Doomsday

"Together we could upgrade the universe."

Writer: Russell T Davies

Format: TV

Broadcast: 8 July 2006

Series: 2.13

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Rose

Synopsis

It's the end of an epic journey, as two mighty armies wage war across the Earth, with the human race caught in the middle, but as an unstoppable terror emerges from beneath Torchwood, the Doctor faces an even greater dilemma – does saving the world mean the death of Rose Tyler?

Verdict

Doomsday was a sensational episode to conclude the second series of the modern era of Doctor Who as well as the story already started in Army of Ghosts. The stage was set with that excellent opening part and this one certainly isn't a letdown when it comes to the prospect of pairing the Daleks against the Cybermen. I've always been amazed that it took this long for the Doctor's two deadliest monsters to meet and whilst they are very much against an alliance, their combined presence makes for an eventful situation for the Doctor! Rose oozes confidence when the Daleks emerge from the void ship which was really impressive and I thought for her finale she had an incredibly strong showing. It has been clear for a very long time now that she loves the Doctor but being prepared to never see her num again in favour of staying him was a different level. I love how everything comes together in this episode with the Cybermen emerging en masse and tying up the ability to jump between worlds from one parallel universe to another. The Doctor supposedly being proof for the Cybermen that emotions made one weak was excellent and his sense of hope being on its way was a wonderful moment. His reaction to seeing Jake back was terrific and I liked the continuity from Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel with the Cybermen having upped and vanished here. It had been three years since the events of the aforementioned story which was interesting and Pete seemingly having assumed command was great. I really enjoyed his arrival into the episode and the moment he would later share with our universe's version of Jackie was sublime. Rose's reaction in the background of that makes it for me and it's quite something for Jackie to full on experience life with the Doctor. Her comment about ghosts coming back was excellent. I love the concept of the Cult of Skaro and whilst there's more to come from them, this serves as a terrific introduction. The anticipation of the meeting between the Daleks and Cybermen is outstanding and the Doctor's reaction when the former is spotted is marvellous. Their battle to identify first is comedic greatness and I like how with just four of them, it's the Daleks whose weapons work on the Cybermen and not vice versa. That doesn't stop the Cybermen from continuing battle though! The conversion of Yvonne is a powerful moment and her continuing to do her duty for Queen and country after the fact is unexpected. I like the role of the Cyber Leader in the episode and going back to the black handles is brilliant. The Genesis Ark is a great concept as a prison ship from the Time Lords containing millions upon millions of Daleks. The Time Lord science being that it's bigger on the inside was very well done. After all of the battling, it's quite a simple fix for the Doctor in the end thanks to the technology available to him at Torchwood. He simply sends the Daleks and the Cybermen to Hell. Not bad, as Mickey points out well. The void stuff and the reveal of the Doctor's funky 3D glasses was fantastic and I really liked how suddenly he announces that Rose will have to go to Pete's World to be safe after the breach sealed. She wasn't having that, but then nearly ends up falling into the Void if it wasn't for Pete. How Pete isn't sucked in is beyond me, but the emotional scene on the beach that follows is enough to make up for it. It's powerful stuff and I was impressed that Gemma didn't cry besides me given her love for Rose. It's a fitting farewell for her as companion. Overall, a stunning episode!

Rating: 10/10