From: doctor{at}doctor.nl2k.ab.ca (The Doctor)

In article ,
pbowles{at}aol.com  wrote:
>On 2 Jan, 07:01, terryowen  wrote:
>> On Jan 2, 12:55=A0am, terryowen  wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Jan 1, 3:24=A0pm, "pbow...{at}aol.com"
 wrote:
>>
>> > > Well, I was pretty scathing in my original review of part one, but
>> > > after being persuaded to rewatch it I revised my opinion
upwards on
>> > > second viewing (though on third, watching it as a
lead-in to part two=
>,
>> > > I was sorely tempted to fastforward in more than a few places).
>>
>> > > Will the same happen with part two, I wonder? I very
much doubt it,
>> > > and frankly I hope no one comes up with glowing reviews
of part two t=
>o
>> > > make me doubt my judgment, because I really, really,
REALLY don't wan=
>t
>> > > to have to watch this episode again. Ever. And I say
that as someone
>> > > who's given Fear Her several runthroughs while
rewatching the series
>> > > as a whole over the years.
>>
>> > > Okay, it's not as downright *bad* as Fear Her - nothing
I've seen in
>> > > Who is. And I've seen Delta and the Bannermen. But it has so many
>> > > embarrassing, horrible moments that I find it hard to
decide whether
>> > > giving Donna the winning lottery ticket is cheesier than all the
>> > > plagiarised movie scenes, from the Star Walls laser practice to
>> > > Mission Impossible gatecrashing, or if even those are worse than a
>> > > much-loved Doctor's last words being a petulant "I
don't want to go".
>> > > At least there's no contest for Worst Scene Ever - the
Doctor throwin=
>g
>> > > a tantrum because he has to save Wilf ... rather, that
*would* be the
>> > > Worst Scene Ever if it hadn't been for the Doctor
playing matchmaker
>> > > for Captain Jack. But then that pales into significance
beside ... no=
>,
>> > > actually, that's it. There *is* no worse scene than that. Very
>> > > possibly this is true even considering the entire scope of Dr Who
>> > > history.
>>
>> > > Anyway, I'd better start from the beginning - if I can
find it, given
>> > > that this episode has a longer, duller ending than
Return of the King
>> > > (the entire film, that is). And, given how my
impressions of part one
>> > > changed, I deliberately went into this without looking
for things to
>> > > pick apart in the subsequent review, just to enjoy the whole silly
>> > > spectacle.
>>
>> > > The first scene, extended past the bit in the 'exclusive
scene', is
>> > > actually mostly okay - the only thing that grates is the Magic
>> > > Gauntlet bit and the complete indifference of the other
Time Lords to
>> > > the fact that their leader randomly murdered someone. As with last
>> > > week's Master effects, this proved once again to be entirely
>> > > unnecessary, making Dalton's character even more
unsubtly villainous
>> > > than his Evil Megalomaniac(TM) delivery already indicated and thus
>> > > less interesting. Which is a shame because otherwise the Gallifrey
>> > > scenes generally were okay (though why was the planet
covered in what
>> > > seemed to be baby Dalek saucers?) The link with the Master was
>> > > explained as well as it could have been in the
circumstances, althoug=
>h
>> > > using him as a homing beacon doesn't really explain why the drums
>> > > sounded louder *to him* as the Time Lords got closer - surely the
>> > > reverse should have been true?
>>
>> > > Oh, and a tip, RTD - if you have a McGuffin you want
people to talk
>> > > about in reverential, portentous terms, give it a less
laughable name
>> > > than "white point star".
>>
>> > > As for the Master, he's rather sidelined this time round - his
>> > > billions of Masters weren't much more than a cliffhanger
ending, and
>> > > are done away pretty much as an afterthought - all
they're there for
>> > > is to give the Master slaves, which is surely the very
*last* thing
>> > > all those billions of Masters would be? If they're all the Master,
>> > > surely they'd be busy backstabbing one another and trying to grab
>> > > power for themselves at the expense of the others.
>>
>> > > I was surprised the Vinvochi had such a large role in
this story - fo=
>r
>> > > a start, I expected them to be the expendable ones
showing just what =
>a
>> > > dangerous threat had been unleashed, rather like the Tritovores in
>> > > Planet of the Dead. Well, that and they're
personality-less effeminat=
>e
>> > > cacti. If they were just interested in buggering off,
why go to the
>> > > trouble of saving the Doctor and Wilf anyway? No doubt
kids will love
>> > > the rescue sequence, but even with his pop culture
leanings I have a
>> > > hard time seeing the Doctor uttering the phrase
"Worst ... rescue ...
>> > > ever!" Their ship was cute, in a "We took
Starbug from Red Dwarf and
>> > > made it more angular" way, but why was it
apparently powered by
>> > > hydraulics and looking generally like the inside of an industrial
>> > > estate within? Is this a homage to the reference to steampunk
>> > > spaceships in Tooth & Claw? It's pretty much the
only episode that
>> > > *wasn't* referenced in that overly self-indulgent end
sequence, after
>> > > all.
>>
>> > > Anyway, that's pretty much the story - Time Lords at the
beginning, a
>> > > lot of time sitting on a spaceship doing nothing
followed by an overl=
>y-
>> > > long blockbuster ripoff effects sequence, followed by the Doctor
>> > > revolving interminably while pointing a pistol at people (why not
>> > > shoot whatever the explody thing behind the Master was
at the start?)
>> > > as a giant planet (is Gallifrey meant to be tha big?) appears and
>> > > implausibly fails to perturb the Earth even slightly despite being
>> > > only a few metres overhead, followed by several hours of ending.
>> > > Donna's foreshadowed recollections come to nothing, just an effect
>> > > that sends her to sleep until the end of the episode,
and she gets no
>> > > new goodbye with the Doctor (probably for the best, since her last
>> > > would have been hard to top)
>>
>> > > Of course, this is Tennant's finale, so something needs to be said
>> > > about his regeneration sequence - and never in Who history has a
>> > > regeneration taken so long (well, except for the gap
between Stolen
>> > > Earth and Journey's End, when the regeneration took a
whole week - no=
>,
>> > > actually, a week was shorter than this). The Doctor
throwing tantrums
>> > > and the extended endings are so bad that it's easy (or at least
>> > > desirable) to block the whole thing from one's mind, but
let's look
>> > > briefly at what prompted the regeneration. The Doctor
absorbed a huge
>> > > quantity of radiation (hang on, wasn't that what he did
last time? Th=
>e
>> > > last real time, that is) to save Wilf. Hooray! An
admirable, suitable
>> > > end for our hero, surely?
>>
>> > > Well, sadly, he even screws this up. He has to save Wilf
because Wilf
>> > > bumbled into a cupboard for no terribly good reason - if he'd been
>> > > forced in there, fine, a noble and heroic act of
self-sacrifice (or i=
>t
>> > > would be if not preceded by an uncharacteristic tantrum
whining about
>> > > how unimportant Wilf is and how the Doctor's so much
more deserving,
>> > > and how grudgingly he saves Wilf at all), but no, he
does it because
>> > > Wilf's a clumsy twit who got himself in trouble. And why
on Earth doe=
>s
>> > > his regeneration destroy the TARDIS, other than to give Moffatt a
>> > > chance to rebuild it? And, since he knows his
regenerations tend to g=
>o
>> > > wrong, why does he regenerate while flying the thing through space
>> > > instead of with it quietly parked somewhere?
>>
>> > > Onto the ending(s), insofar as I haven't already
mentioned them. The
>> > > nod to Human Nature was actually a nice touch - there
was no rhyme or
>> > > reason to change who Martha was married to except to get
an excuse to
>> > > squeeze Mickey in, and RTD characteristically overdoses
on returning
>> > > aliens, with reappearances from every recurring alien in
the show's
>> > > recent history except the Cybermen and Daleks - and the Hath too,
>> > > which now officially makes them a recurring alien, I
suppose (well, I
>> > > quite liked them). But are Martha and Luke really so
accident-prone
>> > > that the Doctor shows up at random points and has to
save them? It's =
>a
>> > > shame, too, that RTD couldn't find a way to include K-9
in the goodby=
>e
>> > > sequence - I think that makes him the only recurring
companion, other
>> > > than Pete Tyler (who's got the excuse of being (a) dead
and (b) in a
>> > > parallel universe, if he even counts as a companion)
from the current
>> > > series not to show up for the Big Goodbye.
>>
>> > > This leaves only one thing - the 11th Doctor. It's hard
to gauge Matt
>> > > Smith here - he seems to be trying too hard to match
Tennant's mania
>> > > to get a feel for who his character is, save that he seems to have
>> > > crossed Tennant's hyperactivity with Davison's absent-mindedness.
>> > > Shame about the change of costume - he looks good in
Tennant's suit! =
>I
>> > > did enjoy RTD's pokes at his appearance, and while he
needs to tone
>> > > his act down a bit for the regular series, I found him more
>> > > immediately engaging than Tennant, who I took an episode
or three to
>> > > get used to.
>>
>> > > So, where does this leave Moffatt? We're told time and
again that he
>> > > wants a clean slate, but the Time Lords are still gone,
he still need=
>s
>> > > to find a way to bring Davros and the Daleks back (and
in the case of
>> > > the Daleks he's got to do so in all of one episode...),
and as far as
>> > > we know the Master is still out there living with the
consequences of
>> > > his failed resurrection, and presumably eating people to
do so, since
>> > > he exited stage left with no one batting an eyelid or
even thinking t=
>o
>> > > ask where he'd gone (told you he was sidelined in this episode).
>>
>> > > Still, RTD's done Moffatt a favour - after this outing,
the only way
>> > > the show can go is up.
>>
>> > > Phil
>>
>> Sorry about the slip of the mouse...
>>
>> All I wanted to say was that if the Doctor had to sacrifice himself to
>> save a human, better Wilf than that twit Peri. =A0I don't know why
>> people like Caves so much - it makes me mad every time I watch it...
>
>Oh, I completely agree - but did Peri get into trouble as a result of
>her own stupidity?
>
>That's the big problem for me with this sequence - I wanted to cheer
>the Doctor on for saving our beloved Wilf, and the revelation that
>Wilf was the one whose four knocks would herald the Doctor's death was
>the most inspired part of the episode. But I couldn't - mostly because
>the Doctor was so grudging about it, but also partly because he had a
>point - it was Wilf's own stupid fault.
>
>Phil

Wilf is a nice old fighter!
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