Some thoughts on the final episode of the new series of Doctor Who.
In general I’ve really enjoyed this series. Most of the stories have worked well and I think that Eccleston was a great choice to play the Doctor. Bizarrely, the stories that I have liked least (“Father’s Day” and “Dalek”) have been the ones that have received the most critical acclaim. And from what I see on the internet, “The Parting of the Ways” was also very popular and I really didn’t like it very much.
Oh, there were large parts of it that I loved – thousands of Daleks, the Emperor Dalek, great special effects – but what really spoilt it for me was the conclusion of the plot. It’s this whole “heart of the TARDIS” thing and Rose somehow merging with the Time Vortex and becoming this all-powerful person who can destroy all of the Daleks so they don’t have to resort to the Doctor’s (frankly a bit crap) plan. I disliked the heart of the TARDIS idea when we saw it a couple of weeks ago in “Boom Town” (which was obviously just set-up for this episode) and I really hope we don’t see any more of it. If anyone can become some kind of super-powered being simply by looking into the TARDIS core then that becomes the obvious solution to most of the Doctor’s adventures. Ok, so you’d have to sacrfice someone each week (and the Doctor is fast running out of regenerations) but given the number of people who normally die in an episode you’d definitely still come out ahead.
So yes, a really stupid idea. And I can’t help wondering what would have happened if Eccleston hadn’t decide to leave the series. Perhaps in that case, absorbing the time vortex would have been fatal to anyone except Time Lords. I really hate it when that kind of lazy plotting is so obvious.
Oh, and best not mention all the kissing. So I won’t.
On the positive side though, the regeneration scene looked really good. And I’m looking forward to seeing what David Tennant does with the role.
p.s. What was the point of killing of Captain Jack. And then bringing him back to life. And then leaving him behind? Was the actor being difficult when renegotiating his contract?
As Im in the states I don’t know the cast of Doctor Who from anything else outside of the show. I can only judge on what I’ve seen these past 13 episodes. I liked ’em all, at least eventually. Even Mickey was unannoying in his last outing this episode.I’ll agree, to a point, that the plot was a bit off, using some mighty powerful devices to keep everything moving, but I really did like the finale. It was drama in space, which I’ve now gathered from many other blogs is how folks are seeing this new Doctor Who series. Whatever it may be and however better it could be, I like it for what it is. And I absolutely enjoyed Eccleston’s run as Doctor #9.Oh, as for Captain Jack… hm. What’s with that dandy? He’s alright for the most part, I guess, but then again I wasn’t all that fond of his methods. Eccleston pulled of the Doctor’s arrogance quite well. Barrowman was just annoying with his attempts.