Last of the Time Lords

"Siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 30 June 2007

Series: 3.13

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha, Captain Jack

Synopsis

It's been 365 days since the Master assumed world leadership. The human race is devastated and the planet is being prepared for war across the stars. But Martha Jones is returning home after walking the planet, and the fate of humanity at the mercy of the Master rests in her hands, and her hands only. Does she have what it takes to murder a Time Lord?

Verdict

Last of the Time Lords was a fantastic conclusion to the epic Series 3 finale! It's such a strong trilogy and whilst the way everything gets wrapped up is probably the weakest of the bunch, that says so much about its quality. Its really is a brilliant episode despite not quite reaching full marks for my rating, and I think part of that is due to the absence of the Doctor for the most part. That is, at least in a recognisable form. It's interesting to see the Master in control and to see what he would do to Earth when he ruled it for a full calendar year. He was in full control on the Valiant too with Jack tied up, the Jones family essentially his servants and the Doctor aged and sleeping in a tent. The helplessness of the Doctor really is tantalising to see and that immediately sells what kind of an enemy and villain the Master is, especially to new viewers who wouldn't have encountered him in the Classic era. I thought the episode did well to build on their relationship though with their history nicely highlighted with mentions of the Axons, Sea Devils and Daleks harkening back to several previous encounters in days gone by. I was particularly intrigued by the presentation of Lucy Saxon in the episode throughout with the directing surrounding her very nicely done. You could tell the strain of being the Master's husband for a year was taken on her and she was clearly mentally impacted by all the devastation. The description from Tish of having to watch millions die as Japan fell before we heard of Martha's travelling the world and everything she witnessed with the likes of Russia turned into a vast array of warships. The Master wanting to take Earth to war with the rest of the universe was fantastic and I loved the audacity of his statues being across the planet. That was pompous and that's exactly what you want. The Toclafane being revealed as the humanity of the far future is such a strong and powerful moment and it's fun to know that the Doctor had already worked out what they were. The paradox was in place to ensure the future could mix with the present and build an empire that would last for a hundred trillion years. It was quite the plan! Finding out that the weapon with four chemicals to kill a Time Lord dead was just a cover story for the true purpose of Martha's mission, to spread hope and faith across planet Earth and use the Archangel Network and its telepathic nature to have everyone think of the Doctor and return him to normalcy after a somewhat random ageing to 900. Having him in a bird cage was perhaps not necessary, but it showed the Master meant business when word had spread that Martha had come home. The moments where the Master walked among the civilians and killed Mulligan and just laughed was extraordinary stuff. Of course, once the Doctor was restored and the paradox machine destroyed, time reversed which was a little convenient, as was the Doctor's return to normalcy, but it was filled with hope and the Doctor' threat being about forgiveness was fantastic. The continuity error of returning to 8:02am whilst still being on the Valiant and that being the location of the President's assassination is glaring, but that's quickly mopped up by the Master being shot dead by his wife and refusing to regenerate. Martha's departure is handled well and I like that she makes the Doctor know how she felt about him. One of the highlights for me watching with Gemma was her humorous comment about loving the end of this episode because Martha departs, but it was actually how she said she would have forgotten to think of the Doctor if Martha came early on in the year. Priceless. Overall, a brilliant episode! 

Rating: 9/10