Doomsday
by Russell T. Davies
Last week I reported (despite what everyone else seems to be saying) that nothing really happened in “Army of Ghosts” – it was mostly a filler episode with the completely pointless subplot (of the overall story) of the “ghosts”. Really it just killed time till they were revealed to be Cybermen.
This week, though, they really delivered – if not a great story at least an exciting one.
Last time at the cliffhanger, 5 million Cybermen arrive everywhere on Earth ready to “upgrade” us all. Meanwhile, the Daleks emerge from the void. Could things be darker for the Doctor?
So what happens? Huh, now that I think about it, there’s not much plot here, either.
Cybermen want to take over the Earth, Daleks want to take over the universe, Daleks and Cybermen cannot get along, 4 Daleks appears to be an even match for 5 million Cybermen, but they’re still scared of the Doctor.
The Daleks were protecting the Genesis Ark, which is in fact a Time Lord prison ship, containing… perhaps millions of Daleks and they’re unleashed on the Earth.
They’re lots of shooting, destruction, general mayhem and a ripping good time was had by all.
The Doctor sucks them all into the void, permanentlyseals the rift between the two parallel universes and the story ends – both worlds saved – the Daleks and the Cybermen wiped out (yet again?) and the Doctor looking for a new companion.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, but there are a couple gripes and possibilities.
- The Torchwood chick got upgraded, but apparently the Cybermen weren’t too thorough with her as she still retained her identity and acted as a “hero” in the end. (The oil “tear” coming out of her eye was really hokey.)
- The Doctor’s solution only sucked people and things that had crossed the universes into the void, therefore we can assume that all the newly upgraded humans in this universe are still running around.
- The Genesis Ark was a Time Lord prison, who knows what was locked up in it besides the Daleks – Davros? the Master? Apparently all you had to do was hang on really tight and you could avoid being sucked into the void – who knows who or what managed to stay in our universe?
- The Doctor risked life and limb to grab those magna-clamps (not so subtly foreshadowed in the previous episode) so they could “hang on”. Wouldn’t rope have been easier and more effective?
- Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf, Bad Wolf! Argh! Did we have to put up with the whole last season subplot just because dÃ¥rlig which sounds a lot like “Dalek” means “Bad” in Norwegian?
- Cliffhanger? I hate season ending cliffhangers! Especially stupid ones and worse, stupid ones where the announcer tells you to wait 170 days to find out what happens.
- With no communication between universes, how the hell could Pete know to show up exactly where he did, at exactly the right moment, poised exactly as he was to catch Rose and why wasn’t he just instantly pulled right off his feet and sucked into the void?
Stay Tuned at Christmas for “The Runaway Bride”
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