Davies had a lot to prove when the BBC put him in charge of giving Doctor Who a new lease of life after the 16-year gap between Classic Who in 1989 and New Who, which launched in 2005. Davies was not only successful, with the premiere episode “Rose” bringing in over 9 million views overnight, but he also went on to create some of the most iconic episodes in Doctor Who history. Coming hot on the heels of the Time War, Davies introduced a darker Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston), struggling with the grief of being the last of the Time Lords.
This grimmer slant didn’t just extend to our favorite alien but to the episodes themselves—including one that haunts me (and everyone who grew up watching New Who) to this day. It introduced one of the Doctor’s most rakish companions, a lovable con man from the 51st century known as Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), and it was also the first Doctor Who episode Steven Moffat wrote; he would later take over from Davies as Doctor Who’s showrunner in 2010. However, the most important thing about “The Empty Child” is this: It is, without a doubt, the scariest episode of Doctor Who’s first season (along with its follow-up, “The Doctor Dances”).
The episode follows the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) as they arrive in London during the Blitz in 1941. While the Doctor investigates the metal cylinder that brought them there, Rose encounters a boy in a gas mask on a rooftop. Frightened, she is rescued by Jack Harkness.
But the Doctor, Rose, and Jack haven’t seen the last of the child. When they reunite at a hospital treating victims of the London bombings, they discover the cylinder is connected to the boy’s appearance — and that several other patients have gas masks glued to their faces. On the surface, a gas mask isn't inherently scary.
They were used during the Blitz to keep people safe from poisonous gases and other chemical warfare. But look beyond its uses and focus on its appearance: the sunken, circular eyes, the elongated mouth, and the tubing coming from it… No matter how you cut it, it’s nightmare fuel. Moffat went a step further, though.
A gas mask can be horrifying in the right context, sure, but what's even more terrifying? Historically speaking, a creepy child. Yet even that wasn’t enough: The child terrorizing the Doctor, Rose, and Jack moves with the slow, unnatural gait of something not quite alive.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
