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The Parting of the Ways Format Reviewed: TV/DVD Review The moment has then come for the first series of Doctor Who in 16 years to end, it is a sad day for it and I was left wondering what to do with my Saturday nights. The final episode promised much, 500,000 Daleks, a Dalek god and the Tardis crew doing everything in their power to halt the destruction of Earth. It is a fantastic prospect, and the episode delivers in spades. I was wondering before seeing this episode how the Doctor would deal with half a million Daleks, when one caused so much hassle earlier in the series in the episode Dalek. Well, continuity buffs remembering the original series would argue that the heart of the Tardis should be the Eye of Harmony, and this was never referenced. Still, the solution of Rose being'infected' with the time vortex from the Tardis and solving the crisis through that shows the depth of feeling that she and the Doctor share. This is reflected when Captain Jack states she is safe and that the Doctor should release the delta wave that would not only kill the Daleks but himself along with all life in the vicinity. It is a difficult question as to what someone should do when faced with certain death and limited choices, but I think most would chose the path Jack took. The guest cast includes Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke again, although Coduri has such a small part her performance is fine. Mickey again displays the resigned disaffectedness of someone faced with being without the woman they love, and comes accross creditably. The rest of the guest cast is made up of the same actors from Bad Wolf, and again they put in creditable performances. A note here on the Bad Wolf link throughout the series is needed I feel. I don't think that any plot element may have caused such speculation amongst fans as this. It was an excellent idea and one Russel T Davies should be truly proud. The link as well bringing it back to Rose, not the Doctor, Davros, the Emperor Dalek, the Master or any other character much speculated upon is also fitting for the series. The decision was obviously taken that Rose would have a much larger role to play in the stories than companions generally have before, and with her ending up as the Bad Wolf, it provides a good twist that not many got right. Well done here. The Daleks though are what make this episode truly great. The familiar heartbeat of the Dalek environment makes for a creepy backdrop, and the old menace is always there. One continuity issue though is that the Daleks allegedly hate their own existence because they have harvested some DNA from humans to rebuild their race. I don't think this fits in with the established previous episodes where human (or humanoid at least) species were constantly being assimilated to become Daleks. Indeed, it was genetic mutations introduced by Davros from the humanoid Kaleds that began the Dalek race afterall. With a suitably dark tone, Rose saves the day and divides the atoms of all the Daleks, their Emperor and all their ships. She also brough Captain Jack back to life (and presumably others, but this wasn't shown) as he had died earlier defending the Gamestation. The Doctor then saves Rose and tries to save himself in vane. So, a regeneration is necessary. This time it is explained as there is a new audience to Doctor Who and you can't really go about changing the lead actor in a show without a bit of explanation. There then follows a good regenereation sequence with the Doctor standing up! And there it is, the end of the Eccleston era, and the end of a fine series of Doctor Who. Welcome back, and long may the show continue. Overall, the Parting of the Ways is an excellent and suitably dramatic end to the return series of Doctor Who. It is a big shame that Christopher Eccleston only wanted to do one series, as he was excellent overall. This does leave the show with a bit of uncertainty as to whether David Tennant will be as good, only time will tell. It's a shame that Captain Jack was left behind though, as I feel he was one of the best companions for many, many series, possibly even with the potential to be the best. With a spin-off in the making though, and the prospect of him cropping up from time to time in later series though, this can only be a positive as long as John Barrowman wishes to play the part for that length of time. Still, a fitting end to a great series overall. Rating:  |