How Doctor Who Pulled Off Its Best Twist
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- Опубликовано: 4 ноя 2020
- In 2007, Doctor Who brought back The Master with a bang in the episode Utopia, but does it deserve the praise?
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that because the BBC is losing money left and right due to people saying no to a tv license
oh and how they succeeded
it all down to something the BBC lacks now
subtlety
oh and the reveal I saw coming but I tell you something
that reveal was probably the best in the series
Cybermen was foretold by the title and same with the daleks so it weakened the stories by allowing us to know who is in it, probably the biggest problem with any story is the inclusion of any preexisting monster
daleks always mentioned in the titles except for the chase
Cybermen are similar with practically every story mentioning them
the master is never in the title so always gives a surprise
Thank you...this was a great analysis
Can you do a video on torchwood: children of earth eventually. Way way better than all the other series .. in fact it’s some of the best dark sci-fi involving an alien I’ve ever seen on tv.. and by far the darkest thing In the doctor who universe. The fact it was all created and mostly written by RTD Is so evident compared to the massively more engaging yet terrifying story and complex characters.. plus peter capaldis best performance in the dr who universe .. certainly better than his performance as the doctor himself.. the only thing that comes close is heaven sent - Peter capaldi is an amazing actor however this proves an actor is only as good as the script/direction.. which imo started to turn sour in moffats final years.
Anyway series 3 is so much better than the chibnall run first two seasons and the Americanised mess that was season 4.
@@snakedaemongaming6590 I mean Army of Ghosts didn't reveal the daleks or the cybermen. That's why the reveals at the end of the episode were so shocking.
Still a crime that Jacobi only got 4 Minutes as the Master
Big Finish are on track to make him one of the Masters with the most appearances, though, which I think is fair compensation
what 4 minutes on screen, 6 volume of big finish and scream of the shalka
Those four minutes sure were something though.
Always leave them wanting more I guess 😂
Tbh I'm glad that Jacobi was only in this episode, he's one of my faves but he would have been tonally out of place for the rest of that story
Utopia is one of the most underrated episodes ever. The build up to the cliffhanger is so intense the last 20 minutes are pure gold
And it contained an even bigger spoiler...
Mankind (on atleast the "classic series/whoniverse" Earth) will in (spoiler 5145AD) be saved to a "harddrive" as that Earth falls to the Daleks it is turned into new Skaro after that. ( mankind is taken to Trenzalore) in the 2nd biggest spoiler ever in DW...In the newly completed "RIVERS"
Its no where near underrated
Even the pacing tells you something is wrong you know, there’s almost no real tension other than getting the rocket to utopia for 3/4 of the episode
All the plot twists, and the killing robots, and the to be lucifer role, and everything is so good.
@@kennethnystrom593 what none of that is mentioned
Best and mostly unnoticed part of this episode is that for once, they made the clothes baggy on the Master when he regenerated. This always used to frustrate me when the new incarnation would fit perfectly into the last one’s clothes despite being a different size. However when the Master regenerates you can see that Simm is smaller than Jacobi and his clothes are baggy and hang loosely on him. It’s such a small detail but I’m glad they finally got it right.
i’ve always loved that little detail! simm is drowning in jacobi’s shirt lmao
To be fair, they did have Sylvester McCoy tripping over in Colin Baker’s clothes like he was trying to get out of a collapsed tent.
9-12 are all around 5’11- 6’1 and skinny/lean, so I guess they would have been fine in each other’s clothes.
I’ve always wondered what happened offscreen with the 9th Doctor though, since Christopher Eccleston is nearly half a foot taller than John Hurt. That must be why they didn’t show the full regeneration; they didn’t want to ruin the impact of the moment by showing Eccleston ripping through Hurt’s clothes :P
@@TheLegacyofHitchcock Well eccleston wasn't in day of the doctor otherwise they would have. And another thing is that Tennant is the most skinny so ecclestons clothes were visibly loose on him
I liked seeing when Capaldi turned into Foster, precisely because the wedding ring fell off her finger. Not much of that season was worth watching, but that visual hit me hard.
@@donnalysan I think you mean Capaldi turned into Whittaker lmao
On Martha. There is one line here that her detractors always bring up. "She was blonde, oh what a surprise!"
This line gets used as evidence that she is needy and ungrateful. What some people don’t realise is that this is a call back to her very first episode "smith and jones". This is a reminder of the fact that her parents are separated, her father having run off with a younger, prettier woman. A woman who is blonde.
This line is a call back to that part of her backstory. She has seen her mother get discarded in favour of a pretty blonde and here she is expressing her fear that the same will happen to her.
So of course she is frustrated. She is seeing history repeating itself, only this time it’s not her mother being discarded. It is her.
It’s not a general exclamation against pretty blondes. It’s a personal expression of dismay against her own father and her stepmother.
Dude. I never knew about it. I love Rose, I also love Martha. I hated how she is regarded as the most annoying companion, because she fell in love with the doctor who was still hung up on Rose. She is only human and she left the doctor on her decision because she was in love and needed to move on, which is a cool thing to do. I guess some people didn't like her for leaving the doctor as well i suppose.
After what you said, that just bring a little more depth and meaning to her character. I feel stupid for missing that detail.
Don't forget. The nurse/love interest in Family of Blood was also Blonde
@@nayminthu1671 It wasn't the whining that bothered me. I just didn't like the way the doctor was constantly sending her mixed signals. The first thing he did was kiss her, then he kept inventing reasons for her to stay, the whole time talking about Rose. It's like watching the nice guy get friendzoned when you know he would be so much happier with someone else.
@@donnalysan Martha is my *absolute fav*, because of exactly how she dealt with the Doctor being shitty and giving her mixed signals -- she walked away head held high but still will be there (in S4) when the Doctor needs help. She doesn't cheapens her values or integrity just because someone behaved shite-ly.
Plus, she literally walked the earth to spread the words about The Doctor to save humanity, come oooon that's an intensely taxing and difficult work, she could die, but she got it done. I'm just amazed by Martha. An absolutely brilliant person.
@@MilA-eh3gf THANK YOU!! Martha is my favorite as well, I didn't even know people find her annoying. I would say Amy or Clara are the annoying ones, but that's just me.
i do wish the opening credits had Captain Jack hanging off the side. I think Russel T Davies has said he regretted not doing so because it would of been quite funny. There is a video which has been made by somebody who has done just that
What video?
@@visibletonone.superiortoal2033 this one! It's hilarious ruclips.net/video/4M9NwiIwB6Q/видео.html
@@Eden._.garden thanks and it is hilarious!
The Moffat era would have done that
@@baders087 moffatt era was dull and too americanised.
It's almost jarring to think how immediately absent Jack is from the viewers' minds in The Christmas Invasion
When they left Jack behind i never really forgot about him and wondered when he would come back. I was only 10 or 11 at the time but i never forgot lol
@@Venemofthe888 And then he got his own series, but if you're parents were like mine then you'd never have watched it because you were young and it was on late (9pm) lol
@@sunnystrathern8396 yh i wasn't allowed to watch it until 2011 when i turned 16 in the summer although by then I lost interest in seeing it at the time
Ah fuck you’re right, I’m on a marathon and literally after parting of the ways and beginning Christmas invasion i forgot about him
@@sunnystrathern8396 As a child I knew that Torchwood existed but I never knew when it was on and always got the impression that it was an adult show. I almost saw it at someone else's house but was kicked out of the room for being too young at the time.
Russell really struggled with the idea that Jack just so happens to be in the TARDIS when it goes to the end of the universe. Too big a coincidence. Took him months to realise the TARDIS goes to the end of the universe _because_ of Jack. It's the simple plot beats you take for granted.
where did you get this background production info?
@@vorpalweapon4814 If its true, that actually works wonderfully. If its not, it makes one hell of a headcanon that I totally subscribe to regardless.
Well the face of Bo died eons before the universe ended so idk about that.
@@wayneigoe6722i am pretty sure they mention this in the episode though. That the tardis was trying to get as far away from Jack as it could because he's a complicated space/time event or a paradox maybe. I can't remember the exact reasoning but it is touched on.
@ninamatthews8747 boes implied to be jack who's a time traveller though, so that wouldn't matter
I love the fear in David Tennant's face when he hears the reveal from Martha and realizes what the "YANA" name meant. Because he knows who it is. He knows the one Time Lord that even the hell of the Time Lord couldn't kill. He knows it wouldn't be anyone else but his oldest friend at the end of the universe waiting for him ...
It's a tragedy that Derek Jacobi never got to return on screen as the master. A more classic take would have been nice seeing as all the new who masters seems somewhat similar and he's so good and imposing on the audios. Also Jack should have been hanging on the outside of the tardis during the intro sequence. Any who, it's a great episode, a-s tier for sure
I believe in the commentary of the episode, Davies himself says he wishes they'd put Jack on the TARDIS in the intro. Would have been the perfect touch!
Him hanging on to the TARDIS in the title screen would have been absolutely hilarious
i always thought when simm’s master returned in series 10 he was very classic. i think that alongside jacobi’s (incredible) take on the character is the closest to a classic style master we’ll get in new who
Russel t Davies: I’m not gonna bring the master back
Russel t Davies turning to the camera: now, I’m about to pull what is called a Pro Gamer Move
Remember when doctor who was on track to have a tv universe prior to the MCU. Look what we got instead, sarah jane is tragically had to end, torchwood kept killing off good characters and no spin off show has had that much success since. Even later seasons have completely ignored previous companions/ story arcs. We will never get another Journey's End ever again.
there was also Class later on which wasnt very interesting all the time and was very under advertised. It could of been interesting with where they were going with it but it got cancelled.
I do wish there were spin offs again not limited to Big Finish.
My least liked thing about the show is what happened post tennant, the total axing of the built up universe, and what felt like a scrubbing of the events of tennant and eccleston's runs from the universe - there was practically no mention of big events like the racnoss star, the christmas invasion, the whole reality bomb thing - it felt like the show had gone from an interconnected, slowly evolving and expanding universe to a by the numbers freak of the week show. and i know that most of classic who followed that format (with exceptions) but after the writing that had been around since the revival it felt wrong.
@@Drengade yep, totally, Moffat wanted a new slate and wiped it clean with series 5 but it took away everything built for the prior 5 years or so.
@@Drengade There were some subtle nods in Series 5 I think with the return of the Daleks, the Weeping Angels and River Song which called back to the RTD era but overall I agree, this became even more apparent during Capaldi's run and even more so during Whittaker's run, the only exceptions being the return of John Simm's Master and a brief return of Jack.
Honestly I think that's good. Doctor Who is constantly evolving. We don't get all the answers to everything and while that annoys us a new watcher wouldn't know anything if one day the Zarbi begin talking about The Green Lake Lodge's betrayal of The Paradigm Daleks.
I _adored_ Utopia, The Sound of Drums, and The Last of the Time Lords so much. I really, really miss the continuity heavy episodes with such smart storytelling with the visual cues, verbal cues, even musical cues you mentioned!
Still do the tap thing sometimes.
@@kahlzunhere come the drums...
I love john Simm's portrayal of the master. I love how when making a mad man do good things seem fun. But when a mad man does bad things he looks like a psychopath
I'm surprised you interpreted the Doctor's unwillingness to believe Yana has a fob watch as him not wanting (and even dreading) the return of another Time Lord. I never saw it that way. At that stage, he has no reason to fear Yana, so I don't think alarm bells would be ringing for him.
I always read that scene as the opposite - that another surviving Time Lord is something Ten wants so badly he can't even let himself hope for it. He does say "depends which one", yes, but I don't think that fear is foremost in his mind. It seems more like a throwaway remark. To me that scene is more about a terrible hope than a terrible fear.
It's laying the groundwork for The Last Of The Time Lords, when we see that Ten would rather have the Master regenerate and have to keep an eye on him forever than go back to being the last of his people. The hope he hardly let himself feel in this moment is fully and horribly dashed when he's cradling the Master's body, begging him to just regenerate. That scene and the fact that he's been waiting all this time just to FORGIVE the Master . . . it all made it so clear to me. The Doctor isn't afraid of the Master. He's afraid of being alone again.
It's so well done. I just plain love Utopia.
Exactly what you said! I see it the same way.
Gosh S3 just destroys me, I haven't re-watched it in many years because I couldn't bring myself to do it another time. The Family of Blood story, Gridlock, Daleks in Manhattan
Every time I watch the Master's storylines I get too sad - sad for The Master bring screwed over since childhood, sad for the Doctor losing his friend and home, sad for the Doctor ultimately always is alone, sad for all the shit Martha/Wilfred went through (in each of the two Masters stories).
I don't know, even other than the master, after the time war....the time lords are mostly not great to have around?
Plus, y'know, he sorta killed them all. So.. guilt?
@@FFKonoko I think it's a combo of both, he knows it could be someone horrible like Rassilon, or his best friend...(the master)
My favorite thing about the Russel T. Davies era is the continuity between the seasons. It makes it feel like everything is taking place in the same universe where all the characters live. While I enjoyed the Moffat era, it was never quite as much because the whole thing had a weaker through thread, almost like you could skip a whole season and not have any issue coming back - that's good in some regards, but not my personal favorite thing.
I agree with you 1000%
It's weird you think that - the Moffat era is MUCH more continuity focused than RTD's era. That's a fact; you basically have to binge Matt Smith's entire run as The Doctor to even follow and make sense of all the plot threads
I can rewatch any episode of RTD's era and enjoy it, but it's a struggle with Moffat's era
You can't skip episodes/a whole season with Moffat but you can with RTD (though yes, RTD's era also has some satisfying continuity as well and I love that)
You have it the wrong way round mate
Is it just me? Or are the "drums" that are driving the Master insane actually the back beat of the Dr. Who theme?
I just... oh.
10 years, 10 years I have lived my life without realising this, what a waste.
Yeah, cause the Master first heard then when he looked into the time vortex
How the hell haven’t you all noticed?
The drums (four beats) are the sound of a time lord’s dual heartbeat, which is part of the opening theme and the master’s musical motif.
@@regulargoat7259 yeah they're the first four beats of two sets of triplets
I always feel so bad for the professor. At the end of the day, he was a good person who ended up tricked and viciously murdered by the Master. But will anyone cry for "the decoy"?
I like to think that personality is the masters original
The one the doctor was friends with in their childhood
@@DogsRNice I think Yana is a less or in a certain perspective more mature master, Yana decided to spend his **allegedy finite time using his talents to help all there was left of humanity while when he finds out about his identity and immortality he believes that he deserves more than what he was given and begins to undo his work in disgust.
Overall series 3 is very underrated. People really don't like this series but apart from literally 2 episodes this is a solid series. It's got great writing and acting in it and everything is just sleek and polished. I really enjoy series 3 whenever i do a rewatch i genuinely look forward to this series. I think because Rose was so beloved and because of that they didn't warm to Martha is the reason why this series gets a lot of hate. But i actually prefer Martha over Rose and i always found series 2 to be kind of weaker in terms of stories and writing. Like it's not terrible but it''s not great. So yeah and this episode is brilliant and i mean if you have a legend like Sir Derek Jacobi you know he is gonna be acting his goddamn socks off. And i just love Captain Jack. He is a whole mood i am always down for and sometimes has the best lines.
out of interest, what are the two eps of the series that you dont think are as good? :)
@@trxnchfoot I think she's referring to The Lazarus Experiment, and 42. I haven't seen many people talk fondly of those two episodes.
@@cynicat74 yeah those are pretty non-episodes everything else is top doctor who
My favorite moment in this episode is Yana's "I was found with it" line. The continuing buildup, the delivery, and the soundtrack just work so well together there for me, and it establishes so many things at once that it always feels overwhelming to hear. Martha's just asked where he got the watch, seemingly in an attempt to find another explanation (reminding me of Lovecraftian tales where the protagonists desperately try to come up with an alternate explanation to deny what they're seeing), but Yana's response is the final nail in the coffin that tells the audience "no, there is no other explanation, this is happening and there's no going back". At the same time, I can never help but feel so sorry for Yana as a character in this moment -- much like Mr. Smith, his life is tragic, starting as an orphan left in the street. The soundtrack's (for lack of a better word) disregard for the line as it continues to ramp up the dread of the Master highlights how little the Master cares about Yana, how this character's whole tragic life is just a lie. On top of all this, Jacobi's performance marks this as the point when Yana is finally catching on, seeing past the perception filter, making the audience just as scared as Martha as we realize he's about to open the watch himself.
The only thing that would make Utopia even better, would be an intro with jack on the outside of the tardis.
I raise you with the soundbyte of the bombshell cowboy from the end of Dr. Strangelove bein used during the journey to the end of time.
I really wouldn't be surprised if they tried but it just ended up looking awful so they decided to cut it
This episode was my introduction to the Master, and it was one of the most thrilling things I'd ever witnessed.
Kinda similar here. I grew up with the Russel T Davis lead series. I knew who the Master was, but this was the first time I'd seen an episode with the character so I think I felt a glimmer of what that must have felt like for long-time fans. Fear and wonder, a powerful combination of emotions.
I love how you synced up you and Martha saying "time and space" at 14:55. Brilliant editing mate
It was actually a complete accident! But of course, once I noticed it I had to keep it there
The SFX of the Tardis doors being deadlocked is just great. It’d be fantastic to have that as a ring tone or something.
Jacobi! Master is so underrated. The way he portrayed the character especially with the subtle cues and gestures really made the twist reveal amazing. Without his amazing performance the twist wouldn't have worked half as well.
Jacobi is my favourite Master by far. I haven't experienced all his stories but they're meant to be amazing
Agreed. I think I’m gonna have to give his audio dramas a listen 👀
@@kdrew257 I love how you say you'll give it a listen and then you use the eyes emoji...amazing
you know your doing a goodjob as an actor when you become someones favourite incarnation of a character with only your voice. same with mcgann.
@@becauseimapotato7599 lmfao
I think the "You Are Not Alone" phrase was a mnemonic device employed by the Face of Boe to remember that key information he had to give to the Doctor.
Despite the Master not being in Day of the Doctor, we could have had the War Doctor face the Jacobi's master during the time war for one minute. Did I hear Welsh quarry? I thought Classic Who did Quarries for planets- the next time a quarry is filmed for a planet, the Doctor should say, "why do all planets look like quarries?" Shame Anthony Ainley died in 2004 before the new series started, he would have loved and more of a shame for Roger Delgado since he never saw the future of his character; they would have loved this twist and the Master becoming Prime Minister in the next episode. Edit: It would be a cliche for the Master and the Doctor to be brothers- no wonder the tenth doctor looked at Martha and said, "you've been watching too much tv."
I believe In the 4th doctor story the hand of fear he lands in an actual quarry on earth and mistakes it for an alien planet
(Edit) actually it was Sarah who mistook it for an alien planet, but still basically the same idea
“Oh look! Rocks!”
-Fourth Doctor, Destiny of the Daleks
"All those endless rock quarries..." -Rowan Atkinson's 9th Doctor - from a wilderness years comic relief special written by Steven Moffat
13 years later, and I still haven't managed to work 'indomitable' in a sentence.
Yet I have somehow use the word 'defenestrate' in a sentence (it means to throw someone out of a window)
What was the sentence you used 'defenestrate' in?
@@eddiefenton6309 just saying that if they didn't shut up I would defenestrate them (to be fair I'd just learnt it and really wanted to use it that day)
I wish we saw Chantho's species again at some point! she was pretty interesting
A very memorable character for a one time only .
Her species is from near the end of the universe so unless the show goes back to that era we probably wont
@@DogsRNice humans lasted that long. We don't know when they came about. Also the end of the universe is like what a billion years? A while
@@user-jn1wm3tb8v the year 100 trillion
Its implied by the doctor that the humans in the episode are not actually **humans as we know them, rather a product of convergant evolution that gave way the dominant human form which also might explain why more non humanoid species like chantho look like people in costumes.
I love this story, I love jack and the Torchwood connections, the ending is amazing aswell
This is why I loved RTD stories. At first watching, every episode felt like it was a stand-alone. But they are all tight together.
The level of analysis in these videos... takes me back to GCSE English, only it's material that I would've loved to look at, rather than bloody Of Mice and Men and that weird one with the faceless soldier
As someone who never saw classic who, I still knew the master was bad news the moment the Doctor charged at Martha, practically screaming in her face. The way she shrank back and the way it caught Jack’s attention really drove it home that This Was Serious.
One thing I'm not sure if you noticed in this episode. If you look at Yana's lab, if you want to call it that. It looks very subtly like an interior to a TARDIS. Several gadgets that we don't really know what they do surround a center area that helps make things run, with the door to the TARDIS off to the side in the background. It literally is Jacobi's TARDIS!
Can't remember where I heard this but someone said a good twist should become suspense on a re-watch, like originally it came out of nowhere and surprised you but if you watch again it becomes a ticking timebomb you're waiting to go off.
This was a three part story.
Utopia the sound of drums and last of the time lords
He’s even put Voyage of the Damned as a Series 3 episode, which is NOT true. It was part of the Series 4 production, making that a Series 4 episode. The Runaway Bride was produced alongside Series 3, making that the Christmas special for this series.
Well yeah, I am aware the Series 3 finale is a 3 part story, but would you have watched an hour and 40 minute video on it? Probably not. It's easier to make them separate reviews, especially because each of the three episodes are so drastically different with their own identities.
Also, I know Voyage of the Damned was made as part of Series 4. I just think it has more in common with Series 3 because of the Titanic cliffhanger of LotTL and the use of 'The Stowaway' being about The Doctor and Martha. Apart from the Wilf retcon, there's not as much in common with Series 4, hence it being on the S3 tier list, just like Christmas Invasion and Runaway Bride were on the Series 2 tier list
Harbo Wholmes Yeah dw its better this way, anyway Harry's haunted house made a 3 part review so this spices things up
@@HarboWholmes I very much would have watched an hour 40 minute on it
I did see this twist coming with “Saxon” being someone who knew about the Doctor as well as the Face of Boe prophecy. But this was done so well.
Part one of my favourite doctor who story of all time. I have watched this episode so many times, and it is good to see that you like it so much as well. I did not think I would be able to appreciate it even more than I already did, but it was a joy to watch this one pointing out all the little details of which I even missed some before like how they set up the power cord. Great work as always!
25:38 yessss. Regardless of its shock value, Utopia is just a genuinely great story which perfectly finalises Series 3, as well as setting up the final chapter of the story.
Spyfall: Part 1 / 2 and Fugitive are such b-tec Utopias, it's pretty frustrating considering how poorly the effect is replicated.
Series 12 insults me.
@@nightowl8477 Tbf to Spyfall, World Enough and Time had already copied its homework. Pretty much every Master story since this two-parter has been a redo of this to an extent. And Spyfall does bring ONE new thing to the table, it's the kind of twist we've become expected to see in a finale, not a series opener so it takes us of guard more its a pretty decent subversion. Dark Water is literally just the same twist but we've been seeing Missy all this time so it's no longer, the incidental seemingly friendly character turns out to be the main villain but the person we already knew to be the main villain turns out to be a previous villain.
Jacobi with no beard looks weird after 5 boxsets with a beard
Can relate.
I always love it when people use the old writer's thing of "Chekov's Vortex Manipulator"
That blond kid was a Blue Peter Competition Winner 'The Skies are made of Diamonds'...yikes
I like the Martha and Chantho parallel, of course the next two episodes have a Rose and Lucy parallel. Blonde, 'requited' in a way she's his wife, he took her to the end of the universe, look at her hair when she's in the red dress, look at Rose's hair in the Empty Child.
This perfection of a 3 parter could have easily been avoided if Martha would have said, "Could I have a look at that Watch real quick"
I think what also works well about this cliffhanger (on first viewing) is that a pattern had been established over Series 1 and 2 of a two-parter series finale with more lowkey single-part episode before that (Boom Town and Fear Her). The viewer goes into Utopia thinking it won't have much relevance to the finale making the big twist and cliffhanger all the more powerful.
I havent watched this episode in at least 6 years, but damn if I cant VIVIDLY hear Captain Jack saying "Regeneration, regeneration, regeneration..." echoing in the masters head lmao
Jacobi is to the master what Paul McGann is to The Doctor, criminally underrated, robbed of screentime and brought to life by big finish
It’s almost poetic how those two ended up being paired up together in a couple of series
The reveal of the Master was awesome, as was the reveal of who the Toglaphane were. I think the only thing that tops it for me, is at the end of Turn Left when Donna mentions Bad Wolf, and we then see Bad Wolf written everywhere.
I like to think The Master was the one who sent out the distress signal to begin with so he could show up as the humans “saviour” and turn them into the toclafae
What do you mean like to think thats literally what happens
I was a classic Who fan coming into this, and can say for definite that the Master reveal gave me goosebumps 100% at the time. What a moment! Loved it. I still look back incredibly fondly, and I love Jacobi in the role.
I like that Jack mentioning the new face at the beginning and the doctor explaining the hand later let's new viewers know about regeneration. Otherwise the master's own would have been suuuuper confusing
I wanted to watch this whole thing but the fact you end every sentence with the same cadence just drove me crazy
And now, I can't unhear it.
In a lot of ways, the twist makes rewatching even better. You sit there, in constant tension, watching it, seeing every detail, trying to see the moment each character understood
I once got so carried away when rewatching this episode that I accidently watched it all.
This episode is amazing especially with Jack finally getting to understand why he doesn't die was a really good pay off for people who watched Torchwood have been looking forward to this review for a long time Harbo
Derek Jacobi's performance was absolutely incredible in this. He's truly a Master of his craft.
I still wish the new Master were Derek Jacobi for a season or two.
Highly recommend his Big Finish run.
Remembering how good this master reveal was, even to me who had never seen a classic who episode, really puts in perspective how terrible the Chibnall master reveal was. It was so bad, especially concidering the pretty awesome Missy reveal of Moffat era
"well I couldn't just keep calling myself "the master", could I?
There is also a parallel between Jack and the Master in this episode, Jack resents his immortality because he gave his mortal life for a cause that he believed in only for that to backfire on him while the Master, once he regains his memories lashes out at the world around him because he spent his mortal life helping people he believed were inferior to himself.
Gotta say I love Season 10's twist more. Not just the fact that John Sim's master returned in the way he did but that everything that happened that episode was all for naught. That the doctor who always takes pride in being able to save everybody, couldn't save Bill. It's so sad and one of the real darker moments of the show when Bill tells the doctor in the cyber suit that she waited for him hoping to be saved eventually. That to me is my favorite twist. But yeah this one is great too
I was just thinking I needed something good to listen to while I finally drag myself up to make breakfast! Great timing and great job!
This is the beauty of this entire finale. Everything gets seeded in in such a way that you are under the impression that this was the plan all along (as far back as the Christmas Invasion) and not a new idea for this season. And that takes great skill.
The episode is wonderful, but the episode where Oswald is inside a dalek is the ultimate doctor who twist
19:58 This video has been lost to hundreds of other Dr. Who reactions from NuWho fans (and I know because I've gone looking), but back in the early 2010s when I was watching this episode, I looked up "Utopia reaction" on RUclips and found a six-minute-long video of two women watching Utopia. At around the time Jack and Martha start talking about the Timelords and how the Doctor might not be alone, one of the women went "What if it's him?! Oh _Ch**st,_ what if it's him?!" and the other woman was a bit slow to respond, but by the time the episode ramped into high gear they were both obviously excited, and when Yana delivered that line they both started screaming. It was amazing. To this day, I think that is the only Classic Who fan reaction I've ever seen...and now it's lost in here somewhere. I hope it turns up again.
This entire season, culminating in the fantastic final three episodes, is one of the greatest seasons of television I've ever seen. The way RTD seeded the thing throughout the season was absolutely brilliant, and the payoff was magnificent.
I think so much of the power of this episode is fueled by the riveting performance of the great Sir Derek Jacobi, one of the finest actors the UK has ever produced. I think Davies knew that to reintroduce the iconic character of the Master into the universe of New Who, and make it clear to the audience just how dangerous and utterly terrifying he was, would require an actor of extraordinary caliber and experience. How lucky he-----and we----were that they got Jacobi to play this part! Just watch the expressions changing so subtly on his face as he ever-so-gradually undergoes the transformation from lovable eccentric professor to the evil timelord with the will to destroy everything in the universe. An amazing and compelling tour-de-force. A true Master of the craft at work (pun intended).
The Last 14 minutes of this episode is my favorite part of any modern who story easily, this was more so for the classic series fan like myself, and the introduction of the fob watch idea from human nature was brilliant, amazing acting, drama and tension that is very much lacking from the modern series most of the time, just awesome, and the first proper master regeneration too
Growing up watching Dr Who (Troughton is my Doctor) and also watching Jacobi in numerous shows (I Claudius, Cadfael, etc.), I was surprised to see him in this episode. You don't normally get someone of his calibre in DW. But then when he turns out to be the Master, ... mind blown. How perfect is this!
Utopia is an episode that I can't re-watch without giving myself some time to sit and digest, go away read a book or two, and finish more seasons. I remember feeling absolutely heartbroken the first time discovering that Yana was The Master, cos I was looking forward to the Doctor gaining an equal with whom he could discuss knowledge and history and the universe with, who's a friend... S3 just kept making me think "gosh the Doc just can't catch a break."
I've re-watched S4 many times, because Donna is what's needed after a darker and more emotional season like S3, but gosh S3 might be one my my favourite seasons for the fact that it hits me the most every single time and I'm grateful that it exists. I'm so glad that Utopia is being appreciated; that episode really didn't waste the Master reveal, it played it to the max (with the aid of the *entire season 3* aka multiple previous episodes that set up all the continuity and stakes - including and not limited to: the Doc and Martha being outsmarted by the villain/the Weeping Angels, Harold Saxon becoming the Prime Minister).
In "The Family of Blood", there is a part towards the end of the episode where Latimer states that it (the fob watch) wants to be found. For those who wanted to see more of the war master, search "Derek Jacobi" up with big finish productions.
So weird! This just popped up in my recommended after I re-watched this earlier today! Re-watched the first seven seasons at the start of lockdown and now just picking my favourite episodes.
The whole series with Martha/Freema Agyeman is probably my favourite one - the Saxon storyline and some of the best individual episodes ever written. The thing that stands out about Eutopia especially is the beginning and the finish. The music is fantastic and just grips you and gets your heart going. The Futurekind are probably one of the scariest creatures I've seen too.
God I just love Tennant era Doctor Who
Posting this on a bunch of your videos to help metrics:
Thank you so much for making this series. Doctor Who was my favourite tv show as a kid, and was literally the only interest that every member of my family had in common, so it was very special to us growing up. Watching all your deep dives into each of the NuWho episodes has been a very nostalgic experience for me, so thank you thank you xx
Definitely some of my favourite cinematography in the show (do I say that every week?), the swooping zoom as Yana opens the watch is one of favourite shots in the show.
Your videos are so good, every time I watch one I have to actively fight myself off from going and rewatching the episode in question (or the entire series)
I didn’t see classic who before this but I can just imagine the gasps when old fans heard Ainley’s laugh and Deldago’s voice
Only thing I don’t like is the YANA thing, meaning You Are Not Alone.
It just doesn’t make sense. Still great though.
The Professor’s lab being set out to look like a TARDIS is brilliant, too.
One of my absolute favourites.
This is one of the best cliffhangers in all of New Who. In my opinion Utopia is my favourite out of the three part finale, it is a perfect epilogue to the finale
Love this video. Made me nostalgic, I can hear the 1oth theme in my head. I am off to re watch Utopia which I initially overlooked. You've got a new sub :)
The Only NuWho Twist involving the Master that doesnt suck.
aye, Moffat's and Chibnall's were both cop-outs... Moffat's based on the fact he gave a rather b.s statement of "Nobody would know who the Rani is" (Despite Missy being a passable villain in subsequent stories), while Chibnall's was based on how it was as much of a last ditch effort as Piccolo screaming "Nail Gun" from the top of his lungs and getting decked to near death by Imperfect Cell in Dragonball Z Abridged...
@@JoesAnimationHub A fellow DBZA Fan? Neat
I think the Missy reveal wasn't bad
And wasn’t spoiled by the BBC. **cough** World Enough and Time **cough**
I agree with you about Utopia. It is a classic amoung classics! If The Last of the Time Lords didn't have a disappointing ending, the three last episodes of Season 3 would be an almost unbeatable experience!
I really wanted you just did ALL EPISODE REVIEW REALLY QUICK. BECAUSE I LOVEEE URRR REVIEWWWSSSSS BUTT I HATE TO WAIT
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One of my favorite little bits about that episode - BILLIONS of years have passed, it's the end of the universe. Stars burnt out. Life as concept comes to an end. Last grains of humanity cling to a flimsy hope built of what little remains of civilization. Kalashnikov is still there to dissuade any external threats.
I absolutely love utopia my favourite of the three parter. Derek Jacobi was amazing as the master, he had such a threatening presence about him but so calculated, he was brilliant. Plus the build up to the watch being opened is unreal.
I personally think the spyfall twist still works well on rewatching, I think that's a fairly strong episode although the second part is not as good
Utopia is excellent of course. Series three is so underrated!
I do wish they had made hints about “Oh” before but yeah it’s completely unexpected but pretty obvious when rewatching
Which is fitting considering the spy theme of the episode
Been waiting for this one. Utopia is one of my absolute favorites and it's great to see so much love for it.
I also love the foreshadowing and character work. The futurekind is a foreshadowing of Toclofane reveal, the idea of the monsters humanity might become due to the end of the universe Jacobi is shot by his companion, foreshadowing not only Lucy shooting the Master and demonstrating how the Master's cruelty towards people he uses comes back to bite him (seriously after all those boxsets of him screwing people over I cheer when he gets shot) but it kinda mirrors Martha leaving the Dr. She's a faithful human companion who had a romantic interest in her timelord (reflecting Lucy) and was treated badly by her timelord, though of course to a lesser extent and her departure isn't revenge but just doing what's best for her.
The whole scene at the end tells you about each character, the Doctor is pleading with the Master trying to get his old friend back and no feel like the last of his species, he doesn't care about the monsters that are about to kill them, he barely even registers that Chantho is dead. Martha immediately goes to Chantho, she is the only one focused on the damage the Master does. This dynamic of the Dr seeing the Master as a victim, Martha seeing him as a monster is carried over into the next two episodes. And Jack is holding the door closed from the monsters, he's the pragmatist, the voice of reason, his time as the leader of Torchwood has given him a focus on the problem at hand and trying to keep his non-immortal friends safe.
See, it's like The Big Bang, characters are being characters!
I'm only teasing, this used to be my all-time favourite story, so well constructed. Plus Jacobi Master is best Master. Really need to get into the War audios.
@@nightowl8477 I'd totally recommend it, especially the first two, it's the scariest and most effective the Master has been and is my go to argument when Davis argues that the character needs to be retired.
I've always loved this episode, but I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis. It gave me a load of new perspectives on how good this episode is. Now all I've got to do is immediately go and rewatch the episode!
This is the video that got me to subscribe and I've caught up to it now on my dw rewatch... You nailed it. This episode gave me chills. The way the whole series seeds everything to build up to the twist is just - uh - masterful
I remember when I was watching the third season, i was talking with some friends on Discord, one of whom had seen it before. When I finished Gridlocked, I asked him if the “you are not alone” secret would come back later or be forgotten, I asked him not to give me any details, just a yes or no answer. I am so glad he responded with “don’t worry, it comes up, and you’re going to love it.” To make a long story short, he was not wrong. I hadn’t even watched any classic doctor who, except the first episode, but not the first story, of John Pertwee’s Third Doctor, and despite not knowing who The Master was, I still loved Utopia
25:40 That's one major reason why I for one don't mind spoilers. A show should be good even if you already know the twist. If knowing the twist ruins the work then was it really any good to begin with?
Derek Jacobi is my faverourite incarnation of the Master, and I love this episode.
When I was little, I used to watch Doctor Who like a total time traveller, picking random episodes from random seasons and watching things completely out of order. Several years later, I started rewatching the show in the broadcast order. It was strange, as I'd occasionally have tiny bits of foreknowledge, but never the full story.
Simm is my favourite master for modern but my favourite classic master is ainley
On the subject of being on the nose for 18:20
I think it's really remarkable, it REALLY ties in to the whole reveal that Jack is the Face of Boe. Because NO ONE else would know that Yana was a Time Lord except for Martha and Jack. And for him to tie in the message like it's a code (after having what, 5 billion years to think about it?), I know it was likely just totally coincidental, but it really landed for me once we circled back around for when Jack made that cheeky reveal.
I don’t know how intentional it was but I love that the drums in the masters head are the exact beats in the opening theme. Connecting his madness directly to the time vortex seen in the intro
Utopia is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. I watch it at least once a year. I'm going to rewatch it again tonight, motivated by your video. Thanks! :)
17:03 I always saw the Doctors refusal to entertain the idea of another timelord as him being scared to even hope there was another survivor. At this point in his story he's been the last of his kind for so many decades, that he couldn't even bear to have hope, that and having to tell them how exactly (he believes) the timewar ended.
No immortals allowed on the tardis
Can we all admit... that that scene where Jack is clinging to the TARDIS is one of the best... and cements jack's wonderful clingy girlfriend aesthetic?
so clingy he just doesn't die
fun fact if Davies and the team did not get permission to use the Daleks the Toclafane was going to be the new series answer to the Daleks