Doctor Who Review - Victory of the Daleks

Warning - The following contains spoilers for Doctor Who S5 Ep3, "Victory of the Daleks". It will air in America on May 1st. If you have not seen it, and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read the following.








Did I miss something? Did I forget to take my weekly trip to England last week, and miss part one of this clearly two-part episode? I mean, I don't remember any of that stuff setting up the episode from the previously on.

What's that? That WAS the setup for the episode? There WAS no part one? You're kidding right?

So... This episode was good. Don't get me wrong, it was a good episode. It's just... It felt like the second half of a two-parter. I mean it had enough content for two episodes. The result of squeezing it all into one episode just made it feel... Sloppy. It made it feel rushed. That's actually something I've noticed about all 3 episodes of the season so far. Matt Smith is so happy to do his impression of David Tennant talking very fast, that he forgets the other part where he speaks at reasonable speeds.

I know it sounds like I'm hating on Matt Smith, but that's not true. I don't hate him, he was really good in episode one! In episode one, it made sense he was still channeling David Tennant, because he had just changed. Heck, in "The Christmas Invasion", the first Tenth Doctor episode, Tennant was channeling some Eccleston. But he doesn't seem to be stopping.

I don't know, I felt a little let down by this episode. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high, but it just felt rushed! If it had been a two-parter, it should have had a setup like this:

Episode 1:

Doctor arrives, meets Churchill.

Churchill shows doctor the Ironsides. Doctor freaks out.

Doctor spends half an episode trying to convince Churchill that the Ironsides are actually aliens, and suspects the guy who made them to be working with the Daleks.

Subplot where Amy meets that one lady who was crying at the end, and they talk about how her boyfriend is flying over London. Amy goes through that "What am I doing here" moment every companion goes through. (Rose went through it in S1 Ep2 "The End of the World", Martha went through it in S3 Ep3 "Gridlock", Donna went through it in S4 Ep2 "The Fires of Pompeii")

The Doctor gives his "I AM THE DOCTOR, YOU ARE THE DALEKS" speech, they port up to spaceship, the guy who made them is revealed to be a robot. End of episode one.

Episode 2:
Pretty much exactly how the real episode is set up, with a few minutes of filler content to make up for the first ten minutes which are now the whole first episode.

If the episode had been set up like that, it just would have been more enjoyable overall! It's a shame too, because it was a good episode. But it could have been a great two-parter.

Ah well, at least the next episode is a two-parter about the WEEPING ANGELS. I really hope to see the Weeping Angels become a recurring villain on the show.

Saddest Doctor Who Moment Ever

Not gonna post anything much today, but this is how The End of Time Pt. 2 ended. It brings a tear to my eye. David Tennant will be missed. Spoilers, in the video, in case you hadn't guessed.

So yeah. That's pretty much it.

So This Is How It Ends, Not With A Bang, But With A Whimper.

The Tenth Doctor was amazing. I'm sorry to see him go. (No pun intended.)I don't know how else I can put it. The Ninth Doctor was fantastic, sure, (pun intended.) but Ten was just brilliant.

The End Of Time should really be viewed as a whole. In fact, while other two part episodes have seperate names, (Utopia/The Sound Of Drums/The Last Of The Time Lords for example) this one has the same name, in two parts. And really, it's rightly so, because the episode is really just a Doctor Who movie, split into two halves. The closest we'll ever get at least. (The '96 movie doesn't count, because it was bad.)

What really shocks me is how long he's been setting this up for. Russel T. Davies knew he would be writing the swansong episode of Tennant's take on The Doctor, and so he began setting things up from the minute The Master returned. Between setting up the drumming, and Wilf, I'm quite impressed.

This episode feels like it really pays off on everything that the past few years with the 10th Doctor have been building up to. And as much as it hurts to see him go, and he'll always be The Doctor to me, this episode is a very fitting way for him to go.

Not that it didn't have it's share of cringe worthy moments, in fact I didn't even get the most out of the cliffhanger of Pt. 1 until the second watch through, because I spent the whole time laughing the first time. It was incredibly cheesy. But it was fitting. Because even though I love the heck outta the show, it's nothing if not cheesy. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. There's a place for cheesiness. And that was it.

It was incredibly emotional too. And I'll admit I nearly cried, more than once. And I don't cry for movies/TV shows usually. It takes something special. But this was special. The very end held a moment, hearing Ten talk about his mortality, and how even though he'll regenerate, it's like dying. It shows it's not something routine for Time Lords. It's not like going to the dentist. It's like... Death. You die, and a new man takes your place. Imagine that. If you died, and knew when you died a completely different person would get up and continue on.. It would be almost worse than real death wouldn't it?

The point is, David Tennants swansong episode was very fitting. It touched upon everything that makes The Doctor, The Doctor. It was easily one of the best episodes written by RTD. It was fitting end for his control over the show too. I gotta continue what I touched upon in yesterday's post, Stephen Moffat is my favorite writer for the show. Blink, and Midnight are amazing episodes. I really think the Weeping Angels could be a great reoccurring enemy if done right. And I think with him taking the reins from RTD next season, the show could be even better than before. But as far as RTD episodes go, The End of Time is pretty top notch. I really enjoyed it. The complaints I had were outweighed by the good of the episode.

This is how we're going to remember RTD, and David Tennant, and you know what? That's a good thing. The End of Time had it's share of problems (Too much build up, not enough payoff for the Time Lords for one thing.) but the extremely emotional, and surprising ending, paid off for the whole thing.

The last line Ten says, is really emotional. David Tennant was a Doctor Who fan growing up, and he seems like it. He loved being The Doctor. In fact, there's a line in The Waters of Mars that sums Tennant's take on the doctor up.

The captain of the Mars expedition says to The Doctor, "State your name, rank, and intention."
The Doctor replies: "The Doctor. Doctor. Fun."

He really enjoys seeing the universe, he's seen his share of sadness, and it shows, but all in all... He loves life. And in that, Ten, and Tennant both really loved being The Doctor.

Tennants take on the character, was much more built on relationships, and being The Doctor, than it was built upon great, epic, grand danger. In that, it's fitting that the regeneration doesn't come until AFTER the threat is foiled. It's very personal. The Doctor won. He could just walk away. He's told, to just walk away. But he can't, because that's not who he is. Because if there's one thing The Doctor loved more than being The Doctor... It's the people he met. All of them.

It was pretty much as fitting an ending as you could ask for. And with that Ten, I bid you farewell. The show won't be the same without you. It may be just as good, it may be terrible, it may even be better, but one thing it won't be, is the same. You'll always be the doctor to me.