That's the essence of the implications of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, as looked at yesterday. It's also the essence of this story, as we see things die and decay all around us, whether it be the planet of Logopolis, or the very nature of the series itself. On the physical side, we have the fact that entropy is now eating up vast chunks of the Universe. This comes to a head as Nyssa looks on a screen and quietly remarks that her planet has just been destroyed. She remarks on the fact that the Master has killed everything that she has ever loved and cared about, creating an emotional attachment to the mass destruction that is being done in this serial, and making things seem more serious. The serious nature continues as the Doctor is forced into an alliance with the Master, in order to save the Universe from this seemingly unstoppable threat.
But it's a different sort of Doctor that makes the deal with the Master. Tom Baker, as the Doctor, has been somewhat less jovial over the past series. There are less jokes, less moments to have fun, even his hair is less curly than it was when the series started. It's a more serious Doctor that makes the deal then, one who has had some weight hanging over him since the beginning of the series, in particular since the beginning of Logopolis, where a ghostly figure known as The Watcher has been haunting the Doctor across these four episodes, having quiet conversations with him that seem to make him slightly more resigned as a result. It's an interesting change to notice in the Doctor, an end to the laugh giving man who we first saw burst onto our screens in Robot, now a man approaching some unknown fate.
But this is one of several changes that have been occurring within this series. We've lost Romana and K9, replaced with Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, characters with whom we don't have the same emotional connection. They're a different breed of companion, with a woman who doesn't necessarily want to be on an adventure, a young boy eager to learn about the Universe, and a quiet young girl with a keen scientific intellect. But it's not just their basic character that differentiates them from everyone else, it's their relationship with the Doctor. Because the Doctor is more serious, we don't have the sparkling wit and strong chemistry with the Doctor that went into every companion before them, from Sarah Jane to Romana, instead we just have a selection of supporting characters that happen to travel on the TARDIS with the Doctor.
But the Doctor's found himself in trouble. Attempting to stop the Master from carrying out one last scheme, he finds himself hanging by a thread on a radio telescope. Haunted by his past foes, he loses grip and falls. We next see him lying on the ground, surrounded by his companions. But it's not just his new companions, all of them are there, as we see clips of his old friends, helping him hang onto life for one last moment. It suddenly hits home how important this one character has been to the series, and just how much fun and excitement we've had together, and how much more we hope to have. But it's not enough.
It's the end...
In one final moment, the Doctor who stopped the Jagaroth while remarking on the historical nature of chairs, the Doctor who had the power of the Key to Time, the Doctor who saved Gallifrey from an invasion of tin foil, the Doctor who fought in the land of nightmares, the Doctor who prevented an invasion of obscene vegetable matter, the Doctor who wondered whether he could kill a child to save the Universe, the Doctor who did all of those things and so much more, dies.
But the moment has been prepared for.
The Watcher moves to the Doctor, and merges with him, changing the Doctor's features. We see a regeneration, not an end, but a renewal, revealing a new Doctor for us, in the form of Peter Davison. And although we may not know who this Doctor is, and whether we'll like him or not, we know that it's still the Doctor, and so we wait with expectation, to see how everything will pan out, as he's got work to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment