The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Jackie Tyler: Camille Codouri
Mickey Smith: Noel Clarke
Pete Tyler: Shaun Dingwall
Yvonne Hartman: Tracy-Ann Oberman
Dr Rajesh Singh: Raji James
Dalek Voice: Nicholas Briggs
Synopsis:
The final episode of the second series proves to be every bit as exciting
and fun as the first part Army Of Ghosts suggested it would be. After a
slight reprise of events in the prologue, the action continues from where
part 1 left off, with a Dalek foursome protecting a "Genesis Ark" in the
basement of Torchwood Tower, while 5 million Cybermen dominate the planet
outside...
Doomsday is certainly all pay-off to Army Of Ghosts, with the
emphasis firmly shifted in the direction of visual thrills and fraught
adventure.
The story works much better as a continuation of the mid-season Rise Of
The Cybermen/Age Of Steel two-parter, particularly when the alternate
universe Pete Tyler appears and rekindles his relationship with Jackie.
Of course, the inner child in all of us will undoubtedly get a kick from
seeing the Cybermen versus the Daleks, and the resultant battle between the
cyborgs is a lot of fun, if occasionally undermined by banter (the Daleks
have developed a wicked sense of humour it seems, and Mickey likens the
enemies sparring to "Stephen Hawking versus the talking clock"!)
David Tennant does fine work here, furthering my belief that he's
at the mercy of the writing. Unlike Christopher Eccleston, he can't elevate
crap writing with as much success, but here he's given a script that plays
to his strengths: he's passionate, believable, able to balance the humour
with drama, and in the climactic sequence The Doctor seems more frail and
human than we've ever seen him in the series. Marvellous.
Likewise, Billie Piper does a great job with all her emotional scenes.
Rose as a character had certainly reached the end of the road, with the
writers unable to stretch her beyond the archetypal teen she began the show
as. It was excellent to see the Tyler family unit given a wonderful resolution,
and Piper's beach-set farewell with The Doctor marks a highpoint for the
show, and eclipsed all the visual fireworks thrown at the screen.
Yes, the visuals were excellent, particularly the Cybermen versus Dalek
battles. The sequences with flying Daleks remain obvious composites, but are
still effective in wider shots and never seriously detracted from the
visceral enjoyment of scenes. Doctor Who should certainly be applauded
for delivering epic sequences on a relatively small budget.
Elsewhere, the supporting cast are on the periphery throughout, with many
characters facing quick deaths, although Shaun Dingwall continues his
excellent work as Pete Tyler and has a great scene with Camille Codouri's
Jackie that walked the tightrop between comedy and drama expertly well.
Overall, this was an impressive finale that made last year's The Parting
Of The Ways look small in comparison. What really made the episode work
was the excellent writing for the sensitive scenes between the main characters,
particularly The Doctor and Rose.
Writer Russell T. Davies is often slated by fans for his trashy episodes
(New Earth), silly excesses (Aliens Of London) or plain
stupidity (Love & Monsters), but he's undoubtedly the best writer for
the dynamic between The Doctor and Rose.
Series 2 ends on a real emotional high (and a bizarre scene with Catherine Tate!),
that matched my own hope that series 3 will reinvigorate the show with its
new companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
The honeymoon period is certainly over for the new Who, and the producers
can't always rely on the Daleks to exterminate any lull in ratings, so I
hope they take heed and deliver some purer sci-fi thrills next year... and
maybe leave contemporary London behind for awhile, Mr Davies...?
UNTIL CHRISTMAS: Series 2 is over, so now we can look back on the
past 13 episodes with hindsight...
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Series 1 Boxset:
Synopsis:
The final episode of the second series proves to be every bit as exciting
and fun as the first part Army Of Ghosts suggested it would be. After a
slight reprise of events in the prologue, the action continues from where
part 1 left off, with a Dalek foursome protecting a "Genesis Ark" in the
basement of Torchwood Tower, while 5 million Cybermen dominate the planet
outside...
