N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
David Tennant’s time in the TARDIS played witness to some of Doctor Who‘s most emotional moments: the love stories with Madame de Pompadour and Joan Redfern, the tragic end to Donna’s journey, Wilf (just Wilf) and also gave us some of the show’s best ever episodes — the already-alluded-to The Girl in the Fireplace, the introduction of the weeping angels in Blink and the conclusion of the Face of Boe loose trilogy Gridlock being my personal favourites.
“Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long”
The Doctor, The End of Time, Part Two
There were low points too, of course. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the Dobby Doctor (and frankly pretty much everything about Last of the Time Lords, despite the presence of the ill-served but still marvelous Dr Martha Jones) and the less said about concrete Ursula the better, but throughout the Tenth Doctor’s run, one thing was abundantly clear: David Tennant was born to play the Doctor.
Indeed, his video diaries quickly became one of my favourite recurring DVD extras and the Final Days diary on The End of Time disc in particular did not disappoint. Tennant’s getting emotional on the last day shows just how much this all meant to him.
It’s especially apparent how good he is in the quieter moments, seen throughout his run, from The Girl in the Fireplace through the post-finale trauma of losing Rose in Doomsday and Journey’s End and right up towards the end of the run in The Waters of Mars and The End of Time. Even when he was shouting, apparently (judging by the sound mix) so he could be heard over Murray Gold and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, David Tennant was rarely less than impressive.
But all good things and all that … and after 18 months and a whole bunch of sidesteps and short trips into spin-off territory, I’ve made it through the Tenth Doctor era of Doctor Who. I’ve one more post to write, but I’ll then be taking a short break from the blog to watch the new 60th anniversary episodes. There’s a new fella in the TARDIS — some chap named Tennant.