Doctor Who Club of Australia

[SharazJek]

A very fanwanky way of stopping the regeneration would be for Jack to somehow absorb the dr's death.

There's a lot of speculation about an alternate dr being in finale but many of the 2-parter cliffhangers have been resolved in a very short space of time. I reckon we won't be left hanging about whether DT is definately gone. I reckon it will be resolved in the first few seconds before we just get on with the davros/daleks show.

As for the 3-fold man, I have no idea. Mickey perhaps? He was sitting in the read-through in the ep12 confidential, so Mickey must have some part to play.

[paisley-sage]

I agree in that it most definitely was 'fanwank'. The whole episode seemed to go on forever and was quite *yawn* The inclusion of Martha, Torchwood, Sarah Jane and Rose was pathetic and using all the phones in the world to call the Doctor was complete pants. If I was anyone of these actors and wanted some form of credibility left I would have refused to partake in this episode.

I agree with Dave that it would have been awesome if Rose was exterminated just before she reached The Doctor. IMO the last two seasons of Doctor Who seemed to have been written by Hallmark and is becoming tediously ridiculous.

Oh and I loathe David Tennant as the Doctor now - he totally gives me the shits - is there ever a scene where he doesn't overact?

[Ickabod]

hey Dexter is pretty good but then the guy in the role does it for me

[Speckled Jim]

Fanwank? Great term! Love it.
And yes, fanwank there was in Stolen Earth; a great deluge of the stuff. Why, Russ, why? You were doing so well with the last two yarns ... and then you just let that "why the hell not??" gene kick in.
Actually, I rated this story "good", because the story itself - when it managed to surface above the waves - was enjoyable. But like others, for 45 minutes I was pushing down my disappointment at RTD's rambling eagerness to overdo the fireworks. Davros! Daleks! Torchwood! Sarah Jane! Harriet Wossaname, former PM! By the end I felt like I'd eaten a five-course French meal soaked in dubonnet and double cream, and there's still dessert to come.
The blatant cross-promotion (Torchwood and Sarah Jane) would've been tolerable had it not seemed so "written in" to suit the story proper, which led up to - haven't we been here before? - a dalek invasion of Earth. (Oh, alright, and some other planets, but c'mon ... does every season have to end with the impending demise of Planet Earth and all that we stand for?) As for the daleks: read it, seen it, been there, done that. They've become so overused now they're not even vaguely frightening, just old, boring tinpots with verbal diarrhoea.
Which is probably why Davros' introduction was so bland. Another old fave ticked off the list. Hell, he looked great, and was vintage Davros - I did like how he "gave himself" to his kiddies - but he was a mere ingredient in a gigantic soup of overwhelming self-indulgence.
The story itself showed some promise, but got totally left behind in the desire to let too many old mates into one party. And then there was the familiar RTD signatures - the mass phone-in was similar, but even more infantile, than The Last of the Timelords' effort where the whole human race chanted "Doctor!" at the same time. Some fans call this RTD's use of "magic"; I call it lazy shit. Sorry to be harsh, but he just doesn't seem to care how he writes himself out of a corner sometimes.
So, I guess, overall ... good story, but totally drowned in sordid back-slapping gunk. The only single thing I'm really looking forward to next is how this regeneration thing pans out - it's incredibly ambitious. RTD will either blow my mind and come up with something brilliantly unexpected, or just reach for the "magic" wand again. Can't say I'm too optimistic...

[dean69]

Journey's End would have scored full marks, however two elements let the story down in my summation. Firstly, the regeneration left me wanting it terms that I was really hoping for the return of a past Doctor or something a little bit more challenging that just a cloned Doctor. Secondly, Donna coming out with Star trek techno babble cheapen the impact of the situation introducing humour when serious drama was most needed. None the less, a very enjoyable story scorring 9 out of ten from myslelf.

Dean

Below you will find a review written by a friend of mine.

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!

Hi Guys

I watched the grand finale of Rusty Who last Sunday afternoon at Chris's with Donna hater Andy K! Much to my relief, we weren't subjected to a magic wand ending.

The Daleks were on form with Rusty treating them soooo much better than Raynor. Only thing though was a lack of Dalek exterminations. Oh yeah we saw them flying about, a massive Dalek fleet of ships - all nice but I do like a little more 'zap' exterminations in my Dalek stories. Julian Beach made a good Davros. Didn't tip the crown off Michael Wisher, the first Davros but was nonetheless good. I also like how Davros fitted in the Dalek hierarchy but won't say more in case some of you are yet to see "Journey's End". We did get a good Davros rant, not quite as over the top as Molloy but fairly good. It made me feel I was watching a genuine Davros. Great make-up. At least I hope it was make-up......

Rusty Davies balanced the action quite well amongst the Doctor and his companions but a little too well in that the Doctor's impact was lessened. There were too many flavourings in the broth so to speak. I'm sure subsequent viewings will bare out the glaring plot holes and missed opportunities this episode had to offer. Unfortunately at 65 minutes, I noticed that the Daleks defeat (c'mon no spoiler there surely?) came at around the 49 minute mark leaving a generous 'classic' who time frame of 24 minutes for the Doctor to say goodbye to all his companions. It really was a waste of time. The dénouement of Donna Noble was adequate but not poignant enough (at least on a first viewing). I noticed Andy of the K couldn't stop smiling on the inside during her final scenes. Bernard Cribbins was terrific and touching - an actor who knows his craft well, always striking the right balance.

Personally, I'll miss Donna as I think Catherine Tate was a real asset to the show. She proved to be a consummate actress and a match to David Tennant. Not something I can say for Freema Agyeman who I thought was a waste of space. Next to the other companions she really did show up to be the least experienced actor. To be fair, she could still act rings around Matthew Waterhouse just to give it some perspective. Billie Piper was good but again, the impact was lessened by addition of too many companions to give this aspect of her story and the Doctor's any real impact it otherwise deserved in Rusty's soap opera.

One other aspect I felt about "Journey's End" that annoyed me was Murray Gold's intrusive music. There were spots where silence would've been golden and delivered more of a punch had there been NO music. Still, no "happyclap" drumbeats of Keff McCulloch fame when the Daleks came into scene. The Dalek's overall plot was grandiose in the best tradition of 60's "Who" highlighting for me their menace to the Universe. The sheer magnitude was worthy of "The Time Destructor" from "The Daleks' Masterplan". Don't panic, this is NOT a spoiler.

One final comment, to those of you who have been reading sylvestermccoy.com, these people got soooooooo many things wrong -so there WILL be surprises. I wonder how much they've got right on the specials. After watching "Journey's End" I suspect a lot of it is crap. I wish I could comment on the cliff-hanger resolvement from "The Stolen Earth" but I can't say anything that wouldn't be a spoiler, only in any review it would be a vital point any fan would comment on. 'Nuff said.

On a first viewing basis, I'd give it a 6 out of 10. Points off for the techno babble, missed plot opportunities that REALLY would've made it a lot better and not following up the "Shadow Proclamation" shown in "The Stolen Earth". Just so typical of Rusty throwing things in for impact and not following them through.

Sian, I would be tempted to write a review for you at the risk of upsetting some of your 'pro-who' readers. I'm not totally against "Journey's End" as it was overall an entertaining piece of fluff.

Regards
Ray Nimon