New Who Review for “Last of the Time Lords”
Posted By Kathleen David on October 6, 2007
Well that was the season ender which I think will be having the Doctor say “What?” a lot every year. This one had some fans up in arms and other fans wondering if they could put a statue of RTD in Cardiff and worship there.
Me, well I thought it had its good points and its bad points. A lot of strong acting all around and not a bad wrap up for all the loose ends that were created. Kudos to John Simm for some great acting. I loved how Martha’s family came together as a family and put their petty differences aside. You can see where she gets her grit. The writing was not perfect but considering what had to happen, it was not bad.
I found out from other fans that RTD said that the two things he would cut from the US broadcast would be “I can’t decide” and that seen with Martha’s Mom confronting the Master towards the end so I can stop blaming SciFi for that. I also know that “I can’t decide” didn’t move the plot along but I really liked that sequence for a brief look at what had been going on in the gap.
Of course comments and anything after the break is spoilerific.
I am grateful that there will be another season of Doctor Who.
OK the last scene with the ring and the funeral pyre, does anyone else think that RTD is a Flash Gordon fan? I half expected to hear the Queen soundtrack. Of course he is not gone. It’s the bloody Master we are talking about. If he can walk around as a living skeleton (Deadly Assassin) or as an a weird translucent cobra (The Fox Movie) then being burned to ashes Viking style is nothing to him.
We were debating if it was Doctor Yoda or Doctor Dobbie after the Master tissue compressed the Doctor. Ah the fond memories of the Master’s tissue compressor. A rather horrid way to go if you think about it.
And the brilliance of the gun in four parts that can kill a time lord which brought Martha all over the world. The Doctor knows that the Master can’t resist a count down (the Master says as much in the episode) and that there is this rather complex telepathic net out there that controls all cell phone signals and most of the human race. Peter said, “Let me see if I get this right. If you use a Bluetooth, you can be controlled by the Cybermen and if you use any kind of cell phone, then you can be controlled by the Master? What does RTD have against the Cell phone industry?” I have to agree and wonder if there is an explanation out there somewhere. But somewhere along the way I started flashing on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and the line, “I think this is getting needlessly messianic,” and I started looking for two of white mice on the set. However the scene between the Doctor and the Master after the Master is shot was wonderful.
Then there is a reveal on the Face of Boe, Peter and I both want to sit down and watch all the FoB episodes to see if that was set up the first time we run across the FoB or only after the end of that season.
Overall I am not unhappy with the season. It was a little rough at first but the second half more than made up for it. “Utopia”, “Blink”, “Human Nature” and “Family of Blood” were the stand-outs for me this season. “The Runaway Bride”, “Smith & Jones”, “The Shakespeare Code”, “Gridlock”, “Sound of the Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords” amused me greatly and kept reminding me what it is to be a Doctor Who fan in a good way. “42” and “The Lazarus Experiment” were entertaining at parts but over all left me with a rather indifferent feeling towards them. “Daleks in Manhattan” and “Evolution of the Daleks” reminded me why I am a Doctor Who fan and not in the good way. Maybe it was because I am an American and I heard about the depression not only in school but from the people who lived through it. I also live in New York and know the city really well. I am sure that there are some shows that Americans have produced based on British history which have the Brits’ teeth on edge.
I am debating about doing a NWR when the “Voyage of the Ðámņ” airs and possibly as the series aired in the UK or waiting until it is shown in the US to do the reviews then.
I unfortunately didn’t get to see the Sci Fi broadcast of LOTTL (I was interested to see what they’d done to an episode that was six or seven minutes longer even than a normal unedited New Who episode), but all the response I’ve been reading says that it felt very choppy and rushed. I can only imagine that that must have greatly undermined the sense of tension and atmosphere that was, I think, this episode’s greatest strength–the way, during both TSOD and the first half hour of LOTTL, everything just keeps getting worse and worse and worse, and even the Doctor’s wisecracks have no effect because the Master can actually outsnark him. The darkness is so thorough that I find the moment when Martha says, “But this time, with fifteen satellites!” and the Master gives her that blank look and realises that he really has been outsmarted, it’s a brilliantly effective moment.
The episode isn’t without flaws. I thought Lucy Saxon was criminally underserved after showing such wonderful promise last week. And I’d have much rather see that gun end up in Martha’s or Jack’s hand than Lucy’s, to give the audience some torn loyalties between them and the Doctor. But I thought it was a great end to a great season.
In fact, while series three definitely fell flat for about four episodes in the middle there, the beginning and ending were such high points that for me, it might equal season 18 as DW’s best.
The last scene-I knew what ship the TARDIS hit before he looked at the life preserver. But, how could that happen?! I can’t wait that long!
The Face of Boe bit made me say “Wha-?!” and rewind the tape a couple of times to make sure I heard right!
I am curious why Lucy turned on him. DId she just realize he was an evil SOB, or was there stuff cut from the 2 episodes that might’ve explained more?
I would’ve preferred the Master tell the Doctor “You don’t know me so well-this is my last life, I can’t regenerate” but I guess that means he’d never come back.
I really enjoyed this season, and eagerly await the next!!
Dave
I am curious why Lucy turned on him.
I don’t think she did. Look at the glazed look on her face. Note the Doctor said “I didn’t see her there.” And it was a woman’s hand that picked up the ring.
This was the Master’s escape plan. He knew the Doctor wouldn’t kill him. So he had to do it himself. And he gets the bonus of tormenting the Doctor emotionally with his “death.”
The Master thinks 20 steps ahead. luckily, the Doctor dances. 🙂
Lucy turned on the Master, because she been abused for the past year and finally had her chance to strike back. She definitely had bruises on her face in the final episode. She also looked amazingly weary.
In the commentary, they say during some scene that viewers in the US, Canada, etc. would not be seeing it due to being edited out for commercials. I wish SciFi could have just got the longer version and just adjusted their schedule. I guess I’ll have to wait for the DVD to see the whole thing.
The cellphone industry is evil. All the evidence is there on Doctor Who and in their real life practices.
I was very surprised by the “one year later” appearing at the top of the show. In the commentary, they hope that there will be Martha Jones books telling about her year of travel. They also say that originally Martha’s brother was going to meet her at the beginning of the episode, but his agent double booked him and he wasn’t available.
Neil
On the Face of Boe, one strange thing comes from the 1st seriesin The Long Game when according to one of newsfeeds on Satelite 5 the Face of Boe annouces it’s pregnacy. Now either Jack isn’t telling us something, or there has been a few changes here or there
I think I may actually hate LotTL more than Love & Monsters, which would be quite the accomplishment.
After the episode aired in the UK, somebody on Outpost Gallifrey’s forums had a thread with images to sum up the story.
And when images of Flash Gordon and that little Gollum-wannabe thing from Harry Potter sum up the episode perfectly, it’s very, very sad.
Regarding the relationship between the Doctor and the Master, when the Master was created during the Jon Pertwee era, the analogy was that of Holmes and Moriarity. To some degree, I can see that, as both the Doctor and the Master are brilliant. But I’ve always thought a better analogy fits:
Superman and Lex Luthor. Like Superman and Lex, the Doctor and the Master had been friends in their younger days before something caused them to become enemies. Holmes and Moriarity never actually met before the events of “The Final Problem.”
As to “Last of the Timelords”, I don’t think the Master used his Tissue Compression Eliminator on the Doctor. If I recall the dialog correctly, the Master aged the Doctor (that is that particular _incarnation_ of the Doctor) another 900 years.
Unless the Master has changed how the TCE works, the Doctor would still have looked the same, just smaller, if he’d been tissue compressed.
Rick