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Original Transmission
The Doctor — David Tennant
Crew
Martha returns to England having travelled the world for a year. During this time she has seen Japan destroyed, the people of South Africa burned alive and many populations destroyed. She claims that she has been looking for a gun, developed by Torchwood and UNIT, that is able to kill a Time Lord and then prevent the ensuing regeneration. Unfortunately the four chemicals needed for the gun have been scattered around the world, in Budapest, Beijing and San Diego, and she is travelling to North London to retrieve the final part.
Back on the Valiant, Martha Jones tells the Master what she has really been doing. She had travelled the world in order to tell people her story and also gave them an instruction. At the activation of the missiles, people around the world will say one word - Doctor. The Doctor, having accessed the Archangel network through his mind, is able to absorb the power. He gains temporary access to a large amount of psychic energy, reverses the ageing effects of the Master's laser screwdriver, and is able to deflect gunshots and move things with his mind. As the Doctor advances, the Master cowers and the Doctor says the words he was afraid to hear: "I forgive you." Meanwhile Captain Jack, having been freed, runs to destroy the Paradox Machine. He is successful and time is reversed.
The Earth is restored back to before the creation of the paradox, just after the President is killed and just before the Toclafane arrive, No one on Earth is aware of the event, except those on the Valiant; the Doctor explains that they remember because they were at the eye of the storm. The Toclafane are stuck at the end of the universe. The Master, now defenceless, is handcuffed and stood before the Doctor. The Doctor announces that, since the Master is a Time Lord, he is the Doctor's responsibility and will be imprisoned on the TARDIS. However, Saxon's wife shoots the Master, who refuses to regenerate despite the Doctor's pleas and reminder that they are the last of the Time Lords. The Master then says, "I win", referring to the Doctor's now inevitable loneliness. He then dies in the Doctor's arms, leaving him distraught.
There is no such place as Utopia! Of course there isn’t. Over the past week there have been so many speculations about who the Toclafane are and why it would break The Doctor’s hearts. The most unlikely suggestion was that it was to do with Rose. But we’ve ALL moved on from Rose, including The Doctor. There was little chance it was that. One of the most dreadful ideas was that they were, somehow, the souls of dead Time Lords. That would have been horribly heartbreaking, not only for The Doctor. The second most dreadful idea is that these are the people who went to Utopia. And so it proved. A horrible idea. But possibly the most logical of all the ideas thrown about. And certainly heartbreaking to The Doctor and Martha since they sent the people to Utopia. The other big rumours of the week were a) That Martha was leaving, and b) that The Doctor was going to regenerate, followed by c) The Master was going to regenerate. And d) Jack was going to turn out to be The Doctor’s son from some affair in the 51st century.
So, yes, Martha is staying on Earth for a dose of normality. Apparently the door is open for her to turn up again. Possibly even in Torchwood. The Doctor is not regenerating yet. The Master hasn’t either, YET. And Jack, apparently, is The Face of Boe. Now who saw THAT coming!!!!!! So that’s the rumour mills ground to a halt and lets get on with the review. For most of the episode, The Doctor was an impotent toy for the master to play with, first in his prematurely aged version and then, a strange creature best described as Gollum-Doctor, and PLEASE don’t let Character Options market that as a toy next year! It was horrible to look at, with the big staring eyes. Even worse to hear it SOUND like The Doctor. More than anything I wanted The Doctor back to normal.
And when he did, wow, what an entrance. There had been a couple of red herrings, of course. The whole first part of the story was setting up that moment. After Martha had spent a year telling the whole world about The Doctor, the most fantastic thing happened. A whole world putting its faith in The Doctor. For those fans who have always had faith in him, it was a vindication. And then some. The way he floated ethereally across the room, looking like a beautiful angel in plimsolls and a brown coat, was just simply amazing. Even after seeing it done in Confidential it was STILL amazing. And all The Master could say was “It’s not fair” as he realised the tables were turned. Suddenly the cocksure semi-lunatic who tortured people while playing pop music was now SCARED, defeated once more. And shot down by his own wife, dying in The Doctor’s arms, as he begged him to regenerate. It comes as a surprise to find that Time Lords don’t HAVE to regenerate incidentally. The Doctor’s tears were heartrending on their own. But at least he managed those words he had to say. I forgive you.
Bear in mind, The Doctor has ALWAYS tried to redeem The Master. In the 1970s when he was at his worst, The Doctor never gave up hope that he might change his spots. It was never to be. And it was even less likely this time. The Master’s funeral was a sad little epilogue to a lifetime of menace. Burnt on a pyre lit by The Doctor alone in the dark. The Doctor was the only one who cared about him enough to do that much for him. Two scenes especially worthy of note. The first is, in fact, two scenes, but fast cut between each other. The first is Martha, Millegan and Professor Docherty opening up the Toclafane and the other is The Master and the Gollum-Doctor talking. The cuts are so fantastically done to force the tension up and up until the pent up emotion is released in Millegan’s gunshot.
The other is time reversing. The sky platform being dragged back through all the cloud formations was dramatic on its own. Then the scenes of the devastated world being repaired, made bright and new and clean again – or at least unclean in the normal way, not devastated as it is now. This was, not only The Master’s swansong, The Doctor’s triumph in failure, but it was Martha’s finest hour. All those who had criticised her character all year must eat their words now. And rightly so.
Meanwhile, The Doctor, alone again in his TARDIS, suddenly finds
the bow of a ship crashed through part of it. And a lifebelt that
says Titanic on it. This is the teaser for the Christmas story, Voyage
of the Damned. Now, I strongly suspect this has little to do with
the ACTUAL voyage of the Titanic. There will be more too it. But just
wait to see what the rumour mill will manage in the 177 days left
to Christmas!
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