The Parting of the Ways

Let the dust settle... literally.

I've just sat through 45 minutes of documentary... trailers... the final 45 minute episode... and then 30 minutes more Who documentary. Saturday's were never like this... (well once thirteen weeks ago...)

Savour that for the moment.

Now... RTD wants to evoke 'feelings'... and I am awash with them. Sadness, hope, excitement, enthusiasm, shock, despair, disbelief, frustration, joy... I could go on. 'Parting of The Ways' did exactly what it said on the tin.

It embraced the 'classic' series and mythology... whilst additionally stamping all over it with ANOTHER revision... which smacked of a cop out. Now I know that now that sentence has been written there will be howls of derision....

Think of how many times the 'Time Vortex' could have saved the day????

But I shouldn't complain... this episode again demonstrated effectively all the highs and lows of Who in 2005.

How you might ask can I say that. RTD is 'GOD'. "Worship him! Worship Him!'

But I believe in being balanced and fair. After the credits rolled on 'Parting'... I felt a twinge of sadness that there was not a new episode to watch next week. After confidential I reflected that for all it's flaws there has been an awful lot right about the new Who.

The re-invention of the Daleks... Billie Piper has been a revelation as 'Rose'... Saturday's have become 'must-see' TV night... Doctor Who is no longer a 'niche' show for anoraks (although I subscribe to the view that it was never 'niche' during the Baker glory days...)... Captain Jack has developed into one of the strongest male companions... Eccleston has acted his socks off.. and some of the CGI has been truly breathtaking.

ALL were showcased here. The Emperor re-invention was great.. the 'Dalek' invasion was good... particularly the 'massacre of the innocents'... the rousing 'if you hear us dying' Jack speech.... Eccleston and Piper's final hurrah... the Doctor still unable to push the button (echoing 'Genesis'...)... the regeneration resulting in..'new teeth'...!

So with all this GOOD... why did I feel letdown? Do I want perfection?

Well, no. But I was really disappointed with the resolution and the 'Bad Wolf'' resolution... Little Red Riding Hood (check out Rose's costume throughout this and the previous episode) is revealed as the Bad Wolf... and it means nothing... everyone who has invested time energy and excitement in trying to understand it... sorry... not as clever as we had hoped it would be. So from that point of view RTD has achieved his aim of being very British and NOT following the lead of other American sci-fi shows.

There is always a danger that when you set up a continual mysterious thread you are going to leave yourself short if the resolution doesn't pack a punch.. and RTD fell, unfortunately, into this trap. (The answer, by the way, was always on the BAD WOLF website). I really wanted this to be clever and demonstrate the often discussed genius of RTD... unfortunately I remain unconverted...

Oh... and did I mention Mickey and Rose's mum... No?

I really wish I didn't have to. I understand the setup in Rose's emotional journey... and I can see the interest in grounding the companion's motivation in her reality, but the mini & chain... and the the Recovery truck???? Come on...!!!! We're talking end of humanity... Dalek invasion... destruction... massacres... and they're eating chips in the cafe? It was almost as if Eastenders had manifested itself into Who once again... I mean I'm surprised the cafe wasn't in Walford... any minute Ian Beale could have turned up... Sorry RTD... too much over exposure of these minority characters. Now if you'd allowed Rose to bring Mickey to come back to the Gamestation to be exterminated I could have forgiven you.

Compare, if you will, this lame excuse for a character with the bold, noble and valiant 'last man standing' extermination of Captain Jack. Shame the BBC had blown the 'resurrection' by stating that he'd be back later in Season 2 in all the 'new series' blurb that the sci-fi press has been commenting on. By the end of this episode I decided I Liked Jack and was sad to see him 'go'... our last glimpse of him echoed that of 'Tegan' at the end of 'Time Flight'.

There is actually SOOO much that could be discussed about this episode... on both sides of Good and Bad.. Eccleston's finest episode...countered with plot 'cop outs' ...so the Tardis can now materialise around / on top of objects/people? (Could have been handy in the Classic series)... and and it's now got an extendable outside force field... and the TARDIS flies through space like a spaceship...

I'm sure if I was 7 and this was my first experience of Who I'd be ecstatic... WOW.. but I refer to Mr Eccleston... 'if you get them early {child viewers} with strong drama and quality TV, when they'll grow up they'll expect more from TV'

I couldn't put it better myself... the original series certainly had that effect on me and I think that is ultimately why I feel as I do tonight. I've grown up and I expect more... but I'm also acutely aware that the real success that Who 2005 can be attributed with is that it has started that same chain reaction going in a whole new generation of Who fans.

For that, not your scripts, Mr Davies I will salute you.