Doctor Who – Series 4 finale review

Doctor Who Season 4 Episodes 12
The Stolen Earth

If you are currently watching Doctor Who on the Sci Fi Channel  stop reading this now, because this is my review of the 2 part season finale, and it will contain spoilers.

PUT THAT BOOK DOWN, SPOILERS!

So lets talk about what has come before first.  The fourth series of Doctor Who has been very good, if some what uneven,  I was glad to see the Sontarans, but thought the story was a bit stretched over 2 parts.  The Doctor’s Daughter was full of promise, but didn’t fully deliver (but wasn’t she just cute as a button, always running)  I knew from the beginning that I would like Donna Noble as a companion, unlike many others who openly slammed the idea of the Donna Noble’s return to the series.  She brought a freshness to the Doctor/Companion relationship, someone who wants to be with the Doctor, not out of some gooey romantic motivation, but out of love simply of the life, she has truly been a match for the Doctor, a companion more in the mold of Tegan Jovanka (another companion who did not originally choose to travel with the Doctor, but someone who stumbled into the TARDIS.

Now Lets talk about these episodes – The Stolen Earth was really just setting up for Journey’s End, and there was a lot to set up - Torchwood in Cardiff, introducing Gwen and Ianto to the pre-watershed audience, Sarah Jane and her son, Luke to the parents, reminding everyone who Harriet Jones is (Former Prime Minister)  and then getting everyone together in to find the Doctor, who has gone of to the Shadow Proclamation to find help (and the Judoon! Ma Ho!)  The Subwave Network, financed by the Mr.Copper foundation (so much for laying low, eh Mr. Copper?) brings together everyone who can help find the Doctor.  I was kind of disappointed,  by it, because it could have been a nice nod for older fans-  maybe a display screen that listed former companions that could not be reached (Tegan in Australia? Harry Sullivan?  The Brig?  Jo Grant? Ace?  Even their names on a screen would have been a nice touch.)  The reveal of Davros, was a fairly poorly kept secret – but Julian Beach was fantastic at recreating the character, and bravo to the production team. The real surprise came at the end, just as the Doctor and Rose finally see one another and they are about to re-unite, tradgey strikes in the form of a lone Dalek, and a single shot fired, and it appears that David Tennant’s time as the Doctor is coming to an abrupt stop as his body coarses with yellow energy and the words come out of his mouth “I’m regenerating….”  Then the three most obivious and at same time frustrating word….  “TO BE CONTINUED”

On to part 2, and on to the Journey’s End tomorrow…..