"Doctor Who" Last of the Time Lords (2007)

Director:

Colin Teague

Writer:

Russell T. Davies (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

30 June 2007 (Season 3, Episode 13)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

It's been a year since The Master unleashed the mysterious Toclafane onto Earth. With the human race and The Doctor enslaved under The Master's control, Martha Jones is the only person that can help stop the evil Time Lord. |

Plot Keywords:

Master | Alien | Time Lord | Tardis | Companion

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Freema Agyeman	...	Martha Jones
John Barrowman	...	Captain Jack Harkness
John Simm	...	The Master
Adjoa Andoh	...	Francine Jones
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Tish Jones
Trevor Laird	...	Clive Jones
Reggie Yates	...	Leo Jones
Alexandra Moen	...	Lucy Saxon
Tom Ellis	...	Thomas Milligan
Ellie Haddington	...	Professor Doherty
Tom Golding	...	Lad
Natasha Alexander	...	Woman
Zoe Thorne	...	Sphere Voice (voice)
Gerard Logan	...	Sphere Voice (voice)

Runtime:

50 min | 50 min (1 Episode)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

The mysterious woman's hand with the red nails which picks up the ring in the final scene actually belongs to Doctor Who Production Manager Tracie Simpson.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Master is about to execute Martha on the Valiant he remarks that her death will be his "first blood." But just as he captured Martha the night before, Thomas Milligan ran into the street to save her and the Master killed him with his Laser Screwdriver. So even if you don't count the Master's killing of Jack in "Doctor Who: The Sound of Drums (#3.12)" (2007), Thomas Milligan would be his first blood.

Quotes:

[Lucy shoots the master]
The Master: It's always the women.

Movie Connections:

Features "Doctor Who: Utopia (#3.11)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

I Can't Decide

Basically drivel

"Last of the Time Lords" is another poorly plotted, overly sentimental, corny-looking episode of the new Doctor Who that is destined to be hailed as a masterpiece by enthusiastic fans.

Alas, I must remain in the long-suffering minority on the issue of this weird revival. I was willing to be open-minded about the new Who, but episodes like this have pretty much finished me off as a viewer. Bluntly, I think Russell T. Davies is a horrible writer of science fiction - he constantly recycles plot elements, he clearly understands nothing of real science, and he resolves all of his stories with patently ludicrous deus ex machina endings. This story, in particular, features one of the most laughably unconvincing resolutions in the history of filmed entertainment.

His "emotional" writing is way off, too. Much of the new Doctor Who is dedicated to sarcastic mocking of contemporary culture; it comes across as quite cynical and cranky. And yet, the series also veers into laughably unsubtle sentimental territory, as characters weep and wail and declare their feelings in clunky, totally artificial lines of dialog that should ring false to anyone who has ever watched and appreciated quality drama. Anyway, the guy can't really have his cake and eat it too in this regard: he can't make the show both bitterly cynical and ridiculously sentimental. The clash of tones is dissonant and annoying.

Oh, and the show is still cheap, too. The depiction of post-conquest Earth in this story was corny and utterly unconvincing. If it wasn't for a few modern CGI shots, I might've thought I was watching a 1983 BBC production instead of a 2007 one.

In short, it was junk. The older I get, it seems, the less interest I have in these childish, technology-obsessed science fiction properties. So is anybody up for watching "Floating Weeds" instead? Now there's a production that can make you cry without resorting to cheap dramatics, ham acting, and a bad special effects apocalypse.