Doctor Who (TV Series) The End of Time: Part One (2009) User Reviews

The End of an Era

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 8/10 · 28 March 2019]

On the one hand I think this is a hugely underrated, very high quality story but on the other hand I do not think this was quite as amazing a finale as the 10th Doctor deserved or Russell T. Davies era deserved.

This incredible era was, for MY taste, the most consistently high quality era since the Hinchcliffe & Holmes era with Tom Baker in classic Seasons 12 to 14. My ratings for the 10th Doctor's era edge ahead of even the hugely consistent 3rd Doctor era. So it is slightly unfortunate this era comes to an end with a story that is not one of the very best.

Having treated us with stories like Midnight, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and The Waters of Mars in his recent writing efforts, RTD seemed to slightly over extend his ideas in this story in my opinion. However, I still think it gets very overly harshly judged by some fans because I think it is actually very good.

The downsides in my view are:

A few aspects of the plot which are a bit overblown.

The Vinvocci aliens are a little bit cheesy and silly imo.

Naismith, his whole entourage and his plans are all a bit underwhelming.

The Master turning into a superpowered, super hungry monster and then turning all humans into him are entertaining but a bit over the top.

Loads in this story is of top standard though:

It is exciting, fun and emotionally strong.

It features the Doctor's great nemesis the Master and has brilliant scenes between him and the Doctor.

It has powerful aspects about the return of the Time Lords.

It has superb acting from Tennant, John Simm, Timothy Dalton and the wonderful Bernard Cribbins.

It has a mysterious cameo from Claire Bloom and a small, touching return for Catherine Tate as the great companion Donna.

It is very well produced with effects, music, direction etc all at top level.

It has some amazing dialogue, particularly between Tennant and Cribbins which are extremely moving right up to the tear jerking regeneration scene.

All of this deserves huge praise and it shows off Davies' writing skills and Tennant's immense acting prowess.

Overall this is very high quality in most respects. While I think it falls slightly short of reaching the greatness it deserved, it is still a very strong finale.

David Tennant was, for me, one of the best Doctors with his awesome acting and emotional range. He was a joy to have as our hero.

Russell T. Davies deserves huge thanks and praise for all his excellent work in bringing the show back, making it so successful and creating so many incredible new stories for us to enjoy.

Thanks David & Russell, your era was one of the best ever.

My ratings:

Part One - 8/10 Part Two - 9/10 Overall - 8.5/10.

Simm steals the show

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 26 December 2009]

As time runs out for David Tennant's Doctor an old foe returns and a greater danger lurks in the back ground; not being revealed till the final scene. Even though he was killed in a previous episode followers of The Master have found a way to bring him back. Once back The Master is hungry, very, very hungry and also quite insane; watching him devour a turkey is a sight to behold. The Ood have alerted The Doctor that time is literally running out so he returns to Earth where everybody is being haunted by a dream which nobody except Donna's grand father Wilfred Mott can remember.

The Master is captured by a wealthy individual who has taken position of alien technology which can cure anything; including ageing, he expects The Master to repair the machine so he could bestow immortality on his daughter, The Master has another use for it though, a use that will have effects for almost all of humanity and causes Donna's memories to return; memories that could do her serious harm.

David Tennant did a fine job as The Doctor but John Simm stole the show being genuinely frightening as the increasingly insane Master, other fine performances were provided by David Harewood as the wealthy Joshua Naismith, Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott and Timothy Dalton as the member or a race we didn't expect to see again. It was nice to see Catherine Tate return as Donna even if it was a comparatively small part compared to her previous appearances. I found the episode was slightly let down by The Master's ability to shoot beams of energy from his hands and leap hundreds of feet into the air, he didn't need these gimmicks and was much more frightening when the camera was close to his face and he was rambling insanely or devouring something. That is only a tiny complaint though and am looking forward to part two.

A fun if crazy start.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 30 August 2015]

The whole world is having nightmares but not Donna's granddad Wilf. The Doctor having been called by the Ood finally returns to the Oodsphere, who make a prophecy of a return of something dark, The Master, and something bigger. The Master returns, brought back by a female cult, but Lucy intervenes, seemingly sending the Master a little crazy. The Doctor meets up with Wilf, discussing his fears after the events on Mars where he played God. Millionaire Joshua Naismith and his daughter Abigail have the Master kidnapped and bound, and try forcing him to repair a piece of technology they've discovered, the Immortality Gate, but two of Naismiths' staff are aliens wanting the machinery for their own ends. Naturally being a genius, The Master takes full advantage of the technology, turning everyone into himself, not Donna, who's placed in mortal danger.

Favourite scene possibly Wilf meeting The Doctor in the Coffee shop, it's a very touching, heartfelt scene brilliantly done by both. Wasn't it nice to see some more matures actors and actresses on show.

Plots and subplots, one seeming villain, masked by another. It's a very clever plot, cleverly written. I liked lots of it, return of Donna and Lucy (only briefly admittedly,) there's a good pace, good sense of urgency. Humour is provided by The Silver Cloak, again nice to see some older talent, June Whitfield is just delightful. Talk about joy seeing the Doctor in one of my regular coffee shops (The Kardomah) so random. Wilf and The Master are both very welcome returnees.

I absolutely detest the Master's ability to jump, shoot beams and turn part skeleton, it does not work on any level. Don't really like the Naismith characters they fail somehow. Poor John Simm, his performance cannot be faulted, but the script is not so good for him, again!! I bet he had fun making it though. WHY DID HE HAVE HIGHLIGHTS!!!!

Full of flaws but full of fun, the trailer was stunning, Gallifrey was back!!

7/10

The Beginning of the End...

[Xstal · 10/10 · 9 December 2021]

The Master's been reconstituted, Re-formed, reinvented, rebooted; an insatiable thirst, leaves him at his worst, abundantly dispersed, undiluted.

... and setup perfectly for the end of time itself!

An Exciting, Fun, and Wacky First Part to David Tennant's Farewell Story (Spoiler-free, hopefully)

[1stbrigade · 10/10 · 28 December 2009]

After taking the good Doctor into some very dark territory with "The Waters of Mars," Russell T. Davies returns the Doctor back to his roots with "The End of Time, Part One," the first half of David Tennant's final story as the Tenth Doctor. From the very beginning of the episode, Davies intends to create a memorable story to give Tennant a fond farewell. And the story really is brilliant, exciting, wacky, and scary in the tradition of classic "Doctor Who." The cast and crew do a fantastic job of creating this amazing story, preparing us for the second half of the story, which promises to give Tennant an epic, fantastic farewell. While some may find it too outlandish, it does so with great fun and excitement, making it worthwhile. And the cliffhanger is the biggest, most exciting one yet, ending the show on a double-whammy! Longtime fans will surely love it! Allons-y! Grade: A+

Despite Some Flaws A Thoroughly Entertaining Piece Of Television

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 26 December 2009]

I can't say I was overwhelmed by any of the DOCTOR WHO specials . Neither was I impressed with any of the previous Christmas specials so when we get a two episode Chritmas special I wasn't getting any hopes built up . Seeing as it signals the end of the Tennant/ Russell T Davies era I was expecting Rusty to throw in everything including the kitchen sink . Think of the previous season finales squared and you have the idea . Thankfully after seeing this episode not only were my low expectations met they were far exceeded

No story in the show has ever been perfect but RTD has restrained himself with a relatively simple plot . Someone builds something they shouldn't have and the story's villain uses it to build a " master race " . There that's the plot explained perfectly and while there's not enough narrative to reward an audience on repeated viewing it's a simple enough story well told for the most part . Thankfully Rusty hasn't thrown a massive spanner in the works buy bringing in anally retentive past references every five minutes . We're reintroduced to the Ood again , Donna Noble has a cameo , there's a couple of nods to the season three finale and a cliffhanger ending featuring the Time Lords . Just enough to remind die hard fans why nostalgia plays a large part in their lives without alienating casual viewers

This probably won't be remembered as a masterwork from the show and undoubtedly in years to come it will be remembered as reintroducing the Time Lords as well as writing out Tennant from the show . What The End Of Time does do very well is entertain the audience and much of this revolves around John Simms as the Master . No longer Prime Minister Harold Saxon the portrayal is a sort of hybrid between Hannibal Lector and a chav . But Simms is having so much fun playing the role it's impossible for the audience not to be swept along with him

There are some flaws . As has been pointed out already there's little internal logic for the Master to be able to fire lightning bolts and jump hundreds of feet in the air and seems to be an excuse for The Mill FX team to show us what they can do while June Whitfield is the most superfluous guest star ever featured in the show . There's also the Shimmer creatures which seem to be included to simply impress young children but seem somewhat silly compared to the more dramatic aspects of the story . These however are very minor flaws and I watched this episode in front of my parents without feeling any shame or embarrassment to being a die hard fan .Truth be told I'm sure they were thoroughly entertained as well as millions of other people who sat down to watch this . Whilst not being a great piece of storytelling it is undoubtedly 60 minutes of highly entertaining high quality television

Faithful to the unconventional approach of previous episodes!

[gervazilla · 10/10 · 27 December 2009]

For fans of Dr. Who, the first of this two segment special is a must see. Part of the charm of Dr. Who has always been the cheesy sets and melodramatic acting. To a certain extent, "The End of Time" follows these aspects of previous episodes of the series; yet, there is a new emotional intensity that draws the viewer in and makes the essence of the story memorable. Moreover, the clues to the future in the storyline are mixed with references to the past in a manner that is intriguing—creating a puzzle for the audience to ponder or attempt to figure out. In not conforming to recent demands in marketing, the writer and producers remain true to a quirky sense of humor and an offbeat style that made followers love the show from the beginning.

The Master's Madness!

[wetmars · 10/10 · 12 November 2020]

It is the Tenth Doctor's final journey - but his psychotic nemesis, the Master, has been resurrected on Christmas Eve! Each determined to cheat death, the battle rages from the abandoned wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, whilst the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire universe.

MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUT SERIES 10 FINALE.

With the sound of the drums growing louder in the Master's head and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilfred Mott must fight alone. Sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."

First of all, this has to be the goofiest finale of any sort ever. The Doctor and Wilfred were the best in this one. I liked it when the pace slowed down when they were having a conversation about why he keeps meeting Wilfred over and over again, death, etc.

The Narration was well-done, gave me the chills. I don't know why it had that impact on the viewers to warn them that this is the finale of the RTD era Tennant's era nearing its end, of course, a post-regeneration story.

As for the Master? He stole the show, yet so insane, He's hungry for food like he said: "Want more. I want cheese and chips, and meat and gravy, and cream and beer, and pork and beef, and fat, great big chunks of hot, wet red!" and "All that roasting meat, cakes, and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It's so hot. Sliced. Sliced. Sliced. It's mine. It's mine. It's mine to eat and eat and eat!"

The Master Race scene is ironically the most unintentionally hilarious cliffhanger ever. I love it. John Simm did his best performance in WNaT/TDF, but keep that for spoilers.

10/10.

Screw the Nay-sayers

[thenewtd · 9/10 · 26 December 2009]

I won't give spoilers other to then to say I was damn surprised about how good it was. I have been a fan for over 30 years and this episode was in line with some of the greatest of ages past, such as War Games, Deadly Assassin, Trial of a Time Lord, etc. It takes 5 years of of the series and wraps it up beautifully. The episode, plus the preview for the following week make this the most amazing thing I have seen on TV that I have seen in years. I was amazed at what they did. Any of the other reviewers who complain about the episode I say those peeps are whiny little bitches. I'll say it again, they are whiny little bitches, its a fantastic episode that will go down in history. Screw all of the nay-sayers!!!!

UPDATE: After watching Part 2...I am disappointed.

Doctor Who - The End of Time Part 1

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 3 January 2015]

In this first episode of a two-part conclusion to the terrific stint of David Tennant as the Doctor has him having to deal with a reborn John Simm's The Master, insatiably hungry and intent on global control. Before you know it a wealthy London citizen (David Harewood) has provided him with alien technology (a type of "transporter" that "mends whole planets", a type of medical device that can perhaps provide David's daughter with eternal life if it can be fixed) in the hopes that The Master will repair it so it can benefit him. Harewood's Naismith had kidnapped The Master after he was in the middle of tormenting the Doctor. The Master has attained the ability to fire off immense beams of intense lightning and can uncannily leap high into the air. The Master seems compelled to feed in order to survive but his condition, according to the Doctor, is tearing him apart. How is The Master alive yet again? Well, he has an order dedicated to him, and they recovered his signet ring after the Doctor had burned his body to ash. The signet ring and "biologicals" from the lips of The Master's wife, Lucy Saxon (Alexandra Moen), held prisoner until needed, were able to resurrect the Doctor's arch nemesis. Lucy does try to destroy The Master within the prison as he is being reborn, failing to do so, as the Doctor surveys the remains of the building which is gutted and skeletal. The Ood feel a "great darkness", a "shadow" about to come across the universe, and what this refers to is actually not The Master, but something even more dangerous…the Doctor's own Time Lord brethren (led by Timothy Dalton, of all people, who also narrates this special Christmas episode) plan to "end time itself". So to say the Doctor has his hands full is an understatement. To use an alien medical device to transform the entire human race into the likenesses and personalities of The Master himself is enough of a huge plot problem fit for the annual Doctor Who Christmas special, but for the close of the first part to have Dalton encouraging support from his Time Lord army on destroying time itself sets a grand stage for the second part to come. It was nice to see Wilfred (Bernard Cribbins) assisting the Doctor in catching and stopping The Master, and the use of Donna (Catherine Tate), unaware of anything regarding the "Man in the Blue Box" any longer, proves to be quite a dramatic device as everyone changes around her and all the suppressed memories return. This episode was your basic set up for the slam bang finale of Tennant as the Doctor, allowing Simm to rabidly devour the scenery as his character does a turkey or meat that passes before him. This could be quite a pop culture item in the future as Barak Obama, the current Pres, is mentioned as a potential salvation to the burgeoning recession, turned into The Master during a press conference like the rest of the planet! Tennant's approaching end as the Doctor is hinted at in quite an emotional scene as the actor does seem to be speaking from his own heart through the character acknowledging his own end was near, close, while speaking with Wilfred in a diner.

Amazing!

[nahid_h · 10/10 · 30 December 2009]

This first part of a two-part special that will say goodbye to the Doctor who, quite frankly, played the role like a genius. I mean from the second it started it had me really intrigued as to why did Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbin, playing the role brilliantly.) have images of The Master (John Simm, who basically stole the whole show as the villain) in his head.

The whole episode was just thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat and the cliffhanger was simply sublime, completely amazing. When the narrator parts came on i was a bit confused but the ending when it showed that the Time Lords (The Doctors & The Masters Origin) had survived the Time War and were plotting what was basically "For The End of Time Itself!" Part 2 must take this to the next level because the writers, the actors, the director and all the people who worked on the first part were completely out of this world when it came to this episode. AMAZING!!

In the doctors words: "what!! "

[mx-records · 6/10 · 26 December 2009]

THIS IS A REVIEW!! Yeah for everyone who hasn't seen the special jet, I might spoil a bit around here and review the happenings!! So don't read it!!!

So what have we seen here, nice acting, some bad and somehow unnecessary special effects, some nice moments of an unknown side of the doctor (ooh very human) and a to fast story development at the end.

Nice acting of Tennant but this was the only thing I was really sure would happen. I was afraid of what is to come after the good build up in "Waters of mars", you could actually do so much. But they somehow (until now) just made a typical doctor movie out of it. The master returns, we all knew this would happen. It was awesome to see the doctor begging for help, but then the story just got out of hand and the master suddenly stumbled into a position of world domination. What the hell! The green aliens, good Idea, funny, the tragic moment on the other hand was to see that this "living forever machine" was only build for the daughter from the head of the British empire. no!no!no! this scene was so unbelievable and all happened to fast, no background info about the people and why the actually are so selfish! And when they try to get Tourchwood and the 3rd season into account, then please tell me how this selfish prime minister is elected, the world should have learned from the things which happened. This was all to cheap.

But hey this was all the steam, now some words of reconciliation to Christmas. I love that grandpa is the companion. Awesome!! The Odd, awesome!! The special effects looked stupid, all of them! I will wait until new year and hope for the best, they have a lot of things set in strange positions. I hope it was all necessary to make the second part awesome and a worthy last time for Tennant as the doctor. Until than!!

End of an era (Spoiler Alert)

[treebeardman · 5/10 · 29 December 2009]

Its the end for DT and RTD, and they are throwing the book at this one. Actually I think RTD is putting in everything he can, just because he can. He wont have to tie up loose ends, so leaves a bit of a mess for the successor. There are far too many special effects, and a long wait for any plot.

The Gates are much like the ghosts cybermen episode when Rose left. The green spiky alien is just like the red alien on the Xmas Titanic. The warnings from the Ood are a bit like the warnings from the face of bo. Eternal life for the PMs daughter, bit like Lazurus/captain Jack. The Doctor watchers was a bit like the man in the shed in Rose, and Elton in love&monsters.

The lady in white seems familiar but wait for ep2. The Master just keeps returning, despite being killed many times, he is becoming a bit supernatural, having here some superpowers (superman/spiderman). He sends energy bolts and leaps tall buildings. John Simm is fantastic mind.

How does the masters ring and an imprint of the lips of Lucy bring back the master? Bit Harry Potter, with voldermort returning.

I hated the throwaway lines at the start, particularly his getting married to Queen Elizabeth 1? Reminds me when they decided to give him a daughter, just more baggage for future writers to cope with, or perhaps ignore. For 5 years he has been telling us the time lords are finished, so guess who makes an appearance? He rushes about but whats the hurry, he is a TIME LORD. He has a Tardis. Dear dear.

Good to see Wilfred and Donna. June Whitfield was wasted (so far).

It is still entertaining, but after such a long wait it is disappointing. Please please new writers, bring back plot, and some science too.

End of an era, part one

[dkiliane · 8/10 · 11 March 2019]

This is it, the beginning of the end of the RTD and David Tennant era. And they even brought back the Master! Of course his return is a bit convoluted but still works more or less. And John Simms plays him with utter zeal that at times borders on camp but is still always enthralling. His newfound abilities are rather cool as well.

On the other hand, still reeling from the "Timelord Victorious" incident from Waters of Mars Tennant plays the Doctor in a rather melancholy state. Even so, there are many marvelous scenes between the Doctor and the Ood, the Doctor and Wilf, and the Doctor and the Master. The Vonivichi (I don't think I spelled that right) provide some nice levity as well. Naimath father and daughter villains are quite campy unfortunately and so is the Master's master plan but it at least definitely makes for an interesting cliffhanger. 8.5/10

The End of Time: Part One

[MrFilmAndTelevisionShow · 9/10 · 5 April 2021]

Classic scene with the Master being so hungry, for so long.... DINNER TIME! I loved that, another great Dr Who episode, and I'm excited to see what comes next to this two-parter. Also will the Time Lords return? (No they (I'm 99.99% certain they won't) won't).

Not enough Timothy Dalton

[somercet · 7/10 · 3 March 2018]

"Not if President Obama ends the recession tonight!"

"Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the world-wide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity!"

*gag* Though hilarious in retrospect. But I must ask, was writer Davies subtly critiquing Obama (or his drooling fangirls)? Naismith, a black man, extols Obama's coming White House presser to the Master: "You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend its own problems." Risible, considering that these humans are hijacking alien technology only with the secret help of two different alien species.

This show matches the plot holes usual to Doctor Who with superior special effects, but this episode is largely prologue to the superior Part Two.

A very bad special only good acting could save, and still that is not enough

[mindless-618-957765 · 3/10 · 26 December 2009]

---- Contains Spoilers ----- I don't know where to begin to tell how awful this episode was; so I will list the thing that IMO were good before proceed to some serious bashing of the ridiculous writing that has become a trademark of this new series of DW.

In short, take everything that is bad about Davies "style" (i.e. "coincidences", deus ex machina, fast endings for no reason whatsoever, and more), factor it for this high-expectation Christmas special, and you will have an idea of what it's like.

I especially liked Simm's, Tennant's and Cribb's acting; to me these were the only bright spots in a really ugly piece of television. Simm's in particular was really good, even more so perhaps given the crap RTD gave him in the plot, so I will start complaining about what they (RTD) did to the Master's character; please bear with me, but I really cannot stand shitty writing in a serial I like.

Now, the Master is supposed to be a time lord, and he should be quite scary even then. More so, perhaps, if you make of him the psychotic monomaniac he has become. But a time lord is not a dark lord of the Sith. That is just wrong, there is no excuse except for a very lazy writer. I mean, the resurrection thing is cheesy enough even without the "flying and shooting energy beams" crap.

And since we are talking about that resurrection thing, let me say how much I hated that scene. It makes no sense no matter how do you think about it.

The Naysmiths were, in a word, unnecessary. Really, do the mental effort of removing them from the story and you will find that there is nothing to be missed. Moreover, the actress who played the daugther Abigail was just terrible; so in fact you could remove them and gain in quality.

The visual effects were terrible, especially the final one. That "shaking face" thing is not only ugly to see, it also screams "They are cutting our budget!". The gods know if they don't have a good reason to do so.

The whole "timelords returning" thing is a crappy reset button. Unfortunately this is what you get when you dare giving RTD white paper. Oh, I am so happy he is leaving this show. By the way, i think that the return will not happen, for the very simple reason that no writer could be so stupid to give away the coup de scene an hour earlier. But still...

Worst episode ever

[sc789 · 2/10 · 7 January 2010]

This episode is a total mess. It has plots here - more plots there - and more over there - and none of them make sense. For example, there's the resurrection of the master and the whole thing with Lucy Saxon and all those people...what happened to them. Then the master's superpowers...where did they come from. Basically I think the point of the episode was to get as many people and special effects into it as possible. I mean, the superpowers aren't even needed for the story - they just ruin it. The whole episode cannot be described as anything more than little odd ideas stuck together by little bits of loose tape that just marginally form the shape of a story.

Shallow, derivative plotting and some poor acting makes for an unpromising start to Tennants Swan Song!

[The-Last-Prydonian · 2/10 · 26 February 2010]

After four long years, and 64 televised episodes (not counting the animated stories and charity specials) David Tennant was finally hanging up his sonic screwdriver as the tenth incarnation of the now contemporary and reinvented Time Lord. Having just previously featured in two one-hour, one-off specials rather than the now requisite thirteen episodes (ten stories) which would comprise a whole series (a move made to ease the transition as new executive producer Steven Moffat took over the reins from Russell T. Davies and the production team made redesigns to the next series TARDIS, opening credits sequence, etc.), Tennant's long-anticipated swan song, a two-part Christmas special entitled "The End of Time" hit television screens across Britain. The subject of much hype and much speculation considering the ominous prophecy imparted to the Doctor at the conclusion of the passable "Planet of the Dead". The cryptic enigma of who would knock four times would soon be answered. But as if much of the fare that we have come to expect from RTD the premiere installment of "The End of Time" promises much but delivers little in the way of a totally coherent or inspired and original plot.

The premise focuses on the Doctor having to return to the planet earth having received a vision with the aid of the elder of the Ood, whose home planet he was visiting. A vision that concerns the resurrection of the Doctor's arch-nemesis the Master who will in some way play a part at the end of time itself which will mean the destruction of future events that the Doctor currently inhabits with his alien associates. What soon follows is a rather poorly constructed and stilted resurrection scene that utilizes the necessity of the inclusion of the Master's widowed wife Lucy Saxon (who married him when he had adopted the moniker of Harold Saxon) requiring the adage of a number of one dimensional Harold Saxon cultists as best be described who with no coherent rhyme or reason (apart from that they're devoted to their "Master") are willing to sacrifice their lives to revive the deceased Time Lord. As you might imagine things don't go according to plan (due to a rather miffed Lucy throwing a figurative spanner in the works) and things come to an end rather disastrously. But not after some mind-blowing OTT performances from all involved, yes even Simm.

The story more or less develops from there and not well as would be hoped. With the Doctor being reunited with Wilfred Mott, one of RTD's more sublime and wonderful creations, and played beautifully by the brilliant Bernard Cribbens it allows the pair to have an ingeniously acted but at times nonsensical moment (given the context of the series history) in a café. The brief moments involving former companion Donna played by comedian and actress Catherine Tate do add emotional weight to proceedings and do to a slight extent forward the plot but the whole more "spiritual" angle which RTD has rather limply applied to past stories just seems like a rather lazy method of not allowing the Doctor to use his deductive powers and discover things for himself.

On top of this is Simm's given interpretation of the Doctor's adversary and fellow Gallifreyan who believe it or not is even more maniacal and twitchy than was last seen in series three's closing episodes. Although his performance is more, fine-tuned than in his initial appearance in this episode I miss the wily sociopath who the villain was, rather than the crazed Hannibal Lecter prototype that he has been molded into. A confrontation between the two rivals within a barren London wasteland though featuring some electrifying and eye-popping special effects is reasonably well handled and allows once the dust settles for Simm to deliver a solemn, reticent performance as he eloquently mulls over his and the Doctor's past childhood on Gallifrey and what they have both become. Both actors cope with the repartee between their respective protagonists/antagonists well but unfortunately, it's a moment that is all too brief and the Master is whisked away by paid mercenaries in the employ of a potty millionaire (is there ever any other kind?) Joshua Naismith, who requires the ingenious skills of the Master for his own ends which entails the Immortality Gate, a humdrum creation by RTD which is merely a variation of the Nanogenes seen in series one's "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" and themselves were ripped off from an old episode of "Red Dwarf". If this isn't bad enough Naismith's need for the Master and the gate which involves his daughter Abigail,(Tracy Ifechaor in a cringe-making and lamentably artificial performance)is shallow and trite to the point of boredom.

The Vincocci, a pair of alien scavengers played by "Being Human's" Sinead Keenan and Lawry Lewin, is nicely realized by the two and do add something to the part and help move things along although it's to a rather nonsensical conclusion which isn't merely laughable and looks like something out of a bad sketch of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" not to mention it makes the inclusion of the Naismith's practically unnecessary, as they add little if anything to the plot making them nothing more than disposable, gratuitous fodder.

But as the episode comes to a close and we hear the beautifully resonant and strengthening tones of former Bond star Timothy Dalton which culminates in a spectacular although not altogether surprising reveal given a certain photo that leaked onto the internet. I couldn't help but get a tad excited as to the prospect of what the following week's concluding part might bring. But given this was Russell T. Davies who had penned this story those hopes as had been the case before could be so, rudely shattered as had ultimately my hopes for this opening morsel.

Boooring...

[Gelaos · 4/10 · 2 March 2019]

Utterly stupid and boring episode. Most plot events made no sense at all or were incredibely cheesy (e.g. resurrection of the Master, cliffhanger ending). Symptoms of lazy writing/cheap plot.

TBH not sure what to think.

[hazzadhgw · 2/10 · 17 April 2018]

Part 1 of End of Time is average at best. It has lots of problems like the Master having super powers and can eat people and jump 1000 ft in the air somehow and he can turn into a weird skeleton The Master is literally brought back by magic. A bunch women circle round a him pouring poshens in a boul. Then they say bring back the master or something along those lines and he comes back to life. Those women literally cast a spell and then took Lucy Saxson's lipstick off like a bloody witch making an enchantment. This is Doctor Who, not Merlin! Then Lucy throws some sort of liquid over the Master and the prison Lucy is locked in blows up somehow but the Master somehow survives it and then the Master starts going on about all the food he wants. And it's so annoying! Even before the Master is resurrected, he's able to get into people's dreams somehow which doesn't make any sense. The Doctor is also a problem. He also starts going on about how changing feels like dying and how it's a new man replacing him which doesn't make any sense because he's still the same person.

The upsides are that the Christmassy things and Wilfred, Donna and Sylvia are brilliant as usual and very funny. The funniest but is when Wilfred mocks the TARDIS saying that he thought it would be cleaner. That was so funny. And the woman, who spoke to Wilfred through the television, I thought her addition was quite intruiging because I really wanted to find out who she was.

Part 1 isn't very good. It makes no sense and the Doctor and Master are so out of character. The upsides are the Nobles. They were brilliant as usual and that's why I'd give it a 4/10.

Messy

[doctormysterio · 1/10 · 29 June 2018]

I didn't like this episode at all. Amazing cliffhanger, but the rest was actually bad. The Master is way too over the top. Weird, weird episode.

Nearly the worst episode ever

[warlordartos · 2/10 · 15 March 2021]

This was so close to being the worst episode of Doctor Who ever in history at least to my knowledge worst in the period of 23 November 1963 - 2 January 2021. The only thing that saved this from being THE worst EVER is the brilliant acting and the masters Psychotic nature and the SO VERY hungry part is good. The stupid energy beams are just the worst part of any Doctor Who ever and they should have never had them put in EVER