Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk
DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com

Dan Owen reviews
Cover
Episode 13: "The Parting of The Ways"

Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday June 18th, 2005

Cover

Cover Synopsis: Rose Tyler has seen danger and wonders alongside The Doctor, but now their friendship is put to the test as Earth plunges into an epic war with The Daleks...

Well, it took 13 episodes but Russell T. Davies finally wrote a decent episode of Doctor Who. While the guest writers all created enthralling action ("Dalek"), pulp adventure ("The Unquiet Dead") and period horror ("The Empty Child"), Davies seemed content to dredge up family melodrama and silliness ("Aliens Of London", "Rose", etc.) While last week's first part, "Bad Wolf", proved disappointing - primarily through inane use of reality TV "satire" - the finale to the series is a resounding success.

In The Parting Of The Ways, The Doctor rescues Rose from the clutches of the Daleks, in a fabulous sequence where the TARDIS actually appears around Rose and a captive Dalek, and meets the real nemesis of the episode - The Emperor Dalek. As 500,000 Daleks plot to invade Earth, The Doctor builds a doomsday weapon to defeat them, while Captain Jack rallies troops the defend the Game Station satellite.

For once, the episode hits its stride early and doesn't feel too constricted by its 45-minute runtime. The finale is a fast-moving affair that has some genuinely emotional moments - such as when Rose is sent back home in the TARDIS to safety. Throughout the show there are some wonderfully tender moments between The Doctor and Rose that the series has been building towards since Episode 1, and in the final moments it's very apparent how much Christopher Ecclestone and Billie Piper's chemistry has helped towards the success of the show.

The special effects are good throughout, although there is some bad CGI shots in all the space scenes (not hideous, but not much better than mid-90's video-game interludes). It's frustrating that bad incidental music again resurfaces to scupper drama in all the action sequences with Captain Jack, but for the most part there's nothing too atrocious to detract from the story.

A minor apology is called for to Russell T Davies, too - as it transpires that the BAD WOLF plot-thread actually wasn't answered last week (despite the suggestion of this), and the actual revelation about its appearance throughout the series is more satisfactory. However, as with many episodes throughout the series, the logic of the stories aren't very strong and anyone nitpicking the plots will find many threads to unravel; such as how did The Emperor Dalek escape destruction in the Time War, exactly? Answers are given for questions, but answers are vague at best - which is infuriating for fans who value well-constructed arcs and twists.

Despite the continuing problems with plotting, The Parting Of The Ways is an effective episode because of its two greatest assets: Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. It's painfully obvious that Davies, as a writer, is more suited to character relationships than the specifics of sci-fi and action sequences, so whenever The Doctor and Rose have a "moment" the episode scores very highly.

In fact, as the episode concludes and - SPOILER ALERT! - Eccleston's dying Doctor re-generates into David Tennant; the prospect of the series without Eccleston is both exciting yet slightly daunting. Just as it should be, perhaps? Eccleston did a great job, despite a shaky start spent mugging to camera, so it will be interesting to see how Rose's character reacts to a new tenant in the TARDIS (pun intended)...

Time will tell... but for now Doctor Who leaves the airwaves a huge success for the BBC and a remarkably entertaining, if frequently frustrating series, that has yet to fully realize its potential...

Coming Soon: David Tennant begins his outing as the tenth Doctor in "The Christmas Invasion" this December...

DIRECTION
PERFORMANCES
SPECIAL FX
SOUND/MUSIC


OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.

E-mail Dan Owen

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

And the Audio CDs :

[Up to the top of this page]

Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk

DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com