Story #202 - The End of Time (2009-2010)

Harry -

We have finally reached The End of Time, and I'm feeling fine. Sarah let's break out the gin to toast the end of another era.

It's got to be over a decade since I watched this and the "victory lap" ending was as cringeworthy as remembered. However I was surprised to find the story leading up to it was better than I thought. Definitely better on a rewatch.

Sarah -

I was hoping to have the same reaction as you, but I think I liked it even less on this rewatch. At the very least, I know I won’t ever have to watch it again.

On the upside we have Wilf as the Doctor’s companion. Hooray! Unfortunately, it’s also Christmas time, so we know nothing good will happen. Cue the resurrection of the Master by some lame cultists devoted to him, which leads to the massacre of innocent people in a quarry. Remember how excited we were when John Simm was announced as the Master? How naive we were. I’d almost rather watch Eric Roberts’ performance. Almost.

Harry -

John Simm's Master was very jarring at first. Very hyper and over the top, a dark reflection of David Tennant's Doctor. As Doctor Who has rumbled on for over 50 years, each iteration of the Master has shed a layer of Roger Delgado's initial quiet coolness and become more bouncy-bouncy bonkers. We have watched this character grow increasingly insane over time. This Master continues the progression. I remember not liking him when this season first aired, but over time he's become a favourite, probably because of his performance in the Capaldi era which we will get to.

Sarah - 

I’m already counting the seasons to the return of the Master!

Harry - 

The resurrection scene was definitely bad. The cult, the massacre, the barely plausible Gallifreyan biology that makes Time Lords immortal, bleh. At least Lucy Saxon took a measure of revenge and threw a spanner into the works, screwing up the process and leaving the Master more a flickering flame than a fully-formed being again.

Speaking of comebacks, I wonder how tempted RTD was to write Donna back into one more story. If he really wanted, he could have found some way for the Doctor to restore and preserve her mind for at least one more adventure. New Who's showrunners seem to have carte blanche. However it's interesting that it didn't happen. Instead, we got Wilf as the companion and it was a smashing time. Wilf leading his own merrie branch of L.I.N.D.A., what a riot.

Sarah -

Donna’s return was one of my favorite parts of the story. I hope she’ll be very happy with her husband and that lottery money won’t hurt! Wilf’s band of Doctor-hunters were adorable, but I’m not sure about the lady who couldn’t keep her hands to herself. Still, he probably has it coming after the Queen Bess comment.

Harry -

And so the early part of the story bounces between three corners. The Master reborn and bonkers, the Doctor in pursuit, and Wilf & Co. in pursuit of the Doctor.

An air of mystery is added by a mysterious woman who delivers enigmatic messages to Wilf. Surprisingly, RTD let her remain an enigma.

After a couple of confrontations with the Doctor, the Master is kidnapped by some paramilitary thugs and the story kicks into another gear. The Master is briefly held captive by Joshua Naismith, a man of unlimited wealth and power. Briefly. Feigning that he will help Naismith harness a piece of alien technology that can supposedly make humans immortal, the Master rigs it up to instead transform all humans into Master-clones. A Master Race! Very clever. But like all of the Master's schemes in New Who, it's all high concept but filled with holes. We will see this pattern repeat itself: the Master/Missy creates a massive army, but fails to think through all the ramifications and the entire project collapses. As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Sarah -

I feel exhausted just thinking about this nonsense. The Master is the, well, master of bonkers schemes, but this one takes the cake. Just what we need, a whole planet of the “Master” race. And when did he start being able to shoot electricity and fly? I can’t even tell you how much I loathe this plot line.

Harry -

It's totally in keeping with the modern era's Master in that his/her plots are nonsense, as if the point to the entire thing is to get a reaction from the Doctor. Get a room already!

Sarah -

The whole Obama/recession storyline is silly. And the mispronouncing of his name got under my skin. While I’m on a tear here, what the what with the creepy Naismith? The way he looks at his daughter may be the grossest thing in Doctor Who’s history.

Harry -

Eww eww Naismith. Please do not get a room!

Sarah -

And then we have the Time Lords, making their first return since Trial of a Time Lord in 1986. They’re as irritating as ever and I’m more than ready for Gallifrey to be destroyed.

Harry -

I don't recall if the return of Rassilon was known before this story aired. 

Sarah - 

I definitely remember being surprised the first time around, so I’m guessing not. 

Harry - 

Timothy Dalton's performance was scene-chewingly amusing, but I'm not sure what we were meant to think at the end. Was Rassilon not all that great after all, his scheme broken up by the lightning-flinging Master? Or had the Master evolved into some entirely new kind of being, able to fling lightning at the mighty Rassilon? Best not to expend too many brain cells on it. After all, Wilf is knocking.

And so the Tenth Doctor meets his demise. Not by the Daleks or Cybermen, not by some stupendous new monster, but by poor old Wilfrid Mott trapping himself in a chamber that's about to go nuclear. Ever since "The Caves of Androzani", I've wanted to see another story where the Doctor sacrifices a life in order to save just one person, not in some grand space opera setting but in a quiet corner of the universe. We got that here and it should have been great but for RTD blowing the regeneration up into the most self-indulgent, eye-rolling ordeal of all time.

Sarah - 

Right? It would have been perfect if the Doctor just regenerated and moved on. To be fair, if there’s one person worth dying to save it’s Wilfrid Mott. 

Harry - 

There's no need to go over the victory lap. It sucks and I'm not a fan, but it was RTD's farewell and he deserved to have his way after resurrecting the greatest TV show of all time. I really can't say anything else nice, so let's wrap it up.

Sarah - 

The victory lap may be the most egregious thing ever in Doctor Who, let’s leave it be. 

Harry - 

Best Line:

Wilf enters the TARDIS for the first time: "I thought it would be cleaner."

Favourite Moment:

Tough to pick one. I liked some of John Simm's manic moments. Gross but riveting.

Lasting Image:

Wilf's final goodbye to the Doctor.

5/10

Sarah - 

Best Line: 

Doctor: "I'd be proud."

Wilf: "Of what?"

Doctor: "If you were my dad."

Favorite Moment:

The return of Donna Noble!

Lasting Image: 

Wilf hugging the Doctor

3/10

Story #167 - The Christmas Invasion (2005)

Harry -
"Did you miss me?"

We hardly had the time to miss the Doctor, as our marathon took us straight from "The Parting of the Ways" to the Children in Need Doctor Who Special, first broadcast in November, 2005. The brief episode shows Rose reacting to the newly regenerated Doctor as he bounces around the TARDIS console. I don't remember ever seeing this, but it's been so long and the scene is so short there's not much to remember. It was a sweet little scene though, wasn't it?

Sarah -
It's a nice fill-in between "The Parting of the Ways" and "The Christmas Invasion". I only saw the special for the first time a few years ago. It always felt like something was missing from the beginning of "The Christmas Invasion", and apparently there was!


Harry -
No sooner has the Doctor convinced Rose that he's still the Doctor, and no sooner has Rose agreed to stay aboard the TARDIS, than the newly regenerated Time Lord lurches over in pain and his ship spins out of control. Returning to Earth, it ricochets off a couple of buildings at the Powell Estate before landing with a thud before Jackie and Mickey, who came running at the familiar TARDIS sound.


Sarah -
Would that be the Jackie and Mickey who SAVED THE DAY when the Doctor needed them most? The kind and lovely people who put their own feelings aside to help Rose save the Doctor? That Jackie and Mickey? Hell Yeah!


Harry -
Still dressed in his leather and blacks, the Doctor stumbles out the door and collapses. There's confusion all around before Rose informs them that this man is the Doctor. "Doctor who?" Jackie demands. That gag never gets old and I'm sure RTD loved writing it in.


Sarah -
I believe I heard a bit of an eye roll coming from Ms. 15 on the other end of the sofa.


Harry -
And just like that, Rose is back home and it's Christmas Eve. In the spirit of the season, no one brings up her horrendous behaviour the last time the TARDIS dropped her off. Everyone is busy hauling the unconscious Doctor up to Jackie's flat, where he remains bedridden. Echoes of Jon Pertwee's Doctor, post-regeneration. He'll surely be up and fussing about for his shoes in no time, right?


Sarah -
It also made me think of Peter Davison, being carried around in the zero cabinet. Nothing like a regeneration crisis to get things going.


Harry -
This one dragged on as long as the Fifth Doctor's did, minus the do-it-yourself casket.


Sarah -
Who needs a zero cabinet when you have Jackie’s beau Howard’s bathrobe and jim-jams?


Harry -
The Doctor being out of service left Rose, Jackie and Mickey to face a barrage of violent threats from a band of homicidal Father Christmases and a killer Christmas tree. Some residual regeneration energy emitted by the Doctor got picked up by aliens, who sent probably the least subtle scouting mission ever to check it out. The Doctor awakens long enough to shoo the "pilot fish" away, but he warns his friends that something far more dangerous is coming. Then he conks out again.


Sarah -
The killer Santas and deadly Christmas tree are two of my favorite things in this story. They’re both so wonderfully creepy. Jackie shouting, “I’m gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!” makes me laugh every time.

Jackie has a lot to do in this story and has some nice moments, but the Doctor still manages to be a jerk to her. When he’s suffering from a neuron implosion and ends up stuttering, “I need” over and over, Jackie offers various suggestions of things he might need. The Doctor concludes with, “I need you to shut up.” Jackie is unfazed -- “Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?” 

Back to bed for the Doctor and Mickey wastes no time in searching for more information about pilot fish. He and Rose figure out quickly that something much larger is on its way. Meanwhile, the TV news is covering the Guinevere One space probe, which is just about to broadcast the first-ever images of Mars.


Harry -
It's the first-ever glimpse of an alien race, and they don't seem friendly. No one knows what to do, but have no fear: Harriet Jones, Prime Minister is on top of it!


Sarah -
Go Harriet Jones!


Harry -
It was no surprise to see the MP for Flydale North elevated to head of government since we last saw her. It was good to see her back in charge, and even better to see her at UNIT HQ, located in the Tower of London.


Sarah -
UNIT in the Tower! Twelve years on, it still gives me chills. We saw UNIT members in series one, but this feels like proper UNIT, doesn’t it? And we get our first Torchwood mention.

I could have done without the constant showing her ID card and saying, “Harriet Jones, Prime Minister.” I know it’s a Harriet thing, but it makes her look so incompetent. It just gets embarrassing when everyone replies, “I know” with a pained expression.


Harry -
Unlike the gag of repeatedly finding fruit in Harold's bathrobe, Harriet's gag was overdone.


Sarah -
Her mention of an act of Parliament banning her autobiography, almost makes up for it.


Harry -
Through a sketchy translation, the Sycorax demand that the Earth surrender. Harriet sends a reply, telling them absolutely not, so they respond with a startling act of hostility -- taking over the minds of one-third the planet's population, and forcing them to the closest rooftops. There, they pause. Unless the alien demand is met, they will be sent to their deaths. There was a lot of bluster going on here, some unintentionally amusing like the translated line "Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax rock, as in the modern sense, they rock."


Sarah -
The sight of all the affected people tromping out of their houses and onto roofs, while being followed by their pleading relatives is one of the most terrifying moments in Doctor Who for me. It’s bad enough watching this one group, let alone imagining it happening all over the world! It turns out everyone with A+ blood has been affected because that’s the blood type included on the probe. The horror!


Harry -
With one-third of the planet's population standing literally on the brink of death, Harriet broadcasts an emergency message pleading for help from the Doctor. But there is no sign of him as the Sycorax ship arrives over London. Although it was massive in size, it looked like crap. Literally, it was a pale brown lump that looked like a week-old dog turd.


Sarah -
Ha! It totally does!


Harry -
Rose, Jackie and Mickey drag the Doctor to the TARDIS, as Rose believes it's the only safe place they can hide. 

More bluster from the Sycorax, as they identify Harriet as the individual who speaks for the planet. She, an aide, the UNIT commander and the head of the Guinevere program are beamed aboard the alien ship and the latter two are immediately killed. The Sycorax then pick up sounds coming from the TARDIS -- alien technology -- and they beam it aboard as well... just as Rose steps outside.


Sarah -
Unfortunately, Jackie is left behind. Again.


Harry -
Bluster bluster bluster from the Sycorax leader! As we'll soon see, this race are great at putting on a show and scaring the pants off of people, but in the end, they are just bullies and cowards.


Sarah -
And suddenly, in the middle of the bluster, Rose realizes she can understand the Sycorax. The Doctor is awake, thanks to the power of tea! Rule, Britannia! There’s nothing a cuppa can’t solve!

And, now, 40 minutes into the episode, we get our first real glimpse of the Tenth Doctor. It starts off so well, doesn’t it?


Harry -
And now, a confession. I hated this Doctor! At first, in December 2005 anyway. He stepped out of the TARDIS and was so silly and clownish that my reaction was "I don't like it! Change it back!". The transition from Eccleston's cool brashness to Tennant's bouncy energy was jarring and he took some getting used to.

By "New Earth", I was used to him.


Sarah -
Look at you, a proper grumpy old fan! 

Coming to terms with being rude and not ginger, the Doctor takes control of the situation, challenging the Sycorax leader to a duel for the planet. With the help of a satsuma in Howard’s dressing gown, the Doctor wins the duel and saves the day.


Harry -
This was a great action sequence and once and for all ripped the façade of ferocity from the Sycorax for good. If their leader couldn't outduel a Time Lord who just came out of a regeneration coma, on his own ship, surrounded by hundreds of his own, then what good was he?


Sarah -
Not good for much, it seems. The Doctor loses a hand along the way, but it’s early enough in the regeneration process that he grows a new one. Watching this for the first time, I loved this moment. Now, it just makes me angry about what’s to come. But that’s a discussion for another day...


Harry -
I was probably as overwhelmed as the Sycorax leader by Tennant's opening performance. Anyway.


Sarah -
It's a wee bit expansive, isn't it?

Back on the Powell Estate, everyone is happy and the Doctor even has a hug for Jackie. Harriet asks if there are more aliens out there, and the Doctor explains that Earth is starting to draw attention to itself and more aliens can be expected. She reluctantly gives the order for Torchwood (remember the time when we didn’t know what that meant?) to fire and five beams converge, destroying the Sycorax ship. The Doctor, having made an agreement with Sycorax, is livid -- “I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race.”

Oh, Harriet. What have you done?


Harry -
In a surprise heel turn, Harriet proves herself the biggest bully of them all. In destroying the ship, she draws the Doctor's ire and we get our first flash of this new incarnation's rage. But he quickly cools down and proceeds to knock the prime minister off her perch with those six memorable words.


Sarah -
“Don’t you think she looks tired?” While I understand and agree with the Doctor's anger, I have to say this line really bothered me. Does anyone ever say a male politician looks tired? And if they did, would anyone care? I was back on #TeamHarriet by the end of that scene.


Harry -
I think it's one of those British sayings that rivals trot out when they are politically intriguing against each other. Could be wrong.

Remember back in Victorian Cardiff, when the Doctor told Rose he doesn't do Christmases? Hah! He joins Rose's gang for dinner at the first opportunity. Perhaps it was his way of showing thanks, appreciation and respect for the people who support his friend, even though he can treat them like mud.


Sarah -
Or he's just killing time before whisking Rose away again.


Harry -
So! Here's our new Doctor. He's had a rummage through the TARDIS wardrobe and picked out a very Doctory set of threads, probably the most iconic look of the new era.


Sarah -
There's nothing I love more than a good TARDIS wardrobe scene!


Harry -
I already described my initial reaction to him, and I'm glad it was short-lived. I got used to his "hyper cutie" style soon enough, as we move past the post-regeneration drama. Out of all of New Who, the Tennant era is the one that I have rewatched the most, especially as the DVD sets started rolling out. There are things I remember fondly, and things that make me cringe just thinking about them. I'm interested to see what our take will be as we watch it again together.


Sarah -
I'm interested to see how I end up feeling about this era by the end of our rewatch. From this vantage, I remember all the things that pissed me off much more vividly than the things I liked. We'll see if the balance shifts in the coming months.


Harry -
Shall we strike out for New Earth?


Sarah -
Let's!


Harry -
Best line: 
Another good one from Mickey: "Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British."

Favourite moment: the Doctor references Arthur Dent.

Lasting image: the swordfight.

7/10


Sarah -
Best line: "Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams." 

Favorite Moment: Rose realizes she can understand the Sycorax, which means the Doctor is awake.

Lasting Image: The killer Father Christmases.

6/10

Our marathon continues with Story #168: New Earth...

Story #166 - Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways (2005)

Harry -
When he returned Doctor Who to our TV screens, Russell T. Davies got a lot of things right, and this season finale was probably the rightest of them all. What a finish!


Sarah -
This is one of those stories that packs an emotional wallop. The TARDIS team is pushed to their limits -- some of them even die...and then they don’t. (And I’ll point out to the haters that Steven Moffat had nothing to do with this story!) People always talk about how much they cried when they watched it the first (or second or third) time. I honestly don’t think it has ever made me cry. I’ve always been too busy admiring how good it all is to start boo-hooing.


Harry -
I remember watching "Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways" and concluding that it was one of the best Dalek stories ever. After watching just one of them go on a rampage in Robert Shearman's story, here we got thousands of sneaky, evil, downright scary Daleks. Wow!


Sarah -
I would disagree on it being one of the best Dalek stories, but it’s definitely an effective use of the Daleks. RTD had to walk a tightrope in this first season, balancing between old-school fans like us and new viewers. Time after time, he got that calculation exactly right. Instead of throwing loads of continuity at new viewers, he doled out smaller portions, focusing on just the right bits of canon. 

It was a no-brainer to choose the Daleks as the first of the Doctor’s nemeses to return. They are the iconic baddies, after all. The genius of RTD was to introduce us to one Dalek, which seemed to be the last survivor of his species. Rob Shearman’s “Dalek” makes the subsequent revelation of 200,000 so much more impactful.


Harry -
For me the best Dalek stories are the ones where they lurk in the shadows, as they do here, while our friends peel away the layers of a mystery before them. In the pre-titles sequence, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find themselves thrown into futuristic versions of popular reality/game shows without any context to why or how they got there. The Doctor enters a flat and is greeted by a trio of anxious housemates in a Big Brother setting. Captain Jack is stripped down to his birthday suit by a pair of robotic hosts in a What Not to Wear scenario. Best of all, Rose faces a brilliantly conceived Anne Droid, host of a version of The Weakest Link where departing contestants are vapourized. Yikes!


Sarah -
I was watching with my 15-year-old, who was too young to watch when Doctor Who came back. She’s never seen any of the reality shows depicted in "Bad Wolf", so I had to pause it for a moment to explain that these were real shows in 2005. It may seem a little dated from 2017, but it’s kind of brilliant to have contemporary shows still running in the distant future. It’s also easier on the budget, just like the decision to have everyone dress in contemporary clothing.


Harry -
Funny how contemporary shows rise and fall like the seasons, while shows from earlier eras keep on going and going and going. (The Price is Right, Family Feud, Jeopardy!, etc.)


Sarah -
Jeopardy! will never be stopped!


Harry -
The futuristic game shows are all taking place on Satellite Five, one hundred years after the events of "The Long Game." The Doctor and Jack are the first to escape from their game show settings and set off in search of Rose with one of the Big Brother contestants in tow, Lynda with a "Y". I liked the immediate sense of disorientation and downright weirdness that this story established.


Sarah -
The cold open is so effective, with nobody understanding what’s going on. As seasoned time travelers, they all play along with the games, especially Jack. He’s down with the makeover -- until the chainsaw comes out. I totally laughed out loud when the android commented on his “Oklahoma Farm Boy” look.


Harry -
The nekkid John Barrowman scene would have been a great day on set!


Sarah -
Right? 

Lynda with a “Y” -- she’s just so sweet, we know this can’t end well.


Harry -
She's totally sweet.


Sarah -
And look, there’s Paterson Joseph facing off against Rose in The Weakest Link.


Harry -
The once rumoured but never future Doctor! He did eventually get to star in a time travel show when he landed a role on NBC's Timeless, just this past year.


Sarah -
Did you notice the first-ever mention of Torchwood in one of the questions in the game?


Harry -
You're so much better at spotting these. The Bad Wolf tracker would have been a shambles if left in my hands!


Sarah -
I’m pretty sure I last watched this before Torchwood debuted, so that caught me by surprise.


Harry -
Speaking of weird, our friends' movements are being watched by the programmers up on Floor 500, where all information is channeled through the Controller, once a little girl whose body was literally plugged into the electronics there. She speaks in a steady hum of numbers and words as information flows through her, and she's seeking the Doctor.


Sarah -
Talk about body horror! That poor woman!

The Doctor discovers that his actions on Satellite Five led directly to the situation in which he now finds himself. Economies and governments collapsed when he took out Satellite Five, causing one hundred years of misery. Oops.


Harry -
The Doctor and Jack find the Weakest Link set, just in time to see Rose eliminated and vapourized. The Doctor is stunned. Literally stunned like we've never seen him. Rose was not only his friend but her protection was his responsibility. As Jack rages at the show staff, the Doctor slumps over from the shock of what just happened. It's a dark, powerful moment, and it sets something off inside him. He and Jack regroup and battle their way to the control centre of Floor 500 for a confrontation with the Controller.

Finally, it is revealed that the Controller teleported the TARDIS Team onto Satellite 5 and hid them within the game shows so that her "masters" would not know what she was doing. All along, she had been hoping for the Doctor's help, and this elaborate plot was the only way she could bring him there.

Oh, and Rose isn't dead, she's just been teleported. (Hurray!)

Teleported into the middle of a new Dalek space armada. (Urrgh!)


Sarah -
The sound of the Dalek heartbeat gave me chills when Rose woke up on the ship. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jack are on their way to Rose. The Daleks launch missiles at the TARDIS, but the force field rigged up by Jack, who has apparently become the tin dog, protects the TARDIS.


Harry -
Jack also gets to play action hero for most of this story.


Sarah -
Tin Dog and Action Hero are not mutually exclusive!


Harry -
I admired the golden hues of the Daleks and their surroundings then Rose landed among them. This entire season has been infused with strong colour palettes.


Sarah -
Landing on the Dalek ship, the Doctor realizes that the Daleks survived the Time War and the Time Lords died for nothing. It’s a devastating moment after a season of developing the Doctor’s guilt and loneliness caused by the Time War. 

It turns out the Daleks survived by hiding and rebuilding, while harvesting humans to convert their genetic material into Daleks. Rose points out that this makes the Daleks half-human, which doesn’t go down well with the Emperor Dalek, who has declared himself a deity. Now that’s what I call a plot twist.


Harry -
The theme of Daleks becoming half-human or hybrids will pop up repeatedly throughout the new series. Here, such blasphemy infuriates the Emperor Dalek. It soon becomes clear that even though the Daleks have regrouped and rebuilt themselves, they are utterly insane.


Sarah -
Totally bonkers!


Harry -
They want to purge the Earth and claim it as a new Dalek paradise with the Emperor functioning as god over all. The Doctor is completely sickened. Winning the Time War was all for naught. I loved that moment where he stood inside the TARDIS doors, head bowed, while the Daleks roared at him from outside.


Sarah -
That moment is so heartbreaking.


Harry -
As the Dalek space armada approaches Satellite 5, the Doctor hits on a brainstorm: unleashing a Delta Wave -- an energy so powerful that it will wipe out the Daleks. Two problems: he doesn't have enough time to construct the proper apparatus, and the wave will also wipe out all humanity on Earth. He approaches problem one by getting right down to it, deputizing Rose and Jack and enlisting everyone left on the satellite to man the defences, or just keep quiet. Problem two, he'll deal with if he can finish problem one. Besides, there are other humans on other colonies, right? The madness of this story is something else. The Doctor vs the Emperor, god vs god. Who will falter first?


Sarah -
Among the humans still on Satellite 5 is Lynda with a "Y", who could have gotten off on a shuttle but chose to stay with the Doctor? Did you notice the look Rose gave Lynda when she was talking to the Doctor? Damn! If looks could kill, Lynda would have died slightly earlier in this story.


Harry -
Loves a bit of drama, that RTD.


Sarah -
“Get away from my boyfriend!”


Harry -
As for the Delta Wave, It doesn't take long to sense that the Doctor is either bluffing, or more likely in over his head than he will admit. He decides that the odds are too high this time around. He tricks Rose into the TARDIS, and sends it back to Earth with instructions to lock it, abandon it, and go back to living her life without him.

Rose is devastated. Unable to control the TARDIS, she lands back home in tears. Mickey and Jackie are unable to console her, during that powerful scene in the chips shoppe. Refusing to accept her fate, she rails against the mundanities of life on Earth, raging at the people around her, desperate to do something.


Sarah -
I’m pretty sure most of his bluffing was just a way to get Rose into the TARDIS and back home. He knows how to manipulate her and uses it to protect her. Rose is devastated to be back on Earth and seems to spend most of her time there being a complete jerk to Mickey and Jackie. I wanted to slap her when she told Mickey, “There’s nothing left for me here.”


Harry -
That was a horrendous thing to say.


Sarah -
She has good reason to be upset, but I hate that she takes it out on the two people who love her most.


Harry -
She suddenly spots the answer, and it had been looking her in the face all the time. BAD WOLF. Not a warning, but a message that Rose herself sprinkled all over time and space.


Sarah -
It’s poetic that their love is what ultimately gets Rose back to the Doctor. Mickey has fastened a chain to his Mini and is trying to pry open the TARDIS console for Rose. In a conversation with Jackie, she explains that she was the girl who stayed with Pete when he was hit by the car. She reminds Jackie that Pete would told her to try anything to get back to the Doctor. That’s all Jackie needs to hear -- she’s out the door and back with a large truck to pry open the TARDIS.


Harry -
That was a hell of a truck, and it did the trick.


Sarah -
I love that Jackie gets to save the day. You go, Jackie!

Rose looks into the heart of the TARDIS, the doors close, and she’s on her way back to the Doctor. 

My head canon in this scene is that the TARDIS only allowed itself to be pried open when it saw the lengths Jackie and Mickey would go to for Rose. I like to imagine the TARDIS deciding that Rose couldn’t be all that bad if people as lovely as Jackie and Mickey cared for her this much. Or, is that just my anti-Rose bias showing?


Harry -
Rose's determination to return to the Doctor was admirable, but the way she treated Jackie and Mickey was awful.


Sarah -
Mickey and Jackie are THE BEST!


Harry -
Back on Satellite 5, the Daleks have landed and begun the slaughter. Everyone on the lower levels is wiped out, even the Anne Droid. We are forced to watch as Lynda with a "Y" is killed by the Daleks. She was a lovely character that RTD had fleshed out in just a few scenes, making her death all the more terrible to see.

Sarah - 
Doctor Who has a history of well-developed pseudo-companions and Lynda with a "Y" is one of the loveliest.


Harry -
Captain Jack fights on to the bitter end after his resistance fighters are killed off. Backed against a wall, he faces death with a smile.


Sarah -
Ms. 15 shouted, “They killed the hot guy!” I think I have a Captain Jack fan in my house...but I think I’ll hold off on Torchwood for a few years.


Harry -
She's going to love it!


Sarah -
This feels like a good time to mention my favorite Jack line of probably ever. Just before kissing the Doctor he says, “Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward.” It’s a lovely line that says so much about the impact the Doctor can have on those who travel with him.


Harry -
The Doctor is surrounded. The Emperor Dalek mocks him, urging him to activate the Delta Wave and kill mankind, but he cannot. All seems lost, until the sound of the materializing TARDIS fills the room. Rose bursts through the doors, bright light coursing through her body. She has absorbed the entire time vortex and can see and feel everything that ever was and will be. For a few brief minutes, she holds the ultimate power to rewrite all of history. With a wave of the hand, the Daleks begin to disintegrate before her. Their ships -- their entire armada -- vanishes from the skies. Jack gasps back to life.


Sarah -
And then Jack is left behind. Poor Jack.

In the end, Rose saves the day because Jackie saved the day first! I have to admit that my notes from this viewing say, “Rose gets to commit genocide AND be a jerk to her family all in one day.”  Beware readers, this is where things start getting ugly in Sarah’s world.


Harry -
The Doctor is horrified as Rose cries out from the pain. Cue corny line ("I think you need a Doctor,") and he embraces her, drawing the time vortex out and sending it back into the eye of harmony.


Sarah -
“Embraces?” I think you meant to say, “Plants a big old kiss on her.” This is the moment the shippers were waiting for and the old-school fans were dreading. I don’t have a problem with the kiss because there’s a reason for it. It’s the only way for the Doctor to save Rose -- and isn’t hanky panky in the TARDIS.


Harry -
Rose is unharmed, but in the process, the Doctor has triggered a regeneration. Rose is confused by what's happening as the Doctor begins to gibber nervously about going to the planet Barcelona. These final few seconds of his existence anticipate the hyper cutie who is about to appear. 

I did like that the Doctor complimented both Rose and himself. Job well done!


Sarah -
It’s a lovely moment.


Harry -
And then, the most spectacular regeneration we Whovians have ever seen. Flames of energy leap out of the Doctor's limbs as he is reborn. The Doctor will go on, but the Ninth Doctor has departed.


Sarah -
This is NOT the regeneration we were expecting! I remember being completely shocked by the force of it all. It was so different than anything we’ve seen before and immediately felt like a proper regeneration.


Harry -
When this story was first broadcast I remember declaring that it was the greatest thing ever, and I'm still a big fan. RTD has a knack -- as we will see throughout his era -- for high drama and huge crescendos. That's one of the things that stand out most from his era. I still think this is a fantastic Dalek story because their threat was very real and they killed off characters we liked, being the villainous bastards that they are.

Rose's arc could have ended here, but it will go on into the next season -- for better or worse.


Sarah -
Don’t remind me. I’m working very hard at maintaining a positive attitude towards Series Two and we haven’t even started yet.


Harry -
Christopher Eccleston certainly went out in a blaze of glory. I hope someday we'll meet this Doctor again.

Best Line: "Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me?"

Favourite Moment: Filled with vortex energy, Rose wipes out all of the Daleks.

Lasting Image: the Doctor regenerating.

9/10


Best Line: "Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I." 

Favorite Moment: Jackie saves the day!

Lasting Image: The regeneration.

8/10

Our marathon next takes a brief detour to the Children in Need Doctor Who Special of 2005...