The End Of Time Part Two: The Verdict

The amount of tears being shed during the final half hour of David Tennant’s Doctor made Timothy Dalton’s saliva tsunami in Part One look like a drop in the ocean. The concluding chapter of Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who stint was rife with flaws, yet potent and powerful enough to milk dry the emotions of every faithful fan who has watched this wonderful show in recent years and decades.

With one simple cry of “allons-y” aboard the Vinvocci spacecraft, The Doctor finally kicked the unevenly paced story into top gear and careered towards the home straight. A battle with The Master’s missiles, a thrilling leap from up high, a tender moment of self-sacrifice from two Time Lords and a touching visit to some familiar faces all combined to provide the necessary impact and thrills that the production team and cast deserved. If the Kleenex were still dry, then the Ood song should have changed that.

The strength of the climactic scenes had little to do with the opening ninety minutes of the story though, which was too padded out, convoluted, rehashed and uninspired to muster any sustained intrigue. It simply wasn’t a patch on the brilliant likes of ‘The Parting Of The Ways’, ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Journey’s End’. All the guff about prophecies, white diamonds, Naismith’s daughter and timelocking was far from compelling.

Instead, while the self-contained narrative faltered, the testing of the tear ducts was largely a culmination of the terrific work put in by Tennant and Davies over a number of years. Throw in some tearjerking performances from Tennant, Bernard Cribbins and John Simm, plus Murray Gold’s emotive score, and the physical effect is very much like chopping onions right beneath your eyes.

Davies’ script tapped into the emotional core of the show that he reinvented, with friendship, forgiveness and violence high on the agenda. The whole notion of The Doctor using the gun as a murder weapon was tensely conveyed and the bond between Wilf and The Doctor worked very well. Bernard Cribbins turned in an outstanding performance as the old warrior and the decision to elevate him to full companion status was an, erm, masterstroke.

Speaking of which, John Simm was consistently thrilling to watch – especially as his character exuded far more pathos in this episode, rather than the cackling impersonation of WWF wrestler The Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase, that he was approaching in Part One. Dalton also lent his commanding presence to Rassilon, in a role that would have been very one dimensional in lesser hands. It’s just a shame that he didn’t use his powers to send Gallifrey hurtling towards a certain pair of ‘cacti’ (sue me) aliens, who were two of the poorest characters in the show’s history and bereft of any non-human mannerisms.

The repulsion of the Time Lords from Earth, involving a gunshot to a machine, was as messy and groan-inducing as the circumstances of their arrival on Earth. Fortunately, a loud gasp was the only response to the shock revelation that Wilf was responsible for the fateful four knocks. The Doctor’s self-sacrifice in the chamber, which harked back to Spock's demise in the second Star Trek movie, was brought to life by the great chemistry between Cribbins and Tennant.

The final scenes were undoubtedly self-indulgent as The Doctor took a trip down memory lane, but so what? The show has earned such moments and the cameos from Martha, Mickey, Rose and Sarah Jane were a rewarding pay-off to the hordes of loyal fans who have invested their time and faith in the series. For those casual viewers who tuned in expecting fireworks and were baffled by the significance of (the fittingly named) Verity Newman’s ‘The Journal Of Impossible Things’, then that’s their own fault for not watching regularly.

As for The Doctor’s matchmaking between Captain Jack and Alonso, it was a hilarious and swift kick to the balls of those who have whinged about a so-called ‘gay agenda’. The decision to leave the old woman, played by Claire Bloom, with an air of ambiguity was also a wise move and bound to lead to plenty of theories in the near future.

The Tenth Doctor’s final words left a lump in the throat and were perfect, forming a nice contrast to the fantastical and upbeat parting words of Christopher Eccleston’s previous Doctor. It wasn’t well conveyed, but presumably the damage caused on the Tardis by the regeneration was due to all the nuclear energy absorbed by The Doctor finally being unleashed. It’s too early to judge Matt Smith as The Doctor but the omens are very good indeed, and his brief performance was charismatic and exuded a joyous sense of adventure.

Despite some misgivings with the stretched-out storyline and the mangled plot exposition, it’s only fair to accentuate the positives of the second part of ‘The End Of Time’ given the nature and significance of the episode. An array of fine performances certainly helped to bolster events and ensure the RTD era was wrapped up in style. It wasn’t an easy journey at times during the swansong, but ultimately the sheer spectacle, humour and heightened emotion of the events were hopefully enough to win viewers over. After all, if The Doctor can still extend his hand of friendship to The Master despite all of his flaws, let’s try to do the same for ‘The End Of Time’. The outgoing Doctor Who team deserve a happy ending.

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