TARDISWATCH: DOCTOR WHO FEATURE REVIEW- JOURNEY’S END

INTRODUCTION

Russell T Davies really did need to end his time as head of the ongoing series of Doctor Who with a bang didn’t he? He is returning to helm the four specials next year (and of course this year’s Cybermen extravaganza), but ‘Journey’s End’ saw his four years on the main series come to a spectacular (if controversial) close. Fans have been left with a time to reflect on what RTD has done with Doctor Who since its return. Love him or hate him, he has worked miracles with this most British of televisual institutions. There are many RTD detractors out there, who don’t approve of this or that storyline, or who keep harping on about ‘The Gay Agenda’, but none of them can honestly say that he hasn’t done the fans proud. Here we have a TV show that began in 1963 with no money and a mad premise, which ended in 1989 and was briefly resurrected in 1996, and was then forgotten by much of the populace. But not by people like Davies and Steven Moffat and Paul Cornell and everyone else involved in it now.

What it became since ‘Rose’ aired on march 26th 2005, is a true phenomenon that has captured the hearts and minds of adults and children alike. New fans have been earned by the million, all over the world. There was a time where all we fans had was semi regular BBC novels and the Big Finish audios. There were times we didn’t even have those to enjoy, and we turned to the Virgin New Adventures books for our fix (which, incidentally, many new Who names wrote for, including RTD himself). They kept the show alive with stories official and unofficial, and when it came time to bring the show back, they were already brimming with ideas. Look what happened. Now we have the Doctor back, and he is going to be the hero of millions of children for a very long time to come. For that we should be grateful. Family entertainment is entertaining again, and there are still so many adventures to have.

Russell T Davies- From myself, the rest of the staff, and fans all over the planet (maybe even beyond); Thank you sir.

DOCTOR WHO: JOURNEY’S END
EPISODE REVIEWHow could anything possibly top the grandeur of last week’s episode and the gripping regeneration cliffhanger? Part Two of this massive story really had its work cut out for it, and it took to the task with gusto. Let me get this out of the way first: This is not a perfect episode. Is it brilliant? Definitely. Does it make sense? Not always, but it is incredible entertainment nonetheless. The Doctor is still David Tennant, only even moreso now! After siphoning off the regeneration energy into his severed hand, the Doctor is healed and ready to fight on against Davros and the new Dalek Empire. A final episode that ties up not just this series, but several story arcs from earlier years and even the odd curiosity (like Eve Miles playing a character in series one, before she landed her Torchwood role- this is handled nicely with a quick line of dialogue)? It is all this and more.

The extended running time of the episode helps a great deal, giving the insane pace and the billion plot points a little more room to breathe. The cast is huge, the effects are perfect, and Rose gets her man at last… sort of. Where previous years finales have been just that- season end finales, this one genuinely feels like an era coming to an end. The scale of the yarn is ridiculously huge, and the manner in which the Doctor and his many companions overcome Davros and the Daleks is equally mad, but no less entertaining. This is an episode that does try to cram in too much but it also has you on the edge of your seat for its entire duration. Julian Bleach is brilliant as the maniacal Davros, David Tennant is great as both Doctors, and Donna’s revelation at the end is stunning, albeit played a little bit too much for laughs.

There are a couple of weak moments in the episode, such as the spinning Daleks once The Doctor/Donna hybrid takes control of them, and a few lines of Rose’s dialogue, but slight niggles aside this is an exemplary piece of television that joins the dots, fills in the blanks and will no doubt give rise to many years of fan fiction with the human hybrid Doctor wandering off into the sunset with Rose in the parallel dimension. One surprise was the lack of a link to or a title for this year’s Christmas special (although we did see shots from it after the credits). Rumour has it that this will be called ‘Ghosts in the machines’ but rumour says a lot of things doesn’t it?

Journey’s End. For all its plotholes and its jumps in logic, is a fantastic end to a series of Doctor Who that has divided and united fandom at various points. Roll on Christmas.

DOCTOR WHO- THE CYBERMEN ARE BACK!
As previously reported, the Cybermen are returning at Christmas, but they aren’t alone… Here come the Cyber Wraiths! David Morrisey stars alongside David Tennant in the brand new story, which is said to have steampunk style Cybermen and a fake Doctor in it. Here comes the hype…

NEW POSTERS NOW IN STOCK
We now have two brand new series four Doctor Who posters in stock- One of the Doctor on his own and one of the Doctor and Donna together, surrounded by Adipose creatures! Stay tuned for more merchandise news (such as the Donna figure and the Davros box set) soon!

TARDISWATCH 2008 OVERVIEW COMING SOON
The series may have ended, but Tardiswatch hasn’t! There’s still one more feature to come- a full overview of the fourth series and beyond! Coming Soon!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Doctor Who, Geek Culture, Merchandise, TV, TV News, Tardiswatch, Torchwood, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.