Doctor Who the End of Time Part One Review

Well the first part of the final adventure of David Tennant, the 10th Doctor has shown up. What did everyone think?

Personally, overall I thought it was a pretty good episode, thanks mostly due to the acting, the plot was like most RTD season enders, lots of plot holes and a big scheme that upon thinking about it doesn't make much sense, but it did have an ending that made me want the next episode NOW.

The plot: The Doctor goes to the planet of the Ood to find out more about his prophesized demise, but he did do some partying to delay the inevitable since the last special, including getting married! Through the Ood we find out that the Master is returning, and that the end of time itself is coming. The Doctor runs off to the TARDIS to try and stop the actions already in motions many years in the past (our present).

On Earth, every human has been having nightmares of the Master cackling in laughter, but none of them remember, except Wilf, Donna's grandfather. He begins his hunt for the Doctor, using his elderly friends. Meanwhile, the Master is ressurected through a huge convulted series of plots and counter plots, his ex wife Mrs Saxon tries to stop it but only makes him less stable.

The Doctor comes to Earth and finds the Master. They see each other briefly before the Master does a giant leap away, and then the Doctor is found by Wilf. He and the Doctor have a nice long chat, where the Doctor breaks down for just the briefest of moments over what he did in the last special. And the two talk about Donna and how much they miss her and wish they could fix it. The Doctor says there's something special about Wilf, since he found him so easily and then leaves.

The Doctor then hunts for the Master again and they have a big confrontation where we find out the Master can shoot lightning from his hands, and there's something very wrong with his physical make up. They have a touching and creepy scene where they talk about their shared past, and the Doctor finds out that the drums the Master has heard all these years are real. Then the Master gets kidnapped by a SWAT team.

The Doctor goes to Donna's house the next morning (Christmas Day) and talks to Wilf again who shows the book that Donna got him that tells the Doctor who kidnapped the Master. Wilf and the Doctor go to the manshion of the rich man who holds the Master leading to the big climax.

There the rich man holds the Master and wants him to repeair an alien device that can seemingly grant immortality. He wants to give immortality to his daughter (who he may be lovers with which is very creepy and heavily insinuated). The Master complies realizing what it really is. It's revealed two green aliens are also working on the machine in hopes of stealing the machine after it's fixed. They meet with the Doctor and Wilf as the Master fixes the machine and explains it heals people on a planet scale. After the Master completes his work on the machine, the Doctor runs up there just in time for the Master to strike. The Master leaps into the machine and changes every human being in the world, except Wilf (who is in a radiation shielded room) and Donna (who's DNA is part Time Lord now) into a copy of the Master. Donna is also reawakening and remembering her adventures with the Doctor which is said to lead to her demise if that were ever to happen.

And just as the episode is ending, it is revealed the narrator of this episode, played by Timothy Dalton, is actually a Time Lord and is speaking to a horde of other Time Lords. They want to see the end of time itself, boom to be continued.

What was great about the episode: John Simms as the Master. His insanity is really overboard here, and there were moments where he seemed so fragile, and tried to reach out to the Doctor, but then remembered he hated the Doctor and wanted him dead. Simms is a fantastic actor and he showed why again last night.

Bernard Cribbins as Wilf. Cribbins is a magnificent actor who has shined every time he has appeared on Who thus far. Here he went even further, getting many extended scenes and becoming the Doctor's companion for at least the episode. The bit where he hunts down the Doctor with the silver line was brilliant and funny, and when his conversation with the Doctor in the cafe was also wonderful and touching. He wants to see Donna back as she was, full of life and sure of herself, not the content with her dull life Donna she is once again. Also he got the Doctor to open up and for a brief moment show true emotion about what happened in the Water of Mars special.

David Tennant. He has made the last four series of Doctor Who amazing. Even the more lackluster episodes have been acceptable because of this man. He shines here again, among a spectacular cast. From joking with the Ood, to having a deep moment with the Master, Tennant truly is the Doctor.

Donna returns. I loved Catherine Tate as Donna, and missed her being the Doctor's companion. So I'm glad to see her in this episode and that we will get one last adventure next week with her. But that wasn't the biggest return of the night.

The Time Lords return! Yes this was predicated in many places, but it was still a goose bump moment. When Dalton screamed he was a Time Lord and for Gallifrey, it just made the next episode a must see. The new Doctor Who has been without Time Lords for so long, and the Doctor has lamented their demise (at his hands) for the whole series. But now they are back, and it has to lead to some big changes, especially if they remain for the next series with Matt Smith.

Now the things that weren't so great: The Master's return. What a confusing and over drawn mess. First the Master's disciples needed the ring, Mrs. Saxon's lips, and some potions to bring him back, but Mrs. Saxon had planned for this and had a magic potion of her own to stop it all... except it didn't stop it, it only made him more powerful and more unstable... yeah big waste for several minutes. Putting the ring on Mrs. Saxon and then that causing some kind of change could of work. The Master has taken over other bodies to return in the past, it would of worked.

Davies hammering in social injustice. We have the homeless people complaining about a lack of food, a huge segment on how Obama would stop the recession, and then an actor portraying Obama in a horrible scene at the White House. Now talking about social issues is fine and good, but these were hammered in for no reason. They didn't work as part of the story and just took me out of the episode. It was just Davies throwing stuff in to show he cares. This is the opposite of last week when he slid in a positive gay marriage moment in the conversation without it being forceful, they should be more like that where you don't notice them, they are just part of the story.

The wealthy bad guys. I can't even remember their names nor do I really care. But the wealthy evil man and his daughter were horrible. From their insinuated incest, to the hammy acting. No matter what they just came off as horrible villains and bad actors. Their big plot was bad too, they were just plot devices to get the Master to his victory.

The Master's scheme. The Master is now every last living human being. That is the big plan? It just comes off as stupid. Especially seeing Simms in all those outfits and smiling and giggling, it was funny not menacing. And it really kills a great dynamic they had going. The scenes earlier with the Doctor and the Master were brilliant. They were so strong and full of tension, while the Master standing triumphant was just a huge let down.

That is my overview of the episode, while there were some major flaws, it was still lots of fun and had great acting, I can't wait for the final episode featuring David Tennant as the 10th Doctor next week.