I saw this before Impossible Planet/Satan Pit, so if anything, that one seems like the lesser copy to me. The orange/red lighting is really well done and just sticks in my mind, so it’s more distinctive than most other episodes of its caliber.
7 Likes
Meh
Okay, honestly, 42 is pretty solid, it just has the unfortunate problem of being wedged between one of the very few stories in that season that doesn’t have anything especially memorable going for it. It’s not a season opener or closer, it’s not insanely good (Blink, Human Nature/Family of Blood), it’s not memorable for awful/weird effects (Lazarus Experiment, Dalek 2 Parter), and the concept for it’s main villain is pretty close to another story that, while maybe not especially memorable on it’s own, has one of the most memorable speeches in DW (Akhaten)
It’s a shame because like, it’s a perfectly solid script, and the Saxon arc setup is great, but yeah, overall it’s just kinda there
10 Likes
Too claustrophobic and hot for my tastes, but I like a badass sun protecting her own. 
7 Likes
Probably because one of the most forgettable episodes for me. It plays with some interesting ideas (trivia questions to open the doors and a sentient sun) and has some nice character moments regarding Martha (the escape pod and her calling her mom). However, there is little distinctive elements about the side characters and the build up to the sentient sun reveal isn’t super well-constructed.
7 Likes
It’s 24 mixed with The Impossible Planet, with a pre-Rosa Vinette Robinson having a bad day at work!
42 is Chris Chibnall’s first stab at Doctor Who, a tense real-time thriller where the Doctor and Martha have just 42 minutes to stop a spaceship from plunging into a sun. The sweaty, claustrophobic atmosphere is effective, and Martha shines with emotional and practical contributions, especially in the escape pod sequence. Tennant gives a memorable, if overcooked, performance while possessed by the sun. The guest crew are thinly written, and the themes of guilt and exploitation feel heavy-handed. Relentless and tense, but also exhausting, 42 is more effective in its concept than in its execution.
Here’s my spoilery review for those who fancy a read. Thanks!
9 Likes
Generously, I’m giving it 2/10.
One of the weakest Tennant era episodes.
5 Likes
I’m with you, @deltaandthebannermen. It’s fun and seems pretty pacey to me. Nice ideas. Strong direction. Is it a great? Nope, but it’s a perfectly serviceable fun episode of 2007 DW.
6 Likes
Great review again, @MrColdStream. Not for nothing were you instrumental in helping me find a style and template I liked for my own reviews. Solid points, well made. 
6 Likes
Its not bad, but I will always maintain that not making the episode real time is the most Chibnal decision ever.
I honestly dont think ti would have been that much harder with 1 more draft, but it would still require way more thought and effort (and drafts) than Chibnal put into his plots. Is also would have been easy to just call the episode “57” or “84” or literally any other time but the one we would notice is not real-time. But no, he went with 42
2 Likes
Thanks for the kind words and you’re welcome for the inspiration 
1 Like
Yeah, but there is a reason for calling it 42 that makes sense if you want to help publicise it to the general audience with a hook they’ll recognise. 24 was huge at one point, don’t forget.
8 Likes
One of the most forgettable episodes of NuWho. It’s not bad (I rated it a 3/5), but many of the worse episodes have something to remember about them.
The most memorable thing here is probably the real-time gimmick, which does at least give the episode some momentum. But ultimately, it just makes for a very watchable piece of mediocrity.
4 Likes
Always liked 42, especially after the previous episodes, The Lacklustre Experiment & abysmal Dalek two-parter. A proper sci-fi idea, some cool production design & the ‘real time’ concept is interesting but maybe could have been emphasised a bit more. However, I love the pacing; when you have Graham Harper directing, you know you’re in safe hands. Some of the lighting choices are nice - the red of the ship, the blue of the escape pod. Murray Gold’s music can be a bit overbearing as usual, but there’s some restraint in that moment when Martha’s in the escape pod. A really effective scene that would have been the cliffhanger to a part one if this was Classic Who. Separating her from the Doctor gives some added jeopardy - although the resolution is relatively quick - & some brief but engaging character moments between Martha & Riley. Freema is really good in this, the phone call to her mum, the infected Doctor moment. She really makes an impact in this story.
This isn’t going to be up there with my favourite ever episodes but is still a really enjoyable one.
8 Likes
Rewatched this recently, and I will say that its actually pretty decent.
1 Like
Middle of the road. Nothing special, but not bad.
Mother Jones is still annoying.
2.5/5
My rating system
5.0 Perfect/Fav
4.5 Excellent/Fav
4.0 Very Good
3.5 Good
3.0 Enjoyable
2.5 Meh
2.0 Bad
1.0 Very Bad
4 Likes
beep, BEEP, beep, BEEP, beep BEEP…
2 Likes
While I’m not going to say that this is the best – or even my personal favourite – episode of Series 3, ‘42’ is certainly derided far more than its shortcomings warrant. It’s far from perfect and definitely outmatched by the two-parter directly following it, and by the Doctor-lite story right after that, but it’s a very interesting approach to a science-fiction setting with a ticking clock element that doesn’t feel too egregious and a rather effective building of tension through its breakneck pacing and its spinning of multiple plates.
The strongest thing this story has going for it is, ironically, something that Doctor Who overall gets a lot of flack for: its visuals. Limiting the CGI to light effects, a sun, and a spaceship exterior reduces the uncanny charge that often puts people off something like Lazarus or the Doctor in the birdcage in ‘The Last of the Time Lords’. And the framing of those visuals is certainly impressive; I’ve no idea if it’s just a comparison to the Second Davies Era – I knew I could sneak in a dig somehow! – but the blocking in this story feels a lot more effective despite (or, perhaps, because of) its claustrophobic interiors. The visual of the Doctor looking out at the sun, the blues and oranges inside the pod, and the sweat, grime, and steam being so thick in every scene you can practically smell it is a brilliantly immersive quality.
Unfortunately, there are a few things that don’t really land with me. Trivia to open locked doors is a harmless idea on its own but, to me, felt a bit redundant in a story that already had enough tension with the sheer number of doors they had to work through. I feel like Erina is really only there to be another tally on the rather impressive body count this episode has. Everything else is mostly good enough to work but lacks a certain je ne sais quoi to boost it that little bit further.
The Doctor being genuinely scared and terrified of a possession that could have him kill others was a much-needed scene after he spent so much of the series so far being a mopey, miserable, vainglorious git with no regard for Martha as an actual person beyond either a skill or her presence as someone to just listen to him gabble. But, as always, Tennant does it well, Agyeman really goes for it with the phone-call home, and the supporting cast aren’t half bad either.
Still, despite my praises, I don’t think it breaks past a 6/10 for me…
4 Likes