Trust Me- Episode 2

Jodie Whittaker's medical thriller continues... Beware, there are spoilers below!

We left Cath/Ally in a precarious position last week. She'd successfully managed to convince everyone she is actually a doctor but there were threats all over the shop that could have revealed her secret. 

Cath is starting to become an excellent liar by this point. When she first joined the emergency department she was making basic mistakes like signing the wrong name on forms. But now the lies seems to be coming in quick succession. In this episode she is badgered for her passport and manages to keep fobbing the HR man off by saying she can't find it. In the end she has to pay £800 for a fake one. Surely you can't just use Google to find that sort of service? 

There's also a medical conference which Cath is virtually forced to attend. She takes very careful notes but suddenly realises that the junior doctor from her previous job is in attendance. Her answer- go to the pub! It's another example of her easily dodging a risky situation. 

One situation she hasn't managed to dodge so successfully is the journalist who has been hounding her. He leaves with the assumption that Cath's ex Karl hit her and her daughter. Cath never actually said that but she didn't deny it either. It's one thing lying about her past but when it brings other people into disrepute it could lead to major problems. 

The highlight of the episode is a scene in a lift when a patient crashes and the doctors run out of lines. It's feels really tense and claustrophobic and Whittaker is superb at showing us how stressed the character is. Fortunately it's solved by the junior doctor who, er, finds another way in. 

There's also an important scene where Cath successfully treats a drug-addict whose veins are closed up. She finds a way in, calling on her experience as a nurse, and shows how good a doctor she can actually be. I think this is a really important scene as it shows us that she's not hopeless and is genuinely making a difference to people. 

It's been clear from the start that someone will find out the truth sooner or later and at the end of the episode Cath's new partner Andrew does. He keeps hearing things that don't make sense like an old friend who heard Ally went to New Zealand and a phone call asking for Cath rather than Ally. A quick Google leads him to an image of nurse Cath receiving an award alongside the real Dr Ally Sutton. It'll be interesting to see his reaction in the next episode- he's clearly fallen head over heels in love with Cath so will he confront her, report her or keep quiet? 

To be honest, I wasn't overly keen on this episode. It had some good moments but largely it was a repeat of the last episode. Constant tension for Cath as she thinks at every moment someone has found her out. It really feels like the first two episodes could have been condensed into one. 

[Click here for all my Trust Me episode discussions)

Trust Me- Episode 1

Jodie Whittaker will now forever be known as the Thirteenth Doctor but before her Doctor Who debut she appears as the main character in Trust Me- a woman who pretends to be a doctor.

Cath Hardacre is suspended from her nursing job after causing a nuisance of herself, gathering data about mistakes in patient care and considering giving them to the press. But when the opportunity comes to take on the identity of a doctor she decides to take it and finds herself working as a doctor at an A and E department in Edinburgh.

The moment Cath decides to take on the role of a doctor is an interesting one. It's not really clear what her motivation is. She has a child to support but there's plenty of other jobs she could do. Maybe it's because she genuinely wants to help and make a difference to people. Surely though she knows that her masquerading as a doctor would put lives at risk eventually.

Much of the episode sees Cath working in the emergency department, constantly fearing that she is going to be found out. She makes minor mistakes, like not giving anesthetic when she sets bones. But she is medically trained and with a bit of research manages to get by and become popular with her colleagues. Writer Dan Sefton says that it would be relatively easy to get away with if you had enough medical knowledge and that fake doctors would likely be better than some real doctors.

At the moment, it's not entirely clear where this series is going. All we can say for sure is that Cath is going to be found out- it's just a question of when and by who. She's seen here beginning a relationship with colleague Andy and I could imagine that he might not give her up if he is the one to find out. There's certainly plenty of threats on the horizon such as the journalist trying to get hold of her and the need to present a passport.

The pace is relatively slow but this episode is all about setting up the deception and how Cath manages to get away with it. Surely it's going to be the fallout where the drama really comes. Jodie Whittaker is great here despite not having a great emotional role as yet. What her performance really does capture is her fear, the way she constantly worries she has just been found out. It's all in the body language and Whittaker shows how great an actress she is by saying everything without words.

An intriguing start and I look forward to where the series will go next...

Lethbridge-Stewart: Night of the Intelligence

This series has largely followed a "monster of the week" style so far like Doctor Who itself often does. Each book has contained an individual story and there has been minor character development and gradual ongoing plots in the background. This book though is like a season finale when those plots are suddenly at the forefront of the story. 

Although the Great Intelligence plays an important role in this story it's not really the enemy as such. Without wanting to give too much away this sees the Brigadier and the Fifth go up against the mysterious Vault. We finally find out who the General is and what he's up to. Simon's real identity and aims are also revealed and there's significant events for the Travers family too. 

I have to admire the way the author (and man in charge of the series) really takes control of things here. There's a lot of characters to manage now but I felt all were well dealt with. I also liked the way minor events in previous books all come together here to give that series finale feel. The author also does a good job at occasionally filling in gaps- there's a hint at why Anne Travers never appeared in 70s Who despite playing a large part in these books and an explanation about what HAVOC actually means in this series (if it appeared before I missed it completely). 

If I had to criticize anything it's that this requires a lot of background knowledge. If you don't know the Doctor Who stories 'The Abominable Snowmen' and 'The Web of Fear' or haven't read all previous ten books in the series there will be areas here where you are missing something. At the very least The Forgotten Son, The Schizoid Earth and Times Squared are all essential reading before this. It wasn't a problem for me but this wouldn't be a good jumping on point for new readers of the series.

I seem to be saying this after every book in this series but it continues to get better and better.

The Shining Man

I enjoy reading the Doctor Who tie-in books. Many are of high quality but I think this is probably the best of the many I've read over the last twelve years.

The Shining Men are everywhere, scaring children on street corners with their long hair, blank faces and shining eyes. But surely it's just a hoax, idiots dressing up for fun. Except people are going missing and the link is the shining men. Cue the arrival of the Doctor and Bill.

Clearly the idea of the shining men came from the real world 'killer clown' craze. There's plenty about the police dealing with idiots dressed up and the fear caused by them. Mostly though this book imagines what it would be like if the creepy things were actually terrifying killers rather than people dressed up.

In terms of Doctor Who continuity this book is set after the first three episode of Series 10 (The Pilot, Smile and Thin Ice). There's also lots of references to things discussed and shown in the Torchwood episode 'Small Worlds'. I think it really adds something if you've seen that episode.

If you know said episode, you'll know it's about fairies. Indeed this book explores the idea of fairies in some depth, using some scientific Doctor-technobabble to explain some of it but still essentially being something from fantasy. Actually this has very few Doctor Who elements to it other than the Doctor and Bill being present and as well characterised as they are they don't do much. The Doctor is largely used as the character to explain the idea of fairies.

This had everything I wanted from a Doctor Who book. A good sci-fi/fantasy idea, warmth, humour, drama and a portion too ambitious to have appeared on TV. If you are enjoying Series 10 of Doctor Who and want some more, this is the place to head.

Homosexual Who

It has been revealed that the new companion Bill Potts will be Doctor Who's first "openly gay" companion. Anyone with any sense is pleased with this news. Plenty of die-hard Doctor Who fans have been discussing how correct the statement that she is the "first" is so I'd thought I'd explore that.

The obvious go to when searching for a gay companion is Captain Jack Harkness. The first problem with this is whether he actually counts as a companion. Of course there's no set definition for what a companion is but traditionally the companion hangs around for a whole series or more. I would argue that he's only been a companion in (Boom Town, Bad Wolf, The Parting of the Ways, Utopia and The Sound of Drums) and a supporting character in (The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Last of the Time Lords, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End).

Though Jack is very open about his sexuality, he isn't simply gay. He's bisexual from virtually the moment we meet him. Having flirted with a male soldier he then flirts with Rose Tyler. I think many casual viewers consider the character as gay. The actor John Barrowman is and many of Captain Jack's more significant relationships are with other men- like Alonso and Ianto Jones. But in Children of Earth we learn he had had a child with a woman and he is shown to be in love with Gwen Cooper throughout Torchwood.

The other character referenced in the BBC News story about Bill Potts was River Song. Now all of River's on screen relationships with the Doctor have been heterosexual- mostly with the Doctor but also with several others in The Husbands of River Song. It is suggested she is bisexual though with a mention of her "second wife" in that same episode. She's certainly considered bisexual by creator Steven Moffat but the on-screen evidence in limited.

Many fans have discussed the idea that Clara Oswald is also bisexual. On screen she is shown to be attracted to the Doctor and Danny Pink. Oswin Oswald claimed the first person she fancied was a girl called Nina, though seeing as though this was only a version of the character and potentially a joke anyway I think we can rule that out. Clara definitely suggest she had some sort of relationship with Jane Austen though ("great kisser") and the Doctor seemed to think Clara was attracted to Ashildr.

Again, it's all very much suggestive. The casual viewer is likely to assume that both River Song and Clara are straight. It's all very well suggesting that characters are homosexual but that almost suggests it's something to hide away or some sort of joke. Bill Potts will be clearly stated as gay from her second line.

Other than companions, here are some more gay characters from Doctor Who (a by no means complete list).

• Alice and May Cassini are an elderly gay couple stuck in the traffic jam in Gridlock
• In The Unicorn and the Wasp it is uncovered that Roger Curbishley is in a relationship with male servant Davenport
• 1800s Torchwood Three's Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd are gay.
• In Day of the Moon Canton Everett Delaware III says he wants to marry a black man.
• In spin-off Class Charlie and Matteusz are gay and in a relationship for the majority of the series.
• The Fat One and the Thin One are "Thin/Fat Gay Married Anglican Marines" in A Good Man Goes to War.
• Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint are notable for having a relationship with is both homosexual and inter-species. They pair have so far appeared in A Good Man Goes to War, The Snowmen, The Crimson Horror, The Name of the Doctor and Deep Breath. 

Doctor Who has long held that message that everyone is equal and I like that it has repeatedly been suggested that in the future there is no such thing as homophobia and that sexuality is fluid. Bill Potts is the latest in a long line of role models that cater for a range of people and I am proud to call myself a fan of a show that can do this.

Torchwood: Children of Earth

As part of my ongoing Who Catch Up project I've been watched Torchwood's epic third series, Children of Earth. I ended up writing a quick piece about each episode and here they all are.

Day One

Day One feels like fairly normal Torchwood fare for most of the episode albeit with a bigger budget. Creepy children & lots of banter.

The big oddity is the civil service subplot with John Frobisher, who looks suspiciously like the Twelfth Doctor. At this point it means very little & feels a bit out of place.

We get some new character stuff here: Jack has a secret daughter & grandson, Ianto has a sister & Gwen is pregnant. It’s nice that they kept doing the character stuff in a big event, and of course all of these things become more relevant later on.

The last part is surprising though. Suddenly Captain Jack is going to be blown to pieces, along with the Torchwood hub. That’s much bigger than your normal Torchwood episode! And much of what’s going on is still a mystery! It’s a promising start & a surprisingly slow one too.

Day Two

Day Two is a superb episode, despite the fact that not much actually happens. The Torchwood team are split up & Jack has been blown to pieces. Gwen and Ianto are on the run & it quickly transpires that there’s a massive government conspiracy to kill them. It’s proper thriller stuff, only mostly set in Cardiff.

What I think works really well here is the lack of sci-fi elements. The main plot with the children & approaching aliens isn’t that important for this episode. The only other element is Captain Jack’s ‘Lazurus ability’ and that too is treated more matter of factly than it often is. When I think about it Torchwood has often been at it’s best when the sci-fi stuff doesn’t go too far. It’s the human enemies who are truly scary

Day Three

After all the excitement of the previous episode, this one is a bit dull. The Torchwood team mostly sit around in an empty warehouse simply watching what’s going on. The 456 arrive in dramatic fashion and eventually demand 10% of our children. It turns out we gave them 12 children back in 1965, & Jack was involved. This episode is all about filling in the plot.

It’s a great moral dilemma. The choice is to give them some children or face extinction. You kind of have to give up the kids, it’s instinctive to do anything to survive. But how do you live with that, especially if you are immortal like Jack.

Suddenly the human villains are less scary, especially now we know Jack was one of them. They just had an impossible choice.

Day Four

Day Four really is a rollercoaster- a disturbing rollercoaster. It begins with Jack having to explain the horrible dilemma of giving away Children to save lives. Then we see politicians discussing the practicalities of giving children to the 456, in a way that feels horribly realistic. You can really imagine those conversations would actually take place.

Hope emerges when Lois (who is a superb character, a reluctant Torchwood helper) speaks up & Jack faces the 456. But then it is taken away from us as Ianto & a whole building full of people are killed. It’s emotional and is a rare time in the Whoniverse where it genuinely feels like there is no hope. The best episode of Torchwood ever?

Day Five

Day Four may have been Torchwood’s best episode but this is the most horrific. We find out the 456 use children as drugs and then watch as the government and the army round up 10% of the children. Gwen has to tell Ianto’s sister of his death & tries to rescue all the local children. Frobisher kills himself & his family too. It’s disturbing & because of the sci-fi elements of the story being downplayed horribly realistic.

Then at the last minute Jack finds a solution but it involves killing his own grandson. It’s well acted by all involved as we are forced to watch Steven die. I remember how people complained at this ending at the time & whilst I agree it’s disturbing it is an effective end to the story.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Mind of Stone

This series has had a fairly familiar format up until now. Something mysterious happens and Lethbridge-Stewart and the Fifth Operational Corps go an investigate. This book begins very differently, with Lethbridge-Stewart in Wormwood Scrubs prison.

It's a great way to start the book as it really changes the status quo. Firstly there's the mystery of why the Brigadier is in there in the first place. It seem fairly obvious as a reader that he hasn't actually done anything bad but it's unclear if it's a miscarriage of justice or part of some grand plan. Putting Lethbridge-Stewart in this situation also works well because it's a rare time when we see him isolated. Here the Brig is utterly on his own and that's a great dynamic to see.

There's a wonderful homage to the Ronnie Barker prison-based sitcom 'Porridge' at the start of this book, before the drama really unfolds. The Brig shares his cell with Stanley, who is almost identical to Barker's character Norman Stanley Fletcher. There's also a nasty warder called Fulton, named after Fulton Mackay, the actor who played Porridge's warder Mr Mackay. There were a few other small references too and it was a lovely touch and really helped to set the scene.

The latter half of the book transforms into a Bond-esque thriller as Lethbridge-Stewart rushes to stop a villain. There's even a classic Bond fight in a sleeper train sequence. I really like it when this series goes for this feel and doesn't try to be too Doctor Who.

The sci-fi element of this book wasn't my favorite and coming straight after Lethbridge-Stewart: Blood of Atlantis the general idea felt a little tired. It did work in context of the story though and it was nice to have a relatively minor threat. It's mostly Lethbridge-Stewart who is in great danger here rather than the world in general.

A different style for the series which worked really well and kept things fresh- I really enjoyed it.