Story #188: Voyage of the Damned (2007)

Harry -
Doctor Who does disaster movies. I love this one and I don't care what anyone thinks!



Sarah -
It's got some dodgy bits, but it's a Christmas Special, so it's best to just sit back and enjoy the ride.


Harry -
RTD's early years coincided with the height of 70s disaster flicks (the most notable of which are listed here), so there was plenty of memorable material to tap into when he set about writing "Voyage of the Damned".


Sarah -
I've seen more of these movies than I might like to admit. They were quite the thing back in the day.


Harry -
It feels like we've watched the opening moments of this story about a dozen times in the last few weeks, what with the finale of Season Three, "Time Crash", and now here. Having fixed the double paradox reality bomb with his former self, the Doctor adeptly repositions the TARDIS aboard the Titanic. He finds... angelic androids, a spiky red alien, and the sky filled with stars. This Titanic is a luxury liner in space, orbiting planet Earth.


Sarah - 
He did remind himself to put up the shields, but whoever listens to their past selves?


Harry - 
Slipping into his tuxedo and black trainers, the Doctor mixes and mingles. There are snobs, happy contest winners, and those angels. They totally reminded me of the beautiful creations in "Robots of Death", and still do. Turns out, these "Heavenly Host" are information robots and one of them quickly gets the Doctor up to speed. He also befriends Astrid Peth, one of the serving staff who just happens to be special guest star Kylie Minogue! JNT must have leapt out of his grave to punch the sky over this one.


Sarah - 
Kylie! Fun fact: "Voyage of the Damned" is the highest rated episode since the show’s return in 2005 and one of the highest in Doctor Who’s history. I imagine much of that is down to Kylie. I felt a little old having to explain to my daughter who she is and why she was a big deal for Doctor Who. JNT would truly be proud. 

Speaking of stunt-ish casting, "Voyage of the Damned" sees the return of three past actors from Doctor Who: 

--Geoffrey Palmer, who appeared in two episodes in the Pertwee era -- the Administrator in "The Mutants" and, most memorably for me, as Edward Masters in "Doctor Who and the Silurians".

--Clive Swift, who played the repulsive Mr. Jobel in "Revelation of the Daleks" in the Sixth Doctor Era.

--Bernard Cribbins, who portrayed Tom Campbell in the Peter Cushing film Dalek’s Invasion Earth 2150 AD. Cribbins wasn’t originally cast as Donna’s grandfather, but was asked to come back when the original actor had to withdraw due to illness. We’ve both been looking forward to the DoctorDonna Era, so it was a delight to get a little preview with Wilf. 

JNT would certainly approve of each of these casting choices. I imagine RTD being like a kid in a candy shop as each actor signed on. 

Oh dear, I almost forget to mention the most momentous return in the whole of Doctor Who! Elizabeth II and the Corgis are back for the first time since 1988’s "Silver Nemesis". It’s good to have the old girl back!


Harry -
But wait, there's more! The Queen's voice was provided by Jessica Martin, who appeared in 1988's "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy". This special certainly doubles as the ultimate Doctor Who guest actor reunion show.


Sarah - 
Getting the old gang back together!


Harry - 
While we've been taking all this in, some boor has spilled a drink all over the floor and skulked away. The Doctor squats down to help Astrid, and they strike up a quick acquaintance just in time for Clive Swift's Mr. Copper to gather everyone around for an excursion. They will be beaming down to the planet Earth to see its primitive culture up close. The ship's onboard historian, Copper provides a hilariously garbled recitation of Western culture and Christmas-time traditions. The Doctor is bemused, and he invites Astrid to sneak down with him.


Sarah - 
I particularly enjoyed Copper’s history lesson. It had a certain...flare.


Harry - 
The excursion group beam down, and who's the first person they see but Wilfrid Mott, news seller. Decked out in his antler hat, he's remained in London -- along with the Queen -- to see out the holidays. The rest of the citizens have evacuated, fearing another outburst of alien activity that has become habitual at this time of year.


Sarah - 
Everyone leaving London to avoid the Christmas catastrophe cracks me up. Wilf and Her Majesty are always standing by in a crisis!


Harry - 
The excursion is cut short by a message from the Titanic. We cut to the bridge, where Geoffrey Palmer's captain dismisses the rest of his crew, and takes the wheel by himself. Midshipman Frame remains, reminding the captain that there must always be two crew on the bridge. The captain silently steers on. There's something definitely off with him.


Sarah - 
Sweet Russell Tovey as Frame is a delight. His dedication to duty is commendable.


Harry - 
Meanwhile, a trio of meteors appears on the ship's radar.


Sarah - 
It’s always something, isn’t it?


Harry -
The captain has betrayed everyone. Sick and dying, he cut a dark deal to steer the ship to its doom in exchange for a payment to his family. Palmer's performance is blood-curdlingly cold. His only flash of guilt is over the fact that Frame is so young. The forces behind the deal had assured that the ship's crew would all be old men, and this of all things rankles the captain.

Frame takes it upon himself to steer the ship out of danger, but the captain gets over his guilt and shoots him. What an utter creep.


Sarah - 
I can NEVER forgive someone who shoots Russell Tovey! What a jerky rat-bastard of a captain.


Harry - 
The meteors strike the ship and all hell breaks loose. Passengers and crew tumble out through openings. The TARDIS spills out into space as well, drifting away down to Earth. The Titanic loses power, causing its orbital stabilizers to fail. It's about to plunge down to Earth as well. If that's not enough, the heavenly host suddenly go homicidal.


Sarah - 
The host freak the heck out of me. Honestly, I feel like everyone should have known they would eventually decide to kill all the humans. Have they never watched or read any sci-fi?


Harry - 
Asimov's first rule of robots often goes out the window in Doctor Who.

It's as good a time as any for the Doctor to rally some of the non-robotic survivors and deliver an "I'm the Doctor" speech. And he gives this one with real gusto.

The plan is for the Doctor to lead Astrid, Copper, Bannakaffalatta, the Van Hoffs and Rickston Slade up through the ship to the bridge, where the Doctor hopes to take control of the ship. In classic disaster movie fashion, the group encounter pitfalls, dodgy bridges, explosions, flames, killer robots and general hopelessness, as the Doctor urges everyone on.

Along the way, the Van Hoffs and Bannakaffalatta meet their dooms. In keeping with the genre, someone had to go, but it was really sad that the loving couple died, and not the self-interested boor Slade.


Sarah - 
Can we talk about how lovely the Van Hoffs are? Foon’s revelation that she called the number for the cruise competition five-thousand times to win and now owes the phone company 5,000 credits -- the same cost as buying two tickets -- is shocking, but Morvin just laughs it off and tells her they’ll find a way to pay. Foon’s death reminds me of of Shelley Winters in Poseidon Adventure, sacrificing herself to help the others survive.


Harry - 
They gave a much needed positive element to the story.  Also along the way, Astrid agrees to become the Doctor's new travel companion. Imagine what that season might have been like.


Sarah - 
Honestly, I imagine it would be Rose, Part II. I’ll take a hard pass on that nonsense, which is not to say that Astrid isn’t a lovely character. We just didn’t need any more of that mooning over each other mess going on. 

Harry - 
Yeesh, you're probably right. Alas, we never find out if it would have been Rose the Second. The Doctor utilizes the heavenly host to spring one final revelation -- the fact that the force behind this disaster is aboard the ship, and has been hiding in a protective crash container the whole time. It's Max Capricorn, head of the space cruise line. He's little more than a disembodied head, warped beyond all sensibility and willing to destroy the ship, the Earth, and all bystanders to take revenge on the rebellious board of his company. Complete lunatic, and one hell of a panto villain.


Sarah - 
Max’s little cart made me think of Paradise Towers. This story has a similar claustrophobic feeling.


Harry - 
It's Astrid who saves the day, toppling Max into a chasm, but she falls with him to her death.


Sarah - 
Poor Astrid. Yet, somehow, things get even worse -- for me at least. The Doctor walks through flames to be lifted by the Host and carried up to the bridge. The resurrection imagery is just too much, but what I expect from RTD. But wait, there’s more schlock to be had when the Doctor manages one last kiss with Astrid as her molecules dissipate into space.


Harry -
Yeah, RTD couldn't help "RTDing" this one to the breaking point. This put me right off wanting Astrid as a companion.


Sarah -
In the end, jerky Slade has been made even more rich by the tragedy...


Harry -
Outrageous!


Sarah -
...Frame is in charge of the ship...


Harry - 
Courageous!


Sarah -
...and Copper is expecting to end up in prison.


Harry -
Disadvantageous.


Sarah -
Fortunately, the Doctor decides to save Copper from prison and takes him down to Earth, where he discovers his pre-loaded credit card is worth a million pounds. So, I guess that’s a happy-ish ending.


Harry -
One sour note was that all the female characters died horribly, while most of the white male characters walked away better off. Come on, RTD.

Apart from that, let us curse a Happy Christmas to all the little goblins!  Let it rain deer until Saint Klaus steals everyone's stockings!


Sarah - 
Best Line: 
When Bannakaffalatta confesses he’s a cyborg:
Astrid: No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married. 
Bannakaffalatta: Marry you? 
Astrid: Well, you can buy me a drink first. Come on. Let's recharge you. Just stay there for a bit. 
Bannakaffalatta: Tell no one. 
Astrid: I promise. 
Doctor: What's going on up there? 
Astrid: I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged. 

Favorite Moment: Morvin’s reaction to Foon’s confession. 

Lasting Image: The scary Heavenly Host

6/10


Harry -
Best Line:
DOCTOR: What's your first name? 
FRAME: Alonso. 
DOCTOR: You're kidding me. 
FRAME: What? 
DOCTOR: That's something else I've always wanted to say. Allons-y, Alonso!

Favourite Moment: Copper's mangled history of Christmas.

Lasting Image: Max Capricorn.

8/10

Our marathon continues with Story #189: Partners in Crime...

Sofa of Rassilon EXTRA: Time Crash (2007)

Harry -
Martha has made a clean break with the Doctor to forge her own path. Alone again, he leans on the TARDIS console and chills. 

The moment passes, he turns and pulls a lever. The ship immediately spins out of control and the Doctor briefly flickers like a projection. Pulling things together again, he circles the console and bumps into his former self. The TARDIS has crashed into the TARDIS; it's the ultimate time crash!


Sarah -
I love "Time Crash" so much. Davison and Tennant are absolutely perfect and it makes me cry every time I watch it.


Harry -
Each Doctor plays his role perfectly. The older one is aghast to find an intruder aboard his ship. He's cranky and offended by this younger chap who plays a teasing game of "I know who you are, and you don't know who I am." Funny how the tables will be turned on this Doctor shortly.


Sarah -
It's only fun until YOUR successor shows up. At least he wasn't a dandy or a clown. 

It seems everyone remembers Davison's Doctor as the nice one, but after our last rewatch, what I remember most is how irritable he is most of the time. Davison has stepped immediately back into character for "Time Crash".


Harry -
After some cantankerous back and forth and trying to right the ship, each Doctor realizes that the solution was provided by the other. It all goes self-lovey as the younger Doctor dotes on his older self. The older Doctor is pleased to learn that he has a fun younger self to look forward to.


Sarah -
I can't not tear up when the Tenth Doctor tells the Fifth Doctor, "You know, I love being you. Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you, and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted. I still do that, the voice thing. I got that from you. Oh, and the trainers, and (puts on glasses) snap. Because you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."


Harry -
Of all of Moffat's specials, this one gives off such warmth you could wrap yourself in it and stay cozy for hours.


Sarah -
It's definitely something we should rewatch more often. It's just delightful. 

I have to give a shout out to my favorite exchange about the Master:
Fifth Doctor: Does he still have that rubbish beard? 
Tenth Doctor: No, no beard this time. Well, a wife.


Harry -
That was sublime on multiple levels.

This special came during a time of great spin-offs in the Whoniverse. We've already seen Captain Jack and Sarah Jane get their own shows. As well, Doctor Who branched out into online and animated adventures. There were a couple featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha. I remember watching one of them back in the day. Having tried again recently, I don't think they've aged that well. "The Infinite Quest" was interesting, mostly for Anthony Head's voice acting. The other, "Dreamland" suffers from really stilted animation. I couldn't get through it.


Sarah -
There was a lot going on at the time. I had the same experience with "The Infinite Quest", but "Time Crash" is just pure joy!


Harry -
This was the perfect vignette to segue between Martha's departure and the arrival of The Titanic.  What?  What?  Whaaat??  Time for us to refill the gin glasses and embark on the next voyage.

Our marathon continues with Story #188: Voyage of the Damned...

Story #187b/c - The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords (2007)

Sarah -
Martha Jones Saves the World!

Can we leave it at that and move on to the next story?


Harry -
After the excellence of Utopia, an opening episode that gave us a new TARDIS trio, a voyage to the end of the universe, and the return of the Master, the final two episodes of this season-ending triple header were bound to be a step down. But what a step down.


Sarah -
More of a plummet down. It’s even worse than I remembered.


Harry -
Yes, it was great to see the Master in all his diabolical majesty again. He's become prime minister of Britain -- which is brilliant! -- and he's concocted a whole new bonkers plan for the destruction of Earth and conquest of the universe. A mega-level Master plot at this scale could only come from the blockbuster mind of RTD.


Sarah -
Because I’m in a cranky mood, I’ll point out that the only reason Saxon was able to become PM was because the Doctor caused Harriet Jones’ downfall -- that and the hypnosis, of course.


Harry -
I liked this new take on a classic character. Young and energetic like the Doctor, with the same fashion sense trending towards black. He still loves his pseudonyms and mind control, and he's gotten himself an accomplice.

I have rewatched this story a few times over the years, and really want to like it because who doesn't like a good Master story? But every time, I find it all... too much. And a bit nonsensical. The story stumbles at the big picture stuff, like the Toclafane who span colossal epochs of time in order to destroy humanity with a paradox machine before heading off who knows where. Stumbles? It almost bores to be honest. I wouldn't call it a failing, but one of the things I liked least about the RTD era were these overly epic blockbusters that required the Doctor to become almost godlike in order to prevail. We certainly got a big dose of that here.


Sarah -
The Dobby-Doctor and his Jesus-like resurrection is certainly a low point of the RTD era. The whole story is just trying to do too much.


Harry -
Yeah. What I liked best was when the story zeroed in on small moments. The Doctor's phone conversation with the Master, the TARDIS trio hatching their plan over chips, Martha and Milligan bonding over their common cause.


Sarah -
These moments really are the best in the story. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of them. I will admit that I laughed out loud when the Master asked the people of Earth to “please attend carefully” and addressed “Britain, Britain, Britain” on television.


Harry -
I loved the random quotations.

Martha. Martha Jones. She saved the world and we barely saw a thing she did. Turns out, the Doctor sent her out to be a kind of biblical prophet. Yeesh. I'm jumping around a bit here, but there are so many things I can't help but pick at in these two episodes.


Sarah -
There’s so much to pick at, like how Jack ends up a disembodied head. Whatever.


Harry -
I loved what John Simm brought to his role. Unfortunately, the whole thing had been spoiled for me back in 2007. "Spoilers" were still rampant in the online Who community, and the whole damn thing had been let out of the bag before I'd seen any of this story.  

One thing that I didn't know in advance was that we'd meet the Master's "wife." The best performance in this story might have been Alexandra Moen's zombie-like Lucy Saxon, redeemed at the very end when the Archangel satellite network was destroyed.

Sarah -
My favorite moment of the story is Martha’s final scene, in which she asserts herself and leaves the Doctor. Martha Jones is one of my favorite companions and this scene is a big part of that. We’re not done with you, Martha Jones, and I look forward to seeing you soon.


Harry -
Knowing that we'll see her again, let's leave our Martha Jones appreciation for another time.

As for this story, it started off with a bang in Utopia, but it just couldn't sustain itself and ultimately too many poor choices made this one a dud.


Sarah -
Best Line: Everything Martha says in her final scene:

MARTHA: I just can't. 
DOCTOR: Yeah. 
MARTHA: Spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them. 
DOCTOR: Of course not. Thank you. Martha Jones, you saved the world. 
MARTHA: Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best, but you know what? I am good. You going to be alright? 
DOCTOR: Always. Yeah. 
MARTHA: Right then. Bye. 
(Martha leaves, then goes back inside.) 
MARTHA: Because the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky. She lived with this bloke, student housing, there were five of them all packed in, and this bloke was called Sean. And she loved him. She did. She completely adored him. Spent all day long talking about him. 
DOCTOR: Is this going anywhere? 
MARTHA: Yes. Because he never looked at her twice. I mean, he liked her, but that was it. And she wasted years pining after him. Years of her life. Because while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her, I always said to her, time and time again, I said, get out. So this is me, getting out.

Favorite Moment: Martha telling the Doctor she’s out. 

Lasting Image: Martha walking away from the TARDIS. 

2/10


Harry -
Best Line: from the cabinet gassing scene, short and simple.
Cabinet Minister: You’re insane!
The Master: Yes!

Favourite Moment: the telephone conversation between the Doctor and the Master.

Lasting Image: the Master dying in the Doctor's arms.

4/10

Our marathon will continue...

Story #187a - Utopia (2007)

Harry -
By the end of his third season as showrunner, Russell T. Davies showed us that there were still untold blocks he could bust with his Doctor Who season finale blockbusters.


Sarah -
RTD reached a new level with "Utopia". The script is tight, well-paced, compelling, and surprisingly witty for such a dark story. I was delighted that "Utopia" lived up to my memories of it. Plus, Derek Jacobi!


Harry -
Kolossal!


Sarah -
I remember being caught off-guard by his appearance and so very happy to have him turn up in Doctor Who. I recall him saying that his remaining career goals had been Doctor Who and Coronation Street. I don't know if he ever made it onto Corrie, but I'm sure he never imagined he'd still be playing the War Master all these years later!


Harry -
I'm very happy he's continued playing the Master for our friends at Big Finish. One of the best actors of our times. I have said this elsewhere, but Big Finish could release a box set of Jacobi reading a phone book and I would pre-order it on day one.


Sarah -
Dear Mr. Haigh-Ellery, we have a proposal...


Harry -
"Utopia" is the opening chapter of an epic three-parter that brings together new faces and old. It begins innocently enough, with a TARDIS refueling stop in 2007 Cardiff.


Sarah -
It's been a minute, Cardiff. And who should turn up but our old pal Jack, who has spent uncounted years hanging around the Rift, waiting for the Doctor's return.


Harry -
The year 2007 was definitely the heydays for Captain Jack Harkness in the Whoniverse. His return appearance here came on the heels of the first season of Torchwood. 


Sarah -
I really wanted to like Torchwood, to no avail, but I’m always down for some Captain Jack.


Harry -
It was certainly great to see him again, but the Doctor was less enthused. Seeing Jack approaching on the TARDIS monitor, the Doctor initiates dematerialization. Jack makes a desperate leap, clings to the TARDIS doors, and goes for a ride through the vortex -- millions, billions, trillions of years ahead -- to the very end of the universe.


Sarah -
We’ve all gone out of our way to avoid someone, but the Doctor takes it to new heights!


Harry -
The TARDIS lands on a planet under a dark sky. The Doctor and Martha emerge, and Martha spots Jack's prone body on the ground. She goes to his aid, but Jack does his Jack thing and gasps back to life. Martha is stunned, the Doctor is still unenthused.


Sarah -
The Doctor couldn’t possibly be less enthused! Of course, things are bound to be awkward when you’ve abandoned your traveling companion out of his timeline after he’s been made immortal. It’s almost the definition of awkward, especially when he turns up with your hand! 


Harry -
There's an awkward reunion as both Jack and the Doctor are initially wary, but when Rose's name comes up they happily embrace at the fact that she's still alive in a parallel world. Hurray for Rose! It's Martha's turn to be unenthused.


Sarah -
I laughed out loud at Martha’s “Oh, she was blonde? Oh, what a surprise!” Martha is truly all of us.


Harry -
The trio do some looking around the seemingly empty landscape. Suddenly a man appears, pursued by the cast of The Road Warrior, and they run to help.


Sarah -
Something about this setting and the Road Warrior wannabes made it all feel very Seventh Doctor Era to me. I can almost see the Doctor and Ace scrambling over the hill in the background to avoid running into himself.


Harry -
Yes! Now that you mention it, this setting was not much of a stretch from the planet of the cat people. Only here, the fanged marauders don't have fur.


Sarah -
But they do have an equally fierce look.


Harry -
A unique shout out to Paul Marc Davis, who plays the lead post-human character. He has the distinction of being the only actor who has appeared in Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class (where he played the Shadow King).


Sarah -
Well done!


Harry -
Now four, the group scramble to a security fence and gain access to a place simply called the silo. Inside, it is filled with humans, much to the Doctor's delight. Despite everything, over trillions of years and the collapse of countless civilizations, humans survived to the end of the universe and he's proper chuffed.


Sarah -
Humans, the cockroaches of the universe!


Harry -
What an honour.


Sarah -
You gotta take what you can get.


Harry -
The inside of the silo looks more like a refugee camp, and we learn that everyone is waiting to board a massive rocket, if only the scientific team could finish the pre-launch preparations.

We soon learn that the scientific team is just one human man and one indigenous woman, neither of whom have a freaking clue how to get the rocket off the ground.

Another well-deserved shout out to Chipo Chung, who almost steals the show as Chantho. She and professor Yana have been toiling who knows how long in their laboratory, trying to find a way to launch the rocket that will take everyone off this dying lump of a planet.


Sarah -
It’s an amazing performance. I enjoy her scenes with Martha, especially when Martha encourages her to be “rude.” Chantho would have made an excellent addition to the TARDIS team.


Harry -
Enter our new TARDIS trio. Professor Yana is thrilled to meet the Doctor, a fellow man of science. Together, they might be able to send the rocket in the direction of Utopia, a place whose signal beckoned people to a new destiny. It's all fanciful stuff and the thing of legend, but here at the end of time and the end of existence, even the faintest hope will drive people to risk everything to survive.

It was a bit of a stretch, but with a flurry of technobabble and a wave of the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor instantly finds a way to activate the dormant rocket. Back in the Pertwee era, Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts would have built an entire extra episode around the Doctor working out the equations and calculations, but in this era a good plot can't be bogged down by difficult maths. So within moments, it's all aboard and begin the countdown. All that's left is the coupling of the fuel links and the rocket will be ready for blast off.

Problem: one of the "futurekind" post-humans has infiltrated the silo, and she sabotages the systems.


Sarah -
How did she manage to escape the teeth-inspection protocol?


Harry -
It was a dodgy protocol to be honest.


Sarah -
The TARDIS team springs into action after Jack is resurrected from the dead a second time. The Doctor and Jack, who is the only person who can enter the couplings room without dying, head down to couple the fuel links so the rocket can take off. Jack tells the Doctor his story of discovering that he is immortal and all he has gone through to find Doctor again. The Doctor can barely look at Jack as he explains how Jack was made immortal by Rose and that the TARDIS traveled to the end of the universe to get away from him.


Harry -
I liked how the story slowed right down so that Jack and the Doctor could have their conversation. Right before everything went haywire.


Sarah -
It’s all in the timing. Meanwhile, Martha has been telling Yana and Chantho about her travels in the TARDIS with the Doctor and they can overhear the Doctor and Jack’s conversation. The words reverberate in Yana’s head along with the sound of drums and memories start to come back to him.


Harry -
"Daleks... Time War... regeneration..." Each word hammers away at the professor's mental shell.


Sarah -
He removes his fob watch from its pocket and Martha turns it over to discover the Gallifreyan inscriptions, just like the ones on the Doctor’s watch in "Human Nature/Family of Blood."

This is the moment when my brain exploded the first time I watch "Utopia". At this point, we knew John Simm was going to bring back the Master, but it wasn’t until we saw the watch that I realized PROFESSOR YANA WAS THE MASTER! I don’t know how I managed not to run into a spoiler beforehand, but I’m so happy I didn’t. The shock of this moment is one of my favorite Doctor Who memories.


Harry -
The buildup to this moment is also one of my favourites. Martha hurries to the Doctor and tells him that Yana has a watch just like his. Excitedly, Jack exclaims that it could be another Time Lord. The Doctor waves it off as ridiculous, impossible. It's almost as if the Doctor prefers to be last of the Time Lords, he's made so much of that mantle that he hates the thought of losing it now.


Sarah -
He’s a bit invested in the distinction: “Time Lord, last of. Heard of them? Legend or anything? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling.”


Harry -
Voices from the past circle Yana's mind. These are his own past voices -- Anthony Ainley chuckling, Roger Delgado shouting. It's electrifying stuff and leaves no doubt any longer. Yana finally sees through the perception filter.


Sarah -
And, OMG, the moment when Jacobi opens the watch and becomes the Master is chilling. His entire face changes and he becomes a new person without any special effects. It’s a spectacular moment.


Harry -
Jacobi's performance is perfection. The frustrated, blustering professor is gone, replaced by the icy, smirking Master. He looks around with disgust at the rocket project that he's spent years working on, spitting out the word "Utopia" as if the word itself tastes rotten.

Immediately, he turns on Chantho, blasting her for never thinking to open the watch and restore him. How was she supposed to know? He curses her out and turns to lock the laboratory. 


Sarah -
It’s handy to have an immediate reminder that the Master is an absolute rat bastard.


Harry -
In a role reversal, David Tennant goes from cocky to panicked as the Master slams doors and throws obstacles in his path. He knows who it is inside the laboratory.


Sarah -
There’s no one else it could be!


Harry -
All Chantho knows is that Yana has snapped and must be stopped from ruining everything. Underneath all the prosthetics, Chung conveys heartbreak and terror as the Master assaults Chantho. Her final act of desperation is to shoot him.


Sarah -
Watching him abuse Chantho is so painful to watch. She deserves better.


Harry -
It was unfortunate to see her forgotten after she shot the Master.  Mortally wounded, he staggers into the TARDIS, locks the doors right before the Doctor can get to him, and regenerates. Enter John Simm, bursting with youthful energy and bouncing around the TARDIS console.


Sarah -
“Killed by an insect. A girl. How inappropriate. Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I. The Master reborn!”  His misogyny is particularly noteworthy given his later reaction to his next regeneration, but that’s a story for another day...or year.


Harry -
Unlike the conversation between the Doctor and Jack, this one has none of the warmth of old friends reunited.


Sarah -
Talk about awkward reunions.


Harry -
The Futurekind run rampant in the silo and Jack and Martha hold them back at the laboratory door. The Doctor pleads for the Master to slow down and talk things over, but he will have none of it. It's a complete checkmate. The Doctor can only stand and watch as the TARDIS dematerializes. Now THAT is a cliffhanger for the ages.


Sarah -
I want to savor this moment before we head into the two-part finale. I don’t believe I’ve rewatched is since it first aired; I may need to fortify myself with a beverage to get through what’s to come. Let’s forge on, shall we?


Harry -
Some final shout outs to literally everyone.  The acting was top-level all around.  The sets and costumes were memorable.  Good old Graeme Harper delivered another masterpiece as director, and RTD blew us away with the opening chapter of this season-ender.  Ready to forge on!


Sarah -
Best Line: 
"A hermit with friends?" Jacobi’s read made me laugh out loud

Favorite Moment: Yana becoming the Master

Lasting Image: Yana and his watch

8/10


Harry -
Best Line: "I...am...the Master."  I remember laughing maniacally at this moment on the first broadcast.

Favourite Moment: definitely the return of the Master

Lasting Image: Derek Jacobi unleashed as the Master

8/10

Our marathon continues with the final two parts of this story: "The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords"...