Stopping
on the rift in Cardiff to refuel the TARDIS, the Doctor
sees a familiar face from his past running towards them
on the monitor, Captain Jack Harkness. Heading off to their
next destination before he can catch them, the TARDIS malfunctions
and throws Doctor and Martha further forward in time than
any Timelord has ever been, to the very end of the universe.
When the TARDIS finally comes to a halt, they leave their
ship only to discover Captain Jack lying outside the door
and a horde of beast-like humanoids running towards them.
Escaping to the last human stronghold in the universe, the
trio meet Professor Yana who is building a rocket to take
the survivors to the fabled Utopia but there is something
about the Professor that is just not right.
The
Doctor reunites with an old friend but he also makes a shocking
discovery that will change him forever as the season heads
towards a dramatic finale.
Captain
Jack Harkness returns to Doctor Who after getting
his own spin-off show Torchwood.
He's in for the adventure of his life. The man who cannot
die after Rose brought him back to life has been waiting
for the Doctor to return for years now. Perhaps even longer
than that.
As
the TARDIS materialises above his Torchwood base of operations
in Cardiff, he makes a run for it and ends up hanging on
for dear life as ship throws him, Martha and the Doctor
to the very last days of the Universe. Here they discover
the Human race on the brink of extinction and a lone scientist
trying to save the remnants that are left by taking them
to last shining light in the universe, known only as Utopia.
The
Doctor discovers that Professor Yana is a genius, pursuing
theories and inventing solutions that are way beyond anything
a human could ever do. Of course the Doctor is drawn in
by the science and quickly becomes involved in the rocket
project but there is something about the Professor that
is just not right.
With
Martha and Jack trying to stop the invasion of a humanoid
type race attacking the compound, the Doctor and the Professor
face a race against time to launch the rocket and save the
human race but Yana is still hearing the voices that have
tormented him all his life and they are getting louder.
When
someone of the calibre of Sir Derek Jacobi joins the series,
you know that Doctor Who has returned to the heights
of its success. As Professor Yana, the veteran British actor
of stage and screen brings the bumbling scientist to life
but it is when he realises what the voices are and who he
really is that we see why you needed a big time actor in
the role.
The
return of John Barrowman to the series as Captain Jack Harkness
is a welcome one, even though he is a little more camp than
he was in Torchwood. The actor clearly relishes
the role and really has fun with the acting and the continuous
running the character seems to do in every episode he appears
in. David Tennant raises his game to cope with the return
of John Barrowman and having to act along side a legend
like Derek Jacobi.
‘Utopia’
is a clearly written episode that will reveal why many of
the plot points across the last few seasons were introduced
by Russell T. Davies and his creative team. It is this that
makes this episode pivotal to the evolution of the series
and one that sets up the return of one of the Doctor’s
deadliest enemies but more of that during the season finale.
