Written by Russel T. Davies
Directed by Joe Ahearne
“You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic! And y’know something? So was I!”
I have few adequate words to describe this season finale of season finales. Where do I begin?
Let’s start with the eye candy…eye candy unequalled in the history of Doctor Who! The Dalek command ship, and accompanying fleet. The TARDIS spinning through evasive manoeuvres…and materializing around Rose and a Dalek! Hordes of invading Daleks ? streaking through space, invading Satellite Five, mowing down opposition. The first glimpse of the Dalek Emperor since 1966, complete with booming voice and grandiose, spidery-appearance. The Daleks appearing outside the window, blowing away Lynda-with-a-Y a second later. Meanwhile, on Earth, Bad Wolf is painted EVERYWHERE! Next moment, a Mini-Cooper and a Rescue tow truck are employed to rip open the TARDIS console, once more revealing the heart of the TARDIS…!
Are our eyes bulging out yet? They will after you see the most priceless piece of comedy in Doctor Who since John Cleese and Elanor Bron graced the final episode of City of Death. Let’s put it this way: the Ann-droid gets her revenge!
How about the continuity references, which pay homage to the amazing Revelation of the Daleks from 1985: bastic headed bullets, dead humans being converted into Daleks, similar stings in the incidental music…a cornucopia of great stuff for old time fanboys like me.
Let’s continue with the direction. Joe Ahearne tops himself with stunning set pieces, glorious battles, quiet but deadly silhouettes. Darkness and light are tools Ahearne plays with like a violin virtuoso…except, in this instance, he’s conducting a cinematography symphony.
The acting? In a show where the regulars dominate, we have minor characters — virtually extras — showing their mettle in a life-and-death struggle. We also get a bouncy, happy, touching performance from Jo Joyner as Lynda the would-be-proto-companion…only to have her taken away from us, as only bloodthirsty Daleks can!
John Barrowman’s one-man-Rambo-with-a-heart show continues…his goodbye, death and resurrection more than enough to leave the audience emotionally wiped for one episode. But add on the Doctor’s total desperation, trying to improvise in a way he’s never had to before, with the fate of an entire planet hanging in the balance.
And then there’s Rose…the Bad Wolf herself. Her total devastation at being sent home, her desperate attempts to return, her success in communing with the heart of the TARDIS, and walking out onto the station, the power of the time vortex burning within her…
Cue awe-inspiring destruction of the Daleks. Cue Doctor’s kiss, taking away Rose’s pain and the death threat of possessing so much temporal energy. Cue Doctor saving the day…and watching his hand start to glow…
Cue Doctor saying goodbye to Rose.
The end of the era, with a regeneration that is both heart-wrenching AND gloriously uplifting. Christopher Eccleston delivers his final, greatest performance as the 9th Doctor, having helped to regenerate the entire series before moving on to regenerate himself in a blaze of CGI-wrapped emotion.
Introducing 10th Doctor David Tennant:
“Hello, I…hmm…new teeth…that’s weird. Now, where was I…oh yes. Barcelona!”
Cue bright, shiny eyes, a head full of wild hair, and a glass-cracking smile that would make 4th Doctor Tom Baker proud. I like him already.
And so we come to the end of the first new series of Doctor Who in 16 years…and goddammit, it was worth the wait! A glorious, wonderful, heartbreaking, cheer-at-the-top-of-your-voice season of miraculous entertainment, pleasing the heart of old fans like me, while inspiring a whole new generation of Whovians. I can’t say anymore, because there wouldn’t be any point. This is art that is as close to perfect as is humanly possible to create. This series, more than any other television show of the last decade, has re-ignited the love of adventure and excitement I first discovered as an 8-year-old boy, back in the misty dawn of history (that’s 1982 for you young ones!).
10
Doctor Who will return in The Christmas Invasion. Plan on sticking around…
