Overall, I liked the finale a lot.
What I loved:Daleks speaking German. I had to translate the German bits for my wife.
I
did like the
Doctor Rose ending. It was done very neatly, as life-long companionship is something the Doctor could never offer. Now he can*.
Failed attempt to backfire the reality bomb. That would have been too easy, although I did wonder whether the device would be activated by its own destruction and that the 'failure' was planned all along.
Donna's 'Death'. Somewhat controversial, but in the end she is no worse off than if she'd never met the Doctor - without the 'Turn Left' consequences. I lved the nonchalance with which she dismissed the Doctor. Great writing/acting.
The prospect of
Mickey on Torchwood. I've always loved Mickey and his underdog character. I've felt sorry for him and the way Rose has treated him over the years. I think he'll be great on Torchwood.
Dalek Caan. No need to elaborate I'm sure.
Davros. Great performance, effects and voice. A thoroughly believable nemesis.
Doctor 10b had the 'humanity' to commit genocide. Doctor 9(?) had done this before, but he felt he had no choice
and regretted having to have made this decision. Doctor 10b just did it. Nice follow-on from the ruthless protrayal of humans in Midnight.
What I wasn't too thrilled about:Towing the Earth. Ugh! Should have just written that the power from the Torchwood rift etc. allowed the Earth to tap into he Tardis' drive and be transported back to its normal solar orbit. Nice of the moon to not drift off too far as well.
Really poor physics, with a few bookcases toppling over while the Earth was pulled along at relativistic speeds (not to mention the initial acceleration) to get it back where it belonged.
The sheer existence of a
master control panel that can disable the Daleks and the Reality Bomb. Sure it took a TIme Lord's intelligence, but it was a bit too easy and anti-climactic. I have to keep telling myself that the show is aimed at kids too.
The ability of the Daleks - and everyone else for that matter, it seemed - to instantly contact anyone else, anywhere, with full audio and video. Just how did Jack Mickey and Sarah Jane avoid detection in that little chamber, yet instantly get put through to the vault to threaten the Daleks with the Warp Star? If the Daleks could so easily teleport Martha to the Crucible, why couldn't they as quickly teleport Donna to the vacuum of space once she was a threat? I wish they wouldn't introduce concepts and then be selective about their usage as convenient.
The duration of the show. It was obvious that RTD had come up with some great conclusions to wrap up loose storylines, give the viewers something like what they wanted and leave on a tidy ending to his tenure. I am certain he could have done it to even higher satisfaction if the show ahd been given a feature length run time of 90 minutes or so. Corners wouldn't have been cut,
greetings and goodbyes would have been more complete, and we would have been happier.
Final thoughts/comments:I'm pretty sure that the Doctor used the regenerative energy to heal and curtailed the process there. It's still Doctor 10 in my books.
The BBC really needs to get its act together and start shooting/broadcasting DW in HD, and Confidentials too, please.
I can't wait for the specials and the next series!
*I think though, that after a couple of years of living together, they'll get tired of each others' crap and the constant bills to pay, the bickering over how they never save the Universe any more and how the 'real' Doctor probably had more stamina (two hearts help, you know). Sorry everyone.
Author
Topic: The MC Dr. Who thread (Midnight Chills) (Read 5715 times)