The Parting of the Ways

The Daleks are confronted by the Doctor in the best way, he's not dealing with their mess, he's their to solve it. He's not wasting any time, and Jack being immortal was a decent and interesting route to take as he's always been a delight on screen. Both the Doctor and Captain Jack's energy is a breather and they all collectively make these episodes so much better and stronger with the writing, the stakes and the storytelling.

And the Doctors end speech will always be an Iconic scene. It mastered it's true identity and extended the genre in many ways, superbly done and the episode feels abit less rushed and less dated for that reason with excluding the game series.

Merit does have to go to the Daleks really taking centre and showing their brute force for the first time with a fleet, so that'll always remain Iconic for that reason too.

Grade: B+ Doctor's Grade: Fantastic! That's all ok,

The Doctor first crossed my personal time line during the Tom Baker years; science fiction in general (with the exception of the first Star Trek series on television) with the fourth volume of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy in 1981." I must admit that I was at best a tepid fan of science fiction before discovering Dr. Asimov's page-turners and of the Doctor's before discovering David Eccleston's intense, intensely sexy Doctor (not to mention John Barrowman's Captain Jack and the remarkable dramatic comedy of Annette Badland's Cardiff Mayor Margaret! While she was last seen as the collapsed skin suit on the floor of the Tardis, I do hope some way will be found to have *her* time line cross the future or past of one of the Doctors or Captain Jack) in 2005 in the admirably written, reconstituted series.

The "modern" Doctor Who series (and Torchwoods) have gone on from strength to strength, but if a parallel can be drawn from an earlier series, just as the overwhelming quality and technological shift from the original Star Trek to the Next Generation made going back to appreciate the simplicity of the earlier series difficult, after Eccleston's new "First Series" with the often over-rated CGI effects (in that, well executed as they are, they threaten to overwhelm and distract from the vastly improved writing!), all previous Doctor Who episodes and stories became decidedly "BACK numbers." Calling the all too brief Eccleston Season "The First Series" as the DVD release does, is hardly hyperbole. In a very real sense it is a practical reality and a great new starting point. Bravo.

A Brilliant send off to a brilliant Doctor. The Daleks are shown to be more powerful here then they were in Dalek. And that's down to the fact this time there's an entire fleet of Daleks that must be stopped. This is a real tear jerker, and the episode will have you on the edge of your seat. It's that brisk with the pacing, and it aligns with the scaryness and the power that the Daleks have. Even shooting at the Tardis and it hits it, but that was part of the trick from the Doctor. Bad Wolf can still be seen from anywhere, and the seasons arc throughout remains one of the most successful arcs this show has ever had. And the final send off to the Doctor is chefs kiss, Christopher Eccleston was a brilliant Doctor. And in comes David Tennant, I think he's going to "Barcelona" haha, his words not mine.

Following on immediately from 'Bad Wolf' this episode opens with The Doctor rescuing Rose from the Daleks. In the process he learns how they survived the Time War... or more precisely how they were recreated by their emperor, who is now their god. Returning to Satellite 5, The Doctor formulates a plan to defeat the Daleks. He then puts Rose in the Tardis and sets it on a one way course for Earth in 2005. Rose is determined to return to him but the Tardis appears to be dead. Back on the station it becomes apparent that if The Doctor's plan to wipe out the Daleks succeeds it will also exterminate everybody on Earth... a price worth paying to rid the universe of the Daleks?

I enjoyed this episode more than I expected; there was plenty of tension, several exciting scenes, emotional intensity and we finally learn why the words 'Bad Wolf' kept appearing throughout the season. The number of deaths is quite surprising; particularly in the case of one character although he does 'recover'. Having The Doctor send Rose away along with a message saying he didn't expect to survive worked well; it showed us just how far each of them was prepared to go to try to save the other. Christopher Eccleston was on fine form as The Doctor; he may only have been in the series for one season but he was a fine first Doctor for the new era of the show. Billie Piper and John Barrowman were impressive as Rose and Captain Jack; the former bringing real emotion to her role. The Daleks made an impressive enemy; I especially liked how the say they survived the Time War slightly changed them. The final scenes serve to indicate that the next Doctor will have a distinctly different personality.