I agree that it would have been a better standalone story had he stuck to his original decision. However, given the trailer for the Christmas special, I can see why it was written as it was. Definitely looking forward to the next story.

(Interesting that we didn't see any reapers this time à la Father's Day)

Good point about the reapers, given the line in Father's Day about 'there's a man alive in the world who wasn't before,' and that's basically what set the whole mess going.

I suspect the next story will draw on the idea of the Doctor's interfering having knock-on effects. There was a line cut from Last of the Time Lords where the Master tells the Doctor that he allowed all this to happen. By ousting Harriet Jones, he left a gap that shouldn't have been there, one the Master could exploit.

But seriously, Cheshire Ood? WTF?!

I liked the concept of the story, the idea behind it is fascinating. Execution wise, I think it could have been better, as dafwarg says, if he'd stuck to his original decision. Agree with you on the over-the-top ending.

Next week's episode will be interesting.

[damn this fiddly trying-not-to-give-anything-away in the comment :D]

I figure I said that spoilers would likely pop up in the comments, so people have been fairly warned :)

I wouldn't have minded the Doctor's power trip if it had been more subtle and insidious, but that didn't bother me as much as everything after Adelaide's final act.

There's a difference between foreshadowing and throwing a can of thick black paint over the ending and calling the resulting mess storytelling. I like RTD's work a chunk of the time, but I like his endings way less than half the time.

I must admit I'm starting to cringe a little when I see RTD's name in the opening credits. He has great ideas, and I do really enjoy a lot of his stuff. But golly gee willikas, what was with that ending?
He (the Doctor) does seem to be getting a bit arrogant which I guess is necessary for where it looks like the story is going, but subtlety would've worked better.
So much for the space-time continuum.
:)

Yay :bouncy:

[GregT] It was so very close to being good. The ending was fine in concept, just bad in execution. The Doctor was doing exactly what we'd always whined that we wanted him to; it was what the episode had made us want; and it was perfectly in line with a character who over the entire new series had been haunted by all the people he'd been unable to save.

It should have been closure for his failure to save the Time Lords, with unfortunate consequences. It turned out to be closure for the "secretly the Doctor's a colossal dick" storyline that Davies had apparently been building to.

I really enjoy water of mars, very tense. one of the best from David Tennet. I can't wait for end of time.