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Journey's End Format Reviewed: TV Review The end is nigh, and with a cast of thousands pulled in from the classic series and spinoffs alike, Journey’s End marks the conclusion of Series four, and Russell T Davies stint as Executive Producer during a series run. The first four series of the new television adventures of Doctor Who seem to have dramatically polarised opinion amongst fans of the classic series. There are opinions wildly in favour or against some or all of the directions the stories have taken, but what nobody can argue is the fact that despite saying it couldn’t be done, Doctor Who has regenerated once again into a favourite amongst most age groups as a family show. During his regeneration sequence, The Doctor manages to pass this energy into his severed hand, in a vat under the console and he does not regenerate. The TARDIS is then transferred to the main Dalek ship, and Martha teleports to Germany. Everyone but Donna, who can hear a heartbeat again, leaves the TARDIS, and the Daleks send the TARDIS off to be destroyed. Donna is drawn to The Doctor’s hand, and when she touches it the vat explodes and another Doctor appears before her. They then realise that the new Doctor is part Doctor, part Donna, and vice-versa, and only has one heart. In Germany, Martha is busy trying to activate the Osterhagen Key, which detonates a series of linked nuclear devices designed to destroy the Earth in times of utmost emergency.. The Doctor’s remaining companions are brought on board the Dalek ship as captives with many others, and escape into the ship. The Daleks are planning to let off a reality bomb, facilitated by the alignment of many planets, but the TARDIS arrives, and new Doctor and Donna emerge, only to be shot. Donna is not dead though, and manages to stop the bomb. The Daleks are then gradually being destroyed, and everything can return to normal. All the companions are returned to their own proper places, and The Doctor reveals that Donna can never be able to remember anything that happened, and she is returned to her mum and Wilf. The Doctor then leaves alone. So, the end of Russell T Davies contribution as commander in chief of a series of Doctor Who, rather than the planned specials for the following year has arrived with great fanfare and somewhat of a damp squib. What I thought was going to be the case here was for a big story bringing everything to a head, rather than the line up of the characters Davies has written for being pensioned off. The plot is somewhat bizarre, as I do not see why Davros and the Daleks would go to all the trouble of producing this reality bomb when there are bound to be better ways of achieving similar ends without such a drastic action. Especially with Davros being more lucid, more like the Genesis of the Daleks version, it seems non-sensical to sacrifice your own being to create a Dalek army then try to use a big bomb. Why not just create a small force then do the bomb? Everything seems to have been written to give the regular cast a send off, so that new executive producer Steven Moffatt can either use them or ignore them as he sees fit. This does not really sit that comfortably when you are after a cracking romp. Again, the cast is massive here. Tennant does another good job, especially playing two versions of The Doctor. Of the companions, Martha and Donna played by Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate respectively, come out with the most credit. Billie Piper also seems to have slipped back into her role of Rose very well, despite appearing to have had some dodgy bridgework done. Special mention must once again be given to Julian Bleach, whose realisation of Davros is marvellous. I don’t like the maniacal cackling of Nicholas Briggs as Dalek Caan, but that is possibly more to do with the character rather than the performance. One final mention will also go to Elizabeth Sladen, who is always a delight to see on screen. She always lights up the scenes she is in, and really is a class performer. It is not all bad in this episode though, far from it. There are many great elements, such as the German speaking Daleks will make me smile every time I hear them try to Extermenehren. There are also some nice touches with Davros, and some of the story elements like Martha’s journey are excellent. The best element is the tension, atmosphere and tone of the episode. This has been done excellently, and the director, Graeme Harper, should rightly be commended. It is however let down by the lack of story, and the outlandish elements that are introduced. Two versions of The Doctor running around, but one is half Human? An improbable big bomb? It just misses the mark for me, and therefore is a sad end to the stewardship of Russell T Davies involvement with a series of Doctor Who. Overall, Journey’s end has some masterful touches to it, and the tone and tension are held throughout.. This makes it a pleasant enough watch, but the lack of real plot, story, and the feeling that Davies wanted to bring everything together to say goodbye makes this episode not quite the finale I had been hoping for, It is pleasant enough, but will probably not stand up to the repeated viewing that Doctor Who has become synonymous with right from its inception fourty’five years ago.  |