Doctor Who Review

Ross Yarnton
If Episode one bent the rules a little as a pre-cursor to brillance, then episode two had to excel. With reputations hanging in the balance with this second offering from Russell T Davies, I was on the edge of my seat before Graham Norton had finished waving his hands in mock enthusiasm.

Putting my feelings for Christopher Eccleston's recently announced departure on hold, for the time being, I expected a lot and was renumerated ten-fold.

The effects ridden tour-de-force that is The End of the World showcases everything that is great about this 21st Century, BBC Who-niverse:

You see, Mr Davies and co. have realised that if the setting is supplied by post-production via special effects, then characterisation is the key and quite simply - it oozes out of this episode and most importantly, it works!

CGI starships and stations, believable, organic-looking alien make-up, fantastic, on-screen chemistry between The Doctor and co-star, Yasmin Bannerman (Jabe) and a do or die ending - make terrific television.

My suspension of disbelief at the impending doom of Platform One was complete, I was gripped by the goosebump inducing, heart-poundingly simple idea that the Doctor WOULD NOT MAKE IT.

Ecclestone shines as The Doctor, more so in this episode than its predecessor 'Rose', he is charming, thinks on his feet and fleetingly becomes his previous selves, most noticably when grilling Rose on how she feels about being 5 billion years in the future. It was as if the Sixth Doctor's persona had wrestled this Ninth incarnation to get to the podium - argumentative and sulky.

The Doctor performs 'jiggery pokery' upon Rose's Nokia Mobile phone and though it is a touching and grounding conversation, the subtle reference to Rose's past (the call seems to have been placed before her encounter with the Autons) is all important - she must leave her past behind to get on with it.

Not only did we get a pre-credit sequence, a la Bond, but we got an Epilogue which counterpointed what it was to be human and revealed in full that a war had left the Doctor without a home to return to.

It is this single statement that left me a little disappointed, for if there are no other Timelords, then we can never go to Gallifrey, or see other TARDISes. Will the Master return and will we ever see another Castellan or Keeper of the Matrix?

These questions unanswered are a bitter pill to swallow at the end of what I consider to be a proper and auspicious start to the new series.