The Parting of the Ways

So here it was. At Last. Episode 13.

Worth the wait?

You bet your last Gallifreyan Dollar is was!

A joy to watch, an episode with its pitfalls but with enough of everything else to mask them, unless you want to be picky.

What - you want me to be picky? OK.

The Bad Wolf - are we going to Faction Paradox territory or what? Probably the most blatant Temporal Paradox in the history of the show, Rose turns out to be the Bad Wolf, having sent the words back through history to act as a message to herself that she could get back to Satellite 5. The fact that she then couldn't get to the station until she figured it out, and thus send the words back to tell herself she could do it, was ignored. Okay, I could understand it, as I'm sure all Who fans could, but a number of people I know have come up to me and said 'what was all that about then?'. They didn't get it, and some weren't too sure once I'd explained it - and these are not stupid people! I've been left with the feeling that a lot of the new viewing public were confused about the ending.

Next - the TARDIS. I'm quite prepared to accept the 'it's alive' element of the TARDIS, that's nothing new. What I can have a problem with is this sudden ability to grant Godlike powers to Rose to bring about a conclusion. Could the TARDIS not thus have done that IN NEARLY EVERY STORY??????

Are we to assume that Jack is such a technical wiz that he was able to modify and reprogram the Anne Droid in mere minutes? Why would the droid shoot her own Masters? Why use a 'death ray' that we know was only a transporter? I suppose it would have sent the Daleks back to their ship and out of the way, but that hardly warrants the over-effusive yell of 'Yes!' from Jack!

It doesn't really sound as if I enjoyed it , does it? But I did, there were many great moments that cover up these slight cracks.

No one seems to have mentioned the funniest scene in the show - perhaps because it wasn't meant to be. Both my son and myself were in stiches as the flying Daleks floated up outside the window to the observation room where Lynda was and then the lights of the lead Dalek flashed in what was so obviously a cry of 'EX-TER-MIN-ATE!' that we couldn't hear. Of course, it went completely over the wife's head ' 'what's up with you two?' Never mind, dear!

The sheer number of Daleks was, as meant to be, mind-boggling. This is what we have wanted for years - to see the true Power of the Daleks (where have I heard that before?). I would like to know how many Daleks were real and how many were CGI. In the scene where the Doctor has just finshed the Delta Wave and is surrounded by the critters, how many were really there?

The use of the Emperor was a nice touch, and certainly better than Davros (unless it is him!). The new design was a joy to see, and the now almost obligatory floating Daleks on guard were a nice touch as well. I hope that this Emperor was NOT Davros, as I would like to see the old lunatic at some stage. Perhaps he is still somewhere in the universe, creating a new Dalek race and that is how they return once more........

Onto the regeneration, and what a beauty! A neat touch having the hair grow I thought. The use of the explanation to Rose was a brilliant idea, letting the new, younger audience aware of what was going to happen and why. It is perhaps all too easy for us to accept regeneration and not see it as the huge risk that it can be. I know of one young fan who has cried since the regen, saying 'I don't like his face' about Tennant. Let us hope that the new audience can accept a change of actor as readily as we all have.

However, even here I have a gripe! Did the Doctor not seem to, well, I suppose the word is.....well... after he regenerated? Are we to suppose he is now finally used to it and will no longer suffer the ill effects he traditionally has? Does the fact that the debut story is 60 minutes as opposed to the traditional 90 mean there is no room for all that sort of thing?

All in all, though, an enjoyable end to an enjoyable series. And although not always a Doctor that I liked, he was 'fantastic!'