The End of an Era

Before I start I am going to dedicate this blog to my stepbrothers, Jack and Henry, who are without doubt big Doctor Who fans. Enjoy.

New Year's Day is one David Tennant is going to remember for the rest of his life. Not to follow the typical mannerism which surround the day, it being the first day of a brand new year, but it symbolises his death as one of the greatest characters to ever grace our television screens.

When Tennant replaced Christopher Eccleston to become the tenth doctor, lots of expectation was riding on the 38-year-old's shoulders. However he underestimated the odds to become, without question, the greatest timelord of all time. The Scotsman's reign came to an emotional, yet highly respected end, exactly five years after his incarnation alongside Billie Piper. Yet this, at his death, the Doctor stood alone and despite being accompanied by actor Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott) and old timelord friend-foe The Master (John Simm) throughout the epsiode, his death from BBC's screens emphasised a lonely end to arguably the most charismatic and popular Doctor since its inception.



His final act as a timelord required previous viewing time over past stories from the last five years. It was a very complex storyline, consisting of The Master's previous appearance on the BBC when his control of the Tardis and the paradox machine earned him ultimate power, until a year long intervention from The Doctor's then-companion Martha Jones thwarted The Master's reign of terror. His return to our screens this year sparked scenes of shock to most but joy to others. Simm played him perfectly, adding serious mannerisms to his general wise and on ocassions funny actions. When I first saw The Master a couple of years back, I didn't see him as one of the great enemies of our favourite timelord, I saw him as a cheeky man, yet diseased with the sound of drums constantly in his head-this being the name of one of the episodes when he first returned in 2007.

It was revealed in the New Years episodes that The Master's burden-the drumbeat-was the work of the timelords. Thought to be destroyed in the time war, they returned using the signal within The Master's head along with theirs and The Doctor's homeplanet, Gallifrey. The Timelord president, played by James Bond and Hot Fuzz star Timothy Dalton, and his authority within the position made the episode one to remember. Despite a short Doctor Who career, Dalton made an immediate impact claiming that he was bringing "the end of time itself", however his goals were soon a thing of the past after The Doctor destroyed the connection between Earth and Gallifrey, and The Master (pictured below), realising his true life in befriending The Doctor, who saved his timelord 'friend' from death at the hands of the president.

Tennant's dramatic, yet emotional end will never be forgotten. Five years saw him fights off his deadliest enemy, The Daleks and The Cybermen on numerous ocassions. It has seen him lose and keep the one he loves, and it has seen him create a worldwide and even universal friendship without humans and aliens alike. It was Doctor Who which created Tennant's current off-screen relationship with actress Georgie Moffett, who actually played the Doctor's daughter in a 2008 episode. His role as the Doctor has seen him earn praise and reward alike, and has made him one of the most popular Scotsmen in the country. His end as the Doctor has reached its climax, his beginning of a career has only just begun.

I wanted in this blog to reveal my true impressions of Tennant, and his impact as a timelord. I feel he portrayed the role in the way no other actor could. He became the Doctor, and the Doctor became him. It reminded me kind of like Jekyll and Hyde, two personalities, in this case one Scottish actor, and the other an English timelord. To all Doctor Who fans, one thing is for sure that Tennant is what many people call "the irreplacable", he was the best and not even Doctors of the past or the future can ever deny him that title.
As for Tennant's predecessor, his first few minutes as a timelord didn't impress me. Whereas when Eccleston regenerated into Tennant, my main focus was the arrival of the new Doctor, yet in 2010 my attention was glued to the emotional end of the greatest Doctor of all time, rather than the introduction of one who, in my eyes, made a measley first impression amongst myself and other viewers. I believe Matt Smith will have the potential to become a great player of the Doctor, but his work is cut out if he is ever to recreate the impact David Tennant had on his producers, directors, fans, critics and audience alike.

I wouldn't say I've been an amazing fan of the programme since its first release, however Tennant inspired me to watch it. One episode and I am away, into the storylines and understanding the sub-plots. Many great actors, comedians and occasions have joined with the Doctor over the past five years, and I expect many more to join Smith on his ventures through time and space.

Many Thanks for reading

G.M