Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #13 – “Journey’s End”
The hit BBC series Doctor Who
Every week, I’ll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the “sonic screwdriver” equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I’ll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.
Missed a week? Check out the “Doctor Who in Review” archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.
Keep in mind, I’m going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!
Let’s begin now, shall we?
Season Four, Episode #13: “Journey’s End”
IN BRIEF: Picking up from last week’s episode, The Doctor is in mid-regeneration, Sarah Jane Smith is at the mercy of the Daleks, Torchwood is about to be exterminated and almost all of The Doctor’s other former companions from the last few seasons (the living ones ones, at least) are in the TARDIS, waiting to see what happens next. It’s a long one this week, so here we go…
The Doctor funnels the regenerative energies back into his severed hand, preserving his current appearance, but The Daleks capture the TARDIS (and everyone in it) and bring it to their base of operations, called “[[[The Crucible.]]]” Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler save Sarah Jane Smith (no relation to Mickey) from the Daleks, only to surrender themselves to the Daleks later in order to get closer to The Doctor. The Daleks round everyone up from the TARDIS except for Donna Noble and Davros disposes of the Time Lord’s vehicle. Inside the TARDIS, the regenerative energies stored up in The Doctor’s severed hand create a brand new, half-human Doctor (and share some of the Time Lord genetics with Donna) — who promptly saves the TARDIS and begins working on a plan to save reality from the Daleks.
Meanwhile, after Davros tests his “reality bomb,” Martha Jones pops in to let everyone know she’s not only alive, but also has her finger on the trigger of a bomb that will blow up the Earth if that’s the only option remaining to prevent Davros’ bomb from detonating. Jack Harkness, Mickey, Jackie and Sarah Jane chime in to let everyone know that they just happen to have not only escaped, but also wired another big bomb into the Dalek Crucible, so they’re willing to go out with a bang, too. Davros feigns fright for a moment, only to snap his fingers and have Martha, Jack and the rest of the would-be demolition experts transported to him and immediately detained. He then tells The Doctor that all of this is just another victory, as even though The Doctor eschews the use of weapons, he’s made each of his former companions into a weapon.
Just in the nick of time, the half-human Doctor shows up and… gets himself shot with blue lightning and imprisoned. Donna gets zapped, too — but the jolt awakens her new Time Lord intellect, and she proceeds to flip a few switches, invert a few polarities and render the entirety of the Dalek invasion force completely useless. The planets are sent back to their original locations in time and space, but in order to return Earth to its home, the whole crew has to unite and work together like a good after-school special. Oh, and the half-human Doctor decides to commit genocide and destroy the Dalek species before they leave the Crucible — which was decidedly not like an after-school special. The Real Doctor isn’t pleased about the whole genocide thing, but nevertheless, they take off with the Earth in tow.
Rose Tyler is dropped off in her alternate universe with Jackie and the half-human Doctor, who will love her as only a human can. Mickey and Martha join Jack Harkness and hint at future adventures with Torchwood. Sarah Jane heads off to be with her son, Luke, and it’s a happy ending for everyone… except Donna. Time Lord DNA doesn’t play nice with humans, apparently, and The Doctor is forced to erase all of the memories of her time with The Doctor in order to save her life. The Doctor drops her off with her family, tells them she can never know of her adventures with him, and bids a sad adieu to Donna and her family. He returns to the TARDIS alone.
JUST CALL ME THE POOR MAN’S NOSTRADAMUS: As awesomely Who-savvy ComicMix reader/contributor Vinnie Bartilucci pointed out in the comment section of last week’s review, I should’ve saved my “give them a hand” line another week — as it would have provided at least a few groan-worthy puns this time around. Oh, and along the same lines, it seems like a safe bet from this point forward that, whenever a story involves a series of planets being lined up, someone is punching a hole in reality. Bet on it.
ONE SMALL DETAIL: Okay, so if Davros is destroying all of reality, won’t the Daleks be destroyed along with it? I mean, yeah — it’s definitely evil to destroy all of reality. But if you’re being destroyed in the process, that just seems, well… short-sighted. (Get it? The Daleks only have one eye, so they’re “short-sighted?” … *sigh* I knew I should’ve saved the “give them a hand” line for this week’s review.)
Anyways, while the Supreme Dalek announces that the Daleks will be the only species in existence after the Reality Bomb detonates, I left the episode feeling a bit uncertain as to how the Daleks would avoid being erased from reality themselves. Anyone out there have thoughts on this one?
QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Correct me if I’m wrong, Who scholars (and I know you will), but this is the first time I remember hearing that the TARDIS was originally designed to be piloted by six people — and the first time I’ve seen it piloted as such. I guess this explains why The Doctor’s “piloting” of the vehicle has always seemed a bit frantic, to put it mildly. Despite the cheesiness of the moment, it was nice to see the “crew” of the TARDIS bringing Earth back home.
CONVENIENT FOR CONVENIENT’S SAKE: As a longtime Doctor Who fan, I’ve grown accustomed to the way Time Lords always seem to have (or be able to cobble together) a tool to save them from any predicament. (I mean, that’s what a sonic screwdriver is for, right?) I’ve been more than happy to suspend disbelief on those occasions when twists and turns in Doctor Who mirrored the old 1960s Batman series in the way the hero would find himself in a crazy predicament, only to remember he had the exact tool needed to extricate himself tucked in his shoe. I can deal with that, and have done so throughout the last few seasons of the current series and many, many seasons of the original series. Heck, I’ve not only dealt with it, but I’ve reveled in it.
This time around, though, I felt myself twitching a bit at the combined convenience of the redirected regeneration, Harriet Jones’ companions-only video chat, the half-human Doctor’s “birth,” the fact that everyone and their mother seemed to have a planet-busting bomb in their back pocket, the way Rose Tyler’s relationship with The Doctor was resolved and Donna’s unexpected rescue of life, the universe and everything with a few flips of assorted switches. Sure, many will argue that this is all part of the science-fiction fun of the series, but I definitely felt a bit let-down by this season’s finale — as it seemed to cross the line from the conceivable coincidence I know and love to outright parody. I’ve heard similar complaints from other fans of the series, so what do you think, ComicMix readers?
LINE OF THE WEEK: “Yeah, see ya…” – Donna Noble
Despite my feelings about the “convenience” of so many plot elements in this season’s finale, it was Donna’s curt, brush-off response to the Doctor’s farewell in the last moments of the episode that balanced everything out and made this season’s finale worth every minute up that point. The tragedy in that moment is the sort of thing that’s taken four seasons to cultivate, with every companion who came and went shedding a bit more light on the ways The Doctor changes the lives of everyone around him. All of The Doctor’s interactions with his companions over the past four seasons created the foundation for that moment — and it’s nice to see it pulled off so effectively.
READER REPORT: In his extensive commentary on last week’s review, Vinnie Bartilucci touched on one of my favorite moments of reality imitating art (and missed promotional opportunities) with regard to Doctor Who:
CALL FOR THE DOCTOR, QUICK, QUICK, QUICK – To my disappointment, the phone number displayed on the cellphones in the episode was NOT a functioning number. Though about 2500 people had the same idea, according to the London Daily Mail – that many people tried dialing the number during and after the episode. Quite a marketing opportunity missed, IMHO. Considering how many people went to the Primatech Paper website after a business card featuring the website address and (also working) phone number on Heroes, they could have had a great deal of fun with it.
SEASON FOUR POST-MORTEM: Overall, I enjoyed this season far more than I expected after the departure of one of my favorite companions to date, Martha Jones (as played by Freema Agyeman). Catherine Tate’s character, Donna Noble, proved herself a great companion for The Doctor in that she not only developed as a character herself, but in doing so, also added significant development to the character of The Doctor and the mythos of the entire series to date. Despite my criticisms about the season’s finale, the rest of the season held my interest each and every week and had me champing at the bit to watch episodes before they aired in the U.S. (I’m not sure how I was able to resist, to be honest).
Some of my favorite episodes of the fourth season include “Partners in Crime,” “Midnight” and the two-part “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” story. “Midnight” was the best of this season’s episodes, in my opinion.
As I mentioned last week, the character I seemed to enjoy the most this season was Donna’s grandfather, Wilfred Mott (expertly played by Bernard Cribbins), but a nod certainly goes out to Fenella Woolgar, who I really enjoyed in her role as Agatha Christie.
As far as plotlines go, I’m not entirely satisfied with the resolution of the “something on your back” storyline, however, and the mysteries of both the Medusa Cascade and The Doctor’s name still leave me wondering if I missed something in the end or if those plot threads remain loose ends. The rest of the season’s plotlines were handled quite well, though, and unlike in seasons past, I didn’t find myself figuring out the secrets of the finale four episodes before it aired.
With this week marking the end of the fourth season, I’d like to invite you, the ComicMix readers, to chime in with your favorite characters, episodes and moments from the season — as well as the worst of all the latter subjects. If the response is sizeable enough, I’ll put together a round-up article collecting the group consensus on the best and worst of Season Four and post it here next week.
Thanks again for reading these reviews each week, and for making them such a popular feature on the site. Your comments have been great all season, and I can’t thank you enough for sharing them.
Thanks to the good people at The Doctor Who Wiki for information related to several of this week’s story notes.
Screencaps courtesy of SciFi.com. For more on Doctor Who and other great programs, check out Scifi.com and the BBC.
Want to know what you’ve been missing? Check out all of the past “Doctor Who in Review” features via the following links:
Season Four, Episode #1 – “Partners in Crime“
Season Four, Episode #2 – “The Fires of Pompeii”
Season Four, Episode #3 – “Planet of the Ood”
Season Four, Episode #4 – “The Sontaran Stratagem”
Season Four, Episode #5 – “The Poison Sky”
Season Four, Episode #6 – “The Doctor’s Daughter”
Season Four, Episode #7 – “The Unicorn and the Wasp”
Season Four, Episode #8 – “Silence in the Library“
Season Four, Episode #9 – “Forest of the Dead”
Season Four, Episode #10 – “Midnight”
My favorite episodes in the recent incarnation of Doctor Who are Blink and Midnight, both of which easily stand out as fine examples of what television can do. My big gripe with the last two episodes was that too much was crammed into too little time. At least, it should have been a three-part finale that would allow the inclusion of all the companions to be drawn out a bit. Maybe everyone wouldn't talk quite so fast to get to the cliffhanger.I've looked forward to this series of posts each week, btw, avoiding the comments for fear of spoilers. I like surprises.
The 6 persons to operate the Tardis was public knowledge for at least a few years. Maybe I heard it first on one of the story-behind-the-story clips when PBS showed some of the new Doctor Who's.I was disappointed with how predictable both Donna and Rose's fates were. It would have been too big a change to the Doctor's standard plots for either of them to have remained with him, or for both (though that could have been interesting). But all in all, I was pleasantly impressed with this season, even though Donna could compete with Jackie for least liked character, in my book.
As far as I could make out, the Daleks would survive the reality bombing because they were inside the Medusa Cascade and thus 'outside' normal reality.If memory serves, the first time I read of the six pilots of a TARDIS wheeze was in the Virgin book "Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible" by Marc Platt, back in 1992.Cheers.
I thought it was great. I thought the line of the week was from Captain Jack – "I can't tell you what I'm think' right now." That was outright hilarious. Dalek Caan's statement last episode calling the Doctor the "threefold man" came into play this week with three "Doctors" of a sort in play. I watched the Doctor Who Confidential on YouTube and listened to the commentary (Executive Producer Julie Gardner and Producer Phil Collinson). They suspect that if needed, Davros did have some kind of trap door waiting for him to escape. Phil Collinson says that Harriet Jones had a trap door while Julie Gardner says she didn't. As we didn't actually see her dead body … Also in this commentary they mention that Harriet Jones got her money from the Mr. Copper foundation. I didn't remember hearing that on SciFi (but when I see it again with my son after he comes back from vacation I'll keep my ears open). Mr. Copper of course came from the last Christmas special – Voyage of the Damned.In the Confidential Russell T. Davies said they had to have a scene with them all around the TARDIS. It looked like they were having a marvelous time together. Over at the BBC Fact File http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episo… they say that the 1992 novel Doctor Who – Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible said that 6 people were supposed to fly a TARDIS. There is a lot in the Confidential and the commentary about filming the two Doctors together. In the Confidential you can see his double – who looks quite impressive. Also on the confidential Freema talks about speaking in German. The German and the translation is over at the Fact File. One surprise to me about the episode is that I thought they were going to hit a big reset button on Earth as if it never was stolen. They didn't do that. All those people taken to the Cruicible are dead. There is still untold damage to the Earth. Speaking of people dying – they said that the reality bomb test was originally going to be a much longer scene.
I enjoyed the last episode. Yes, it wrapped a lot up into a nice, neat package, but it was flying by so quickly that it wasn't really an issue for me. Probably it would have been better to deal with Rose in a parallel universe and the flooding of Donna's brain with timelord knowledge in separate episodes. This way it makes it feel like not enough time was devoted to either companion. But, because it all happened in a single episode, including the creation of a human/timelord Doctor, I didn't have time to think about the solution before it happened. Also, I was too busy trying to figure out whether it was Rose or Donna who was going to 'die', than to worry about where the Human Doctor was going to go.I do think it's a cop-out to have Dalek Caan say that a companion is going to die, and then to have the memory-wipe on Donna. I think the key thing that happened is that this resolved the Rose issue. The Doctor is no longer going to pine for her. As he knows she is happy, and that somewhere, an aspect of him is happy with her. And also that he can never go back for her. That chapter is closed, and never needs reopening. So, all future episodes of Doctor Who begin with a clean slate. And it opens up the Doctor for the possibilities with Professor River Song, who I would think is destined to be his great love. But we shall see! I'm just pissed that I have to wait 2 years for a 'season' of Doctor Who. LOL. Those five specials better be really REALLY good.
This episode was a tightly written as they come. Plenty of last-second reprieves (I fully expected that pommy bastard Davies to off Mickey and Jackie) a series of heart-breaking endings and a tragic end for Donna that is as exploitable in later stories as The Master's ring from last season. And let's admit it, we all marked out when K-9 showed up.The idea of the Doctor's assistants becoming weapons was spectacular. Really a nice observation, and Tennant's play of the scene was quite moving.DALEK DEUTSCH – The word the Daleks were using in Germany, "Extermenieren", is indeed a german word, but not commonly used. In the German dubs of the series, the Daleks' warcry is "Vernichten" (literally, "reduce to nothing"). Of course, that's not as recognizable as the same word to an English audience, so they went with the more recognizable (and funny) but more obscure word.ONE SMALL DETAIL – the rebuttal – as anyone who has watched old school science fiction and comics can tell you, the mad scientist who wants to destroy the world is a classic cliche. Indeed, he's not thinking ahead, but I think we've all had the odd moment where we'd sacrifice everything just to be "right" at last. (No? Just me? Okay, moving on…) If you want to get technical, the Dalek Crucible is in a pocket of space out of phase with the rest of the universe, so firing the gun INTO the universe would likely render them safe. But still, ruling the universe is somewhat less of a victory when there's no one TO rule. I'm reminded of a Gahan Wilson cartoon featuring a lone soldier, standing on a battlefield that resembled the interior of a cuisinart. He is covered in blood and smiling. The caption reads, "I think I won!""Something on your back" had a double meaning – there was the obvious one of the time beetle in Turn left, but the REAL thing on her back was Dalek Caan, gently guiding her through history, arranging her to be in the right place at the right time to set the motions in place to end the Dalek story as she did. Indeed, if there's a real hero in the story, it's Dalek Caan, without whom the story would not have been possible.Considering we've had two complete ass-pull deus ex machina endings in the series so far, I didn't mind this one at all. It gave Donna, who's shined more than once in the series, a chance to absolutely shimmer and sparkle. And as opposed to Rose's godlike power in Parting of the Ways, Donna may have gotten a goodly portion of the Doctor's intelligence, she had to think up her plan all by herself, and then implement it, not just wave her hand. And there's PLENTY more stories to be told with Donna. Threat to her mond and body be damned; she'll be back at least once more for sure. I only hope that Bernard Cribbins will as well.The idea of the TARDIS needing six pilots may have popped up in the books a couple times, but in the Confidential, Davies remarks that he got the idea from one of the set designers. He was looking over the hexagonal console of the ship He was used to the design of realistic dashboards and consoles, and calmly remarked that it must be designed for six operators, each with a separate job. Apparently that's something RTD's been keeping in his back pocket all along, subtly foreshadowing it by the far more manic piloting method The Doctor uses in the new series.RTD is still going to be running the five specials coming up through 2009 (the Christmas episode featuring the Cybermen is already filmed), but Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson have already moved on. Moffat will take the reins for the full season in 2010, presumably including the 2009 Christmas special. So RTD has a few more chances to leave his mark on the Who legacy. I can only imagine what sort of things Moffat will have planned for the series. Lots of people are already whipping up rumors left and right concerning writing staff, casting, story ideas, what have you. Moffat said clearly he was starting to work on the first script while on the way over to SDCC last week. so anyone who tells you anything about anything is likely just looking to get himself in the papers.But the part that's amazing is that in a mere four years, the fact that ANY Doctor Who-related news is worthy of getting space in the paper is a triumph. The show's once again in the center of British culture. I'll go so far to say that it's more centered in British culture than ANY sci-fi show in America ever has. Unlike the red-headed stepchild (no offense to Ms Tate) status shows like Star Trek have here, EVERYONE watched Doctor Who (albeit "As a kid") in Britain, and are happy to say so.
In terms of ratings share, what Doctor Who gets in the UK is probably higher than most shows get in the US. As far as Journey's End, Outpost Gallifrey (July 16) reported the following: "Journey's End, the final episode of Series Four, was the UK's most watched television programme of the week with an official rating of 10.57 million viewers…. The high chart position, combined with the outstanding Appreciation Index scores, make the two final episodes of Series 4 undoubtedly the most successful episodes of Doctor Who ever made. With the repeats on BBC3 and the IPlayer downloads included, the final episode has been seen by nearly 13 million viewers within a week of broadcast." For a show that a few years ago many people still thought might never have new episodes again, it is just amazing.
I have to admit to not being a regular view of DW for the past few years. I tend to be out Saturday nights and we only just got a DVR. I happened to catch last weeks cliff-hanger and decided to put our new toy to the test. Fortunately, it worked like a charm.I liked David Tennant from the very first episode in which he was introduced. He just brought a charm and even flirtatious manner to the character that was nice to see. Every time I've had the opportunity to catch a show or two I've been pleased with how things have been going.As somebody who remembers Sarah Jane from the old days, it was nice to see her in action. For me only Donna was an unknown character, so I was surprised to find that I liked her after only two episodes. It was also wonderful that each of the former companions seemed to have a chance for a nice scene or two either interacting with others or with the Doctor. While the Time Lord is, of course, the 'star' it has often been the companions and other characters over the years that have given each incarnation something special.Devros was correct in saying that we would see the Doctor's true self and it was obvious that the Doctor did not like what he saw. I'm skipping, for the moment, any reviews or previews of the next season, but will definetely be using the DVR quite a bit more.Well done, Doctor!
Wow. Great comments, everyone! Thanks so much for the input.Kevin, thanks so much for the kind words about looking forward to this feature each week.Oh, and thanks to everyone for cluing me in on the six-person TARDIS history. I knew you'd be all over that! The explanations offered for how the Daleks would avoid the Reality Bomb have made me feel a bit better about that plot point, too.So what are some of your favorite episodes from this season, folks?
It is interesting how RTD kept upping the ante in the season finales each year. Season 1 had Daleks in the future endangering Earth. Season 2 had Daleks and Cybermen in the present endangering Earth. Season 3 has the Master actually take over the Earth. Season 4 has the Earth and other planets stolen and all of reality endangered. The only way to top this would be all of reality and time (the Time War?). Whether Steven Moffat will feel the need in 2010 to top RTD is a question. Maybe he'll just go in some other direction.
The big thing that RTD brought to the series was the arc format. Made popular with Buffy (the show that brought us the now ubiquitous term "Big Bad"), it requires the season to end with a big confrontation with the secret enemy who's been sneaking around in the background all along. Bad Wolf was a real surprise that first year, and it excited people. We all knew what the theme was for seasons two and three before they even ran. Season four was more of a surprise, but it was fairly easy to figure out what bits were to be important.I'll be curiuous to see if Moffat even keeps that format. It worked very well, but it got the the point (just look at our own reviews) that people were so keen to discern the big bad that they were poring over details to the neglect of the story itself.The thing that really blew people away in the finale this year was the multi-year concepts that got woven together. I think it may be time to start setting up longer-term plotlines, stuff that may not get paid off until a year or two away. That's what characters like Jenny and River Song might end up being. But it all comes down to "what will make a good story?" I don't want the Big Bad format to become so required by tradition that it becomes forced and tedious. If they can't come up with a threat that really justifies the setup, I don't want to see them do it. And really, they've already used the big ones already. The Daleks entered into the plan three out of four years, the Cybermen once, and the Master once. It may be time to give them all a rest. we'll see the Cybermen at Christmas, but I hope that's it. Every other year is more than enough for any baddie. keeps them special.I'd like to see the ice warriors back – they never really got a fair shot as a threat. I also would like to show classic villains trying to invade OTHER planets. I mean, the Sontarans have taken over lots of planets, lets see one of them.Here's a few ideas I have been toying with for fan-fiction…-A doctor using mysterious blue crystals to cure childhood metal disorders. The kids recover, and become very intelligent. A bit too intelligent. Where'd the crystals come from? Metebelis 3.-Menoptra wings become popular fashion accessories and poaching becomes a problem on Vortis.And I've got a pretty solid parody on Identity Theft bubbling that I might be able to work into a full story pretty soon.
I just finished watching the end of Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, and Journey's End with my son, who just came back from three weeks away. It was quite good seeing them again with him. I noticed a few things I hadn't noticed before (such as the heartbeat in The Stolen Earth as well as the Mr. Copper Foundation being mentioned there). One blooper that struck me in Journey's End was when the Daleks went to incinerate Captain Jack – how come there was no damage to his clothes? Are his clothes as immortal as he is?