It’s that time of year again! Another Christmas, another Who special! For those of us who don’t celebrate this particular holiday, I think it’s fair to say that we have not much else to look forward to! Heck, even those that DO celebrate the holiday can always look forward to some new Who. And this year in particular is very special, as it marks the end to an amazing reign on Doctor Who by Russel T. Davies who, in 2005, brought the show back in full force with Christopher Eccleston as the titular character. As years went by, it was David Tennant who really stepped into the role, defining the Doctor for a generation in a way that hadn’t been done since Tom Baker or William Hartnell. In addition to Davies leaving, so does Tennant, and this means the Doctor has to die.
We all know it’s coming. “He will knock four times.” The end of time is upon us. But how does it measure up?
NOTE: Spoilers are discussed in the following review. If you wish to avoid them, you might want to go watch the episode before reading this.
This special is, of course, a bit odd. It is the beginning to the end, to use a terrible adage. It has to set up everything for whatever explosive finale is to come, which will inevitably bring back every Who character from the past four seasons to say goodbye as we welcome both a new executive producer and a new doctor. Apparently Davies isn’t happy with just doing that. Davies wants to change everything beyond that, and this episode clearly shows us just how far he’s going to go before saying goodbye. And I can’t tell how comfortable we will be with all said and done.
As the special begins, we begin to see how things have tied together. Specifically, we begin to focus on Wilfred Mott, a character who had been with us since season two, appearing randomly through out the series. As it of course turns out, he is more important than we original believed, and he is the new companion for all intents and purposes. Of course, this special also brings back the Doctor’s greatest enemy: the Master. When we last saw the Master, he was burning to a crisp… yet some art of him survived in a ring that was picked up in an unknown persona. As we see, the Master had a contingency plan for the whole situation, but the resurrection is botched, bringing him back in an incomplete state. And once the Doctor is made aware of this by the Ood, all hell breaks loose.
The episode is probably one of the most different episodes we’ve ever seen, relying not so much on the Doctor solving a mystery as he is trying to find the Master, and the two have their various showdowns through out the episode. John Simm reprises the Master, fresh with a new set of hair, and he plays the part even more wonderfully than he did before. John Simm is the only Master my generation has ever truly known, and to have him laying the ultimate Time Lord villain again was of course a real treat. And with his curious new set of powers and blonde hair, he’s even more wicked than before. This all leads to the end in which John Simm turns everyone on the planet into John Simm, finally creating the Utopia he had sought for for so long. Talk about wicked.
And we’re not left with just that! The drumming inside the Master’s brain we’d been teased about? It’s something more! What is amazing about Davies’ run on Doctor Who is that he consistently connects everything together, so for fans who have seen every episode, it’s even more rewarding. What is inside his head? And what is coming? How are they related? These are the questions we’re left with as the episode ends and we begin to wait for the finale on New Years. The ending of this year’s Christmas special is by far and large the biggest twist we’ve ever seen – the Time Lord’s are alive.
Continued below
As we see, Mr. Skinner from Hot Fuzz Timothy Dalton appears in the biggest shocker: the Time Lords are alive. Just like the Daaleks, the Time Lords somehow survived. This is what I was talking about with Davies certainly pushing the limit of what we’ll allow. It’s easily the most polarizing move. By killing off all the Time Lords, Davies set a status quo for the show and most certainly created an intriguing set of events for the Doctor. When he learned the Master was alive, he was more obsessed with helping him so he wouldn’t be alone. The Time Lords hadn’t played a large part in the Doctor Who mythos of our show, but now with their return, what does this mean? And how exactly does it change things?
Ok, so it wasn’t that great of an episode, but all the same it’s difficult to judge. It did it’s job, that’s for sure, and it definitely did a good job of pursuing the Doctor’s more recent lethargic state of mind. As his death approaches, the Doctor becomes a tad more lethargic and even more sassy than before. Tennant does a great job of portraying this, and the Doctor we see in this episode is definitely not a Doctor we’ve ever seen before. In fact, his portrayal in this is actually quite haunting in a way. There’s an incredibly moving scene as the Doctor cries about his death in a small coffee shop with Wilfred, and we begin to see that it really is all over for him. He’s come to grips with his death more so than anyone, and that’s just a depressing thought. How can we count on a savior who is just as ready to die as he is ready to come to our defense?
All things considered, this is not the best Doctor Who special we’ve ever seen, but it’s difficult to judge because it’s clearly meant to be seen in full capacity as both the Christmas and New Years special. In that regards we need to ask ourselves, does the special do it’s job? Does the special create intrigue for the final episode, leaving us on the edge of our seats with thousands of questions? Yes. Does it entertain? Yes. In that regards, it actually is a good episode. It’s just difficult to watch since there are so much things left when all is said and done. I know I have a million questions, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to watch it again. As I write this, I’m actually watching the original Master trilogy of episodes from Season 3, in which the Master finally regained his persona from the Fob watch at the end of the universe. I can’t wait for the final episode, and the return of all the heroes I’ve come to love.
So really, when it comes down to it, saying that this is a “meh” Doctor Who episode is like trying to pick the least pretty diamond in Tiffany’s. No matter what, it’s still great, and definitely some of the best television around. New Years isn’t that far off, and while everyone else is out drinking and blasting off fireworks, I’ll be quite honest – I’ll be waiting for some way to watch the final episode of Doctor Who, because ultimately that’s the most exciting thing I can think of.
