Doomsday

So much happened in Doomsday (in truth, maybe TOO much happened) that it’s hard to know where to start this review. The beginning is usually a good place - even though, technically, that was also the end, with Rose’s “this is the story of my death” message being reprised before the opening credits.

An example of how much had to be packed into this episode could be gleaned from the pre-credits sequence – surely the briefest we’d had, and an indication that there was no time to waste!

That was why writer Russell T Davies quickly wrapped up the contributions of the surviving featured Torchwood key personnel (those from this Universe) – although it was a nice touch to later bring in Cyber Yvonne, complete with female voice – I’m assuming that was Tracy-Ann Oberman, and that Nicholas Briggs’ talents (and ring modulators) haven’t quite enabled him to perfect a gender voice change.

The main business of the early part of the episode was the match of the day which everyone wanted to see – the clash between Cybermen and Daleks, which had been set up by the thrilling arrival of Skaro’s finest at the end of Army Of Ghosts.

It’s a question which has been debated by Doctor Who fans throughout the 40 years that both have been part of the public consciousness. Cybermen or Daleks - who would win in a fight? It’s never been a contest for me. The Cybermen are wonderfully large and menacing but they are, by definition, men – and women! – in rubber (or the 21st-century equivalent) suits. The Daleks are more alien and, since they were given “wings”, infinitely more deadly. When a Cyberman first appeared in Army Of Ghosts, it was a thrill – but nothing compared to the Daleks arriving on the scene. That’s still always a move-to-the-edge-of-the-seat moment, and these are few and far between in TV watching.

That longed-for first meeting between representatives of the two great armies – in a corridor, where else? – was an exciting moment but, of course, there was never any question of the Daleks allying themselves to an “inferior” monster – and nor should they, even at a numerical disadvantage of five million to just four!

Even the Dalek voices are greatly superior, much more clearly defined and easy to follow. As in Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel, I have an issue with the Cyber voices. A dedicated fan would have no problems deciphering them, as they’re concentrating deeply, and used to the variances in alien voices. I’m sure many more-casual viewers – the vast majority, without whom there would be no TV Doctor Who – would have missed several lines of Cyber dialogue, not that there was much. It’s rare that I can categorically say I prefer one aspect from the old series to the new version but, for me, David Banks’ Cyber Leader voice is greatly superior to Nicholas Briggs’ version.

It’s a little surprising that Briggs was voicing both Cybermen and Daleks – although, to be fair, you certainly couldn’t tell they were the same man. Perhaps Briggs’ Cyber voice may grow on me given time, because I should add that I love his interpretation of the Dalek voice – and the different affectations he brings to each one.

Plot-wise, I thought (and, as always, you have to take the episode time constraints very much into the equation) Doomsday worked really well, though there was no massive surprises, apart from the Daleks’ arrival. From ’way back in Episodes 5 and 6, the widowing of the alternate Pete Tyler meant a “reunion” between him and “our” Jackie was a fairly-obvious route for Davies to take. Pete and Jackie’s meeting wasn’t my favourite part of the episode. I didn’t really buy the leaping into each others’ arms, and this was one of the sufferers of trying to cram too much in, though it was acceptable in terms of plotline. Being a “boy”, at the time, I was rather enjoying the Cybermen-Daleks skirmish and wanted to see more, and all this human stuff rather butted in! Obviously, it would have been great to see extended monster fight scenes, but I suspect we’re talking budgets here, and the money ran out. So we had to make do with a couple of token zappings.

The Genesis Ark being a dimensionally transcendental (or should that be transcendentally dimensional) prison ship for millions of Daleks was a decent idea, and the sight of the Dalek army flying through the London sky with the Cyber army below certainly gave the impression of an epic encounter. However, with the flying Daleks, there was a sense that we’d kind of done that in The Parting Of The Ways, and there was more than a few moments of déjà vu with that great season finale as this year’s denouement grew closer.

That was certainly the case as The Doctor again opted to send Rose away from danger, this time to the parallel Earth to play Happy Families with Jackie, Pete and Mickey (due to time constraints, sadly little more than a bit-part player here). Choosing The Doctor over her mother just emphasised the depth of Rose’s love for him. This time, she didn’t need a series of Bad Wolf messages to find her way back to her Doctor – and that led to the dramatic (as opposed to emotional) highlight of the episode, as our dynamic duo clung onto life by their fingertips (literally) as the monster armies were sucked back into the void, apart from The Black Dalek, of course . . . guess who’s coming back for Series 3?

Although I’ve always felt that Rose wouldn’t die in the conventional sense and would probably end up with the others in the parallel world, it did cross my mind for a moment that Davies was going to allow her to be sucked into the void, and her “this is the story of my death” message was sent from there, where she was trapped for eternity. Killing off Rose in this way would have been an incredible piece of TV, but Davies has said this wasn’t an option. And he was right. The viewer has travelled an incredible journey with Rose and, despite the emotional sledgehammer of a companion’s death, the way she has been written out leaves more than a glimmer of hope that one day she will return . . . and one day, she shall, she shall! If you can get in and out of a parallel world once, you can do so again somewhere down the line in time and space . . .

Rose losing her grip, and letting out a chilling scream as she slid towards her death was as dramatic a moment as I can remember seeing on TV, never mind Doctor Who, for a long time. It really was big-screen stuff. “Daddy” Pete suddenly appearing to rescue her, just as she’d done for him in last season’s Fathers’ Day, was also a perfectly-acceptable exit route.

Outwith death doing them part, this was really the only way Rose could leave her Doctor, and made for some emotionally-charged scenes, with them pressing their faces against each other from opposite Universes especially touching. And I preferred that moment to the “projection” of The Doctor to Rose in the parallel world. Again, this idea was too similar to The Parting Of The Ways, but you could forgive Davies that (could forgive him anything really – the man is a legend for bringing this great show back to us!) as it offered further opportunity to tug at the heartstrings some more, as the final goodbyes were said. And, though the two lead actors didn’t need much help, Murray Gold’s score really accentuated the moment once again. It was another tough writers’ call whether The Doctor would say the “l” word after Rose had and, again, Davies got it right – though the tears of a Time Lord said more than any little word ever could.

The only thing about the episode which really totally surprised me was the closing scene, and I wonder how late a decision the inclusion of Catherine Tate was, in what was effectively a trailer for the Christmas Day (as it almost certainly will be) episode. My instant reaction was “wrong call” and that it spoiled the moment but, thinking about it, leaving the series on a question mark rather than a full stop might have been a smart move. A difficult one to assess.

The natural ending was The Doctor alone in the TARDIS, devastated at the “loss” of a loved one, although that was pretty much the conclusion to The Girl In The Fireplace (for a different blonde – one who actually did die!). In fact, in retrospect, Steven Moffat’s excellent episode might have been better moved to Series Three. There were too many similarities between The Doctor’s reaction to Reinette and Rose’s departures.

None of the supporting cast got much of a look-in here, but there was plenty of good stuff from David Tennant and Billie Piper. Both probably had their best episodes of the series.

I thought Tennant was superb in Doomsday – especially in terms of an emotional acting performance. Totally believable, his “projection” scenes were not quite as iconic as the ninth Doctor’s hologram when it appeared before Rose after sending her back to Earth in The Parting Of The Ways, but it was still moving. The TARDIS is in safe hands, and I can’t wait to see how he deals with life after Rose . . . and runaway brides!

And then there was Billie. What can one say? If she didn’t get a BAFTA last year, she probably won’t get one this year, but Rose has been an amazing character (probably the best-ever in Doctor Who, and I say this as a Sarah Jane devotee) and Billie Piper has brought her to vibrant life from Day One.

In many ways, this whole show could easily have been called Doctor Who and Rose Tyler – because it’s always been a team of two equals. From that very first eponymous episode of Series One, Rose has been just as central to proceedings to The Doctor. So many great moments – being chased by Autons; that “run for your life” first meeting with The Doctor; displaying her gymnastic prowess to save the Earth (for the first time) from The Nestene Consciousness; kissing Mickey goodbye and running into the TARDIS; watching the Earth about to die from Platform One; her first encounter with a Dalek; kneeling by the side of her dying dad; hanging from a balloon in the middle of an air raid during The Blitz; dancing with Captain Jack atop an invisible spaceship beside Big Ben; looking into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looking into her; turning the Daleks to dust as The Bad Wolf; being chased by gun-toting Santas and a spinning Christmas tree; her “my monsters were bigger than your monsters” tete a tete with Sarah and the realisation that she hasn’t been The Doctor’s only companion; being trapped inside a TV set by The Wire; being split up from The Doctor on The Impossible Planet; being attacked by a giant scribble . . . and then there was Doomsday!

If ever a scene epitomised how much Rose has developed since that first episode, it was that eye-to-eyestalk encounter with The Black Dalek, as she told it why she and her friends should be kept alive, and faced the monster with no fear. She could have been The Doctor in that moment, and Piper played it to perfection.

I think she has an extra gleam in her eye when she tackles these heavyweight scenes, and she certainly relishes the action scenes, such as being gradually sucked into the void. She also “does” emotion, and her tears at the end were thoroughly believable. It was a rather-extended goodbye, but very worthy of the character and the actress.

She won’t be a hard act to follow, she’ll be an impossible act to follow. Sometimes, you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone, but Doctor Who has survived the loss of great characters dozens of times before, and the show will go on. As it always has done.

Although it didn’t quite match the promise of Army Of Ghosts, mainly because of all the plots strands having to be hurriedly tied together, I still greatly enjoyed Doomsday, and I’ve loved this whole series. Having written this review – as all others from the new series – on one viewing of each episode, I’m looking forward to watching all 13 again to see how it all dovetails together. And to see if how much analysis I’ve got wrong!