Doctor Who’s Most Infamous Filler Episode Is… Fine?
Fear Her consistently ranks as one of the worst Tennant stories by fans, but it probably doesn't deserve the hate.
Plot summary
On the eve of the 2012 Olympics, disappearing children on a ordinary London street lead the Doctor and Rose to a lonely girl who likes to draw.
Notable for:
The first Doctor Who story to directly deal with child abuse as a central theme
Uses the backdrop of the 2012 London Olympic Games, marking the first time the show used an Olympic Games setting.
You can see everyone’s breath when they’re outside, making it obvious it’s not summer, but this was shot in January.
Chloe Webber’s abusive father is portrayed as a supernatural entity (the Isolus), an alien child who travelled to Earth in a pod powered by love and heat
The Doctor is incapacitated mid-story, requiring Rose to resolve the crisis without him — one of few times a companion saves the day alone
Featured original drawings by Indigo Rumbelow (age 11, sister of crew member Joelle Rumbelow), used as Chloe’s in-story artwork
Written by Matthew Graham; originally intended for the following series but rushed in as a replacement after Stephen Fry’s commissioned script fell through
Filed as one of the lowest-rated revival episodes in Doctor Who Magazine polls: ranked 192nd out of 200 in 2009 and near the bottom of subsequent polls
The Isolus pod subplot was inspired by the 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
It’s a rare episode where David Tennant doesn’t wear a tie.
In 2024, the episode was temporarily removed from BBC iPlayer following the arrest of commentator Huw Edwards; it was re-released in 2025 with Huw Edwards’s voice replaced by Becky Wright, making it the first edited Doctor Who episode due to a cast member’s real-life conduct.
Pete commentary:
Well, I asked for filler, and the Randomizer delivered. Fear Her might be the most “ordinary” of Doctor Who episodes. The Doctor even uses the word to describe the neighborhood that’s being affected by the Isolus. That said, the story treats this as a feature rather than a bug, and it mostly works. All the individual parents and other characters are fairly believable, with Trish and Kel having the most texture.
And it’s an interesting challenge to make an ordinary street in broad daylight feel threatening in some way. It doesn’t always work, but the director did his best—the wide shot of rose from behind while ominous Murray Gold music plays is pretty good.
“Want me to call a Doctor?” Still not tired of this!
The cold open sets the stage for all this, and it’s one of the best in NuWho, in my view. The idea of capturing people by drawing them is a very Doctor Who idea—and an RTD Doctor Who idea specifically. Again, it’s ordinary, and turning the ordinary into something that can kill you might be good shorthand for Doctor Who. The off-but-not-crazy old lady and Trish’s concern are nice signposts of what’s to come, and the drawing coming alive is an amazing moment that’s tailor-made for “the scream” going into the credits.
It does bring up the uncomfortable question: Why don’t the drawings ever move again? There’s the implication that the Doctor figures out how to communicate with Rose by pointing to the ship thingie, but you don’t see the drawing move. There’s a weird Toy Story aspect to this that’s not explained.
Even in filler episodes, it’s pleasing to experience the fantastic dynamic between Rose and the Doctor: Love how he calls her “Lewis” and runs with it, and the second scene in the TARDIS between them is really well done: When she puts out her hand and he takes it, Piper’s laugh feels so genuine, it’s perfect. I do wonder where she got the cupcake with ball bearing decorations at the end, but it hits the right feels.
Fun gag at the beginning when the TARDIS materializes with the door facing one of the bins. Also sends the message that elementary corrections like this are easy now for the Doctor. We already knew that, more or less, but nice to be reminded.
“What makes you think it’s a person?” Great Doctor line.
The scribble creature is a bit of a silly effect, but it does its job: It underscores the reverse of the “capturing by drawing” effect—that drawings can become living things, and it helps with pacing, giving the audience a jump scare, and Doctor Who-y, right when one is called for. Making it disappear by rubbing it with a gum eraser is just dumb, though.
The biggest weakness of Fear Her is that there’s very little mystery to the story. Once the Doctor and Rose pinpoint Chloe as the cause of all the problems, there isn’t much left to figure out. If you blinked earlier, you might have missed that the Doctor said he discovered the Isolus spaceship is in the street, so Rose going to town on the pavement might seem a little out of nowhere, but it’s all spelled out for you.
But again, Fear Her uses the lack of mystery as a feature, not a bug. Once you know the little girl is possessed, what do you do? You can’t kill her or even hurt her, so the best Trish can do is take away all of her pencils. It’s good that the script at least thought of that, but you have to wonder why Trish didn’t watch her like a hawk after that, especially the second time. Or at least keep her somewhere that isn’t her room.
One more bit that doesn’t ring true: Trish would insist on seeing what’s in the closet. That part doesn’t add up, even in the moment.
To headcanon why they don’t do enough to stop Chloe: it rests mostly on Trish as the parent, and her default is fear. That’s apparent from scene 1, and the next scene between Chloe and Trish hammers it home: Trish trying to gently persuade Chloe to watch the Olympics, then fleeing when Chloe threatens to draw her.
I must say, for a filler episode, Piper still delivers. When the story shifts all the burden to Rose by having Chloe capture the Doctor, her reaction is fantastic: anger, sadness, and acceptance—all in one scene.
The script strongly suggests Chloe’s father was abusive, and she has a great deal of fear of him (maybe it should have been called “Fear Him,” but that would have given away the final twist). It’s obviously a serious subject, and to the extent it’s explored, it emphasizes how the bond between mother and child, in this case, helped them both survive and move on. It might not be the best way to introduce these themes, but it could have been much worse, and I don’t think it needs to be any deeper than that.
The script does earn the final threat from Chloe’s Dad/the closet creature by foreshadowing it, and the episode does need a twist, but here’s where the features do, in aggregate, feel like a bug. All the plot moments feel a bit formulaic, like it’s going through the motions of being a Doctor Who story rather than being one. It feels a bit paint by numbers.
The bit with the Doctor lighting the Olympic torch truly is a love-it-or-hate-it moment. It really makes no sense: How would the handlers of the torch bearer even let it get to the point where bearer collapses, and how didn’t one of them intervene. “Oh no, he can’t go on! WHAT DO WE DO?” Thank God the Doctor is there to come up with the solution: Just pick it up and carry it the rest of the way.
That said, how can you not love David Tennant’s enthusiastic expression as he stands on the dias, ready to light the torch. So great.
Not to get too nerdy about it, though, but how would the Doctor (at least the Tenth Doctor) not be an overnight celebrity? How was he not mobbed right after? Yet somehow he’s back on the ordinary street and no one even gives him a high-five and a “Good on ya, mate.”
“A storm’s approaching.” A storm? Can we come up with something that isn’t so cliché? Does it always have to be a bad feeling, with a storm as the analogy? I get that you need to do something to hint at what’s to come, but this feels really tacked on.
That said, the Army of Ghosts trailer is awesome. Ah, for it to be 2006 again…
What did Pete’s family think?
Grace gave it two thumbs up! She’s a little older than Chloe now, but she can relate to a girl who draws since she’s very artistic. And she loves the Tenth Doctor and Rose, and there’s plenty to like about them here.
Four Questions to Doomsday - Pete
Why did the Randomizer take us here? I did ask for filler. Also, similar to The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, something alien has taken over something innocent, and perverted it to its own ends. Also, maybe the storm coming is the Pandorica. Thought of that, nerds?
What if the evil plot had succeeded? There’s no real evil plot here, but assuming the Isolus doesn’t evacuate Chloe, and she finishes her drawing of the world, then there’s no hope of rescue. It becomes a very lonely planet—just Chloe and her drawings. Perhaps the Daleks or Cybermen come to attack, find an empty planet, and she draws them too. Doctor Who then becomes a series of children’s artwork instead of a TV show.
Where’s the Clara splinter? She’s the handler of the torch bearer. She’s grossly incompetent, but it’s all an act to ensure the Doctor lights the torch.
Dalek, Ogron, Professor Hayter, Viscount Banger, Fixed Point in Time, Lady Cassandra, or Zarbi? I don’t get the hate fans pile on Fear Her. This is not the greatest episode of Doctor Who, but it’s far from the worst. Many other episodes inspire anger in me and feelings of, “That’s wrong!” or “That’s stupid!” This one starts strong and then delivers on an entertaining, mildly interesting, and somewhat formulaic episode of Doctor Who. Not much to see here, but nothing to hate on either. It’s a Dalek-Hayter hybrid.
Chris commentary:
I really liked the bit at the beginning with the time tunnel and the names, and the bit at the end where they spoiled Army of Ghosts. ;)
Why did this need to happen? Love and Monsters would have been a light enough romp to be a palate cleanser. They’ve even done the TARDIS doors gag at the start before in Ghost Light at least, maybe Wheel in Space.
If I’m mad about anything, it’s that we never got to see the Stephen Fry episode about the Green Knight that should have gone here.
Sometimes RTD gets it wrong about throwing in real stuff, and boy howdy did he ever with the 2012 Olympics. It’s so hard to make it look good, to make it look anything like the real thing. I’m glad I have my memory of the dancing hospital beds and everything else from that amazing opening ceremony.
Similarly the Shayne Ward greatest hits joke (from X Factor star) didn’t age well.
Are we really the only planet to invent edible ball bearings?
Such a mismatch of tone. Is it about child abuse?
If so, the dark shadow of Huw Edwards is scarier than anything in the actual story. Shudder.
What really doesn’t work is the drawings. I can see a world in which a child’s drawings are scary and animated well, but this isn’t it.
Also the Doctor gets trapped in a drawing – worthy of more mention, perhaps? And the TARDIS gets trapped too! WTF?
We never really get to know the original Chloe, so it’s hard to feel for the possessed Chloe.
Original title, Chloe Webber destroys the world, might have been better. We just don’t fear her.
Why the kookaburra? (A “species of least concern”)
Hard to feel for the Isolus when they’re all about loving Chloe then just ditch her.
Where are the rest of the Isolus anyway? What happened with the solar flare?
Why does 1 Isolus want to create 4 billion playmates?
Who is likeable here? Not the mum, or the angry neighbors, or the prying old lady, or the dudes from the council. Barely even the Doctor or Rose.
Let’s talk about the Vulcan salute.
Let’s talk Inspector Morse.
Let’s not talk about Nazis and the Olympic torch.
The Doctor mentions being a father, then Rose lets it go.
The second lowest rating in the 2014 DWM poll, slipping from the 2009 poll, only The Twin Dilemma below it. In 2023: Absolute bottom of 10 and 11’s run.
Two Questions to Doomsday - Chris
Why did the Randomizer take us here? Filler! Pandorica/Big Bang had a child’s bedroom and a disappearing Doctor who had to be brought back by his companion. Greatest Show had a potential Doctor who played an Olympic torch bearer.
What if the evil plot had succeeded? Then … 7 billion people (world pop in 2012), not 4, are turned into drawings or something? Chloe’s going to need a bigger bedroom.