Procrastination man - Part 2

Right... now we're in trouble. Russel T Davies has done it again. He's given us a massive bonanza of a finale. With a plot that has many weaknesses - basically, once it's "the end of the universe", in the words of the Doctor, there is not much you can do short of a reset button. The basic plot itself is fairly weak, as Davros is brought back from the Time War (which we now know has been "timelocked", but it would seem, not impossible to access) and has a plan to destroy the universe. So far, so good. It's even fair enough that he needs to drag planets across the universe to do it. However, someone with such tremendous power could probably destroy the universe by other means, right? Ah well, never fear anyway, because the Doctor is there, and despite a situation which seems hopeless, he is going to save the day.
The Stolen Earth was pretty good, mind. It brought back all characters from the Whoniverse, including the spin-offs, as the Doctor was not there and Earth was left to fight on its own. Harriet Jones is probably the most interesting character that RTD has ever brought to life, as she stands by her actions and steers resistance. Rose blasts everything off, Torchwood remains calm in the hub under Dalek attack, Martha is given the mysterious "Osterhagen key", and we see all different kinds of reactions when faced with an invasion. What could have simply been a list of namechecks actually falls together into a consistent piece. Still, there are a few negative details on the Earth side of the episode. While John Barrowman seems to have found some acting ability back, it looks like Gareth Lloyd-Davies has lost all his talent. Hopefully he'll be better when Torchwood slimmed-down series three comes back. And, more importantly, the plothole of why the Daleks don't simply exterminate everything that moves. Indeed, the episode is sort of a Dalek Invasion of Earth mark II, except the Daleks don't need the slave force anymore (although admittedly, why they wanted to dig to the core of the Earth in Dalek Invasion of Earth is dubious) - and therefore there is no reason not to simply kill everyone off.
On the Doctor's side, however, things feel more like a massive checklist. The Shadow Proclamation is almost useless where the plotline is concerned, and very little is learned about it. The Medusa Cascade is another checked item in the list of references. As are the disappearing bees. Russel T Davies used to be subtler in his season arcs. Bad Wolf was explained, but was central to the plot of the episode; Torchwood did not need to be spelled out; Mr Saxon was central as well...
Still, some elements were implanted throughout the series and were solved more subtly in the second part of the finale, Journey's End. The famous Doctor-Donna idea, introduced in Planet of the Ood and even before that, was brilliant, and quite probably noone but Catherine Tate could have pulled off the three-level acting just that well. When Journey's End is concerned, it is much much better not to look at the plot at all, as it is pretty much a far too quick resolution of everything that was sown in the first part. What is great about episode 13 is what it allows for: the central question that resonates throughout Doctor Who of what it means to be human (as opposed to Time Lord). The Osterhagen key subplot (which could have as easily not been there), but more importantly Harriet Jones's reaction to it in the first part, is a clear example of what the human race is capable of doing when faced with imminent destruction.
Finally, we see what Russel T Davies does best: explore the relationships between the Doctor and his fellow travellers. Mickey stays behind with Martha (to join Torchwood? one can but hope, unlikely though it is!) as neither were ever in for the travelling bit. Rose has to leave the Doctor again, in a toned-down version of the beach scene from Doomsday. I am quite disappointed by the said scene, as it retroactively tones down the emotional intensity of the original scene. And then, there's Donna - and Wilf - in what may be the saddest end to a character ever, with the possible exceptions of Jamie and Zoe (who suffered just about the same fate, yet that was not explored in the original run of the series). Sadder than Rose, Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Adric - worse than death, forgetfulness. An Ood song in the background would have been good there.
Now there's no Doctor Who for ages. The Sarah Jane Adventures are coming back this autumn, quite fortunately, but the next proper Doctor Who story will be for Christmas 2008... and it does look good! Less Torchwood and much much less Doctor Who next year, though, as only four specials of the latter, and five episodes of the former, will be made. Ah well, it will give me a chance to catch up on the books!

Saturday 5th July was the date of broadcast of Doctor Who's finale. It was also the celebration of Revelation's 15th birthday. And yet, I chose something else over those two pretty amazing things. Jason Mraz was having a concert at Warwick, on campus - and he is making such awesome songs that the decision was easy.
Yet the pleasant surprise of the evening did not come from him. Some friends of his, the Makepeace brothers, were around, and even though they were not technically the opening act for Jason Mraz, they did an impromptu one-hour performance while people were queuing. Let alone the fact that such behaviour is nothing short of fantastic, so was their music - you're greatly encouraged to go and check them out!

They obviously took the opportunity to sell their EPs, which is fine insofar as now I have it (and all signed too! Come to think of it, I got a maths book signed that day too...)

Then came the actual concert! Disappointingly, for someone of international standing like Jason, and despite the bargainous price of £15, it did not sell out. The opening act was by someone called Gideon Corr - and it was funny enough, but not as good as either Jason or the Makepeace brothers. And after a 45-minute interval, we (at last) got the man - and it was so good!
What is amazing is that he seems to be really enjoying himself, interacting with the audience, telling stories about Lakeside geese (seriously). He is also the only artist I know of who's able to improvise a reggae on the imposed topic "panty", as the video proves.

Really a great great night out. Recordings of the concert are available here. Pity it didn't last longer!