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In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up

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2008-07-06 Telegraph.jpg

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DOCTOR WHO saved the universe for the umpteenth time last night, but, for once, could not save himself. After five years and 48 time-travelling, space-hopping adventures, David Tennant said farewell to the series in thrilling yet emotional style.

The Doctor's death came at the end of a thunderous episode - the second of a two-part festive special written by another departing Whovian, executive producer Russell T Davies - in which the Time Lords returned, bent on destroying the whole of Creation, only to be seen off by an unlikely trio of Doctor Who, his previously evil nemesis The Master (John Simm) and Bernard Cribbins (as lovable granddad Wilf).

You probably had to be a Time Lord yourself to make sense of the dizzyingly complicated plot, which had something to do with ancient prophecies, time vortices and a guest appearance from Timothy Dalton. But this barely mattered: the episode charged forward with such apocalyptic brio it was hard to be unduly worried about what, precisely, was going on.

Witty, infectious and wearing its heart on its sleeve, this was a barnstorming hour of family entertainment. However, it was also an unnerving experience to see the Doctor, usually the most unflappable man in the galaxy, rendered helpless, tearful and, in one scene, bitterly angry about the fact of his imminent demise. And the death of the Doctor, who sacrificed his life in place of Wilf's, was so tenderly acted and sad, I half expected the phone number of a Doctor Who helpline to flash on screen to help a nation of heartbroken eight year-olds get over the shock.

Seconds after Tennant's Doctor Who exploded in a blaze of special effects, we were greeted by the arrival of his successor, the 11th Doctor, played by 27-year-old Matt Smith, who will formally take charge of the Tardis in a new series this spring. Smith's youth and relative lack of fame make his Doctor Who an exciting prospect. Yet such has been Tennant's nonchalant mastery of the role it is hard, for the moment at least, to imagine an episode without him.

His last words as the Doctor were "I don't want to go". No doubt 10 million viewers felt the same.

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

  • APA 6th ed.: Pettie, Andrew (2010-01-02). In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up. The Daily Telegraph p. 5.
  • MLA 7th ed.: Pettie, Andrew. "In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up." The Daily Telegraph [add city] 2010-01-02, 5. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: Pettie, Andrew. "In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up." The Daily Telegraph, edition, sec., 2010-01-02
  • Turabian: Pettie, Andrew. "In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up." The Daily Telegraph, 2010-01-02, section, 5 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/In_a_blaze_of_special_effects,_this_Time_Lord%27s_time_was_up | work=The Daily Telegraph | pages=5 | date=2010-01-02 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=In a blaze of special effects, this Time Lord's time was up | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/In_a_blaze_of_special_effects,_this_Time_Lord%27s_time_was_up | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref>