Series 3 Episode 8/9: Human Nature/ The Family of Blood

I loved every moment in this episode, a mysterious man named John Smith who is a school teacher in 1913.Last week, I stated that depending on how the second half of the “Human Nature/Family of Blood” storyline turned out, that “Doctor Who” could have another instant classic story on its hands.
Well, I’m here to tell you–the new series has another instant classic on its hands.“The Family of Blood” is a solid, entertaining and worthy second-half to “Human Nature.” It’s a story that not only delivers on the promise of part one, but it clears the high bar set by a mile. This is classic “Doctor Who” in every sense of the word. The thing is–it doesn’t follow the usual pattern of a classic “Doctor Who” story. At it’s core, this story is about exploring exactly who is the Doctor. It’s a story about trying to answer the central question of the show–”Who is the Doctor?” And in the course of these 90 minutes, we learn a lot about the Doctor.

Simply put, this is “Doctor Who” at its absolute best. It’s a story that’s entertaining, edge of your seat and full of authentic emotion. It examines the fundamental nature of who the Doctor is and its heart-breaking to see that by reverting from Smith to the Doctor, he will save the world but condemn himself to a life of loneliness. I can see threads of what Davies is trying to do this season for a theme–the consequences of being the last of his kind in the universe and the hope there may be another Time Lord out there. It’s a lot more subtle than the Saxon references and it may be the best on-going thread the new series has done. (Of course, my thought on that could change based on the next few episodes…but I have faith in the production team).


Rating: 10/10