The End Of The World

For my review of "The End of the World," I'm going to start at the end of the story. Specifically, the Doctor's revelations that Gallifrey was destroyed in a war and that he is the last of the Time Lords. Personally, that bit of news didn't shock me, because I've been following the BBC book series and already knew that it had happened. What surprised me was that Russell Davies decided to incorporate something from the book series into the TV series. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he keeps the same details of how Gallifrey was destroyed and who did it, but he's already embraced the big picture, and I never would have expected that.

And really, I think it's a smart move. Any TV show with an ongoing storyline and an enthusiastic fan base can get tied up by its own continuity if it runs for long enough, and no show has run longer than Doctor Who. From a business perspective, if the show is going to grow a new generation of fans, it's got to do something to clear out the big back story tangle. We who have followed the show for decades may enjoy its rich history, but new viewers - especially children - aren't going to sit still for it. Those who want to know more have plenty of resources, especially those here at Outpost Gallifrey, where they can find out all they want. Those who simply want to enjoy what's on their screens now are able to do so. Meanwhile, from an artistic perspective, I can see how Russell Davies, Christopher Eccleston and the rest of the new Doctor Who team would want more of a free hand to tell their stories their way. Getting rid of Gallifrey does that for them.

Think of Gallifrey's destruction as being like a forest fire - it's terrible to see all that beautiful old growth go, but that's the only way for any new growth to take root and blossom.

(By the way, if you want to catch up on the war and Gallifrey's destruction, reading the books, "Alien Bodies," "Interference" (parts 1 and 2), "The Shadows of Avalon" and "The Ancestor Cell" will give you the essential points of the story.)

Now, on to the episode itself:

I do believe the second new Doctor Who episode spent more on special effects than the entire 26 original years of the series combined. With more CGI than the movie Gladiator (or so I'm told) and aliens galore, "The End of the World" is a visual extravaganza - just the thing to keep people watching after the initial excitement of the premiere.

And unlike a lot of other SF/F shows, there's actually some story to go with it.

Just like the premiere, we see much of "The End of the World" from the perspective of the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler. We get to see something I don't remember seeing in a previous companion - second thoughts. Rose ran into the TARDIS rather impulsively at the end of the premiere, and now she's wondering just what the heck she's gotten into. Fortunately for her, the new Doctor is cellphone-savvy, giving her the ability to call home to her mum from five billion years away (although he does warn her, "Wait 'till you see the bill.").

We get to see more sides to the Ninth Doctor, and the way he interacts not just with Rose, but with some of the aliens they meet, too. I liked Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor even more than I did last week, which in a way only made me more ticked off at him for leaving the show so quickly. We're just getting to know him, and there are already no more than a dozen of his stories left to go. We'll probably never hear him do a "past Doctor" story for Big Finish, and the BBC might not want to go on publishing books about his Doctor after he's gone. So much potential wasted. It's a shame.

The episode does have a few cheesy bits. The "last member of the human race" has some interesting taste in "classical music." (Personally, I thought it would have been funnier if the jukebox had played one of Billie Piper's old hits, but I guess Britney will do.) The space station where the story takes place has been invaded by refugees from the movie Minority Report, and in order to save the day, the Doctor has to run through these spinning fan blades that made me think of Galaxy Quest. But it's all just part of the fun. The rest of the story more than makes up for it.

So all in all, it's a fun romp with a touch of sadness, both onscreen and behind the scenes. The new Doctor Who is off to a great start. Now, bring on Charles Dickens!