★★★★★ 0/5

David Tennant exits Dr. Who in stunning finale

David Tennant's departure as The Doctor becomes the first big TV story of the decade. This article contains no significant Spoilers on "The End of Time" and features a Trailer with Matt Smith.

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dw2David Tennant’s departure as The Doctor is the first big television story of the decade.

Airing in the UK on Friday, Part 2 of Doctor Who: The End of Time brought to a close his five year run as the Time Lord, following a single season by Christopher Eccleston.

Tennant’s superb reign in the role is widely considered to be the finest of the ten actors lucky enough to assume the iconic role. Fans were devastated at the announcement of his exit -but would they cope with the reality?

10.4m British viewers tuned in to find out how writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies would orchestrate an outcome they had prepared themselves for. Tennant’s final episode would simultaneously bring an end to Davies’ rule of the Who series, as Steven Moffat now succeeds him. In every respect, timed perfectly with the calendar itself, it ended an era.

Part 1, which aired on Christmas Day, was met with mixed reactions. John Simms revived his role as The Master and Bernard Cribbins returned as Wilfred, grandfather of Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), who also made a return. Actor Timothy Dalton appears in both episodes.

But the 75 minute Part 2 turned on the thrills and the emotions as both character, actor and audience edged ever closer to a fateful conclusion.

One reviewer wrote, “It was in places, as anyone who watches the show regularly could have predicted, very loud, very camp, very silly and exceptionally good. An hour of roaring adventure which once again showed how much love and attention the production team lavish on the show.”

Another said, “Overall the episode is a strong love letter to Who, and to the Who fanbase from Russell and the cast and crew. When the first sixty minutes leaves the fans feeling a little let down at the quality of the writing for an episode so important to Who, the second episode’s great improvement and sweet send off for the cast we’ve had over these last 5 years leaves this Who fan feeling like we had a solid if not always spectacular episode.”

Tennant himself in one of his many promo appearances for the finale said, “It’s this big bold story about this character who knows he’s going to die. It’s a big, exciting story arc that takes The Doctor to places he’s never been before. This show has been running since 1963, so it’s quite hard to keep reinventing it, but we manage to do things to The Doctor that have never been done to him before.”

“It’s brilliant… and I can’t wait for people to see it,” he said.

In the closing minutes of the finale, as expected, actor Matt Smith appeared briefly as the Eleventh Doctor, ready for a new series of adventures (and possibly his own catchphrase) as this trailer illustrates.

Australian viewers still have no clear date for when The End of Time Parts 1 & 2 will air on the ABC (failing an amendment it is unlikely to air in January).

No doubt they too will be thrilled if not a little sentimental by the end of David Tennant’s wonderful reign as The Doctor.

Please note Comments containing Spoilers will be edited.

20 Responses

  1. I’m crying tears of frustration that in this instant gratification download day of age the ABC is waiting til Feb to air DT’s finale. And that this is so despite Aunty basically being the Australian arm of the BBC (programming wise anyway). If I could I would get UKTV, but no, plebs like me who made Dr Who the highest rating prgram for the ABC are forced to wait. Grrrrrrr.
    To make matters worse, there is all this stuff on the net with reviews and mentions and then tidbits of story and of course YouTube which adds insult to injury.
    Please ABC, fans know when espisodes air overseas and it would be great if we could watch them too, properly, legally and you know, within maybe a couple of weeks at the most. It’s too painful otherwise.
    Also, where is Waters of Mars on DVD…anyone? Anyone at all? And I too echo the question about Hamlet, when?. I will need to see it.

  3. Yes, It was indeed stunning!
    There were cheers and tears in our household … and the associated Dr Who Confidentials were also full of wonderful footage and comments … a brilliant send of for the most popular Doctor.
    There is also now a You Tube trailer for the 2010 Season featuring Matt Smith, well worth checking out! Geronimo!!!
    Jack!

  4. I reckon that part 2 was better than part 1, if only because the first one was purely there to setup the DT transition – there was only a fairly average attempt at a storyline, but that hardly mattered. It was just a loving farewell to one of the better actors to play the role (bouts of facial “gurning” aside).

    Matt Smith looks like a more dynamic, action-related characterisation of the Doctor (from the trailer &, by implication, from the new catchphrase/word). 🙂

    The DW Confidential accompanying the DT finale(s) make quite a few references to budget considerations in the production costs, which may explain why so many recent episodes of DW & Torchwood take place in derelict Cardiff urban wastelands. We can only hope for more funds & thereby more varied backdrops in the future episodes.

    I did like the nod to fan speculation when Matt Smith does his initial status assessment of the new Doctor incarnation… it’s funny, if you know the history…

    I had initial reservations about Smith, having only seen him in the Sally Lockhart Mysteries (awful, awful accent). but I feel more reassured now. Hoping for the best…

  7. “Australian viewers still have no clear date for when The End of Time Parts 1 & 2 will air on the ABC (failing an amendment it is unlikely to air in January).”

    The End of Time Part 1 includes a reference to Torchwood: Children of Earth. This could mean that The End of Time won’t be on ABC1 until after Children of Earth finishes on ABC2 on February 5.

  9. Part 2 was a vast improvement over the first part, and provided a fitting and emotional exit for Tennant’s years given to the show.

    A rollercoaster of cheesy cliches, highs and lows, spectacle and tears.

  12. I don’t want to be all negative, but the two-part episode didn’t really have two hours worth of storyline and was very poorly paced. In fact if it were not for the fact that it all ended [edit] for the Doctor himself it may have been the most pointless episode since the show’s revival (I would be more specific but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone). The previous season’s finale was far more exciting.
    That said, the last 15 minutes were brilliant and David will be sorely missed … and Matt looks like he will be quite interesting indeed.

  13. I’d come back to this show if they ditched the loudness, campness, and silliness that was the theme of this era of Who. With RTD gone, maybe this series has a chance again.

  14. I just have seen The End of Time. Very sad to see the end of the Tenth Doctor but a brilliant introduction to Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor (which as you can see from my name is a fellow Matt S).

    By the way the trailer says Series 5 but the 2010 season has actually been promoted by the BBC as Series One.

  16. Was absolutely wonderful. I want to write a letter of thanks to David Tennant for breathing such life into this character. But considering how both Ecclestone and Tennant were met with apprehension which soon turned to reveration with their portrayals, I have absolute faith in Smith becoming an excellent Doctor.

  17. It’s a very nice sendoff for DT & RTD,
    but I much prefer “Allons-Y” as the catchphrase… 🙂
    The trailer for the new Doctor looks impressive
    (as it should, I suppose).

  19. Loved the final (yes I just got back from the UK ;)) wish we could talk about it but we have to wait for the ABC, speaking of which… I thought they were planing to air it 3 weeks after the UK? Are they waiting for the ratings to re-start David?

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