(S04E13) The latest season of Doctor Who gets resolved with a story that seems rushed, confusing and filled with self-love on the part of showrunner Russell T. Davies. But that doesn't necessarily mean it was bad.To begin, the CGI and special effects are quite possibly the best ever seen on the show. Despite being in charge of the specials that will be airing next year, it seems that this episode was treated as the last that Davies will ever run. As a result, he wrapped up most every storyline he could think of going back to the first season.
"Journey's End" did have more than its share of disappointments. Due to the sheer complexity of the story (I won't even bother pointing out the logical plot inconsistencies. It would take too much time), it was difficult for any of the Doctor's companions to get much screen time. It would be best to give a character-based review rather than a story-based one.
The Doctor: Having the Doctor regenerate into himself (and create a clone from the regeneration to boot) felt like an easy cop-out. Does this mean Tennant is both the tenth and the eleventh Doctors? Does the character only have two regenerations left rather than three? The duplicate did keep with the season's overall recurring theme of cloning (and, in a looser sense, teamwork). The entire "half-human" concept seemed a wink to the 1996 TV movie with Paul McGann. Since this series pretty much definitely denies the assertion that the Doctor is half-human, now fans will have to figure out why he believed he was way back when. His inhuman side came out again when he had to wipe Donna's mind. This part of him was last seen at the end of last season's episode "The Family of Blood."
Donna: I firmly believe that the next Doctor should be female and Catherine Tate convinces me even further in her role as a half-Time Lord this episode. Her behaviors once she absorbed a Time Lord intellect were fun to watch. She is without a doubt my favorite companion of the show, making her loss of the memory and personal growth she experienced with the Doctor ever more tragic. She went back to being the snarky, shallow woman she was in "The Runaway Bride" (and she even lost her memory of that). Still, Rose came back when she supposedly couldn't so I'm hoping we haven't seen the last of Donna Noble.
Rose: The Rose/Mickey relationship was always destined to fail. That was easy for anyone to see. It was nice for Rose to get her wish of a romance with the Doctor (albeit a half-human copy). Jackie Tyler remained comic relief. I know she loves Rose, but why was she even on the mission?
Mickey Smith, Martha Jones and Torchwood: Both are being set up to join Torchwood. Mickey Smith's defection to Torchwood was surprising but somehow appropriate. Martha Jones, on the other hand, was easily being groomed for that role to replace the fallen Owen. I wouldn't mind seeing a romance between the two since they're such different characters (Martha is analytical and Mickey is street-wise). It's ironic that even in death, Tosh is still saving the team. Captain Jack remains the same. It was nice to see the acknowledgment of Eve Myles role in "The Unquiet Dead" from the first season.
Sarah Jane: The only current character other than the Doctor who was there when Davros first created the Daleks. It was a nice touch when Davros remembered her. It was also nice to see K-9 again for an instant.
Harriet Jones: I was hoping she would come back as some sort of revenge-crazed harpy, but I was mistaken. Rest in Peace, Harriet.
Davros and the Daleks: As usual, we didn't see Davros die so he could still possibly return. I like how they kept his Sith Lord electric finger ability from the classic series. The Nazi origin of the characters are evident when the Daleks are flying around speaking German after Martha teleports to Germany. The Daleks are notoriously simple creatures, despite their homicidal tendencies. Dalek Caan proved the exception (being the second member of the Cult of Skaro to realize what the Daleks actually were). Davros also managed to retain his complexity by doing what other villains do: showing that the Doctor is in his own way just as monstrous as he is. It's the sort of self-justification that evil people often do.
Other points:
- Continuing his love of anagrams, Osterhagen is "Earth's gone" with the letters rearranged.
- While I recognize the deaths shown in the montage were only from the relaunched series, the Doctor's interference when the classic series is taken into account has resulted in many more deaths. I guess they didn't have enough time to show them all.
- Bernard Cribbins also delivers a fine performance, particularly at the end of the episode.
And that's the season. In July, for a few minutes we see the return of a "dead" companion. In December, the Cybermen return. I'm looking forward to it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-01-2008 @ 10:26PM
Claire said...
Oh God Donna! She was my favorite. I loved her more than Rose. The Doctor needs someone who will last more than a season. I wanted it to be her so badly. Even if they do bring her back it will be like Rose, only for a short while.
I think Stolen Earth was the best episode of the season but this one was amazing as well. I loved all the companions coming back. It makes for more possible crossover. It was still hard to watch. especially the end. Donna's grandfather (Bernard Cribbins), what a wonderful actor.
At least Rose gets a part of the Doctor. One that is capable of loving her in a human way. That was something many of us fans wanted i think. and i wouldn't mind Martha on Torchwood. not sure about mickey, maybe if his character is less annoying.
season 4 has to be my favorite season of all. the other three season are superb but this one was something extra. i can't wait for the specials. hopefully it won't be a rotating door of companions but one or two in for the long haul.
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8-01-2008 @ 10:28PM
sean tubbs said...
A good season, and a very troubling episode. I still wish he had respected Donna enough to just let her die. It's hard to re-watch the earliier episodes of this season knowing all of the character development she went through was simply wiped away. I'm holding out hope that huge ring meant something, and she'll show up sometime in the future in some capacity. I know how I would write it!
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8-01-2008 @ 11:14PM
Annie Wu said...
I agree completely. I would rather have seen Donna die than revert to her old self.
I've got to hand it to Catherine Tate for pulling off such a great season. Honestly, I was horribly upset when I found out she was going to be the new companion, because I couldn't stand Donna in the Christmas Special. The strength of the character was a really pleasant surprise.
Now, a surprise that wasn't so pleasant was the Rose/Half-Doctor ending. I've already spent too much time ranting offline, so I will leave it at this: How. Completely. Ridiculous.
8-01-2008 @ 10:43PM
bamberluvr said...
I, too, thought it was evident that Martha and Mickey were going to be the newest members of Torchwood team, but word is that the actress who plays Martha is going to be on Law and Order: London (a British spin-off of the American series) and it will be on the BBC's rival, so the BBC ordered that she be written out of the third season of "Torchwood." That poor woman can't get a break - first the fans don't like her (I don't understand that...I liked her), then she gets marginalized on "Doctor Who" and now she's persona non grata on "Torchwood".
RIP Doctor Donna - you were an amazing companion!
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8-01-2008 @ 11:16PM
K.V.C said...
Why didn't they just regenerate the Doctor? Tennant has had his run, enough already. RTD is gone, Tennant should go with him. (He should have regenerated at the end, when he was alone after leaving Donna...That would have been perfect!)
Destroying Donna, who had grown all season, and was the best part of the season, was worse then letting her just die. And in saving her, the Doctor voided Caan's prophecy, all of which came true except "one will die." This will allow them to bring back the Daleks again (even though they should never come back!!)
I voted for a fair season, mostly because of the treatment of Donna.
(Since, reportedly there will probably be only 5 or 6 episodes of Torchwood you can't really blame the actress playing Martha for going over to Law and Order.)
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8-01-2008 @ 11:24PM
Michael Brennan-White said...
Could his new companion be his daughter?
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8-02-2008 @ 2:11AM
Claire said...
YES YES YES
i would love jenny coming back. the doctor needs her.
8-02-2008 @ 9:18PM
bamberluvr said...
Word is that the Doctor's daughter will be in at least one of the specials that is slated for next year!
8-01-2008 @ 11:32PM
Mark O. Estes said...
Martha and Mickey might not do Torchwood at all. The new season is only 5 episodes and Noel Clarke (Mickey) has stated on his official website that he was done with the character of Mickey Smith. As a previous poster announced, Freema Agyeman is on not only the new Law and Order: London, but also the revival of Survivors for the BBC. I agree with the previous poster. I love Freema and for an actress "that can't act" she is in VERY hot demand! More power to her!
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8-01-2008 @ 11:44PM
Lenny said...
Yes, Donna went from being my least favorite companion to passing up my previous favorites (Sarah Jane and Rose), so I'm disappointed she didn't stay for a few more seasons/series. She could always be brought back, but somehow I doubt we'll see Donna other than a few odd episodes, if that.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though it was made out to look that way, Harriet Jones (former Prime Minister. Yes, we know who you are.) was never shown being "exterminated" was she? There's still hope, however small, that the woman who can truly say "everybody knows her name" may be back in some capacity.
This new series desperately needs to get a companion or two that hangs in for a long haul. All these one year companions is getting old and I, personally, like having some regularity in the companions as much as in the Doctors. Maybe Moffat will do something like that.
No matter what, I'll stay tuned as I've been a Whovian for decades and always will be.
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8-02-2008 @ 11:24AM
Karen said...
I assumed that the "one who will die" is Rose's Doctor, who doesn't have the real Doctor's regenerative immortality.
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8-02-2008 @ 12:51PM
jun said...
Ooh, that's interesting. More like 'one of the Doctors will die' in that sense.
8-02-2008 @ 12:45PM
mj said...
RTD is, without a doubt, awesome. SM has a lot to do to be even miles from him. RTD did a great job. I sat and cried through a lot of this. The Doctor found Rose, only to lose her. To himself. And Donna, who was his second favorite, will never remember him. How utterly tragic! And she will never know just how wonderful she is! God, I'm tearing up again! I don't think Martha will be in Torchwood, which makes me happy, as I don't think she's that wonderful. Mickey, okay. It was so nice to see them all together. And seeing Donna pull Sarah Jane away from Jack was a hoot. I wonder if Rose will ever forget the Doctor. Yes, she has one, but not THE one. Any woman could tell you, it isn't the same. I don't think Jenny will be the new companion, as I hear she may have her own show. I also read a quote from SM that he didn't really like Rose, as she was too needy. After a backlash from fans, he then said it was a joke. I'm beginning to think that, after seeing the movies, I may not watch. I really don't think SM's episodes were that great. Too little character involvement.
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8-02-2008 @ 7:12PM
Oreo said...
"Does this mean Tennant is both the tenth and the eleventh Doctors? "
I was thinking the same thing, but most likely won't mean much right now because new people will be taking over.
And the fact Donna isn't dead and doesn't remember was like a kick in the gut, it was handed perfectly.
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8-02-2008 @ 8:02PM
Gordon Werner said...
These last two episodes of the series were awesome ... I can't wait to see what they do next.
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8-03-2008 @ 3:29PM
K.V.C said...
I assumed that the "one who will die" is Rose's Doctor.
How can you assume that? They will all die of old age..
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8-03-2008 @ 10:04PM
PB said...
Wow. I really loved this episode and was SERIOUSLY bummed that Donna got her mind wiped. Of all the companions, I've liked her best.
With respect to "the one who will die", I think that's Donna. Caan said "die", but now how the one would die. To me, having Donna's mind wiped and all her experiences with the doctor is a death in and of itself. The Donna the Doctor knew is no longer there ... she's died. The Donna who remains is a stranger to the Doctor.
*sigh* I'm going to miss Donna.
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8-03-2008 @ 10:07PM
PB said...
I assume that the "one who will die" was Donna. I mean, with her memory wiped, she's essentially dead because she's not the Donna that the Doctor knows.
I'll miss Donna. She's my favorite companion.
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8-03-2008 @ 10:08PM
PB said...
Sorry for the double post ... the board is acting up!
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8-18-2008 @ 7:35PM
oldskool138 said...
The Doctor was, up until this episode in his tenth body but only his 9th regeneration. Now, it's evened out. 10th body and he has used 10 regenerations.
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