The Problem John Simms overly camp Master aside, The Sound Of Drums is a strong episode that builds up to a pretty powerful climax as the Master takes over the Earth. But Last Of The Time Lords is where it all goes to pot. Specifically the ending which is rushed, based entirely on a Deus Ex Machina, and horribly written. How the Doctor is tapping into the Archangel phone Network is never explained, and quite frankly the scene of the entire planet chanting his name to restore his youth, make him fly, and give him invulnerability to laser fire is the most ridiculous deification of the Doctor in the entire history of the programme. How To Fix It Rewrite the whole thing to give it much more structure and consistency. Marthas plan to defeat the Master is entirely dependent on information from the Doctor that there was no way he could have known and which required ridiculously precise timing. If the Doctor is going to be incapacitated as the Masters prisoner, Marthas solution has to be entirely based on her own ideas rather than on information given to her that couldnt possibly be known at the time. Also, remove the deification of the Doctor at the climax. The Doctor as a Godlike figure runs contrary to the spirit of Doctor Who, and that entire scenes portrayal of the Doctor (as well as making no narrative sense) looks unbelievably stupid.
Which Doctor Who episode do you find disappointing? How would you improve it? Let us know in the comments section below...
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
