Something that didn't strike me until the second time through is how the "Being John Simm" ending mirrors the Master's problem through the first half of the episode, where he can't show his face anywhere because he still looks like the former Prime Minster.
That's something about Russel T Davies' scripts in particular is that they lend themselves to multiple viewings in a way the show rarely has.
The classic series tends to be fairly straightforward pulp, with the occasional neat sci-fi idea (rarely after 1970) or clever dialog (especially when Douglas Adams was around), and maybe the odd political allegory (mostly Mac Hulke's stuff during the Pertwee years). In the last couple of years there was a bit of character development, with Ace and McCoy's darkening Doctor. Basically, the classic series was all about plot. And the plotting was always fairly mechanical.
In the new series, plot sulks way in the rear of the station wagon, with theme behind the wheel, character development on navigation, and dialog playing traveling games in the back seat. Several stories, like the series three finale, make no sense on a plot level, yet taken strictly for their themes are a pretty powerful deconstruction of the myth of Doctor Who.
And that's what makes the new series so good -- the way it breaks down the conceptual core of the show; what it means on a human level as a piece of television. The new series is almost more
about Doctor Who than it is content to simply
be Doctor Who. The times when it fails, that I can see, is when it stops picking away and settles for just telling a story. See every Mark Gatiss and Gareth Roberts script.
Steven Moffat is every bit as good as Davies, though his focus is more on structure and the logistics of the show's setup. Especially time travel -- which, bizarrely, the classic series almost never dealt with. The only role that time and space travel really played before 2005 was as an excuse to set the show somewhere different every four weeks. Going by some things that Moffat has said, and on the basis of his past episodes, it looks like from 2010, Doctor Who is actually going to be a show about time travel. Which is neat!
Granted, the new series often takes way too many shortcuts on its rush to the end. Handwavey solutions to complex problems, and, as grumbled about above, the Doctor knowing too damned much. There was a time when he had to figure things out every now and then.
So. Yeah.
First viewing, I really didn't know what to make of End of Time. Second viewing, I quite liked it -- despite some bits that really made no sense. And the second part looks really interesting.
YouTube - Doctor Who The End of Time - Part 2 - Exclusive Scene.
I'm guessing the only important things in the first episode, really, are the assembly of the Master and Wilf. The "Master Race" thing will be defused fairly early on, the Master will become an ally of sorts, and the story will veer sharply off in the direction it really means to.
This episode served, I think, to establish the character issues that will play out in the second part. The Master is bonkers and dangerous beyond belief, but he used to be the Doctor's best friend. How will these forces balance out when there's somethin g larger at stake? Wilf loves the Doctor, but he loves Donna more, and he's keeping secrets from both of them.
The more I think about it, the more I think that Wilf will be instrumental in the Doctor's regeneration. He's carrying around Chekhov's service revolver, and the lady in the TV made a big deal about his never having killed a man.
There isn't really any plot in the episode; what there is is nonsense. That's okay. Most of the best stories ever told have no plot.