DOCTOR WHO, SERIES 3 EPISODES 8 & 9 - HUMAN NATURE/THE FAMILY OF BLOOD
First screened, Saturday, 26th May & Saturday, 2nd June, 2007
on BBC One

Evil Trio - Baines (left), Scarecrow, and Jenny

This excellent two parter begins on November 10th, 1913, with maid Martha trying to hold her feelings in check, as the Doctor is a schoolmaster with seemingly some kind of memory loss at a British public school.

The Doctor, or Mr. John Smith (originally from Nottingham) for most of this story, impresses the young Nurse Joan Redfern (Jessica Hynes) with his 'fiction' book of stories and drawings of Daleks and Cybermen, and the pair begin to fall in love - much to Martha's distress.

Things take a sinister turn when haughty student Baines touches a forcefield around the school, as first he, maid Jenny (Martha's friend), Mr. Clark, and little girl Lucy, all become changed into members of 'the Family', who have been pursuing the Doctor through space and time. When psychic student Tim Latimer comes across the Doctor's magical watch, and opens it, all hell breaks loose, and an army of scarecrows do more than just scare crows! The Family are aware of the Doctor's sensibilities, when they torment him with the dilemma of who to save from death - his lover Joan, or his friend Martha.

The Family are in need of a handkerchief with their peculiar sniffing habit, and they refer to each other in a quaint way, i.e. Baines is 'Son of Mine', 'Clark is 'Father of Mine', Jenny is 'Mother of Mine', and Lucy is 'Sister of Mine', etc.

An army of scarecrows join the Family to invade the school, and the strawmen are mown down with 'He Who Would Valiant Be' being sung in the background. Taking on John Smith or the Doctor may not have been the Family's brightest move, especially as they get inside the TARDIS and use their spaceship to attack the village, but they're in for some interesting surprises. Tim gets the watch as a present, and this leads to a beautifully thought out ending, which can't fail to move. Also watch out for Martha giving the Doctor a slap!

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

Cast List - Human Nature
The Doctor/John Smith — David Tennant
Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
Nurse Joan Redfern — Jessica Hynes
Jeremy Baines — Harry Lloyd
Tim Latimer — Thomas Sangster
Hutchinson — Tom Palmer
Rocastle — Pip Torrens
Jenny — Rebekah Staton
Mr. Clark — Gerard Horan
Lucy Cartwright — Lauren Wilson
Phillips — Matthew White
Doorman — Derek Smith
Mr. Chambers — Peter Bourke

Cast List - The Family Of Blood
The Doctor/John Smith — David Tennant
Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
Nurse Joan Redfern — Jessica Hynes
Jeremy Baines — Harry Lloyd
Tim Latimer — Thomas Sangster
Hutchinson — Tom Palmer
Rocastle — Pip Torrens
Jenny — Rebekah Staton
Mr. Clark — Gerard Horan
Lucy Cartwright — Lauren Wilson
Phillips — Matthew White
Vicar — Sophie Turner

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Doctor Who Series 3 DVD - available from booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon

Doctor Who - The Complete Series 3 Box Set (Amazon.co.uk)
Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series (Amazon.com)