The Sound Of Drums (Spoilers)
Okay, so the other good intention - to get caught up of Doctor Who series three before writing about the two final episodes - has conspicuously not been achieved. What can I say - it's a busy old time.
But I have to leap right in and talk about The Sound Of Drums, episode 12 of 13.
This is the big one - The Master is back, and while in a way I'd have preferred the Derek Jacobi version to continue, I guess if you want dangerously manic, John Simm is good for that. But he's back, and running the country. Actually, he's pretty much running the world. And that's not good news for The Doctor and his companions. On the run in Martha's native time, with the forces of the Government hunting them down and her family already in custody, the odds are not good. Add to that the freaky 'aliens' that have made contact, and The Master's brand new Laser Screwdriver, and it's all looking a bit grim for our heroes.
Actually, 'grim' is a good word for the tone of the episode. From Martha's mother's discovery that while believing she was helping to protect her daughter she was actually betraying her, to the sight of London decimated by the Toclafane assault and various points in between, this was a dark episode, with the obviously humorous points creating an even shaper counterpoint than usual. The way that the Saxon storyline has run along in the background of this series has worked extremely well, creating a degree of tension and inevitability that this is going to end badly, and given some stuff I know about the next series, a lot of curiosity about how we get there.
As the "Return of The Master" story, it also contained some lovely touches of respect for the past, including the Teletubbies scenes, and the deliberate echo of The Master's address to the universe in Logopolis. And I was *not* expecting to see Gallifrey, or the old Time Lord robes again last night.
I always tend to love the build-up that episode 12 gives to the series finale, but I think this is my favourite yet. The situation is apparently hopeless (Go Martha!), there are still a few unresolved details from Utopia that will come home to roost, and no matter what happens, Martha's world (both physical and personal) will never be the same again. This is possibly the definitive episode in showing how Russell T Davies' vision for the series; the need to make the viewer feel that there's a human involvement; is exactly what's needed to create the maximum possible dramatic impact