The End of the World

"This is the day the sun expands."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 2 April 2005

Series: 1.02

Featuring: Ninth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

The Doctor takes Rose on her first voyage through time, to the year five billion. The sun is about to expand and swallow the Earth. Amongst the alien races gathering to watch, 

Verdict

The End of the World was another very good episode to continue my rewatch of the modern era! I was surprised to find that Gemma hasn't watched this one since it aired way back in 2005 and although she's gone through re-watching the show a stupendous number of times, she always skipped this one based on her past opinion which I thought was mightily intriguing. Needless to say, I like things to be complete to the point of OCD almost so we wouldn't be skipping it this time around! And I am happy to report that Gemma quite enjoyed the episode and doesn't hate it so much now, rating it just a mark lower than I did. This is quite a bold move for the modern era's first journey into the future as going as far as to see the Earth obliterated is pretty bonkers! It does a very good job of seeing things through Rose's eyes and her reaction to seeing a blue alien before a whole array is marvellous stuff. The moment where she's talking to Raffalo and then suddenly realises that she's just ran away with a complete and utter stranger. That was really good from Billie Piper. The introduction of all of the aliens on Platform One coming to bare witness to the destruction of Earth was really fun and the likes of Jabe, the Moxx of Balhoon and the Face of Boe all brought back a nice feeling of nostalgia. Of course, it's Lady Cassandra who steals the show as the last human and her interaction throughout with her fellow characters is never dull. The mystery of the Doctor deepening when Jabe scanned him and named his species as Time Lord was excellent and I really enjoyed that moment. I have a new appreciation of just how good Christopher Eccleston's performance as the Ninth Doctor was here, particularly when it came to Jabe saying how sorry she was for what happened in the war. The emotion on his face was outstanding and told you everything you needed to know. The Doctor's refusal to name his planet to Rose was intriguing and the power in his performance there was also very good. The story is a fun one and the collection of aliens on show would give The Curse of Peladon a run for its money, but it's difficult to fail with a collection like this. The threat of Platform One's defences going down as the sun was obliterating Earth was really good and exciting and although some of the scenes with Rose and the sun ray defences descending and rising were slightly too long, there was a good amount of action and certainly excitement. The robot spiders were great little additions to Cassandra's plan but it's fair to say that the special effects have not aged so well! Gemma and I have a good laugh when it comes to special effects and whilst green screens are probably our favourite thing to critique, some of the effects on the spiders here was more than questionable! It was a good laugh though and it doesn't impact on the episode in the slightest. The moment where the Doctor manages to save the day but Jabe is lost after being burnt to a crisp is really powerful and the way he strolls into the main room and brings Cassandra back and lets her dry out to her death because everything has its time was excellent! Her attempts to gain compensation from the events she caused was quite something and the Doctor being stunned by that even five billion years into the future was a good image. The Doctor taking Rose back home so she could see that everything was all okay and to have some chips was a nice way to finish a really strong episode! 

Rating: 8/10