8. Father's Day

The Doctor and Rose return to 1987 and the scene of her father's tragic accident.  But when she interferes in the course of events, the monstrous Reapers are unleashed upon the world, and a wedding day turns into a massacre.  Even the Doctor is powerless as the human race is devoured.

- DR. WHO COLLECTORS' EDITION EPISODE GUIDE

Rose grew up with the story told by her mother Jacky of her father Peter Tyler's death, a hit and run accident, where her father died before the Ambulance could arrive to treat him.  The Doctor grants Rose's wish, to see her father and to be there with him so that he doesn't die alone.  I'm sure there are many of us out there that have something in their past that they could change, and if only we could have our favourite Time Lord grant this wish. 

Only Rose finds that she can't stand still and observe what happens, and to the Doctor's horror, she runs out onto the road and pushes Peter out of harms way, and the car that was meant to hit him vanishes.  The Doctor is angry at Rose for doing what she did, saying what she's done is dangerous.  The time line is disrupted because there is an extra man in the world when there shouldn't be.  Rose can't understand why he's so angry, and after arguing, the Doctor leaves.  Peter, who overhears their heated words, tries to console Rose, "don't worry about him, couples have rows all the time." This annoys Rose, who fires back with, "we're not a couple!  Why do people always think we are a couple?" Rose stays by her father's side as he prepares for a friend's wedding where he's meeting Jacky, and the Doctor goes to the TARDIS. 

Then - shock horror - we see the changes in the time line immediately.  People begin to vanish.  The streets of London begin to empty.  When the Doctor opens the TARDIS doors, he finds an empty Police Public Phone Box instead.  The Doctor rushes to the church where Peter and Rose go to for the wedding, and he begins to yell at everyone to get inside, just as these enormous winged beasts begin to circle above and attack the guests. 

When Peter and Rose arrive at the church, Peter nearly has a car crash with a familiar looking car (the same that was meant to hit him) and Rose screams out "Dad!" and Peter swerves just in time.  Then outside of the church as Jacky yells at Peter for arriving late as she holds a baby Rose in her carry cradle, Jacky jealously asks Peter who Rose is, whom he arrived with.  It's here that the Doctor runs up and yells at everyone to get inside the church to take cover, as the Reapers appear in the sky, and eat the father of the groom and several other guests.

A hole in time has appeared over the whole planet, and the Doctor explains that they should be safe for the mean time inside of the Church, as the building is old.  The older something is, the safer it should be, but it won't last forever.  The Reapers, which are the winged beasts, have gotten in through the hole.  Rose and the Doctor are trapped, along with Jacky, Peter, the Bride and Groom, some guests and even a young version of Micky who had been in a play ground when the Reapers appeared and he ran for help.  Jacky is still angry with Peter and doesn't trust the older Rose.  Peter and the Doctor notice a strange familiar car that suddenly appears in front of the church, swerves, and then disappears again, at regular intervals. 

Overhearing the Doctor's and Rose's conversation, along with Rose calling him Dad earlier, makes Peter piece together that Rose is his grown daughter from the future.  Then matters become worse when Jacky flings baby Rose into the older Rose's arms, during an argument with Peter when he tries to share this with Jacky, which the Doctor had warned Rose against - not to touch the baby as it would cause a temporal paradox as they are the same person.  Whoops, BIG mistake.  Then something happens that this fan couldn't believe… a Reaper gets into the church from the paradox and gobbles down the Doctor! 

Rose cries, believing all hope is now lost (I don't blame her - so did I!).  She's lost the Doctor, there is no TARDIS, the Reapers continue to claw away at the church.  Peter sees his desolate older daughter, and makes another realization - that in Rose's time, he's dead.  The car was in fact meant to hit him.  So in a true act of bravery and self sacrifice for his family and the world, he says his tearful farewells with Jacky and the older Rose, and then runs outside of the church, trying to keep ahead of the Reapers and he jumps out in front of the car as if on clock work, it suddenly appears again.

Peter lies dying on the road, and Rose stands still in shock, looking on him.  The Doctor appears beside her and says, "go to him, quick." She does, and as she kneels by his side, he gives her one last smile and then closes his eyes for his final time. 

Sadly all is right in the world again. The time line is repaired.  The Reapers' vanish.  Everyone who had disappeared now reappears, including the Doctor and the TARDIS. Rose departs with the Doctor, and she now has a new child hood memory.  The memory is of her mother Jacky telling her of the day her Dad died… there was a strange young woman with blonde hair who was with him so that he didn't die alone.