The Tenth Doctor and Martha follow a distress signal, only to be trapped on a spaceship hurtling towards a sun with only forty-two minutes left till impact.
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voters
42? More like Boredy-Too!
5 Likes
It took me a few rewatches to come around on this one, but 42 is pretty good in my view. The sentient possessive sun is a neat idea for a monster, the doors locked behind pub trivia is a very Douglas Adams idea, and while I agree that the supporting cast isnāt as interesting as the group from The Impossible Planet, thereās something about the working-class perspective that reminded me of the original Alien (in a good way, not a āripping off your bettersā way). That along with the real-time(?) pacing and the smoggy, claustrophobic atmosphere of the ship made this quite a tense watch for me.
This might also be my favourite Martha episode, at least in what she herself brings to it. That sequence of her stuck in the escape pod, slowly drifting away from the Doctor to his muted yells of āI will save you!āā¦ once again, Graeme Harper cooked on this one. I really like the exchanges between her and her mother as well; beyond just how emotional they get (even with the Mr. Saxon stuff in the background), that they all took place within such a short amount of time for the both of them was a good showing of just how fast life can get with the Doctor.
13 Likes
I think that the idea behind this episode is good. I really like the idea of taking the concept behind 24 and putting it in space. But it feels like they donāt do it enough. The rest of the episode falls kind of flat for me, and the trivia questions to get through the doors are just stupid.
In summary, a typical Chibnall episode with a good concept that is poorly executed.
12 Likes
This is something that I really want more of! To me, this is what makes Rose such a good companion because she usually forms a good connection with the working class.
This is definitely the highlight of the episode and one of the strongest scenes in the entire season.
6 Likes
An episode that Iām quite fond of. Not a favourite, but Martha is great here and itās just a nice fun watch.
5 Likes
This episode is widely considered to be kind of meh, and I have to say I agree with the masses here. I wouldnāt say I dislike it as much as I just never ever think about it as it makes very little impact on me either way. I think Martha gets some decent stuff but I donāt think this one is a whole lot of anyyhing overall
10 Likes
Marthaās scene in the escape pod is great. The real cause of the possessed crewmen is a neat idea if a little underdeveloped.
The rest is Impossible Planet/Satan Pit but not as good and with a pretty lame side cast. I only really liked Riley and I guess the captain too.
Weakest of S3 (not counting The Runaway Bride) but not awful. 4/10.
6 Likes
Hey! Runaway Bride is a good one!!!
7 Likes
This is not a story I think about ever. Itās certainly an episode of Doctor Who
8 Likes
I thought so too but showing it to my girlfriend for the first time showed me that it gets to be a bit of an overwhelming clutter of noise 
5 Likes
My wife also did not like it. But she also thinks that Donna is the worst companion so far (she has watched until the start of season 6 and the 60th specials).
4 Likes
I rewatched this not that long ago and had a great time with it. Itās not anything mind-blowing but I think itās a pacey, fun rollercoaster of a story with some decent bits that stand out such as Martha in the escape pod and the Doctor getting possessed by the sun.
9 Likes
Itās not for me.
5 Likes
Yeah this is pretty a meh episode.
Iāll start with what I like:
- This is really ālived-inā working class feeling sci-fi like Alien or the first Star Wars. The ships design, crew costuming and all the dirt and grime everywhere works nicely.
- I like the 24-style āreal clockā element to the episode
Now for what Iām less keen on:
- I really donāt like 10s outfit in this episode
- The Quiz security doors are an interesting idea but itās abandoned after 2 questions.
- The baddies are a bit uninteresting. āWaters on Marsā is a great example of how to do it better.
12 Likes
āAdequately mehā is the best way I can describe itā¦
Itās fine, thereās nothing particularly wrong with it, but it doesnāt really go very far with itās plot. It feels a bit thin, sort of stretched out like butter over too much bread, I need a holiday, a very long holidā¦ sorry got carried away there 
But it might actually have worked better as an 8-page Doctor Who Adventures comic 
2,5/5 
from me.
9 Likes
Itās fine 
I donāt have much to say on it, itās just kinda fine.
(Harperās Directing is probably my favorite aspect of it, but thatās just kinda it. It does what it sets out to do fine enough. Iāve seen worse, Iāve seen better)
10 Likes
42 is better than I remember. But I wouldnāt say its good. Its got some interesting ideas with the sun and the infection, but I feel like it just doesnāt do much with them. Plus the aesthetics of the episode just arenāt too appealing to me. Itās not as bad as some people say, but its far from one Iād re-watch.
9 Likes
9 Likes
I seem to remember the 42 minutes as being live, in episode time, which was pretty neat. Otherwise, not really an episode I think about much.
I remember it having some Saxon setup, too.
9 Likes