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| DW "The End of Time Part 1" |
Throughout, Timothy Dalton as Rassilon gives the episode portentous narration that at times feels excessive and at times really hits. "It is said that in the final days of planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams" is a hell of an opening line. And when some of Dalton's booming pronouncements are underscored by Murray Gold's gorgeous Gallifrey theme, that certainly helps it go down easy.
The episode makes some choices when it comes to the Master, which are all ludicrous but somehow not always out of left field. He's got a cult dedicated to his resurrection, and it must be said that his cod-Voldemort rebirth sequence is one of the biggest loads of bollocks the new series has put on screen. But at the same time, the basic idea of a cult devoted to the Master could fit into something like "The Daemons" back in the day. Then his body is overcharged, so you can see his luminescent skeleton. Again, wild, but not far off from the skeletal Master from the Fourth Doctor era. But the headline here would be his super-jumping and electricity powers - the Master as supervillain, out of a mid-2000s Fantastic Four movie.
All this is tempered by the unique honor "The End of Time" has of placing Wilfred in the role of companion. It's almost like since writer Russell T. Davies knows he's got Wilfred in reserve for moments of charm, thus giving him license to play Picasso with the episode's plot.
And Wilfred is, of course, wonderful, and he and the Doctor have a poignant scene in a cafe where the Doctor confesses his fear of death. It's earned emotion, not something to take for granted in an episode often in danger of buckling under the weight of its own pretentiousness. The Ood and the Time Lords keep warning of THE END OF TIME ITSELF, which just comes off as silly.
"The End of Time Part 1" has its share of effective moments, balanced out by stretches of rubbish. An episode of extremes, it'll likely leave you exhausted if not always entertained. 6/10.
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