The ending approaches... People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become... nothing. This is my ultimate victory! The destruction of reality itself!!
This is the 13th and final episode of Series 4 and will feature 6 companions of the Doctor. It is a continued on a cliffhanger from Episode 12.
Synopsis
The entire universe is in danger as the Daleks activate their masterplan, and enslave 21st century Earth. The Doctor is helpless, and even the TARDIS faces destruction. The only hope lies with the Doctor's secret army of companions– but as they join forces to battle Davros himself, the prophecy declares that one of them will die.
Plot
Cast
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
- Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
- Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
- Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
- Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
- Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri
- Luke Smith - Thomas Knight
- Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
- Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
- Wilfred Mott - Bernard Cribbins
- Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King
- Francine Jones - Adjoa Andoh
- Davros - Julian Bleach
- Dalek Voice - Nicholas Briggs
- Voice of Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
- Voice of K9 - John Leeson
- German Woman - Valda Aviks
- Scared Woman - Shobu Kapoor
- Anna Zhou - Elizabeth Tan
- Liberian Man - Michael Price
- Dalek Operators - Barney Edwards, Nick Pegg, David Hankinson, Anthony Spargo, Gethin Jones
Production crew
References
Story notes
- According to DWM this is the biggest finale of Doctor Who ever.
- Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones operates a Dalek in this episode, returning to Doctor Who since his brief appearance as a Cyberman in The Age of Steel.
- This will be the longest series finale at 65 minutes long, longer even than most of the Christmas specials, except for Voyage of the Damned, which was 71 minutes.
- Dalek Caan refers to the Doctor as a 'threefold man'. The meaning becomes clear in this episode with both the copy of the Doctor and 'Doctor-Donna'.
- This episode marks the first series finale to show a preview of the upcoming Christmas Special. After the credits the Cybermen are said to return in the episode.
- This episode tells us that Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister, actually died in the previous episode.
- Davros named the Doctor 'The Destroyer of Worlds' and maybe a reference to Fires of Pompei when it was said the Doctors name was sealed in the Cascade of Medusa herself.
- The Osterhagen key would destroy the Earth, Osterhagen just happens to be an anagram of Earth's gone
Ratings
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- Since the Doctor went through the whole regeneration process is he now in his eleventh incarnation or did feeding off the energy to his hand allow him to still of three regenerations left?
- If the TARDIS's power had gone how does the monitor screen work? The heart of the TARDIS was still beating, which could have supplied some power.
- When Martha teleports and hears the german daleks how come the TARDIS does not translate the german? The TARDIS wasn't anywhere near her... Also, she understood German, so it wouldn't have needed to be translated. Also..the TARDIS had just 'switched off'. It wouldnt of worked.
- Because he regenerated, then wouldn't he now technically be the eleventh doctor? Why didn't he do this every other time he regenerated? "Because he hasn't always had a dismembered limb of his own body near by"
- The Dalek's were maintaining the atmosphere around the Earth - probably from the crucible, however when the Crucible was destroyed and the Tardis pulled the Earth back to where it should be, shouldn't the atmosphere have disappeared killing everyone on Earth? The Doctor takes over and maintaines the atmosphere from the TARDIS, he says this when he tows the Earth back
- When the Doctor wiped Donna's mind, it looked like he only wiped the memories of the her time with the Doctor. Couldn't he have just wiped the time lord stuff that was overloading her brain? No, as if she remembers the Time Lord stuff she will burn up, and it would be easy to remember if you're travelling around with one!
- Wouldn't the Nuclear Warheads placed under the crust have melted? Well, UNIT most likely would have thought about this, and provided some sort of way to protect them. They do have a vast arsenal in their power after all.
- When we see Martha saying goodbye to her Mother, the laptop in the background cycling through number continuously, but when we have the close-up of Martha, the numbers have frozen but we can still hear them
- If Donna, a human, can't live with a timelord's mind; doesn't that mean neither can the human Doctor? The human Doctor was half time lord, the mental half time lord, such as mind, but the physical part human (like Jenny), such as aging.Jenny was full timelord, but your point stands. He was simply a different part human.
- What was the point of the doctor deactivating jacks wrist teleporter if he can just put the numbers back in again. He may have locked it so only he can reactivate it.Or changed the numbers required to something more complex.
- We didnt find out who was controlling the Daleks if Davros was called a "pet". It is assumed to be the Red Dalek, as he was the one seen giving most of the orders in this and the previous episode.
- Why did Martha have to travel to Germany to activate the Osterhagen key when the other soldiers were in pods in their home countries? the UNIT base in New York - as we saw - was destroyed by the daleks. The nearest Pod, would have been in Germany. - Or possibly the main pod was in Germany.
- Dalek Caan stated that a companion would die. However none actually died, as Donna just lost her memory of the Doctor.The doctor said that the part of Donna that went with the doctor died which could possibly what Caan meant. Maybe Donna dying was the prophecy, but the Doctor changed it.The Donna that travelled with the doctor died. Physically still the same but very different person. Russel T. Davies has done this before, with Rose being prophesied to "die in battle" in season 2, but instead just getting stranded in another universe. Is it not possible that the prophecy will come true in a future episode? and if being stranded in the parallel world is called death than surely now that Rose cannot come back it is "everlasting death" just as Caan prophesised. Let's just attribute this to misleading, subpar writing and call it a day. Right
- In the flashbacks of people who have died for the Doctor, it shows many of the cast of Love & Monsters, however by the time the Doctor appeared in the episode many of them had already died. How did the Doctor knew who they were?
- The moon remained in position when the Earth had moved. The moon should of locked onto the strongest gravitational force (the Sun) and been pulled towards it.
Continuity
- Those shown in flashback who died for the Doctor are Harriet Jones, Jabe, The Controller, Lynda Moss, Robert MacLeish, Mrs Moore, Colin Skinner, Bliss, Ursula Blake, Face of Boe, Chantho, Astrid Peth, Luke Rattigan, Jenny, River Song and the Hostess.
This is the first episode where the TARDIS is fully-staffed with six pilots, and the first time it is noted definitively that it was designed for six, after various mentions about it being made for more than a single Time Lord.
DVD and Other releases
- This is due to be released in the Series 4 boxset in November 2008 along with the rest of the Series.
- It will be released as part of Series 4 Volume 4 alongside Turn Left and The Stolen Earth on 1st September 2008.