Doomsday

A very memorable episode - although not for the reasons I might have expected. To be honest, I feel that the conflict between the Cybermen and the Daleks was little more than a backdrop to Rose's departure. Although there were some elements of it that I enjoyed, there were more aspects to the 'showdown' that left me unsatisfied.

Firstly, the mismatch; John Lumic's Cybermen wouldn't be in the same league as the Daleks, for centuries. The nearest a Cyberman came to scoring a killer blow against a Dalek, was in their first encounter bitching contest. Aside from that, the poor old Cybermen had no better chance against the Daleks than the rest of us. Second, poor special effects! For the first time in the new series, a really unconvincing 'superimposed' look, as Dalek Sek (or whatever his name was) hovers above London with the Genesis Ark. I feel as if I'm stooping to a really low level of criticism for mentioning it, but have perhaps grown used to there being less effort involved in the suspension of disbelief, in recent years.

Third - the 'Genesis Ark.' Anyway, where did this Dalek 'Jesuit Order' come from? And the Genesis Ark? Why on Earth (or anywhere else, for that matter) would the Time Lords imprison millions of Daleks in anything? How long was their sentence? Could they get time off for good behaviour? How did they shepherd all those Daleks in there in the first place? ('Move along, please... Oh, and we'd prefer it if you didn't fire that thing in here...'). If it was a prison ship, where was it going? And then to lose the thing to the first four Daleks to happen along...

Fourth; 'You shall not pass!' Very 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. I know it was a case of Emergency Upgrading (they'd obviously realised that five million wasn't going to be enough) - but it must have been a real slap dash job to leave old loyalties, old vocal cords and old tear ducts in place. Or was that an oil leak? As I say - sloppy workmanship.

Fifth - Missed opportunities; 1) I haven't missed Davros at all, cropping up like a pantomime villain in every classic series Dalek story after 'Genesis'; but if you want those Daleks to keep coming... Perhaps after his emergency time shift, Dalek Sek might go questing for him... 2) Why wasn't Mondas explained in the Parallel Earth vein? All this 'twin planet that drifted off on a journey to the edge of space' was embarrassing even in the Sixties. The early Cybermen could just have easily have come from a parallel universe... 3) Is there a parallel Doctor? As there was no Rose and consequently, no 'Parting of the Ways', is he still Christopher Eccleston? There might have been scope for an alternative ending, there...

Things I did enjoy;

First: Mismatched as they are, the Daleks and the Cybermen are still great; the 'upgrading process' depicted in the new series is truly horrifying - much more so than the 'first an arm; then a leg; then a bit of brainwashing; then...' approach seen in 'Attack of the Cybermen' and 'Tomb of the Cybermen.' The idea of real, former people in there is nightmarish. Well done, chaps. Daleks - love the look; love the trademark arrogance; I like my Daleks with a bit of personality; this was a bit of a cameo, compared to 'Dalek', though.

Secondly: Rose's fate. Enjoy is the wrong word. >From Jackie's point of view, the Doctor has wrought miracles, uniting her family in a way that never would have been possible, keeping his word to keep Rose safe and making her rich into the bargain. Since he regenerated, she even seems to have forgiven him for turning her down, in her dressing gown. Rose also has her family and her boyfriend back - but can she ever be happy? Ever since 'School Reunion' she's been fighting off the idea that, like Sarah Jane, she'd be abandoned one day, replaced by someone new. When she asks the Doctor's image 'Are you alone?', I sense more than just concern for the Doctor's welfare. And then, cruelly, his time expires just before he can say to her what no Doctor has ever said to a companion. A very moving moment. I find it hard to be optimistic for her future happiness with Mickey, despite his having worked so hard to deserve her love. Maybe she is in the Void, after all. I liked my idea of a parallel Ninth Doctor. I'm just soft, I suppose. Dramatically, we were given a much better ending. But it must have taken a callous scriptwriter indeed, to treat her so.

Ah well. On we go. May we hope for a more consistent series, next year?