This may be Rose’s first official adventure with the new Doctor, nevertheless I felt as though they’ve really been traveling together for a long time. Maybe it’s because I’ve already seen Tennant as the Doctor before, but I think he does a great job of acting as though he’s been playing the role since the first season. I just find it so easy to accept that in the Whoniverse, Time Lords cheat death by regenerating. The Ninth Doctor’s life was in jeopardy after he absorbed the Time Vortex from Rose, hence he had to regenerate in order to continue living – simple as that. The Doctor is still basically the same person, only with a different body and personality.

In this episode, the Doctor brings Rose to New Earth. After the original earth ended, humanity apparently got nostalgic and decided to settle down in another planet that was similar to the original earth. In New Earth, the Doctor brings Rose to a hospital run by feline-looking nuns called the Sisters of Plenitude. The Doctor goes off to visit an old friend – the Face of Boe – whereas Rose gets sidetracked by none other than the ‘last human’ herself, Cassandra O’ Brien.

Cassandra is basically just a flap of skin with a talking face on it, nevertheless I think her character’s got more personality and spunk than most Doctor Who villains. I think it’s because of the fact that despite her outrageous appearance, she still is a human being, whereas Doctor Who villains usually aren’t. With that said, I personally can’t help but like Cassandra a little bit despite the fact that her character is utterly destructive and self-centered. She says the craziest things, and the flashbacks to her past reveal that she really was the outgoing, entertaining type.

I think Piper and Tennant really had fun doing their own impersonations of Cassandra, simply because she is such a character. Both actors nailed Cassandra’s accent and haughty air.  When Cassandra entered Rose’s body for the first time, she made comments about Rose’s body, saying that it was like ‘living inside a bouncy castle’ and how Rose had a ‘nice rear bumper.’ I thought those comments were really funny, especially because Piper was the one reciting those lines. I loved the fact that she was willing to make fun of her own curves.

Tennant was also hilarious as Cassandra. His body language is really meant for comical acting. When Cassandra was in the Doctor, she said something that revealed a lot about what exactly Rose feels about the Doctor. Since she’s been inside Rose’s head, Cassandra knew that Rose actually finds the new Doctor attractive. This tells us that Rose actually welcomes the Doctor’s new appearance, although this is probably not the main reason why she’s attracted to him. His new look is probably more like an added bonus. The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) looked considerably older than Rose, whereas the Tenth (David Tennant) looks closer to Rose’s age, so I guess it can be said that the Doctor’s new appearance further opens the possibility for the two to have a romantic relationship.

I think this episode is a great example of how Doctor Who is a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is less sci-fi than other sci-fi television series out there, and it actually leans more towards fantasy. Take for example the manner by which Cassandra transfers herself from one body to another as though she were some sort of ghost. Another instance would be when the Doctor and Rose were both being sterilized inside the elevators – this scene reminds me of something I might see in a carwash sketch from a Hannah Barbera cartoon. I also thought the Doctor’s ‘medicine cocktail’ was an absurd and utterly simplistic solution to the complex, diseased clone farm that the Sisters of Plenitude were sustaining. This just goes to show that Doctor Who, despite being a sci-fi show, doesn’t bother with serious scientific explanations to engage its audience – it’s really more about the comedic and fantastical elements that can come from realm of sci-fi.

Despite all of the silly moments of this episode, I found the ending to be quite heartbreaking. I felt sorry for Cassandra at the end of her life. After she entered the body of one of the diseased clones, she realized their loneliness and suffering, and I think as someone who’s been living as a fragile flap of skin, Cassandra really empathized with these people who simply longed for human contact and affection. In the end, Cassandra could only find peace within herself. At the end of her life, when the Doctor and Rose brought Cassandra (in Chip’s body) to her past, Cassandra finally found peace and satisfaction with her appearance.