Last of the Time Lords

"Last of the Time Lords" is a darker than usual slice of "Doctor Who", following on from where the excellent and thoroughly entertaining "The Sound of Drums" left off. Gone is the humour, largely replaced with a bizarre streak of nihilism.

There are many adult themes running throughout the course of this episode and Russell T. Davies has really pushed the boundaries of the show and what we can expect to see before the watershed. The Master's wife, played by the delightfully pretty Alexandra Moen, is seen throughout the episode with a black eye, demonstrating that this Time Lord has a temper and a penchant for wife beating. While this is a relatively subtle touch, I initially had doubts about this as it's not entirely appropriate content for a family show. Realising that I'm starting to think like Mary Whitehouse, I appreciate that this was probably something younger viewers would not pick up on but it remains a more adult element of the show and something that's not been touched on before in the history of the series.

The Master's treatment of The Doctor is, without doubt, hard-hitting and cruel. While this emphasises The Master's state of mind, again I wondered how the young audience would react to these scenes. The sight of a wizened doctor living in a type of dog kennel / tent was unexpected, as were the later scenes involving him imprisoned in a birdcage.

While I've been annoyed by the silliness of some of Davies' stories, I initially felt that this tale may have gone too far in the other direction. I won't go into detail but there are elements of the script which are just a little bizarre and some viewers may be upset by the finale as a whole both in tone and content, particularly the truth behind the Toclafane. In addition to this, I found the rather predictable resolution somewhat weak and unsatisfying - this is going to be a story that will have fans debating its merits for some time. After watching "Last of the Time Lords" a second time, I'm more comfortable with the grim tone but I still remain unconvinced by Davies' deus ex machina ending.

Martha fans will be pleased to see the character has a large role to play in the proceedings but John Barrowman's Jack largely just gazes at events from the sidelines. Only a final, teasing bit of dialogue from Harkness (another thing that will keep the forums buzzing!) justifies his existence in this episode.

It must be said that the music from Murray Gold is outstanding and gives the production an epic feel.

In the end, I've given this longer-than-usual episode 8 out of 10. I loved "The Sound of Drums" but I'm not entirely happy with the way that this story progressed. It does, however, remain great entertainment despite being slightly anti-climatic after so many outstanding previous episodes.