Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords - Best of NuWho?

[The Wormhole]

I just finished rewatching these episodes, and I got to say, these are perhaps the best episodes of Doctor Who I have seen. Though I've only been watching since it returned in 05, so I don't know what I might have missed prior.

But really for the most part, these episodes make for some of the most perfect television I can think of. Everything from the story and the way it unfolds, John Simm's performance as the Master, the awesome musical score (most notably the amazing Gallifrey theme) make for an excellent presentation. Okay, the way things are resolved at the end of Last of the Time Lords is a bit of a cop-out, but in light of the pure awesomeness of everything else, this can be forgiven.

So, do you all agree? Is this not the best Doctor Who produced during the new series? And for those who have watched the classic series, how do you think it ranks with their best episodes?

 

[TedShatner10]

Oh trust me, some people really hate these episodes, but "Utopia" is seen by most as one of the better episodes of NuWho alongside Steven Moffat's output.

 

[Bak_and_Blue]

I think that arc was excellent and I really enjoyed John Simm as the master, but my favorite episodes are probably the "Human Nature" "Family of Blood" 2 parter. I actually cried at the end of FOB. What can I say?

I also really enjoyed "Blink" "Midnight" and "Turn Left".

 

[wamdue]

the 3 episodes are very good, however I really am not keen on how they misused the Doctor in the last two episodes.

 

[Timby]

Utopia -- Some of the best of the new series, despite the terrible Futurekind villains and "Chan-what the fuck-tho?"

The Sound of Drums -- Not bad. Perfectly entertaining, really.

Last of the Time Lords -- 70 percent utter shit, 20 percent mediocre, 10 percent pretty good.

And, really, when the Doctor commanded the Master to "tell me the human race is degenerate now," all the Master needed to do was pop in a Torchwood DVD. That would have ended that little power trip right then and there.

 

[DWF]

All three eps. got progressly better and the finale was incredible, but I do think it was topped by the season four finale Stolen Earth/Journey's End.

 

[The]

The best episodes were the two-parters, Empty Child/Doctor Dances and Human Nature/Family of Blood, imo. 'The Last Time Lord' arc was fun in a Whovian/fanboy kind of way (save the atrocity that was the finale), but even Stolen Earth/Journey's End outdid it in that department. So, it remains...for me...one of the best Master stories for Doctor Who...

 

[Starkers]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Utopia is one of the best episodes of the new series, and one of RTD’s best scripts. The Sound of Drums is a bit of a letdown, but not terrible. Last of the Time Lord’s however is, IMO, terrible! I’m not gonna go into the reasons as I’ve done so far too many times, but it is ironic that the best thing about it is Martha (since I’m no fan of Freema’s acting). Criminal waste of John Barrowman as well.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]For me the worst new series finale, but it is a bit of a marmite episode…[/FONT]

 

[Starkers]

Utopia is one of the best episodes of the new series, and one of RTD’s best scripts. The Sound of Drums is a bit of a letdown, but not terrible. Last of the Time Lord’s however is, IMO, terrible! I’m not gonna go into the reasons as I’ve done so far too many times, but it is ironic that the best thing about it is Martha (since I’m no fan of Freema’s acting). Criminal waste of John Barrowman as well.

For me the worst new series finale, but it is a bit of a marmite episode…

 

[Csalem]

I like Utopia but the other two are ok.

Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End are far better in my opinion.

 

[Sci]

For my money, the absolute best episodes of nuWho are "Dalek," "Father's Day," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "Human Nature," "The Family of Blood," and "Utopia."

Having said that, the Master three-parter was pure brilliance all the way through, and I love the whole thing. The second half of Series Three is, in my eyes, the series's high point so far.

 

[Bishbot]

I hate the first half an hour (approximately of course) of Utopia. Far too noisy, for too incoherent, far too much running about. The Futurekind are stupid, etc, etc. Then The Master appears and its awesome.

The Sound of Drums was brilliant, no question.

Last of the Timelords was pretty good as well, but not quite as good - I'm still not the hugest fan of Jesus Doctor, but I did like that he was orchestrating events all along, through Martha, and how much she went through for him, and the world.

Not the best of nuWho for me, that would be Human Nature/The Family of Blood, but certainly not a bad trilogy.

 

[Cutter John]

I thought all three parts were very good. But like most, I just felt let down by the infamous 'Jesus Doctor' resolution.

 

[Thrall]

John Simm is, IMHO, the best Master ever. That is all.

 

[Sci]

John Simm is, IMHO, the best Master ever. That is all.

No.... Sir Derek Jacobi is the best Master ever.

 

[wamdue]

John Simm is, IMHO, the best Master ever. That is all.

No.... Sir Derek Jacobi is the best Master ever.

only in terms of %, sure he was 100% brilliant as the Master for 30 seconds, but that isnt enough.

 

[Sci]

John Simm is, IMHO, the best Master ever. That is all.

No.... Sir Derek Jacobi is the best Master ever.

only in terms of %, sure he was 100% brilliant as the Master for 30 seconds, but that isnt enough.

Fair enough. But I believe in leaving the audience wanting more.

 

[Chris227]

Jacobi actually does play the Master in the "Scream of the Shalka" audio, which was the 'official' continuation of Doctor Who until the new series pretty much contradicted it.

I think Roger Delgado's probably the best Master, myself. Although he only appeared alongside one Doctor (Pertwee) due to his untimely death, he defined the role and the sucessors haven't quite 'got it', even a stellar actor like Jacobi-although he came close to Delgado's menace.

It's obvious that RTD is a fan of the Delgado master, as a ton of references to his Master stories are in there-Delgado's line with the watch, the mention of Axons and Sea Devils, and the Master often wore a suit similar to Simm's.

 

[Sci]

I think Roger Delgado's probably the best Master, myself. Although he only appeared alongside one Doctor (Pertwee) due to his untimely death, he defined the role and the sucessors haven't quite 'got it', even a stellar actor like Jacobi-although he came close to Delgado's menace.

I have to preface this by noting that I've never seen Delgado's Master, but I get the sense that Jacobi wasn't trying to "get" anything any previous actor had done with the role; he was playing it as he thought it should be played.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

All three eps. got progressly better and the finale was incredible,

I'd say it's the complete opposite for me. I loved Utopia, found TSoD to be fairly entertaining, and loathed LoTL. Though I think Fear Her is the worst episode on a techincal standpoint, I rank LoTL as my least favorite episode because it squandered so much potential.

Or, to paraphrase Roger Ebert, "I hated, hated, hated this episode!"