Doctor Who Club of Australia

[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