By Owen Quinn author. Photos copyright BBC
2: You’ve had that coat a while then!
In Village of the Angels, part four of the Flux series, the Tardis has been hijacked by a Weeping Angel. It is piloting the craft somewhere, leaving the Doctor, Yaz and Dan trapped at the door, trying desperately not to blink.
Now this moment is not an action sequence or takes place at a dramatic moment. It is actually very subdued and immediately reminded me of something the eleventh Doctor would say. No matter what face the Doctor wears, they still have to have that quirky ‘Doctorness’, for want of a better word. Whether it be jelly babies, timey wimey or a fez, there has to always be that quality that will make the viewer sit up and go, there’s the Doctor.
In order to get rid of the angel, the Doctor tries a mad stunt which works. While this is going on, we learn that a village is out looking for a ten year old young girl that has gone missing called Peggy. Among the searchers are her great uncle and great aunt, Gerald (Vincent Brimble) and Jean (Emma Churchill).
When the Tardis lands, it is in a state and needs time to repair itself. Gerald and Jean are outside the police box. Gerald is trying to use the phone to summon help. Instantly, Yaz tells them they are a rapid response unit. It is night and the Doctor immediately begins sussing where they are. She can tell it is coastal, Devon and thinks it is the year 1949 when she sniffs Gerald’s coat much to his indignance.
He snaps back that it is 1967 to which the Doctor sheepishly replies, “You’ve had that coat a while then.”
It may seem like nothing but it is a Doctor moment. We’ve had Doctors licking things to guess their nature, we’ve had the eleventh Doctor lick his finger and hold it into the air to determine where and when they are. Add to that the newly regenerated Doctor sticks his finger in the Sycorax blood vat just to see what type of blood it is.
Wrongly guessing the year from the smell of the coat is a lovely character moment because it is exactly what the Doctor would do. It also tells us about Gerald. He is very particular and has kept the coat in excellent condition to the point it has worn very well and still as new as the day it was bought in 1959. Although I suspect that Jean had a lot to do with keeping it so pristine. It also reflects the time too when people got things and looked after them, getting great wear out of them, not like our disposable, instant gratification society of today. It is little unsaid details like this that add so much to a story and its characters.
Indeed, I still have my father’s overcoat that my mother bought him back in the eighties. It is as good as the day it was bought and that is what this scene reminded me of. Everything is of a time and place that will jog memories in everyone.
And having established where and when they are, the Doctor is distracted by something else and wanders off, telling her companions not to wander off. Again, such a Doctor thing to do. It is little details like this in the writing and performance that keep reminding you that you are watching Doctor Who. And when the 13th Doctor told the 15th that no matter what face they wear, they never change.
Say what you want about this era but Jodie was in her stride as the Doctor.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 