Well, what a breathless end to the series! After three quick-fire months, we’ve finally arrived at ‘Journey's End’.On the first watch, I was quite disappointed. There were just a couple of points that I thought we could have done without, I’ll go into them later though! After a rewatch later, I felt a little better, although those nagging points still nag like a woman on ‘that time of the month’!
It is this ‘Rose and Doctor’ thing. I CAN accept the Doctor falling in love but NOT with his fellow companions. Maybe it because his fellow travellers are now ‘companions’ instead of the classic ‘assistants’, that these love stories come from. Personally I reckon the 6th Doc was giving Peri one before Revelation of the Daleks but we’ll gloss over that (for now!). But if there is any suggestion that any ‘hanky panky’ is going on in the TARDIS, it should be kept as a suggestion. Yes, The Doctor that kissed Rose was human (with his heart in the side of his chest – eh?) but it still was The Doctor. I didn’t really like the second Tennant much anyway!
Another sticking point was the whole ‘Donna is a Timelord’ plot. Even though, scarily, she suited playing a Timelady, as soon as Catherine Tate opened her mouth and copied Tennant’s traits (speaking fast etc) I knew it was bad. Take nothing away from Catherine though, she was BRILLIANT as Donna Noble. Watching her departure was almost heartbreaking. I’m sorry for ever doubting you!
Another minor gripe was the lack of interaction between Rose and Mickey, now that she’ll never see him again. But despite his amount of screen time, I thought Noel Clarke was great. Hopefully the ending will leave it open for a regular slot in Torchwood, I hope so.
I also wasn’t really keen on the resolution of the cliffhanger. I believe that it should have been dragged out a bit more. Although I understand that the episode did have time constraints (well, sort of!) I was and still, suspicious of THAT RING on Donna’s finger. Basically, I thought the hand was going to regenerate into The Master! And to be honest that would have made a great episode. Can you imagine the bit when the TARDIS appeared and instead of Doctor 10.5 we had The Master stepping out? That would have been wonderful. Maybe with the ending, we have not seen the last of Donna and THAT RING!
Again the effects in this episode where simply breathtaking but who needs effects when you’ve got Bernard Cribbins? I hope I get a chance to meet him because the man is simply fantastic. Apart from the two Doctors, I reckon he is the best piece of casting that RTD and his team have made for Doctor Who.
I hope Julian Bleach will get another chance to play Davros again. The first thing you thought of, when you saw his ranting, was ‘that is f***ing scary! And that’s the point! He was wonderful.
Over great moments were – Jackie, Captain Jack, Sarah Jane and her interaction with Davros, the German Daleks, the whole team around the TARDIS console, Gwen and Ianto being locked in the Hub, thus stopping them from spoiling the episode and who can forget - K9!
Overall, a fine end to a great series. Shame about my gripes but you don’t have to agree with me! But I hope you do agree that this Christmas episode can’t come too soon! Cyberman AND Christmas. Dervla Kirwan AND David Morrissey, Goodnight Sweetheart meets Basic Instinct in Victorian times! Shame about the camp titles that came with it but hey, you can’t have everything!
8.5/10
Remember to keep tuning into this blog for more Sc-Fi and cult television reviews as well as reviews of the Big Finish audios and more news from the world of Doctor Who. Is it Christmas yet?
Christmas 2008 Teaser
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