Cast:
- Written by Paul Cornell
- Directed by Charles Palmer
- Cast:
- David Tennant ... The Doctor
- Freema Agyeman ... Martha Jones
- Jessica Hynes ... Joan Redfern
- Rebekah Staton ... Jenny
- Thomas Sangster ... Tim Latimer
- Harry Lloyd ... Baines
- Tom Palmer ... Hutchinson
- Gerard Horan ... Clark
- Lauren Wilson ... Lucy Cartwright
- Pip Torrens ... Rocastle
- Matthew White ... Phillips
- Sophie Turner ... Vicar
Official Summary:
It is 1913 in England, and war has come a year in advance as the terrifying Family hunt for the Doctor. But while John Smith refuses to accept his destiny as a Timelord, the women in his life – Martha and Joan – have to take terrible measures to save the whole of history.
Key Moments:
The agony that John Smith feels toward the end, knowing that he can help these people but wanting desperately to cling to his love for Joan and a normal life as a human, is one of the more moving moments in the entire series and achingly encapsulates all that’s hidden behind the Doctor’s normal glib, flip facade. When Joan, having absorbed from the journal of John’s dreams of his life as a Time Lord, urges him to give his own human life for a greater good, it only underlines how amazing this woman is and the sacrifice he would be making.
Doctor Backstory Revelation:
The lyrical punishments doles out to the members of the Family at the end of the episode are certainly impressive achievements, well beyond the Doctor’s normal improvisational methods. They are exquisite, though. The idea that the Doctor originally chose to hide from the Family not out of fear but out of mercy, which is exhausted by the end of the story, mirrors the Doctor’s speech in "School Reunion": "I’m so old now. I used to be so full of mercy. You get one warning from me – that was it."
Fun Guest Alien Factoid:
The Family conjure an army of (oddly similar) scarecrows using "molecular fringe animation," which sounds pretty cool.
Season 3 Mister Saxon Reference:
None.
Bottom Line: Worth Watching?:
"Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" is one of the most outstanding episodes of the new series, brilliantly exploring the Doctor’s character and making the Doctor’s needs the subject of suspense. Brilliant.
