Avis des utilisateurs

I have really loved the new Doctor Who. Each season is brave addition from what has passed before. It makes social comments and appeals to a mass audience who have grown to love it in their own way.

The last episode shows just how big the arc has been. Martha has grown into a great character and splitting the story for her several times this year has made her star shine.

I'm not going to say much more about the actual episode as you should shy away from reviews. There's been a lot of negative reactions from the press and from some of the fans to Martha and to some of the story lines. But I think she is great. And the stories get better and better. Keep up the great work BBC.

Spoilt brats. Those are the words I'd use to describe fans who've been griping about this episode. I thought it was magnificent, showing a breadth of imagination rarely seen on the small screen. The trouble with a lot of Doctor Who fans is that they're never happy, and never have been. At the time of Season 14, the season that was later reckoned to be the best ever, they were complaining that it wasn't as good as the Pertwee era. It was clearly a lot better. And the current show is much better still. Last Of The Time Lords was better than ANY episode of the old series. ANY episode. Easily. Why? Because it was audacious, it had an epic sweep to it, it had meaty sci-fi ideas that the likes of HG Wells and Philip K Dick would have been proud of (I'm thinking of concepts like the Paradox Machine), it boasted John Simm's fantastically enjoyable, streetwise performance as The Master (rather better than dire pantomime villain Anthony Ainley), it took risks, and most of all, it was vastly enjoyable. Sad little Doctor Who fans love to pick, love to criticise Russell T Davies, a man who has almost single handedly resurrected the show and turned it into one of the most popular and talked about on television. If the fans aren't careful they'll force him out, which would be a tragedy. This was a great end to a great series, albeit one that dipped in the middle a little. Anyone with anything to do with the making of this show: take a bow.

Still well worth watching if you ask me. As a three-part episode (of which, Utopia was by far the best) it was overall a brilliant end to what has been without doubt the best series of the three series since the show was revived. Don't get me wrong, this episode did have faults, but on the whole, it was very well done.

First, the gripes. Captain Jack is criminally underused in this episode. After his brief appearance at the start where he gets killed (again), he doesn't say another word until just before the Master's downfall. For probably the best semi-regular character in the show, this was a great shame. Similarly, the femme fatale that was Lucy barely got a look in. Off the top of my head, the only words I can think of her saying are describing when the Master took her to the end of the universe. Obviously she did have an integral part in the plot, but I think she could have said a bit more, rather than spending the episode essentially as the trophy wife. Also, I found the Doctor's eventual "resurrection" was a little hard to get my head around, and there was no possible way that Martha could've worked out exactly what the spend the next year doing just from the three words that the Doctor whispered in her ear.

Now, the pros. As if everyone didn't already know, John Simm has once again shown himself to be an absolute diamond. His performance as the brilliantly psychotic Master is sheer perfection, no actor on the planet could have pulled it off better than him, and his casting was nothing short of inspired. Freema Agyeman's performance is also heroic as she takes centre stage for once, as it's obvious how hardened she's become by the events of "the year that never was". Also, once he gets back to normal, David Tennant comes right back into it as if he'd never been reduced to a 100 year old man in a wheelchair. The revelation behind the Toclafane and the Tardis/Paradox Machine was brilliantly thought out and flawlessly written. And on a lighter note, the use of the Scissor Sisters' "I Can't Decide" when the Master is dancing around on the deck of the Valiant is a Midas touch when you listen to the lyrics, they fit the situation like salt and pepper.

Overall, a good finale to the series. Here's looking forward to Voyage of the Damned at Christmas, and, of course, the already well-publicised guest appearance of Kylie Minogue...

A year has passed and the Master continues to reign with terror. On the Valiant, the Jones family are slave servants, Jack's in chains and the Doctor lives like a dog however...

Round and round the world she goes, north and south looking for what who knows, until she returns to where she disappeared, with a masterful plan for the Master to jeer.

Jeer he might, as Martha, in her full time curtain call, harnesses all she can to bring the world back to the way it was, and send the Toclafane back from where they came. Unforgettable, but not for everyone.

Quite a lot of dodgy stuff in this that really goes against the shows cannon. The Martha and Tom (Tom Ellis) partnership was the best thing about this episode and saved the whole thing for me at least. I really do think Martha was one of the best companions, I would have loved to have seen Tom continue as well.

"Last of the Time Lords" is a darker than usual slice of "Doctor Who", following on from where the excellent and thoroughly entertaining "The Sound of Drums" left off. Gone is the humour, largely replaced with a bizarre streak of nihilism.

There are many adult themes running throughout the course of this episode and Russell T. Davies has really pushed the boundaries of the show and what we can expect to see before the watershed. The Master's wife, played by the delightfully pretty Alexandra Moen, is seen throughout the episode with a black eye, demonstrating that this Time Lord has a temper and a penchant for wife beating. While this is a relatively subtle touch, I initially had doubts about this as it's not entirely appropriate content for a family show. Realising that I'm starting to think like Mary Whitehouse, I appreciate that this was probably something younger viewers would not pick up on but it remains a more adult element of the show and something that's not been touched on before in the history of the series.

The Master's treatment of The Doctor is, without doubt, hard-hitting and cruel. While this emphasises The Master's state of mind, again I wondered how the young audience would react to these scenes. The sight of a wizened doctor living in a type of dog kennel / tent was unexpected, as were the later scenes involving him imprisoned in a birdcage.

While I've been annoyed by the silliness of some of Davies' stories, I initially felt that this tale may have gone too far in the other direction. I won't go into detail but there are elements of the script which are just a little bizarre and some viewers may be upset by the finale as a whole both in tone and content, particularly the truth behind the Toclafane. In addition to this, I found the rather predictable resolution somewhat weak and unsatisfying - this is going to be a story that will have fans debating its merits for some time. After watching "Last of the Time Lords" a second time, I'm more comfortable with the grim tone but I still remain unconvinced by Davies' deus ex machina ending.

Martha fans will be pleased to see the character has a large role to play in the proceedings but John Barrowman's Jack largely just gazes at events from the sidelines. Only a final, teasing bit of dialogue from Harkness (another thing that will keep the forums buzzing!) justifies his existence in this episode.

It must be said that the music from Murray Gold is outstanding and gives the production an epic feel.

In the end, I've given this longer-than-usual episode 8 out of 10. I loved "The Sound of Drums" but I'm not entirely happy with the way that this story progressed. It does, however, remain great entertainment despite being slightly anti-climatic after so many outstanding previous episodes.

We are now being told repeatedly that Martha is a legend, it's a year on, and things are bleak, The Master has conquered the Earth, and is now running wild, tormenting his pet Doctor and abusing his very own staff of the Family Jones, and it falls on Martha to save the world.

John Simm is stunningly good again, he never disappoints as an actor. He does all he can with the script, which is sadly a little under par, his dialogue is down on the Sound of Drums. There is a definite glee when it comes to his torturing the Doctor.

The lovely Lucy, 'Alexandra Moen' is wandering around looking empty and beaten, with a vagueness about her that's totally contrasted to her glamorous red dress. She's understated but very very good. He describes her as his human companion, I like that concept of the Master having a companion.

Some welcome additions to the cast Ellie Haddington and Tom Ellis, both of whom i've admired and do pretty well.

Sadly there are quite a few disappointments, the first half of the episode it pretty good, the second half sadly falls apart a little, the concept of the Paradox machine allows the script to cheat badly, and it sure does.

Martha's travels across the Earth in the one year are a little bit much, especially as her makeup is flawless and even her teeth glisten beautifully (she has great teeth!!)

The conclusion is a shambles, it's like they ran out of ideas, the whole storytelling and human consciousness bringing the Doctor back is nonsense, it was hideously out of place, the lasers and magic don't fit at all, that scene 'and nothing ever happened,' torture!!!

The saving grace of it was the Lucy Saxon incident, she's stood around looking vague and aloof throughout, but somehow there was something waiting to happen, she was very good. The subsequent Doctor Master scene showcases both Tennant and Simm's talents.

Freema is very good, her character has progressed and developed a lot throughout the series, more constructively then Rose, it was sad that she left after a single series, but Donna lay in wait :-)

There are real mixed reviews, I don't see it as the disaster some claim, nor do I see it as excellent, it falls between the two. Possibly the weakest series finale, due to the absence of the Doctor, after all it is his show. That said it is imaginative, it is different, they just totally ruined the ending.

6/10

Although it never reaches the heights of The Parting of the Ways, Doomsday or Journey's End, Last of the Time Lords is still a fine conculsion to series 3 - a flawed one at that, but it's certainly ambitious, with lots of aspects to love.

Picking off after the cliffhanger ending of Sound of Drums, Last of the Time Lords mostly focuses on Martha Jones and her quest to stop the Master's reign of terror over the world. What I like about this story is the sense of hopeless it builds up - the world has been in ruins for a year, and Martha and her team have the last chance to stop the Master's torture of humanity. And beneath the silly scenes of the Master dancing to pop, this is a very dark story - the Tocalaface reveal is truly disturbing, as is the Master's monlouge of what happened after the end of Utopia.

The 'Doctor Dobby' CGI is really rubbish, sure, but it's a good idea, just executed poorly. And that exceeds to the ending, where the Doctor gains powers from the Master's technology to become immune to bullets and any other obstacles, floating through the air. Now, I don't really mind this moment, but at the same time... I can't defend it.

Still, I do enjoy this episode. There's lots to love despite the flaws, as the ambition of the episode alone is enough to praise. 8/10, that's a little high considering it is hugely flawed, and no where near on the level of Silence in the Library, which I gave the same grade, but I don't know, I just enjoy this one.

Review: Episodes of The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Timelords

This is a 3 part story. The Sound of Drums follows on from the brilliant Utopia in which we had the great Derek Jacobi as the Master and he was truly magnificent. Thanks to Big Finish audio adventures we get to enjoy Jacobi more but it would have been amazing to get him on screen as the Master for a bit longer.

Simm, whilst very different and shockingly bonkers is suitably menacing, fun and impressive in the role and this two parter gives him plenty of chance to treat us to a mixture of zany humour and dark threatening drama.

Both these last two episodes are very funny in the comedic dialogue and very exciting in the dramatic plot development. The story is thrilling, interesting, dark and thoroughly enjoyable. As well as Simm's fine performance we get Tennant on superb peak form, Freema Agyeman again demonstrating what a great companion Martha is and John Barrowman enjoyable as ever as Captain Jack Harkness.

The threat to Earth in the first part is wonderfully well evoked and leads to a thrilling cliffhanger.

The Last of the Timelords is harshly judged by some for being over the top and for its resolution where bad events on Earth are conveniently wiped from ever happening. I think that is very exaggerated as a criticism.

Yes the events on Earth are undone which feels a bit convenient but the whole story features the Master using a Paradox Machine and the destruction of that logically means that events that took place after the paradox began cease to exist. It makes sense (unlike quite a few stories in Moffatt and Chibnall eras). I still feel all the horrifying events shown retain most of their strength and impact despite the fact they get wiped from ever happening.

They were never going to continue with a decimated Earth for all future stories so to have a story featuring a paradox machine allowing a logical reset was, I think, a clever way to deal with it. It is pretty well executed although the way the Doctor defeats the Master is slightly hyped up for my taste.

My main complaint in this story is the way they depict the Doctor being aged into a small withered figure with out of proportion head and eyes. I would happily do a George Lucas and superimpose a better version with modern graphics over the top of the original effects haha.

My Ratings: Utopia - 10/10 The Sound of Drums - 10/10 The Last of the Timelords - 8.5/10 Overall 3-part story - 9.5/10.

I'd been bracing myself a bit of this one, as I remembered quite a bit about the plot resolution going in and how much I disliked it at the time - it wasn't as bad as I remembered.

A year has passed since the arrival of the Toclafane and The Master (John Simm) continues to wreak havoc on the Earth and punish the Doctor (David Tennant), Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and the Jones family. However, on Earth, rumours circulate of a saviour, a woman who has travelled the globe gathering the kit and information she needs to return to the sky platform and liberate the people. And that woman, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) is arriving back in the UK.

Nice little turn from Tom Ellis too, as the soldier to meet her back in the UK. It's sad that this is Martha's final episode (sort of). In the storyline she never got out from underneath Rose's shadow until the end of this episode, so it would have been interesting to see another season of exploration of her relationship with a Doctor who wasn't in mourning, but it wasn't to be.

My big fear for the episode was my recollection that the scene where The Doctor is Dobby the House-elf, and is then wished back to health by all the good thoughts of the population below would be incredibly, cringe worthy. It wasn't as bad as I feared, there was more science behind it than I remembered, though it was still pretty corny. I was also quite proud of myself for remembering who the Toclafane were, though not the bit about the paradox dampener, which again was a bit of a trite way of doing away with this year of suffering.

I really enjoyed some of the performance from David Tennant though, particularly when the Master refuses his regeneration.

Whilst not as bad as I feared, this conclusion to the season is still a bit underwhelming, compared to the Battle of Canary Wharf. Christmas with Kylie next then. . .

I mean for a finale of a doctor who episode i always thought it will be one of the best episodes of the entire series. but it turned out it just wasn't my cup of tea. i mean really the acting was almost not as good as most doctor who episodes, there were not very good special effects and almost no action or anything in the whole episode. the only good thing about this episode was when the doctor finally near the end had some power to change his very old self to his normal David tenant self again. the ending was pretty good as well due to the comedic Titanic boat that crashed in the doctor's tardis. the bad thing is always when Martha Jones left in one of the worst ways a companion would leave but i wasn't surprised that she said she'll be back again. seriously if i were anyone who love a good finale this finale has to be one of the most disappointing finales you could ever see!