It's a story that I remember being spoiled for, given that the surprise reveal of the Master at the end was leaked several months prior to the adventure. It was also spoiled in a trailer for it on ABC, where they decided to find some exciting clips to show from the story, including Derek Jacobi proclaiming himself to be the Master. Which, given that this is the major dramatic moment of the story, is quite a big spoiler, and I was quite peeved at them for revealing it in their trailer. But you can see why they chose it, as it is the stand-out moment of the entire episode. Jacobi's performance as the Master is easily one of the best performances of the character, and it's criminal that he only got 5 minutes to deliver it. He moves through his scenes with a quiet menace, killing people with a whisper and stopping the Doctor and co. simply and economically rather than by shouting him down in a blaze of glory. It's a strong contrast to the Master's next incarnation, who moves through his stories with a madness that makes him stand out amongst his incarnations. But that's for another time.
Utopia is also unique amongst Doctor Who episodes in that it is the only episode that I have seen in another language. In my final year of high school, our new French teacher was keen to improve our listening skills and our vocabulary so she told us to go out and find something in French on the weekend, watch it, and copy down some vocabulary that we learnt from it. Whilst others looked for music videos, or the news, I chose to find an episode of Doctor Who, just to make things a bit more interesting. Utopia was the only one that I could find that was dubbed into French, and thanks to it I know that the French word for Master is maître. I also learnt that the French word for javelin is javelot. Neither of these words proved particularly useful in my future French work, but I enjoyed the process of watching an episode in another language. It felt odd to see familiar scenes and faces speaking unfamiliar words. It also wan't helped by the fact that I hadn't seen Utopia in a year or two, so much of it was already unfamiliar to me. But it was still a lot of fun to watch it, not least because it also gave me a new appreciation of the directorial work of Graeme Harper.
Harper's direction, as I mentioned in 42, is wonderful. He gives each scene pace and energy that makes the story feel exciting and tense. The ending scenes as the Doctor comes to the realisation that the Master is alive feel intense, not least because Harper keeps the action moving, forcing the Doctor and co. to keep running, to keep moving, intensifying the urgency of what is unfolding before the audience's eyes. But he also allows for quiet scenes as well, such as the scene where the Doctor and Captain Jack discuss Jack's new found immortality. The scene is handled well, with the focus being clearly on the actors and the script, by Russell T Davies. It's a welcome change of pace, and feels like it fits perfectly within the context of the story.
But those are just a few of my thoughts on this fantastic episode. There's so much more to talk about, and I highly recommend this episode to watch. A lot of stuff gets neglected in Tennant's second series, mainly because it's overshadowed by Blink and the series finale. Unfortunately, Utopia feels like one of those stories, but I personally think it's a gem, and one of the best stories ever produced in the history of Doctor Who.
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