The Family of Blood

He’s like fire and ice and rage. He’s like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He’s ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time, and he can see the turn of the universe. And…he’s wonderful.

Tim Latimer

Synopsis

It’s 1913, and war comes to England early as the terrifying Family hunt for the Doctor.

Review

The Family of Blood, along with the preceding story Human Nature, are examples of Doctor Who at its very best.

Paul Cornell has penned one of the darkest Doctor Who stories to date. This story features child soldier and a character telling us of the grim reality of war, that he had to use his dead friends for sandbags. Even without the fact that the story features John Smith essentially committing suicide to ensure that the Family are stopped, the curse of future knowledge of the coming war adds to the sense of inevitability, and the story is closed with a Remembrance Sunday service. It sounds weird to say that I love a story that is so bleak, but it is a really strong example of Doctor Who at its very best. It’s one of the few stories that highlight just how dangerous being the last of the Time Lords is, as well as establishing important plot points that will resolve at the end of this series. In 2025, the last of the Time Lords thing felt tired, as we’ve seen Gallifrey return and be destroyed again, but in this story, unburdened by those plot points, it is important to realise that it really did work originally.

What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?

You’re not making sense, Baines–

1914, sir. Because the Family has traveled far and wide looking for Mr. Smith and, oh, the things we have seen! War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?

Don’t you forget, boy. I’ve been a soldier. I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country–

Et cetera, et cetera.

Baines and Rocastle

I sang the praises of Harry Lloyd in my review of Human Nature, and his sinister portrayal of Baines continues to shine here. His off-kilter line delivery, best seen in the scene where he and the headmaster talk outside the school. This is combined with the callous and off-hand way he murders Mr. Phillips, which is reminiscent of the way he killed the man outside the dance in the previous part. Sister of Mine, Lucy Cartwright, is similarly sinister, in the way that young girls are often used in horror fiction. Infiltrating the school to try and find Tim and the fob watch, she is able to use her perceived innocence to full effect. This comes to fruition when she kills the headmaster, who has no desire to see her harmed in the defence of the school. It’s a hypocritical position, considering that he is happy to see the school defended by boys not much older than her, but an important reminder of perceived gender roles in Georgian England. Both Father and Mother of Mine have fairly reduced roles, their functions largely fulfilled in the first part. I think this is more frustrating in terms of Mother of Mine, as she could have used her position as a maid in the school to the Family’s advantage. I think that the use of the scarecrow army is really effective. They could very easily seem ridiculous and a source of comedy, but it is to Charles Palmer’s credit that they are utterly sinister. This is helped by Murray Gold’s score; All the Strange Strange Creatures might be one of my favourite pieces of music he has written.

David Tennant is great in the dual roles of the Doctor and John Smith and highlights the differences between the Time Lord and human versions of the character. Smith is more cowardly; it is hard to imagine the Doctor consciously putting the staff and students at risk once the Family of Blood track him down. Fundamentally, Smith does not want to be lonely, which is something that is shared by the Doctor, although he certaihly wouldn’t be lonely. Smith bemoans that Martha wants him to open the watch will condemn him to loneliness, when he has a chance of happiness with Joan. He does ultimately make the ultimate sacrifice. When the change happens, as it always would, it feels almost abrupt and sudden, but I think that makes it work. Director Charles Palmer and Tennant make Smith falling against the buttons in the Family’s ship feel inconsequential. We do not see the Doctor change back, which would rob us of our nice reveal, and would definitely make the Doctor’s farewell to Joan less powerful. It’s good that Paul Cornell has her call the Doctor out, both for not considering that he might fall in love as a human, and also for bringing death and destruction in his wake. The Doctor is unable to offer her anything more than a consolation prize of travelling with him, and cannot answer her on the second point. The scenes set in the Cartwright’s cottage with Smith, Martha, Joan and Latimer are some of the most powerful in this story, and Tennant, Agyeman, Jessica Hynes and Thomas Sangster are superb in them.

We wanted to live forever. So the Doctor made sure we did.

Son of Mine

The return of the Doctor feels like a hurricane, going into the fury of the Time Lord sequence. In a two-part story that doesn’t really feature the Doctor that much, he makes an explosive entry here, ultimately fulfilling the Family’s desire to live forever with a large amount of hubris. It’s a healthy reminder of just how dangerous the Doctor can be, given how playful and enthusiastic this incarnation can be. Ultimately, by trying to hide, he is giving the Family the chance to leave peacefully until the end of their short lives. Of all the fates, being frozen as a scarecrow to watch over the fields of England for Baines, the irony of being frozen in the form of one of his foot soldiers forever.

Martha has had a fairly torrid time over the course of this story. Not only is she under threat from the Family, but also sees the Doctor, who she is in love with, fall for someone else. This is a pivotal moment for the unrequited love story, with Martha telling Smith that she is in love with the Doctor as part of the attempts to convince him to open the fob watch. Agyeman is great in this story, and it is a strong one for Martha generally. Her race and status mean that she is not taken seriously, and the scene where she names all the bones in the hand to an incredulous Joan is really powerful.

Verdict: Human Nature builds from strong first part to make a classic of the Tenth Doctor’s era. 10/10

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), Lor Wilson (Lucy Cartwright), Pip Torrens (Rocastle), Matthew White (Phillips) & Sophie Turner (Vicar).

Writer: Paul Cornell

Director: Charles Palmer

Producer: Susie Liggat

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 2 June 2007

Behind the Scenes

• In the original scripts, the speech about the fates of the Family of Blood was given to Sister of Mine.
• The story was originally to be broadcast as the fifth episode, but moved to close the distance between it and Utopia.

Cast Notes

• Jessica Hynes had previously played Glory Bee, Carla and a Woman in the Eighth Doctor Big Finish story Invaders from Mars. She would also go on to play Verity Newman in The End of Time, Part Two.
• Thomas Sangster also appeared in The Mind’s Eye and The Bride of Peladon.
• Pip Torrens played Charlie Gibbs in Eldrad Must Die! and Kenton in Break the Ice for Big Finish Productions.

Best Moment

It has to be the scene where John and Joan see their potential future together, one that will never come to pass.

Best Quote