DOCTOR WHO: THE END OF TIME (PARTS 1 & 2)
March 3rd 2010 01:38
Category: Television
This series has to have the record for the longest running sci fi television show in history, after forty odd years it still remains a major draw card and is no doubt watched by squillions of fans across the globe in a multitude of places in a variety of languages. I can recall hearing the story that Tom Baker during his long running stint as the Doctor was so popular in Japan that one of the scarves he wore in the series had actually been knitted for him by Japanese fans; Yuri Lowenthal who does the voice for Sasuke Uchiha in the Naruto series is said to be a mad Doctor Who fan according to wikipedia. Just goes to show that the series has had a major impact the world over. Kudos for Aunty showing this series once again upon the small screen of the Australian audience, but having said that how do these particular instalments hold up? When the eternal emerald gaze of the Green Lantern is cast upon these two episodes are they able to withstand its vigilant viridian scrutiny?
Naturally being such a powerful species meant that the Time Lords garnered their fair share of enemies down through the ages and amongst them were the Daleks, a species that have thanks to this series have become something of a pop culture icon in their own right. They were one of the numerous enemies who fought against the Time Lords in the Time War although they have an uncanny knack of being extremely resilient and just as cunning as their time travelling opponents. So the Doctor is the last of his race and he still follows his old ways of roaming about the universe seeing the sights, chatting to the locals and generally doing his thing. And as with all the other previous incarnations he has a fondness for Earth and its inhabitants, not a patronising feeling but something touching and heartfelt.
These two episodes mark the end of David Tennant’s stint as the Doctor and a fine job he has done playing the part; although the previous incumbent Christopher Eccelston did a good job as well. And I have no doubt that the new guy will able fill the large shoes left for him to fill, in a purely figurative sense of course. It seems that whenever there is a change in Doctor’s there always has to be a major event in this characters life that causes such change and as the title suggests the End of Time is very much such an event. Prophesy and Machiavellian manipulations are working to cause the Doctor some serious grief, grief that he knows in his hearts of hearts (bad pun intended) will result in his ‘demise’ as it were. Of course being who he is he cannot just rush off and leave things alone, even if it does mean his ‘end’, it’s just not his way.
The first part of this double bill really takes the time to build things up to its crescendo. In fact it is a superlative piece of televisual enterprise which the cast and crew should all be happy with and spend much time back slapping and standing each other rounds at the local watering hole. From beginning to end you are literally hooked, you have chomped onto that piece of plastic and cannot turn your eyes away from that little screen. In fact only the needs of the body will outweigh your desire to watch, so enthralled will you be with the drama that unfolds piece by piece and you see the glimmerings of a grand design that is literally stunning in its potential impact. There are no punches being pulled here and the very fate not only of the human race but the entirety of the cosmos is very much at stake in these few brief moments. Definitely edge of the seat type viewing, you’ll leave finger marks in the fabric of your Jason recliner watching it…
And then we get to the second part. Now I watched this over two nights and I was frankly anticipating the second instalment with much excitement as humanly possible, so much that I almost thought I was going to disappear in a puff of logic, this was going to be the crème de la crème of Doctor Who viewing for some time as far as I was concerned. Unfortunately part two was something of a letdown really; all that effort that went into building up the tension and drama simply faded away, like water rushing down a sinkhole. Which is a shame really; as I said earlier on in the piece, such a good job was made of making the opener that it seems everyone had run out of steam by the time of the close. Interesting to see Timothy Dalton as Rassilon; Lord President of the Time Lords, wonder why Rassilon is the only Time Lord with an actual name that isn’t a title. The End of Time was a bit of a flop in my mind considering the previous efforts that have been put into producing season clinchers. If anything it’s like watching a footie match where the opening forty minutes are a real arm wrestle, both sides scoring and keeping in touch and then suddenly one team goes to sleep and the next half is a walk over. Very disappointing.
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