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The DOCTOR WHO Rewatch Project - Season Four & Final Specials
🕑 Added 2023-10-06 01:07:46 +0000 UTCI forgot how much spikier his hair was this season???
Anyway! It seems season four is the general response for best Tennant season (and I already made my case for the consistency of season three), but I get it! There are just certain emotional highs you get in this one, especially by the time you get to the finales and goodbyes. It also seems to be the most gif-able as society still uses like fifteen of them in regular use. Anyway, I’ll talk about all the big points at the end. To start the conversation about season four, you mostly have to just talk about…
Donna Noble - Catherine Tate is one of the great funny yellers. I imagine that sounds reductive, but it’s her comedic fastball and just, like, so important to her character. Because it comes off naturally funny - and the lines themselves would come off aggressive in any other context - it opens up this amazing new fire and ice component for the two of them and makes her immediate juxtaposition for The Doctor. But we quickly get to see a lot of dexterity, too. But it’s funny. So many people remember the end of her story, but re-watching all at once, you see the seams of things. And my big takeaway is how much they really rush a lot of her set-ups in the first half. It’s forgivable of course given that what they’re rushing pays off like gangbusters, but it does make for a few wonky things at the start.
This is not to say I like or dislike Donna any more than any of the others. Which sort of brings me to my ultimately companion point, especially in the Davies era. The thing about companions is that I very rarely care about WHO someone likes more, but always interested in the WHY. Was it more vicarious of, “did you FEEL like Rose or Donna or Martha” Did you project on or at them in a different way? What and how did you connect to it? Because in the end there’s a reason all of them work great for the show - but different reasons for why we all connect to them in a more personal, deeper way. And that’s the joy of well rounded storytelling, really.
With that, let’s get to the…
EPISODE RESPONSES
Voyage of the Damned - For some reason I always thought this was a Christmas special, but it aired in April? Anyway, it’s one of those big special episodes that totally doesn’t need the giant running time, but gets it anyway. The result is a lot of delay as this episode less does its impression of James Cameron’s GREAT film Titanic and more does it’s somewhat lazy impression of The Poseidon Adventure. Don’t get me wrong, there’s things I like. But mostly it’s a lot of running around and full of danger and noise instead of actual suspense (even with a budget, remember, Doctor Who is always better when going for suspense / fear over action, something I always feel like the Moffat era understood more implicitly). Anyway, it’s trying to make some meta statement about the kinds of people who live and die in these kinds of stories, but just when you think it’s sort of unsatisfyingly going up its own butt about the meta of “movie death” politics, it gets to its ultimate thematic point “if you could decide who lives and who dies that would make you a monster.” This earns the episode a little, but much-needed sense of catharsis in getting that observant guy out of trouble. The problem is that it genuinely bungles the (very unnecessary) money beat at the end. It seems nitpicky otherwise, it’s just such a glaring basic math issue he’s saying a million is pocket change, but that being equal to 50 million credits? Like 1/50th of being rich is not pocket change, so I genuinely don’t get that choice on any level. Who approved this!? (I know this is silly).
Partners In Crime - I really like this episode. It plays up the comedic / farcical angle of how The Doctor and Donna come back together and uses a ton of visual comedy to boot. And I LOVE the design of the little fats (I used to have a figure version of one of the little guys that would get put on top of the Christmas Tree). The less successful elements are, of course, the very 2000’s juxtaposition of fat shaming / diet shaming, which is just another societal complex designed to keep people wrong no matter what they do (Davies has a lot of this streak, even in the episode prior). And it also turns into the “Super Nanny” of it all, which is something I never like when Doctor Who goes right into current pop culture. But I do really like Sarah Lancashire (from Happy Valley!) and she gives a really fun performance. And again, THE FATS ARE SO CUTE.
The Fires of Pompeii - It’s funny that this episode is more remembered for featuring two actors who got cast in MAJOR Doctor Who roles later on (Karen Gillan and Peter Capaldi). But there’s also some really neat make-up design with the overtaken alien lava lady (and bad dated CGI, to boot). But it's also an episode that immediately tamps down on the “this is all fun and games” of Who adventures by tossing Donna right into the stakes of “I have to make brutal decisions.” Once again, in the meta I feel like Davies is rushing because they haven’t even had a “normal adventure” yet to establish the base. And Donna really plays the dramatic fireworks earlier than I remember. But we also finally get the proper explanation of fixed point timelines / wiggle room, (which will be seemingly important later). Even then, I’ve never cared much for nailing down the precise rules. Because Doctor Who is usually good at telling you what EMOTIONALLY matters when and why and, much more importantly, leaning into the themes behind them. And all this being a set-up for his admittance of, “you were right, sometimes I need someone to stop me” is an excellent thing that cements the relationship anyway. That’s the thing about Davies era, the episodes almost always end strong enough.
Planet of the Ood - I love the Ood in lots of ways. I love the design, I love the ultimate reveal of the song, I love the metaphor of the brains in the hands and vulnerability… But then, and especially these days, I have genuine misgivings about any plots that take on the metaphor of slavery because it’s so damn loaded and you can eek into really gross thematic things about the so-called nature of subservience. ESPECIALLY if you’re going to hit right on the damn topic of Slave Songs. This also feels like one of those weird British things where they love to do a seeming “gotcha” on American culture while failing to examine, say, the rest of the Colonialism going on in India or the rest of the world long after antebellum. So now it feels so fumbled and jumbled, especially when you have Donna yell lines like, “I can’t tell what’s right and wrong anymore!” And it’s like REALLY Donna!??! You can’t!?!? Anyway, there’s a gochapon action scene for some reason and the ending of “The Doctor Donna” is really nice feeling, too. As per usual, all's well that ends well.
The Sonataran Stratagem / The Poison Sky - Okay, so I intensely dislike these two episodes but they provide the good chance to talk about WHY certain episodes of Doctor Who work well and some don’t (but this applies to any show, really)
Pile-Up - There’s only three story archetypes! A stranger comes to town, boy meets girl, and your average self driving car / cloning / air poisoning / tech bro evisceration / war is bad parable! I’m joking because this is a classic case of putting hats on hats on hats. And NONE of them really come together into a singular thematic idea, let alone the same ballpark. I mean even the whole duality of Sonataran Vs. Unit thinking doesn’t even come together into a single POINT. It’s just… all smushed together like the overlaps are meant to be the meaning.
Current Affairs - Again, Doctor Who at its best when it’s exploring a larger sci-fi concept that taps into grander themes that speak not to just our times, but any times. And it’s at worst when it basically tries to be bad Black Mirror and do super current timely things (I already mentioned Super Nanny above) but everything about pipsqueek tech guy is trying to hit the Zuckerberg and MySpace-Ness of its world, but everything it’s trying to hit is somehow well-aimed and yet off completely (and it’s territory Buffy hit so so so much better). Because it’s trying to fit the incel psychology into the war machine in this way that seems to misunderstand both, especially when it come to the issue of disconnect from action. It’s genuinely a mess.
Martha - I forgot about all this (probably because I hated it at the time) and I realize it’s likely the reason people I think sour on Martha’s character overall. Because her send off in season three is SO GOOD and this just… like she’s working for UNIT and “helping on the inside?” it’s just one of those tropes that we’ve so gotten past when it comes to our understanding of broken systems. And for a character to get caught up in that feels like such a lame betrayal.
Donna, Sidelined - In case you missed it, Donna literally just sits in the Tardis because they don’t know what to do with her in this story (this will weirdly happen a few more times). But even the initial joke fake out of her “leaving” feels weird and clunky and wrong. Especially because she’s already talking about all her “travels” and it hasn’t FELT like it, which once again is all part of Davies really rushing the arc. And you can really feel it in some choices that come in…
Direction - This is one of those things I could talk about for days, but whoooo boy is the direction off in this. It’s not just the chaotic haze of the action, but the simplest choices gone haywire. To simplify things: the goal of direction is to capture a feeling and emphasize the right parts of the story, whether it be a character’s expression, a movement, or even a feeling within. And this episode is CONSTANTLY fighting it’s characters as it is dancing around without a single sense of correct emphasis. Its direction is haphazard noise (and you can spot the directors who operate this way instantly). But even in the acting choices, you can feel them being like “yeah, go for it!” but I never understand what it’s WANTING me to actually feel in a given scene. Which is telling because there’s also scenes that are so overwrought and endless (like Donna’s “return” to family which feels so overblown with the endless cutbacks, especially given how soon it is). Even that kiss between the two army people feels like it was done on the spot because there is NO build up to that kiss in the script itself. It feels like a director going, “yeah go for it, it’ll be fun!” which is part of the haphazard I’m talking about.
Set Ups And… - I always talk about Davies’ era Doctor Who ending well and here we come so close. Because you get that fantastic beat where the doctor is sacrificing himself instead of just sending the bomb and why? Even if he knows they’ll never go for it he says, “I’ve got to give them a choice.” It speaks so much to what he does and his humanity and decency. But then he’s miraculously saved by Tech Kid’s about face. But here’s the problem, we never get the scene where we can BELIEVE this change. Which is especially important when we’re talking about a billionaire. Sure, we see him be pathetic after he’s double crossed. But you need that “dark night of the soul” moment where see that he’s been harrowed and capable of doing SOMETHING like that - whether his sacrifice is coming from a place of anger or wanting to make one last stroke toward good - otherwise it’s just another “surprise” that puts us on our heels instead of feeling earned. And earning it is everything.
The Doctor’s Daughter - Ahhhh, another episode whose main appeal is the meta lore because that’s Georgia Moffet who becomes Georgia Tennant! They have a ton of kids together now! Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t like noisy shooty boom boom episodes of Doctor Who where they’re running around with guns firing (even if they’re criticizing that), because it usually means that they haven't locked into something more interesting. But gotta justify a budget, I guess! Anyway, there’s some neat little fantasy intersections here because that’s Gendry from Game of Thrones! And that’s Nigel Terry, who played King Arthur in Excalibur! He looks like English James Coburn here! But the most successful part of the episode is getting at the idea of The Doctor’s loss and how he’s had a family before (even though the Jenny plot-line ends up being a non-starter for the rest of the series). Martha also gets her own little Shape Of Water plot-line but I’m still not sure why she’s here in the larger sense. The thing that really hampers it once again is that it’s part of that horrible misunderstanding people have of “both sides should stop fighting!” parable that almost always is some hollow, dismissive view of the Israel / Palestine conflict, nor the very real power dynamics involved (and part of why “The Great Divide” is the worst episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender). Also does the UK really call the game of Telephone, “Chinese Whispers”!?!?!? Part of the age old reminder that if anything ever is [Blank People’s Name/ Action] then it’s absolutely rooted in racism. And yet, I keep saying it… Ending near that line of “she was too much like me” just does SO much for the thematic landing of this one.
The Unicorn and The Wasp - I’m higher on this one than most people because 1) It’s Agatha Christie, dammit and 2) I ALWAYS have fun with the playful history episodes. Does the actual mystery need way more nips and tucks and set-ups to be actually effective? You betcha! Does it even fail at basic misdirects? Absolutely! Do I roll along with the essence anyway? Also, yes. But there’s some basic delights in seeing young Felicity Jones. Along with some negative points for the absolutely unnecessary and barely “bury your gays” moment. But honestly, the best part of the episode was when, at the end of the episode, Landon used The Doctor’s voice to say to Agatha: “and one last thing! You’re going to want to rethink one of the titles of your books… like, reeaaaaaaaaallly rethink it.”
Silence In The Library / Forest of the Dead - Here. We. Go… Look, it’s just a monumental thing and even better than I remember, especially given how much these two episodes inform things that come later. I mean, River Song’s story here plays ten times more heartbreaking (and for first timer Landon, it was pretty damn heartbreaking). It’s all part of what Moffat talks about with the roundness of time and what you can really do with the emotions of those spaces. But we’ll get to all that. Because once again, Moffat comes up with a 10/10 abstract monster that’s terrifying in ideology alone. The Vashta Nerada are literal shadows and the way this operates with the digital traces of consciousness just makes for one of the most stark horror things imaginable. But like most good Moffat things, it’s that way of being so casually devastating that earns its depth. There’s so much scariness, from the silence of the libraries to the statues with real faces. But all of this is foreground to the emotional fireworks that come at the center of the story…
Because this one is so centered on the humans involved. All the performances are great, from the terrified and curious young girl who is CAL, to the amazing confidence of Colin Salmon, to even Elon Musk’s Ex Talulah Riley. But of course, it’s about Alex Kingston, who we will talk about a lot over time. But when she popped up the first time I watched this I was like Croupier!!!! And she is just OUTRAGEOUSLY good in this episode. You need to believe every second of everything she’s doing and so much of the story makes sense this way. And Tennant’s performance of having to grapple with the idea of meeting someone at the end of their story (and one who knows his name) is just… just incredible. But the way every little set-up and pay off comes together, from the digital leftovers panels, to Donna just barely missing the husband guy, and right down to the magnificent snapping of the fingers that opens the Tardis? We have yet another height of what this show can really do.
And once again, I leave the most telling thing to Landon’s final quote [While sobbing]: “Do you know how often I cry happy tears?!? None! I don’t do it!”
Midnight - Very rarely in Doctor Who do I find myself in a great divide with the general public reaction to a Doctor Who episode. Yet, this one is rather well-liked and I can’t get past the simple fact that it employs every enraging cheap trick of both writing and direction. On paper, you get the allure. It’s a bottle episode of The Doctor trapped with a monster he doesn’t understand and people behaving like the REAL monsters, etc. And there’s some genuinely great moments, specifically coming from the performance of Leslie Sharp! An actress I adore from the Mike Leigh camp (Vera Drake and Naked, but also great in Prime Suspect, The Full Monty, and a devastating 90’s movie called Priest). And the first interactions between her (when she’s turned Alien) and The Doctor are just lovely to watch. But here’s the thing about watching what unfolds from it…
Landon described the feeling of watching this as: “I hate all of these people with a fiery passion.” And you do. They are infuriatingly awful. They are dumb, unreasonable, overreactive, ignorant of what they are literally seeing, and “no, but-ting” literally every second of the story. And good granola is the writing repetitive in this regard with no evolution. But it’s a classic case of “you’re meant to hate them! LOL! It’s on purpose!” And it’s like yeah yeah great good cool, you’ve written the most infuriatingly annoying scenario. It’s technically “involving” but it’s all cheap tricks because it’s constantly using “fake conflict” to make it happen (that is conflict that is exacerbated by the fact that we know it’s not how X or Y character really feels deep down). Meaning it’s not actual dramatic construction, but the WORST kind of dramatic manipulation. And what it needs to even have a chance of working is more modulation. Just slight changes to the performances where you see a moment of doubt, or the roundness of a person's anger, or the curiosity from another. And more importantly? The willingness to hold on tension in silence - which we see between Tennant and Sharp - but instead the direction doubles down on the monotone, shrieking noise. So yeah, I can “involve” the audience too by putting my nails on a chalkboard for 40 minutes! And I know this all seems like I’m being harsh, but it really, really, really is the worst kind of cheap writing and if there were even slivers of deft craft from the how it handled the other characters (along with actually setting up the sacrifice instead of its weird anti-point, which feels very non-Who) I’d have much more forgiveness.
And yet, I keep saying it… the endings of this season have so many saving graces. And those last moments of seeing The Doctor, genuinely unrattled, nervous, and still recovering from the loss of self and the trauma of what the Alien did on the trip? It’s genuinely effective. And that being the last moment really makes the episode still work.
Turn Left - So the whole time we’ve watched Landon’s been playing a little game of “count the east asian people” because there’s so damn few in the show (granted, the population is much lower percentage wise in the UK, but still). So imagine our “oh no!” the second we start seeing stereotypical Space Asia! Which quickly turns into a scene with a heavy-accented, duplicitous woman wanting to read Donna’s fortune and, well, Landon’s immediate response just about covers it: “I love when my people are in western media!!!! Asians in Doctor Who bay-beeee!!!!!!” Because, yes, it’s very bad. And it’s par for the course with this episode, what with a lot of other weird ass comparisons of refugee / racial / nationalistic beats in this one like putting minorities in labor camps - which no matter how “well intentioned” all feel absurdly white-centering, clumsy, and reductive (especially the potshot at France not taking refugees, when their refugee policies are a billion times more welcoming and supportive than the UK). And yes, this shit matters in this episode.
But as has been my anthem for all these season four episodes, the “All's Well That Ends Well” mantra is earned here yet again (which is not to say it ends nicely, but effectively). Because Donna finally being ready to time travel, going back, sacrificing herself, and give the final “bad wolf” connector to Rose (it finally works on some plot level! Even if “End of the Universe” part is not actually established!). But once again, I have trouble with the path of how we got there. Because we have this massive “no, but” arc for Donna the whole where we don’t really see this growth, but more the ignoring of an issue until she finally just accepts it out of tiredness I guess? As Rose is just waiting? Look, it feels like it’s just so trying to hit every greatest hit and it’s so utterly missing the step by step change of character that could really anchor the episode's progress and make it all feel well earned. And yet, by the time the episode ends, I am ready for our girl Rose to kick some ass. Which thus brings us to the end game.
The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End - Ah yes, the Avengers / Infinity War saga of Doctor Who! And let’s be frank, the majority of these two episodes are basically candy-filled emotional delights. We rally together the whole ass gang: Rose, Mickey, Rose’s Mum, Martha, Captain Jack and the Torchwood Gang, Sarah Jane Smith and her kid, Harriet Jones: Former Prime Minster, and even a few more to boot. And seeing all the names flash in the intro credits just adds to the fun. From there, they do all the big noisy fun stuff: stolen planets, the shadow proclamation, the Daleks and even Davros himself. They fill everything with witty banter and easter eggs (like asking Torchwood gal if she’s got an old relative in Cardiff wink wink). We get Rose’s mum with a big ass gun. Captain Jack’s little charms. And getting to see Tennant’s Donna impression is INCREDIBLE. Simply put: the episodes are just such undeniable FUN!
But are they good?
Maybe, no, and undeniably yes.
The maybe part is one of those interesting things because of how much the episode feels like it’s happening over Zoom. You have quartered off people talking directly to camera, presumably saving on the budget of this big honker, but that’s mostly fine. It’s just funny how much everyone being together doesn’t quite actually happen until the very end. Similarly, so much of the mechanics of the hand regeneration stuff feels calvin-ball-y. For instance, you reeaaaaaally need to see her regenerate w/ doctor energy FIRST in order to buy the big Doctor Donna moment because that’s the FUN surprise and when you hide both, it’s just way too much to catch up on. And there’s this big “wait a minute” when it comes to Dalek Khan being like, “surprise the Daleks are bad even though I just helped them kill hundreds of thousands of people!” Plus, this season doubles down on Bad Wolf circular fatalism of characters saying, “we were always heading for this!” But that’s just the fake convergence that rarely feels like it comes from anything more than convenience itself, not cause and effect. So yeah, it’s just a lot of loose stuff rattling. But that’s the “maybe” you can roll with. Especially when it’s good at the little details like showing that he FINALLY has enough people to properly pilot the tardis (which is such a good payoff to the runner). It makes all feel forgiven.
The no is two fold.
First off, early in the episode Landon commented “wow this all feels very slash fic!” and I had to bite my tongue from saying “oh you have no idea” because that ending “Two Doctors” beat on the beach is the most slash fic-y thing the show has ever done / will ever do. And I’m going to be honest… I really, really don’t like it. Yes, there’s little good beats and lines (“he needs you… that’s very me.”) and I like the idea of SOME kind of meaningful happiness coming here. But it’s still just so weird and emotionally confusing. Like, here’s your consolation prize Doctor! Which means the big kiss also feels weird and un-cathartic. A half measure, that even if you like and want it as a viewer, is such a split solution that, to me, it also goes against so much of what’s its grounding in (like, why does Mickey get to stay on this earth?). There’s no part of me that ever liked this choice, even if I like so much AROUND it, you know?
The second part of the “no” deals with a plot thing you see time and time and time again in “end of the world” type stories where writers always think adding more scale somehow makes it feel more dangerous. It’s like JJ’s inane decision to make Starkiller base destroy solar systems not planets! And it’s meaningless because there isn’t even a scene of someone fighting for their homeworld like Leia did. The whole point is we don’t care about the end of the world, no more than we do a threat to “reality itself.” We care about what we care about. And the emotions and life of one character we love is worth more emotion than the vague abstract threat of people dying. Which brings us to the most affecting and successful part of the episode, bar none. Something that is maybe the most affecting thing the show has ever done - and that which turns it into an instant classic.
That of course would be Donna’s fate. Because it’s worse than death. It’s worse than anything. Because it is the undoing of growth itself. The tragedy of seeing her there, her former self, undaunted and uncaring is just the most heartbreaking thing. The detached goodbye with Tennant is hard enough. But having to place all that emotion on her grandfather Wilf as the one who has to hold it all for her? The way he stares with his glassy, watery eyes as he tells The Doctor he will always look for him in the sky? All as the rain pours? And the line “this will pass… everything does.” There’s a reason it became a huge meme, and it’s because the moment genuinely fills you with tears. From there, it has the courage to end the season on a man, once again alone… a lone pilot in search of a crew… But maybe this time, he stays alone.
Because that’s not where the story really ends.
Christmas 2008: The Next Doctor - So I think this is the first *really* good Christmas special in the run. It takes on a really fun premise with the Doctor thinking he’s meeting his future self, before turning into a heartfelt story about a guy merely *thinking* he’s The Doctor through a little topsy turvy. So much of it works because stage legend David Morrissey strikes that exact balance of capability, ineffectuality, pomp, silliness, and soulfulness - all so needed in the role. And everything else brought together in tangible delights of Steampunk Cybermen, parables of children workforces, and even a giant Mecha to boot. As Morrissey says about the TARDIS, it’s “completely mad and wonderful nonsense!” But like so many Davies’ stories, it crescendos into real pathos with pointed lines like when The Doctor tells Jackson “you have a reason to live!” and he shoots back, “and you haven’t?” But The Doctor doesn’t have an answer. It’s all part of the Doctor’s vague (and growing) suicidal instincts that go deeper into why he’s playing with god. But sometimes, even for a moment, he will be comfortable standing still… and having him finally take up an invitation to Christmas dinner hits so cleanly. And if one beautiful line can make a Noel Tale ring true, it’s ““Jackson, if anyone had to be the doctor I’m glad it was you.”
Planet of the Dead - I remember my first watch of this being live I think and I remember being like “eh, kind of a let down?” I think because so much pressure was put on the in between specials. But when I watched quickly right in the rhythm of the rewatch, Landon put it well: “That was all right. I’m not mad about it!” It’s a mostly okay episode about a bunch of people getting caught up on a planet, but it’s yet another swollen episode that would probably be better at 42 minutes than an hour (to be clear, you wouldn’t have to lose a single scene, you just cut all the repetitive dialogue within the scenes that exist, which is the single worst trait of the Davies era). But there’s fun to be had here. You get Michelle Ryan's flirty Catwoman-esque figure who perhaps could have had a jolly ride with The Doctor (Ryan had an “almost” in American TV when she was cast on the short lived Bionic Woman reboot). You also get Lee Evan’s (Mousehunt, Something About Mary) nerdy scientist who is a huge Doctor fan and WAIT IS THAT DANIEL KALUUYA?!?!? It’s always funny when a bit-part actor becomes the biggest star out of everyone. Also, it’s one of those things where I realize how close this episode is to “Midnight” and I think each episode kind of needs a little of what the other is offering (that would be a little more humanity for one and a little more tension for this one). But it’s funny, the thing I’m most left with is the part of the episode where Tennant volunteers both of those guys for U.N.I.T. and seems like a nice gesture, but I’m like this is a bananas thing to do because it’s basically like, “Congrats, I signed you up for the army! It’s very dangerous!”
The Waters of Mars - Yet another one I remember liking less the first time around (we’ll get to the detail that tripped me up later), but man does it pack a wallop on rewatch. For one, the practical effects with the water monsters are VERY good. And also the performances are quick and all read well in a good horror context (there’s even Gemma Chan!). But really it’s about the great Lyndsay Duncan (from Rome, Sherlock, Mansfield Park and so many things). The interplay of her seriousness and the emotion hiding right underneath is just masterful. Especially all her heartbreaking (seeming) farewell scenes with The Doctor. Because at the center of all of this is a REALLY good conflict about fixed points and histories and it really gets into the terror of what he faces in such a situation. And his ultimate defiance, not born of empathy nor pathos, but instead is born of disastrous ego. And thus we watch what happens when The Doctor goes god mode and it’s awful (somehow, the most disturbing line is “is anyone gonna thank me?” because it’s NEVER why he does it).
All this tracks beautifully, but then we get to the part where the three astronauts commit suicide and I just… I get what it’s going for, but it just really loses me there, given how much it is decentralizing THEIR stories and I can’t tell how much this is about The Doctor affecting / not affecting the timeline and even The Doctor takes it weirdly selfishly about how he just went too far and fearing his own death. Again, I get what it’s after, but it’s just that after playing so much of the episode pitch perfectly it feels like such a bizarre series of choices that don’t add to the great point being made, instead it just MUDDLES it … Also I love that in the future we’re apparently using 2000s era websites. It’s amazing what *actually* ages things in sci-fi.
The End of Time - Part 1 & 2 - And so it goes and so it goes. In my memory I realize I had overlapped a lot of this with “Journey’s End,” and sure there’s big space battles RIGHT out of the Falcon chase in the original Star Wars, but I forgot how much more intimate this one is by comparison.
Things start fun as we see that The Doctor has been putting death off with a good old fashioned “Sexy Bender” and apparently did unspeakable things with “good queen Bess” (which if you didn’t catch is Elizabeth I, which explains why she was so pissed when she saw him hahahahaha). But there’s hubbub about. The master is resurrecting, there's some weird use of President Obama, and it seems the darkness is coming! Honestly, I wish it had a different name because we just DID something like this - so I wish they called it the blinding light or great fire or something (cause it fits the Gallifrey thing) and oh yeah, this all is building to the Time Lords’ return. And turns out that the whole time lock genocide of his own people was about something far, far different than “we can’t be the Daleks,” but instead “my people became murder-suicidal monsters.” And it all plays out so damn well. Every bit of complication, every fear. All brought to life in Timothy Dalton’s perfect gravitas. There could not be a better third foil for both him and The Master. The threat is so real. And the moment where Tennant avoids taking the gun the whole episode, but the second he realizes THEY are coming back - he picks it up instantly? Such moments speak more than words
But for me - and for the episode itself - so much of it comes down to that story between him and The Master. Like a terrible partner, The Doctor keeps believing that he can fix him, but there’s something family-like in that devotion (along with humane pleas like, “you don’t need to own the universe, just see it!”). This understanding that deep down, The Master just wants relief. So there’s a bond that somehow goes beyond anything - and yet, crucially, it never really cheats in The Master’s motivations. The things that keep them together / warring / angry all feel earnest. And it so captures his fear of change with, “I don’t know what i’d be without that noise.” But the Doctor knows only mercy in such regards. One look from (mommy?!?!) is enough to connect it back and the final act of The Master “saving” everyone is but him rushing back into hell, so angered by those who put him there in the first place. And that’s an act of traumatic expression if there ever was one. But right when you think all is well…
The proverbial bell tolls…
Which is to say it knocks four times. Not, it’s not malevolent. It’s not a wolf at the door, nor the Daleks busting in to gun him down. The knock is from a kind old man, unwittingly trapped in an impossible situation. Tennant can do all the math instantly. His life or Wilfred’s. And instantly he knows. He knows he would NEVER let that old man die, let alone deprive Donna of her lovely grandfather. But for once, The Doctor lets out his petulant anger over the matter. He’s The Doctor, the most important man in the universe and Wilfred is an old man, long lived. It’s so wrong. So he kicks and screams. He doesn’t want to change. He likes this version of himself. Finally, he likes this life. But he knows, too: “sometimes I think a time lords lives too long.” He knows he’s being petulant. Just as he’s known why he has to do it from the beginning. Because in the end, Wilfred is the most kind and decent man around. The very embodiment of a “normal everyday soul” The Doctor fights for time and time again. And that’s why he tells him honestly, “Wilfred, it’s my honor.” Because it is. And with one push of a button, he takes in the radiation. And that’s that. But not before he get his reward…
It takes the form of Victory Lap with longing, watchful goodbyes. There’s little time for discussion. Just the gestures. He saves Martha and Mickey’s lives from a sniper (and they seem to be hitting it off). He saves Sarah Jane’s kid, in a callback to Rose’s dad. He helps Captain Jack fuck Alonso from the space Titanic. He follows up on Jessica Hynes’s granddaughter, asking “was she happy in the end?” And yet not answering when asked “were you?” which is devastating. Donna gets married and wins the lotto and never knows what brought this change in fortune. And lastly, Rose gets told by a seeming stranger that she’ll have a really great year. All that’s left is the final goodbye with the Tardis and the audience itself. And no matter how many times I’ve seen the clip, the final earnest moments of Tenennat shouting that he doesn’t want to go just… it breaks every part of you.
And you’re hurled into the change itself.
LANDON’S BEST QUOTES WHILE WATCHING
One of the great pleasures of this has been watching it with Landon and getting to hear his immediate reactions to the big moments, but also I get the delight of the jokes he makes and I finally started writing them down in the end. Here they are in chronological order.
10. *The Dalek’s Arrive In Germany*
Landon, in Dalek Voice: “we feel weirdly comfortable in this place!”
9. *Rose sees The Doctor for the first time*
Landon: “weeeAHhhh Whooooo! [incomprehensible noises]”
8. *sees Mickey arrive with a huge gun*
Landon: “Oh shit!”
*sees Rose’s mum show up, too*
Landon: “Let’s fucking goooooo!”
7. *The Daleks fire up their big laser beam*
Landon, in Dalek Voice: “Activate the Not Death Star!”
6. *Michelle Ryan wires down to the cup*
Landon: “it’s mission implausible!
*Michelle Ryan switches the cup with a bag*
Landon: “Now it’s immeanna jones!”
5. *The Alien Fly Guys get killed*
Landon: “oh no, fly guys! I wanted to see the fly guys be okay!”
*minutes later, still stewing*
Landon: “… fucking doing fly guys dirty”
4. *The Doctor, hearing the trickle of the titular waters of mars*
Landon: “Is he peeing???”
3. *we see articles about the astronaut’s deaths*
Landon: “did they just cut… to a website???”
2. *old woman grabs The Doctor’s ass*
Landon: “Damn, perv grandma.”
1. *seeing all the John Simm clones in a crowd of men and women’s garb*
Landon: “A lot of good looks here.”
Okay, now to quotes from the actual show…
TOP 21 BEST QUOTES / JOKES
21. River Song: Hello Sweetie.
20. The Doctor: No. Actually no. But. The last time, with Martha—like I said, it got complicated. And that was all my fault. I just want a mate.
Donna: You just want to mate?!
The Doctor: I just want a mate.
Donna: Well you’re not mating with me, sunshine!
The Doctor: A mate! I just want a mate.
Donna: Well it’s just as well, because I’m not having any of that nonsense. I mean you’re just a long streak of… nothing! Alien nothing.
The Doctor: There we are then.
19. Caecilius: So where were you last night? Down at the thelopolium no doubt. Cavorting with Etruscans, Christians, and all sorts!
18. The Master: “Oh, he loooooves playing with earth girls!”
17. The Doctor: “yes i’ll just step inside this police box and arrest myself”
16. The Doctor: Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed.
Donna: How do you know which is which?
The Doctor: Because that’s how I see the Universe. Every waking second I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That’s the burden of the Time Lord, Donna. And I’m the only one left.
15. *Kaluuya offers a gold watch to help*
The Doctor: “That’s not gold”
Kaluuya, confused: “Yes it is!”
The Doctor: “Oh, they saw you coming.”
14. River: Okay, should we do diaries then? Where are we this time? Going by your face I’d say it’s early days for you, yeah? So, um… Crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet? Obviously ringing no bells. Alright, um. Picnic at Asgard, Have we done Asgard yet? Obviously not. Blimey, very early days then. Oo! Life with a time traveller, never knew it could be such hard work. Um… Look at you. You’re young.
The Doctor: I’m really not, you know.
River: Oh but you are. Your eyes! You’re younger than I’ve ever seen you.
The Doctor: You’ve seen me before then?
River: Doctor, please tell me you know who I am.
The Doctor: Who are you?
13. Wilfred: Now you go with him. That wonderful Doctor. Go and see the stars. And then bring a bit of them back for your old gramps.
12. The Doctor: Agatha Christie! I was just talking about you the other day. I said, I bet she’s brilliant. I’m the Doctor, this is Donna. Oh, I love your stuff. What a mind! You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good one.
11. *listing planets being stolen, including Klom*
The Doctor: “Klom!? who wants Klom”
Me, on couch: “Yeah, fucking Klom”
10. Harriet Jones: “Harriet Jones, former prime minister”
9. Rose: So there’s three of you. Three Doctors.
Jack [Visibly Horny]: I can’t even tell you what I’m thinking right now.
8. Davros: I have my children, Doctor. What do you have now?
The Doctor: After all this time—everything we saw, everything we lost—I have only one thing to say to you. Bye!
7. The Doctor, to Rose: “He needs you… that’s very me.”
6. The Doctor: Help her.
Donna: She’s dead.
The Doctor: Yeah. Help her.
5. The Doctor: Ah! Now, sorry. There you are. So. Where were we? I was summoned, wasn’t I? And Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well I didn’t exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know. Travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble, you know me. It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorus Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt. Saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Morg. Named a galaxy Allison. Got married. That was a mistake. Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer… ahem. Anyway. What d’you want?
4. Donna: Are you all right?
The Doctor: “I’m always all right”
Donna: You aren’t just saying that?
The Doctor: “No, why?
Donna: “Cause i’m all right too.”
3. River: Funny thing is, this means you’ve always known how I was going to die. All the time we’ve been together you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you—the real you, the future you, I mean—you turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Derillium. To see the Singing Towers. Oh, what a night that was. The towers sang, and you cried. You wouldn’t tell me why but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue. There’s nothing you can do.
The Doctor: Let me do this!
River: If you die here it’ll mean I’ve never met you.
The Doctor: Time can be rewritten!
River: Not those times, not one line. Don’t you dare! It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s not over for you. You’ll see me again. You’ve got all of that to come. You and me. Time and space. You watch us run!
The Doctor: River you know my name. You whispered my name in my ear. There’s only one way I would ever tell anyone my name. There’s only one time I could.
River: Hush now. Spoilers.
2. The Doctor: I just want you know there are worlds out there safe in the sky because of her. And there are people living in the light and singing songs of Donna Noble a thousand million light years away. They will never forget her. While she can never remember. But for one moment, one shining moment, she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe.
And of course…
1. The Doctor: “I don’t want to go”
LAST LOOKS…
With that we finish The Davies era and it’s been such a rewarding rewatch. Getting to see it all again (and through Landon’s eyes and reactions) has just been wonderful. But it’s also allowed me to really zero in on all the things I felt all those years ago. A few things changed, but mostly I feel like I just better understand the sentiments now having a much better grasp of the writing mechanics that propel most of our reactions. And as Davies returns to the fold here in 2023, I think it’s important to remember the whole of the bad and good so we don’t let the nostalgia for this time tamper our expectations of the present.
Because the thing that made the Davies era was two fold. The first is a big open hearted approach. It was unafraid to be earnest and clunky. Where the Moffat episodes were the undeniable high points, Davies reached for operatics and pulp, often channeling a kind of kitschy affectation that may be more in line with Doctor Who’s history anyway. But at his worst, the writing was reductive, repetitive, often relying on poor tricks that stretch out episodes instead of hammering them in tighter... But it never seemed to daunt him, either.
Because most of all, he showcased the second thing that made his era, which is the “all’s well that ends well” mantra I keep touting. He always had this way of making things end satisfyingly, on some level. Whether it was a line, a gesture, a beat, or even a thought - he had this unmistakable way of even taking a bad episode and leaving you with something meaningful and emotional to hold onto. Which isn’t just the reason I think people really could attach to this era of the show - it’s also what made for the spectacular highs of the series itself. Because you can get left with so many wonderful things that become a part of you, even now. Which is all a part of why the Tennant run feels so complete, so satisfying, and so endearing. Because it’s not just well, but all’s best that ends best, isn’t it?
But the whole thing about Doctor Who is that nothing really ends.
See ya again soon for the Matt Smith era :)
<3HULK
Comments
Highly recommend The Writer’s Tale as it pretty much goes deep into the making of Series 4 and there’s probably a reason that explains why Midnight doesn’t work on a writing level: he wrote it very quickly in time for the prep meeting for the episode.
JoeBee
Finally, someone else who feels the same way about Midnight as I do. It does encapsulate an inherent cynicism about people within RTD's work that he glosses over with ultimately hopeful and affecting endings.
