He Who Moans Reviews Doctor Who: The David Tennant Farewell Specials ft. FiveWhoFans 

I give End of Time a solid 8/10 purely for making Bernard Cribbins a temporary companion, literally the best thing Russel did for the specials.

Learned that Bernard Cribbins and his wife were married for 66 years and had a baby who died very young and couldn't have any more but Bernard enjoyed his roles in children's telly as it let him bring joy to kids and my heart... He reminded me so much of my uncle who I was extremely close to and filled the role of father and grandfather to me. Our relationship was exactly like Wilf and Donna's, down to wandering off to the garden to talk about astronomy and Doctor Who and him being so enthusiastic and loving me and my passions. He died in 2020 from Parkinson's and it broke me and I don't know how I'm going to cope watching Wilf / Bernard's final episodes

I'm hoping the anniversary specials will basically start out as a celebratory nostalgia trip and gradually that dynamic begins to break down as the Doctor realises ' You can't go home again'.

One of my favourite through lines of these specials is that in ‘The Next Doctor’, Jackson remarks that the Doctor has never once asked to be thanked - and makes the crowd applaud his actions. Whereas in ‘The Waters of Mars’, after saving everyone, the Doctor asks “isn’t anyone gonna thank me?”.

The actor who played Jackson Lake carried the entire episode. Only wish the title wasn't a lie. I loved his interpretation of the doctor.

Waters of mars is a masterpiece

I'm pretty sure that part of why Waters of Mars is so good is because it was cowritten by Phil Ford, who wrote all of the best episodes of Sarah-Jane Adventures.

I genuinely think Waters of Mars is in the top 5 New Who episodes. It is David Tennants best performance BY FAR, it has one of the most genuinely scary monsters that wouldn’t be out of place in adult sci fi horror, a really profound emotional conflict and possibly the best ending to a new who episode.

What hurts most about The End of Time is that it has THE best death of a Doctor ever with the four knocks scene…then throws it all away by having him go on a farewell tour for another 20 minutes.

It's funny cause the Next Doctor was my first Doctor Who episode at like age 5 or 6 and it was the reason I got into Doctor Who. So I guess it did it's job getting kids on board. It also means the Next Doctor is to blame for my existence as a Doctor Who fan which I'm not sure whether that makes it better or worse.

Waters of Mars is easily in the top 5 new who stories. Up there with the likes of Heaven Sent and Dalek.

He visited every companion ever. Can't believe he didn't realise how much time he had left once he got to Kamelion, let alone getting all the way to Rose.

The Waters of Mars is easily the best episode of this run of specials, and is in serious contention for the post of best episode of post-2005 Doctor Who in my eyes. It's got one of Tennant's best performances as the Doctor, paired against a fantastic guest turn from Lindsay Duncan, there's some truly fantastic and frightening monsters, and the way the script essentially brings the Tenth Doctor's character arc to its apex is outstanding. And on top of that, the whole episode looks amazing and is just gorgeously directed - if this ends up being the last Doctor Who episode that Graeme Harper directs, then he truly went out on a high note. As for the rest of the specials, they're honestly a real mixed bag; The Next Doctor is a dumb goofy yarn elevated by David Morrissey's performance; Planet of the Dead is a bland and inert hour of television; and The End of Time is a bloated and messy finale, albeit with some lovely character moments and very strong performances. Overall it's easily the most wildly inconsistent and uneven stretch of episodes from Davies' original run.

Weirdly enough, I actually think Waters of Mars is unironically one of the more underrated Doctor Who stories. (At least in Nu-Who) I love how it takes to the traditional Base Under Siege formula of a typical Doctor Who story but gives it more of a Darker/Adult edge to it without being too crazy with it either. And that's before you even get into the "Time Lord Victorious" stuff near the end of the episode... (And yes, the Water People actually did scare me as a kid ngl... Even today I love how creepy The Flood actually look in this story.)

Okay but with the ice warrior bit with waters of mars. Imagine a sequel(prequel) story where the Doctor is brought to Mars for like a season finale and its when the Ice Warriors were running the planet and it was perfectly fine, the story is about something completely different and then part way through everything collapses in the society because whatever caused the flood happens off screen and starts killing everyone and the Doctor knows they can't really do much to stop it because that could change things in their past so it turns into a story about trying to get back to the TARDIS safely and ends with the companion almost making it back safely and then dying to the flood brutally at the end.

I've just finished Twin Peaks The Return which is essentially the most anti-nostalgia thing I've ever seen. Dale gets out of the Black Lodge but his doppelganger planned for this and puts him in another doppelganger where he's basically a confused, senile idiot for 90% of the show. It just eerily reminded me of all these remakes where we're supposed to like what's going on because the same actor played the same character years and years ago, but ultimately it's just a senile old man that doesn't know where he is and also all the other characters just glamourise him and don't acknowledge it. If Doctor Who pulled something like this I would be amazed

I'd love another Snuggly Chibnall Time, mainly to see what all of you thought of the era. It is odd remembering the 5WF Series 11 discussions and hearing a ton of compliments about it and now fast forwarding to 2023 and hearing a ton of negatives. I'd like to know when that started and why.

Lmao with the Davros discourse we are already right there Stu, the episodes haven’t even come out yet

These group watches are always a delight!

36:15 With the context of Series 10, I imagine the 12th Doctor forgetting which year this happened in and doing his "penguin with it's arse on fire" run to the Vault chased by a small army of Masters...

Everytime I remember the giant cyberman, it's immediately removed from my memory. It's like a silence.

I for one and super excited for the specials to be over and done with so we can get to Ncuti’s season.

I think “The Writer’s Tale” reveals way more about those specials than it meant to. Let’s see what happens next. If it’s awesome then we have a win.

One thing I found weird about the End of Time was that we wouldn't even know Timothy Dalton was Rassilon if The Doctor didn't shout "back into the time war RASSILON!". Remember that being a "wait, what?!" Moment. Also 45:19, after seeing the new trailer, that could be Neil Patrick Harris in that scene now.

Waters Of Mars is hands down my favourite David Tenant story. I think I've actually watched it at least once a year since it first aired. I'm surprised it isn't more popular...

I'm rewatching the 10th Doctor era with a friend who has only watched 11 and part of 12th's run. And i'm really excited to see how he enjoys these specials. We're getting to them tomorrow

You're right in that the timelords were probably bolted on. It was Julie Gardner who pushed for the timelords who pushed for timelords to be in End of Time Part 2 and apparently at the start it was going to be the Doctor saving one family on a spaceship

Love these videos :) I’ve already watched the patreon vids which are great but the editing you do is so transformative thanks stu!

thank god 12 didn't deal with a man believing he's something he's not. i still remember "don't take ya meds!"

It’s really interesting to hear how your opinion has changed. After seeing your earlier videos it’s so refreshing to hear you talk about how good you think the waters of Mars is and (despite the fact you clearly take issue with it) certain aspects of the end of time. So many people feel the need to act like just because the Tennant era is popular, it therefore must be shit. So to hear a balanced, funny and interesting take on the specials was as fun as it was interesting.

0:00 Intro 3:40 The Next Doctor 15:00 Planet of the Dead 21:50 The Waters of Mars 33:05 The End of Time

About "Why just not write the Time Lords boring then?", I think because they're supposed to embody everything The Doctor isn't, stagnant, unadventurous, uncaring, etc., them being boring is baked into their very concept. That said, I've heard Marc Platt's novel Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible did try to get around by going far back enough into Time Lord history to basically before they were 'Time Lords'. Helps being a novel he didn't have to worry about budget

It's strange because I've come out of this with many thoughts and the top one at the moment is to rewatch The Aztecs alongside The Waters of Mars for their depictions of the changing of time. The Aztecs presented time as something that couldn't be changed with the Doctor trying to stop Barbara from trying, while Waters of Mars has the Doctor trying to avoid changing history before giving in and changing it. Actually I probably wanna watch a whole ton of the old historicals with that view point now

I swear, as soon as the first ten seconds of the first special drops this year, fandom will immediately turn on RTD again. We're incapable of really appreciating an era as it's happening. That said, I genuinely believe he's going to be able to make the show appeal to a much wider audience again, which can only be good for the show, I'm kind of tired of all the discourse being taken up by bitter fans.

I have awoken my family from the quips and jokes added into this review! The editing and it’s subject matter is the cake.

I think the farewell specials showed that RTD really excelled as a showrunner writing whole seasons with season long arcs rather than writing big audience Christmas special type episodes.

I was surprised that y'all weren't aware of how good Waters of Mars is. I started watching the show in 2013 or so, and even by then everyone I've talked to about the show holds this one in high regard

Loved this video Stu. It’s hard to find something to listen to while working so I really appreciate this.

"ham sandwich" "cheese sandwich" "oh wow"

Yay! I still think it would be really cool if you dug up at least some of the older reviews that got taken off of RU-vid. Even if you don't agree with them now, they're nice piece of history to look back on

The biggest tonal whiplash from "The Next Doctor" is actually more fucked up because of how the episode treats it. When Miss Hartigan faces the Doctor as the CyberKing, she talks about him being another man "forcing himself on her in the night". The line is a bit covered by the score and sound effects. The villain is a victim of sexual assault.

Been waiting for some good ol jolly Doctor Who content from you again, thanks for the treat

Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen enough Classic Who where the Time Lords are used to death but I always appreciate when they show up regardless of the quality of said episode.

"I don't think it will last past 2024"... well it didn't last up to the first canonical story....

One thing about RTD's era I didn't enjoy in the long run is how every finale had to get bigger in scale and danger. This is something Moffat and Chibnall avoided for better and for worse. Parting of the Ways and Doomsday I think are pretty solid. Last of the Timelords onwards is where I feel RTD dropped the ball on endings because the scale got so big and the solutions to fixing them got comical that it zapped any drama the show was going for. If RTD can avoid that, then I'll be happier.

The Next Doctor is fine Planet of the Dead is whatever The Waters of Mars is amazing The End of Time is either stupid nonsense or it’s an emotional masterpiece. There is no in between.

A surprise to be sure, but a very very very very welcome one.

I was very ill during Waters of Mars, throwing up like mad, and every time the water creatures blasted water, I chucked. And ever since my brain has associated the two, so whenever I see footage from it I feel quiet queasy

Waters of Mars was genuinely the first episode that terrified me. I was 8 at the time but apparently I was fine with episodes like Blink, but Waters of Mars was what got to me. I was genuinely that kid that didnt want any water around me for like a week until my parents forced me to.

Whos that tall, handsome, ginger guy spitting nothing but facts about UNIT? Cos they are right, no question.

The cafe scene in end of time makes me cry.

End of Time is such a bizarre outing to watch because if feels like its two different kinds of episodes that are largely at odds with each other. There's the one made up of quiet scenes between Wilf and the Doctor discussing mortality and events in their lives which (even if you're turned off by Ten's fear of regeneration) is at least decently executed as a character piece. And then there's one that's entirely over the top stuff with the Time Lords and the Master which feels like it goes so ambitious in its attempts to be significant, dramatic, and important as a finale that you basically become numb to it. Its a prototypical example of DW going way too big and over focused in its stakes that the actual emotional moments ultimately suffer for it. Fans have said its not a flattering character exit for Ten, but I think much of that comes from him feeling overshadowed by all the excess plot going on around him that by the time his goodbyes and final line occur, the audience has already lost its patience at what an indulgent farewell by RTD the whole thing is. The effect of the ending cameos is just blunted by the showrunner victory lap that the Time Lords return/Master resurrection story already amounts to. Its essentially the inverse problem of Hell Bent. That story wasted broader story potential in favor of an excuse plot revolving around a companion while End of Time moves on too quickly from good character elements involving the companion and the Doctor so it can have its Mulligan Stew story made up of important things from Tennant's run.

Rip Dreamland Honestly The Wedding of River Song I think has a good example of how to depict "the end of time" as a concept

osha violating citadel

Did you also consider covering Tennant's non Doctor roles in Doctor Who? Just curious because I recently listened to Dalek Empire 3 where he was cast as one of the main characters... about a year before he got cast as what would become (what the casual audience would call) the New Who version of the 4th Doctor.

As one of those 11 year olds who loved doctor who at that time, I was dissapointed with the Next Doctor. The issue i had with the Next Doctor when I first saw it was why didn't Jackson Lake take his balloon up and save the day instead of the doctor? I thought the lesson was going to be that anyone can be the Doctor, and it feels like they didn't follow through.

Back when these episodes were on TV I wasn't paying attention to the internet and was just casually watching, but even so I still remembered Waters of Mars, Blink... that one library episode and the fake doctor episode. Those were amazing and the only reason I remember the names of those 2 epsiodes is because thefe were reruns and for those I actually cared to remember the name of the show

I would love to see another Snuggly Chibnall time now that his era has finished. These videos are always such a joy to watch.

43:05 DINNER TIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you have friends, Stu, to hang out with and watch Doctor Who with.

Damn this is so interesting to me, I've gone back to the specials multiple times they're easily my favourite part of all of Doctor Who.

Nice to see Billy-Jon and Richard back, I love their Reviews of Deaths!

I always remember the rumour that in one of the specials the Doctor would catch a cold and regenerate into Jennifer Saunders for one peisode

Finally, a new He Who Moans on Doctor Who. It really feels like Doctor Who is getting a restart. I'm now gonna be a nuisance and ask for a new Big Finish episode. I've never seen a Big Finish live commentary, so that could be something...

If they could pull it off, it would be great if they could have an actual surprise regeneration, without a year of media coverage. Because then they can't have it overshadow the preceding episodes like they have for most of the new series regenerations.

This excellent video makes me think that the excitement of rtd s14 and 60 anniversary is like ecclestone etc. I've no idea what's coming but it'll be cool.

Okay but every person on earth becoming the master was SO SO dumb that it went into "so bad it's WONDERFUL" territory for me

Hello! a voice from the distant past here! For at least the 60s and 70s a lot of non-fans watched and enjoyed Doctor Who. The trouble is today there is the concept of "fan service" and some fans claim ownership of the show. The BBC doesn't do fan service. I hope the season specials play to the general audience. I'm not that interested in the specials , I just feel "get on with it!" ie get on with a new Doctor and a new season.

Personally it's specifically these specials (except the next doctor) that I always come back to, they're easily my favourite thing from the whole series. Midnight, The Ood episode, 42, and a couple others I can't remember as well. Apparently people hate 42 as well that's probably up there with the waters of mars for me.

Im so hyped for RTDs return

Yay more fun commentary!

Can you make more 8th Doctor big finish videos?

Starting end of time like "Russell!? RUSSELL!!!!"

You learnt the meaning of kindness and compassion.

Collab with these chaps some more mate, really fun

idk if the planet of the dead scene where he talks about the bus missing is comparable to a chibnall "describing what we can see" motif, since here they're describing it to someone who can't actually see it at the time over the radio. Been a while since i've seen the ep though, so maybe some context is missing.

its depressing but I could tell you the events of all these episode second to second and I'm not a doctor who reviewer... I really need to look for more shows to watch... ;-;

oh shit FWF is back!? that's actually awesome, those guys popped my doctor who review channel cherry

I don’t mind the Next Doctor, I actually like the fact that Lake’s sense of self is destroyed halfway through because then it gives him the chance to show that his bravery doesn’t come from the title of “The Doctor” or his belief of who he is, it comes from the man himself. The kid stuff is way too short though and the big cyber man is definitely goofy. The emotional stuff though really hits I find

love your videos on doctor who, do you plan on doing Jay and Stu talk Dr Who for the new specials/series?

Oof, the David Tennant’s farewell parade of death

I think the beginning of End of Time, while it doesn't fit with The Waters of Mars's tone, it does make sense from a character perspective. The Doctor doesn't want to die. He's seeing the universe chasing him down, killing everyone around him and he's desperately trying to go back to his usual nonchalance. It's like he's in denial or having a mid-life crisis. The problem is lots of later (and upcoming) episodes seem to show the Doctor in this weak and pathetic "running away" mode like he was in Waters of Mars. That episode should have been the exception, not the rule. That's what made it work. But I feel like it's going to be a staple of RTD2.

I don't usually do this ... but ... speaking as a blind person! LOL, but seriously, especially going back to the times where audio description was in it's infancy and something not every television could access, it's rather useful sometimes for characters to say what's happening. But I realise that for everyone else it can be a bit like, "Well doi! We can all see that!". ... But also, realising you're in space or in another world, that's justified for a character to say it. But a bus just disappearing is not? I just want to get these guide lines sorted out. :)

I was 8 when I watched Waters of Mars and haven't watched it since but I still roughly remember the plot and specific scenes whereas I'm fairly certain I've seen all the others multiple times & I was surprised to find out the dog cybermen & giant cyberman were in the same episode as the guy that thought he was the doctor.

I remember not remembering Planet of the Dead because it was one of two NuWho episodes that Netflix for whatever reason just didn't have when I tried to re-run the series a few years after. At least I suppose nothing that might be needed for context in future episodes knocked four times during that episode or anything.

The giant cyberman. THAT BLOODY GIANT CYBERMAN. Was the very first image from anything Docky Who I ever saw. On french TV, with french dub, mind you. Well I still came back for more.

The actress who plays Steffi in Waters of Mars has one of the most affecting deaths in all of Who for me. The scene where she's crying while watching the video of her daughter is just heartbreaking, which is impressive for a character who hasn't really been given a ton of depth up to that point. 24:47 Just got to the bit where you guys cover this. Totally agree!

Im feel like the fans of the RTD era are gonna be pretty dissapointed post 2023. Im not saying its gonna be bad, but those fans want a facsimile of S1-4 which they arent gonna get, because its not 2005.

Fun fact: Episode 3 of primeval series 3 was broadcast directly in the same time slot where planet of the dead was on BBC, that took balls ITV Was quite a heavy episode close to the end, I'd say primeval is more interesting to watch if you had to choose

As someone who thinks it's just a bit overrated, it's so funny hearing Whotubers wax lyrical about how Waters of Mars is the best Doctor Who story since Sliced Bread of the Daleks and two out of the four people on this rewatch haven't seen it since broadcast

I think its odd you highlighted the back and forth between The Doctor and Adelaide in that scene like its an outlier that only happens once. There are tons of instances in the RTD era of The Doctor and the supporting characters talking and listening to each other (even in the other episodes you talked about in this same video). For example when Jackson convinces the The Doctor to come for Christmas dinner, its simple but I think theres a lot of weight to the words they exchange. Also I don't really understand the criticism of David Tennant not taking scenes seriously, isnt the entire point of being an actor on Doctor Who to take the silliest situations seriously, in his second episode hes having an argument with a Cat dressed like a Nun about human experimentation.

20:54 a true fan would have said "feelings i do not understand that word" or "emotion love pride hate fear have you no emotions then?".

I would love to see the Flood return in an episode

( 19:58 ) 😂

At last. **Snuggly Russell Time**

*2:08** "WAIT..."*

Let's fucking goooooooo

Have you read RTD's the Writer's Tale, Stu? has some very interesting info about these episodes

This video is great

I'm still miffed we haven't had a proper Valeyard appearance. Also liked the vague Time War we got here and not what came after