|
Doomsday Format Reviewed: TV Review Doomsday brings to a close the second series of the new television adventures of Doctor Who. As was established in the previous episode, we have the Daleks and Cybermen on Earth at the same time. This episode also sees an era of Doctor Who end in a way, as after this there will be none of the main or recurring cast that has survived until the Christmas 2006 episode. Raise a glass therefore, Doctor Who is dead, long live Doctor Who! Doomsday has the Daleks tring to open what was contained with them in the sphere, something called the Genesis Ark which is a Dalek-esque 'casket' that can only be opened by the touch of flesh. The Cybermen go to investigate the sphere and find the Daleks, and a fight ensues. Mickey inadvertantly activates the Genesis ark and the Daleks take it into the sky and it spews forth millions of Daleks. Accross the world there are Daleks and Cybermen on the loose now. The Doctor realises that he can use the ghost shift device to suck teh Daleks and Cybermen into the void, and does so only for Rose to be drawn in too. Pete then appears from the other dimension, saves Rose and Jackie and they all get sealed into there. Several months later, Rose is drawn to Scandinavia to have one last conversation with the Doctor accross the dimensions, and a tearful farewell ensues. The Doctor then finds a bride has appeared in the console room, and the credits roll on another series of Doctor Who. The story to me seems to have been made in a slightly unbalanced way. If you're going to go down the route of Daleks and Cybermen fighting each other I would rather it be done in a way provided the main focus of the story. What we have here is the main focus being the departure of Rose, and all the emotion Russel T Davies can find shoehorned into the ending. We have a few minutes of Dalek-Cybermen fighting and pretty much the last third of the episode devoted to the Doctor losing Rose. Not the right way round for me. The Doctor has always been a stiff upper lip type character, and he is now being made to be metrosexual. I guess it moves with the times, but I'm not convinced it is really the direction I wanted the series to have taken. The cast is naturally very similar to the previous episode. Probably the outstanding performer of all is Billie Piper, who is unlikely to again grace the screens of Doctor Who. David Tennant does well with the material, and Noel Clarke and Shaun Dingwall do good jobs. Even Camille Coduri again comes out with credit in my eyes. The one wooden member of the cast is the infuriating Geordie kids TV presenter, Andrew-Hayden Smith who plays Jake Simmonds. I just don't think your cut out for the acting game lad, stick to the kids TV I think. More criticism then, or turn to some praise? Well, a bit of both actually. As a piece of television, there is nothing really wrong with the episode. It does build tension, and get the heart racing in places. I suppose what my real beef with this story is that it could have been so much more. There was an awful lot of scope to really go to town, but there is precious little Dalek-Cyberman interaction. My fears of the previous series are also born out as even the Cybermen are unable to harm the Daleks long term, meaning they have become too powerful. If a few Daleks 'could' take on five million Cybermen and win, what hope for the rest of the civilised universe? To defeat them last time it took the entire power of the time vortex and a regeneration of a Time Lord to stop them. Finally, I don't know what Russel T Davies was thinking when he gave these Daleks names. It was badly explained and didn't make any sense conceptually. Overall, Doomsday IS a spectacular ending to the second series of the new television adventures of Doctor Who. What it isn't in my opinion is one for the purists or the old fans. There is too much time and emphasis given to the parting of the the Doctor and Rose, and not enough to the potential of having Daleks and Cybermen at war. Essentially, I think it's an opportunity missed and one that could leave the series with little room for manouvre with either villain in the future. Rating:  |