I don't usually watch SJA. I caught Tennant's episode last year, which was alright. However, I have just finished watching Death of the Doctor. I got to say, this was a really enjoyable and fun episode. I'm not exactly familiar with SJA, and my familiarty with classic Who is limited, but I found the episode to be very easy to follow, despite the extensive continuity nods. And since they did mention a few of the classic stories that I have seen, I got to take some part in the nostalgia. And I got to say the level of fun and adventure seen throughout is exactly what I've been looking for in sci-fi in recent years. Doctor Who delivers, sure, but sadly not a lot of other sci-fi programming does.
The writing is a bit simplistic at times, a by-product of being aimed at young children, I guess. The exterior of UNIT HQ looked very cartoony. I'm not trying to be critical of the visual effects, I mean the design itself was actually cartoony. And it is a bit weird to hear Matt Smith saying typical RTD type dialogue, like the bit where he referred the Shansheeth by their full grandiose title. I did like the description of where Amy and Rory were. A honeymoon. Literally a honey moon, it married an asteroid.
On the nitpick side, the Doctor says he looked in on Jo prior to his previous regeneration, adding he checked in on all his previous companions. First of all, The End of Time was already stretching credibility with him able to visit all the ones we saw in the time between his radiation poisoning and eventual regeneration. Now we're supposed to believe that in addition to all the RTD era companions, the Doctor visited another couple dozen or whatever people in the time between being exposed to lethal radiation and regeneration? And out of all the companions he's had, Rose is the one who has to get a special visit immediately before regeneration? Bit contrived, if you ask me.
Still, this is easily the best thing to have aired on television I watched since The Big Bang aired.
The writing is a bit simplistic at times, a by-product of being aimed at young children, I guess. The exterior of UNIT HQ looked very cartoony. I'm not trying to be critical of the visual effects, I mean the design itself was actually cartoony. And it is a bit weird to hear Matt Smith saying typical RTD type dialogue, like the bit where he referred the Shansheeth by their full grandiose title. I did like the description of where Amy and Rory were. A honeymoon. Literally a honey moon, it married an asteroid.
On the nitpick side, the Doctor says he looked in on Jo prior to his previous regeneration, adding he checked in on all his previous companions. First of all, The End of Time was already stretching credibility with him able to visit all the ones we saw in the time between his radiation poisoning and eventual regeneration. Now we're supposed to believe that in addition to all the RTD era companions, the Doctor visited another couple dozen or whatever people in the time between being exposed to lethal radiation and regeneration? And out of all the companions he's had, Rose is the one who has to get a special visit immediately before regeneration? Bit contrived, if you ask me.
Still, this is easily the best thing to have aired on television I watched since The Big Bang aired.