I thought the season went through distinct, probably deliberate phases:
1. Smith and Jones through Gridlock: Crowd-pleasing, mostly standalone popcorn stories with good production values. Very good though not profound.
2. Daleks in Manhattan through 42: Weak scripts, indifferent execution. Probably parked here because it's where they'd do the least damage.
3. Human Nature through Blink: Hugo/BAFTA bait. Brilliant, experimental stories that you wouldn't lead the season with, because they challenge the viewer a bit more and do not showcase the characters conventionally, but serve as a great wake-up call after phase 2.
4. The season-ending blowout. Full of Big Moments but prone to damage from Russell T. Davies' usual tics and obsessions.
I haven't seen the finale yet, though I've been spoiled about all the spoilers (I am not a terribly spoiler-phobic guy) and know it is generally considered awful in what sounds like a very RTDesque manner. It's a bit disappointing given that I thought his Who writing was improving. On the other hand, I wasn't as thrilled with the first two parts as most people seemed to be, though they were OK if you make allowances for RTD being RTD.
It really is the most ghastly parcel of RTD's excesses and conceits ever to be delivered via the format of Doctor Who, this finale. It is certainly prone to big moments, but when not cloying it is grotesque - the whole feel is of a bloated, beached thing: one cannot easily reconcile it with the style of the third series up until this point; one cannot easily reconcile it with the style of Doctor Who.
1. Smith and Jones through Gridlock: Crowd-pleasing, mostly standalone popcorn stories with good production values. Very good though not profound.
2. Daleks in Manhattan through 42: Weak scripts, indifferent execution. Probably parked here because it's where they'd do the least damage.
3. Human Nature through Blink: Hugo/BAFTA bait. Brilliant, experimental stories that you wouldn't lead the season with, because they challenge the viewer a bit more and do not showcase the characters conventionally, but serve as a great wake-up call after phase 2.
4. The season-ending blowout. Full of Big Moments but prone to damage from Russell T. Davies' usual tics and obsessions.
I haven't seen the finale yet, though I've been spoiled about all the spoilers (I am not a terribly spoiler-phobic guy) and know it is generally considered awful in what sounds like a very RTDesque manner. It's a bit disappointing given that I thought his Who writing was improving. On the other hand, I wasn't as thrilled with the first two parts as most people seemed to be, though they were OK if you make allowances for RTD being RTD.
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