So far, in the 4th year of his 21st Century revival, the Doctor has encountered Adipose, Pyroviles, the Ood, Sontarans, Hath, Vespiform and Vashta Nerada. I consider it a small mercy that, for the series finale, we are once again encountering the genocidal Daleks. As nasty as these mutant beasts are, at least it's an alien name that I can actually spell.
The fourth series of Doctor Who always had a sombre note to it, as there was so much uncertainty throughout regarding the show’s future. We know now that head writer Russell T. Davies, executive producers Phil Collinson and Julie Gardner and companions Catherine Tate and Billie Piper have all quit the show and even lead man David Tennant’s continued presence is up in the air, so even though the show lives on (albeit after a year long hiatus), it moves into a new era. So it is fitting that the finale of series four serves as the explosive, cameo-droppin’, reunitin’, Dalek fightin’, regeneratin’, cross-overin’ triple bill of Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End – the episodes that fill up this disc.
Turn Left is a Doctor Who episode without the Doctor, and instead it focuses on his companion Donna Noble. Donna’s really grown as a character over this year, turning from the unlikeable shrew she once was to an empowered, emotional audience surrogate. That’s why Turn Left is an absolute treat of an episode, as it really is her showcase.
A dirty alien minx sneaks her way into Donna’s past, forcing her to change a minor decision she made years ago which would drastically affect her future. This results in the death of the Doctor, because he never met Donna and she never saved him from his own grief. With Earth’s Time Lord guardian dead, Donna’s family (and most of the world) descend into dystopia and misery, suffering the wrath of all the alien threats he was meant to fight against – the fall of the starship Titanic, plus the Judoon, Adipose and Sontaran attacks. Only the mysterious appearance of dimension-jumper Rose Tyler can get the universe back to normal, but it relies on the bravery and strength of self-doubting Donna Noble…
What could have been a boring premise for an episode (Donna and her family panic while the world falls apart) is turned into an emotional tour de force by the brilliant writing and superb acting. More emotional and touching than Saturday evening television should be, and wrapped up with a thunderous, mind-blowing ending, this episode is a fan’s dream. 9 out of 10.
Following on is The Stolen Earth, the first of the final two parter. As the title states, the Earth is stolen, and moved to the Medusa Cascade, along with the other stolen planets mentioned in earlier episodes. Who is behind this? A message sent to Earth from a nearby spacecraft reveals the terrifying truth – “Exterminate! Exterminate!”
In Cardiff, the Torchwood crew cower in fear. Sarah-Jane Smith and her adopted son Luke panic. Rose Tyler finally crosses dimensions propely and prepares herself with a giant cannon of a weapon. Martha Jones prepares UNIT’s strongest weapons for war. Harriet Jones (former Prime Minister) rallies the troops. Yes, it’s crossover city here, bringing together all three Whoniverse shows and all four Doctor Who seasons for the battle to end all battles. But the Doctor is a billion miles away, and his champions on Earth have no way of contacting him. Just when things couldn’t get any more dramatic, the new leader of the Daleks is revealed… the legend that is Davros. Shocked gasp!
An excellent episode that is only slightly let down because there’s about one hundred characters fighting for screentime. Still, a splendid story highlighted by some intense emotional moments (the reactions to the Daleks’ message and Rose and the Doctor reuniting), and it’s great to see all of these heroes on screen together. And what a cliffhanger. 8 out of 10.
Journey’s End is the specially extended length finale episode, increased to just over an hour because of an over-long ending. Here we see the Doctor and his “Children of Time” uniting on Davros’ warship to fight against the madman himself, the Supreme Dalek and their devastating Reality Bomb. Add to the already bloated cast of characters Rose’s ex-boyfriend Mickey Smith and her mum Jackie Tyler, plus cameos from Martha’s mum and K9, and you’ve got a castlist for days.
Still, the story is so bombastic, so ambitious (and yet believable) and so Doctor Who that nothing can hold it down. Julian Bleach is jaw-droppingly sinister as Davros, Catherine Tate, David Tennant, Bernard Cribbins and Nicholas Briggs (as the range of Dalek voices, including the instant fan favourite Caan) put in typically brilliant performances, and the story will hold you so close to the edge of your seat for the entire duration.
There are massive ups, thrilling drops, hilarious twists, melancholy moments and lots of sadness, and while I can’t give a lot away without spoiling it for you, so much happens here that it will completely turn around the entire Who universe. Yes, it’s a massive exercise in fan-service – that’s why there are so many characters bundling around - and there has been so much seeding and tiny plot elements scattered through the last four years that they could only be resolved with a lot of scientific mumbo-jumbo, a partial suspension of disbelief and a Lord of the Rings-style never-ending ending, but Journey’s End gives us Whovians everything we could ever want from an epic, explosive end of an era. 10 out of 10.
Like all the previous Doctor DVDs, there’s absolutely nothing to say about the DVD extras (because there are none) but the episodes more than stand up on their own. I wouldn’t recommend this to non-Who fans – it’s far too loaded in self-reference for that – but any fan, big or small, will need this DVD.
