Here we go then. The true arrival of John Simm playing the Master, the first incarnation of the show in the rebooted series (with all due respect to the few minutes that Derek Jacobi had last week).
Having arrived back on Earth using Captain Jack Harkness' (John Barrowman) time portal, The Doctor (David Tennant) and Martha (Freema Agyeman) soon discover that they've missed the election and that Harold Saxon is the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. Unfortunately, Saxon is really The Master (John Simm) and has been here for 18 months, preparing a devious scheme to take control of the Earth.
John Simm is a great addition to the cast. His grinning, manic, gurning Master is fun, but occasionally, such as moments of the call between himself and The Doctor there are moment of true contact between them. There is some backstory provided for anyone totally new to the character and I think this rebooted series first look at Galifreyan clothing and life. (More on that to come, I remember). The story is solid, and sets up The Master as a cunning rival to The Doctor, every bit as smart and capable.
Truth be told, there are a couple of elements of this show that were the worst excesses of Russell T Davies' time. Celebrity cameos though they make sense in the context always take me out of the episode and Sharon Osbourne, Ann Widdecombe and McFly now date the episode terribly. I have been wincing for a while in anticipation of the use of the "Voodoo Child" track, for the arrival of the Toclafane - which canonically appears to be playing in the episode, rather than as part of the soundtrack. Having scene some solid CGI across this run, the Toclafane, though really just a ball with some knives sticking out of them, never convince.
As I say on any multiple part episode, it's hard to judge properly until you've seen the whole story but I enjoyed most of the set up on this one.
Having arrived back on Earth using Captain Jack Harkness' (John Barrowman) time portal, The Doctor (David Tennant) and Martha (Freema Agyeman) soon discover that they've missed the election and that Harold Saxon is the new Prime Minister of Great Britain. Unfortunately, Saxon is really The Master (John Simm) and has been here for 18 months, preparing a devious scheme to take control of the Earth.
John Simm is a great addition to the cast. His grinning, manic, gurning Master is fun, but occasionally, such as moments of the call between himself and The Doctor there are moment of true contact between them. There is some backstory provided for anyone totally new to the character and I think this rebooted series first look at Galifreyan clothing and life. (More on that to come, I remember). The story is solid, and sets up The Master as a cunning rival to The Doctor, every bit as smart and capable.
Truth be told, there are a couple of elements of this show that were the worst excesses of Russell T Davies' time. Celebrity cameos though they make sense in the context always take me out of the episode and Sharon Osbourne, Ann Widdecombe and McFly now date the episode terribly. I have been wincing for a while in anticipation of the use of the "Voodoo Child" track, for the arrival of the Toclafane - which canonically appears to be playing in the episode, rather than as part of the soundtrack. Having scene some solid CGI across this run, the Toclafane, though really just a ball with some knives sticking out of them, never convince.
As I say on any multiple part episode, it's hard to judge properly until you've seen the whole story but I enjoyed most of the set up on this one.