Hankies out for an uncommonly tear-jerking episode of Doctor Who...

Boo Who Who. Doctor Who's never really been known as a programme that tugs at the heartstrings. Take your vox pops onto the street and see how many people say: "Ah! Doctor Who – the show that makes me bawl like a baby!" Which is fair enough, since its chief function is to provide brilliant escapist science fiction drama week in, week out.

But when it wants to, Doctor Who can turn on the emotional tap – in particular, the last few years have seen an upsurge in tear-jerkers. Some of the storylines have gone for the jugular by putting both characters and viewers at home through the emotional wringer. Even The Doctor has broken out the crying towel on more than one occasion – the 10th incarnation was almost on the verge of tears as he regenerated (now if only they'd have used that 4th take when he actually breaks down...).

Mind you, some fans have claimed that this is a welcome tonic after the supposedly stiff-upper lips of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Which is a pretty lazy argument when you look at companion exits of Jo, Jamie, Zoe or Sarah, not to mention the watery eyed reactions to the farewells of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Heck, even the Daisiest Daisy speech from The Time Monster is rather moving in the right context. But then along came Father's Day, which proved to be the first and probably the best of the modern day weepies.

Father's Day is a bold example of how the new production team were willing to experiment with the tried and tested formula of Doctor Who. Normally, it's alien invasions and threats that form the centrepieces of a standard Doctor Who adventure. This time around though, the aliens are shoved into the background, to make way for the real meat of the story – the death of Rose's father, Pete Tyler.

Rose decides that she wants to go back in time and find out all about her father, from his stumbling wedding vows through to the cold November day when he's killed by a speeding car. Even though The Doctor's highly sceptical of such a request, he reluctantly agrees to take her to November 7th 1987, so that she can be there at his side when he finally passes over to the other side. However, that would be a pretty dull story – not to mention a short one, so naturally, Rose does what any one of us would probably do in that position – she saves Pete's life. And guess what? All hell breaks loose.

Father's Day, in fact, is about people making the wrong decisions – until that all-important final self-sacrifice. The Doctor's decision to take Rose back is a little odd, since surely any fool would realise that she'd try and save her father's life. Sure enough, he's still smarting from turd boy Adam's recent betrayal, and so starts ranting and raving at Rose, and calling her "Another stupid ape". In a way it's understandable that he's hurt, since he thinks that Rose's acceptance of his invitation to join him was all a big masterplan to bring her dad back to life. But at the same time, it goes back to my original point that he shouldn't have taken her to 1987 in the first place, not just because of the possibility of the world being put in danger, but because it'll prove such a big ordeal for Rose.

And sure enough, Rose keeps digging a bigger hole for herself. Not only does she distort the fabric of time by breaking the cardinal rule of not changing fixed events, she then goes and embraces the whole Blinovitch Limitation Effect by saying hello to her baby self – and thus makes a very bad situation worse. Blimey, hadn't she even thought of picking up a copy of Mawdryn Undead from the local video shop?

Pete probably couldn't have afforded the video in the first place though, since his latest money-making scheme had probably gone down the tube. Out of all the characters in Father's Day, it's Pete himself who's making the worst decisions. In fact, his whole life seems to be one long disaster, with failed wheeler dealer schemes (Rose calls him a bit of a Del Boy) and a history of two-timing Jackie with other women. This is the worst possible news for Rose, who is forced to confront the fact that her father wasn't the saint that she thought he was. Look at her shocked face when she witnesses Pete and Jackie arguing outside the church – clearly the bedtime stories that she heard about her dad during childhood are more fictitious than making chocolate biscuits out of breadcrumbs and butterbeans.

It's those very human failings though that make Pete such an endearing character. He may live in a fantasy world in which his Trotter-style capers amount to something, but he also comes across as a decent, likeable man. Furthermore, he's clearly more open-minded than most, given his gradual realisation that the grown-up Rose is his daughter from the future. Whereas Jackie typically passes this off as nonsense (she later accuses Pete of giving their daughter a second-hand name after she thinks that grown-up Rose is his latest floozy conquest), Pete is keen to find out all about the future ("What, do they all have time machines where you come from?") and his future life.

In fact, Pete's smarter than you may think. He manages to piece all the facts together – Rose from the future; The Doctor's references to "A wound in time"; the Reapers; Rose's over-enthusiastic praise of how he read her bedtime stories as a kid; and the mysterious car that keeps fading in and out of existence outside the church. All of this comes to a head in his matter-of-fact admission that he knows that he's meant to be dead ("I'm so useless, I couldn't even die properly"). In the end, he proves to be the father that he is rather than the daydreaming layabout, and throws himself in front of the car so as to restore the balance.

"The real revelation of the show is of course, Billie Piper, who actually outdoes Christopher Eccleston in the acting stakes this time around"

It's all a bit predictable, and it may be the first in a long line of reset switches, but there's something very affecting about Father's Day. Paul Cornell has acquired something of a reputation for writing heart-tugging Doctor Who stories (see the 'New Adventures' series), and Father's Day cements that reputation with dialogue that's both believable and genuinely moving. The initial realisation of Pete's (and Rose's subsequent reaction) and the scene in which he says goodbye to his daughter ("Are you going to be there, for me, love?") are packed with killer lines that never quite descend into mawkish sentimentality. And there's also the little things like Pete's awkward body language when he first confronts Rose, or his little swig of Dutch Courage before he prepares to sacrifice himself.

Of course, you need genuinely believable performances to make these sequences work too, and luckily Shaun Dingwall and Billie Piper step up to the plate with excellent results. Dingwall totally gets the slightly hapless character of Pete, and he adds the right mix of world-weary charm and pathos, whether it's in his teary conversations with Rose or that shot in which he looks out of the window at the looping phantom car. Just in that short sequence, we see Pete's face go from wonder through to grim realisation through to sadness through to determined resolve as he knows what must be done. Great stuff.

The real revelation of the show is of course, Billie Piper, who actually outdoes Christopher Eccleston in the acting stakes this time around. We're miles away from the squeaky popstress of the 1990s with a genuinely thoughtful and moving performance that again manages to tug at the heartstrings without being too cloying or mushy. Even without the barrage of tear-jerking scenes, Piper also manages to squeeze in some well-judged comedy, especially Rose's spluttering horror at the prospect of a date with her father ("There for you is like, pfff, it's like the Bermuda Triangle"). Altogether, Father's Day proves to be Billie's most valuable contribution, just nudging out her equally impressive turns in the Bad Wolf and Army Of Ghosts two parters. You can understand why Rose became such a big hit in such a short space of time after watching Father's Day.

Has Rose learnt anything by the end of Father's Day? She's certainly foolhardy and reckless enough throughout, but then grief always causes people to make less rational decisions. One important lesson to be learned is that time travel isn't quite the easy ride – it's more of a packed-to-the-bumpers bus which is stuck in a crowded traffic jam at 5pm in the evening. As The Doctor says, just one action can change the whole course of history. Rose passes her father's fate off as insignificant, but The Doctor counteracts her by saying that it's irrelevant how big or small the change in time is, it leads to hell in a hand basket. The Reapers are in the vein of Chronovores like Kronos from The Time Monster, although they don't flap about with plastic buckets on their heads. Aside from these unwelcome visitations, we also have time flickering in and out with blasts of The Streets (shouldn't they have played 'Droy Your Oys Mate'?) and a snatch of Alexander Graham Bell on a big brick-sized yuppie communicator. We may see the results of Rose's actions on a somewhat smaller scale, but the lesson to be learned is still an effective one.

Father's Day isn't really meant to be seen as a big blockbuster epic – it's a small, personal tale about everyday normal events. From Rose's tragedy through to The Doctor's admission to Sarah and Stuart that he wouldn't mind a normal life like theirs, Father's Day is all about the small but important things in life. Although two in the morning on a street corner probably isn't quite as romantic as they make it sound. What about the chavs beating each other up after too much booze? What about the ladettes staggering about with the grace of brain-dead chimps after drinking the wine bars bone dry?

"Father's Day is an experiment that succeeds with flying colours"

Director Joe Ahearne proves to be a dab hand with this smaller-scale story. Visually, Father's Day is just as strong as his powerhouse direction for the Dalek stories. Ahearne adds a surreal, almost childlike quality to the story with many memorable images: The empty shell of a TARDIS. The phantom car. The Reapers are well executed, and the POV shots are also well handled. Murray Gold's score is also very good, with an equally dreamlike, off-kilter feel to it. Thankfully, this soundtrack is less bombastic than many of his other attempts, and it's all the more effective for that. The guest cast are generally OK – they're all just generic wedding guests, but the performances are still fine. Having said that though, Jackie really does try the patience in this story. Quite why Pete was so infatuated with this screeching harridan is a good question. Jackie's even more shrill and gormless than usual, refusing to try and acknowledge that adult Rose is her kid, and all the while shouting at Pete like she's putting in practice for an appearance on Kilroy.

It's interesting that Ahearne also manages to capture the feel of 1987, with its big hair, brick phones, Acid House posters and whiff of Thatcherism in the air (money and wealth still talk in Jackie's world). And hey, you too can groove on down to the well-chosen sounds of 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley and 'Never Can Say Goodbye' by The Communards. Although where's 'Living In A Box' when The Doctor staggers agog out of the empty TARDIS, or 'If You Let Pete Stay' by Terence Trent D'Arby as Rose pleads with The Doctor for another chance for her dad?

Father's Day is an experiment that succeeds with flying colours. Admittedly, you wouldn't want every story to feel like this, but this is a mature and well-reasoned look at the murky waters of grief and death. It tells a good, exciting story while requiring a compulsory supply of hankies. If you'll excuse me, I just need to go and blow my nose...

John Bensalhia limbered up for this mammoth task with a full four-series review of Blake's 7, and writes professionally and recreationally all over the web. Check out his portfolio of work at Wordprofectors.

Check out John's previous Doctor Who review, The Long Game

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