Just In Time For A Cup of Tea: July 2007

WARNING: This post is likely to contain spoilers! I have turned the text
the same colour as the background of the page so if you highlight this
entire post, you'll see the text.

What is going on inside this car? It's clearly being battered to bits
from the outside. This short sequence sets up the dangers of being
inside a car. It also points out the danger that the Doctor and Martha
will be in - after all, you just know that they'll end up in a car just
like it!

Doesn't [b]Doctor Who[/b] have the best opening credit sequence ever?

I like that the Doctor is beginning to change his mind about Martha. I
also like that be get our first real 'glimpse' of Gallifrey in the
description the Doctor gives. It's obvious that Martha gets more and
more interested and wants to go there - and so do we. But the Doctor is
lying and we know it - Gallifrey is destroyed.

The arrow is still in the TARDIS door! This links this story directly
to it's preceding story. They follow immediately, one after the other.

The Face of Boe makes a welcome re-appearance, as does Novice Hame,
although she's Nurse Hame now, catering for the needs of the Face of
Boe. Clearly, a strong bond has formed between the two of them since
New Earth (Series 2 Episode 1). But, this is the third time that we
meet the Face of Boe and so we know that by the end of this episode, we
know that he will die. But what's Hame doing with a gun? Has the Face
of Boe sent her to kill the Doctor?

The mood-sellers lend a touch of 'fairground' or 'market' to the scene
in the alley. The transformation of the girl with Forget is handled
well, with the tone of he voice changing remarkably.

You just don't expect Martha to be abducted here. It's a short sequence
and makes quite an impact as the Doctor has now lost Martha. His return
to the alley and his confrontation with the sellers is quite powerful.
We really do believe that he's going to close down the alley - even if
it isn't actually him that closes it in the end.

10 miles in 6 YEARS!!!??? How does that work, then? It's good that we
get the answer almost straight away - a monster traffic jam!

A 50 foot head? - that sounds familiar.

12 years? 5 miles?? This traffic jam is astoundingly bad. 6 months to
the next lay-by!

It's remarkable funny that the Police have put the Doctor on hold.

A friends list? Just like instant messaging.

The story of the air-vents is exactly right - we just know that they are
true stories. We are then given the explanation as the Doctor figures
out what's happened - there are only the people on the motorway. No one
else. Quite a scary thought and then a sudden change to an old church
hymn??!!

The Old Rugged Cross sticks out like a sore thumb in this episode. If
the BBC had started transmitting Doctor Who on the date the originally
intended, this would have been an Easter episode. Was it planned?

It very cleverly highlights the sadness of the situation on the
motorway. Martha joins in but the Doctor resolves to do something
different. The vertical descent through the different card is quite
funny as we see many different types of people in many different lives.
Murray Gold's music is quite triumphant, too. It gives the chase a
sense of achievement even when nothing has been achieved.

Of all the monsters to bring back to Doctor Who, the Macra would
probably not be top of anyone's list, but Russell T. Davies seems to
have a unique point of view in that if he needs a monster, he looks at
what monsters we have already to see if any of them will do before he
goes of thinking up his own, new monsters.

Finally, the revelation comes - the people of New New York are all
dead. It's also a miraculous thing when the Doctor finally meets up
with the Face of Boe again. It's a meeting we've been waiting for
despite the fact that we know we'll not see him again.

Martha's faith in the Doctor seems to spur on Milo to action. The
Doctor has also sprung into action but his plan fails.

Then, it happens. The Face of Boe saves everyone.

It's quite scary to see the Face of Boe out of his 'tank' but it's
nothing compared to the sadness that we are about to feel when he does
eventually die. Murray Gold once again delivers a fine piece of music,
combining the Face of Boe theme from last year with the raw power of
Doomsday's separation theme. Outstanding stuff.

The closing scene in the alley again hints at the loneliness of the
Doctor. But what of the message of the Face of Boe? Is there another
Time Lord still in existence?

The Face of Boe really saves the day in this episode but only because
the Doctor made it possible for him to do so. Therefore, another point
for the Doctor.

Final Score:
Martha 1 - 2 The Doctor

So I didn't have time to include the final Radio Times preview before the episode went out but I really don't care.

Doctor Who 3.13: Last of the Time Lords was thoroughly enjoyable!

Now, a lot of reviews I've read on the web are criticising it for ripping off everyone's favourite films (Gollum/Doctor, Ring of Ming from Flash Gordon/Ring of the Master, etc.) but again, I really don't care about that.

People seem to have stopped watching television for the enjoyment of a show and instead prefer to nit-pick their way through the programme only to write a review, whether online or in print, pointing out all the little flaws and the big gaffs.

"Oh look, it was raining in the last scene but they're not wet in this one" or "that was just a total rip off of {insert favourite film title here}."

Calm down, relax and just enjoy the wonder of your programme.

Many a time, the soaps take their plotlines from recent films and no-one complains anywhere near as much.

Enough! I must stop there or I'll get a little carried away and start pointing out the reviewers I'm thinking of and that wouldn't be very polite.

I'm now on holiday from work and I hope to catch up with all my own episode reviews that I fell so far behind in making.

Gridlock in a few hours time and possible even Daleks in Manhattan...