{"id":213,"date":"2011-03-14T13:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T20:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=213"},"modified":"2011-03-13T16:52:50","modified_gmt":"2011-03-13T23:52:50","slug":"mark-watches-doctor-who-the-end-of-time-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/03\/mark-watches-doctor-who-the-end-of-time-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: The End of Time (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first part of the final 2010 Doctor Who<\/em> special, the Doctor races to Earth to confront the Master, only discover that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too late. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I know that I have Matt Smith to come after all of this, but this special really has an air of finality to it, as if these were the last Doctor Who<\/em> specials the world would ever see. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6ok, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to think about a world without Doctor Who<\/em> right now, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just carry on. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure this is the first episode of the entire show with a narrator, and that added to the SRS BSNS atmosphere of it all, as if another character needed to tell us the story of the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. (It was kind of irritating at first, but only at first, because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get there.)<\/p>\n

It was a pleasure to start this special off with the Ood, who might be my favorite alien species on Doctor Who<\/em>. Thankfully, this also wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a story about the Ood being used by someone else, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still met with dread. They inform the Doctor that yes, the Master is indeed<\/em> returning. (OMG JOHN SIMM OMG<\/em>) But I was more creeped out by the idea that something else<\/em> will emerge from the darkness, as they said, to bring about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the end of Time.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wait, so something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not<\/em> the Master? Worse than the Master???<\/em> What the hell?<\/p>\n

Much like the two-parter that ended series four, a lot of familiar faces are brought back to the story. Besides the obvious one (OMG JOHN SIMM I LOVE YOU SO MUCH), we see Lucy Saxon and Wilfred Mott again. Lucy Saxon, who has apparently been imprisoned ever since she shot the Master, is a huge part in his resurrection. A cult dedicated to Harold Saxon (unaware that he is a Time Lord) uses genetic material from Lucy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lips<\/em> to bring him back. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.not really sure how that works? Hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it been a long time since the Master kissed Lucy? Whatever, details aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always Doctor Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em> forte. It brings back the Master. THE MASTER IS BACK. And John Simm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hair is so wonderful and look I may have a slight obsession with John Simm stop judging me<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand the failsafe at all. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s explained in part two, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell me, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand what it is that Lucy does to kill herself and everyone in the prison and permanently damage the Master. I did find it interesting that she ruined the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans twice now. BAMF, right? Sad she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone so early in the story, as I would like to see more of her.<\/p>\n

A common theme throughout \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The End of Time: Part I\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is that the Doctor is simply too late. I mean that in a literal and figurative sense. He arrives at the prison simply too late to do anything about the resurrection of the Master, as he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already gone when the TARDIS arrives. But during this story, I get the sense that the Doctor is late to change anything<\/em>, really, as what is coming is absolutely inevitable. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a product of his action and a product of what the world has been building towards for many, many years. But still\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the Master, what is arriving that could end time?<\/p>\n

The Doctor continues to trace the Master in an attempt to find him and crosses paths with Wilfred Mott, and more of the story begins to come together. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve suspected (only barely) that Wilfred means a lot more to the Doctor than we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told, since he just keeps appearing in stories over and over again. We learn about the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nightmares\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that people can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember, but I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to talk about the plot too much because LET US TALK ABOUT THE SCENE IN THE CAF\u00c3\u2030.<\/p>\n

Holy god, I teared up. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if I can stand seeing the Doctor that broken, that scared, and that terrified. At the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Waters of Mars,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I know that was the first time that I personally was terrified by the Doctor, and I feel like this is the polar opposite of that. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen the Doctor scared, but this is a mortal fear, something he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily ever need<\/em> to feel, and if he feels that he is truly about to die, then I believe him. I feel that Bernard Cribbins, who plays Wilfred, does a fantastic job playing off witnessing the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fear, as there is a moment where you see that fear cross over on to his face as well. To Wilfred, there is no more fearless person to the Doctor, so seeing him so raw and frightened had to be mortifying to him.<\/p>\n

And then Donna shows up outside. I honestly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d see her again, since she isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t allowed to remember her time with the Doctor, so it made her appearance so much worse to me. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still ticked off at the ending this show gave her, so it just made me sad to see that she hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really changed her personality, it just reminded me how much I truly enjoy her character. Ugh, Donna. :: cries ::<\/p>\n

This scene also confirmed that the Doctor knew that Wilfred meant more to this story than I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d suspected before, and with that information, they part, as the Doctor heads off to confront the Master. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine a better actor to play the master than John Simm, who highlights both the terrifying and the amusing aspects of that character. Here, though, suffering from the effects of the botched resurrection, Simm really soars as he gets to take those personality features from the last time we saw him to their extremes. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all the more frightening and silly this time around, a sort of heightened sense of the absurd permeating his actions. That comes to a fever pitch when the Doctor and the Master finally do confront each other. There are few things more chilling in this series than the image of the Master banging that large container, knocking four times, and seeing the Doctor realize his time is coming soon. But I was completely surprised when, just minutes after this, the Master literally shows the Doctor that the drumming in his head is real. I thought it was safe to assume that it was all in the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, but now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m intrigued as to why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s occurring at all.<\/p>\n

The storyline of Joshua Naismith, introduced earlier, finally makes sense here, though, as Naismith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forces abduct the Master. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d seen Naismith and his team working on some sort of gate-like device, but Davies kept these earlier scenes shrouded in mystery. That gate, though, is not a method of passage to a place. I mean, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a gate, so it leads to somewhere, right? NOPE, NOT EVEN CLOSE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an Immortality Gate. It gives eternal life. GREAT AND NOW THE MASTER IS NEAR IT.<\/p>\n

I know I have a (quite long) second part to watch, but Naismith and his daughter seemed like nothing more than stereotypes of rich humans about to do something foolish. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to admit that they might be given some more depth and context in part two, but I was left NOT GIVING ONE FUCK about them.<\/p>\n

And really, with what happens left, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no sense to caring about the Naismiths. The Doctor and Wilfred do arrive in time to discover that two aliens, part of the Vinvocci race, are working in disguise in order to retrieve the Immortality Gate, but I was surprised that it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really for a sinister reason. The gate heals beings and they just want to use it. Wilfred (good ol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Wilfred!) asks a really obvious question that I failed to even consider: Why is the device so large?<\/p>\n

It heals entire planets. IT HEALS ENTIRE PLANETS. HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK<\/em><\/p>\n

But, like I said, the Doctor is simply too late. Because the Master breaks free and in a moment that is just as silly as it is terrifying, the Master uses the Immortality Gate to CLONE HIMSELF AND TURN EVERY HUMAN BEING INTO HIMSELF. Billions and billions of Masters. (I know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s goofy, but the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Master\u00e2\u20ac\u009d race is kind of brilliant.)<\/p>\n

I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe it. We see that hilarious side of the Master, through John Simm, but what is initially a pretty funny situation quickly becomes immensely disturbing. How the hell is the Doctor going to get out of this one? How is Donna going to survive remembering the Doctor???<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. Because the final scene of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The End of Time (Part One)\u00e2\u20ac\u009d continues to blow my mind. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s revealed that the narrator I found kind of irritating is not a narrator at all. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Lord President of the Time Lords. The Time Lords. THE TIME LORDS ARE NOT DEAD. AND THEY ARE BRINGING BACK THE END OF TIME<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

HOW IS THIS AT ALL POSSIBLE. HOW ARE THERE TIME LORDS. WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS GOING ON<\/em><\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n