The Master has twisted the Immortality Gate into his own weapon, projecting himself as a template onto every human on Earth: every human on Earth is now the Master. The two aliens working undercover in Naismith’s operation are unaffected, and Wilfred is unaffected as well, stuck in the Master’s isolation booth. But the only other human not possessed by the Master is Donna Noble, whose adventures with the Doctor are flooding back into her mind. Wilfred urges her to run, but soon the amount of information crowding her human brain causes her to collapse. The Master interrogates the Doctor, demanding to know the whereabouts of the TARDIS, but this grueling interrogation is soon interrupted by the two aliens, who teleport themselves, the Doctor and Wilfred to their ship in orbit.

An alien artifact arrives on Earth, a piece of the extinct world of Gallifrey, and only then does the Master realize what the drumbeat in his head is: the rhythm of a Time Lord’s hearts. The Master uses this piece of Gallifrey to establish a link, and the entire planet of Gallifrey materializes close enough to Earth that tidal forces begin tearing the smaller planet apart. The Time Lords, desperate to escape their imminent doom in the Time War, have broken free by sending their distress signal – the drumbeat – back in time. They created the Master and made him a madman, all to compel him to provide an escape route for Gallifrey. The Lord President and members of the High Council of the Time Lords arrive on Earth, where the Master demands their obedience and just as quickly discovers that the Lord President is ready to eliminate him: the Master has served his purpose where the Time Lords are concerned. The Doctor cuts Gallifrey’s link to Earth as the Master and the Time Lord President do battle; the planet of the Time Lords disappears again, taking the Master with it.

But it is only after the crisis is averted that the Doctor realizes that the prophecy of his own death has nothing to do with the Time Lords or the Master.

written by Russell T. Davies
directed by Euros Lyn
music by Murray Gold

Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), John Simm (The Master), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Timothy Dalton (Lord President), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Freema Agyeman (Martha Smith-Jones), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Jessica Hynes (Verity Newman), June Whitfield (Minnie Hooper), Claire Bloom (The Woman), Thomas Knight (Luke Smith), Russell Tovey (Midshipman Frame), David Harewood (Joshua Naismith), Tracy Ifeachor (Abigail Naismith), Lawry Lewin (Rossiter), Sinead Keenan (Addams), Joe Dixon (The Chancellor), Julie LeGrand (The Partisan), Brid Brennan (The Visionary), Karl Collins (Shaun Temple), Krystal Archer (Nerys), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma), Ruari Mears (Elder Ood), Silas Carson (voice of Ood Sigma), Nicholas Briggs (voice of Judoon), Dan Starkey (Sontaran), Matt Smith (The Doctor)

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green (more…)

Daniel Graystone has a problem: despite the successful demonstration of his new robotic soldier, the Cylon, it’s only an army of one – all attempts at replicating it have failed. Graystone lets his technicians labor in the dark while he knows the true secret: the Cylon demonstration model contains a data disc with his late daughter Zoe’s avatar. Even then, though, Graystone doesn’t begin to suspect that his daughter has outmaneuvered him: the Cylon contains Zoe’s consciousness. Zoe is careful not to reveal that to her father or any of his technicians, however, though she does eventually reach out to her best friend, Lacy – and even then, she has a lot of explaining to do before Lacy can accept her. Amanda Graystone, hounded by investigators, discovers that Zoe may have had a larger role in the bombing than she realized, and goes public with this information far too soon for her husband’s tastes. And as Joseph Adama is still deep in mourning, he scarcely notices when his son William begins to fall under the influence of an uncle with a dangerous lifestyle.

Season 1 Regular Cast: Eric Stoltz (Daniel Graystone), Esai Morales (Joseph Adama), Paula Malcomson (Amanda Graystone), Alessandra Toressani (Zoe Graystone), Magda Apanowicz (Lacy Rand), Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama), Brian Markinson (Special Agent Jordan Durham), Polly Walker (Sister Clarice Willow), Sina Najafi (William Adama)

written by Mark Verheiden
directed by Jonas Pate
music by Bear McCreary

Guest Cast: Scott Porter (Nestor), Avan Jogia (Ben Stark), Jeanettea Antonio (Woman), Philip Granger (Tanner), Hiro Kanagawa (Cyrus Xander), Dale Wolfe (Steve Bahara)

LogBook entry by Earl Green