Doctor Who Season Four Finale.
I did not expect to enjoy the season finale as much as I did. Russel T. Davies delights in creating television spectacles on grand scales (e.g. the delightful opening sequence of the 2007 Christmas Special, where the Doctor discovers himself on the deck of the Starship Titanic; or the somewhat overblown finale of season two, where the Daleks and the Cybermen invade Earth at the same time). He has a knack for keeping these over-the-top moments entertaining, for the most part, but sometimes he goes overboard. The opening parts of this season closer introduced a raft of plot elements: crossovers with Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, all of the Doctor's past companions from the new series (necessarily ripping a hole across dimensions), the abduction of twenty-seven planets (including Earth), a Dalek invasion and the reintroduction of Davros, Dalek Caan's transformation into a mad prophet, and, if that weren't enough, the destruction of existence itself.
I was surprised to find I enjoyed most of it. Certainly, many of the characters got short shrift, but everyone at least got to do a turn for the camera, and the story held together just enough to make the ending worthwhile. I shan't comment on the scientific or continuity problems, as that would spoil all the fun. Continuity in Doctor Who is more a sort of ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
I still have two questions, though:
I was surprised to find I enjoyed most of it. Certainly, many of the characters got short shrift, but everyone at least got to do a turn for the camera, and the story held together just enough to make the ending worthwhile. I shan't comment on the scientific or continuity problems, as that would spoil all the fun. Continuity in Doctor Who is more a sort of ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
I still have two questions, though:
- Why did the Daleks want to destroy all of existence? Their goal is usually to dominate the lesser races and become the supreme creatures in the universe. Destroying the universe itself seems counterproductive.
- Why did they decide to treat Donna so poorly in her last episode? I developed an affection for her this season, in spite of a rough introduction that made her out as shrill and small-minded. She became the first companion not to fall in the love with the Doctor in the new series, which was a welcome change of pace, and she filled the role of companion well: bringing a sense of wonder and bewilderment to the bizarre places that the Doctor takes for granted, and providing a human moral foil for a decidedly inhuman character like the Doctor. Her comic timing was wonderful too, naturally. Wiping her memory and returning her to her original small-minded life seems a very mean-spirited way to end things. It's also poor storytelling, in my view, to erase a character's entire arc that way. It makes me wonder why I bothered sitting through it all.