"Doctor Who" Journey's End (2008)

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writers:

Russell T. Davies (written by)
Terry Nation (characters: Daleks)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

5 July 2008 (Season 4, Episode 13)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the wake of Davros' threat to destroy the existence of the Universe itself, the Doctor's companions unite to stop the Dalek empire. Which one will die by the prophecies and what will the fate be for the Doctor? |

Plot Keywords:

Prophecy | Dalek | Crossover | Replicant | Dying Repeatedly

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Freema Agyeman	...	Martha Jones
John Barrowman	...	Captain Jack Harkness
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith
Noel Clarke	...	Mickey Smith
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Gareth David-Lloyd	...	Ianto Jones
Eve Myles	...	Gwen Cooper
Tommy Knight	...	Luke Smith (as Thomas Knight)
Bernard Cribbins	...	Wilfred Mott
Jacqueline King	...	Sylvia Noble
Adjoa Andoh	...	Francine Jones
Julian Bleach	...	Davros

Runtime:

63 min

Language:

English | German

Company:

BBC Wales

Trivia:

The original ending featured the Doctor in the TARDIS, when a scanner begins receiving a strange signal, prompting the Doctor to launch into his traditional "What? What? What?" response, after which two Cybus Cybermen suddenly rise up behind him - a cliffhanger. Russell T. Davies explained that the cliffhanger ending was dropped in response to comments by a writer with Doctor Who Magazine who stated a cliffhanger was inappropriate after such a sad series of scenes. Had the Cybermen scene been kept, this would have marked the first time since "Doctor Who: Doomsday (#2.13)" (2006) that both Daleks and Cybermen had appeared in the same episode, and the first time Cybermen would have appeared in the same episode with Davros.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Martha contacts the Crucible the way she is holding the key changes between shots from inside the station and the view screen on the crucible.

Quotes:

Davros: Step away from the controls!
Donna Noble: [she flips a switch] And... spinning.
Dalek: Help me! Help me!
Captain Jack Harkness: Ha ha ha!
Donna Noble: [she flips another switch] And... the other way.
Dalek: Ah!
Cloned Doctor: What did you do?
Donna Noble: A flipstick circuit breaker in the psychonetic threshold manipulator.
Cloned Doctor: But that's brilliant!
The Doctor: Why did we never think of that?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References "Torchwood" (2006)

One you either love or hate

Well, as the other commenters have made clear, this is an episode you either love or hate! For myself, I quite enjoyed it - yes there are plot holes (when aren't there?), but it was a very satisfactory wrap up to a strong season, tying in plot elements found in stories over the last 4 seasons. Looking at some of the fan forums, it's plain that many people are unhappy with the treatment of Donna, but it was always known that Catherine Tate was only available for one season, so the only question was how she would be written out; many of the detractors seem to view the episode more kindly after another viewing. There was a strong feeling throughout the episode that Russell Davies was tying up all the loose plot lines of his era, and clearing the decks for Steven Moffat's takeover in season 5. I felt some of the multitude of companions in this and the last episode were rather underused - the Torchwood mob were rather useless (what's new? :) ).