The End Of Time Part One: The Verdict

Can someone please get an Ood to clarify whether ‘The End Of Time Part One’ was a bad dream in itself? If not, then someone had better tell Matt Smith and Steven Moffat to get a bloody move on. More bloated than The Master after stuffing that turkey down his neck, the opening part of David Tennant’s final adventure was an unfocussed disappointment, albeit with several strong moments along the way and the promise that the real action and story still awaits.

Doctor Who is at its best when you can see the danger developing, as in the brilliant ’The Waters Of Mars’. Here, the plot felt overly contrived and convenient. Contraptions such as the Immortality Gate and the potions that resurrected The Master were conjured up all too conveniently amidst a veil of gobbledygook. In conjunction with The Ham Factor winner Joshua Naismith and two green aliens that appeared to wander in from the set of Chucklevision In Space, it was hard to immerse oneself fully in the ensuing events.

A lack of engaging material was noticeable throughout the hour, with a series of fairly disjointed scenes and minimal momentum. Some of the subplots felt ill-conceived and alienating, such as Barack Obama’s recession-busting plan that appeared to waste a lot of screen time purely for the purpose of one supposed pay-off shot featuring the President's transformation into The Master. Meanwhile, the imprisoned Lucy Saxon’s reunion with her former partner was overly melodramatic and a throwback to the worst of 80s Who.

In addition, the episode felt more stretched than Lady Cassandra’s face. A good 15 minutes could have been chopped out with neglible difference to the plot and characterisation. How much do we need to see of The Master stuffing his face? How many sepia-tinted close-up shots do we need of The Master’s laughing mouth? We get the idea! Similarly, the grand reveal of the ‘master race’ was overlong to the point of numbness. Still, the idea itself was bonkers but brilliant. As for the return of the Time Lords, that development might have meant a lot to the many devoted fans of the show but would have elicited a big shrug from the millions of casual viewers who tuned into the show on Christmas Day, looking for some escapist fun rather than self-indulgence.

Amidst the narrative mess, John Simm’s portrayal of The Master was highly watchable - although his new superpowers felt a bit superfluous and made him look like some kind of Heroes-reject. In lesser hands, the role could have easily have been that of a one-dimensional villain without the moments of pathos Simm brings out.

The reliable David Tennant and the delightful Bernard Cribbins shared some nice moments together and it was great to see Wilf take on more prominence in the plot. Their scene together in the café, where they observe Donna’s altercation with a traffic warden, was a fine example of the Russell T Davies era at its best. The dialogue between the world-weary pair, and the sadness and longing in their matching puppy dog eyes, was very moving indeed.

Occasional moments of humour helped to lighten the tone. These included June Whitfield’s Minnie menacing The Doctor’s derriere, the new locking system for the Tardis and the sheer amount of spittle generated by Timothy Dalton during his closing speech. Are we to take it that Gallifrey actually perished due to flooding? On a dryer note, the former 007’s narration gave the episode an epic feel that wasn’t otherwise merited by the story.

While the episode may have been a bumpy hour when judged on its own, it undoubtedly placed all the key pieces in a tantalising position ahead of the story’s resolution on New Year’s Day. After all, out of the tedium of ‘The Rise Of The Cybermen’ emerged the brilliant ‘The Age Of Steel’ the following week. Let’s hope that ‘The End Of Time Part Two’ gels together better than its opening instalment and gives Russell T Davies and David Tennant the spectacular send off they both thoroughly deserve.

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