane Adventures.  They are really one of the worst villains in the entire Whodenverse, in my humble opinion.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Interesting Details:

• The Doctor reveals he is not human to the Slitheen at the beginning of the episode
• The Slitheen all seem to be connected via the compression box around their neck as evident by the electrocution of all of them when the Doctor attacks the one
• The Doctor uses a fire extinguisher as a weapon
• The Slitheen reveal that they are a family
• The Slitheen call the Doctor's bluff with the alcohol
• This is the first time the Doctor asks the name of someone who was killed trying to help and no one knows the answer.
• The Doctor struggles to place why he knows the name Harriet Jones.  She becomes very prominant later
• The Doctor's password is "buffalo" which overrides everything
• This is where Mickey makes his value as technical support apparent
• Jackie destroys the Slitheen with a mixture of gerkins, pickled eggs and pickled onions although all she needs is the vinegar
• The Slitheen reveal that their plan is to reduce the Earth to molten slag and sell off the pieces as fuel for other spaceships.  There is an intergalactic recession on.
• The American newscaster's name is Mal Loup which is very rough French for Bad Wolf
• The British swear of "Oh Bollocks" is cut off by the missile explosion
• The Doctor suggests Harriet run for Prime Minister and then figures out why he knows her name.  She gets elected in the future.
• The Doctor is not keen on anything domestic, like family dinners
• The Doctor makes the graffiti kid clean off the TARDIS
• The Doctor give Mickey a virus to put online and destroy any mention of him.
• Jackie stresses that she wants a promise from the Doctor that he'll keep Rose safe, but he never answers her
• There are no mentions of the Time War in this episode
• There are no mentions of chips in this episode
• There is one mention of the title in this episode
• There are 4 farts in this episode and multiple mentions of them
• Harriet Jones introduces herself 5 times