1)And so we come to David Tennant's final story. (No, I didn't have alot going on this weekend, as a matter of fact.) All in all, it's not too bad of a story, though it might've benefited from a wee bit of editing. And did anyone else notice that all of our Russell's grand finales involved either the Daleks or the Master? (Actually, he wanted to have the Daleks and the Master in this one, but Steven Moffat asked him not to as he was planning to use the Daleks in the Eleventh Doctor's first series, and he wanted it to be the first time the viewers had seen them in awhile. Thank you, Steven!)
2)For me, the star of the match this time out was Bernard Cribbins. From the scenes with the Doctor in the cafe and later on board the Cactus People's ship to his moonwalk into the bus, that man just is endlessly entertaining. I liked his scenes with Claire Bloom, as well. I also liked his awe at being in space and his performance as a laser gunner. The Silver Cloak types were harmless enough comedy relief - I do believe that this is the first time we've ever seen anyone sexually harass the Doctor. Of course, in the end, poor Wilf is the one who knocks four times.
3)As for the Woman in White, I'm just going to go with the notion that she's the Doctor's mother. No idea who the other dissenter was, so I'm just going to arbitrarily decide that it was the Doctor's Cousin Earl.
4)Interesting idea - bringing the Master back as a sort of deranged super-hobo. I liked the way in which his remark from the end of "Last of the Time Lords" about it always being the women comes back to haunt him. He was really freaky, particularly in the scene with the two homeless types and the chuckwagon. I'm pretty sure that this was the Master's goofiest plan yet - I know that six billion of me would never get anything done. I did like the way he winked at Wilf at one point - as though on some level it's all a game to him. I also liked the misdirect they did with the Master knocking four times. You know if I'd been with the Doctor, I'd of been knocking four times all the time just to drive him nuts.
Poor John Simm, all those costume changes must've been not at all fun. Another nice touch - when we see the "Trinity Wells" Master the second time, there's a graphic behind him/her with his picture on it - he obviously had one of his selves take a minute to create it!
5)Tennant was fairly good in this - especially in the final confrontation with the Time Lords, and then in the scene with Wilf where he has his temper tantrum, and then realizes that he's reached a point where he has to regenerate in order to progress in life. I also liked the scene where he takes the gun - because he's resisted it so long, when he finally takes it, you know things are dire.
Also, the fall the Doctor takes at the end should've made him regenerate right there - guess he's toughened up since Logopolis.
6)Why are the Ood so crabby about the Doctor being late? He has a time machine! For that matter, why was he late? Why is he ever late? He's got a time machine!
7)Shawn temple seems fairly bland for someone like Donna, but then she probably wants someone she can bully easily.
8)Hey, the old gag that "James Bond is a Time Lord" finally gets paid off. Well you needed a veteran scenery-chewer for that part ("I will not die!"), didn't you? It seems a little odd to me that Rassilon has the Infinity Gauntlet or whatever it is, and power enough to undo the Master's plan just like that, but is worried about Wilf's fifty year old gun.
9)The Naismiths were kind of bland - the old Doctor Who standby, arrogant humans who think they can use some alien threat for their own purposes.
10)Wouldn't it've been smarter for the Cactus People to have just taken the Immortality Gate and then fixed it somewhere else at their leisure, rather than stay on Earth and risk detection?
11)I thought the shot of the devastated Citadel with all the wrecked saucers outside was quite good.
12)Where'd the Visionary come from? Is she on loan from the Sisterhood of Karn?
13The Long Goodbye:
Mickey and Martha: Wasn't Martha engaged to Tom Milligan? Guess that didn't work out, and Mickey made his move!
Sarah Jane: I gather that the bit about Luke not looking both ways is a personal peeve of RTD's, that the kids on the Sarah Jane Adventures rushed out into the street without looking, so that's why he put a scene in here where Luke almost gets hit by a car.
Jack: RTD finally got to do the scene with all the monsters in that he wanted for "Journey's End" but couldn't afford. I gather the bit with Jack was set after a Torchwood episode in which something bad happened to him, which is why the Doctor is here helping him play chickenhawk.
Joan's (great?) granddaughter: "Was she happy in the end?" "Yes, yes, she was - were you?" Oh, lady, he's never happy.
Donna: "Geoffrey Noble, his name was." Poor Howard Attfield. Much as I enjoy Cribbins in this, I'm conscious that Wilfred Mott got to live because of what happened to Howard.
And finally: Ah, no, it's Rose again! RUN!
Wow, he took a long time to say goodbye, didn't he? Who knew you could hold off a regeneration that long?
14)Cliffhanger #1: Rassilon spits all over everyone! (Seriously, go back and watch the "For Gallifrey! For Victory! For the end of time itself!" bit - Dalton's spewing a fine mist!
Cliffhanger #2: The Doctor regenerates!
15)Some fun quotes:
- "To the west of the north of that world..." That was awkwardly phrased.
- "They called him the Sainted Physician..." Surrre they did.
- "The Secret Books of Saxon" - Volume Seven has his favorite chicken recipes.
- "Christmas is cancelled!"
- "Who are you?" Funny to hear the Doctor asking that.
- "I'm going to die." It's taking you long enough.
- "Do you remember my father's land back home?" Thank you, Russell, for doing your part to kill off the old "The Master is the Doctor's brother" gag.
- "What's inside your head?" Dust, spiders, bits of broken watches...Well, that's what's in my head.
- ""You can't come with me." "You're not leaving me with her." "Dad!" "Fair enough!"
- "Are you shouting at thin air?"
- "I thought it'd be cleaner." I love that line.
- "I like you." "Thank you." "You'd taste great."
- "Oh, my Lord - she's a cactus!" A very cute cactus!
- "The Master, Harodl Saxon, Skeletor - whatever you're calling him!"
- "I'm President! President of the United Sates!" He can't be president, he wasn't born in this country!
- "There is only the Master race!" I see what you did there.
- "He still possesses the Moment, and he'll use it destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike." At last we get the truth of how the Time War ended.
- "Your dad's still kicking up a fuss." "Yeah, well I'd be proud if I was." On the commentary track, John Simm and Euros Lynn brought up the idea that Wilf was the Doctor's dad, but the notion that that would make the Doctor Donna's uncle seemed to weird Tennant out a bit.
- "Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls." Who doesn't?
- "Say goodbye to the freak, granddad." Could you narrow it down a bit?
- "Did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?" Yeah, I call BS on that.
- "Where's your TARDIS?" Simm didn't seem to like his line reading on that, for some reason.
- "Actually the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time you're still bone dead stupid."
- "Worst. Rescue. Ever." The Doctor channels Comic Book Guy.
- "I'd be proud. "Of what?" "If you were my dad."
- "My Lord Doctor, Lord Master..." Doesn't even Rassilon know their real names?
- "Get out of the way." What a team the Doctor and the Master would've made!
- "She's smiling. As if today wasn't bad enough."
- "This song is ending, but the story never ends." No, it just seemed like it never ended.
- "Legs! I've still got legs!" But do you know how to use them?
- "Geronimo!" The sound of things to come!
Overall:
A nice farewell to the Tenth Doctor - a little on the long side. Lots of good work from Cribbins, I really enjoyed his time on this show.
"I don't want to go." Ah, but it was time to go, David.
[Part of list of Doctor Who episodes here.]
Replies
Um...I think it's only called chickenhawking if minors are involved.
I really like Matt Smith and his take on the Doctor...but, still, Tennant will be the Doctor for a lot of people forever.
I bow to your superior knowledge, Doctor.
I think I may have commented at some time in the past that this episode -- and especially that scene and that line -- reminded me very much of the Pertwee/Delgado days, when it was possible to believe that these two really had been friends at some point in the past. They know each other "of old", so to speak, and understand each other pretty well, even if they don't play on the same team anymore.
Oh, and I completely agree with you -- Cribbins is just wonderful in this.
I'll add on, Cribbins in that coffee shop...just kills me every time.
Yeah, the Doctor and the Master have that great "if only" relationship, much like Xavier and Magneto in the X-Men or Lex and Superman in the Elliot S! Maggin stories.
Well, having had a look at some sources...the accepted definition of "chickenhawk" is an older man who prefers younger men, like in their 20s. So...these will be the guys with, eventually, trophy husbands. ;) But, you're right...the Doctor is wingman for Jack, here.