Doctor Who: The End of Time part 2
Okay, so I broke down and watched it on *cough cough*. I plan to rewatch tonight and also buy the DVD when I can, so I hope the BBC, Davies, Gardner, and company will forgive me. Besides, there were some parts missing so I didn't get to see the whole thing.
Random bullet points:
1. I must have a lot of residual love for the Tenth Doctor built up, because he went to his death like a whiny little bitch. I doubt any of the previous incarnations WANTED to go, either, but they all manned up and faced regeneration when the time came. He could have taken a page out of the Ninth Doctor's book. The Ninth Doctor obviously had some regrets about going when he did, but he faced it with dignity and grace because he knew the Doctor would go on, even if it wasn't HIM. Now, obviously, he didn't have as many goodbyes to make, but I'm sure he would have liked to see Harriet Jones one more time before his departure and he didn't whine about it. He was philosophical and absolutely magnificent about it.
The Tenth Doctor had his time to make a few more differences in the universe and even got to see most of his Companions one last time, even got to hear that Joan Redfern ended up absolutely fine after John Smith's departure in 1913. If he had taken his head out of his accelerated-emo ass long enough, he could have realized that there were no less than five people right there with him in spirit as he faced his own end.
I love the Tenth Doctor. He's my Doctor and I was sorry to see him go and I was sorry that he was alone (if you don't count the TARDIS) and I did cry when he didn't want to go, but saving one of the little people was only right, given his horrible attitude at the end of The Waters of Mars.
2. I can't really comment on the Master or the Time Lords because I don't know what happened with them yet, but I will come back to that when I do know how that entire clusterfuck was resolved.
3. The Eleventh Doctor.
I admit to not liking the look of the pictures I saw of Matt Smith. I was hoping for someone older than David Tennant, but I'm not going to bitch about the decision after it's been made and what I saw of the Eleventh Doctor definitely put a lot of my initial concerns to rest. I'm going to wait and see what the Moffat/Smith era brings, but I'm going to cautiously offer two thumbs up to the new Doctor's entrance. Still not ginger indeed, and it looks like he has some gender issues, hahahaha!
3. The Tenth Doctor's Companions
HATE. For the most part, all of the Companions got better endings to their stories in Journey's End and they would have all been better served with a short montage for all of them leading up to the Doctor's regeneration.
Rose- I know that Rusty believes that she is the bestest, most special Companion ever, so I'm not even going to waste my time pointing out how many different ways the Doctor dropping in and making contact before she ever even met him was WRONG. Just WRONG. Would have been fine if he had dropped in for a last look like everyone else, but crossing into established events? Isn't that breaking one of his own first rules?
Sarah Jane and Luke- I liked the implication that Sarah Jane knew regeneration was coming and I'm sure she was there with the Doctor in spirit when he did regenerate. I think it was also perfectly in character for Luke to be paying no attention at all while crossing the street, thus necessitating the Doctor's intervention to save his life. But there wasn't really any new information or insight into either of them.
Captain Jack and Alonso- I'm assuming this takes place after Children of Earth. I liked the throwback to the Adipose fat babies and the Dalek arc of season three with the soundtrack of the scene, but I couldn't really a sense of exactly where Jack was in the timeline. There just wasn't enough time spent on establishing exactly where and when Jack was with regards to what he'd experienced in CoE.
The Nobles- This was one part that I liked. Wilf was awesome all the way through, even though I think he ought to have been allowed to punch the Doctor in the face after he was complaining about having to die to save Wilf. The Doctor threw down the gauntlet in The Waters of Mars and he dares to complain about the indignity of saving someone as "unimportant" as Wilf? Newsflash, Time Lord. Wilf IS important. He's important to Sylvia and Donna and Donna's new husband. I like that RTD used Wilf and his place in the universe to show that the Tenth Doctor went straight to his regeneration having not regained his previous seeming understanding of the importance of the "little people" in the universe. I did like that Donna's story didn't stay as tragic as it seemed in Journey's End, though I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Doctor giving them a winning lottery ticket to make her life a little better. It seems like applying a band-aid when you should be applying a tourniquet.
Martha and Mickey- Both are awesome, both went through their Companion stints criminally underappreciated by the Doctor, and both are incredibly hot. Obviously, Rusty didn't believe that either character warranted a little explanation of how they went from Mickey catching up with Martha and Jack at the end of Journey's End to Martha no longer being with Tom (a relationship I found a bit dodgy anyway, but liked enough to ignore the problematic factors) and married to Mickey. Martha should be a doctor first and a soldier second. But Mickey was far too good for Rose and both were far too good for the Doctor, so I'm glad they found each other, lack of backstory explanation notwithstanding.
Jackson Lake- There's no real reason for him to be here, other than I would have liked to see the Doctor peeking in on him. They spent a Christmas dinner together and I think that Lake would have been the only person to honestly understand what the Tenth Doctor was about to go through, having the memories of Ten Doctors floating around in his head. Jackson may have been able to help the Doctor come to grips with what was going to happen by reminding him that, yes, the Tenth Doctor would be gone soon, but the Time Lord goes on.
All in all, I think Rusty missed the boat with the Companion visits in a big way. Those visits and his "reward" (saving them all one last time) should have brought Ten to grips with his impending demise, but I was left with the feeling that it was one big exercise in self-indulgence. The irony of that realization is that when you think about the terribleness of Ten rather than the equal measures of wonderfulness, that the Tenth Doctor was for the most part, was himself one big exercise in self-indulgence which simply got so pronounced at the end that he had to go.
In conclusion, I will have more to say about the Master, the Time Lords, and everything else when I have a better grasp of it, but right now, the trilogy of Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, and Journey's End wound up being a much better send-off for the Tennant era.