So this is *it*. The Greatest episode of Doctor Who I have ever seen.
Its the sheer scale of the story that's just incredible, never has the Doctor been so vulnerable and never (for all the brilliant funny moments) has it ever been quite so dark and the situation seemed so helpless.
John Simm simply steals the entire series as The Master, who has become Prime Minister of Britain under the name of Harold Saxon. He is every bit the mirror of David Tennants Doctor (as the Master should be) complete with human companion Lucy (only he did the dirty and married his - poor Rose+Martha...).
After their brief encounter in Utopia, where the Doctor's universe literally ends before him, we find ourselves back on Earth in 2008. From the second our heroes arrive its clear the situation is already lost. The Master is controlling the country and is just 24 hours from his big show in front of the world. He is having the time of his life.
Some accuse Russell T Davies of dumbing the Master down by making him so jovial and outrageous failing to realise that if the Master is as happy as he is here then its very very BAD news indeed.
The episode is essentially a cat n' mouse chase between the Doctor and the Master but in reality that is exactly what the Master wants. He could have them arrested and killed at any point in this episode, but where is the fun in that for him? He is deliberately chasing the Doctor deeper into a trap because he wants him there for his final performance.
What a show it is: First up a seemingly innocent "monster of the week" episode comes back to haunt the Doctor- The Lazuras Experiment- which we now learn was the brainchild of The Master, all so he could create a weapon to incapacitate the Doctor.
Then he tears a whole in the universe (the best CGI yet) unleashing a race called the Toclafane whose real identity is as yet unknown -the name is actually an invention of the Master's. They immediately set about murdering 600 million people on the Master's instruction.
Its a scene that is both awesome in its scale and funny in a perverted way. The whole thing is done to the sound of Rogue Trader's "Voodoo Child" a personal favourite of The Master who boogies at the window in a manner befitting a sexual deviant as he watches the destruction below. Meanwhile his wife jigs along awkwardly like true air head.
In short never has it been so tense, so dramatic, so funny and so action packed as this. I had the same feeling watching this as I did watching the first part of Star Trek's Best of Both Worlds- the realisation that my favourite series had just produced its best hour of television yet.
If I could rate it 20/10 I would but I cant so its a big fat 10 from me.
Its the sheer scale of the story that's just incredible, never has the Doctor been so vulnerable and never (for all the brilliant funny moments) has it ever been quite so dark and the situation seemed so helpless.
John Simm simply steals the entire series as The Master, who has become Prime Minister of Britain under the name of Harold Saxon. He is every bit the mirror of David Tennants Doctor (as the Master should be) complete with human companion Lucy (only he did the dirty and married his - poor Rose+Martha...).
After their brief encounter in Utopia, where the Doctor's universe literally ends before him, we find ourselves back on Earth in 2008. From the second our heroes arrive its clear the situation is already lost. The Master is controlling the country and is just 24 hours from his big show in front of the world. He is having the time of his life.
Some accuse Russell T Davies of dumbing the Master down by making him so jovial and outrageous failing to realise that if the Master is as happy as he is here then its very very BAD news indeed.
The episode is essentially a cat n' mouse chase between the Doctor and the Master but in reality that is exactly what the Master wants. He could have them arrested and killed at any point in this episode, but where is the fun in that for him? He is deliberately chasing the Doctor deeper into a trap because he wants him there for his final performance.
What a show it is: First up a seemingly innocent "monster of the week" episode comes back to haunt the Doctor- The Lazuras Experiment- which we now learn was the brainchild of The Master, all so he could create a weapon to incapacitate the Doctor.
Then he tears a whole in the universe (the best CGI yet) unleashing a race called the Toclafane whose real identity is as yet unknown -the name is actually an invention of the Master's. They immediately set about murdering 600 million people on the Master's instruction.
Its a scene that is both awesome in its scale and funny in a perverted way. The whole thing is done to the sound of Rogue Trader's "Voodoo Child" a personal favourite of The Master who boogies at the window in a manner befitting a sexual deviant as he watches the destruction below. Meanwhile his wife jigs along awkwardly like true air head.
In short never has it been so tense, so dramatic, so funny and so action packed as this. I had the same feeling watching this as I did watching the first part of Star Trek's Best of Both Worlds- the realisation that my favourite series had just produced its best hour of television yet.
If I could rate it 20/10 I would but I cant so its a big fat 10 from me.