Doctor Who finale review – pheeewwwwwwww

WELL.

There’s a reason I don’t review part ones. It’s half a story! I was going to wait for Empire of Death (umbrella titles, PLEASE, Classic Who made do with only one, I’m calling the whole thing Empire of Death out of protest) then tackle this finale head on.

It’s… well… It’s an interesting 100 minutes of Doctor Who. Some incredible stuff, some really weak stuff, and I had fun. The fact I saw the second part at a midnight cinema screening with loads of fans helped shape my opinion significantly, sometimes the experience DOES influence your overall perception. The whole story looks no different from a modern Hollywood blockbuster, if not better, and the huge success of the release will hopefully lead to more, and maybe even one day a full on feature film. I’m feeling VERY vindicated.

Right, the actual story. It’s a sprawling epic, just about what you’d expect from a Russell T Davies finale (more on that later) with his usual brand of storytelling – intimate emotions and moments contrasted with large scale set pieces that just keep going and going and hold together through sheer force of will and a fantastic production.

Rogue – the calm before the storm.

This week’s Doctor Who was both the most straightforward of the season in terms of Doctor Who “formula” and also the one I was most excited for, as for the first time since 2020 we have a script not written by a showrunner, past or present. Kate Herron and Briony Redman’s debut script (hurray for writing duos!) is set in Regency times, during a single night’s ball, and as a result has a very refreshed, energised feel to it – it all unfolds in the house and grounds, making the pacing feel really quick – a common criticism of this season I can agree with is that some episodes feel rushed, but Rogue makes that pacing feel all pre-planned.

OK, let’s talk about the Doctor Who 60th anniversary

Crikey.

I was planning to lie low for May, write a few smaller things that are funnier just to get back into the swing of things whilst I search for a job and get ready for my final year at university but NO, we need to talk Doctor Who.

I’m in Swords, just outside Dublin, the day after I leave Galway and my Twitter is reacting to something and HELLO NEW DOCTOR WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!

You can’t just drop this news on a random Sunday when I’m in holiday mode!

Anyway, like literally every other announcement, I can’t say too much about what I think about Ncuti Gatwa because I haven’t seen him in anything! If RTD thinks he’s good, he’ll be good. The Doctor has never been miscast, there’s been 60 years of amazing precedent and he’s going to follow suit.

So, that’s it right?

NO.

Because that mad lad Russell T Davies, literally one day after the UK is still recovering from coming really close to winning Eurovision, decides “no, we need more chaos this month”.

THIS is what I’m talking about today.