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.

A couple of years ago Big FinishВ’s audio adventure Zagreus was, somewhat unjustly, criticised, largely on the basis that it was not being the epic multi Doctor conclusion to a terrific story arc people expected. This was in no small part due to the fact the hype surrounding it had resulted in fans coming up with increasingly grander anticipations of what it would be about. В‘The Parting of the WaysВ’ was always going to be one of the most eagerly awaited in Doctor WhoВ’s history, and after last weekВ’s ending few fans were not speculating on its content. Given this there was a real danger it could be a disappointment if it did not live up to the adventure people had been writing in their heads over the past week based on speculation, conjecture, internet rumours and wishful thinking. As this adventured turned out to have none the predicted appearances from Davros, the Eighth Doctor, the Watcher or any other of a number of weird suggestions I had heard, I suspect some fans will be disappointed. Personally I thought this was generally a good episode with nice twists and surprises, good action sequences and moving moments.

Brilliantly, the episode shows the Daleks at their most powerful and ruthless; massacring humanity on and off screen without a care. We also see people we have grown close to like Lynda and Jack die at their hands, although the latter is resurrected and doubtless will return. The scenes of the Daleks attacking the satellite are brilliantly realised, as are the scenes on the Dalek ship. The Emperor is a brilliant design and is well voiced by Nicholas Briggs who gives him and all the Daleks a real menace. It would be a waste if they really were all dead and personally I think RoseВ’s amnesia will be used as an excuse to disguise the fact some survived (possibl;y one of the smaller ships that headed for Earth. Even if I am wrong in this guess as this show is about time travel the Doctor can easily encounter them again in the past, although to avoid overuse I think their return should wait until series three (Season 29 if you are pedantic) ideally in a cliff-hanger ending.

To get back to this episode I also liked the fact the Doctor sent Rose home and her determination to come back for him which shows the importance of their relationship. It also illustrates that after travelling with the Doctor Rose can never go home, as she would not be able to go back to an ordinary life. This is character development to a degree that Doctor Who has not seen for a long long time, and the kiss, which some fans will hate, is a logical pat of that development.

The solution to Bad Wolf and RoseВ’s return trip to the future is also clever using information from earlier episodes. Furthermore there is no cheating as all the clues were there. The Bad Wolf had to be someone Rose had seen before the Unquiet Dead and it was - the baby Rose saw her future self in 1987. It is also good that В‘Boomtown!В’ (and to a lesser extent the 1996 T.V Movie) foreshadowed the use of the power of the TARDIS and JackieВ’s helping Rose was because of events in В‘Fathers DayВ’. Clearly this series as whole was very tightly plotted by Russell T. Davies and this is allows this episode to work.

That said there are elements of the script which are slightly disappointing. The Doctor is able to walk into the Dalek mothership and rescue Rose far too easily in my opinion and the use of Rose as some kind of super-being to wipe out the Daleks is a bit too convenient and caught up in technobable. Most annoyingly of all it is not clear why the Doctor dies and Rose lives for she was infected by the vortex for a far longer period. Admittedly this could be explained away by saying the energy became more deadly the longer it was away from the vortex or if it was the act of expelling it back to the TARDIS/vortex that caused the DoctorВ’s cellular decay. Or is this a hint that there is something special about Rose yet to be revealedВ….

This brings me on to the regeneration which was, in my opinion, very well handled with the Doctor explaining to Rose, and by extension to new viewers what was about to happen. ItВ’s a moving scene with the Doctor trying to assure Rose that everything will be fine and make light of what is happening, but at the same time he realises that he is genuinely upset that his Ninth personality is about to die. Although the Doctor will still be around he knows apart of him is dying for ever and this is his goodbye to Rose, and on another level Charistopher EcclestonВ’s goodbye to the audience. Eccleston pulls this off brilliantly and itВ’s a real shame itВ’s the end of this incarnation already. When he was cast I was not sure that he could ever be the Doctor in the way his eight predecessors had been, but over the past thirteen episodes heВ’s proven my doubts wrong. Goodbye Doctor number nine - you were indeed В‘fantasticВ’.

Yet as the Doctor once said В‘ItВ’s the end, but the moment has been prepared forВ’. Although only on screen for a couple of minutes David TennantВ’s performance gives me great hope for the future as does the reassuring James Bond-style caption at the end В‘Doctor Who will return in the Christmas InvasionВ’. Thankfully we now know Rose will be back too which on the evidence of Billie PiperВ’s performance in this episode, and across the series as a whole, is good news indeed. I also hope Joe Ahearne will return to the series one day as this is another example of a well acted, visually impressive production that has clearly benefited from having a good director.

All in all, like the 2005 series as a whole, despite a few niggles this episode was a thoroughly enjoyable piece of television which deserves to be called classic Doctor Who. As the Ninth Doctor would have said В‘fantasticВ’.

This fantastic series ended as excitingly as it began - with a flash and a wink of what is yet to come. I have an empty feeling inside me, after seeing Eccleston's last moments. You really were fantastic.

The episode was full of excitement and action. The Daleks using human flesh, and being tortured mentally because of this irony was chilling and you almost felt sorry for them. I wonder if that was why the Doctor dipped his head against the TARDIS doors when he got back into his machine; as if to say "The poor wretches!". They are the complete anaethma to this Doctor; they hate their own existence, he's just beginning to enjoy his.

The body count at the end of this was probably the biggest of the whole series. None of the supporting chracters survived, even Lynda! I really did think she was going to become a companion, and she is arguably hotter than Billie Piper (have you seen Jo Joyner's chin? mmmm). I was very surprised to see Captain Jack killed, but when he came back to life and tried to get back into the TARDIS, I did feel slightly short changed. Why bring him back to life, but then not have him join the TARDIS crew? That was my only quibble though with this episode.

I think after many years of seeing the Daleks as worthwhile enemies, this episode really made me scared of them. They appeared en masse - more Daleks in one area than we have ever seen before in the series. And the massacre on level 0 was so savage and indiscrimate I actually believed in the Dalek terror. Having them surround the whole station and round up the Doctor had me thinking, "Oh Lord! What are they going to do now?" Excellent. I reckon that human malice was still present in their bodies behind the armour.

The regeneration scene was done well, and Tennant is certainly a real contrast from Eccleston. It was weird hearing the Queen's English coming out of the Doctor's mouth again - Tennant almost sounded poncey to be honest. I'm sure he'll be fine though. I think the reason behind the regeneration should be have been clearer; the threat seemed to just creep up on him. It would have been better for the Daleks to exterminate the Doctor rather than have him suddenly go, "Oh crap I have to change".

Still a fantastic end to a fantastic series. Tennant's got some shoes to fill but I'm glad Billie Piper is still staying. While not every episode was brilliant, the majority were and we will look back on this season as a golden age. Just you wait. I remember Nev Fountain saying back in the 1970s fans were getting annoyed at the constant horror pastiches or alleged pastiches in the Hinchcliffe era, but now they dominate our top ten!

Roll on season two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight nine...

"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!

It's now two whole days since the screening of this final installment in the Ninth Doctor's all-too-brief tenure, and I'm still feeling a real tearing inside that he has gone. So many moments replay themselves in my mind, pieces of music, great lines, great expressions. And a new Doctor with new teeth....

It seems almost churlish to criticise the one or two elements I wasn't so impressed by, in comparison to so much wonderful stuff. RTD in this final two-parter got it right, to the extent that I remembered previous contributions such as the first two episodes rather than the wretched Slitheen. I can understand slightly why one or two people have suggested that this was a George Lucas-style take on Dr Who at its conclusion - it shared the same sense of too many big moments crammed in a la Revenge of the Sith - but aside from this, Lucas cannot write dialogue with anything approaching this kind of punch.

So much they got right. NOT bringing back the Master or Davros for one. The savage twist of the new Daleks being grown from the remains of humans. Recurring and new musical themes (if Murray Gold hasn't got it right, why do so many bits keep going round my head?) The change in Mickey causing him to urge Rose to keep trying. The magnificent scene where the Doctor tricks Rose in order to save her and keep his promise to her Mum. The look of pain on Eccleston's face as he hears Lynda-with-a-y's death scream. Rose's beautifully understated "my head is killing me". Jack's courage and the sweet little kiss he gives the Doctor. Outraged of Surbiton? Get over it.

But nothing has stuck in my head so much as the final scene, which but for a stupid press leak, could have been more devastating still, with the Ninth Doctor seemingly having saved the day and survived, then his moment of realisation as he noticed the glowing light under the skin of his hand. The final speech, trying to warn Rose of what is about to happen, encapsulated almost all of what has made Eccleston's portrayal so absorbing and involving; trying to lighten the mood, the love, the loneliness, the sadness and strangely tragic egotism in that great last line. David Tennant made an intriguing first impression, but it was all about Chris. I am torn between delight that the series will continue and this strangely deep sense of loss over our Ninth Doctor. Great acting, and probably the deepest, most conflicted and emotionally involving Doctor I can remember. Perfect? No. But then none of his predecessors were either. Fantastic? Absolutely.

I will miss him.

So, as the BBC said just before the episode began, "Times Up!". After thirteen weeks the first new adventures since the TV movie drew to an end. Did we find out the secret behind Bad Wolf? Did Captain Jack make it? Did we find out how the Daleks survived the Time War? Did the Doctor and Rose reveal their feelings for each other? Did the Doctor regenerate? Well, yes all these questions were answered.

The episode was spectacluar and managed to weave together many plot points that had been raised over the course of the series. I was also pleased to see the continued improvement in Russell T Davies writing. I am a big fan of his, but had felt that his episodes had been the weaker ones of the series. He seemed to forget to focus on character, relying on toilet humor and almost making the Doctor ineffectual. However, since Boom Town, something seemed to click and the quality of the episodes began to improve until his last couple of episodes began to equal episodes like The Unquiet Dead, Dalek and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.

Actually, this episode was the ying to The Doctor Dances' yang, as rather than "This once everybody gets to live" everybody got to die. The main theme of the episode was self-sacrifice for a greater good or those we love. The small band of volunteers that Jack convinces to defend the station all die, Jack dies buying the Doctor a precious few more seconds to complete his work, Jackie and Mickey sacrifice both what they want to help Rose, Rose is willing to sacrifice herself to save the Doctor and the Doctor sacrifices his ninth form to save Rose. However the sacrifice that touched me the most was Lynda's (with a Y). Having been given assurances by all those around her that she was safe behind meteor proof doors, she is trapped with no option to make an escape. In a nasty twist, the Daleks, space-bourne, come up behind her and blast through the observation window. The look on the Doctor's face as he listens to her dying screams displayed a sadness that possibly shows a mixture of regret over the death of such a 'sweet' girl and relief that it wasn't Rose, for whom Lynda seemed to be replacing.

However, despite such doom ladened precedings, the ultimate feeling of the episode is one of completion and joie de vie, which again manages to show the success of the series and RTD's improved writing, in that he manages to mix two such complex feelings without making it feel contrived. The Time War is finally won, with the Daleks reduced to dust by the Time Vortex empowered Rose, who also with one final act of her power revives the dead Jack. The Doctor finally free of the survivor's guilt he has displayed through the series realises his love for Rose and without any cheap sentimentality performs an act that combines a realisation of their feelings for each other, saves her life and ultimately completes their story. I didn't find the kiss between them shocking or, as with the Paul McGann kiss, forced. It was a display of pure love. In many respects it reminded me of a inverted Doyle and Cordie kiss from the Angel episode, with the themes of admisson of feelings and heroic self sacrifice.

The feeling of completion of the Doctor's and Rose's story arc comes from the set up to the regeneration, as the Doctor in his speach to Rose basically says that he will be someone different, so the feeling I got was that their 'love affair' was now consumated and closed, but only time and the next series will tell.

With regard to my few quibbles, they are purely personal and so not a reflection on the story. First of all, I have to admit to not being to partial to the Daleks. I never found them terrifying or that interesting. However, with Rob Shearman's 'Dalek' for the first time in 30 years of being a fan, I actually found them interesting as it focussed on one Dalek, so developed it as character. This episode though returned them to being just a bunch on anonymous mass murdering pepper pots! I know I am in the minority on this one. Ironically, my favourite villians were the Cybermen, who are Daleks with Legs. Guess how excited I am about the next series!

The only other quibble I have is the treatment of Jack at the end of the episode. Originally I was uncertain about his character, but after his development from selfish con-man to self-sacrifing hero I began to warm to him. I just loved his final cocky words of defiance to the Daleks before his extermination. He also become one of the more format challenging assistants. Whilst some may say Rose was, she to me was an amalgation of many previous assistants, ranging from Jo Grant to even Dr Grace. The best example of how different Jack is to the previous assistants was his final scene with Rose and the Doctor...yup the kiss! The scene wasn't done in a sensationalist way, but was very touching and caring way. It also the first time someone has kissed the Doctor, rather than the other way round. I be interested to see what the reaction of the public will be to this, but should be an interesting gauge of how far we have come as a society of acceptance. Anyway, after all that he simply gets left behind all alone on the station. I understand that there may be dramatic reasons for this, for example to allow focus on the re-establishment of the relationship between the Doctor and the Rose, but it did seem a little callous on the Doctor's part. Again, only time will tell if this is the last we will see of the good Captain. Hopefully, he will return....there is still those missing two years of his life to explore!

Overall the episode managed to to evoke in me the feelings sadness, fatalism, joy and excitment for the future. There was the sadness of this being the closure of the series and the end of Chris Eccleston's tenure in the TARDIS. I have loved his interpretation of the character (yup, even the gurning, which I know annoyed a couple of my friends) and I found his goodbye speach touching and sad. At points during the episode I couldn't see how they were going to get out of it (even though I know there are at least 2 Christmas Specials and 2 further series to come) and my joy and excitment at the end as David Tennant uttered his first words. Nope there is no Scotish accent and he strangely sounded like a young Bill Nighy, but we did only get a couple of lines, so again will have to wait and see. I also liked the almost Bondian "Doctor Who will return in THE CHRISTMAS INVASION" as the credits rolled.

Now I have to find something else do with my early Saturday night evenings until Christmas. All I can say is that this episode and the last 13 weeks were an absolute joy and I leave the last word to Chris Eccleston...."FANTASTIC"