10 Most Disappointing Doctor Who Episodes

3. Journey€™s End €“ Series 4 Episode 13

The Problem The defeat of the Daleks. The new Dalek Empire is relentlessly hyped up as unstoppable, they almost destroy the Tardis, and they€™re defeated by Donna and the Metacrisis Doctor pressing a few buttons. While the blowing up of the Daleks is at least given a semi-plausible techno-babble explanation, Donna literally shuts down the Reality Bomb within three seconds and by pressing a single button:
Donna: And closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous backfeed reversal loop. That button there.
It€™s a terrible cop out and a massive anti-climax to what was promoted and played out as Doctor Who€™s biggest and most high stakes finale ever. How To Fix It Extend the defeat of the Daleks so that it doesn€™t feel like so much of an anticlimax. Show Donna and the Doctors putting some serious work into undoing the Reality Bomb along with the other companions lending a hand in some way. That way it would actually feel like the Children Of Time working in unison rather than just going for the easy solution. It would also fit Dalek Caan€™s prophecy of the Children Of Time gathering on the Crucible better, and give Rose something to do rather than just stand around in a holding cell until she gets her Not-Quite-A-Doctor substitute.

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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.