1.7 - The Long Game

A pretty unexciting filler episode which mainly serves as a set up for the story arc which culminates in the final two episodes of series 1. The plot is that The Doctor, Rose and new companion Adam arrive on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000 where there turns out to be a sinister alien influencing the brainwashed masses. It has similar themes to The Macra Terror and its descendant Gridlock as well as other Doctor Who stories. So there is nothing feeling very original or clever about it and it is not brilliantly done.

The only really interesting element is the idea of new companion Adam failing to follow the instructions The Doctor gave him and causing problems which result in him being thrown out and losing his chance to travel with The Doctor any further. I find that idea great and fresh but the rest of the episode is a bit cheesy in design, not convincing enough in plot or dialogue and lacks enough fun or entertainment. Simon Pegg who is now a big Hollywood star and who is a fan of the show is good as you might expect but is wasted in his role as the Editor, I hope he returns to the show in a better role in the future perhaps even as The Doctor!

This is not awful in any way but it looks rather dull, it feels rather dull and it does not have enough action or enough convincingly portrayed ideas. It actually feels a bit depressing and cold like the top floor of the satellite!

6.5/10

Quite possibly the most boring NuWho episode. It meanders along for the first 20 or so minutes doing nothing and ends rather blandly. Adam is boring and just a bit annoying, getting into trouble and just generally being incompetent. Rose and the Doctor are also annoying, leaving Adam alone for his first adventure. What a stupid idea.

Not to mention this episode is super cheesy, with head-holes or whatever opening up to get a nice look at the brain.

Only redeemable thing is Simon Pegg as the editor and the slight connections to the overall arc of series 1. The rest of it is hot trash.

Spends half an hour introducing Adam, and trying to entice us with mystery then just gives up. When the Doctor and Rose are handcuffed that particularly feels like bad story telling. The Editor lays out his plans in a very exposition heavy way, breaking the show don't tell rule of story telling. It feels lazy, or perhaps rushed. Would it have been better if Adam had another episode between Dalek and this? It would give him a chance to learn the rules, so breaking them would be more egregious because I like the idea of Adam getting booted, even Turlough didn't have that indignation. Despite actually conspiring against the Doctor.

The Long Game is a somewhat underrated story. Whether, that's because it's not quite as good as the stories that surround it or what but I think there are two good plots.

The first is the overall Satellite 5 plot which is a pretty typical Doctor Who potboiler. There's a mystery, a strange and creepy situation on Floor 500, and a truly great performance by Simon Pegg as the villain. The Doctor does a good job arousing intellectually lazy humans to be curious to find the truth. It's nothing special, but it's pulled off with good style.

The Adam Mitchell plot is fascinating to me and it's an interesting take on a companion as we witness a full fledged companion wipeout. It's not enough to want to see the stars or to be special or a genius, to be a Companion for more than just an episode requires a strength of will and character that he didn't possess despite whatever genius he had. His failure put the Doctor and Rose's life in danger.

While it's not essential viewing, it does set up the Series finale as the Doctor leaves others to sort out the details with horrific consequences.