The End of the World

The start of this episode was exceptional, easily a 8.5-9, but then it got a bit basic. I'm not sure what it was but this episode just didn't grip me the way I remember doctor who did back in the day.

Still a good all round episode, and one that needs to be seen in order for future episodes to make more sense.

A really lovely calming Doctor Who. Great music. It was a well presented story I thought it was good. And it was a great story that will entertain kids and the whole family for centuries to come. Although it is one you either hate or love. I love it because it is a good welcoming story and siries 1 is a very good siries one of the best I have to say. My dad and me loved the Doctor who stories completely, now it is just a train wreck for the family and not enough Nostalgia anymore. But nevertheless watch it and you just might you might enjoy it. And it is predictable at times but it still is fun to watch and has a lot of excitement and enough entertainment to knock yourself out. Well written as well. Pure entertainment at one of it's best. What is not to like about this episode

In the past I suppose i've been fairly critical of The end of the World, and not paid it much attention over the years, and yet on today's watch, i found myself really enjoying it. I really liked Rose's reaction to seeing a myriad of Aliens, she struggles with what she's seeing and walks away confused, it's a great scene. Some of the creations are wonderful, The Moxx of Balhoon, The Lady Cassandra and my favourite creation 'Jabe,' the stunning Yasmin Bannerman was fantastic playing the Tree character, what a pity she only appeared in the one episode. Fortunately it's not too long before we get to see The Lady Cassandra again, the creation itself was great, but the vocals of the wonderful Zoe Wannamaker are of course what makes her. Billie Piper's Rose continues to grow and impress, her scene with Raffalo shows her sudden realisation of where she is and what she's done. I really like the computer voice, Sara Stewart has such a beautiful voice, what a shame we don't get to see her, she's a stunner. A few downsides, it could possibly have done with a bit longer then the 45 minutes as there are one or two bits that feel a bit rushed, the little blue children are a bit annoying. It is pretty obvious who the bad guy is. I quite liked the adherents of the repeated meme, they reminded me a little of characters from one of John Pertwee's stories ' There are far more positives, the sets are great, the effects are good, I love the spiders, and Christopher shows a mysterious, almost mournful side, it is superbly done, he really was 'fantastic.' The mix of Aliens used is excellent. We get the companion in real danger and the Doctor as hero, so all the main elements are there. One notable return to Russell's past, the Doctor says don't go anywhere, to which Rose replies 'Where am I going to go, Ipswich' a line used in Davies's earlier drama Dark Season. All in all this is a very good episode, one which will I think be well remembered, I'll repeat though a huge shame we didn't see any more of Jabe.

It's at this point you realise you're watching something entirely different from the show envisaged by Sydney Newman in the early 1960s that ran up to 1989 . For instance there's Hollywood standard special effects and a pumping soundtrack featuring Tainted Love by Soft Cell and Toxic by Britney Spears and other references to popular culture . Plus there's a scene where Jade a tree woman asks The Doctor if Rose is his prostitute ? Cue lots of middle aged men falling off their chairs then phoning everyone they know self righteously proclaiming that this proves DOCTOR WHO is not a children's programme

This is by no means a flawless episode because due to the format it only lasts 45 minutes and watching it on its initial broadcast I found myself missing the old format of four or six 25 minute episodes because this would lead to more scope for stories and The End Of The World suffers from a fairly threadbare plot , basically a whodunnit where it's fairly obvious who done it

But

What makes this story so enjoyable watching it in April 2007 is for mainly one reason - Christopher Eccleston's performance . A lot of fans criticised his performance at the time for " Being about as alien as a junkie from Manchester " and it's true that Eccleston plays the title character in the way he's best known for , namely a brooding , introspective , angry man and if you've notliked any of his previous roles you won't like Eccleston as The Doctor but I would say it's definitely as good as any performance by any actor as The Doctor . There's two scenes that really stick out . One where Jade realises he's a Time Lord and a tear runs down his cheek and the chips segment at the end . To quote the man himself " Fantastic "

This second episode of the newly resurrected series sees the 9th Doctor and new companion Rose travel 5 billion years into the future. They arrive aboard a space station observing the last half an hour of the Earth being destroyed by the Sun (after it has been prevented from destruction for as long as conservationists could afford).

Various wealthy aliens are joining Lady Cassandra, who calls herself the last human, to bear witness to the spectacle. Lady Cassandra is revealed to be the last being left who was actually born on Earth rather than the last of the human race but she considers this to make her the last 'pure' human. She has had over 700 extensive 'cosmetic' operations which have left her as just a large, flat, stretched piece of skin with eyes and a mouth and a brain in a jar.

In some ways the episode is rather cheesy at times in its presentation but has some good material within it. Visually the interior of the space station is not terribly impressive but mostly the effects are pretty decent considering the limitations. There are an array of aliens and they are mostly pretty well done particularly the tree people and the Face of Boe (who was to be a recurring character).

The best elements are the darker parts. Christopher Eccleston revealed years later that he never felt comfortable portraying the light hearted, comedic elements of the role and only felt right when playing darker elements of the character. I always felt that was obvious. I never felt Eccleston fully convinced when The Doctor was happy and joking but came into his own when showing more edge. The lighter parts are what feel a bit cheesy but there are scenes where The Doctor is angry, sad or showing gritty determination and those parts are really interesting and good with Eccleston playing those scenes to perfection.

Overall this has good elements and less impressive elements but is a good, solid adventure.

My rating: 7.5/10.