Do NOT read on if you are trying to avoid SPOILERS about "The Waters Of Mars", which was just broadcast in the UK. The blog below is full of the blighters. Adequately warned? That's MAJOR SPOILERS. Click here to be taken somewhere else if that bothers you.
Ready? Okay.
Here's what we think are the things Doctor Who fans are talking about right now. Twitter feeds, the SFX forum and UK fan sites will surely be on fire about this stuff:
1. Ood For Thought
How does Ood Sigma reappear to the Doctor on Earth in November 2059 - is there some kind of connection there, or perhaps it's just in the Doctor's head? We're still not exactly sure about the nature of the connection between the Ood and the Doctor anyway. We know from "Planet of the Ood" that the telepathic race can make predictions about the Tenth Doctor - the "Doctor-Donna" for instance, which came true in "Journey's End", and the fact that the Doctor's "song is ending". It almost feels like Ood Sigma is adopting a role similar to the Watcher from 1981's "Logopolis" by appearing like this. Could Tom Baker's final hours be an influence on 2009's ending?
2. The Doctor's State Of Mind
Has the Doctor gone mad? There's incredible hubris in the "Time Lord Victorious" and in his cry that the laws of time must obey him. It's triumphant, but there's also desperation about it. Is this the insanity of a condemned person refusing to "go gentle into that good night "? What sort of Doctor are we going to see in the final two episodes this year?
3. Suicide Is Painless
Did Adelaide really need to shoot herself? Couldn't she just have followed the Doctor's advice and inspired her family in person, or at least just pretended to die and gone into hiding to preserve the order of things? It's a very bleak ending for a strong character. Self-sacrifice has played its part in Doctor Who before. Galloway detonates a concealed bomb in order to take out the Daleks in "Death To The Daleks" for instance; in more recent times, Gwyneth blew herself up to destroy the Gelth in "The Unquiet Dead". The Ninth Doctor regenerated while absorbing the energies of the time vortex in order to save Rose. Maybe this is all foreshadowing the way in which the Tenth Doctor will meet his end.
4. Companion Piece
All the pre-broadcast chat was about a feisty new companion played by Lindsay Duncan. But is Adelaide Brooke a bona fide companion ? Don't you have to travel with the Doctor on multiple adventures, not just get rescued by him once? She doesn't even survive the encounter and she spends no more time in the TARDIS than her two hapless fellow colonists. She's just a great "guest star" as far as I'm concerned. Who's with me?!
5. Back Once Again With The Renegade Master
We all know John Simm is returning as the Master. How is he going to come back from the dead? Has it got anything to do with that ring of his? How does his wife, Lucy Saxon, fit into it? In the trailer for the next instalment shown right at the end of today's episode, why is he going all skeletal? It looks similar to the effect of the Dalek energy weapon, but that's just guesswork. To find out more, read SFX issue 191 (on sale 16 December) when Russell T Davies promises to tell us all about the Christmas episodes!
6. A Voice To Scare The Living Daylights Out Of Us
And speaking of the trailer, who's doing that voice over? Could it be Timothy Dalton - if so, what role is he playing?
7. Behind The Sofa
Was this a Doctor Who episode suitable for kids? This is a scary story, with multiple fatalities and an insidious threat that turns friends into monsters. "Blink" was frightening, but nobody in that actually died while looking at videos of their family, or shot themselves to escape their fate. If you watched this with your nippers, I'd be interested to hear how well they sleep tonight.
Have we hit the nail on the head? What else are you discussing tonight? Let us know what you think. Don't forget to read our full review of the episode here .
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