10.27: Utopia
In which Russell finally lets his inner fanboy run free, and the results are masterful.
Broadcast: June 2007
Watched: September 2021
“Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling.”
Continues a great run, but differs from the last couple. Those had ideas and themes and depths; this one is silly and fanwanky, and runs on pure energy and love for the show. Jack, the Doctor’s missing hand, the references to Parting, the Master remembering... It’s The Five Doctors, not Androzani.
Also, it’s fundamentally *about* Doctor Who – I remember a viral video of some young fan girls watching it and screaming “Martha if you bring back the Master I’ll kill you”, which is kind of weird, because they didn’t look like they’d been Roger Delgado fans. It’s a story that assumes a knowledge of the show’s mythology, even among fans who may never have seen the pre-Rose stuff. I don’t think you could have done it before the end of the third season.
On those terms, though, it’s great, obviously. Loads of fun to have Jack back (“Oh, I’ve missed this”), even if it’d be extremely weird if you’d not bothered watching Torchwood. (In the same way trying to follow the plot of Torchwood would feel extremely weird if you don’t watch Doctor Who.) It’s extremely harsh the way the Doctor immediately tries to run away from him, and the shot of Jack clinging to the TARDIS is *hilarious*. Also, the way the news that Rose is alive breaks the ice (“Doctor.” “Captain.”... “Have you had work done?” “You can talk!”) is lovely.
The set up on the planet that isn’t Utopia combines a sense of wonder with the utter bleakness of a universe in which (oh look) the stars are going out. Love the deserted alien hives. Love “A million years as clouds of gas and another million as downloads”. Love the way all the futurekind are white, while the human refugee looks a bit mediterranean and Yana’s assistant is a sort of insect thing. (Oooh, the Toclafane basically end up doing what the futurekind do, don’t they? Dealing with the despair of the inevitability of death by cannibalising other humans.)
It’s a mark of Doctor Who’s status by the end of 2007 that this just assumes everyone will know who the Master is before he even appears. Yana is interesting as a version of who the Master could have been: his story is a sort of literalisation of the fact the Doctor’s existence as hero requires the Master to play the villain (even when he turns good, it can never last, e.g. the end of The Doctor Falls). So the Master is perfectly happy being a lovely old chap helping people out until the Doctor turns up, and the story immediately requires him to be evil again.
I like the way we see Jacobi’s short-lived (until BF got involved) old style Master turn into the new, wackier Simm one before our eyes, like the show switching centuries. There’s a definite suggestion Time Lords get to slightly choose who they regenerate into (“if the Doctor can be young and strong...”)
And then that first cliffhanger we didn’t know would be one: Simm’s Master utterly unhinged, the Doctor just standing looking sad while Jack and Martha try to hold back the monsters...
I miss the sort of Doctor Who cliffhangers that mean there are several hours in which I can’t think about anything except Doctor Who.
Other things:
"The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project" is very Isaac Asimov.
As in Gridlock, the way the Doctor can just instantly fix problems of any scale with his sonic screwdriver works if you have an interesting enough story around it, but could become intensely irritating if not used carefully.
With the possible exception of the winsome Scottish child (who, to be fair, won a competition), the performances are all amazing. The scene in which Tennant and Barrowman argue about immortality (in a room, conveniently, that only Jack can survive, although it's weird he doesn't dissolve?) is great. Tennant cycling through about eight different emotions when he thinks there might be another Time Lord is incredible. Chung is adorable as a weird creepy insect thing, especially her giggling when she doesn't say "Chan... tho"...
...and of course Jacobi is incredible, twice over, the old loon. Some examples: "Perhaps they found it, perhaps not, but it's worth a look". His starting to weep when he remembers time travel. The Master's angry muttering through the watch. Great actor, shame about his views on Shakespeare.
"Now I can say I was provoked"... "Killed, by an insect! A GIRL!" The Jacobi Master is an utter creep.
Hang on, Yana says he was found as a baby, implying he's lived a full human life, how the f- has BF managed to crowbar in seventeen War Master box sets?
The Yana/Y.A.N.A bit is still dumb as anything. Also, this never explains why Yana doesn't get on the bloody rocket.
Those had ideas and themes and depths; this one is silly and fanwanky, and runs on pure energy and love for the show.
I don't think that's entirely fair. Utopia itself is a big idea as setting, fairly heavily explored. City at the edge of time, aspirational leap into the unknown hereafter, etc. You could strip the cliffhanger and make this a one off and it'd still be great.
The plot is a direct lift from the Season 1 Episode of Blake’s 7, Deliverance, where our heroes have to work out how to send a rocket into space to save the civilisation from the barbarians. As Terrence Dicks said, a strong and original idea, but not necessarily one’s own!