 With Doctor Who continuing to be extraordinarily popular, the BBC consented to an overlong edit of the final episode "Last of the Time Lords". Thus allowing this episode to be screened in a 50-minute timeslot, rather than the 45-minute duration of the typical Doctor Who episode of the revamped show.
As had now become traditional this story boasted several celebrity cameos, this time famous figures declaring their support for Harold Saxon. These included Sharon Osbourne (host of the The X Factor and star of The Osbournes alongside her husband, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne), pop group McFly, and Ann Widdecombe (Conservative MP and presenter of The Widdecombe Project). The production team even managed to obtain the appropriate clearances to include the song Voodoo Child into the first epiosode.
The very first appearance of the Time Lords in Doctor Who was in the final episode of the 1969 Second Doctor story "The War Games". They were seen wearing simple black and white garments and so at the suggestion of script editor Gary Russell, the younger Master's outfit reflected the earlier Time Lord costumes.
In the scene with the old Time Lord and the juvenile Master, the Time Lord is seen dressed in opulent Gallifreyan robes which were are worn by senior Time Lords. These were first seen in the 1976 Fourth Doctor story "The Deadly Assassin". The headpiece worn was actually a prop from the original run of the show.
When The Master introduces Martha Jones to her captive family, he does so in the style of the fondly remembered show This is Your Life.
Earth was first referred to by its Gallifreyan name of Sol 3 in "The Deadly Assassin". According to the Time Lords it is in the Mutter's Spiral, the Gallifreyan name for the Milky Way.
The Master refers to The Doctor's previous battles with the Sea Devils and the Axons.
The Master seems to be a Scissor Sisters fan. He's singing along to "I Can't Decide", from their "Ta-Dah" album, on the flight deck of the Valiant.
'Peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully' is a very similar to a famous line 'People of the Universe, please attend carefully' that was spoken by The Master in "Logopolis". The Master may be an insane psychopath, but you can't fault his manners.
The Master has adopted numerous pseudonyms over the course of the show which usually plays on the word ‘Master’. In this story he uses the alias ‘Harold Saxon’. ‘Mister Saxon’ is an anagram of ‘Master No Six’ and John Simm, who played this incarnation of The Master, was the sixth major incarnation of this character.
The Teletubbies is not the only children's programme that The Master has enjoyed. In the 1972 Third Doctor story "The Sea Devils", he whistled happily along with The Clangers!
It is a known fact that The Doctor loves jelly babies. The Second Doctor had a bag of them as early as "The Three Doctors", and they were a favourite snack of his fourth incarnation. The Master has never displayed a fondness for the sugary treats until now.
Dictators love their big statues. Probably the most famous one in recent years was the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, toppled by occupying forces at the end of the second Gulf War. That was only 20ft tall though, not quite up there with a 200ft Master. It is also mentioned that The Master has added his likeness to Mount Rushmore - thus joining 60ft granite sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The god Xoanon did something very similar, carving the giant head of the Fourth Doctor into a mountain in "The Face of Evil".
Winters is the second US President that The Doctor has seen killed. A photo seen in the Ninth Doctor story "Rose" implies that he also witnessed the assassination of JFK in 1963.
The Doctor also suffered problems with premature aging in "The Leisure Hive", when a sabotaged machine caused him to age decades in seconds. The Doctor is also no stranger to wheelchairs. He escaped from hospital in one in "Spearhead From Space" and used an electric wheelchair to get around the TARDIS in his weakened post-regenerative state in "Castrovalva".
Could Captain Jack Harkness really be The Face of Boe? If so then The Doctor has met him so far in three stories "The End of the World", "New Earth". and "Gridlock" – the last of which he was seen to die.
This story marks the first mention of the Medusa Cascade, which plays a major part in Season Thirty (New Series 4).
Before the title sequence in episode two there is a brief recap of the main events that took place in the first episode.
Like the previous double episode story in Season Twenty Nine (New Series 3), the first episode of this story includes a title card reading "To be continued...". This is then followed, during the credits, with a trailer for episode two. The second episode of this story, being the last episide of the season does not include a trailer for the next story. It does though have a title card, at the beginning of the end the credits, that reads "Doctor Who will return at Christmas in VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED".
Following on immediately after each episode of this story, on BBC3, were the twelth and thirteenth chapters of the third series of Doctor Who Confidential. These being "The Saxon Mystery" and "The Valiant Quest". Both were presented by Anthony Head.
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The Firsts:
The first appearance of the Time Lords (albeit in a flashback scene) since the show's revamp.
The first mention of the Medusa Cascade, which plays a major part in Season Thirty (New Series 4).
Depending on how you count the episodes/stories in this season, along with "Utopia", this is the first three-part story of the revived television series.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Colin Teague.
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(Position = 3 out of 10)
(Position = 27 out of 200)
