WRITER: Russell T. Davies DIRECTOR: Graeme Harper
CAST: David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Derek Jacobi (Professor Yana), Chipo Chung (Chantho), Rene Zagger (Padra), Neil Reidman (Lieutenant Atillo), Paul Marc Davies (Chieftain), Robert Forknall (Guard), John Bell (Creet), Deborah Maclaren (Kristane), Abigail Clanton (Wiry Woman) & John Simm (The Master)
WARNING! SPOILERS! WARNING! SPOILERS! WARNING!
After stopping to refuel at the Cardiff Rift, the TARDIS is sent spinning trillions of years into the future when Jack Harkness hitches a ride...Russell T. Davies returns to mastermind the final three episodes of season 3 (no pun intended), starting with Utopia. Essentially, this episode is pure scene-setting, involving a somewhat silly storyline about humans trying to escape the imminent destruction of the universe and find salvation in a mythical "utopia", if only Professor Yana (Derek Jacobi) can get their transport's engines to work.
With the main plot being quite thin, Davies throws in some savage humans ("Futurekind") with razor-sharp teeth, intent on preventing the human exodus to Utopia. This aspect to the story isn't really given much depth, particularly as I was expecting some kind of Mad Max/Time Machine hybrid storyline based on the first 15 minutes. However, Davies' script is more interested in the return of Jack Harkness and an iconic series villain...
John Barrowman's return to Doctor Who, after headlining spin-off show Torchwood, is enjoyable and interesting for fans. Captain Jack can be a very irritating presence, but the reigning in of his sex-crazed personality (particularly after the dirty-minded Torchwood) makes him more palatable. The Doctor's frequent commands for Jack to stop flirting with people are particualarly amusing ("stop it!") Torchwood fans will also enjoy the fact Utopia answers questions left dangling at the end of Torchwood's season 1 finale, regarding Jack's fate and the reasons behind his immortality.
The real star of the show is Derek Jacobi, who's marvellous as Professor Yana, a gentlemen genius who finds a likeminded friend in The Doctor. Jacobi's performance is definitely Utopia's emotional heart. Or should that be hearts..?
Yes, it will come as no surprise to Whovians that Professor Yana is actually The Master in human form. It transpires he escaped certain death in the Time War by using a Chameleon Arch -- last seen providing The Doctor with a similar escape route in Human Nature/The Family Of Blood.
In an extended sequence that builds with foreboding before crackling wits electricity, kindly Yana truggles with conflicting emotions and restores his Time Lord identity, proving the Face Of Boe's final words in Gridlock were correct: The Doctor is certainly "not alone". From here, Jacobi relishes a disappointingly short amount of screentime, transformed into a dangerous sociopath and stealing the TARDIS.
To be honest, Utopia is actually a weak episode that does a wonderful job with its predictable twist. Davies' characterisation remains great, particularly during The Doctor and Jack's conversations, but it's the deft and exciting handling of The Master's return that rescues Utopia from storytelling boredom.
For the most part, Utopia is dull and uninteresting, mainly because of the hazy nature of "Utopia" itself and the lack of any engaging characters beyond Professor Yana. In all fairness, Utopia exists merely to set-up the return of The Doctor's nemesis -- and it does this with great aplomb. As such, shortcomings with the main storyline can be forgiven. Well, mostly.
