Doctor Who - Journey's End [Review]

You might recall an episode from the first series of the Who reboot entitled ‘The Doctor Dances’, in which we indeed saw Christopher Eccleston engaging in this ancient art. And with ‘Journey’s End’, Russell T. Davies has apparently once again gone all Strictly Come Dancing - but in doing so, has managed to make a complete mockery of the late, great Terry Nation’s once universally feared death machines, the Daleks. If you’ve seen the rest of series four, you know what it’s been building up to: a culmination of every Who character past and present, with a bit of Torchwood chucked in for good measure, up against the Daleks and their not-quite-dead creator Davros, in line with Davies’ obsession with resurrecting old enemies.

While it may all sound very grand and epic on paper, the execution is dismal at best. Characters are given very little screen time, plot twists are predictable and bland, and the finale is shameful. Just when everything seems about to go belly-up, in strolls Donna Noble, who has apparently gained the power to push random buttons in order to defeat an entire army. Funny that; she’s spent the rest of the series pushing all the wrong buttons.

If you needed further proof why it’s time for Davies to step back and let someone else take the helm, then here it is. You’ll be wondering why you started watching in the first place.

2/10