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Donna and the Doctor were the greatest duo this show has had. Someone described their back-and-forth as a "platonic married couple" and it's the best I can describe it
You know it's a perfect series when there's not one "Defending the Despised" to be found. Some weaker or mixed-reviewed episodes, sure, but nothing that the fans outright reject. Series 4 truly is one of the best. 💙
@@kasbt i’m with you on that, the point of my comment was that for series 5 to be able to be as good as it was, the credits go to the colossal success of series 4. @Nassim has all rights to think that series 5 is better , I only want him to know how important series 4 was to New Who
Growing up watching the show, Donna was such a role model for me. She is genuinely the companion that changed the Doctor for good, and I loved seeing a female who wasn't completely enamoured by him. Still my favourite companion ♡
Clara was the best. Able to match the Doctor in intelligence Smile too big for her face, and a wonderful personality. Made short skirts look pretty great, too. For injecting humanity & a little humility into the show, Amelia/Amy Pond was great.
@@jerelull9629 ah Clara was the worst companion of new who for me... she was cool the first couple times she showed up with the whole impossible girl thing, but I soon began to hate her. I found her both boring and self centered (her character was also way too perfect, in a Mary Sue kind of way). BUT that's just my opinion, it's good that you enjoyed her. I do agree that Amy Pond was pretty great though
@@-yammie- personally I did feel that Clara was a Mary Sue with 11, however with 12 she actually had flaws, character growth and I really enjoyed the two together.
I love how "Journey's End" has the doctor at his happiest and most despondent.... The scene where the TARDIS is being piloted by all of his former companions and companion-adjacents is so joyful, only to leave him alone and heartbroken at the very end of the episode. It's quite a rollercoaster.
Donna finally toppled Classic Sarah Jane as my all-time favourite companion - and yet she had comparatively less time to do that than Rose or Martha. They had Doctor-and-Companion in every episode, but Donna shared three episodes with Martha, she wasn't in one at all, she had the next without the Doctor but she shared it with Rose, and the last two episodes were shared with everyone. There were only six Doctor-and-Companion episodes in this season, less than half of the total run. Yet she still managed to make such an impact.
Golden age is spot on, RTD at the helm, David and Catherine in the TARDIS, and a finale bringing together all of the characters established over the first 4 years, this was end game before end game.
In fact I'd nominate "Fires of Pompeii" as one of the best episodes of DW ever - in terms of the script and dialogue, themes and plot, the production design and location stuff, and the fact that every character is given something of significance to do. And on top of that we have the moment where Donna puts her hand on the Doctor's on the launch button, and then that ending in the TARDIS. Just beautifully crafted and put together.
@@hothemeep1219 the black Spot, a Good man goes to war, the rebel flesh and almost people, let‘s kill hitler and the wedding of river song. I find quite annoying
I feel like that's because all the weeping angel episodes after Blink made them less scary. If you'd never seen any of the weeping angel episodes after Blink and only watched Blink u might think differently. (I do like Midnight better) but it seems like the terror of Blink was brought down because of the other episodes that the angels were in😀
Series 4 is 'modern art'. I love everything about it. Don't care what people think of Journey's End. Donna is the quintessential companion. She needs more Big Finish stories with 10
I know a lot of people won't like this idea but I would have been really interested to see what the Doctor's reaction would have been if it turned out that Rose's dimension canon was the reason that Caan was able to get through the Time Lock, essentially causing the events of the finale. Rose's obsession with getting back to the Doctor and the price of success could have been a great source of conflict, especially in the scene with Davros. The fact that it just suddenly started to work has always seemed odd to me but maybe I'm overthinking. I'll also hold my hands up and admit that I don't particularly like Rose or the romance between her and the Doctor so that might have something to do with it.
That would have been really interesting. I am one who didn't like the payoff of that finale, re: 10 taking her to the beach and leaving the clone with her. (Truth be told, as a Rose fan, I was fine with her not coming back for the finale at all.) I had started rewriting the conclusion with Rose and 10 realizing that as the universe and time was "righting" itself, she would be pulled back into the parallel world for good. And they both would have better closure as they accepted the inevitable and said goodbye.
Fully agreed, Rose was a fine companion to 9 and they were friends and the doctor needed someone after the time war. How it went from a friendship to stupid romance with 10 i don't know. Donna though was the best person for him.
@@jdjdjfdjfjfj2588 I guess they were trying to say after they spent so much time with each other they developed romantic feelings, but I just wasn’t a fan of them making it a romance
@@zainkhalil7494 The romantic element was not needed and i'm not a fan of it either so your not alone there. Romance was never a issue during the classic years
Rose added a new dimension to #10. The romance sorta worked in the end, OTOH she didn't really win as the true Doctor went on without her. Had Rose won the real Doctor I think it would have ruined the future of the series. The Doctor had to love and lost/lose, it added something to the character.
If I had to rate NuWho, I would go: 1. Series 4 2. Series 1 3. Series 5 It's weird though: I wouldn't rank any of Peter Capaldi's series in my top 5, yet he is one of my favorite Doctors. A tribute to his acting in light of questionable writing.
I don't like him and his emo ego, but I absolutely am enamored by how well David plays The Doctor and really hits you with the gut wrenching sadness and horrifying corruption. I also love the stories and series 4 is 100% my favorite series. Just perfect with Donna!
@@braindeadpizzaslice9098 You got eyes and ears bro? he's clearly not, hence why he is widely regarded as the best and most iconic, when u think doctor who you think David Tennant, why do i have a feeling you are currently something like 14 years old, hmmmn you'll notice a trend that the younger kids who grew up with Matt Smith prefer the new new who rather than the 'classic' new who like Chris and David, that's Doctor Who's golden age right there
Did you know these videos are like one of the highlights of my week? I pretty much plan my weeks around them. I truly love this series. It is so strong from the get go and even the weaker episodes have a lot of strengths in them. Tennant and Tate are a killer pairing. They are magnetic together and their banter and chemistry is on point. You can fully believe that these two people are best friends. And the range of emotions from both of them. Tate proving that not only is she brilliantly funny but can also perfectly capture emotions. I was like 10 when this series was broadcast and it was the first full series I watched front to back as it aired. Whenever I do a re-watch I get really excited for this series. Honesty I could say so much about it. I love it lot. Ugh it's so good.
Series 4 was proper doctor who. Finally we had a truly great companion for the doctor who had a hint of ace's personality and who was not in love with the doctor. The doctor needed a friend, not someone in love with him and Donna was the friend the doctor needed. Fantastic stories, great action and Davros coming back was awesome. What made that better was having Sarah back again, a companion who had faced both the Daleks and Davros.
It's funny, I never noticed before but both the companion-lite and the Doctor-lite episodes are some of the darkest in modern Doctor who, albeit for different reasons. An interesting duality there
Well summed up, I'll defend Series 4 and RTD's worldbuilding being the height of the show without hesitation (also your video description is amazing thank you)
I stopped watching doctor who a while ago, but I watched every episode of David Tennant's doctor as they aired. Definitely the best the show had to offer.
Peter Capaldi calling the Tardis "Modern Art" in that voice will always make me laugh, even funnier when you know he then owned the Tardis both as the Pompeii Guy (forgot his name) and as The Doctor.
Of course, it’s a double-edged sword. It’s so, SO awesome the guy who brought Doctor Who back from the dead got the chance to craft such a phenomenal season before he left, but it also ties that quality to RTD and Tennant specifically, and with such a heavy focus on it being the end of an era-not to mention the end of all the things people had nostalgia for at that time-there was always going to be disappointment in what came next, because it wasn’t the stuff much of the audience thought was the best Doctor Who had ever been. I am so glad this season of NuWho hit the peak it did, genuinely. I can also acknowledge just how much it’s own finality to that peak impacted the perception of what came next.
Me too, this episode really stuck with me and cemented Donna (unexpectedly) as one of my favourite companions in new Who. This run of episodes really were a high point.
I hear the names of your gold level Patreon in my dreams. I wake up mumbling "Daniel Shillito" and "Steph Micnevin Millar" (which is such a satisfying name to hear you say) Oh and good video as always looking forawrd to the next one.
Honestly I 100% agree, series 4 (whilst not technically 100% perfect in each and every episode) has so many brilliant episodes and paces itself so well with the darker stories, lighter moments, amazing music, truly amazing stories and concepts and so much more. Ten and Donna are my favourite companion-doctor pairing and I honestly hope one day there is another brilliant pairing that can dethrone or even just meet their heights, because that will truly be something special
I wasn’t a fan of Donna as a companion at the time but on subsequent more recent rewatches of some of the episodes I’ve come to really like her and realise there isn’t really a bad episode in this series.
Catherine Tate was the superlative, completely 3-dimensional, companion. She shows us what it really means to travel with The Doctor. Donna is, by far, my favourite. Strong and sassy, the likes of which we didn’t get to see until Amy. Donna was a brilliant foil for Tennant’s Doctor.
I don't watch Doctor Who very often anymore. But season 4 is always the one I rewatch. Tennant and Tate have such great chemistry together and the episodes themselves are bangers
Series 4 is the best series of modern who for me and i would honestly say there was no bad episode in the series with the weakest being Doctor's Daughter and the 2nd part of the sontaran story. Even though i consider them the weakest they are still very enjoyable. It has Donna and Wilf in the series and they are so good as characters and it hurts even more when Donna has her mind wiped and Wilf sees how far she got only to go back to square one to save her life. I also think The Doctor calling out Sylvia was warranted. Series 4 is also where Doctor Who began to get on the darker side which leads to waters of mars showing his darker nature and even into his 11th incarnation. I think its a series where you can do dark stories but still make them enjoyable something i think has been lost. Just doing small things can make it more effective. I really like Series 4 and for me its my favourite Doctor Who series with series 10 coming in 2nd. Its definitely worth a watch and you still see things each timee
I think Donna acting loud in the Runaway Bride is great, she can be a bit annoying from the doctors perspective but some people act out when they are put into a scary situation. which happened. she was getting married only to appear in space with a strange man and learns that she might die from weird glowy stuff. Of course, her personality is a bit chaotic but she calms down in her future episodes
@@Pacmanfan-po9rn 2013 was the 50th anniversary year, the year of Series 7B, the year of Matt Smith's regeneration episode and the year when the thought long lost 2nd Doctor Serials 'The Enemy of the World' and 'The Web of Fear' were rediscovered. The problem was that Series 7B isn't particular good, there nothing 'Love and Monsters' or 'Timeless Children' bad in it, but everything in it is either forgettable or 'Nightmare in Silver' (god they messed up the Cybermen in the Matt Smith era). 'Time of the Doctor' was also divisive, largely because it was trying to do way to much for one episode.
Tennant best Doctor, Donna/Tate best companion, Davies best showrunner, Gold best composer and Moffat on a leash. All of these things came together and just made DW S4 so so so good. Then the finale, with Vale/Vale Decem playing and "I don't want to go" too, is just... *chefs kiss* What an ending! What a show! What a time to be alive and growing up with such masterful TV.
@@rkah6187 Thanks lol I hoped someone would notice :D I've come to kinda hate Moffat but its only because he was given too much freedom once RTD left. Moffat needs a good editor! If he can do what he wants, he just proves that he's no as smart as he thinks he is and can't write good endings to story arcs.
I've noticed that Moffat does best when it comes to creating horror-esque villains for Doctor Who. An RTD-Director with Moffat as Codirector would be a godsend.
Fitting that the Series 4 wrap-up was this week because four days ago on the 18th it was David Tennant's birthday. (He's just turned 50 this year. Holy crap does time fly).
Series 4 is one the greatest seasons/series of any show of all time, all the way from when the Doctor and Donna’s reunion to Tennant's regeneration, it was perfect
one thing i’ve only noticed about this season after watching your reviews is the subtle theme of hybridity/cloning running throughout the entire series, seemingly setting up the doctor/donna arc 1. partners in crime adipose being made out of human fat 2. fires of pompeii humans slowly becoming pyroviles by inhaling the fumes of vesuvius 3. planet of the ood mr halpen being slowly transformed into an ood by his supposed hair loss solution 4/5 sontaran stratagem/poison sky literally features a race of clones, martha herself is cloned 6 doctor’s daughter pretty self-explanatory 7 unicorn and the wasp the villain is half-human/half-vespiform 8/9 silence in the library 2 parter appears to be the main exception on this 10 midnight the entity possesses a human 11 turn left weaker argument to be made here but if i remember correctly it is mentioned at some point the donna and the time beetle is almost like some kind of symbiosis? may be me misremembering but then stolen earth/journey’s end is the culmination of the entire arc resulting in creation of 2 human/time-lord hybrids
Love your comment about Unicorn and the Wasp. It's one of my favorite episodes in Series 4, actually, just because of how much fun it is, even though it is also utterly silly. Kinda like Robots of Sherwood from Series 8.
I remember watching this series as it aired, I have a lovely memory of watching the Christmas special surrounded by my family, its a shame that the show declined. That Christmas was one of my favourite memories.
No doubt about it, series 4 is the golden age of modern Doctor Who. Makes me wish that that we had at least one more series with the 10th Doctor, Donna and Russell T. Davies as showrunner. Everything about series 4 is perfect, the episodes, the story arc, the Doctor and companion dynamic, the soundtrack, I can't fault any of them. I can remember watching series 4 when it broadcast back in 2008. Every Saturday we'd tune in to see what the Doctor and Donna were up to that week. God, I miss those days. when watching Doctor Who was the highlight of the week. Anything from series 5 onwards just doesn't have that exciting appeal to me.
The bees are mentioned in 4 episodes - Partners in Crime, Planet of the Ood, Unicorn and the Wasp and Turn Left. Rose appears in Partners in Crime, The Poison Sky, Midnight and Turn Left, and is referenced in The Fires of Pompeii. There are the Apidose and Pyrovile planets and the lost moon of Poosh. The Medusa Cascade is mentioned in Last of the Time Lords, The Fires of Pompeii, The Sontaran Stratagem and Midnight. And don't forget the Shadow Proclamation have been mentioned since Rose.
This channel is INCREDIBLY underrated. The essays are brilliant and the editing is great. I binge almost everything after missing some videos. I keep forgetting how young you are too until you mention your age being in the single digits around these times lol
I will admit although Eccleston is still my favorite new Doctor, the Doctor and Donna was perhaps the best written companion relationship the Doctor has had, just barely nudging out Rory and Amy once you add Wilf to the mix.
This series has the best ever exchange on TV in Planet of the Ood. Donna says "I don't own any slaves " and the Doctor says "Who do you think made your clothes?" I hope this made everyone think a bit more!
God this was such a strong series. Turn Left and Unicorn and the Wasp are two of my all time faves, but Partners in Crime, Midnight, and Silence in the Library are amazing too. I hope RTD can recapture some of this quality when he's back.
It's so funny to hear that it was actually like a kids show in the UK. I mentioned it a while ago, that I started to watch it when I was about 16-17 or sth so I had a very different view of it. More mature than a kid, but now as an adult in my 20s, when I rewatched this DW era because of your videos, I changed my perspective once again. I completely agree with you about season 4th being the best. I absolutely loved Martha too. About Rose... I still love her because she was very relatable back then. That teen who struggles with an everyday life, doesn't know life yet, but gets the best chance she can imagine by meeting the Doctor. I totally understand her actions. I simply can't choose between doctor's companions because they were too different. We can't expect young and immature Rose to act responsibly and mature like Donna or Martha.
The less romance there is between the Doctor and their (good) companion the better the dynamic is. That's why Martha, Rose, Clara and Amy are all clearly inferior to Donna and Bill.
Amy is much better than Bill. She had a mild flirt at the beginning and then it went away. She showed her love and loyalty to Rory on countless occasions (Amy's choice/Angles Take Manhatten). So much better than Bill.
9:14 "I know a lot of people have come to dislike the 10th doctor..." Who? Who actually dislikes 10? I dont know anyone. I'm not saying everyone has him as their favourite, but I dont think anyone dislikes him.
I don’t dislike 10 myself but he’s not my favourite. He’s a good all round doctor but I always found his arrogance annoying (just look at Midnight where his behaviour gets him into serious trouble) I think that’s where some of the dislike do come in
I love 10's dramatic performances provided by David, the godly pairing of Tate and Tennant, and the stories. Did not like 10 himself as a person though, nor the "highschool sweethart that will never work out in the end" plot of season 2. He was very much like a teenager (which you gotta love one way or another), but the power trip is a lot. Ironically, the more I disliked 10, the better the story, heartache, and love for DW became lol. He just plays that ego/darkness struggle very well, and it's satisfying to see it end with giving his "more important life" to Wilf. Series 4 is my favorite - Just fantastic!
I didnt know journeys end was disliked at all, i really enjoy it, and i like the doctordonna twist🤷♂️ i do see why people have the critiques they do, but it works for me 😅😂
Watching you review the Davies era over the last year has been extremely entertaining, and I can't wait for the future of this series with the specials and beyond. Also S4 is definitely my faverouite series of Who.
I think you might be onto something in referencing Donna's age as being a key part of her attraction. In classic Who there was an older Doctor and so a young companion was needed to add dynamism and perhaps also to represent the audience (in the same way as children are often the PoV protagonist in fantasy). But with The Doctor getting younger and the audience getting more mature and familiar with the DW universe, it seems logical for the companion to juxtapose that by being older. In the CC era, also with a young Doctor) Graham has probably been the most successful of the three companions; perhaps this is something for show creators to bear in mind for the future. In terms of individual series, it is not difficult to argue any of the 4 RTD series as being the best for various reasons. There is a good reason why this is regarded as the Golden Era for New Who. Which you prefer probably has more to do with which characters you like (CE vs DT; Rose vs Martha vs Donna) than the storylines. The main reason S3 is (imho) the weakest is because the characterisation of Martha got messed up. It is also noteworthy that both Golden Eras - Baker and Tennant - have come after successful and strongly acted Doctors - Pertwee and Ecclestone and have then taken the show into somewhat darker territory with aspects of horror combined with quirkiness to lighten the tone through humour. When Jodie and CC give this up, hopefully soon(!), it would be a good decision for the next show runner (assuming CC actually leaves behind a viable show) to install an actor who can lend a significant degree of weight to the role. And the actor after that can build upon that in a similar way to the way DT did after CE. This formula combined with storylines and characterisation matching those of the RTD era would, I think, bring the audience back. One can but hope.
I know the continuity doesn't work at all but I still like to believe that Donnas Granddad is the same character who travelled to the future with the Doctor to fight the Daleks Invasion of Earth in 2150ad.
Well said. My childhood. It's scary to think that this was 13 years ago. (At the time of making this comment, so those of you in the future who reply, 'ah, actually it was 14 or 15 or whatever, ha heh huh,', well done, you're really mature and funny.) Anyway, happy birthday Harbo, well done on keeping the quality up every week :)
Happy Birthday, hope it’s swell!! I may have other series I like just as much or more than this series, but IMO if anyone asks me Objectively what would you argue the greatest series of NuWho is, the only acceptable response is Series 4 Coincidentally it’s the anniversary to the Doc & River apparently lol.
i always joke with my friends about how donna and 10 act like siblings. goofy, bickering, growing together in a way that seriously feels like siblings to me.
Agree totally Donna and the Doctor were the best partnership of New Who. Like everyone else, I was NOT a fan of Catherine Tate in 'Runaway Bride' but she blossomed both in character AND as the dam fine dramatic and comedic actress she is throughout the series. Both were brilliant.
The friendship between 10 and Donna is why I'm glad that in terms of the returning Doctor + returning companion formula for Big Finish has used 10 and Donna twice. Whilst Big Finish is doing a lot with 10 right now, with the River Song and Dalek Universe stuff, the stuff with Donna just brings me back to my childhood, as if I'm 10/11 again. Also, Happy Birthday!!!
I LOVE STRAX! For me every time he comes on with some ridiculous line I chuckle. Especially the Sherlock Holmes line and the “Melt him with acid” and just being a great dumb potato
My issue with the doctor's regen fake out is that only a couple of episode later he regened anyway. If I had my way 10 and Donna would have been 2 seasons. We did not get enough Donna.
Even though the Eleventh Doctor was my first Doctor, the first season I ever bought was series 4 cause I loved the stories and the platonic relationship between the Doctor and Donna.
