The Parting of the Ways

"It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for...." ....and how!!!!

Tom Baker into Peter Davison at the end of Logopolis has long held, IMHO, the position of best regeneration FX-wise, with Davison's poignant self-sacrifice in Caves of Androzani taking the dramatic title.

Well, PARTING OF THE WAYS has unified the title, and is the undisputed Best Regeneration in the world....EVER!

Coming as it did at the end of the most exhilirating, and epic dalek tale ever (and weren't we all relieved that the Emperor didn't turn out to be Davros!?), David Tennant's introduction had a comic, yet moving turn to it. Already, I feel the embodiment of the Time Lord in the 10th Doctor. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

PARTING picks up the plot of Bad Wolf from the off, and gives us every classic bit of Who tension in one glorious hit. The potential death of a companion, TARDIS destruction, the Doctor apparently helpless at the hands (plungers?) of his arch-enemies, and innocent bystanders happy to lay down their lives to help him. Finally, the plucky female companion risks all to give the Doctor the strength to defeat the Daleks.

This, more than any other story in the run, was Doctor Who at its glorious, exciting best - exactly how you thought you remembered it before the BBC dragged you back to reality with VHS and DVD releases.

The danger for RTD and the team is matching Season one, let alone beating it. In Tennant, I feel we have an actor more suited to the comedic elements of the show, where Eccleston seemed uncomfortable with that aspect. Having seen DT in Casanova and Quatermass, I feel he is capable of making the 10th Doctor the best yet.

Dr Who is dead....Long Live Doctor Who!