The plot of The End of Time was pretty unimportant since this episode was really all about David Tennant's Doctor and his final time as the 10th incarnation of the time and space traveller. As it was, The Master's plan and the return of the Timelords was all a bit inconsequential, since it was obvious that the Doctor could never allow either party to succeed, but it wasn't obvious how exactly the Doctor would bow out. Timothy Dalton was impressive as the President of the Timelords - he really suits the villainous role, he has the perfect voice and gravitas for it (see Hot Fuzz for more!), and John Simm's Master was manically devious. It was a shame that the Timelords were so easily defeated by a bullet to some mechanical macguffin. The drama leading up this was electric though - the Doctor's moral dilemma as he moved his gun between the Master and the President, deciding who to murder, was very well played.
There were a few laughs to be had scattered throughout - and I enjoyed the green, spiky-headed aliens who helped the Doctor and Wilf to save the planet! Bernard Cribbins was so funny, but he was also excellent at teasing out both an affecting performance from Tennant and tears from the audience. It goes to show that Doctor Who's companions need not be young women to contribute emotional conflict to the series, and I'd love to see Wilf as a permanent assistant, or at least see him return again with Matt Smith's Doctor. The brief glimpse of Smith at the end of the episode was tantilising, and already did much to clear my reservations of the actor.
The final 20 minutes of the episode, after the Doctor saved Wilf's life by sacrificing his own and get loaded up on atomic energy (or something, I wasn't really clear about that), was an emotional rollercoaster, as the Doctor was allowed the time to visit his previous companions and say goodbye. It's odd that no other Doctor was awarded this indulgence, but I don't begrudge Russell T. Davies' decision to let David Tennant go out on a high, as he has been a fantastic creation. There were nice bits of in-jokery for the fans during the Doctors' quick wander round the galaxy, and it was great to see familiar faces again (and a few questions were answered about where everyone else was when the Earth was once again under attack - after all of the companions, Torchwood and Sarah Jane crew came together at the end of the last series it always begs the question, why don't they all come together more often?).So the Doctor saved Martha (who I miss!) and new husband Mickey from death at the hands of Sontaran; prevented Sarah Jane's son being run over; introduced Captain Jack (alone in a bar full of the series' previous alien creations) to Russell Tovey's character from the Xmas episode with Kylie; says hello to Jessica Hynes at a book signing (I had to look up why on Wikipedia); gives Donna a winning lottery ticket at her wedding; and finally visits Rose (and her mum!) in the shadows, the year she meets his 9th incarnation. I'm not sure at which point the tears fell, though I definitely laughed out loud at Captain Jack's seen. The Doctor's final words - 'I don't want to go' - were heartbreaking, but there wasn't long to grieve as the 11th Doctor immediately set about trying to prevent the TARDIS crashing into the Earth!!
The David Tennant years have breathed new life into Doctor Who (Christopher Eccleston was OK, a bit odd though) and Tennant has done wonders with the role. Russell T. Davies has done great work too, although he's like The X-Files' Chris Carter, in that his genius can come and go, sometimes within the same episode. I look forward to the new Doctor, under the guidance of Steven Moffat, who has written some of The best episodes in recent memory. Allons-y!
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