Monday 16 July 2007

Medicus ex Machina

Oh, and about the Doctor Who finale...

I loved it, which surprisingly, to me, seems rather at odds with the Who weblogs I read, written to a man, as they are, by very smart people, and yes, as you mention it, to a man by men too.

Thing is though-
it didn't skimp on the bleakness of the End of Days Utopia had rather skimmed over (and paid off on little Johnny McWood's 'Diamond Sky' cameo),
it took Martha's journey to a logical end (I'll miss her a lot though),
it had that lovely "Who's been watching Blackpool?" karaoke moment,
it played up the central theme of humans as potential monsters and heroes really nicely,
it just did madder and madder things to our hero while failing to diminish him (eat that The Leisure Hive),

and crucially

it explained why the hell this production team brought back something as naff as the Master- to define the Doctor in opposition to him and to finally kill him and make his death matter (eat that Planet of Fire).

Even the Ming the Merciless tribute loop-hole shot near the end didn't reduce the power of that last Doctor Master scene for me (and I was so pleased that "the one thing" the Doctor had to say was the one I'd said I hoped it would be to the wife).

Furthermore, right at the finish, what I thought was just going to be a tortuous gag about/explanation of how John Barrowman would be visibly ageing in Torchwood while playing an immortal turned into a supremely daft, but for me, just plain cool twist reveal. Air punched, much laughter. It did everything I wanted.

So, sorry, potty and all over the place, sure, but I adored this and it brought my raves of the series to an almost respectable five out of thirteen.

Disappointingly, a rather excellent actor I slightly know , has just had to turn down a role in the Christmas episode due to prior commitments, but I'm quite hopeful about that one still.

There can't be Robot Santas on the Titanic, can there?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm glad it wasn't just me. (Although apparently it was about Gridlock.) Shame the one thing the Doctor wanted to say to the Master - which tom didn't even know what it was when reading this, bless 'im - got so obscured by shove-it-in-at-the-last-minute fights in a quarry. And dammit why didn't John Simm die with his eyes open but the drums suddenly stopped, eh, I ask you, young man, hm? I wonder. Yes.

Finished watching an exciting adventure on the vortis. Haven't laughed so much in years. That moment when the grub goes by on a trolley, and then three zarbi trundle blindly after it while a man dressed as a butterfly swings past on a rope... tom had to be physically restrained. I'm just hoping for the benny hill theme on the commentary track.

IZP said...

The Web Planet, like most Richard Martin directed Doctor Who, truly is a gift that keeps on giving. So much to take your breath away.
Have you made Tom watch The Chase? It's truly remarkable television, if the pictures were missing it'd be a "lost classic". Of course, with them it's "discovered crud", but on so many levels. Astonishing. I feel they must have all been being that inept for a bet.

Oh and it's 'Yakkety Sax'.