Half a Decade - An End of Time

2005 to 2010, half a decade of the new revamped Doctor Who came to the end of one era and the start of the new tonight, when David Tennant, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner all bowed out in an epic two part Dr Who story.

There were some wonderful touches, with the manic John Simm Master back as "The Master Race" - a punning end to the first episode, and the concealed Time Lord's return - Timothy Dalton was just "The Narrator" in the listings. The reason for the Master's madness, the incessant drumming, was also woven into the plot. And there was some Star War's action, as Bernard Cribbins fires his laser cannon, and ad libs all kind of wonderful dialogue. But for me, the best bits in the finale were Tennant and Cribbins sitting alone on the bridge of the alien space ship, just talking. Or Cribbins and Tennant again, when Cribbin's character Wilf is trapped, and the Doctor can only let him out by taking a lethal dose of radiation. It was those pauses in the headlong action, those moments of dialogue in between the pace and action, that were the best.

The final fifteen minutes reminded me a bit of the ending sequences in Lord of the Rings, where there is an end, then another kind of end, and then another. It was a nice bonus, but it could have been mostly cut with no loss, except the sequence with Rose, which tied it all back to 2005, and was a very moving ending before Matt Smith erupted onto our screens, with what will be the only monologue that Russell T Davies will ever write for him.

I remember waiting for 2005 to come with eager anticipation, and that first season did not disappoint. And there have been brilliant seasons in between as well. The new Dr Who has better incidental music, better CGI, but most importantly, more emotional depth between the Doctor and his companions.

2005 was a good year in more ways that just the return of Doctor Who in March. It was also the year in which I met Annie, and half a decade has passed since we first met on 1st July, at Big Vern's, to eat and chat. That was the start of an even greater adventure, and more even than Doctor Who, that has changed my life completely, and although she has gone, she will be with me forever. She was not a huge Doctor Who fan, but she was a great Star Trek fan, and it was that which drew us together in the first place, although we discovered so many other things we enjoyed. We watched together all the Next Generation episodes from start to end, over the years, a few each week. This year saw the return of Star Trek in a brilliant movie, and we went together, and I remember how much she was delighted in how they had brought it back so well, and how we both enjoyed it.

So when Russell T Davies took the Doctor back to when it all began in 2005, it was especially poignant for me, as it was when I found my best friend, my soul mate and my life partner. That is more than I could have ever wished or hoped for, and for which I will be forever grateful.