1x12 "Bad Wolf" and 1x13 "The Parting of the Ways"

[_thirty2flavors]

Aaand we're done series 1!



This episode is pretty chock full of stuff to talk about, so I'm sure I've just kind of chosen a few. As always, feel free to answer any/all of these or bring up something else that you wanted to discuss.

1. Obviously this episode calls back to "The Long Game", and we find out that the propaganda machine the Doctor toppled earlier in the series ended up leaving the Earth vulnerable to the Daleks, of all things. What did you think of the way this episode opens with a riff on three popular (at the time) reality shows? Funny or a bit too camp? What about the ~deadly~ twist on the games, and the subsequent reveal that the disintegrator beams aren't really what they seem to be?
   
   
2. This episode also starts the noble New Who tradition of non-stop Daleks. Do you think they're used well in this episode? What about the relationship they have with and the effect they have on the Doctor?
   
   
3. All season long, the show has built the mystery of "Bad Wolf", and finally in "The Parting of the Ways" we learn what it means. Did you like the way the mystery was developed? Was it interesting? Did you like the reveal as a plot development, or did you think it was too much of a literal deus ex machina? What do you think it means for Rose as a character, if anything?
   
   
4. As a season finale, this also brings us to the end of the first part of Rose's journey as a companion. How do you think Rose grew and changed over the series? Did you think her progression from shop girl to time traveller as well done?
   
   
5. What about her relationship with the Doctor by this point? Where do you think they stand by the time Nine regenerates?
   
   
6. And of course, this is the last episode we have with the Ninth Doctor. What did you think about his story, overall? Did you think he developed well over his thirteen episodes? In what ways? What about his regeneration scene, both in terms of how he regenerates and his ~final words~?

Also remember that for Saturday we're watching "Genesis of the Daleks"!