Doctor Who: The End of Time - Parts One & Two [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Five stars because David Tennant, Bernard Cribbins and John Simm deserve it...

I was worried after Part One. There seemed to be a lot of flailing loose ends, but... wow... Russell T. Davies really brought it together in Part Two. Whatever you want to say about Russell T. Davies, love him or hate him, you cannot deny that he leaves an impact, and "The End of Time" is no exception. As a life-long Whovian, I have to say, his writing for the Doctor is... monumental... and I know a lot of people don't like or appreciate the emotional vein in which he's written ~ even I have railed against it sometimes ~ but the guy knows how to tell a story, and he knows how to draw you in. He knows what strings to pull and which buttons to push, and that's the mark of a great storyteller. He flirted with returning the Time Lords, brought back their meanest, baddest one of all, and even introduced us, albeit fleetingly and mysteriously, to the Doctor's mother (or possibly Romana - I've heard arguments for both). By the end, he'd pretty much broken our favorite Time Lord, redeemed the Master, in a vague sort of way, and slapped the Time Lords back into the pits of the Time War.

Now, to the performances. John Simm, as the Master, was much less of a crazy caricature like he was in The Sound Of Drums and Last Of the Time Lords, and more of a creepy-crazy. The devouring of food and pounding of the head and the almost inbred insanity was palpable and gave a sense that this man, while a genius and the Doctor's equal on many levels, was falling apart at the seams, and Simm's performance was spectacular. You can tell how much he enjoys playing the part, that's for sure! Bravo! And a thumbs-up should go to Timothy Dalton as Rassilon. His growling, menacing portrayal of the Lord President almost made the Master look like a ten-year old amateur.

But the gems of these two episodes are the scenes between David Tennant and Bernard Cribbins. They are absolutely priceless. The dialogue and interaction between the two actors is so heartbreaking and subtle, and so well written. The dynamic between the Doctor and Wilf was simply perfection and really highlighted the range of both actors. It's just drama at its best, and we see a side of the Doctor that we're unfamiliar with: scared, uncertain, resigned, woeful, bitter even ~ a stark contrast to his happy-go-lucky nature ~ you name it, it's in there. His regeneration scene was a perfect metaphor for his wanting to hold on for as long as he could, but if he had to go, he was going to take everything with him.

As for David Tennant? I don't know what to say, except that he's absolutely brilliant, and he is going to be missed... SO MUCH! I never thought anyone could surpass Tom Baker, but Tennant did ~ in glorious fashion! The final twenty minutes of Part Two are so powerful, so wrenching, so unbelievably striking, and he proved why he is the most popular and loved Doctor among fans. Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was Tennant, maybe it was the beautiful musical score, maybe it was the perfect storm of all those things... in any case, it was the perfect ending, for all involved, and I don't think we could have asked for a better departure for Tennant or for Davies, and I thank them for the years of enjoyment they've brought!

But as Ood Sigma said:

"This Song is ending, but the Story never ends..."

Bring on Matt Smith and Steven Moffat!

Long Live the Doctor!!!

The Russell T Davies experience has come to an end, and boy, do these two episodes represent much of his time as showrunner, both good and bad.

You know the basic plot. The Master returns and fights the Doctor. Other stuff happens. The Doctor dies and regenerates. So basic, but it works and works well.

It's hard to get into specifics without exposing many a spoiler, so I won't bother. Suffice to say it's the perfect embodiment of everything we've come to expect of the Davies-era and does a great job setting things up for what's to come under the auspices of Stephen Moffat.

THE GOOD:

The Master is far more layered and interesting than he's been at any point since Roger Delgado had the role. Also his fate in the story mirrors that which had been planned for the Master had Delgado not died.

The chemistry between Wilf and the Doctor. I really wish Wilf had been along for the ride through all the specials this year. Might've been more interesting than what we ended up with.

The identity of the Lord President of the Time Lords. Now THAT I didn't see coming!

The conversation between Wilf and the Doctor about what it's like to regenerate.

The final goodbyes with basically everyone the Doctor has met since the series relaunch.

THE BAD:

The horrible deus ex machina that settled the cliff-hanger at the end of part one. I really hate that about Davies' writing. He paints himself into a corner and then uses basically "magic" to get out of it.

The "have your cake and eat it, too" thing with Donna where we're told remembering the Doctor will cause her brain to melt, and then when she remembers him... well, that's not quite the case.

The overwhelming music that sometimes drowns out the dialogue (this is mostly a problem in part one).

THE UNANSWERED:

Why was Wilf so important to the timelines?

Who was the mysterious Time Lady? (my bet: Romana)

Where do we go from here? Anywhere!

While I enjoyed Part 1, I think I would have been dissapointed if Part 2 had continued along the same lines. Basically, Part 1 had the elements I've enjoyed least in the new Doctor Who - manic Master, a threat whose jeapordy just did not grab me (all humans turning into John Simm), silly aliens, and another version of "how can the Doctor revisit an old companion without messing up continuity with the ending of an earlier story?" I've never agreed with reviewers who criticize Doctor Who plot points that don't make sense. It's a program about a man from the planet Gallifrey who travels through space and time in a ship that appears (to my American eyes) to be a wooden phone booth. (I know it's a police box, but I've never seen one of those in real life.) Considering all that, what's the point of saying that some plot point doesn't make sense? It's not supposed to make sense, and I don't see that a viewer who expected it to could really enjoy it. However, I think I can criticize the plot of any program if it fails to grab me and pull me in.

I'm happy to say I thought Part 2 was absolutely brilliant and fitting for David Tennant's last episode. This one really got it right. First they quickly got rid of the six billion John Simms and at the same time gave us a sample of how much power the Time Lords really have, once they acknowledge no restrains and feel accountable to no rules. Timothy Dalton was a terrific choice for the part of the Lord President. Then they gave the Master some emotional believability. Not credibility in any real sense - that's not possible with such a character, but the Master towards the end became a character that the viewer could finally feel something for. The best parts were the final segments, which were wonderfully moving and gave full scope for great acting by David Tennant and Bernard Cribbens. When the Doctor had the gun pointed at the Master, I found myself worrying about him as I would about a real person, thinking "if he has to kill with that gun, it will break him, it will destroy him emotionally, it will finish what the time war started." Then the succession of expressions that showed on the Doctor's face when he heard Wilf knocking on the glass - shock and terror, followed by acceptance. You can see that he fights that acceptance by ranting and raving, all the time fully aware that his own nature and his love for Wilf will leave him no choice. Then Wilf - pleading for the Doctor to leave him and falling silent when the Doctor says "it's my honor." (How could anyone reply to that?) Last, what really got to me - the Doctor's almost-silent scream when the radiation hit him, more moving than any high-decibel sound could have been. I thought that whole sequence was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen on television. The little visits to old companions were fun, but the best was the exchange between the Doctor and Joan's great-grandaughter at the book signing. The great-grandaughter tells the Doctor that Joan was happy in the end, and when she asks "were you?" the Doctor responds with a smile that so clearly is holding off tears. The 10th Doctor's last line "I don't want to go," said with grief but also with courage, was also beautiful, as was the near-destruction of the Tardis as a symbol of how much this Doctor was fighting his regeneration. As must be clear, I thought this episode was very nearly perfect.