Doctor Who at 10 - The End of the World (S1E2)

In terms of episodic comparisons, few would be able to find much between Rose and The End of the World in terms of story and tone. A futuristic space romp, End of the World goes all out by introducing an integral layer of the show - the time travel, namely jumping forwards in time - by going to the farthest reaches imaginable whilst keeping the Earth's end as scientifically accurate as possible. Heck, it makes sense that authorities would try and preserve the planet as they do to various areas of it already, so it certainly makes imagining what Earth would look like a whole lot easier. But as the start of a loose trilogy of episodes (which spans across three series), and a good look at how the show will be outside of its opener, could it have marked the end of the show?

Following immediately after the events of Rose, the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) takes new companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) to the year 5.5/apple/26 (5 billion years in the future) to witness the end of the world amongst some of the richest dynasties in the universe, including a sentient tree woman named Jabe (Yasmin Bannerman), a giant head called the Face of Boe and Lady Cassandra O'Brian.Δ17 - a slab of skin claiming to be the last human. But something isn't quite right, as robotic spiders are turning up all over the place hijacking the system and causing the protective sun filters to malfunction. With everyone at risk of evaporation, the Doctor must discover who is hijacking the systems. As with Rose, the 45 minute format helps squeeze everything in without any room for padding, and as such has a well balanced tone of comedy and drama; when the Doctor isn't dancing to Tainted Love, he's being rumbled about why he's so mysterious about his planet of origin, whilst Rose has a short scene with one of the ship's maintenance workers realising what she's done. It's this blend which does help the episode immensely. Alas, other areas of the episode aren't quite as strong.

We'll start things off with the alien delegates, as it does appear to be a clean swoop for the make-up and costumes budget for just a singular usage. It does work for the alienation towards Rose, which causes her to run off due to how overwhelming it is, but outside of that there isn't much use for them. They don't play a role in the episode itself outside of making Rose leave, making it more of a waste if anything. It's also a pity that, ten years on, the CGI doesn't look great, which is especially noteworthy because it’s the episode which uses it the most. It may have worked well then, but these days not so much. And whilst we're on the topic of CGI, Lady Cassandra (voiced by Zoe Wanamaker) isn't that strong a villain. Whilst there's no shortage of enemies who do what they do for the sake of money, and she is hinted at throughout the episode, her inevitable reveal doesn't add anything to the story. The Adherents of the Repeated Meme twist was good, but it leaves a sour taste when considering what we're left with. 

But that's not to say the character isn't good. If anything, one of the highlights for this episode is the characterisations. Not only on the TARDIS duo, who both have their moments in the spotlight and end the episode on a high note, but also from those additional characters which are developed. Whilst some of the aliens don't get a word in, and some that do like the Moxx of Balhoon are for comedic effect, others do get a good appearance. Cassandra gets some laughs in, and these days could be described as something of a UKIP supporter - considering those who mingled "mongrels" and considering herself the sole human in a universe where mankind has spread itself across the stars. Bannerman, on the other hand, gives in more of the emotional depth - most notably as being the first major death for the series (seeing as Clive's didn't have any lasting impact on Rose or the Doctor) - and her actions does leave a mark on the Doctor, especially his final treatment of Cassandra. 

The End of the World isn't a bad episode. It's enjoyable with some memorable moments, and ends on a high note with the Doctor and Rose in present day London, and deserves credit for its ambition. However, it does suffer from taking its budget for granted and a weak - if not enjoyably weak - villain in the form of a piece of skin. It's an effective adventure which introduces elements for those newer audiences, but acts now as a time capsule for what was big at the time (Britney Spears, etc). 6/10.