(no subject)

[retro_eidas]

Since I'm apparently trying to turn this weekend Who posting obsession into a daily thing....

BBC Press Release for "The Last of the Time Lords":

Earth has been conquered and the Master rules supreme, with the Doctor a helpless prisoner, in the final episode of Russell T Davies's Doctor Who. The entire human race has been reduced to slavery, as the mighty warships of a new Time Lord Empire rise from the ashes. Only Martha Jones can save the world...

David Tennant plays the Doctor and Freema Agyeman plays his companion, Martha Jones. John Barrowman and John Simm guest star.

"New Time Lord empire"? Now depending on how literal that is (I'm thinking it is very literal, Rusty isn't particularly subtle as we know), I'm thinking that machine he'd commissioned Lazarus to make (based around Lazarus' lifetime's work which Saxon likely stumbled on in constructing his diabolic plans) will show up again in the finale in a huge way. Combined with the potential foreshadowing in both the Plasmavore's MRI bomb and the Doctor giving his DNA to the human/Dalek husks in "Evolution of the Daleks"? I think Saxon will modify Lazarus' machine, possibly using his own DNA / the Doctor's hand (or hell, the Doctor himself) for the Time Lord genetic codes and maybe the TARDIS (the Chameleon Arch) to create an anti-Chameleon Arch on a global scale that changes humans to Time Lords. The only catch is - as there's always one or two in scenarios like this and usually life or death - is the thing has a 50/50 shot of either turning you into a Time Lord or just plain killing you in a horrible way (or just a terrible monster by the looks of Lazarus, which would still fall in the *ded* category as I doubt there's room in Saxon's new empire for giant, uncontrollable ferocious beasts... unless he wants some pits for entertaining to throw in nerf herders who don't pay their debts like Jabba or whatnot, but I digress).

Thus the device will kill half the Earth, but turn the other half into gods (in theory) of which Saxon will rule and control, possibly also with a bit of help with his infamous mind mojo powers (hypnosis into submission on a mass scale via Archangel, a telecommunications network he controls and probably the source of his Earthly wealth & means?). Ye shall be as gods and know good and evil. Resurrecting Gallifrey - a new Garden of Eden - on Earth... of which he is the sole lord and master (when/if the Doctor rejects any evil partnership he'd likely offer). A new (bastardized version of Harriet Jones') Golden Age in the century "everything changes" for humanity.

How will Martha choose to do the human thing and face death? By jumping in the cogs or in the way of the device before it can blast Earth, taking on the full blast herself. By way of Jack's and/or the Face of Boe's help or guidance (don't know for sure if Boe is in the finale or not, but... I've got a feeling based on something Rusty said in the "Utopia" Confidential). Jack probably wouldn't know what she'd planned to do, but I could imagine Boe did (probably even advised her to do it... yet another way Boe may have known the Doctor was "not alone". He helped fulfill the prophecy he told the "lonely traveller" at the time of his death, knowing it would be at the time of his death via Martha and knowing Martha would be part of the means the prophecy was fulfilled ... and, of course, he's the omniscient Big Ole Face). Will it kill her? It may appear to at first, thus leaving the Doctor to a devastating reaction (losing the amazing companion he'd only just opened his eyes to for the very first time) and unleashes some terrible vengeance on the Master, possibly taking all or most of his regenerations away somehow (if he doesn't get away in the nick of time, that is... survival is one of the Master's specialties). Only to discover later on, Martha didn't die at all, she survived... but she's been changed into a Time Lord (err, Lady). Martha Jones is dead, long live (literally) Martha Jones.

I also wouldn't be shocked there's either voluntary or automatic Vulcan mindmeld of some kind (btwn Martha & the Doctor) due to that connection Nine spoke of with the other Time Lords back in S1. A connection the Doctor noticeably doesn't have with Saxon and thus why the Doctor didn't detect him all those times he and Martha had been on present day Earth, this lack of connection probably explained and hence reminding us of said Time Lord connection. Which the Doctor may have with Martha (but not right away, thus why the Doctor believes she died. He can't sense another Time Lord), vice versa, thus confirming her Time Lordiness. Also possibly mirroring the Doctor/Reinette and Bad Wolf & the S1 finale (the Doctor looks into Martha and Martha looks into the Doctor). Also, incidentally, probably how Dr. Martha ends up curing the Doctor of his "Lonely God" emo. She peers into his head, sees just how lonely he is... then doesn't have the heart to Chameleon Arch herself into a human again (or at least wants to explore this new & shiny Time Lord thing for a little while). Doctor and Martha still might not be 100% best buddies by the end of the ep, but she still may not want to leave him. This would also harken back to the title of the episode (which everyone, rightly, assumes is only about the Doctor and the Master, but the status quo changes by the end of the ep). "The Last of the Time Lords"... The Doctor, The Master and Martha Jones due to her exposure to the Lazarus-Saxon device. The Doctor, Jack and Martha the last three heroes left standing (also, all three, incidentally, would then share the common trait of having too long life).

Of course, I'd also bet instead of suddenly making Martha the Doctor's daughter or sister by the genetic brouhaha which would kill the innuendo dead, she won't be biologically related to him at all. The device probably would rewrite human DNA to Time Lord, but not make every single new potential Time Lord out there related to the Doctor (we know the pitfall of that might be for the Master in the EOTD human husks as the Doctor's DNA apparently - magically - gave them a choice, made them more Doctory in the head with the love of choice and freedom and all that. The Master may be aware of this magical foible in DNA, so would prevent such a display of the Doctor's genetic mind control over his loyal subjects by altering the DNA enough where there's no definitive connection to the Doctor). Not to mention, as this is still Rusty's Who, no way do I see him killing the innuendo like that, even if it never actually goes anywhere. The man be too obsessed with teh sexxorz to turn Martha into the Doctor's little sister/daughter.

Comments

[juanitadark.livejournal.com]

My spec is similar to yours. But, why would Saxon need more timelords? If he made more I feel sure that he'd have to have a foolproof way of controlling them or they could all go the way of the Doctor and ruin his plans.

I'm not saying he intends on making new timelords, rather that that was my first thought too, so what am I saying? ... oh okay, here's what I was thinking:

All these mentions of Rose lead up to one thing: the whole looking into the heart of the TARDIS to save the Doctor and defeat insurmountable enemies. But it doesn't work so well if you're a human. Maybe the Master plans to make more timelords while making himself a god?

My only problem is why does he wait on this? Unless the Doctor damaged the TARDIS in some way in Utopia - but still, the Master's had time to fix it, or would he need the Doctor for that?

My thought has always been, why say absorbing the time vortex makes a timelord vengeful (unless you're trying to explain why Ten is the way he is) - the Master's already vengeful - and well, Ten's had enough moments of that sort of behaviour for it to not need an explicit explanation/justfication. So I've been wondering if Martha, with new timelord genes, opens it and saves the world.

If she is vengeful then it might be directed at not just The Master but the Doctor himself - not to mention that she'd have to choose to return the power rather than have it forcibly taken out of her. Well that was my idea anyway - it does have it's problems (like how it's basically what Rose did only smarter and if it did go down like that I suppose the batship contingent would be first to say so). But in HN/FoB it was pretty clear how being in a subservient position hampered Martha's ability to do the job the Doctor had entrusted her to do. I'm thinking that if she becomes a god then that isn't a problem anymore.

(Oh, and if she brought back Adeola - non-permanently - that would be cool too.)

[hobbylobby.livejournal.com]

I love both of these speculations. Basically, Martha becoming a Time Lord = TOTAL WIN.

Now, of course, I will cry if that doesn't happen...

[fani.livejournal.com]

OMG WHUT

So...does that mean The Master will try to breed with Martha because he saw how she' very experienced with Time Travel, cold headed and intellectual?

[juanitadark.livejournal.com]

I just figured why he'd want more timelords - to start a war with.

[juanitadark.livejournal.com]

ps - I don't think TM will want to destroy the earth, rather keep it as a kind of slave production planet. If he tries to stop Martha it'll probably be by poisoning her as her DNA will still be in flux, like Lazarus' was.

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

Wish I had more time to think about this right now, but since I don't I'll just say...from your mouth to god's ears. (Go witih whatever god works for you.)

Except I've had a feeling for a while that this season will end with Martha missing/presumed dead, hence the nasty rumors about Freema's sacking. So, much as I'd love to see Ten face her in a new Time Lady persona in the finale -- and you have no idea how much I'd love that -- I'm not convinced...

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

Me again. (Tired of me yet?)

So I'm wandering around the kitchen getting my kids breakfast on their last day of school (doesn't get any more prosaic than that, does it?), and all I can think about is: Jack. Jack's not fitting in. Why is Jack in this? And of course I'm still hung up on all the mythology , and then it comes to me...Torchwood. Torchwood is part of this whole arc, and Jack's role THERE informs what's going on HERE. (Especially given the fact that the Torchwood finale didn't really make a whole lot of sense taken in isolation...)

So Jack's just been through the battle with the demon, death and resurrection...and there's our Christ figure. And that makes the key myth in the DW finale...End Times.

Admittedly, I haven't got a one-to-one correlation going. In fact, I'm convinced there isn't one, and that certain archetypal roles are being shared or morphed into something else. For one thing, it's hard to say Jack is Christ and the Doctor isn't. And if Martha's going to be doing some death and rebirth thing, well, that makes three. (Hang on a minute...a trinity could work...)

But anyway, one thing I know: the Master makes a perfect Antichrist. He leads the world with false promises of peace. And there was a woman with him in the preview -- I'll be looking for Whore of Babylon references. The Antichrist is associated with a beast demon from the abyss -- which Jack just encountered -- so I won't be surprised if Bilis Manger is mentioned or alluded to. The antichrist will be revealed as the beast and become a global dictator. Then comes the battle of Armageddon and the second coming.

And if Martha, Jack and the Doctor are all sharing Christ/trinity roles, your theory about Martha ending up with altered status (e.g. Time Lord, immortal, or some such), is credible. Hmmm...maybe she and Jack are both Time Lords? The Doctor as the father, Jack as the son (this has been rumored...) and Martha as Holy Spirit?

Or...or...or...

I really need to get a life.

[eido.livejournal.com]

All these mentions of Rose lead up to one thing: the whole looking into the heart of the TARDIS

Or perhaps - and getting a bit shmoopy here (I'm sorry, I'm so sorry) - looking into the heart and seeing what is really there. I think the Doctor's subconscious has been telling him things all season long, but he hasn't been listening... too busy being emo and working on the Lonely (Old Testament) God thing. Once again, Martha is going to have to get him to face the music follow the white rabbit.

My thought has always been, why say absorbing the time vortex makes a timelord vengeful (unless you're trying to explain why Ten is the way he is)

Up until the end of that ep, the Doctor had been believing he was the last of the Time Lords, so I think when he said "that would make a Time Lord a vengeful god", he was referring to himself... just not in so many ways. "If *I* had done that, it would have made *me* a vengeful god"... and we certainly have had evidence enough to think he most likely would have been. Of course, if it is in fact Martha's purpose to make the Doctor stop... how or why exactly? Does he end up pulling a Bad Wolf and absorb the Vortex ... or just keep the Doctor from going so crazy revenge-lust on the Master, he inadvertantly - or purposefully - destroys Earth (another planet to thwart a seemingly unstoppable foe) to stop a(nother) foe?

If she is vengeful then it might be directed at not just The Master but the Doctor himself

I suppose I'm still sticking to the notion of Martha on the Middle Path, she won't choose the way of the Doctor, the Master (or her family), but choose to save the world in a whole... and somehow do it via merciful means. She takes a gun in "Gridlock", but only threatens with it with no intent to fire (it was a fake gun and wouldn't have fired anyway, but she and kidnapper said they wouldn't have known how to use it even if it was real). Instead of shooting the Family in FoB, she shoots the air. I'm thinking if she does end up super-powered as per her Apotheosis, the power will be used to neutralize and "stop" everything... not turn the Master & Toclafane (or the Doctor himeslf) into a mountains of space dust and godly (frighteningly) go on about how she can create life and death at her mere whim.

[eido.livejournal.com]

Certainly easier to fight a war if your soldiers (and scientists, etc etc) are damn hard to kill. Also blessed with oodles of technologically superior knowledge (by way of the Master). Hell, just one (in this case, the only one unless we're told otherwise) TARDIS in the wrong hands could reak havoc on the universe (as proven by the Doctor's amounts of havoc again and again.... Deposing Harriet Jones, for example?).

[eido.livejournal.com]

If there is anything to the spec above, he most definitely can't destroy Earth, it's too important to his endgame. Although I wouldn't be the least bit surprised he's not adverse to killing a whole lot of people also to serve his purposes... just as long as their were enough around to suit whatever he's playing at.

[eido.livejournal.com]

Although with the realization the Master and the Doctor don't or can't have anything catastrophic happen to Earth (the Doctor because he loves the planet and humans, the Master because he needs it for his plans/survival/universe-dominating)... what if Martha's solution ends up being to threaten to destroy not only them but everything? Pushing things to maximum entropy in order for the Doctor and Master to forcibly unite and stop her or the chain reaction she's caused? Willing to sacrifice her own planet before it's either turned into the Master's Time Lord Empire or the Doctor's giant chess set (deposes rulers he doesn't see fit, so worse tyrants take over, storms in attempt to rescue but also [inadvertantly] kills so very many, etc etc).

[eido.livejournal.com]

So I'm wandering around the kitchen getting my kids breakfast on their last day of school (doesn't get any more prosaic than that, does it?), and all I can think about is: Jack. Jack's not fitting in. Why is Jack in this?

I'm still guessing it has something to do with those missing two years of memories. Also why exactly the Doctor doesn't trust him and not just because he'd been a conman when they first met.

And if Martha's going to be doing some death and rebirth thing, well, that makes three. (Hang on a minute...a trinity could work...)

Now, you see, you just got me thinking about The Matrix all over again. Trinity. "The Trinity? ... Jesus, I thought you were a man." "Most men do." And I'm looking at the Matrix: Reloaded cover, you have Morpheus, Neo and Trinity on it (Jack, The Doctor and Martha, anyone?) And based on all this Matrix talk I'd bet you think I was wholly fangirlish over it ... I'm not really, but I do love those deeper themes it was based upon.

So Jack's just been through the battle with the demon, death and resurrection...and there's our Christ figure. And that makes the key myth in the DW finale...End Times.

One thing about End Times (not necessarily referencing "Torchwood" as my memory of it is dodgy at best, I've only seen series 1 once and I was kind of skimming thru it at that)... The discussion I'm having with juanitadark above and in the other spec thread is making me nervous. Also the "devastating climax" I keep seeing around in describing the S3 finale. What if they don't save the Earth in the end?

What if Martha does in fact become some Bad Wolf equivalent, ends up sending the Doctor (or his essence/spirit/consciousness whatever) back in time to rectify what he'd done back in "The Christmas Invasion"? To keep him from deposing Harriet Jones and destroying that Golden Age of humanity. Makes the Doctor cross back into his own timeline to save the future. However, by doing that, the Doctor either goes forth and does all the same things he'd done... or he tries changing things for the better and not make the same mistakes. This is also a Doctor that would be over Rose, so he may have an easier time letting go of her / being the guide/mentor she needed to better her life and move on (not play to her boyfriend/mortgage illusions). Or everything ends up the same (thus Rose was kind of destined to end up in that other dimension with her happy, dreamlife allbeit forever separated from the Doctor)... but it's not as painful for the Doctor this time as he'd already been thru it once (and then, there's Martha).

Of course, if the Doctor continues to change the timeline in such a way, then everything that happened in season 2 and 3 wouldn't have happened. No Cybermen/Dalek invasion, no death of Adeola, no Racnoss, no Torchwood (which would mean S2 of that series would probably be the last), no Rose trapped in an alternate dimension, Professor Yana doesn't realize what he is (at least not by way of the Doctor/Jack/Martha) and no meeting of Martha.

If Freema/Martha is in fact in S4, that would mean the Doctor, in time, meets her again anyway ... with the intent things would be different between them? No more Rose emo, unintentionally hurting/sidelining her and little to no more Gallifrey emo. Kind of like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in a way, like if you could go back and do the same things over again (for love), would you do them even if you knew they ended badly the first time around?

[eido.livejournal.com]

Dunno, but it should be fic'd one way or another. ;)

[eido.livejournal.com]

Now, of course, I will cry if that doesn't happen...

Heee. In the event my crack doesn't come true (which is an exceedingly likely possibility you must admit), I prescribe much smutfic to smooth things over. Even in the (exceedingly unlikely) event it should become canon.... read much smutfic anyway!! ;)

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

"I'm still guessing it has something to do with those missing two years of memories."

So what's your guess? The time war involvement/actual Time Lordiness theories sound good to me...but I can't come up with anything that seems clearly, absolutely to offer the right answer. I keep thinking the fact that it's exactly two years missing must be significant... The only thing I can think of involving two years is if we take each Dr Who season to equal a year in the Doc's timeline, then it's been two years (Doctor time) since Jack died on the Gamestation. So maybe Jack is a regeneration of the Doctor and somehow needed to have those two years wiped because....oh, crap. I don't know. I'm clutching at straws here.

"Of course, if the Doctor continues to change the timeline in such a way, then everything that happened in season 2 and 3 wouldn't have happened."

That's why I just don't think that's the answer. Rusty doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would opt for the "wave a magic wand and none of it really happened" type of resolution.

[eido.livejournal.com]

So what's your guess? The time war involvement/actual Time Lordiness theories sound good to me...but I can't come up with anything that seems clearly, absolutely to offer the right answer.

Neither can I and we probably won't until whatever happens actually happens as the possibilities are plentiful. The only thing I tend not to lean towards are the theories Jack is some Chameleon Arch'd future incarnation of the Doctor / the Valeyard (unless Rusty tries to dance around the whole paradox thing). Despite it being a tempting spec with that, "The only man you'll ever be satisfied is yourself" line.

That's why I just don't think that's the answer. Rusty doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would opt for the "wave a magic wand and none of it really happened" type of resolution.

At least I'd hope not. I spec'd that at a low (paranoid) point the other day in this madness waiting for TSoD. There will be minutes I'll think everything will turn out in a satisfying way, the other I'll be thinking horrible things like Rusty resurrecting his favored creation (no matter the retconning he has to do) or canonically making Martha play Yenta to the Doctor & Rose (fanfic cliches of the worst order, mostly of the rabid fen, so I'd rather not think a professional would stoop to such levels... but such is my Rusty suspicions/paranoia). *cringes*

However, the more I think about this whole "Martha must save the world" thing (thus, in theory, thwart Saxon or at least play a very crucial role in doing so)... and Saxon's propensity to target the Doctor's human connections to get at him? Not to mention the "killed by an insect... a girl" foreshadowing of anviliciousness? Topped with the "devastating" and "grim" adjectives I've seen floating around describing the finale? I have been wondering more than I probably should if there is anything to the Sun rubbish and Martha is, in fact, abducted by the Master in the end. As I don't see the Doctor killing him, but unleashing some terrible vengeance (as he can't control himself)... there'd be more than reason the Master would be hella pissed at both of them, but if he can't thwart the Doctor, he targets his vulnerable human companion. Even if that doesn't seem the way Rusty usually ends things, the closest he's come to a cliffhanger yet is Donna in the TARDIS and that wasn't much of a cliffhanger, at least not anything like this would be.

[eido.livejournal.com]

Also forgot to conclude that - as Rusty doesn't usually go for those kinds of cliffhangers - even if Martha is kidnapped, Ten will probably rescue her before the ep is over. That's if abduction is the vengeance the Master goes for ... as opposed to flat-out killing Martha's mother or father or something.

[stoplookingup.livejournal.com]

Not that I know anything much about the subject...but I'd guess that there's one thing worse to Rusty than a cliffhanger, and that's risking allowing the audience to lose sympathy for the main character. The one advantage of an extended "Martha's missing and the Doctor is moving heaven and earth (and a few other planets) to find her" story is that it would heal all the Doctor-is-too-mean-to-Martha pain. Give him loads of chances to get emo about how much she means to him (and getting emo over Martha would put her on equal footing with Rose). And then of course there would be the reunion scene...the squee would wake the dead. (Not just Jack!)

Well, even if that's not what's in store, I feel pretty sure that optimism will not be disappointed. It's a long, long hiatus on Brit tv from one series to the next, and you just can't leave the audience with a bad taste in the mouth about the key relationship in the show. Right? (I will be clutching my knees rocking back and forth repeating this to myself over and over for the next week or so...)