Dr Who - The End of Series Four, part two

Or should I have put that title in German?  Afterall, tonight Dr Who dropped us into somewhere just outside Nuremburg where the daleks were calling out for extermination in German and Martha was tested on her linguistic skills before doing her duty and defying a German woman with a gun in her hand.

[As an aside before I move on, I'm certain the castle in Germany was actually Castell Coch, pic on the left.  If you fancy a visit, it's just north of Cardiff and just off the A470 at Tongwynlais.  The beach in the penultimate scene is Southerndown in the Vale of Glamorgan, by the way.]

But now, back to the programme (with spoilers).

First the good news.  The universe was saved and no one died.  (If you feel any juddering at this point it's because of my sighs of relief.)  Dr Who did not regenerate into anyone other than the form that is David Tennant (more judders).  All time travellers returned to camp, but one was sadly left alone.  (Grab the fourth tissue.)

So now for the bad news.  Donna Noble, super-temp from Chiswick and super companion for Dr Who during this series returned to normal earth life with her memory of the Dr Who experience wiped out.  Dr Who returned to the tardis alone, again.  (Responsible for tissues 1-3.)

As for the show itself, I lost the plot on more than one occasion but I did enjoy it.  The highlights for me were the acting from David Tennant and Catherine Tate, not forgetting the delightful Bernard Cribbins.  Both Tate and Tennant have great comic timing and this was most evident when they conversed with her as part-human and part-time lord (with his mind), and him as part-human (her) and part-time lord (Dr Who 2 with only one heart).

I am relieved that Tennant remains as the Doc for now - so we can count on those specials for 2009.  (RTD and the BBC did not "do a dirty" on us with press releases, it appears.)  But I'm sad to see the end of the Donna Noble era and the loss of Catherine Tate.

I've hardly ever seen The Catherine Tate Show and could not be classified as a fan.  In her first episode on Dr Who - after the special in which her character was introduced, I still consistently expected Tate to launch into one of her sketch show characters at any moment.  It never happened and she convinced me that she was Donna Noble.  I originally thought she was a comedian, but now I know and have seen that she's an actress.  A damn good one, too.  By the end of the series, I thought she was perfect for the part of Donna Noble.  I'm sad to see her go.  (Angry might be a better word...)

My favourite episode for series four remains the one that took a spin on Christie and introduced a nasty, giant wasp.  In comparison with the finale, it was a simple plot and er..., I could follow it.  Perhaps that's why I enjoyed it more.

Finally, only the Doc (or the writers) know what's happening in the future, but I'm pleased to see Tennant remains in the frame.  His loss would cause an earth shift surely?  As for Tate, I see awards coming in the deepest recesses of my coal, slate and gold ball.  (We do things differently in Wales and have to rely on our own resources.  Crystal ain't one of them.)  No, seriously, I do.  She chucked many prejudices into oblivion, including mine, just as her character Donna saved earth as we know it.

May I suggest another challenging and snappy companion for the Doc?  May I also suggest Welsh actress, (along with many other credits), Ruth Jones?  I think they'd make a great pair.  The beauty of Dr Who is that the producers, writers and directors continue to surprise us.  I'm happy to leave it in their hands.  Just one plea of many, when it comes to the Doc: Nesbit is a "no"; Carlyle is a "no".  Ignore the bookmakers and keep Who fresh, as you've done before.

I'm counting on Team BBC Wales to get it right again.  And I have confidence.  How could you not, after the resurrection of Dr Who and all we've seen in their hands?

At the end of series four, my congratulations to BBC Wales.  You've achieved one hell of a lot and set a high standard with Dr Who.

Of all the litfest events I've attended to date this year, the most enjoyable was "Writing Dr Who" at the Oxford Literary Festival (re the accompanying books and not the TV series).  The children there were so into their subject, so determined and so focused.  A sea of hands flew into the air when it came to questions and it never let up.  Even while the current question was being answered, the hands remained aloft.  Tired right arms were replaced with left arms and vice versa.  The chance to ask a question?  They had it and would never let it go.

We read reports in the media about our fractured society, but Dr Who has led a return to family viewing and family interaction on early Saturday evenings.

Russell T Davies may be criticised for his own scripts within the series, but he brought the series back and made it a major source of entertainment on our landscape.  He made it a success.  He brought families together again.  An OBE for RTD is a well-worthy honour.

Dr Who lives on....

Comments

[crimeficreader]

Norm - thanks for that information.
Maxine - I think Captain Jack is out because he has his own spin-off series.
Bookwitch - I think RTD missed a trick with that one. I agree with you and it would provide a great 21st century update. It would be great if it could be Donna and perhaps Sarah Jane's son as the assistant. As the series does not come back until 2010, SJ's son can leave school by then and he can have a fantastic gap year before his A levels travelling around the universe. Just a thought!

[bookwitch]

I think we are ready for a female Doctor. Donna was good at being the Doctor, if only for a few minutes. As long as we'd have a male assistant.

[maxine]

Captain Jack gets my vote! (for the next Dr Who)

[Norm]

Castell Coch; You would have had to be as rich as the Marquis of Bute to afford William Burges.
Knightshayes Court near Exeter was originally to be another Burges masterpiece but the Heathcoat Amory family disagreed with his concept and probably balked at the cost.
There is a Burges room there with a quite brilliant bird design, it does wear on you after a few hours though.
The ceilings at Knightshayes part Burges, part Pugin, were covered up by plaster board during the period 1890-1905 and only uncovered by the National Trust in the 1980s. They are superb and the house and gardens are well worth a visit.