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The End of the World Format Reviewed: TV/DVD Review The first new television series of Doctor Who in 16 years continues with the main protagaonists travelling to a platform orbiting the Earth, which is about to expire in a ball of flame. This gives the creators the freedom to introduce a variety of alien species, and a twisted vision of what could happen if cosmetic surgery and images of the human body continue to be taken more and more out of proportion. The guest cast is quite impressive here, with the jewel in the crown undoubtedly being Zoe Wannamaker as the already described twisted 'last human' Cassandra. To a person, the guest cast give good performances, and support the story well. As alluded to in the review of Rose, I believe this is the real start of the TV adventures of Christopher Eccleston, as the first episode was largely establishing the character and context for a new audience. So as mentioned in the trailer for the new series, we are now going to take the Doctor up on his offer of 'D'ya wanna come with me?'. For the first real adventure then the plot is slightly contrived, as most 'evil person wants to make loads of cash' type stories always are, irrespective of their context. Cassandra's plan of killing the heads of her business rivals by sabotaging the sheilds on a platform they are all visiting is somewhat far fetched. She managed to sneak things on board that were not allowed, so why not explosive devices and be done with it? That said, it does not detract from the main point of the story which is the growing relationship between the Doctor and Rose. This story lays the foundations for their real friendship that will only grow stronger as the series progresses, and is helped by the Doctor rescuing Rose from death at the hands of unfiltered rays from the Sun. Rose is naturally very wary of the Doctor, and understandably has trouble coming to terms with life without boundries really, and being confronted by a collection of Aliens (benign as they might be) appears to assault her senses a bit too much. By the end of the episode though, the relationship appears to be on-track, and happiness prevails. One point to note about the story though is the apparant attraction between the Doctor and Jabe (a tree person). Avoiding obvious jokes about wood, this appears to be a theme that has carried over from the TV Movie starring Paul McGann, where he kissed Grace. I'm not averse to the Doctor finding some being or other attractive, but I'd rather it was kept to a minimum. This attraction spills over into the ending when Cassandra is recalled by teleport and the Doctor refuses to help, ostensibly because Cassandras actions killed Jabe who he had feelings for. This is another aspect of the Doctor that hasn't really been seen before, but as long as it doesn't become a regular thing isn't bad. Anything that expands on the available range of emotions and story possibilities that the Doctor can experience can be a good thing, as long as the variety of his adventures is preserved. With this story, I feel that the main characters are now fully introduced to the audience, and the stage is set for the new era of Doctor Who on television. To cap it all, new CG and special effects have been used well and should compliment and help the talent that the production team have at their disposal. All-in-all, not a bad episode, but it isn't a classic either. New character traits in the Doctor are explored, and the relationship between him and Rose is advanced to show the viewer how the rest of the series is to progress, but to a certain degree the story is still establishing itself in the minds of a new audience and showing them what can be done in Doctor Who. Rating:  |