Dr. Who Reaction 14x8 - Empire of Death
Added 2025-08-09 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
Comments
"Instead, I found a home. I clung to your infernal machine. And for so many years I hid. I have travelled with you for all this time, riding the spine of your ship, staring into eternity and evolving into my true godhood.", Sutekh, "Empire of Death" I rated this episode more highly than you did, but then I didn't rate the previous one as astronomically highly as you had. I though this was a fine ending to the season. "Every sun is dead. The universe has come to a halt. And it is my fault, 'cos I travelled to all those worlds. I thought it was fun.", The Doctor, "Empire of Death" I think the idea of Sutekh travelling wherever the Doctor went and seeding his revenge was a really great concept and a fine idea for the sequel to the original Classic Who story. "It's a remembered TARDIS. It's bits and pieces of every TARDIS that ever was, held together by hopes and wishes and luck.", The Doctor, "Empire of Death" The remembered TARDIS was a very sweet idea for us long-time fans - and there was lots of stuff to look for - like the "WHO 1" license plate and River's blue diary and so much else. The "Unleashed" episode has a big segment on including props in the remembered TARDIS. I admit I didn't really understand how the "Tales of the TARDIS" short "anniversary" episodes (which were wonderful and sweet in their own way) fitted into the full canon of Doctor Who - and this episode explained them perfectly. "Okay, so what did I miss? Every Susan Triad, they were innocent? They were all real?" I get Impossible Girl-vibes from Susan Triad being left in multiple places in the universe - all part of a big plot involving the Doctor. "Okay, so the Tardis has a perception filter so it doesn't get noticed, it just sits there, kind of unseen, 'cos it casts a field around it at 66.7 metres exactly.", "73 yards.", The Doctor and Ruby, "Empire of Death" That callback to the 73-yard distance made the fans sit up! "The universe stands silent, in death. Yet one thing persists. One thing keeps living, despite me.", Sutekh, "Empire of Death" The destroyed universe reminded me of the Flux - too soon, I think, for another version of universal destruction. I don't like big universe-destroying plots in my Who - I prefer smaller stories. "No. Greater than him. A secret the Child carries with her. But I will find them.", Sutekh, "Empire of Death" But I did like the idea that the mystery of who Ruby's mother and Sutekh not knowing continued to haunt Sutekh. BTW: I never thought of Rudy as having anything other than human parents - so it didn't worry me when it turned out that was the case. I didn't buy the "pointing at the sign" stuff though - that was over-dramatic. BTW2: it was Ruby's birth mother's step-father who was bad - not Ruby's birth father. "Maybe this is for you.", "Waited for so long ...", "You great big god of nothing!", Ruby and Sutekh, "Empire of Death" And the idea continued to haunt Sutekh to the point that he became vulnerable to Ruby's trick with the rope. "I think my daughter died, didn't she? And I forgot.", "I think she did. I'm sorry.", The Kind Woman and the Doctor, "Empire of Death" However, I didn't get what this side visit to the dying planet of Agua Santina added to the plot, at all. I realise the Doctor said he needed something metal - but this did seem a bit random. "Vortis. Tigella. Vox. Messaline. Calufrax. Spiridon. Telos. Shan Shen. Ah! The Ood Sphere is alive! Ha!", The Doctor, "Empire of Death" Vortis, Tigella, Calufrax, Spiridon were all planets from Classic Who stories. And, of course, earlier he had mentioned Karn - another Classic Who planet which we had revisited in "Night of the Doctor" and "The Magician's Apprentice". "You saw all of Time and Space with me, Sutekh! So I thought, what if you see it again? What happens if you bring death to death? You bring life!", The Doctor, "Empire of Death" I don't mind nice special effects or the lack of special effects in my Doctor Who. For example, in the related Classic story from 1975, Sutekh's servant kills people with smoke or something - in the modern version people get killed by dessicating into dust. It's the same death - they've just upgraded the effects. So when Sutekh is being dragged through the time vortex by the TARDIS in this one, it recalls Sutekh being banished in "Pyramids of Mars" - with slightly enhanced effects. The story idea is the same - I don't mind either way. "And what happens, you might wonder. Oh, what happens to that mysterious traveller in Time and Space known as the Doctor? I'm sorry to say his story ends in absolute terror.", "Mrs Flood", "Empire of Death"
Andrew Vignaux
2025-08-14 23:00:02 +0000 UTCHi! I was also looking forward to it with great anticipation, and what a huge rip-off I got! It's like I'm not even watching Doctor Who, but something else... I would recommend other series to watch, but maybe others will recommend them. There's still a Christmas episode, and 1 more season, and then you have to find something else to watch. Unfortunately, Doctor Who is no longer in my heart.
monguru (Rose Tyler fan)
2025-08-10 11:48:27 +0000 UTCDear Nicol, I had prepared in my head an epic post outlining all the multitude of faults in this episode; but now, there is nothing for me to write because you have comprehensively said EVERYTHING that I wanted to say. Everything! It just goes to show that CGI and a fast pace does NOT necessarily make a good episode. For my money,Pyramids of Mars (despite lacking spectacle) is the better story. Such a shame because "Legend of Ruby Sunday" is a 9/10. This one...well,I agree with IMDB: 6/10. The worst part of it all is that I can see what RTD was trying to do with the resolution featuring Ruby's birth mother - but he couldn't even get close to pulling it off. :(
Ian Smith
2025-08-09 20:26:28 +0000 UTC
