3

 

Journey's End

 

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Sorry this wasn't completed last night, life got in the way. But anyway, can we all take a moment's silence purely because 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' has made it into the top 2 episodes of Doctor Who since 2005, as voted by you, the members of Buzzjack. What a devastating result. Seriously. Anyway, about this episode. The second half of the two-parter that ended Russell T Davies' era, in a sense (it was his last 'series finale' so to speak).

The one scene that always gets me the most when I watch this back (and I haven't done so in a long while now so I probably should go back and watch it before I completely forget everything that ever happened in it! is the scene where the Doctor is presented with no other option but to wipe Donna's mind of every single memory she shared with the Doctor, every planet she ever visited, every enemy she ever encountered, every time she stopped the Doctor from going that little bit too far, every time she was there for him when he needed her, every time she was the comedy GOLD of what was otherwise a very serious series of stories. And I just think, besides dying, that is quite possibly the most emotional way a companion has ever left the Doctor's side in the TARDIS. To become part-Doctor and to have it taken away from you and never see the man you've grown to love for the past however many months must be truly devastating and heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking enough for us! But of course Donna would be back because, as many fans speculated, when the ring on her finger caught the light towards the very end of the episode once she had returned home and had forgotten who the Doctor was, it was telling us we'd see her again soon.

Another of the best scenes from this episode is when the Doctor and Rose return to Bad Wolf Bay. This time though, Rose had two versions of the Tenth Doctor stood before her - one of them real and one of them the result of a meta-crisis. However, she parted ways with the real Tenth Doctor and decided to go and kiss the other, have fun times with him, get married, have children, and do whatever else she wanted to. And the one thing that probably made Rose more content than ever with this version of the Doctor was that they would die old together - she wouldn't age and watch him stay the same for the entirety of her life - they'd be going through it together. Because he only had one heart. Beautiful moment, that. Anyway... YOUR TOP 2 IS REVEALED. :o 'Blink' vs. 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'. WHICH WILL WIN?!

 

Average 9.333

Highest score 10 (Calum Hood, seantobewild, Jester, Regina, JosephStyles, Rabbit Heart, Heezus)

Lowest score 7 (Severin)

 

Please don't say Unicorn and the Wasp is going to win! :blink:

Blink doesn't deserve to win either, to be fair!!! It only got a lot of 10s and 11s because it beats any other Series 3 episode.

 

Journey's End should have won :angry:

lolwut at Unicorn being top 2. Madness. Journey's End is wonderful :wub:

Blink doesn't deserve to win either, to be fair!!! It only got a lot of 10s and 11s because it beats any other Series 3 episode.

 

Journey's End should have won :angry:

 

Not for me. Genuinely my favourite of New Who, stunning in every way. Good lord, it better beat Unicorn & the Wasp.

After EIGHT months of results (!), I can reveal your top 2...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

Blink

 

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If you all take a quick peek at the highest and lowest scores for this episode, you'll see that five of you were very generous and gave this episode, which is quite possibly one of the finest pieces of work to have ever come from the show in its 51 year history, but you'll also see that it was hindered by a 3 from one person - which meant it narrowly lost out to 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' in the bid for your favourite Doctor Who episode since the show's revival! If it weren't for that, this episode would have won, which would have been a wholly representative result of what most consider to be the show's best episode, I'd say! So yes, your winner is... 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', which I'm a tiny bit annoyed by considering that a lot of people have already commented saying that they do not understand how it managed to reach the top 10, never mind the top 5, never mind the top 3, never mind the top 2, but bloody WINNING the whole thing! More on that episode when we get to the commentary though.

On this episode, I think the most unique thing about all of this is that it was the beginning of a different type of episode, the kind that we'd see more and more of as we gradually drew closer to the moment where Steven Moffat took over from Russell T Davies as the executive producer of the show. The directing in this episode was on par with some of the best the show's ever had, and we've got Hettie MacDonald coming back for series 9 so that can only mean it's going to be another epic adventure, surely! The enemy is actually genuinely terrifying in this episode. From the first moments we see the Weeping Angels, you're terrified to even look at them, but knowing what they're capable of and how they can send you back in time in an instant is chilling. We first see this when Kathy Nightingale and Sally Sparrow go to the old desolate house and investigate all that is apparently wrong with it. And what follows is honestly, in my opinion, one of the most clever pieces of writing I've seen. Kathy is alone in another part of the house, looking around and investigating while Sally's at the other end. Kathy spots a Weeping Angel, and as she turns her back it keeps getting closer and closer to her. And then just seconds later, the doorbell rings. Kathy is still there, but not for much longer. Sally answers the door and she is introduced to Kathy's grandson who was told to come to the house on this exact day at the exact time that he did. The realisation then kicks in that Kathy's no longer in the house with Sally, and instead she's been sent back in time by the Angel that she saw in the back garden... to Hull, where she met a lovely man and had children who then had children, thus the man standing before Sally at the front door.

We then go on such a beautiful adventure with Sally Sparrow, meeting Kathy's brother Larry - whom she later owns a DVD shop with. But at the beginning, despite this being a Doctor-lite and Martha-lite episode (thank god!), the Doctor is present throughout almost the entirety of the episode. He appears in Easter eggs scattered across a collection of DVDs warning people about the Weeping Angels, because he, too, has been sent back in time. One of the most chilling moments of the episode is when Sally and Larry go back to the house and they are circled by a group of the Weeping Angels, their lives depending on their each and every action. The lights start to flicker and the Angels are closing in on them, but as they form a circle, they are all looking at one another. And this is where we learn that when Angels look at each other, they are nothing but stone too, because no matter what or who they're seen by, they cannot move.

It's funny to think that since appearing in Doctor Who, Carey Mulligan's gone on to become an international film star, because really who even knew she existed outside of her family and friends until this gig came up?! This is definitely a) not just one of the finest Steven Moffat scripts that he's put forward for the show in his time, but b) one of the finest scripts Doctor Who has seen in its day, I'm sure y'all will agree. Boo you, Sean! And now I just have to work out what I'm going to say in the commentary for 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'...

 

Average 9.417

Highest score 11 (Michael!, Jester, Joseph, Chez Wombat, Rabbit Froot)

Lowest score 3 (seantobewild)

 

1

 

The Unicorn and the Wasp

 

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I really don't know what to say... Given there were 103 episodes in this countdown, and there are about 95 better episodes than this one, I honestly am very shocked that this episode has managed to win the whole rate. But anyway, I won't go on about it too much, I'll leave that to all of you. :kink: This episode is very very good, it honestly is, but I wouldn't place it anywhere near among my favourites of the show. It's basically a game of Cluedo but in the form of Doctor Who and on a television show. You've got Agatha Christie, a husband and wife who are very very suspicious, a Vicar who has a bit of a buzz to him, the son of the husband and wife who's sneaking behind the bikesheds to get laid with his male lover, a lady thief who claims to be full of class and nothing more and who enjoys the odd tipple, and the most clichéd of them all... Professor Peach, who died within the first few minutes of the episode.

I really do love Donna in this episode. She adds comic relief when it's certainly most needed, to prevent this episode from dying a slow and painful death for being exactly like a game of Cluedo (something I've never attempted to play in my life AT ALL). "TELL ME THERE'S NO NODDY!" is a CLASSIC, as well as her reaction to finding out that there's a mahoosive wasp in the house, haunting the guests. And quite possibly one of her most IKONEK scenes is when the Doctor is looking to remedy what he was poisoned with, anchovies don't work, salt doesn't work, so Donna thinks the biggest shock of all he could have that would cure a little bit of poison is a big smacker on the lips. Not the most flattering of kisses the show has ever seen, and I'm sure it wasn't just shocking for the Doctor in that moment...

Anyway, this was a rather well told tale, despite having a few flaws. The ending where the Vicar was revealed as the Vespiform was very well done, and it honestly felt like watching an episode of Death in Paradise with the Doctor and Agatha having each and every one of the suspects huddled around, explaining how each of them could and could not be the giant wasp lurking around every corner. It had a satisfying conclusion too. Sorry I can't give much more commentary than I have for the #1 episode, but it's edging towards an impossibility now.

 

Average 9.500

Highest score 11 (Michael!, seantobewild, Jester)

Lowest score 7 (Regina)

 

Piss off.

Thanks for these results though Calum, we got there in the end :heehee:

Thanks for these results though Calum, we got there in the end :heehee:

I can FINALLY get rid of the spreadsheet :magic:

Thanks to everybody that voted in this though! :D Thank you as well to April and Rabbit for their continued patience while I posted the results also as I'm sure there are plenty more things they'd like to do and this has been slugging along for AGES now. :heehee:

Wut at that winning though! :blink:

 

Thanks Calum for doing this.

ROFLMAO. Best rate ever.

 

Thanks for the rate, Calum! I can't believe you managed to keep such a surprise winner a secret, all these months. I'd have spilled it for sure!

 

Highest score 11 (Michael!,

 

NOW can we ban Michael?

Edited March 19, 201510 yr by ♡ Heezus Froot ♡

No words really, ANYWAY Blink is honestly one of the most thrilling, terrifying pieces of television I have ever seen :wub: Everything about it is amazing - the directing, the villain, the horror, the acting, the story and the Weeping Angels are unquestionably one of the most scary villains Who has ever had, I'd be a hell of a lot more scared being in a room with one of them than a Dalek in all honesty, the concept behind them is fantastic. Episodes where the Doctor's absent for the most part are more often than not misfires for me (obvious example is obvious), but this was just such a triumph. I can't praise it enough. I'm going to need you to explain that score, Sean ;(

 

The Unicorn and The Wasp was very good, nice concept and all but yeah, I wouldn't place it close to my all time fave episodes and am really quite baffled by that winning, ah well *shrugs*

 

Thanks for running this Calum, I very much enjoyed it and particularly enjoyed reading the wonderful and passionate commentary for every episode too :D

The complete list in case any of you have forgotten where most of the episodes ranked:

 

1. The Unicorn and the Wasp

2. Blink

3. Journey's End

4. Army of Ghosts

5. Doomsday

6. The Stolen Earth

7. The Waters of Mars

8. Turn Left

9. The Fires of Pompeii

10. The Time of Angels

 

11. Dalek

12. The Sontaran Stratagem

13. The Empty Child

14. The Parting of the Ways

15. The Christmas Invasion

16. The Doctor Dances

17. The Girl in the Fireplace

18. Silence in the Library

19. Bad Wolf

20. Planet of the Ood

 

21. The Runaway Bride

22. Rise of the Cybermen

23. The Angels Take Manhattan

24. Voyage of the Damned

25. The Sound of Drums

26. The Day of the Doctor

27. Father's Day

28. The Poison Sky

29. Midnight

30. The Eleventh Hour

 

31. School Reunion

32. Age of Steel

33. The Name of the Doctor

34. Forest of the Dead

35. The Doctor's Daughter

36. The Pandorica Opens

37. Asylum of the Daleks

38. The End of Time

39. The Impossible Astronaut

40. Flesh and Stone

 

41. Partners in Crime

42. The Unquiet Dead

43. The Big Bang

44. Last of the Time Lords

45. Tooth and Claw

46. The Doctor's Wife

47. Rose

48. Amy's Choice

49. Vincent and the Doctor

50. Let's Kill Hitler

 

51. Utopia

52. The End of the World

53. The Girl Who Waited

54. The God Complex

55. The Family of Blood

56. The Long Game

57. The Snowmen

58. The Bells of Saint John

59. The Wedding of River Song

60. Planet of the Dead

 

61. A Good Man Goes to War

62. The Time of the Doctor

63. The Shakespeare Code

64. The Crimson Horror

65. The Almost People

66. Human Nature

67. Boom Town

68. Evolution of the Daleks

69. Daleks in Manhattan

70. World War Three

 

71. Aliens of London

72. The Impossible Planet

73. The Vampires of Venice

74. The Next Doctor

75. New Earth

76. Victory of the Daleks

77. Smith & Jones

78. 42

79. The Rebel Flesh

80. The Lazarus Experiment

 

81. Hide

82. The Satan Pit

83. Day of the Moon

84. Cold Blood

85. Gridlock

86. Closing Time

87. The Idiot's Lantern

88. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

89. A Christmas Carol

90. Cold War

 

91. The Hungry Earth

92. The Power of Three

93. The Beast Below

94. The Doctor, The Widow & The Wardrobe

95. A Town Called Mercy

96. The Curse of the Black Spot

97. Nightmare in Silver

98. Night Terrors

99. Fear Her

100. The Lodger

 

101. The Rings of Akhaten

102. Love & Monsters

103. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

 

-x-

 

Looking back at that list, it still hurts to see 'The Rings of Akhaten' THAT low. :(

How?

 

I would NEVER have predicted that winner! A fun episode and it's very good but no where near the BEST of 103 episodes :lol: Although I guess the fact that it's not amongst the episodes that are highly regarded meant it wasn't hurt by trolling. :)

 

THANKS for this Calum, always great to reminisce with Doctor Who even though some strange results occurred. Great commentary throughout to!

 

Anyway, thoughts on the rest of the Top 10, written from the bottom up:

 

2. Blink - An expertly written story that is perfect for it's 45 minute time-frame. One of the scariest monsters and episodes with a great guest actor. It's so strange that it's so good seeing as the two main characters aren't even there for most of it :lol:

3. Journey's End - It was fantastic to see the nu-Doctor Who universe team up all in one story. It really paid off being a fan over the four years that it had been on and it was such a special moment. Donna's departure was probably more emotional than Roses' :( I think the majority of people who heard the news that Donna would be the full companion for Series 4 were pretty annoyed because it was expected she would be this jokey idiotic companion but she was written and played so well in Series 4 that she is of course now a favourite. It was this journey of the character that really hurt that she would never remember her time with the Doctor. The whole scene (both in the TARDIS and with Wilf and Sylvia) are so emotional every time, especially 'but she was better with you' </3

4. Army of Ghosts / 5. Doomsday - Such a momentous finale again looking back. It was the second series where I really got into Doctor Who and so it seems so strange to see the Cybermen and the Daleks both sharing the same story as the villans and meeting each other too! It's funny how they don't team up though although this did kind of undermine the Cybermen threat after it had been built up through 'Army of Ghosts' by making them so seemingly easy to defeat. Rose's departure has obviously gone done as one of the greatest TV moments ever too and it is very emotional, although now slightly ruined by her later appearance.

6. The Stolen Earth - Possibly one of the series finales to end all series finales. You can say what you like about Russell but he created some great danger that really felt the series was going out with a bang, no matter how scientifically inaccurate they may be. The finale was amazing as well, not using a next-time trailer for the first time really helped increase speculation.

7. The Waters of Mars - Another fantastic episode and definitely one of my overall favourites. Again, it shows a different and exciting take on the show. After this statement that they can't interfere with fixed points in time, it's so powerful to see the Doctor having to deal with this. It was a great idea to have this fixed point be in the future as well, of course it could only really be done that way, as it is unpredictable as to whether he will change history or not. The last half hour or so is so powerful, especially the 'Time Lord Victorious' speech, one of my favourite moments ever. The monsters were great and amongst the scariest of the show too, they looked horrific and it's a threat that is so close to home and the peril is so high in the secluded Mars base.

8. Turn Left - What a fabulous episode! It's a testament to the show that it's able to produce an episode with so many references to the continuity and it's still very well received, especially in terms of viewing figures. It was a very interesting take on the show that was executed perfectly. I love the scene where Donna is about to go back in time to stop herself in the car, Catherine Tate plays it beautifully.

9. The Fires of Pompeii - I enjoy 'The Fires of Pompeii' but I don't think it's Top 10 worthy as I don't think the Pyrovilles are memorable enough and there were too many elements. I did like the whole not interferring with history thing/actually CREATING history and that part of the story did work well.

10. The Time of Angels - I was initally unsure about the Angels returning because I wasn't sure how it would work and it would stretch the story of them. However, it worked very well to do the opposite of 'Blink' and make it into a big high-octane story.

Haha, that's the biggest shock of a winner I can remember in any rate. It's a cool episode and all but yeah, not a winner in my mind.

 

Blink is of course stunning though, and a big part of keeping me interested in the new series, so at least that's up there.

I guarantee that The Uniocorn And The Wasp is NO-ONE'S favourite although it is a fine sepisode

thanks for the list, and if it's any consolation at all, had I voted (I ran out of time) Journeys End would have got top marks from me, Blink would have got top marks after that, and The Bee thing would have been quite low down, say a 6 or so. That might have been enough to give the right result.....!

 

Also, some of my other fave episodes would have been higher. Wish I'd voted....!

What a ridiculous outcome.