Doctor Who 2007: Utopia (Major Spoilers)

[delericho]

In response to this, I don't think it was stupid of her. How was she to know that this Time Lord was the arch nemesis of her beloved Doctor?

She wasn't, of course. But she knows precisely one Time Lord, and she also knew that the Doctor was a very different man as John Smith. So, when Professor Yana turned back, he could have been anyone.

So, when she noticed the watch, she should have made no mention of it, acted casual until the Doctor got back, and then brought it up. Instead, she made a huge issue out of this watch, suggested that Yana really might want to open it up, then rushed off leaving an unknown Time Lord alone with their one and only time machine. That was really dumb, and really not what I'd come to expect from the character.

Of course, when I say "their one and only time machine", it has been mentioned up-thread that Jack is actually wearing a time machine "space hopper". It doesn't currently work, but I'll bet the Doctor has that fixed in short order, and they'll be off to merry old England in time for tea, biscuits, and to thwart Mr Saxon's master plan.

Martha likely had pretty good intentions when she pointed out the watch to him, perhaps to give some hope to the Doctor of one of his kind surviving.

I have no doubt she had the very best of intentions. I just don't think her actions were at all wise. In fact, I literally shouted at the screen "don't leave him alone there!" when she rushed off.

 

[Morrus]

I thought The Master was the "13th" and "last" regeneration of the Doctor gone mad? At least thats what i read. Maybe they've retconned it to make them two seprate timelords?

Whatever you read, it's wrong. The Master and The Doctor are two separate Time Lorda and are arch-enemies.

 

[Morrus]

http://www.votesaxon.org.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/...checkedMedia=asx&subtitles=hide&alreadySeen=1

http://www.votesaxon.co.uk/index.shtml

 

[Felon]

I don't know that you'll get questions about the master's regeneration limit being extended or what happened with Eric Roberts and the Eye of Gallafrey, but I know one thing: we don't need them answered. Villains survive. I stopped needing to hear how Dr. Doom or the Red Skull survived their latest demise a long time ago. Whenever the hero says "at long the world is safe from the thread of ____", don't buy it. Evil will find a way.

Gotta say, the episode was a dud for a good while there. The Futurekind looked like rejects from a 1980's video (q.v. Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself"). You have one harmless insect-lady that they do a decent job on, then a bunch of guys with grease paint and dollar-store vampire teeth? The Doctor just needs to get over Jack whipping out his gun and busting a few caps so he can close that damn door.

John Simms seems he's doing the Master by way of Caesar Romero's Joker. Since he looks pretty damn unmenacing (compared to the classic Masters) I guess that's the only way to go.

 

[Felon]

She wasn't, of course. But she knows precisely one Time Lord, and she also knew that the Doctor was a very different man as John Smith. So, when Professor Yana turned back, he could have been anyone.

So, when she noticed the watch, she should have made no mention of it, acted casual until the Doctor got back, and then brought it up. Instead, she made a huge issue out of this watch, suggested that Yana really might want to open it up, then rushed off leaving an unknown Time Lord alone with their one and only time machine. That was really dumb, and really not what I'd come to expect from the character.

She didn't make a huge issue about the watch. Remember, the characters in the show don't actually hear the dramatic swelling of the background music.

She asked enough questions to confirm her suspicions, then told the Professor it was nothing and that everything was fine. Sure, she wasn't that successful at pretending to be nonchalant, and she probably would have been better off doing what you suggest, but not doing the perfect thing when confronted with a major shock hardly makes one "really dumb". Expecially when she likes the one Time Lord she knows and has no reason to think this shouldn't be a wondrous event rather than an omenous one.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Especially since she knew that the Time Lords died fighting the Daleks, and she saw what kind of "people" the Daleks were. In her eyes, there is no reason to belief that the Time Lords are anything but benevolent.

While the "Mr. Saxon thanks you" talks in some of the episodes might have been pretty obvious, the fact that other aspects of the series became important to this plot was a decent surprise.

Especially since I didn't expect the predicted return of the Master in this episode after I watched the beginning. (Though, at a time I considered a possibility that Yarn might be an aged Jack who lost most of his memories over the millenia of his existence, or a incarnation of the Doctor himself...)

 

[Cthulhudrew]

In response to this, I don't think it was stupid of her. How was she to know that this Time Lord was the arch nemesis of her beloved Doctor? Martha likely had pretty good intentions when she pointed out the watch to him, perhaps to give some hope to the Doctor of one of his kind surviving.

I'd add to that that, after seeing what the Doctor went through when it came time for him to return to his Time Lord status, she might have been hesitant to make that choice for the Professor, or just generally unsure how to proceed.

 

[sniffles]

Spoiler

How did the Master get another regeneration? Have they discarded the notion that Time Lords have a very finite number of regenerations?

My Doctor Who fan-geekishness forces me to respond to this one:

Spoiler

The Master didn't get another regeneration. He already ran out of regenerations well before he got to this point. If you'll recall, the Anthony Ainley version of the Master stole the body of Nyssa's father to perpetuate his existence. He also stole Eric Roberts' character's body after his "essence" was given to the Doctor for disposal. And he fell into the Eye of Harmony in the Doctor's TARDIS at the conclusion of the tv-movie. So the question isn't "How did he get another regeneration?" but "How did he get out of the Eye of Harmony?" I think the Eye of Harmony would explain how he's still alive. After all, it was the power of the Eye that let Rose save everyone in The Parting of the Ways, and that same power apparently made Captain Jack immortal.

Okay, enough of the nitpicking.

I really enjoyed this episode. It was great to see some issues resolved and new ones raised. The conclusion left me panting for more. And Derek Jacobi on Doctor Who - how awesome is that?!!

 

[Cthulhudrew]

One thing that occurred to me- given the Master's penchant for clinging desperately to life in spite of all odds, and his demonstrated ability to take on the bodies of others in the past- shouldn't Jack "the Immortal" Harkness be looking mighty appealing to him now?

 

[horacethegrey]

One thing that occurred to me- given the Master's penchant for clinging desperately to life in spite of all odds, and his demonstrated ability to take on the bodies of others in the past- shouldn't Jack "the Immortal" Harkness be looking mighty appealing to him now?

Oh dear god... Don't give RTD any ideas!

But then... wouldn't that be just the most evil thing? Think of it, at Season 3's end the Master is defeated but transfers his essence to Jack's immortal body. He then returns to Torchwood and proceeds to f**k around with the team to further his own ends, which in turn leads to the next confrontation with the Doctor in Season 4.

Yep. Definitely too sick, even for RTD.