"You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die!!"
Okay, this will be a looonng post. I have altogether too much to say :). So for the moment, I'm just writing the intro, and then I'm off for tea *slacker* :D.
First of all, it should be noted there is no way I can pretend to be objective for this review-- I keep getting distracted by the fabulous cast acting their socks off :). Really, everyone in that production team just threw in everything they had and then that wee bit they thought they'd lost down the back of the setee :). I love it, unashamedly. Anyway: to business:
Well, I suppose we shall start with the obvious:
1) The Doctor:
Of course, it's all about the Doctor, and rightly so. As mentioned, I can't watch this episode without love overwhelming all my faculties of judgement, but wasn't DT just perfect? At everything. Every line, every movement, every emotion... He was playing the Doctor to his absolute limits, and this episode was clearly a showcase for the amazing, raw acting talent that David Tennant has that perhaps hasn't always been stretched to it's fullest in DW. Kudos to RTD for a glorious script-- I think the man must've been channeling the spirit of Season 2 throughout the writing process :). The emotional range required of DT throughout this episode is enormous, but I can't think of a single moment where I didn't believe in the Doctor's actions. So, because this is really an epic squee-fest, I'm going to detail some of those moments here. And when I say 'detail'...
Firstly, as I've mentioned, the Doctor and Wilf have all the best conversations :). Those scenes with the two of them on the Hespera-- two men so different yet so, so similar ("skinny little idiot(s)")-- are utterly heart-wrenching. It's ten minutes of every single emotion we've ever seen the Doctor convey, really. The pride and sadness when he says he'd love to have Wilf as his dad; his resolution not to take that gun despite how scared and vulnerable he is; his wonderful "I think you look like giants", chock full of sadness and lonliness and pride and wonder-- and all while fiddling around with the heating :). It's really the Doctor's last interaction with 'humanity', and everything he feels for the species as a whole, and his relation to us, is explored in that short, understated, hopeless conversation with a man he hardly knows.
But the Doctor isn't perfect in this episode: we see his flaws here too and I love RTD for writing that.
It's the gift of any story that includes the Master that we get to see the Doctor in context: we can see how thin the line is that seperates the two Time Lords, and how easy it would be for the Doctor to cross. It's suggested a few times-- like that awful moment where the Doctor recalls Captain Adelaide's death in WoM and how he manipulated her into suicide: "I got clever..."; a chilling echo of how clever the Master is, yet how he's corrupted that intelligence: "...All that eloquence... yet how many people have you killed?". It's also suggested in the sense of foreboding as the Doctor finally snatches that gun from Wilf, despite refusing seconds previously with the disclaimer: "that's how the Master started". Never do we get the feeling that the Doctor here is out of character, but there is the same uneasiness that was present at the end of WoM: that Doctor Ten has gone too far; that he's pushing too close to that line, and it is time for him to die, to rest, and become a new man.
Which leads us, of course, to the big Gate-room confronatation scene. Part of me would like to argue that falling from that height through a glass roof would probably have killed him before he even reached the Time Lords-- but we'll leave that pondering aside, concentrating instead on the wonderful visual metaphor of the Doctor lying, bloodied and gult-ridden, at the feet of the Master and the Lord President of the Time Lords.
I love this scene. It's a fairly unbelievable situation, physically and emotionally, for us to find the Doctor in, but by this point the desperation of the Doctor to just finish this, one way or another, is so palpable, you believe he just might put a bullet into the skull of each and every person in that room.
I love the fury in the Doctor's face as he explains the horror of the Time Lords and the last days of the War; his disgust at the Master's dismissiveness; the pain as he looks at his mother and finally finds a way to end all of this, condemning his people (ncluding her) to one last day of hell. As with the wasteland scene last ep, you really feel the history between all the Time Lords in the room. It's real, raw, brutal emotion. Pretty heavy stuff for a show generally aimed at kids.
In any other episode that big sweeping final battle would probabaly be the end scene-- but not here: this is a big kick-ass regeneration special! So we're left with twenty minutes to go, the Time Lords defeated and and, wonder of wonders, the Doctor still alive!
I love that panning shot of the Doctor lying on the floor, giddy with the idea that he might have cheated death... before those four fateful knocks tell him otherwise.
It's a good thing Wilf's behind glass for this rant, saving him from all the verbal shrapnel. The Doctor's last monologue, both a continuation and a flip-side of all that hubris and desperation we saw in WoM, as he rails against the unfairness of the universe (Echoes of the Master again: "It's not fair!!") before this time he obeys, he sticks by the rules, and he does what he has to-- gives his life-- his big important Time Lord life-- for that one doddery, insignificant human man. We love him for that, don't we?
And as his reward? We get random unconvincing cameos of all his companions. Ach well :(. Although I have to say, I do love his re-visit to Rose (despite my general dislike of Rose) taking the last four years a complete full-circuit. But then, finally, there's the regeneration scene: that long, agonising walk back to the Tardis; his last look around; his last line... that lovely last line. He doesn't want to go. he's still clinging to life, just like the audience are clinging to him. This regeneration is a death, and we all understand those emotions, don't we? That pain, that fear. That's what makes it so massive and universal and so shatteringly honest.
Throughout this episode, the Doctor is a man taking the long walk to a death he knows he can't avoid, and the sheer emotional range of DT makes that more heart-wrenchingly believable than anything I expected. I tell you, I wouldn't like to be Matt Smith. He has some gargantuan Converse to fill :) .
2) Wilf:
How could you not love Wilf? Again, he's been such a small character, but in these episodes he feels as natural as any other companion.
The most beautiful part of how his and the Doctor's stories pan out, I think, is how similar they are. Wilf's unerring courage and humility and self-sacrifice are a lovely counterpoint to the Doctor's indecision in parts of this episode, but they are also a reminder of how the Doctor would normally behave. Wilf is an embodiment of all those aspects of humanity that the Doctor needs, that he finds in his companions; those aspects that keep him from becoming that power-crazed renegade we caught a glimpse of at the end of WoM. And of course Bernard Cribbins' performance is lovely. This wonderful, lovable grandad with unexpected depths of bravery and loyalty and honesty. His memories of Palestine; his wonder at being in space; his dismissal of the Doctor's apology and his spurring him into action... His rescue of that stupid stupid technician without even a thought for himself; his urging the Doctor to leave him to die, if it would save the Doctor's life. Really, it's Wilf that saves the Doctor's life in this episode isn't it? Even though he's also the cause of his death... But without Wilf's companionship, I think, there could have been a very different ending for the tenth Doctor.
3) The Vinvocci:
Is that how you spell it? I dunno. I would call them Cacti, but that's racist (apparantly).
I was so nervous when I saw this finale was populated by green, spiky aliens... but in retrospect, how awesome were those two? Yes, they do provide a bit of light relief (the Worst Rescue Ever, the "local politics are nothing to do with us, not unless it's a carnival") but it's never hammy or overdone. You get the feeling these two could have held an episode by themselves, if there wasn't, y'know, a shadow hanging over all of creation. The two actors are brilliant and make a great counterpoint to the angst and depression and emotion of the Doctor and Wilf while of board the Hespera.
And btw, how much do I love that set? I think that ship is gorgeous. I want to live there-- although preferably with the heating fixed.
4) The Master:
Back on top of the world, eh? As mentioned, my love for John Simm as an evil bastard knows no bounds, so this whole opening sequence (such an echo of his opening sequence in LotTL, although sadly lacking the Scissor Sisters soundtrack) makes me really quite giddy. I love how being a megalomaniac actually mellows the Master out a bit-- although granted he does have quite a few violently bi-polar moments-- the raw, terrifying manicness of part one hasn't entirely gone... and neither's that pesky dying thing.
Like the Doctor, the Master gets a much greater emotional range here than in previous episodes, and John Simm plays his role with just as much fervour and energy and honesty as David Tennat plays his. That's important of course: as we know, the Doctor and the Master are two sides of the same coin; to all intents and purposes they cancel one another out. Maybe that's why they have such a difficulty actually killing each other.
As much as I love the scenes those two get to play together in, I'm glad RTD doesn't overdo them here. As the man says, there's always that line the Doctor and the Master get to where they could be written as allies... and that never rings true, and in this episode it's very well avoided. But of course, they do get to have a nice chat about crappy Gallifrayen childhoods and the Doctor makes his usual attempt to 'save' his fellow Time Lord, although really only gets a smack around the head for his trouble.
The part I really like about the Master in this episode is that he's actually the centre of the story. Or, more specifically, the drumming in his head is at the centre of the story, even though he doesn't quite realise it for much of the ep. It brings everything that started with him in Utopia to a nice tidy completion, and it makes his story so much more resonant and personal, rather than just a repeat of LotTL. Again, it's a good complement to the Doctor's storyline: in the Gate-room they're both equally bowing to power of the Time Lords, and they're both equally victims of the horrors of the Time War, albeit in different ways. And, of course, they're both dying, and desperate not to be.
Speaking of the Gate-room scene... gosh, I love that scene :). I actually love how here we see the Master being entirely behind the times, completely out of the loop and desperately improvising as the Time Lords shoot his great super masterplan to hell in about four seconds flat. It's very him. We all know his biggest motivation is just to stay alive, and that's painfully obvious here as he bargains and pleads and uses everything he can think of to stay on the winning side between the Doctor and the newly-arrived Time Lords. Most brilliant of all, I think, is that moment where the Doctor points that gun at his head and for a moment you can see the horror and utter disbelief on the Master's face that the Doctor might actually, after all this time, after all their battles, might actually kill him, in cold blood, because of the sound in his head. I love the complexity of their relationship, and how RTD has that colour everything they do. It's never simple between them, as much as the Master would like it to be.
Proved, of course, in the Master's last seconds, when he mirrors the Doctor's final words to him ("Get out of the way...") and furiously dispatches Rassilon, saving the Doctor's life in the process. It could almost be cheesy-- except for the fact it's done purely out of revenge (best served hot) and hey, he gets to kill the President! So many years after The Deadly Assassin, he finally manages it. Throwing himself back into the Time War as well, of course. But it's probabaly about as close to a selfless act as the the Master is ever likely to get.
Of course, I do have one quibble, in that the Master does fall into that same trap most supervillains can't resist, of "telling you all my plans so you can work out a way to stop me". But he does enjoy gloating so very, very much, and is a bit, y'know, insane, so I'll let it go.
Oh, and just on a related note, I actually really like the shots of all the multiple Masters in this episode. I find it really effective :).
5) The Time Lords:
How could I almost have forgotten them? Don't they just look sublime? Really, applause for the design and costime departments, because they just look so regal and majestic and awe-inspiring. Not stupid at all. Just as they should be, after four and a half seasons of rumours and flashbacks :).
Timothy Dalton is the President of the Time Lords. He has such presence and power-- he really is the embodiment of all those corrupted, infinately powerful Time Lords of Gallifrayan legend. You feel he might actually be able to crush planets with a thought. Obviously not, considering the situation... but it's not a great strtech to imagine it. And isn't his voice wonderful? Honestly, if he could just read the phone-book to me all day, that would be awesome: "...And they will stand as monuments to their shame, like the Weeping Angels of old...". Oh, beautiful :).
Claire Bloom's character is the source of much debate, but I'm going to go with the 'she's the Doctor's mum' faction. That was immediately what I thought when I saw her standing in the gateroom, uncovering her face to the Doctor, so I'm sticking with it. And actually, I love her in that scene: she says nothing-- but she doesn't have to. That's very motherly. She just looks so infinately sad: for herself, for her race, but mostly for her boy. The person she's been trying to save for two episodes. True, a lot of her role doesn't seem to make any sense. Why was she apearing to Wilf, aside from to get him to pick up a gun? How could she appear on Earth from inside the Time Lock? Why didn't she just appear to the Doctor? A lot of the time she seems fairly superflous. But I almost let her away with it because of that last glance between her and the Doctor.
I also love the Visionary. How cool is she? In a creepy, creepy witch-lady way. The Master's not the only Time Lord to be driven crazy then? (Well obviously... have you met these guys?!) That horribly ominous wailing as the Doctor finally destroys the White Point Star: "GALLIFRAY FALLS!!! GALLIFRAY FALLS!!!...". She's a brilliant addition to the Time Lord pantheon.
6) The Plot:
Plot? What plot?
Okay, as much as I love this ep, it is one of the most poorly plotted episodes I can think of. Plot holes abound (who is Claire Bloom's character? How useless was the Immortality Gate? How can that be used to help bring back the Time Lords? What is Donna's defense mechanism all about? What is the point in that stupid two-person nuclear bolt door thing? What is the point in an 'Immortality Gate' that only transmits a medical template acros a species as long as the original 'template' is still alive? Surely destroying the diamond would trap the Time Lords on earth, not pull them back into the Time War? And surely shooting the Master wouldn't help either way; he'd just regenerate, right? And btw, BULLETS DON'T KILL TIME LORDS!!!) But really, we all know that this episode is all about the emotion and the performances, so just suspend disbelief for the duration and go along with it. Much more rewarding :).
7) The companion cameos:
Martha married Mickey? Wtf?
Really, I know these bits are just for the kids, but it's such a jarring scene/mood change that the first time I watched this section I honestly thought the channel had been flipped. Sigh. I like the one with Rose (despite Billie Piper's hair looking like it's attached to her hat, rather than her head) because it brought DT's whole tenure in a nice circle. But they really were unnecessary and kind of stunted the emotion after that ranting scene with Wilf in the Gate-room.
8) Doctor Eleven:
Gosh, I almost forgot him. How mad.
Of course, he only gets like two minutes, but he's not bad. I don't instantly dislike him or anything... Although he is still wearing DT's suit and that kind of hurts a bit... I love: "...Still not ginger!" and "I'm a GIRL!!!", and his spitting shrapnel out of his mouth before he gets to work fixing the burning Tardis. Not too sure about the "Geronimo" thing though. It's a bit nineties. Hmm. I'm willing to give him a chance though. I have to say, seeing the trailer for the new series it does look stunning. The photography, the direction...And of course, Stephen Moffat rocks, so here's hoping *crosses fingers*.
9) Murray Gold's soundtrack:
Deserves it's own mention, because these specials have been outstanding, music-wise. I'm trawling Amazon every day in hope of a release date (they can't not release that music... and they can't jam it in with the new season's music, it would be far too jarring). But there are so many themes and cues throughout The End of Time that are so resonant I must have them as a constant accompaniment to my life :). To name but a few: the new, booming, militaristic Time Lord theme, the regeneration music, the extended Doctor's Theme, the ominous theme accompanying the Ood's prophecies and the Doctor's death, the new crazy music for the Eleventh Doctor...
8) The entire lack of blondeness jokes:
I know!!! Not one line about the Master's new hair-colour and the Doctor's preference for blondes. Honestly, Russel, I am disappointed in you.
Luckily, I get my DW Specials box-set through on Monday (looks gorgeous btw) so no doubt you'll get more ranting and raving from me next week when I watch it all in shiny DVD quality and relive the awesomeness. Then, on Friday, I get my beautiful new copy of The Writer's Tale, so expect more mature reflections on DW and Russel T Davies' writing process *cough*.
xxx
First of all, it should be noted there is no way I can pretend to be objective for this review-- I keep getting distracted by the fabulous cast acting their socks off :). Really, everyone in that production team just threw in everything they had and then that wee bit they thought they'd lost down the back of the setee :). I love it, unashamedly. Anyway: to business:
Well, I suppose we shall start with the obvious:
1) The Doctor:
Of course, it's all about the Doctor, and rightly so. As mentioned, I can't watch this episode without love overwhelming all my faculties of judgement, but wasn't DT just perfect? At everything. Every line, every movement, every emotion... He was playing the Doctor to his absolute limits, and this episode was clearly a showcase for the amazing, raw acting talent that David Tennant has that perhaps hasn't always been stretched to it's fullest in DW. Kudos to RTD for a glorious script-- I think the man must've been channeling the spirit of Season 2 throughout the writing process :). The emotional range required of DT throughout this episode is enormous, but I can't think of a single moment where I didn't believe in the Doctor's actions. So, because this is really an epic squee-fest, I'm going to detail some of those moments here. And when I say 'detail'...
Firstly, as I've mentioned, the Doctor and Wilf have all the best conversations :). Those scenes with the two of them on the Hespera-- two men so different yet so, so similar ("skinny little idiot(s)")-- are utterly heart-wrenching. It's ten minutes of every single emotion we've ever seen the Doctor convey, really. The pride and sadness when he says he'd love to have Wilf as his dad; his resolution not to take that gun despite how scared and vulnerable he is; his wonderful "I think you look like giants", chock full of sadness and lonliness and pride and wonder-- and all while fiddling around with the heating :). It's really the Doctor's last interaction with 'humanity', and everything he feels for the species as a whole, and his relation to us, is explored in that short, understated, hopeless conversation with a man he hardly knows.
But the Doctor isn't perfect in this episode: we see his flaws here too and I love RTD for writing that.
It's the gift of any story that includes the Master that we get to see the Doctor in context: we can see how thin the line is that seperates the two Time Lords, and how easy it would be for the Doctor to cross. It's suggested a few times-- like that awful moment where the Doctor recalls Captain Adelaide's death in WoM and how he manipulated her into suicide: "I got clever..."; a chilling echo of how clever the Master is, yet how he's corrupted that intelligence: "...All that eloquence... yet how many people have you killed?". It's also suggested in the sense of foreboding as the Doctor finally snatches that gun from Wilf, despite refusing seconds previously with the disclaimer: "that's how the Master started". Never do we get the feeling that the Doctor here is out of character, but there is the same uneasiness that was present at the end of WoM: that Doctor Ten has gone too far; that he's pushing too close to that line, and it is time for him to die, to rest, and become a new man.
Which leads us, of course, to the big Gate-room confronatation scene. Part of me would like to argue that falling from that height through a glass roof would probably have killed him before he even reached the Time Lords-- but we'll leave that pondering aside, concentrating instead on the wonderful visual metaphor of the Doctor lying, bloodied and gult-ridden, at the feet of the Master and the Lord President of the Time Lords.
I love this scene. It's a fairly unbelievable situation, physically and emotionally, for us to find the Doctor in, but by this point the desperation of the Doctor to just finish this, one way or another, is so palpable, you believe he just might put a bullet into the skull of each and every person in that room.
I love the fury in the Doctor's face as he explains the horror of the Time Lords and the last days of the War; his disgust at the Master's dismissiveness; the pain as he looks at his mother and finally finds a way to end all of this, condemning his people (ncluding her) to one last day of hell. As with the wasteland scene last ep, you really feel the history between all the Time Lords in the room. It's real, raw, brutal emotion. Pretty heavy stuff for a show generally aimed at kids.
In any other episode that big sweeping final battle would probabaly be the end scene-- but not here: this is a big kick-ass regeneration special! So we're left with twenty minutes to go, the Time Lords defeated and and, wonder of wonders, the Doctor still alive!
I love that panning shot of the Doctor lying on the floor, giddy with the idea that he might have cheated death... before those four fateful knocks tell him otherwise.
It's a good thing Wilf's behind glass for this rant, saving him from all the verbal shrapnel. The Doctor's last monologue, both a continuation and a flip-side of all that hubris and desperation we saw in WoM, as he rails against the unfairness of the universe (Echoes of the Master again: "It's not fair!!") before this time he obeys, he sticks by the rules, and he does what he has to-- gives his life-- his big important Time Lord life-- for that one doddery, insignificant human man. We love him for that, don't we?
And as his reward? We get random unconvincing cameos of all his companions. Ach well :(. Although I have to say, I do love his re-visit to Rose (despite my general dislike of Rose) taking the last four years a complete full-circuit. But then, finally, there's the regeneration scene: that long, agonising walk back to the Tardis; his last look around; his last line... that lovely last line. He doesn't want to go. he's still clinging to life, just like the audience are clinging to him. This regeneration is a death, and we all understand those emotions, don't we? That pain, that fear. That's what makes it so massive and universal and so shatteringly honest.
Throughout this episode, the Doctor is a man taking the long walk to a death he knows he can't avoid, and the sheer emotional range of DT makes that more heart-wrenchingly believable than anything I expected. I tell you, I wouldn't like to be Matt Smith. He has some gargantuan Converse to fill :) .
2) Wilf:
How could you not love Wilf? Again, he's been such a small character, but in these episodes he feels as natural as any other companion.
The most beautiful part of how his and the Doctor's stories pan out, I think, is how similar they are. Wilf's unerring courage and humility and self-sacrifice are a lovely counterpoint to the Doctor's indecision in parts of this episode, but they are also a reminder of how the Doctor would normally behave. Wilf is an embodiment of all those aspects of humanity that the Doctor needs, that he finds in his companions; those aspects that keep him from becoming that power-crazed renegade we caught a glimpse of at the end of WoM. And of course Bernard Cribbins' performance is lovely. This wonderful, lovable grandad with unexpected depths of bravery and loyalty and honesty. His memories of Palestine; his wonder at being in space; his dismissal of the Doctor's apology and his spurring him into action... His rescue of that stupid stupid technician without even a thought for himself; his urging the Doctor to leave him to die, if it would save the Doctor's life. Really, it's Wilf that saves the Doctor's life in this episode isn't it? Even though he's also the cause of his death... But without Wilf's companionship, I think, there could have been a very different ending for the tenth Doctor.
3) The Vinvocci:
Is that how you spell it? I dunno. I would call them Cacti, but that's racist (apparantly).
I was so nervous when I saw this finale was populated by green, spiky aliens... but in retrospect, how awesome were those two? Yes, they do provide a bit of light relief (the Worst Rescue Ever, the "local politics are nothing to do with us, not unless it's a carnival") but it's never hammy or overdone. You get the feeling these two could have held an episode by themselves, if there wasn't, y'know, a shadow hanging over all of creation. The two actors are brilliant and make a great counterpoint to the angst and depression and emotion of the Doctor and Wilf while of board the Hespera.
And btw, how much do I love that set? I think that ship is gorgeous. I want to live there-- although preferably with the heating fixed.
4) The Master:
Back on top of the world, eh? As mentioned, my love for John Simm as an evil bastard knows no bounds, so this whole opening sequence (such an echo of his opening sequence in LotTL, although sadly lacking the Scissor Sisters soundtrack) makes me really quite giddy. I love how being a megalomaniac actually mellows the Master out a bit-- although granted he does have quite a few violently bi-polar moments-- the raw, terrifying manicness of part one hasn't entirely gone... and neither's that pesky dying thing.
Like the Doctor, the Master gets a much greater emotional range here than in previous episodes, and John Simm plays his role with just as much fervour and energy and honesty as David Tennat plays his. That's important of course: as we know, the Doctor and the Master are two sides of the same coin; to all intents and purposes they cancel one another out. Maybe that's why they have such a difficulty actually killing each other.
As much as I love the scenes those two get to play together in, I'm glad RTD doesn't overdo them here. As the man says, there's always that line the Doctor and the Master get to where they could be written as allies... and that never rings true, and in this episode it's very well avoided. But of course, they do get to have a nice chat about crappy Gallifrayen childhoods and the Doctor makes his usual attempt to 'save' his fellow Time Lord, although really only gets a smack around the head for his trouble.
The part I really like about the Master in this episode is that he's actually the centre of the story. Or, more specifically, the drumming in his head is at the centre of the story, even though he doesn't quite realise it for much of the ep. It brings everything that started with him in Utopia to a nice tidy completion, and it makes his story so much more resonant and personal, rather than just a repeat of LotTL. Again, it's a good complement to the Doctor's storyline: in the Gate-room they're both equally bowing to power of the Time Lords, and they're both equally victims of the horrors of the Time War, albeit in different ways. And, of course, they're both dying, and desperate not to be.
Speaking of the Gate-room scene... gosh, I love that scene :). I actually love how here we see the Master being entirely behind the times, completely out of the loop and desperately improvising as the Time Lords shoot his great super masterplan to hell in about four seconds flat. It's very him. We all know his biggest motivation is just to stay alive, and that's painfully obvious here as he bargains and pleads and uses everything he can think of to stay on the winning side between the Doctor and the newly-arrived Time Lords. Most brilliant of all, I think, is that moment where the Doctor points that gun at his head and for a moment you can see the horror and utter disbelief on the Master's face that the Doctor might actually, after all this time, after all their battles, might actually kill him, in cold blood, because of the sound in his head. I love the complexity of their relationship, and how RTD has that colour everything they do. It's never simple between them, as much as the Master would like it to be.
Proved, of course, in the Master's last seconds, when he mirrors the Doctor's final words to him ("Get out of the way...") and furiously dispatches Rassilon, saving the Doctor's life in the process. It could almost be cheesy-- except for the fact it's done purely out of revenge (best served hot) and hey, he gets to kill the President! So many years after The Deadly Assassin, he finally manages it. Throwing himself back into the Time War as well, of course. But it's probabaly about as close to a selfless act as the the Master is ever likely to get.
Of course, I do have one quibble, in that the Master does fall into that same trap most supervillains can't resist, of "telling you all my plans so you can work out a way to stop me". But he does enjoy gloating so very, very much, and is a bit, y'know, insane, so I'll let it go.
Oh, and just on a related note, I actually really like the shots of all the multiple Masters in this episode. I find it really effective :).
5) The Time Lords:
How could I almost have forgotten them? Don't they just look sublime? Really, applause for the design and costime departments, because they just look so regal and majestic and awe-inspiring. Not stupid at all. Just as they should be, after four and a half seasons of rumours and flashbacks :).
Timothy Dalton is the President of the Time Lords. He has such presence and power-- he really is the embodiment of all those corrupted, infinately powerful Time Lords of Gallifrayan legend. You feel he might actually be able to crush planets with a thought. Obviously not, considering the situation... but it's not a great strtech to imagine it. And isn't his voice wonderful? Honestly, if he could just read the phone-book to me all day, that would be awesome: "...And they will stand as monuments to their shame, like the Weeping Angels of old...". Oh, beautiful :).
Claire Bloom's character is the source of much debate, but I'm going to go with the 'she's the Doctor's mum' faction. That was immediately what I thought when I saw her standing in the gateroom, uncovering her face to the Doctor, so I'm sticking with it. And actually, I love her in that scene: she says nothing-- but she doesn't have to. That's very motherly. She just looks so infinately sad: for herself, for her race, but mostly for her boy. The person she's been trying to save for two episodes. True, a lot of her role doesn't seem to make any sense. Why was she apearing to Wilf, aside from to get him to pick up a gun? How could she appear on Earth from inside the Time Lock? Why didn't she just appear to the Doctor? A lot of the time she seems fairly superflous. But I almost let her away with it because of that last glance between her and the Doctor.
I also love the Visionary. How cool is she? In a creepy, creepy witch-lady way. The Master's not the only Time Lord to be driven crazy then? (Well obviously... have you met these guys?!) That horribly ominous wailing as the Doctor finally destroys the White Point Star: "GALLIFRAY FALLS!!! GALLIFRAY FALLS!!!...". She's a brilliant addition to the Time Lord pantheon.
6) The Plot:
Plot? What plot?
Okay, as much as I love this ep, it is one of the most poorly plotted episodes I can think of. Plot holes abound (who is Claire Bloom's character? How useless was the Immortality Gate? How can that be used to help bring back the Time Lords? What is Donna's defense mechanism all about? What is the point in that stupid two-person nuclear bolt door thing? What is the point in an 'Immortality Gate' that only transmits a medical template acros a species as long as the original 'template' is still alive? Surely destroying the diamond would trap the Time Lords on earth, not pull them back into the Time War? And surely shooting the Master wouldn't help either way; he'd just regenerate, right? And btw, BULLETS DON'T KILL TIME LORDS!!!) But really, we all know that this episode is all about the emotion and the performances, so just suspend disbelief for the duration and go along with it. Much more rewarding :).
7) The companion cameos:
Martha married Mickey? Wtf?
Really, I know these bits are just for the kids, but it's such a jarring scene/mood change that the first time I watched this section I honestly thought the channel had been flipped. Sigh. I like the one with Rose (despite Billie Piper's hair looking like it's attached to her hat, rather than her head) because it brought DT's whole tenure in a nice circle. But they really were unnecessary and kind of stunted the emotion after that ranting scene with Wilf in the Gate-room.
8) Doctor Eleven:
Gosh, I almost forgot him. How mad.
Of course, he only gets like two minutes, but he's not bad. I don't instantly dislike him or anything... Although he is still wearing DT's suit and that kind of hurts a bit... I love: "...Still not ginger!" and "I'm a GIRL!!!", and his spitting shrapnel out of his mouth before he gets to work fixing the burning Tardis. Not too sure about the "Geronimo" thing though. It's a bit nineties. Hmm. I'm willing to give him a chance though. I have to say, seeing the trailer for the new series it does look stunning. The photography, the direction...And of course, Stephen Moffat rocks, so here's hoping *crosses fingers*.
9) Murray Gold's soundtrack:
Deserves it's own mention, because these specials have been outstanding, music-wise. I'm trawling Amazon every day in hope of a release date (they can't not release that music... and they can't jam it in with the new season's music, it would be far too jarring). But there are so many themes and cues throughout The End of Time that are so resonant I must have them as a constant accompaniment to my life :). To name but a few: the new, booming, militaristic Time Lord theme, the regeneration music, the extended Doctor's Theme, the ominous theme accompanying the Ood's prophecies and the Doctor's death, the new crazy music for the Eleventh Doctor...
8) The entire lack of blondeness jokes:
I know!!! Not one line about the Master's new hair-colour and the Doctor's preference for blondes. Honestly, Russel, I am disappointed in you.
Luckily, I get my DW Specials box-set through on Monday (looks gorgeous btw) so no doubt you'll get more ranting and raving from me next week when I watch it all in shiny DVD quality and relive the awesomeness. Then, on Friday, I get my beautiful new copy of The Writer's Tale, so expect more mature reflections on DW and Russel T Davies' writing process *cough*.
xxx