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[graculus]

Well, this is probably going to be an unpopular opinion but I thought this was the weakest of the three episodes. I guess, for me, 'Utopia' was such a tough act to follow that it was always going to be unlikely that RTD could cap it - though the following episodes demonstrated some flashes of brilliance, as a whole I found them disappointing.

The high point for me was John Simm's performance in both episodes; he was all sorts of awesome, managing to combine manic energy with an undercurrent of malevolence.

The use of Jack as a character was pretty poor, other than the throwaway line with which RTD is clearly challenging JK Rowling for the title of Queen of Foreshadowing. That one line, about the Face of Bo, distracted me so much from the rest of the episode. ;) Apart from that, why was he there? It felt as though they needed him back for 'Utopia' but then didn't really know what to do with him after that... And are we going to see a new, shinier Jack in Torchwood next season?

And hey, we managed to get through an entire RTD episode without mentioning Rose! Woohoo! \o/

Comments

[lachli.livejournal.com]

Utopia was the definite high point of the series for me, I think anything after that was always going to struggle.

John Simm and David Tennant absolutely made the episodes for me, some of the stuff was absolute hokey, but those two together were stunning.

Sad that Jack was so underutilised, but I'm hoping it leads to a mcuh more cheery Jack in TW. See ya Martha, don't let the door hit you on the way out ;-)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

If they were going to have Jack just hanging around, they could at least have smacked him around a bit and ripped his clothes off. ;)

I wouldn't get too enthused with the idea that Martha's gone for good.

[temaris.livejournal.com]

I think actually the general feeling is somewhere between meh and wtf? The seeds were all sown in the first two, but the trouble with buildup is it always exceeds reality. I liked it, but my standards are still pegged somewhere around my inner eight year old *g*

Oh, and I *loved* the stuff Martha got to do.

[ngaio]

Yeah, I was fascinated because I wanted to know what would happen, but I wasn't as *enthralled* as I was by Utopia, or even last week's ep. Shame but inevitable.

I saw what they needed Jack for, they needed him to be a tool (literally, not euphemistically) in getting to the TARDIS and 'saving' it. And in being the 'tough guy' the one who wants the Master dead (in a more practical, less tearful way than Martha's family). But at the same time it did seem a bit 'nice gift, what is it?' in actual scripting.

I *loved* the Face of Boe thing. *Loved* it, it made the whole episode for me!

[rach74.livejournal.com]

Um... they did mention Rose

Master did when he said yu used to have companions who could absorb the vortex.....

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Buggeration. I thought it was too good to be true! For a gay man, RTD sure has a hard-on for Rose...

[rach74.livejournal.com]

I know! Never really worked that one out to be honest- unless she's him and therfore it's a narcisstic kinda thing

[cycnus39]

Well, I can't say I was impressed either. John Simm I loved and also the twist with the metal balls but the rest was WTF -- and not in a good way. It all seemed a bit contrived, trying too hard in general. And don't start me on the Face of Bo. *blinks* And although I wish it was the end of Martha, we all know she'll be back. Why do the Who and Torchwood crew insist on telling us these women (Martha and Gwen) are fabulous when it's patently obvious they're just not. And, yeah, they so under used Jack and seemed to have him get over his whole Doctor thing pretty damn a fast too (one year off screen? Pfft). I think I'm quite happy forgetting the whole episode happened and looking forward to a shiny Jack -- even if sans Gwen is just too much.

[siluria]

Not unpopular, I have to agree with you, for most of the episode I was wondering when it was going to get better, but like you say, there was John Simm to make everything alright :) I did like the Dr/Master death scene at the end, gave me plenty of happy thoughts. and there were moments here and there. :)

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Everyone else can wander off but the Doctor wants to set up house with the Master? I should say so... ;)

Also, as I've said before, what wasted opportunity with Jack all chained up that after a year he's still fully clothed!

[rhade-rad.livejournal.com]

I keep feeling the dice are overweighted towards the Doctor winning: I haven't really been convinced by any of the threats. In this case of course Martha was going to come through but " I tuned myself into the telepathic matrix and won because everyone prayed to me. Oh and suddenly everything you've done to me is reversed." Oh please. Another series ends by use of the deus ex machina, that's cheating in sci-fi. [though I suppose we could debate where this is now sci-fi or fantasy. Personally, I think fantasy is when you are explicit that you are using magic.]

I'm also not convinced by the reliance on the Companion to save the day: I prefer more teamwork like Leila *?sp* and particularly Ace [I liked Ace] who brought their skills at fighting and blowing things up to the party, and were prepared to act independently to rescue the Doctor, which occasionally got them all into more trouble. Still aside from those two most of the doctors' companions were mostly annoying so Martha is an improvement.

Much as I like John Simms I do remember Roger Delgado as being darker and having more gravitas: much more of a contrast with the Doctor. I want my Master to be a lot nastier, colder and controlled in person. If you saw Antony threatening Cicero in Rome, that's more what I like.

[blktauna.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Roger Delgado...

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Deus ex machina is cheating in any genre. And it's all a little bit like over-compensation for the 'oh Rose is the bestest ever!' torch RTD has been carrying all this season (and bashing us over the head with) going to MarySue Martha singlehandedly saving the world. Okay then.

There were elements of the more sinister Master peeking through, I think, but I wonder how well the gravitas works with David Tennant careering about all over the place himself.

[praderwilli.livejournal.com]

Well, I was just bitching over on cycnus39's LJ about how underwhelmed I was by the DW finale. There was such a great build up. Utopia knocked it out of the park. Then we get the lame. A year later Martha Jones defeats the Master through the use of magic.

The magic, i.e. deus ex machina, used to defeat the Master was just dumb. It reminded me of Peter Pan asking the audience to believe in fairies to save Tinkerbell. How is this Sci Fi? We wuzrobbed.

And why waste Jack? It's criminal. They could have, at the very least, unclothed him a bit (okay a lot) more as you suggest in your post.

Oh the humanity!

Also: The face of Boe.... WTF?!?! Let the fanwanking begin.