Utopia / The Sound of Drums / The Last of the Time Lords.
Counted by the production team as a three part story, though I personally would prefer to see Utopia as a stand-alone story which feeds into the subsequent two part series finale.
The return of the Master - and Captain Jack - and the apparent departure of Martha as a companion.
A glimpse of Gallifrey and the Time Lords.
The Torchwood Series 1 finale - End of Days - saw Jack hear the TARDIS materialisation sound and rush off. We had to wait a few months to see where he was rushing off to. It's nice to see the more light-hearted version of Jack.
Derek Jacobi is superb as Prof. Yana. The episode builds towards the reveal that he is a humanised Master, his true personality locked away in his fob watch. Elements from Gridlock and Human Nature pave the way for the big reveal - presaged by audio clips of Delgado and Ainley.
I am not a huge fan of the John Simm Master. The humour is too broad, and he's a bit too mad.
We learn the reason for the Master's madness (but not the whole story). It's a nice touch having the young Master wear a War Games era tunic.
The Master gets a companion. Whilst the Doctor's are enriched by the experience (mostly), Lucy Saxon is brutalised and broken - resulting in her shooting her husband. It appears that Time Lords can prevent themselves from regenerating.
The Toclafane make for an interesting monster - our own homicidally insane descendants.
As with all RTD finales, the plot paints itself into a corner and only a big reset button can save the day. Having the Doctor become some kind of god-like being doesn't go down well with me.
"As with all RTD finales, the plot paints itself into a corner and only a big reset button can save the day. Having the Doctor become some kind of god-like being doesn't go down well with me." Amen to that - despite his supposed atheism, Rusty still trots out the god-beings on demand!
ReplyDeleteDerek Jacobi impress me. And nice suit.
ReplyDeleteThe Master's regeneration was the best scene for his theme. A big way to show a dark rebirth. And John Simm help show the Saxon Master as which the 10th Docotr be if all his good qualities were removed, espeically hwo he kills and tortures for sport.