Doctor Who
This episode was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the smaller character moments and I appreciated some insight was given to the Doctor/Master dynamic since I’m clueless to anything about the latter. But as much as I thought John Simms did a very good job with the material he was given, there is a problem with the material. The Master/Saxon, even with the reality manipulation, still comes off as a crazy buffoon. Wouldn’t someone as brilliant as he try to blend in better? He eventually admits that his mind control device isn’t 100% effective and it seems as soon as people get close to him they can see the guy is a loon. So, popping gummy bears while the president is speaking to the world didn’t really work for me.
They addressed Torchwood which made me happy. A jeer within a cheer though for the lapse in continuity between the Torchwood finale and Jack’s joining the Doctor. However, at least we know now that he has been working with Torchwood for awhile. And, man, that revelation may have turned me into a Jack/Ten shipper. “When I did that I did it for you in your honor.” Jack changed his life and who he was to rebuild an organization that was about destroying the Doctor into one that supported and honored his goals and ideals. Talk about love! And here’s the kicker:
Doctor to Martha: It’s like when you fancy someone and they don’t even know you exist.
Jack to Martha: You too, huh?
::dies::
Other things I appreciated:
The escape from the facility in ‘Utopia’ was plausible! I hadn’t thought about the Doctor whipping out his sonic screwdriver and fixing Jack’s teleportation device.
Much like “Bad Wolf” from Season 1, Saxon has been there all along and trying to get to the Doctor through Martha. The men in black types suddenly make sense.
That the Doctor makes sure to grab his coat and the laptop before the apartment blows up. Hee!
I will appreciate it if they kill Martha’s mother. God do I hate that woman. Until they arrested her she couldn’t figure out something was not right? And being manipulated by the Master’s technology is only so much of an excuse. She’s demonstrated from the beginning that she has had no faith in her daughter’s choices.
All in all, not as good as the last two outings, imho, but it had it’s moments.