Redoing The End of Time - Major Spoilers!

[Chris]

Redoing The End of Time

I found The End of Time to be a vast disappointment. Here are my thoughts on how it could have been improved. Spoilers abound.

-Have a different ending to The Waters of Mars. Forget the Ood. They were never a very creditable alien race anyway. Keep the story as it was until the Doctor tries to rescue the colonists from Mars and have them die when time rebels and the TARDIS is badly damaged, sent spinning through time to the present day. A stunned Doctor realises that he’s caused a massive rift in space-time centred on Earth. Uh-oh. He even has flashbacks to Dalek Caan and his rescue of Davros.

-The TARDIS crash-lands outside Donna’s home. Donna comes face-to-face with the Doctor despite Wilf’s best efforts. She starts to remember. The Doctor flashes back to his brief period as a human and drags Donna into the TARDIS, using the chameleon arch technology to give her a Time Lord brain to handle what was dumped into her head. A stunned Donna hugs the Doctor and tells him that he should have had more faith in himself. (We’ll dispose of her husband. We don’t need him at all.) The Doctor tells her that he’s damaged the very fabric of space and time and the universe is in danger…

-Just how much danger is rapidly revealed when the Followers of Saxon – or whatever they were called – resurrect the Master. We may as well stick with the basic outline, but with the exception of Lucy not trying to kill the Master – that was never explained in the episode. The Master, reborn, senses the devastation the Doctor has killed…and hears the sound of drums louder than ever before.

-In the TARDIS, the Doctor and Donna are trying to restore the ship with help from Jack, Martha and Mickey. We’ll forget that Jack left Earth or decide he came back. Mickey and Martha are revealed to be working for Torchwood in place of the dead Owen and Tosh. Gwen is off to give birth – I can’t stand her, so may as well get rid of her as well. Both the Doctor and Donna sense the rebirth of the Master, revealing that Donna is now a full-fledged Time Lady. The Doctor’s desperate need to reach the Master leads him to damage the TARDIS still further – the entire Time Vortex is spinning out of control.

-The Master is taken to Torchwood Four, the section of Torchwood that is ‘missing’ and meets the Nailsmiths there. The father and daughter team have been preparing for the Master’s resumption of global power and have a gift for him, a new TARDIS that was discovered on Earth after the end of Last of the Time Lords. The Master gloats over his new toy before realising that the TARDIS is effectively useless because of the disruption of the Time Vortex.

-Close in on one of the women working at Torchwood – she’s wearing a ring with the Time Lord symbol on. Uh-oh…

-Without the TARDIS, the Doctor has the bright idea of using him and Donna to track down the Master by triangulating their signal. This leads them to Edinburgh (well, why not?) and the presumed location of Torchwood Four. They have to hurry – there are reports of massive time disruptions all over Earth. The Doctor encounters the Brigadier in Edinburgh who tells him that UNIT is assembling, an army at the Doctor’s beck and call. The Doctor is becoming increasingly agitated, with constant flashbacks to the Time War and battles he fought in, years ago.

-In Torchwood Four (which we’ll say is under the Castle for fun), the Master is struggling with the new TARDIS, ranting on to Lucy about how it has weapons and systems beyond human imagination and how it will be used to bring an end to his suffering. The sound of drums grows louder in his head, sending him into fits of rage and agony. The mysterious Time Lady urges him onwards. He hasn’t realised what she is. Lucy makes a remark about Martha that gives the Master a mad inspiration – Martha knows where the Doctor is.

-Outside, Martha is called by her family – the Master called them, told them where he was, and invited the Doctor for tea. Frustrated, the Doctor runs inside the Castle, followed by Martha and Mickey. Mickey – without memories of the Master – asks his wife what happened between the Doctor and the Master. They break into Torchwood Four and confront the Master, telling him that nothing is what it seems. The Master seems to hesitate, but the new TARDIS comes alive, along with the mysterious Time Lady, who reveals herself as the Rani. After a long speech aimed at the two Time Lords – “I was always loyal” – the Rani activates the TARDIS, telling the Master that he’d been played for a very long time. As light builds up within the chamber, she tells them that she was summoned back home to develop weapons for the Time War – the Time Lords seemed to summon the Master and the Doctor for the same reason – and that her final scheme was to break the Time Lock that she predicted would end the war.

-Mickey draws his pistol and threatens her, but it’s too late. The light grows blindingly bright and the first Time Lord steps out…as, overhead, the Doctor’s homeworld shimmers into existence…

TO BE CONTINUED - ROLL END CREDITS…

Well? Should I continue? Comments and thoughts would be welcome.

[Chris]

Part Two

-Flashback to the final days of the Time War, just after the Fall of Acadia (referenced in Doomsday). The Lord President meets with the Rani and Drax, telling them that the Homeworld is on the verge of inevitable destruction. The Doctor intends to blow up the Eye of Harmony and destroy both sides. He unveils a plan to allow the Time Lords to live on. The Master is to be used as the core of the plan to escape the time lock.

-Back in the Present, Earth is shaking from massive earthquakes as the Homeworld materialised high overhead. The stunned Doctor tells the Master that he’d been primed to set up the massive disruption that allowed the Time Lords to escape. The Master counters and points out that HIS attempt to create a disruption – the Paradox Machine in Sound of Drums – failed. The blame for the disruption lies on the Doctor’s head.

-Martha and Mickey don’t understand. They think that the Time Lords coming back is fantastic. The Lord President informs them that this time there will be no mistakes. The Time Lords will claim the power that is their birthright and reshape time and space to ensure that no such threat will arise ever again. The Daleks will not simply be destroyed – they will never have existed. All other threats will be destroyed as well.

-Jack realises, in horror, that the Time Agents will be destroyed as well. Their very existence was only permitted because the Time Lords were gone. Now, with the Homeworld assuming a position near Earth, their freedom of action will be removed. The Lord President says that the Time Lords will ascend to godhood and prevent any unauthorised time travel.

-Outside, Donna slips into the Castle with the Brigadier. UNIT is trying to control the global chaos caused by the sudden appearance of a much larger planet in Earth’s skies. The Brig blames it on the Master – ironically, for once he’s innocent. Donna knows better. Blood pouring from her nose and ears, she has flashbacks to Harriet Jones and her removal from power. The Doctor is responsible for the disaster.

-The Master stands forward and demands his reward. The Lord President tells him that he is the greatest criminal that the Time Lords have ever produced, yet his madness is of their making. The two Time Lord guards snatch him and carry him off to the Homeworld, leaving the Doctor facing the Lord President. The Doctor is told that he will be put on trial for wrecking huge disruption to the space-time universe. The Time Lords will put the universe under their control once and for all. The Lord President hypnotises Martha, Jack and Mickey, ordering them to follow him back to the Homeworld. They are helpless to resist him.

-Donna and the Brig find the Rani staring after the departing Time Lords. At gunpoint, she admits the truth; the Time Lords intend to establish a dictatorship of time. Donna starts inspecting the other TARDIS, but finds herself unable to upset the link between the Homeworld and Earth. The entire Time War is slowly becoming unlocked. The time distortions on Earth will be nothing compared to the chaos that’s coming. Leaving the console of the new TARDIS rigged to explode, they follow the Time Lords to Galifrey.

-The Doctor confronts the Time Lord Council and finds himself charged with not only causing time distortions, but destroying the homeworld and committing genocide. The Lord President asks for the final sanction as punishment. The Doctor will be eliminated from time entirely.

-On Earth, the disruptions are getting worse. One of them materialised as a Reaper – the creatures from Father’s Day. Others follow, flying up towards the Homeworld high overhead. The Lord President is told of their arrival, but dismisses it. The Reality Engines on the homeworld will keep them safe.

-In Cardiff, Gwen realises that the Rift has suddenly become incredibly unstable. She is killed, along with her boyfriend, as it explodes into life. (Well, I can dream, can’t I?) More Reapers appear and rage towards the Homeworld.

-Donna and the Brig find the Master sitting in his cell. For the first time since he was a child, the Master’s head is clear of the sound of drums. He’s also rapidly aging and threatens to regenerate. Donna frees him with the promise of revenge against the Time Lords who drove him mad.

-Above the Eye of Harmony, the Doctor has flashbacks of the final days of the Time War, with his Eighth Incarnation destroying the Eye and using the power to destroy both sides of the War. We even see an 8-9 regeneration as the TARDIS rescues him seconds before it all ends. (Still dreaming…)

-The Time Lords are suffering because of the massive temporal storm building up around their homeworld. The Reapers are growing more and more powerful, waiting outside for the barriers to collapse. The Lord President kills one of the Council who questions the wisdom of what they have done. The Doctor pleads for them to understand the truth – the time of the Time Lords is over. The Lord President makes a horrifying statement – “we are the gods of time” – and uses his powers to make Jack kill himself, sending him falling to the ground.

-Donna stumbles into Temperol Control with the Master, rapidly scaring away the pair of Time Lords on duty. She tries to alter the settings, but the Master pushes her aside and collapses the shields, leaving the Homeworld exposed to the Reapers. His laughs echo out over the planet as they swoop down for the kill.

-The horrified Doctor begs the Lord President to stop, but it’s too late. Proclaiming himself the God of Time, the Lord President tries to summon his power to end the Time War once and for all. The Time Vortex cascades through him as hundreds of ships and monsters swell out of the rift, wrecking Dalek ships with the hand of God. The Reapers swoop down, but he banishes them with a wave of his hand, forcing them back by sheer force of will. Desperately, the Doctor grapples with him and pushes him out of the vortex – causing his instant death – but its too late. The Doctor finds himself trying to hold back the force of eternity. Even the Time Lords have limits to their power.

-The Master steals a TARDIS and returns to Edinburgh. Confronting the Rani – his old classmate – he shoots her and then shoots the console, causing it to explode because of the rigged charges. The link between Galifray and Earth snaps, yet with the Doctor holding on, the homeworld remains under threat. The Master takes one look up at the Homeworld, fighting for its life, and departs in his new TARDIS, back to the homeworld.

-Donna sounds the evacuation alert, encouraging thousands of Time Lords to flee, before snatching a teleporter and diving in to save the Doctor. She pulls him out of the vortex, just after he locks the rest of the Time War away, but its too late and they’re both trapped. The evacuation protocols weren't designed to pick up either of them. The Master’s TARDIS materialises and he rescues the Doctor, Martha, Donna and Mickey. Jack’s death – this time – is permanent. Behind them, the homeworld vanishes once again.

-Badly wounded, unwilling to even continue, the Doctor regenerates. Moments after his regeneration, he collapses.

-The Master tells a hostile Martha that the universe is alive again – there are thousands of Time Lord survivors. They’re not going to be best pleased with either of the survivors. He dumps them off in Martha’s home and tries to leave. Tish offers to go with him to prevent him from going mad again.

-On an unknown world, the Time Lords assemble. Even without most of their technology, they are still formidable – they have TARDISs and weapons. The Lord President – revealed to be the regenerated Rani – vows revenge on the Doctor.

-Back on Earth, the regenerated Doctor gives Martha a kiss goodbye and leaves with Donna. He’s on the run again…and he couldn’t be happier…

Thoughts? Better than the real version?

[gtrof]

Chris I do agree with the idea of the Doctor being brought in front of his fellow Time Lords. After all he did destroy them, I doubt many of them would be happy with it. Also that the idea the Time Lords in some form have returned along with some of the horrors of the Time War.

A more general question for fellow Doctor Who fans, do you wish to actually see any of the Time War? At my spacebattles forum the debate on the End of Time includes this question. Some don't cause it would probably ruin it, others the opposite to see all its glory.

I'm sort of in between. Maybe glimpses of the Time War, with more references though made by characters rather then flashbacks.

[Chris]

It would be nice to know what happened, but I doubt that RTD could do the concept full justice. Me, on the other hand...

<whistles tunelessly>

Chris