198b –"Journey's End" | |||
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Doctor Who episode | |||
Cast | |||
Others
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Production | |||
Directed by | Graeme Harper | ||
Written by | Russell T Davies | ||
Script editor | Lindsey Alford | ||
Produced by | Phil Collinson | ||
Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner | ||
Music by | Murray Gold | ||
Production code | 4.13 | ||
Series | Series 4 | ||
Running time | 2nd of 2-part story, 63 minutes, 30 seconds. | ||
First broadcast | 5 July 2008 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"Journey's End" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , which was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures , preceded by "The Stolen Earth", which aired on 28 June.
It was longer than the standard episode length for Doctor Who. It marked the final regular appearances of every companion introduced in the Russell T Davies era, including Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. In the episode, the former companions of the Tenth Doctor, prepare to stop the Daleks' universe-destroying Reality Bomb.
"Journey's End" received mostly positive reviews, largely for the emotional core of the episode and its effect on characters. Some reviews were more mixed than the previous episode, finding the plot to be under-developed and silly. The episode was the most-viewed programme of the week, the first Doctor Who episode to receive this rank.
Inside the TARDIS, the Tenth Doctor is regenerating. He halts the transformation by transferring the remaining energy into his severed hand. [N 2] The regeneration has progressed enough to enable the Doctor's body to heal, but not change his physical appearance. Gwen and Ianto find safety in an impenetrable time lock and Sarah Jane is saved from Daleks by Rose's ex-boyfriend Mickey and her mother Jackie.
The TARDIS is captured by the Daleks and transported to their flagship the Crucible. Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie surrender themselves to get aboard. The Supreme Dalek orders the TARDIS to be destroyed, with Donna Noble locked inside; in the process, Donna touches the severed hand, enveloping her in regeneration energy and causes the creation of a new Doctor (the Meta-Crisis Doctor), who saves the TARDIS from destruction.
Davros, creator of the Daleks, explains that the stolen planets form a "Reality Bomb" which would destroy all matter in every universe. To stop the bomb, Martha threatens to detonate nukes and destroy Earth. Davros mocks the Doctor for acting the champion of peace while turning those around him into weapons. The Supreme Dalek transports both groups in front of Davros. The Meta-Crisis Doctor and Donna also arrive and try to use a device to refocus the bomb onto the Daleks. Davros blasts them both with electricity. Donna becomes imbued with Time Lord knowledge that she gained during the Meta-Crisis Doctor's creation and disables the bomb and the Daleks. The two Doctors and Donna relocate the missing planets, but the control panel is destroyed before Earth can be relocated. Motivated by Dalek Caan's prophecy of the Daleks' extinction, the new Doctor destroys the Daleks and the Crucible. The Doctor offers to save Davros, who refuses. The companions flee into the TARDIS. They return the Earth back into its original orbit and then return home.
The Doctor returns Rose and Jackie to the parallel universe in which they were previously trapped. [N 3] He also sends the Meta-Crisis Doctor into the parallel universe to accompany Rose. After departing, Donna's human mind becomes overwhelmed by the Time Lord knowledge and starts to deteriorate. Against her wishes, the Doctor wipes her mind and brings her to Wilfred and Sylvia. The Doctor tells them that although Donna's life has been saved, she can never know the details of her time with him, or she will die. He then departs from the Noble household, alone.
The episode is the culmination of all four series of Doctor Who produced by Russell T Davies; [2] dialogue in the episode refers to the events of "The Christmas Invasion", in which the Doctor had his hand amputated and regrown while fighting against the Sycorax. [3] Russell T Davies started writing "Journey's End" in January 2008. [4] At 65 minutes in length, it was approximately 20 minutes longer than a standard fourth-series episode. [5]
The music during the travel back to Earth's original place is the "Song of Freedom" heard at the end of "Planet of the Ood" and appearing on the series' soundtrack. [6]
This episode's original ending involved the Doctor, following the final scene where he is alone in the TARDIS, being alerted to something on the monitor and as he checks two Cybermen rise up behind him. [7] This was supposed to lead directly into the 2008 Christmas special "The Next Doctor", but Davies was convinced by Benjamin Cook (who was corresponding with Davies for the book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale) to drop the scene, as he felt that a cliffhanger was not appropriate after such a sad ending.
Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri make their first appearances in Doctor Who since "Doomsday". [8] K9 (voiced by John Leeson) makes his first appearance since The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Lost Boy , [9] and his first in Doctor Who since "School Reunion". [10]
Castell Coch, situated close to Doctor Who's Upper Boat Studios, is used as the German castle. [11] The beach at Southerndown, a few miles west of Cardiff, is used once more as Norway's fictional Dårlig Ulv Stranden (Bad Wolf Bay). [12] [13] Some exterior scenes, including various companions interacting with Daleks, were shot at Arcot Street, Penarth. [14]
One significant feature of this episode is the creation of another Doctor. Unlike the multiple Doctors of stories such as The Three Doctors , "The Five Doctors" and The Two Doctors , where his previous incarnations were played by actors or depicted in old footage, this Doctor is identical in appearance to the Tenth Doctor. In the accompanying Doctor Who Confidential for this episode, Davies explains "This is so busy and so mental and so epic and universal in scale that of course you need two Doctors to solve it." [15]
Phil Collinson, Graeme Harper, and David Tennant discuss the use of the double, a musician named Colum Regan [16] who is a very good physical match for Tennant. Collinson explains that while with an unlimited budget they would use Tennant in every shot, "we only have a certain number of effects shots where you can see the two Doctors together, so we have to pick those carefully." Harper explained that in "two or three wide shots" they were able to use Regan and Tennant together; for the most part the double is used for scenes where one or the other Doctor is only seen from behind, or only an arm or back of the head is seen in a shot. The double has appeared in other episodes throughout the series. Tennant described the procedure for making an effects shot involving Tennant as both Doctors. The camera is locked in place while Tennant goes off and changes clothing, with Regan holding his place. [15]
A scene filmed showed the Doctor giving Rose's Doctor a small piece of "coral" from the TARDIS so that he could grow his own TARDIS. [17] This was removed in the last edit of the episode, but was ultimately cut because the production team felt it made the Bad Wolf Bay scene "too long and complicated" [18] and that producing another TARDIS should not be seen to be so easy. [18] The clip was included on the Series 4 DVD boxset. [18] The Doctor's reply to Rose's statement of love is specified to Rose but left unheard to the audience; Davies deliberately left the reply ambiguous when he wrote "Doomsday". Executive producer Julie Gardner stated on the "Doomsday" commentary and the Doctor Who Confidential special for "Journey's End" that the Doctor requited her love. [19] [15]
Another additional scene with Donna was cut from the final episode: "There was an additional Donna bit after this goodbye from the Doctor, which is when he goes outside into the TARDIS, we cut back into the kitchen, and there's a moment where Donna hears the TARDIS... there's a moment of realisation, and then she turns back round and carries on talking into the phone." [7] Gardner considered this scene untruthful and too confusing, since Donna remembering would lead to her death, and since she didn't recognise the Doctor it wouldn't make sense to assume she would recognise the noise of the TARDIS. [20]
The episode was screened free in Trafalgar Square in London as part of Pride London 2008.[ citation needed ] The series three finale was previously planned to be shown during the 2007 event, but was cancelled as a security measure. [21] A teaser trailer was appended to promote the 2008 Christmas Special. [8]
"Journey's End" was watched by 10.57 million viewers when broadcast on BBC One, [22] giving it a 45.9% share of the total television audience. The episode was the most-viewed programme of the week; "Journey's End" is the first Doctor Who episode to receive this rank. It also received an Appreciation Index score of 91, equalling the record for the programme set by its predecessor "The Stolen Earth". [23] [24] "Journey's End" was the first science fiction–based series to achieve a No. 1 placing in the UK television ratings in 32 years after a July 1976 broadcast of The Bionic Woman . [25]
The episode premiered in Canada on 12 December 2008. Although the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is credited as a co-producer, the CBC used a version used for international distribution that cut 21 minutes from the episode to fit it in a 60-minute timeslot with advertising. This edit removed numerous subplots as well as the final farewells by the various companions, as well as the final scene of the Doctor alone in his TARDIS. The CBC subsequently streamed the unedited version of the episode on its website. [26]
The Daily Telegraph's John Preston states that this episode of Doctor Who "[a]s usual...served up a lot more than mere excitement." He credits Doctor Who's success partly to its "richly defined characters behaving in readily identifiable ways." [27] Also of The Daily Telegraph, Sarah Crompton wrote that the episode was "exciting, incomprehensible, satisfying and slightly irritating all at the same time". Although Crompton said, "It was inevitable that the start would be an anti-climax", she praised the special effects and also noted that she would miss "the warmth and humour" that Tate brought to the series. [28] Lucy Mangan in a humorous review for The Guardian that rewrites the dialogue between Tennant's and Cribbins' characters at the end as a discussion of the plot, described it as providing "something for everyone". [29] In The Times , Andrew Billen called "Journey's End" "a spectacular finale that... gave the lie to the truism that more always, dramatically speaking, adds up to less." [30]
Mark Wright of The Stage likens "Journey's End" to "one big house of cards...[that] will come crashing down" if thought about too much. However, he had no problem with the resolution of "The Stolen Earth"'s cliffhanger and is critical of those who complain about feeling cheated by the lack of a regeneration. Though he expresses that he saw little need for Mickey and Jackie in this episode, he asserts that Donna had "the saddest end for a companion ever" and praises Davies for just managing to keep the plot together. He argues that as Davies "writes the emotions and big themes so well...blow logic and rational plot moments if they get in the way!" He compares Davies's writing style to "PT Barnum showmanship" and praises both the dark and light elements of the episode. He concludes that, if not overthought, the episode remains "an audacious, big, silly, often poignant season finale". [31]
Dave Golder of SFX says "If, while your brain is telling you, 'This is crap!' your heart is still doing backflips then it's your kind of episode." He praises the action sequences and the portrayal of Davros, Donna, Rose and the Doctor, but remarks that the overcrowding of minor characters made parts of the script seem "underdeveloped" and describes the Daleks as mostly "[c]annon fodder". "[The] plot does hang together, but only just". Overall, he describes the episode as "exceptional" but "not perfect". [11]
Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy describes the episode as "a satisfying and epic crowdpleasing conclusion" to the series and particularly praises Tate and Donna's exit. He states the episode mixes poignant and haunting scenes with "'punch the air' moments and fan-pleasing twists." Noting the episode is "not entirely flawless", he is critical of the Daleks' seemingly "too convenient" demise, arguing that it undermines their menace. [32] Writing for the Doctor Who blog on the Radio Times website, William Gallagher called "Journey's End" "event drama" and "party television". He stated that the resolution to the regeneration cliff-hanger left him feeling "a bit cheated", but praised the episode's characterisation, concluding that David Tennant "has been the best Doctor of them all" and that "Doctor Who is the best drama on TV: it's the one with most verve and spark and exuberant excitement." [33]
IGN 's Travis Fickett gave a negative review of this episode, claiming 'it misses the mark in almost every way' and 'plays like the most outrageous of fan fiction.' He claimed the Meta-Crisis Doctor and Doctor-Donna 'stretch credulity so far that it becomes translucent', and that 'it's sort of silly to even bring Rose back when you've got the episode stuffed with almost every other character from the series'. [34]
A poll conducted by Radio Times in 2015 found that readers voted the series four finale as the greatest finale of the show. [35]
Davros is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks. Davros is a major enemy of the series' protagonist, the Doctor, and is the creator of the Doctor's deadliest enemies, the Daleks. Davros is a genius who has mastered many areas of science, but also a megalomaniac who believes that through his creations he can become the supreme being and ruler of the Universe. The character has been compared to the infamous dictator Adolf Hitler several times, including by the actor Terry Molloy, while Julian Bleach defined him as a cross between Hitler and the renowned scientist Stephen Hawking.
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running BBC Television science fiction series Doctor Who and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien time traveller the Doctor while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from alien invasions and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist.
The Doctor is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, often with companions. Since the show's inception in 1963, the character has been portrayed by fourteen lead actors. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the show's narrative through the plot device of regeneration, a biological function of Time Lords that allows a change of cellular structure and appearance with recovery following a mortal injury.
Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced as a new travelling companion of the series protagonist, the Doctor, in his ninth and tenth incarnations. The companion character was key in the first series to introduce new viewers to the mythos of Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. Rose became the viewers' eyes into the new world of the series, from the companion's perspective. Piper received top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant for the duration of her time as a regular cast member. The character was a series regular for all of Series 1 (2005) and 2 (2006). Piper later reprised the role in a supporting capacity in Series 4 (2008) and the New Year's special "The End of Time" (2010). Piper further played a sentient weapon called the Moment, which utilises Rose's image, in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013).
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the BBC One science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by British actor Noel Clarke and was the show's first televised black companion. The character is introduced as the ordinary, working class boyfriend of Rose Tyler, a London shopgirl who becomes a travelling companion to the Ninth and Tenth incarnations of an alien Time Lord known as the Doctor. Mickey first appears in the first episode of the 2005 revival, "Rose". Initially someone who struggles in the face of danger, Mickey nevertheless acts as an Earth-based ally to the Doctor and Rose. In the second series he joins the pair as a second companion of the Doctor's, though he leaves during the 2006 series to pursue his own adventures. He returns to aid the Doctor and Rose in the series finale later that year, and then again for the 2008 finale "Journey's End," as well as fleetingly in 2010 in the Tenth Doctor send-off "The End of Time".
Jackie Tyler is a fictional character played by Camille Coduri in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The character, a resident of contemporary London, is introduced in the first episode of the 2005 revival as the mother of Rose Tyler, a travelling companion of the alien time traveller the Doctor. Jackie is a recurring character during Series 1 and 2 and later makes guest appearances in Series 4 and the 2010 New Year’s special, The End of Time. The character has also appeared in expanded universe material such as the Doctor Who New Series Adventures novels and the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip.
"The Parting of the Ways" is the thirteenth episode and the season finale of the revived first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on BBC One on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story. The first part, "Bad Wolf", was broadcast on 11 June.
"Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who which was first broadcast on BBC One on 1 July 2006. It is the first episode of a two-part story; the concluding episode, "Doomsday", was first broadcast on 8 July.
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006. The two-part story features the Daleks, presumed extinct after the events of the 2005 series' finale, and the Cybermen, who appeared in a parallel universe in the 2006 episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel". Both species unexpectedly arrive on Earth at the conclusion of "Army of Ghosts".
Harriet Jones is a fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having worked previously with lead writer and executive producer Russell T Davies, Wilton was keen to involve herself with his 2005 revival of Doctor Who after he sought to cast her. Jones is introduced in the two-part story "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as a Member of Parliament who aids the Ninth Doctor against an alien invasion of London. The episode establishes a running joke associated with the character which would see her frequently introduce herself by holding up her ID and stating her name and rank; in subsequent episodes this was usually met with the response "Yes, I/we know who you are," even occurring with the Daleks and the Sycorax.
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. The show's first female black companion, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, after Rose Tyler but before Donna Noble. According to the character's creator Russell T Davies in his non-fiction book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, Martha was developed from the beginning with the intention of appearing for the whole of the 2007 series, and to later make guest appearances in subsequent series and crossover appearances in the show's two spin-offs; Martha subsequently made guest appearances in Torchwood series two and in Doctor Who series four in 2008 and special episode "The End of Time" in 2010. Martha was also intended to make guest appearances in the 2009 series of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, but could not due to the actress's other work commitments.
"The Runaway Bride" is a special episode of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It was produced as the Doctor Who Christmas special for 2006, broadcast on 25 December, and aired between the second and third series of the relaunched show.
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"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2008. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story with spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures; the concluding episode is "Journey's End", the finale of the fourth series, broadcast on 5 July.
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