Skip to main content

Doomsday Comes for the Doctor and Rose on the Season Finale of "Doctor Who"

While I might be sunning myself (and catching up on some reading) here in tropical Hawaii, I thought I would be terribly remiss if I didn't at least say a few quick words about tonight's two-hour season finale of Doctor Who on Sci Fi.

I had the opportunity to watch the two-hour finale ("Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday") before I left Los Angeles and it was with a certain sadness that I bade farewell to the Doctor and Rose, especially as any announcement about the series' third season airing on US television has yet to be made. UK viewers, however, have the Doctor Who Christmas Special, "The Runaway Bride," co-starring the always hysterical Catherine Tate, to look forward to in just a few days. (Lucky bastards.)

In any event, tonight's two-hour Doctor Who season finale wraps things up satisfactorily in more ways than one. That "storm" on the horizon that the Doctor mentioned at the end of last week's episode does indeed materialize, precipitated by those mysterious operatives known as Torchwood, who finally come out into the open after much teasing from the series' creator Russell T. Davies. Well, the London branch of Torchwood, anyway. As for what's going on in Cardiff, you'll have to wait for SOMEONE to acquire Who spin-off Torchwood to find out what's going on there.

The Doctor and Rose have faced a number of challenges and dangers together, but this is their most dangerous mission yet and it involves the return of several familiar faces as well as the return of some much-loathed enemies. It's also the story, sadly, of how one Rose Tyler dies. Before everyone gets up in arms about spoiler-alerts and so on, let me just tell you that Rose herself admits this in the opening sequence and... things are not always what they appear to be. Especially on a series as surreal and trippy as Doctor Who.

I cannot say enough complimentary things about David Tennant's performance as the Doctor. BBC America is rerunning the first season of Who starring Christopher Ecceleston and, while at the time I loved Ecceleston as the Doctor, he simply pales in comparison to Tennant's nuanced and easily excitable turn. His Doctor oozes with curiosity, passion, and wacky intellect, but it's colored with a deep lonely shade of blue hiding behind his stripy suits and trainers.

Me, I'll admit that the end got me more than a little teary (you'll know what I mean when you see it tonight) but I am excited to see what the next chapter in the Doctor's life brings. In "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday," things come full circle for both the Doctor and Rose Tyler (not to mention the Tyler family as a whole) and the direction of the series is forever altered after this two-hour finale. Doomsday does come for Earth (several of them, in fact) and for our brave heroes, both of whom prove that old adage that sacrifice is in fact the cornerstone of heroism with a capital H.

The second season finale of "Doctor Who" airs tonight from 8-10 pm ET/PT on Sci Fi.


What's On Tonight

8 pm: 8th Annual A Home for the Holidays with Rob Stewart (CBS); Identity (NBC); WWE Friday Night SmackDown (CW; 8-10 pm); America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC); Justice (FOX); Wicked Wicked Games (MyNet)

9 pm: Close to Home (CBS); Las Vegas (NBC); 20/20 (ABC; 9-11 pm); Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (FOX); Watch Over Me (MyNet)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Law & Order (NBC)

What I'll Be Watching

8-10 pm: Doctor Who on Sci Fi.

It's the second season finale of Doctor Who tonight. On the first of tonight's two episodes ("Army of Ghosts"), ghosts of the dead return to Earth while conveniently (and perhaps not too coincidentally) an invasion force makes its way inexorably towards Earth. On the second episode ("Doomsday"), the invasion force--comprised of two of the Doctor's gravest enemies--attacks the planet and the Doctor is forced into a bit of a quandry when something terrible emerges from beneath the Torchwood Tower. Could this be the end of the Doctor and Rose's beautiful friendship?

8 pm: Hardware on BBC America (11 pm ET).

It's the US premiere of Britcom Hardware, starring Martin Freeman of the original UK version of The Office, taking place at a small (you guessed it!) hardware store. On tonight's episode ("Finger"), Steve cuts his finger off and causes pandemonium in the shop, while Mike's girlfriend attempts to build a collapsible ironing board.

8:30 pm: Black Books on BBC America (11:30 pm ET).

It's the third season of the scathingly sarcastic Black Books, one of my favorite Britcoms. On tonight's episode ("A Little Flutter"), Bernard becomes addicted to gambling after Manny places a bet for him and he begins borrowing money from some Very Scary People. And, no, I don't mean Fran's distant relatives.

9-10 pm: Creature Comforts on BBC America (Midnight ET).

It's a pair of episodes of Creature Comforts, the delighfully insightful and whimsical animated British interview series about Christmas. Tune in to learn why dogs hate wearing Christmas hats and why Corgis tend to get so emotional around the holiday season.


Comments

Anonymous said…
I also had the opportunity to see this episode early and it is absolutely brilliant...as well as sad, funny, campy, and all of the things Doctor Who should be. David Tennant is the best Doctor yet! I really hope we'll be able to see Season Three soon!
Little Junkie said…
I love reading your blog! Have a great time in Hawaii. ;)
Anonymous said…
RE: Roger's comment...

David Tennant is the sexiest Doctor yet. And an incredible actor as well. The Doctor has always been an eccentric character and Tennant plays him with a passion that has yet to be rivaled. Now I can't imagine anyone else in the role!
Anonymous said…
Hey Grandpa,

We here in the 21st century don't use words like "fruity" or "swishy" anymore.

Tennant is a dynamic, manic lead and I can't imagine Andrew Lincoln (a.k.a. Mr Cardboard himself) taking over from him. As for using a gun, since when has the Doctor ever stooped that low?

Go back to your Matlock reruns, you old homophobe.
Anonymous said…
with all due respect to the comments made, doctor who was created as a farsical time traveling adventure, with out of this world devices. if u want guns and bombs and other such instruments, go and watch mission impossible or something.which, dont get me wrong is brilliant in its own right. doctor who is ment to be an exentric.if he wasnt the intelligent nutter he has always been the show wouldnt hav had the sucsess it has had.and David tennent pulls of the doctor brilliantly.not only is he sexy, contagiously charismatic, and personally one of the most versitile actors in britain today, he also appeals to all generations.i hav a couison who is 2 who is glued with silence wen he comes on, iam 20 an i adore it as do my parents and grandparents(my grandma would leave my grandad for tennent in an instant!)
ecceleston was also brilliant and was a brilliant come back for the show.we must remember his doctor won back the hearts of our country.
doctor who is ment to be taken for what it is...and if that is a absolute nutter hopping from one obscure world to another in a wooden police box with converse and a pinstrip suit then thats what we should love it for!
and as for the companions, im an actress at the moment and that would be like the dream job.doctor who is iconic, proudly british(now welsh!)and what anyone could wish for in saturday nite viewing!

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns