Series 1 (2005)
Episode title: Father's DayFeaturing: Ninth Doctor
Companions: Rose Tyler
First shown: 14th May 2005
Related articles: Reapers, Pete Tyler
Guide: The episode begins with a baby Rose being told a story about her father, Pete Tyler, by Jackie. Pete was killed on the 7th November 1987 by a hit and run driver while attending a wedding. In the present day on the TARDIS, Rose asks the Doctor if they can go back to the day her father died so that she can be there for him when it happens. The Doctor agrees, and the TARDIS lands on the 7th November 1987, where Rose and the Doctor watch Pete get hit by the car. Rose however is unable to move after seeing her father killed, despite the Doctor telling her to go to him, and Pete soon dies. After Rose recovers from the shock, she asks the Doctor if they can try again and he agrees, but only after adding rules about not doing so until their former selves have left the scene, so as to prevent a paradox. Rose agrees and they go back again to try again. As the accident is about to happen, Rose runs out and pushes Pete out of the way of the car and thus saving his life. The former Rose and Doctor disappear, with the current Doctor furious at Rose’s interference and warns her about the damage to the timeline she has caused. Rose dismisses it saying that Pete is just an average person and she goes with Pete to the wedding while the Doctor returns to the TARDIS.
When the Doctor returns to the TARDIS, he finds it an empty shell with the console and insides removed. Elsewhere, flying creatures begin to appear and devour humans. As Rose and Pete go to the wedding in Pete’s car, the same car reappears and nearly hits him, but Pete manages to dodge it while the car disappears. Meanwhile, the Doctor rushes to the church to warn everyone, but a Reaper appears and begins to consume the churchgoers. Everyone rushes inside the church, using the age of the church to protect them. As the Doctor explains the situation, the TARDIS key starts to glow and he realises that he can summon it back to help fix the paradox issue. The TARDIS begins to materialise within the church and the Doctor warns everyone not to touch it until he says so, and also tells Rose not to touch her younger self otherwise she would cause more damage to the time stream. The Doctor explained that the Reapers had appeared to repair the wound in time caused by Rose saving Pete’s life.
Unfortunately, Pete forces the younger Rose into the older Rose’s arms, creating a paradox so strong that it allows the Reapers to enter the church. The Doctor, as the oldest being in the church, is devoured by the Reapers and the faint TARDIS image disappears with him and leaving the TARDIS key cold. Pete watches outside the church window and sees the car that should have killed him going round on a loop, appearing and disappearing over and over again. He deduces that he was meant to be killed by that car and decides that if he lets himself be killed, it will restore the timeline. Pete rushes out of the church and throws himself in front of the car where he is fatally hit. As soon as he is fatally injured, the timeline is restored, and everyone who was consumed by the Reapers are brought back, including the Doctor and the TARDIS. Everyone but the Doctor, Rose and Pete are unaware of the events caused by the Reapers, and Rose rushes to her father’s side and stays with him until he dies. Afterwards, Rose and the Doctor return, hand in hand, to the TARDIS. The episode ends with a baby Rose being told about how her father died by Jackie, but changing it to include the fact that he didn’t die alone.