The Doctor's Companion Blog

Having spent much of today setting up this blog in its new format, it is only right that I should relax with a sausage sandwich.  In homage to Professor Emilia Rumford and the aptly named Vivien Fay from fourth doctor story, the Stones of Blood, in the Key to Time series.

Although sadly I don’t think the good professor finished her sandwich in the episode.

We have had a bit of a change here at the Doctor’s Companion blog.  I have taken it off Typepad (although an archive will stay there for a bit) and it is now a self hosted WordPress blog. 

I am using the wonderful Innanis Glass theme. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find a handy little box (click the circle at the bottom left) where you can select another theme. I quite like the default theme, but do have a look at the others. They all fit in quite well with a Doctor blog.

So, all set ready to write about the new Moffatt era. Although I will also be writing about old Who too. Watch this space!

It some time now since the End of Time broadcast on New Years day and I have watched it several times.  What are my views?

Well its good.  Sort of.  Yes, quite good.  David and Wilf are great, as always, Timothy Dalton is very strong as the Time Lord (I like Timothy Dalton) and the story nicely ties everything up.

And yet.  I don’t know.  Maybe I don’t really like big finales particularly.  I often prefer the smaller more ‘ordinary’ Doctor Who stories such as Blink, The Shakespeare Code, and Gridlock.  Maybe I am just being difficult.  Somehow the last finale, the one with Davros, was much more powerful.  After all when you have seen the earth dragged halfway across the Universe, with 27 planets in the sky, it is a bit ‘here we go again’ when Gallifrey pops up.  God know what all this is doing to the tides.  And whats Rassalon doing with Captain Jack’s glove?

John Sim had a good part!  I hope they gave him a good fee after all that dressing up he had to do.  Although come to think of it, it must have been quite fun.  At first anyway.  The thing about John Sim though, he *is* very good, very good indeed, but I keep thinking that he is too nice to be the Master.  Roger Delgado (Ah Roger Delgado!) and the other chap were better in that respect.  But it was nice to see him back.

I think what made the Stolen Earth/Journeys End feel better was that the Doctor has his companions helping him. I know he had Wilf in this episode, but none of the others, and those green spiky people, I wasn’t too keen on them.  Were they just there to prove that special effects can cope with green things now?

And who was the mysterious woman?  Some people say the Doctors Mother, my Son thought she was Romana, I don’t know.  I quite like the fact that we do not know though, it gives us something to speculate on.

The rest of it is all wrapped up and tied with a bow.  Mickey marries Martha.  Donna marries her bloke.  Nerys wears peach.  Even Nurse Redfern, we learn, had a happy life, although I am not sure how her granddaughter recognised the Doctor. So thats all kind of satisfying.

Final verdict?  Good, but not great.  Looking forward to Number Eleven …

Doctor Who – Winter Specials 2009 – Waters of Mars and The End of Time [DVD] is available from Amazon.