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Doctor Who/Recap/S30/E17 E18 The End of Time: Difference between revisions
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We begin with [[Timothy Dalton]] narrating over a shot of Earth, gradually zooming in to London. He states that as [[The End of the World as We Know It]] approaches, everyone on Earth has been plagued by nightmares, but they've all forgotten, save one man: Wilfred Mott. Wilf enters a church only to see a stained glass window depicting the TARDIS. A woman proceeds to explain to him the "Legend of the Blue Box" and the story of the "Sainted Physician". And then spookily disappears. Cue opening credits...
On the [[Doctor Who/Recap/S30/E03 Planet of the Ood|Oodsphere]], the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS wearing a cowboy hat and a ring of flowers around his neck. He decided to take a nice long vacation after [[Doctor Who/Recap/S30/E16 The Waters of Mars|his nervous breakdown]]. After he relates his vacation to Ood
Meanwhile, Lucy Saxon is collected from prison by the mysterious woman who took the Master's ring, only to reveal that the Master [[Xanatos Gambit|set up an elaborate scheme]] to ensure his [[Back
Wilf, at the end of his rope thanks to his nightmares, organizes a busload of senior citizens into a search party for the Doctor.
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After riding on their bus back to town, the Doctor and Wilf stop by a coffee shop, and Wilf proceeds to talk about old times. The Doctor points out the [[Contrived Coincidence]] of Wilf tracking him down so easily (a running thread from the last season, you may remember) and mentions that the four knocks he heard means he's going to die. They discuss [[The Nth Doctor|regeneration]] for a while, and the Doctor admits that when he regenerates, the man he was actually dies. They see Donna through the window, and Wilf starts begging the Doctor to [[Doctor Who/Recap/S30/E13 Journeys End|restore her memories]], while discussing her life. She's engaged. [[Doctor Who/Recap/2006 CS the Runaway Bride|Again]]. The Doctor tries to relate his recent solo adventures to Wilf, but nearly breaks down crying when he thinks about [[Doctor Who/Recap/S30/E16 The Waters of Mars|what happened to Adelaide]]. Wilf continues begging the Doctor to restore Donna's memories, and they leave the coffee shop together.
That night, [[Timothy Dalton]]'s narration declares that the pieces are in place for the oncoming conflict and that the final day of mankind has come. The two rich strangers toast each other while the Master continues eating on the streets like a feral animal. The Doctor shows up, and the Master starts [[Shock and Awe|zapping him with lightning]]. The Doctor [[Unflinching Walk|just keeps walking forward]], until the Master finally hits him square in the chest. They have a bit of a chat about food and the drums in the Master's head. The Doctor thinks that the Master is simply mad, but the Master touches his forehead to his and gently opens a psychic link. The Master is actually hearing something ''real''. But he quickly uses his newfound lightning powers to take off flying, screaming about how, "It's real!", and the Doctor is forced to give chase. Suddenly, [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|NINJAS!]] They appear out of a helicopter (well, out of a bright
The next morning, at the Noble house, Donna gives some gifts to her mother and Wilf. For some reason even she doesn't know, her gift to Wilf is a book written by one of the two mysterious rich strangers. His name revealed as Joshua Naismith. Speaking of the strangers, we see that Naismith is holding the Master prisoner, and he explains that his daughter has heard legends of Mr. Saxon and believes he can help with their project. The family turns on the teevee for the Queen's speech, but only Wilf is watching as the mysterious church lady appears instead. She tells him that in order to save the Doctor's life, he must take up arms and not tell the Doctor. Wilf goes upstairs, grabs his old service revolver, and sees the Doctor waiting for him outside. He goes outside, shows Naismith's book to the Doctor; the Doctor speculates that Donna's Time Lord brain is still subconsciously active, and suggests the book is an important clue. When Donna starts to come outside, the Doctor and Wilf flee to the TARDIS and quickly take off. As the Doctor and Wilf banter about how the TARDIS should be cleaner, the Doctor prepares to teleport to Naismith's complex.
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While all the restored humans in the mansion are running ''out'', Wilf runs ''in'', hoping to help the Doctor. Instead he notices one of Naismith's minions, trapped in a control booth that was part of the Immortality Gate, and which is designed so that there must always be one person inside. Wilf goes in, and lets the terrified minion go free.
Back in the mansion, the Master moves onto Plan B: Unable to take over the Time Lord's bodies the same way he did the humans, he simply plans to celebrate the Time Lords' return and have them owe him one. The Doctor tells him that the Master wasn't there during the final days of the War. Apparently infused with a good dose of [[Warhammer
The Lord President then explains his plan, if you could call it that. The Time Lords will destroy the Time Vortex itself, presumably causing something along the lines of [[Final Fantasy VIII|compressed time]] and wiping out all life in the universe while they [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|ascend to a higher plane of existence.]] Just then, the Doctor stands up, pointing his pistol at the Lord President. A [[Mexican Standoff]] of sorts takes place. The Master eggs the Doctor on, saying that if the Lord President were dead, Gallifrey could be his for the taking.
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Cue ending credits and the end of the [[Russell T. Davies]] era of ''Doctor Who''. Technically, it starts with the regeneration, as [[Steven Moffat]] was allowed to write the first scene of "his" Doctor.
* [[Aborted Arc]]: Sort of. Davies really had no idea who the woman picking up the Master's ring at the end of ''Last of the Time Lords'' was; it was just a deliberate [[Sequel Hook]] to make way for the Master's return. But he didn't know that he'd be the one picking the hook up and originally that hand was to pave the way for someone else's story- informally it was known as "The Hand of the Rani", because after ''LotTL'' many fans thought the hand could belong to one of the classic ''Who'' villains. But it ended up belonging to just some [[Mook]] who died a few minutes into the story.
* [[An Aesop]]: Don't cross the road without looking.
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** [[Acting for Two|Acting For Six Billion]]: Primarily through [[Chroma Key|chroma keys]] and a lot of costume changes.
* {{spoiler|[[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]: Rassilon's plot for the Time Lords in the last part of the Time War.}}
* [[Back
* [[Badass]]: Several. The Doctor, The Master. The Lord President of the Time Lords. Even ''[[Badass Grandpa|Wilfred Mott]]''. Then again, he is a Palestine Mandate/Mideast Wars veteran.
* [[Big Eater]]: The Master, since he [[Came Back Wrong]].
* [[Big Good]] and [[Dungeon Master]]: The Church Lady.
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: The [[Tear Jerker]] song played over Ten's regeneration is called "Vale Decem", aka "Farewell Ten", complete with [http://weavingsandunpickings.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/the-latin-in-murray-golds-vale-decem/ apropos] lyrics.
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: Everyone on the planet is returned to normal and the Time Lords are dragged back into the Time War, but the Doctor is only saved by the Master (whom he had tried to save) charging Rassilon and being time locked as well. On top of that, the Doctor reluctantly saves Wilfred at the cost of his own life, but lives long enough to see all his companions to a happy ending. Whilst the Tenth Doctor regenerates with tears in his eyes, the Eleventh is born and marvels at his new incarnation.
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* [[Call Back]]:
** A VERY subtle one in the Captain Jack scene, but the song playing in the bar was performed by Tallulah in "Daleks In Manhattan"
** The Master's Plan is in essence what would have happened if what happened in [[Doctor Who/Recap/S27/E09 The Empty Child|The Empty Child]]/[[Doctor Who/Recap/S27/E10 The Doctor Dances|The Doctor Dances]] was a deliberate act as opposed to [[
** The Master's last words to Lucy. '[[Catch Phrase|You will obey me!]]'
** A shout out by way of special effect. The effect used when the Immortality Gate and Rassilon transform humans into the Master Race and vice versa is a callback to the Doctor Who TV Movie. At one point in the movie, when the Master is attempting to take over the Doctor's remaining lives, his head begins shaking in a super-fast motion, interlaced with split-second cuts of the Doctor's head on the Master's body. The overall effect is almost identical, though somewhat less polished, than the one used in the 2009 specials.
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** The Master, who is also chewing on other characters. "Dinnertiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!"
** The Narrator also loses it when he reveals his role. You can see him spraying.
** The Doctor too, when he rages against the dying light. "I could do so much more. [[
* [[Christmas Episode]]: The first part. But considering the lack of anything Christmassy aside from the date and the Master's [[Big Eater|obsession with Christmas dinner]] combined with [[Soapland Christmas|the bleak tone of the story]], it's OK if you didn't guess it in the first place.
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by one of the characters (Mr. Naismith) in the story: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Christmas is canceled. Prepare the gate!"
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** The Doctor's mention of his marriage to Queen Bess is a [[Call Back]] to the end of "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S29/E02 The Shakespeare Code|The Shakespeare Code]]", where the Queen arrives and instantly declares the Doctor to be her enemy, [[Noodle Incident|for reasons he didn't know at the time]].
** The {{spoiler|President!Master}} says he can send the UN protocols to the Master. The Raxacoricofallapatorians in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S27/E04 Aliens of London|Aliens Of London]]" were defeated mainly because they couldn't receive these codes quickly enough. He got them pretty quickly.
* [[Contrived Coincidence]]: The Doctor [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] his constant encounters with Wilf, suggesting something is forcing them together.
* [[Cryptic Background Reference]]: It's a shame we never even get to glimpse the Time War because the Doctor's description sounded ''EPIC''. "Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradation, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, The Could-Have-Been King and his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres." Of course, showing all this would have undoubtedly been rather expensive.
** [[Word of God]] is that showing the Time War in all its glory, or even most of its glory, is simply ''impossible'', even with the biggest budget in the world.
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* [[The End of the World as We Know It]]: By the end of the first part, Earth's entire population consists of six billion Masters, the Doctor, Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble (who probably doesn't have long to live), and two Vinvocci.
* [[Enemy Mine]]/[[The Sadistic Choice]]: The Doctor has to choose between killing either the Master or the other Time Lords, with each side egging him to shoot the other. He ultimately went with the downfall of the Time Lords, with the Master taking them down with him.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Subverted; the Master actually ''likes'' the Time Lords' plan to bring about the end of time and become higher beings. It's only after the President calls him "diseased" and refuses to allow him to be part of the plan that the Master turns against them.
* [[Evil Laugh]]: Six billion Masters, all cackling.
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* [[Fantastic Slurs]]: "Cactus" has racist connotations when used to refer to Vinvocci, apparently.
** Wilf calls them "cactus" frequently and they never flinch, it was only when the Doctor called them "cacti" that they freak out.
* [[Four Is Death]]: The [[Arc Words]] throughout the Specials of the four knocks indicating Ten's death.
* [[Gambit Pileup]]: Let's see... you've got the Master playing [[Xanatos Speed Chess]], Lucy's plans to prevent the Master's resurrection, Naismith's plans for the Immortality Gate, the Vinvocci's plans to steal the Immortality Gate and the Time Lords' plans to escape the War.
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* [[Just One Second Out of Sync]]: The Doctor hides the TARDIS from the Master this way.
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Rassilon's putdown of the Master, despite him being ''the direct cause of what he is''. [[Alas, Poor Villain|Yeah, I actually feel bad for the villain of Part One]].
** Also Rassilon disintegrating a Time Lady with his [[Power Fist]] shows not only that he's far meaner than the likes of Borusa, but also that the Time Lord High Council are no longer the staid [[Obstructive Bureaucrat
* [[Kneel Before Zod]]: Kneel Before {{spoiler|Rassilon}}
* [[Last Words]]: {{spoiler|Tenth Doctor: "I don't want to go."}}
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{{quote|'''Doctor''': Hold on, she's not gonna be called "Noble-Temple"? That sounds like a tourist spot.
'''Wilf''': No, it's Temple-Noble. }}
* [[Meaningful Echo]]: The Master mockingly addresses Rassilon as "Mr. President, sir", calling back to [[Doctor Who/Recap/S29/E12 The Sound of Drums|his identical appellation of President Winters.]]
* [[Mood Whiplash]]:
** Last episode involved suicide and the Doctor's [[A God Am I|god complex]] being thrown into [[What Have I Become?|very sharp relief]]. This episode opens with a quick bit of ominousness then the Doctor showing up in a cowboy hat, shades, and a lei. We go from the Tenth Doctor's heartbreaking final line to a comic, pumping music opening with the Eleventh. To sum up, we go from David Tennant's tearful "I don't want to go!" to Matt Smith's hilarious discovery that he's "STILL NOT GINGER!"
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** The author's name is Verity Newman- as in [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Sydney Newman]], creators of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. (This is also a [[Continuity Nod]], as "Verity" was the name John Smith gave for his mother in "The Family of Blood".)
* [[Narrator All Along]]: He's the Lord President of the Time Lords.
* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: Three Time Lords stride along a platform bridge with no handrails that's barely wide enough for them. It doesn't help that the city is falling to bits around them either.
* [[The Nose Knows]]: where the other Time Lord is.
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** [[Shock and Awe]]
** [[Super Strength]]
*** However, he is [[Cast
* [[Take a Third Option]]: The Doctor has a stark choice: shoot the Master, or shoot the President. {{spoiler|He shoots the machine linking them}}.
* [[Tearful Smile]]: The Doctor has a particularly heartbreaking one when he goes to see Joan Redfern's great-granddaughter and she asks if, in the end, he was happy. He smiles, but he looks like he's about to cry.
* [[Terrible Ticking]]: The Master's drumbeat.
* [[Thanatos Gambit]]: Played straight, inverted ''and'' slightly averted ''[[Zig-Zagging Trope|at the same time]]'', being that the Master anticipated his death (hence his refusal to regenerate) in "Last of the Time Lords", and used his subordinates to imprison his wife, ({{spoiler|who murdered him}}), and took a biometric imprint from her to use as a catalyst for the [[Applied Phlebotinum]] used to ''[[Back
* [[Third-Act Stupidity]]: The Lord President. Telling the Master [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|he has outlived his usefulness?]] Risky, in itself. But telling him that ''before he actually '''has''' outlived his usefulness?'' He was just asking to get zapped.
* [[Title Drop]]: "For Gallifrey! For victory! For the End of Time itself!"
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** Subverted> {{spoiler|Rassilon}} is blatantly motivated mainly by his own personal survival above all else; the Time Lord's themselves are, in his eyes, his private empire, a society he made and ordered for the express purpose of reshaping the universe to his liking. So while he presents himself to them as a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], in reality he is, and always was, nothing more than a raging egomaniac with a god complex and a [[Dirty Coward]] who would rather destroy all of creation than let himself be killed.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Whatever became of Leela?
** Or Romana for that matter, seeing as the [[Word of God]] says she returned to Gallifrey and became
* [[A Worldwide Punomenon]]: In his own words, the Master has turned the human race into the Master Race.
** It's also "A [[Incredibly Lame Pun|World Wide]] Punomenon" because it's everyone on Earth.
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* [[Wham! Line]]:
{{quote|'''The Narrator/ {{spoiler|Rassilon}}''': {{spoiler|This was the day the Time Lords returned.}}}}
* [[Worst Whatever Ever]] (coupled with [[Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like]]): "[[
▲* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: The Master is [[Retcon|retconned]] into this.
▲* [[Worst Whatever Ever]] (coupled with [[Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like]]): "[[This Is Sparta|WORST! RESCUE! EVER!]]" as {{spoiler|the Vinvocci wheel the Doctor out of Naismith's house. Down a flight of stairs.}}
* [[Writer on Board]]: The Obama scene.
* [[The X of Y]]
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Recap]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Doctor Who/Recap]]
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