(756) The End of Time - Part Two

The End OF Time is the final appearance for David Tennant as the Doctor (apart from his 2013 appearance). This is 47^th and final episode and is the sixth longest serving Doctor in terms of episode credited to. This is also his 1,468^th and final day as the Doctor and becomes stays as the third longest serving Doctor in that respect. It is also the 60^th and final episode for Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers and the 31^st for Russell T Davies as writer and becomes the seventh most credited writer in Doctor Who ever and the most credited writer since the show returned in 2005.

The first scene after the titles have played is set on Gallifrey and it’s the most that we have seen of Gallifrey since the show returned. Sadly the room that the Lord President meets the other Timelords in is less impressive. I suppose that it could be argued that it just means that there is nothing to distract you and your attention could be focused on Timothy Dalton. Dalton’s character is called Lord President for most of the story but it isn’t until the end that he’s called Rassilon.

It’s nice that the drumming was started by the Timelords and he has had this all his lives. It gives an nice explanation as to why the Master has been the way that he has been since he debuted in Terror of the Autons. The idea of using six billion copies of himself to find where the signal of the drumming is coming from is.

When the Lord President arrives on Earth that is what things start to ramp up and soon Gallifrey appears above the Earth and I love how quickly things spiral out of control. The reason why the Time War was timelocked is finally explained and its quite a good one.

Bernard Cribbins is fantastic in this story and the scene where he is trying to get the Doctor to shoot the Master is one of the best scenes in this story. The fact that Wilfred is the one that knocks four times and causes the Doctor to pretty much sacrifice his life is something that would normally make him a terrible character but it shows how close Wilfred and the Doctor have become that he is prepared to do this ultimate sacrifice.

The performance that John Simm gives in these two episodes is much better than the one he gave in series twenty-nine. The Master is used rather well and is quite central to the story but not in his usual way. The fact he gives up his life for the Doctor is the perfect way for the Master to exit the story.

The Doctor jumping out of the ship to crash land into the main room of the Naismith mansion seems a bit of an over the top thing to do but its not as bad as the hover boat scene in Planet of the Spiders. I thought that the moment when the Doctor realises he is alive and then hears the four knocks is a heart stopping moment and the look on Tennant’s face is so sad. When he decides to go into the booth to let Wilfred out it’s a scene that is as emotional as anything in the show since it returned. Even when RTD was trying to be emotional, this was the first time that it seemed to have an effect on me.

The final fifteen minutes is given over to the Doctor saying goodbye to all of the people who have been a part of the show during RTD’s time. I mentioned during the Journeys End review that too much time was given over to the soppy sentimental stuff but that wont happen here. You don’t appear in so many stories without earning the right to say goodbye this way. The first people that he visits are Martha and Mickey are seen trying to dodge a Sontaran and have become a married couple.  That seems like a bolt out of the blue. Next was Sarah Jane and Luke also return and the Doctor saves Luke’s life after he runs into the road. This was nice cause because Elisabeth Sladen does seem to well up and it’s the last time that Sarah Jane would appear in Doctor Who because she passes away the following year.

Captain Jack is in a bar with Slitheen, Judoon, Adispose, the Hath and ends up hooking up with Alonso from Voyage of the Damned. The tune from Daleks in Manhattan is playing in the background. Next up is Jessica Hynes appears as Verity Newman who is a descendant on Joan Redfern from Human Nature. It was perhaps for time reason that they didn’t go back to Joan Redfern and instead went for her granddaughter. Whatever the reason for it doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s a nice moment. Donna gets married (properly this time) and sadly doesn’t notice the Doctor but Wilfred and Sylvia do. The Doctor goes back to meet Geoffrey Noble and I had forgotten that bit and it was a nice touch because Geoffrey would have appeared in the 2008 series had he not passed away. The final encounter was with Rose which was always going to be the case. It happens just before Rose meets Eccleston’s Doctor but I do wonder how Rose wouldn’t remember him later on.

After all the goodbyes are done, the Doctor takes a slow walk towards his TARDIS and I think that this is where Murray Gold’s music works its magic because it builds up and up trying to crank up the emotions of the moment. I suspect that Tennant’s final words as the Doctor aren’t 100% acting. There must have been a part of him during that scene that wanted to carry on but not everything can go on forever. As last words go “I don’t want to go” is a million times better than “Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice”. The destruction of the TARDIS was a great moment and this is the last time that it features like this (it makes an appearance later in the next series).

Matt Smith’s opening minute wasn’t the greatest start and I know that there is suppose to be a bit of madness to this part but it was perhaps just a bit too mad. That said I know certain people that I watched this scene with weren’t convinced that Matt Smith was the right person to play the role. It’s hard to judge someone after such a short time but I was convinced that he would prove everyone wrong and now it remains to be seen whether this is still the case.

The End of Time was a good story and I think that it gave Tennant the send off that he deserved. Tennant had a difficult job to do when he took over from Christopher Eccleston in June 2005 but over the course of his time on the show he has helped the show increase in popularity and despite some iffy moments, the Tennant era has been really good and it will be interesting to see how watching the Smith era an episode a day will match up with Tennant’s.

(755) The End of Time - Part One

How do you end David Tennant’s tenure in the right way? It’s the sort of question that JNT had to answer when Tom Baker left the series. The way that RTD has decided to mark the end of the Tennant era was to have a two parter which has a combined running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. The new Mad Max film was shorter. The opening scene starts with Timothy Dalton talking. An actual James Bond is in Doctor Who. Dalton is credited as The Narrator but it’s clear by the way that he is talking that he is far more important to the story than it seems. The Master returns to this story but the thing about the last time he was in the story it seemed like he was done in a permanent kind of way. I remember reading that the Master was suppose to take part in Jon Pertwee’s final story but the death of Roger Delgado put a stop to that.

Bernard Cribbins returns (which is always a good thing). It’s quite good that he gets a credit in the title sequence along with John Simm and David Tennant.

There is a woman that appears in a church scene with Wilfred Mott and her identity is a bit of a mystery. It turns out that the woman is actually the Doctor’s mother. I think that this could have been clearer.

The business of the ring falling to the ground and being picked up in Last of the Timelords is finally addressed and it was picked up by a member of a group of people who are believers of The Master/Harold Saxon. They bring him back and the thing that sets it all off is the lipstick from Lucy Saxon. This is something that I think is a bit of a stretch and that she would still have the Masters imprint on her lips are such a long time. However during the ‘regeneration’ process things wrong and this is what makes the Master mad (I mean madder) and this is what I like about the Master. When the Master is ripping a cooked Chicken to pieces it shows how mad the character is.

There are two people that are totally annoying. I found Joshua Naismith (David Harewood) and Abigail Naismith (Tracy Ifeachor). They are wealthy people and I just cant stand them from the very moment that I first saw them. I quite like David Harewood as an actor as he is very good in Homeland but here he poorly served by a character that is a poorly realised part of the story. The characters get the comeuppance that they deserve when they get taken over by the Master.

The scene where the Doctor and Wilfred are talking about dying is one that I found really good. It shows how good Wilfred would have been as a companion. I know the in-thing that the companion has to be young but he was only about 81 at the time so that’s quite young. Isnt it? The downside of this story is that it’s the last time that Bernard Cribbins will feature in a Doctor Who story. I suppose I will have to enjoy the final episode even more. Catherine Tate makes a sort of cameo appearance. It’s weird to think that just a few days ago she was a companion and now she is reduced to a basically a supporting role. The two cactus like characters have more to do in this story.

President Obama announces a plan to fight the recession. It’s something that gets mentioned a few times and to be honest I couldn’t be bothered with it. The only reason to have it in the episode is that he turns into the Master. When Obama appears there is some clever camera angles to hide the fact that its obviously not the President.

The whole episode builds up to the Master becoming every single human on the planet. It’s such an epic idea and it works really well. It’s odd that a Christmas Special would have a cliffhanger but it is an ending that the story deserves. The cliffhanger sees Timothy Dalton (Rassilon) standing in front of a chamber of timelords. The sight of them is superb and is the perfect way to leave things. I found this episode to be largely good and think that the 75 minute finale will be just as good as it needs to be.

(751) Journeys End

Today is the final episode of the series and the final series that David Tenannt would do as the Doctor. This is a longer episode than normal. Just over an hour (1hr 3 min) which is the length normally reserved for the Christmas Special but this episode is given special treatment. Back in 2008 I was happy about this cause it meant 15 minutes more of my favourite TV show but watching it today I don’t think that the story needing that extra time.

The cliffhanger of yesterday’s episode was one of the best one for a long time and sadly that always meant that the resolution of it would be disappointing and to be really harsh on RTD, this was a bit of a cop out. He managed to put the energy of the regeneration into the hand. That hand then becomes a more human version of the Doctor.

The Osterhagan Key is a weapon that is talked about a lot and will basically blow up the Earth. It was never going to happen but it still an effective thing to use in the story.

I don’t know why but hearing Daleks talk in German is quite funny.

This is an episode where Donna is quite central to the story. She starts hearing a heartbeat sound and then manages to absorb some Timelord intelligence which is never a good thing. Seeing her manage to outsmart Davros and the Daleks is quite fun to watch. There is an explanation about the Doctor Donna line from Planet of the Ood. Catherine Tate does a good job of making all the technical jargon sound real and that knows what she is talking about.

It’s quite a while before Davros finally makes an appearance but it’s well worth the wait cause Julian Bleach gets to show us why he’s a great Davros. Davros isn’t really the leader of the Daleks but is instead working for the Daleks which is slightly disappointing because it would be nice to have Davros back as leader. Bleach manages to channel both Michael Wisher (in his voice) and the madness of Terry Molloy’s Davros. I did like the reunion between Sarah Jane Smith and Davros. They met in Davros’ first story back in 1975 and it’s a lovely fanboy moment but probably won’t mean much to many people who are new to the series.

The truth about the Doctor (according to Davros) turning his companions into murderers and weapons. There is a nice glimpse of the people that have died in Doctor Who stories since 2005. It’s a great moment because it does show that the Doctor’s actions have consequences. Ok he can’t control them but the reckless manner in which he roams the universe has consequences.

I had the thought that most RTD finales were ruined by slushing nonsense but in recent series finale’s it hasn’t been as noticeable. The main plot is dealt with and Earth is returned home meaning that there is nearly a quarter of an hour of the Doctor saying goodbye and this is a problem because it did go on way too long. What took the cake was that yet again the Doctor and Rose get their blubbery farewell. If all of that had been cut down then Donna’s goodbye would have been even better. I thought that Donna’s departure is really sad and I found it a more effective end that either of Rose’s. Donna having her memory wiped of the Doctor is very similar to Jamie and Zoe but back then they didn’t have Bernard Cribbins and he was great.

The music from Murray Gold was quite epic in this two parter. I think that this was the peak of his abilities (not that he has gone off the boil).

The visual effects team deserve credit because some of the crucible shots are superb and some of the best that the show has produced. It could easily rival what is seen in a Hollywood movie.

Yesterday I commented that the business with the bees was the first sign that RTD has started to lose the plot a bit and in todays episode there is another example of this. The TARDIS being able to pull the TARDIS like a tow truck pulling a broken down car is another moment where I really scratch my head wondering just what was going through RTD’s head. On the plus side there is a lovely shot of The Doctor (both of them), Donna, Jackie, Rose, Martha, Sarah Jane, Mickey steering the TARDIS with help from K9. The music is lovely and another example of how good Murray Gold is.

This was a good two parter and did a good job of using Davros and the Daleks and making it seem like the most important Doctor Who story ever. I do think that it was fifteen minutes too long and that the cliffhanger wasn’t resolved in the way that it should have been but the performances were all really good and this series as a whole has been quite good but not as strong as the previous one.  Now I am about to embark on the specials which spell the beginning of the end for the Tennant era.

(750) The Stolen Earth

This is going to be a stat filled review today. First stat is that The Stolen Earth is the 750^th episode of Doctor Who. It is also the 200^th story as well which is a point that could be argued. I would argue this by saying that Trial of a Timelord was four stories not just one and I have clubbed Utopia with Sound of Drums and Last of the Timelords. The BBC say that this story is number 198 and that Planet of the Dead is the 200^th but I think that we should leave it is it is.  This episode sees the return of Davros 81 episodes ago or 7, 185 days since the final episode of Remembrance of the Daleks. In the 2005 series, the Daleks returned, in 2006 it was the Cybermen that returned and in 2007 the Master made an appearance and so it was Davros’ time to make a comeback.

This is where all three shows that RTD is involved in are in the same story. Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures and their respective characters join the Doctor Who world. This is a arguably the biggest episode of Doctor Who. You could see it as Doctor Who’s answer to The Avengers film. Russell T Davies has to fit an awful lot into two episodes and that’s not an easy thing to do.

There is a slight issue with the idea of people able to make phone calls on their phones and yet the planet has moved. In one scene Luke is able to make a call and then in the next scene Martha can’t make a call.

When the Daleks’ voice sound, it’s a moment that gave me goose bumps. I can’t deny it but the sound along with the Murray Gold music helped make it seem like an big moment. The thing is that the reason for what the Daleks are doing isn’t explained. I think that there isn’t enough time to properly explain this but that didn’t bother me really.

It wouldn’t be a series finale without cameo appearances. They have become something of a calling card for Russell T Davies. However one of the cameos is quite interesting. Richard Dawkins makes an appearance and his cameo is interesting because he’s married to Lalla Ward. Paul O’Grady also appears.

The Shadow Proclamation has been mentioned countless times since 2005 and we finally get to visit it. Personally I think that it should be something that is talked about but not seen. During this period of the episode we learn more about the planets moving but Russell T Davies comes up with the idea that Bees are aliens. This is first instance that I think shows that Russell T Davies was starting to lose his grip on what works and doesn’t work. This is his last series as Head Writer (although he is still in charge for the specials).

Davros doesn’t appear until quite late in the episode and even then we only see his metal hand (blown off in Revelation of the Daleks) and his blue head light. We don’t get to see him properly until the end and then it’s the best couple of minutes in what is a superb episode. Julian Bleach has a difficult job because he will be compared to Michael Wisher and Terry Molloy. What is impressive about his performance is how he manages to mix their version into his own. The mask that Bleach has to wear is very good because it allows Bleach to very as expressionative as he wants to be. Wisher and Molloy didn’t have that luxury but thankfully the process has improved and we get to see the benefits. I just wish there had been more of Davros in this episode.

This episode marks the final appearance of Penelope Wilton and I love how she introduces herself as former Prime Minister (even to the Daleks). This short appearance seems to be designed to give her character some redemption because of what happened in The Christmas Invasion. It’s a lovely performance from Wilton and it reminds me of what was so good about the character.

The question that has to be raised in this two parter is whether enough time is given to all the supporting characters who normally are central characters. Luke doesn’t really have much presence in this episode but its Gwen and Ianto that have the better slice of the action but that’s because Captain Jack is so involved in the central story. Russell T Davies does manage to make everyone seem relevant to the story. Martha is in ‘New York’ with UNIT and then teleports to London but doesn’t really do very much yet seems relevant to the story.

The cliffhanger is quite possibly the best cliffhanger that the show has ever come up with. It starts with The Doctor running towards Rose and the Doctor being shot at by a Dalek. I thought sneaking the Dalek in to what was suppose to be a lovely moment was a great decision. The final shot is of the Doctor seemingly regenerating. Bearing in mind that at this time, David Tennant had announced he was leaving, it seemed like this was going to be Tennant’s final episode. I think the there was a genuine belief that the Doctor would regenerate. That week between episodes was an awfully long time.

(738) Voyage of the Damned

Its fair to say that during the latter stages of the classic era, the show was resorting to stunt casting. Getting people who didn’t really have a place in the show but was bought in purely for their star name. Since embarking on the new series, I think that the casting of famous names has been largely good and has worked in the benefit of the show. Sadly this good form has come to a sudden stop. This episode features the appearance of Kylie Minogue who granted started off her TV career in Neighbours but has hardly become a house hold name because of her acting. According to IMDB her most recognisable credits include Streetfighter (1994), Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Vicar of Dibley (1994).

This is the third Christmas Special and is also the longest at 1hr 11 minutes. It is also the most watched episode of new who with 13.3 million viewers. This story sees a space liner called the Titanic which like its namesake, suffers a disaster. I don’t know whether it was a good idea but if they hadn’t have called the ship Titanic, then people would probably have still made the similarity anywhere.

Geoffrey Palmer makes his third and final appearance in Doctor Who after appearing in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and The Mutants (1972). His involvement is sadly to short but he is basically the one causes the problems in this episode. Clive Swift is another former Classic Who star to return. Swift previously appeared in Revelation of the Daleks but plays a much more likeable character in this episode. Sadly he gave an interview in DWM where he was less than pleasant. Bernard Cribbins makes his first appearance in TV Who in a role that was suppose to be a one off but due to the way of things that will be mentioned in tomorrows review, he ends up being more involved in the show that anyone watching on Christmas Day 2007 would have realised. Back to Kylie Minogue and I wouldn’t say that her acting is terrible but its not hard to see why she has had a more successful career in music. I think that casting her as someone who starts off as a maid was a bit of a mistake. It’s like Dwayne Johnson in the new San Andreas movie being a helicopter pilot. It’s asking us to suspend our disbelief just a bit too much.

There are some good things that work in this episode. Firstly the Hosts are very good and like the weeping angels, have a great way about them. The way they can cause death is with their hands and with their halos. The other good thing about this episode is David Tennant. This is his 29^th episode and he is definelty at ease with the role and does have some good one liners throughout. If there is one reason to watch this again then it would be for Tennant’s performance. The bit where he is lifted into the air by the hosts is quite a good moment.

The big set piece occurs at the end (obviously) when the Doctor is trying to prevent the Titanic from crashing into Buckingham Palace. This leads to a rather amusing bit where the Queen makes another appearance and thanks the Doctor. It’s not a terribly convincing performance.

Despite being the longest and most watched of the Christmas Specials, it is actually the weakest of the specials. The central problem is that the plot is somewhat dull. Bearing in mind what is happening on screen, the story just doesn’t grab me in the way that The Runaway Bride did. It too long as well with the story working just as well if it had been 60 minutes long. It is by far the weakest of the Christmas Specials and is in y ratings the second weakest story of the new era. It is a disappointing episode but I would be lying if I were to say that it was unwatchable. That honour belongs to Love and Monsters. Now we the Catherine Tate series and Tennant’s final series.

On a final note, this episode was dedicated to Verity Lambert who had passed away about a month before. Verity was the mother of Doctor Who and whilst this might not be the best episode to dedicate to her, I think that she would have been proud of this episode because it tried to achieve something and that is what I think she would have approved of.