The Reapers are bat-like creatures with scythes for tails that dwell inside the time vortex. When a time paradox occurs, the Reapers swarm like bacteria to sterilise the wound in time. This notably occurred when the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler went back in time to 1987 and saved her father’s life rather than be hit by a car. This had devastating consequences for the world as the Reapers arrived and consumed everything in sight. This proved to be one of the most emotional and personal adventures for the Doctor in Doctor Who.

Father’s Day

★★★★★

TX: 14/05/2005

Written by Paul Cornell    Directed by Joe Ahearne

Rose Tyler asks the Ninth Doctor if he can take her back in time to see her father before his death when she was just 6 months old. The Doctor accepts and the pair witness the car accident that killed Rose’s father. However, upon revisiting the moment a second time, Rose can’t resist the temptation to change history and she saves her father’s life instead. This creates a paradox which angers the Doctor, who storms off in frustration at Rose. Unfortunately, the time paradox allows the Reapers, time vortex-dwelling bat-like creatures, to enter our universe and devour everything in sight. The TARDIS interior is thrown out as a result of the paradox. In real life, Rose’s dad Pete was a bit of a Del Boy with lots of daft get-rich-quick schemes (Only Fools and Horses), including the drink Vitex, which was successful in the parallel universe (Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel). It is clear that the Chronovores from The Time Monster were the inspiration for the Reapers in Father’s Day. The Doctor, Rose and the young Jackie & Peter Tyler and Mickey Smith take refuge inside the church where a friend of Jackie’s was about to get married. Inside the church, Pete deduces that Rose is his daughter from the future. He accidentally gives the young baby Rose to adult Rose, contrary to the Doctor’s instructions, and when they touch (Mawdryn Undead) this creates a paradox that allows a Reaper in. The Reaper consumes the Doctor as he is the oldest thing in the church. The Reaper then flies into the TARDIS interior that the Doctor had been summoning as a means of escape, which causes it to disintegrate. With the Doctor gone, Rose is dejected and forlorn. The other survivors in the church begin to lose hope. Pete realises that the car that should have killed him is outside and stuck in a time loop. Pete runs outside and sacrifices himself to put history back on track. This banishes all of the Reapers and all of their victims return to life, including the Doctor. Rose holds her father’s hand in his final moments of life. The Doctor and Rose walk back to the TARDIS, shaken after their most emotional adventure together. Billie Piper and Christopher Eccleston both give incredible performances in this heartbreaking episode. Eccleston is on the podium of Doctors! The feminist perspectives explored in Doctor Who have been there ever since the introduction of Rose Tyler in the new series. Because there was a gradual threading through of the idea that Time Lords can change gender, it meant that the introduction of Missy (the first female Master) – which ultimately preceded the arrival of a female Doctor, was not a random concoction of political correctness. It was instead a gradual push for a more progressive outlook for the programme and for better role models for women on television in general. And now Modern Who has been brought Full Circle by making Rose the Sixteenth Doctor! ❤️ I love Billie Piper and she will make a fantastic Doctor! 🥰 The lovely Beth Axford from Doctor Who Magazine called me nice! Beth’s favourite Doctors are the Ninth and Thirteenth Doctors – she has great taste!