Hi havent posted here in a while. Im finishing Series 3 tonight. Whats your opinions on Utopia / The Sound Of Drums / The Last Of The Time Lords
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From what I remember, not having rewatched it (aside from a few clips here and there):
Loved âUtopia.â Loved everything about it - no notes.
Kinda meh about the other two parts, with Simm going for the sort of Master I rather dislike, or at least the kind that tends to take me out of the story. Some of it is quite good, and none of it is as egregious as I find âThe End of Timeâ to be.
If I had to dredge the silty river of my memories in order to toss out some ratings, theyâd be 10/10 for âUtopia,â and probably 6/10 for the other two parts, or possibly a 7 and a 6, a couple of 6.5sâŚyou get the idea.
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Using spoilers since you used the future tense for finishing Series 3 and donât know if youâve seen it before.
Utopia, brilliant. The concept of seeing the end of the universe, and humanityâs continued hope of somehow surviving, their âindomitabilityâ strong enough to still last against the impossible is great stuff. Derek Jacobi as both Professor Yana and the Master is excellent, especially the turn from one to the other as he opens the watch. And with that turn, seeing that human hope and ingenuity get turned against them in ways weâll have to wait two episodes to fully understand is harrowing.
The Sound of Drums, decent. I actually like Simm in this episode. I think heâs funny, entertaining, yet still evil as all hell without getting too ridiculous like we see in The End of Time. Itâs cool to see the Master just so in control and essentially win by the end of this episode. I liked the way it tied up who Saxon was, and brought in concepts from previous episodes like The Lazarus Experiment. Just like the previous episode tying back to the Chameleon Arch from Human Nature/The Family of Blood. I think the Saxon arc is probably the one of RTDâs that came together the best. The ones before it are pretty much just ârepeat the meme wordâ where this one actually has further story elements coming together as well.
And then we get to Last of the Time Lords. I like the idea of Martha travelling the Earth for a year enacting the Doctorâs plan to bring down the Master, her story is pretty good. But, we get Dobby Doctor which was just a step too far with the aging thing. And then thereâs Jesus Doctor saving the day with the power of prayer. I think the ending to this episode brings the whole story down a significant bit, leaving you with a sour taste in your mouth. I do like Marthaâs exit though, where she decides enough is enough, if the Doctor was going to keep ignoring her and not treating her right, she wasnât sticking around. I liked how she stood up for herself.
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I agree with a lot of what @TARDIS32 has to say about the good points of the episodes.
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Love Utopia and still do. I loved the other parts when I was a child too but I think on rewatch as an adult they donât hold up as well as they do in my memory
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Utopia is so good, Derek Jacobiâs performance is incredible.
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Love Utopia and it gave us the War Master. The end.
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Echoing basically what most in particular @Dragonwitch said, Utopia is superb and I think does building up so well, while also being a compelling story on its own right.
Then there is the other two, which I personally really donât like. Some great Concepts here and there but not very sold on its Excution.
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Utopia is great, and the other two episodes are just classic RTD finale.
Make of that what you will.
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Utopia is great.
The Sound of Drums is pretty good.
The Last of the Time Lords aired on TV.
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Utopia is great, The Sound of Drums is really good, Last of the Time Lords drops the ball a bit but is still good.
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I remember really liking these episodes when I was younger. I didnât like the final two episodes as much on my recent rewatch, but itâs still enjoyable.
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Good story.
I really recommend listening to BFâs The War Master range. Because Jacobi is so good
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Utopia: utter brilliance, Russellâs been trying to recreate this masterclass in build-up ever since it came out. Jacobi shouldâve stayed Master.
The Sound of Drums: a slick, unique action thriller that keeps up the stakes from Utopia and delivers on the premise. The only time I can really say I loved the Simm Master.
The Last of the Time Lords: a mistake of scriptwriting. Russell at his most patronizing and smug. The worst deus ex machina the show has ever had, the Simm Master has gone from fun and menacing to annoying and whilst the relationship between the Doctor and Master is excellent, the episodeâs still an absolute travesty.
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My opinion is that Utopia is a separate episode from the rest of the two parter thatâs linked by the seasonâs story arc.
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