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ATV Poll: Best Doctor Who Season Finale

ATV Poll: Best Doctor Who Season Finale

For our poll this week we are asking all you sci-fi fans out there to vote for the best season finale of Doctor Who since it was revived in 2005.

On Saturday the fifth season of Doctor Who concluded with The Big Bang but how did it compare, for you, against other season finales such as Journey’s End and Doomsday? Well now is your chance to have your say and vote for the season finale you think was the best of them all – and as ever we have a little feature to accompany the poll just to refresh your memories!

Bad Wolf/The Partings of the Ways (2005)

The first season of Doctor Who, of its revival that is, ended in 2005 with the return of the Daleks – lots of them. Thousands of years in the future the Earth is being manipulated by the Dalek survivors of the Time War and their Emperor – who has got delusions of grandeur believing himself to be a god. Humanity is being fed television games (from the game station() to keep them occupied while the Daleks rebuild their armies. Amongst the deadly games being played by poor unfortunate humans are Big Brother, The Weakest Link and Call My Bluff. Trapped within the games The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), Rose (Billie Piper) and Captain Jack (John Barrowman) fight their way out to find out the horrible truth – the Daleks are back and they mean business. The mystery of Bad Wolf is revealed – its Rose – while Captain Jack is exterminated but resurrected by Rose and the Doctor regenerates. As an ending for the first series its big, bold and epic with plenty of pop cultures references for savvy teenagers but is it your favourite season finale?

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (2006)

Now surely a war between the Daleks and Cybermen is every fans dream? Well it became a reality in the season two finale as thanks to the meddling of Torchwood (a secret organisation set up by Queen Victoria to battle aliens and watch out for the Doctor) the Earth becomes a battle ground for the Daleks and Cybermen. Millions of Daleks crossover from their parallel world to ours to take it over following their defeat in their own world. But the Cybermen are not the only ones to crossover from the void and four Daleks – the Cult of Skaro – are awakened and plan to resurrect the Dalek race. An alliance between the two races is proposed but refused by the Daleks – who warn the Cybermen that one Dalek but be sufficient enough to defeat an entire Cyber army. The Doctor (David Tennant) manages to save the day by sending both armies back into the void but in doing so he traps Rose in the parallel universe. A tearful farewell is said by them both on Bad Wold Bay – in Norway – as the Doctor finds the last crack in the universal to bid his farewell to Rose. A tearful ending complete with Daleks and Cybermen at war, but is it the best?

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords (2007)

A three-part season finale which kicked off with the return of Captain Jack and a trip to the end of the universe where a very old foe of the Doctor’s is hidden. The Master (Derek Jacobi) is hiding, disguised as a Time Lord but his true self emerges and he regenerates (into John Simm) and steals the Doctor’s Tardis heading back to 21st Century Earth. Martha (Freema Agyeman), the Doctor and Jack follow him back but the Master’s meddling results in an army of Tolclafane (modified humans) from the end of the universe invading, thus creating a paradox, and the Master traps the Doctor and Jack. In the final episode in a post-apocalyptic Earth Martha Jones travels the Earth to spread word of the Doctor so that the Master can be defeated. With Martha’s help the Doctor is able to save the day and reverse time so the events after the Toclafane appeared never happened. However, Martha and her family, who were also prisoners of the Master, do remember and she decides to leave the Tardis.

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End (2008)

In Turn Left a parallel universe is created in which Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) never met the Doctor and slowly the world becomes to crumble. Guided by Rose, who appears to Donna several times, she slowly begins to realise things are not as they should be and goes back in time to the point where it all went wrong to put things right. Rose sends with Donna a message for the Doctor, two words ‘Bad Wolf’ to warn him things are very wrong. In the two-part season four finale the Earth is stolen from its location by the Daleks along with other planets and the Daleks descent upon the planet. Above it their creator Davros (Julian Bleach) awaits the arrival of the Doctor who he knows will come. On the Planet itself former companions of the Doctor unite to try and bring the Doctor to them and defeat the Daleks. It’s an epic adventure with the return of so many familiar faces such as Sarah-Jane (Lis Sladen), Captain Jack and also Torchwood regulars Gwen (Eve Myles) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) to name but a few. In many ways it’s a fitting celebration of 45 years of Doctor Who, coming in its anniversary year, as it features the return of friends and foe alike. At the end of the episode there’s another heart-breaking departure as Donna’s memory of the Doctor is wiped. Daleks speaking German, appearances from Torchwood/Sarah Jane Adventures characters and the return of Davros – do all of those make it your favourite finale?

The End of Time (parts one and two) (2009)

Technically the two-part story which aired over Christmas/New Year of 2009/2010 wasn’t a season finale as they were part of the four specials produced in 2009 to mark the departure of David Tennant as the Doctor. However, as they were the actor’s final story in the role we thought we would include them. The episode see’s the return of the brilliant Bernard Cribbins as Wilf, promoted to companion status for the two parts, while Catherine Tate and Jacqueline King also reprised their roles. A deluded Master (John Simm) is revived from his apparent death while the Time Lords led by Rassilon (Timothy Dalton) plot their own resurrection using the Master as a pawn in their game. Meanwhile the ominous warning of ‘he’ll knock four times’ hangs over the Doctor while Wilf is visited by a mysterious woman (Claire Boom) who has some connection to the Master. The final few moments of the story see the dying Doctor revisit his companions such as Rose, Martha and Sarah-Jane before regenerating into Matt Smith. The two-part finale received somewhat mixed reviews from fans who either loved or hated it, but which camp are you in?

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (2010)

A painting by Vincent Van Cough (Tony Curran) shows the Tardis exploding and is titled The Pandorica Opens. In blitz-torn London the painting is presented to Winston Churchill (Ian McNeice) by scientist Brace well (Bill Paterson) who tells the Prime Minister it is a message for the Doctor. Churchill tries to contact the Doctor but ends up speaking to River Song (Alex Kingston) who breaks out of jail, steals the painting with the consent of the Queen Liz Ten (Sophie Okonedo) and lures the Doctor to Roman Britain to deliver the message. The Doctor once again dismiss the Pandorica as a fairytale before he, River and Amy (Karen Gillan) discover it under Stonehenge. Legend has it the Pandorica contains the most feared creature in all of creation and above the Earth are Dalek, Cybermen, Sontaran, Draconian and many more ships – waiting the Doctor thinks to seize the Pandorica. But the Doctor is mistaken and the Pandorica is in fact a prison for him; created by an alliance of his enemies to trap him. However, using the Pandorica as a “restoration” device, the Doctor and his companions are able to restore the universe and prevent the explosion. In doing so the Doctor is seemingly deleted from experience until Amy remembers a conversation she had with the Doctor when she was seven, about the old wedding say of something old, something new….

RESULTS: ATV Today readers voted 2007 first with 2010 in second place.

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