The Parting of the Ways

And so the Parting comes about, and in far more impressive fashion that the slightly lopsided Bad Wolf. Speaking of which, the title should absolutely have been saved for the season finale, where it would have made a lot more sense.

There are so many grin-wide moments here that it might be best to get the negatives out the way first...

1) The opening five minutes. It is blatantly clear now that this was always a single-part story, shoehorned into the reality-tv idea in order to make a two-parter, as Rose's rescue and a shedload of exposition is covered in the opening exchanges. The discovery of the mysterious voice as the Emperor Dalek was slightly underwhelming - Davros or at least the lone Dalek from the episode of the same title would have been more dramatically effective. The religious spin of the Emperor as creator was interesting, though.

2) The Daleks. I might be in the minority here, but where the episode Dalek showed just how the creatures could be updated, Parting seem to undo a lot of that good work. They glided slowly around. They repeated stock phrases. They exterminated. But they never at any point felt as unearthly as the Gelth or menacing as the gas mask corpses in Empty Child.

3) Pulling the console open with a recovery van. Yes, the dramatic weight of Mickey and Jackie pitching in was important, but it was still kind of naff.

4) Super-Rose. Expect the Buffy fans who have been accusing the new series of ripping off their show (unfairly) to start showing you their copies of the episode Primeval. Buffy's influence on Russell is huge here. Also, Rose destroying the Dalek fleet was lovely dramatically but seemed a bit too much of a deus ex machina cheat, plot-wise.

And on to the good stuff...

Everything else. Like the rest of the season, the dramamtic beats were what made this episode. The Doctor's deception of Rose was one of the most beautifully written and played scenes of the season. Jack's goodbye kiss to both his friends might elicit some complaints from the less egalitarian viewers, but made perfect sense for the character. Rose's outburst in the cafe was Billie at her finest. Lynda's death was surprisingly touching.

And the great stuff....

The Bad Wolf revelation. Yes, you have to skate over it pretty quickly to make it work, but who cares when it gives you spine tingles? Rose ends the season exactly as she began - central to the entire story.

Jack's death. Played perfectly, and made me regret hearing John Barrowman would be back, since it gave me a comfort line when I watched him thrown back against that wall. I actually thought that maybe his missing two years would have been be spent with the Tenth Doctor, but since he was brought (again, somewhat sketchily) back to life, that mystery is yet to be resolved. And we had that lovely moment when he realises he's been left behind.

THE KISS. Of course, Paul McGann beat Chris Ecclestone to the chase when it comes to fans complaining about the Doctor getting romantic, but anyone who claims that they didn't want this to happen is a barefaced liar. It's been coming and it was timed perfectly.

The Doctor's final decision. Flashes of Genesis of the Daleks and the culmination of a season which has shown this man to be broken and unstable. In the end, knowing Rose is safe, he takes the high ground.

How it all tied together. Not just Bad Wolf, but thematically. Gwyneth's sacrifice is mirrored, Rose learns a lesson from having met her father, the right to kill referenced in both Dalek and Boom Town is revisited. Parting rounds off the Ninth Doctor's arc very well indeed.

Which of course leads us to....

The regeneration.

One of the best, with a beautifully understated build-up that was tear-jerkingly touching for fans and must have been hugely shocking for new viewers. If there is one thing RTD nails here, it is the slight melancholy that comes with each change. The Doctor is not dying, but is saying goodbye to Rose in his current form, in the persona that has become her best friend. At this moment you really can believe that each incarnation is, in some way, a different being. And we get a final 'fantastic'.

And then we suddenly have David Tennant, who was allowed to begin with a lovely little throwaway piece of dialogue which was only spoiled for me by the fact that he seems to have been asked to speak in an English accent. Apparently it's okay for the Doctor to come from 'the north', but not too far north.

This has been one of the best seasons of Doctor Who ever produced, with easily one of the best Doctors and (don't even try to argue) the finest, best developed companion he has ever had.

Christmas is just too damn far away.