It made me so sad for a moment that swallowed me whole.

Which episode?

The newest episode, drez, "The Stolen Earth." I don't want to give any spoilers so I'll just say I was tearing at one point too, and surprised at another. The next episode is gonna be gooooooood.

They really pulled out all the stops for this one.

I'm worried that because they've screwed the world up so completely, that they'll need some kind if rewind mcguffin a-la last season. I'm excited about the last episode but I fear the worst.

ENTERING SPOILER MODE

I don't think they'll necessarily have to reboot: nothing irrevocable has happened this time. Though they could easily do so if Donna's still carrying the time-altering bug.

It will inevitably be a bit silly though.

There are at least five different devices they've introduced that could save the day. There's the Shadow Proclamation, Donna's Time Bug, Captain Jack's wristband, the Osterhagen Key and Martha Jones' teleport gadget.

I'm confused by the regeneration business though. They haven't announced a new Doctor Who, and they've retained David Tennant for the 2009 specials. So are they going to have a new Who and have the 2009 specials all be flashbacks? Why hire so quickly for 2010?

I suspect the Doctor may be out of action most of the next episode while the assistants round up the plot devices.

Personally annoying prediction: after the end, the fans will all complain about a "deus ex machina" when it's clearly not a deus ex machina since the gimmick has been foreshadowed and will have been applied by the characters' efforts. Aaargh stop using words that you don't understand.

EXITING SPOILER MODE

May I just say:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SUPER SPOILER MODE
I've seen stills from the next christmas episode and Tennant was in them. So I've got no idea what this means...

In the doctors daughter, when asked if she would regenerate, the doctor replied that she wouldn't as she was too much like the doctor. Despite this she still managed to regenerate into herself. I think this may be important.

Saying that, I believe the many worlds thing is the key here.

ok, anyone else notice donna's heartbeat was the same as the Master's drumming?

That's about 19 minutes in. I didn't think it sounded like the Master's drumming, but it sounds like she might have two hearts...

We need a spoiler tag in the posts to blackout these comments!
I'm putting the rest of my comment in teensy text just in case so anyone who goes to the Last Comments section can't read it - I know there are some who'd hate to get this spoiled.

Late to the party, just watched the episode. They sure know how to ramp up the drama. I'm thinking once the one-second blip in time field is turned off then the Shadow Proclamation will be able to come in a mop up the surviving Dalek forces, once they can actually *get* to that point. I'm sure the issues with time will stop a full regeneration, as if we've been lied to and there is going to be a new Dr, then they're running out of regenerations. He's only got, what, 3 left?
I'm sure the ending won't go the way I'd like, but it looks to be more fun than last seasons, and that's ok.
One of the companions is supposed to die, they said. I'll guess it's not Sarah-Jane or Martha. Probably Donna. :(

There was so much happening in that one it was a multiple Whogasm.

Yeah, I could do without the spectacle. Nice little touches included the return of Harriet Jones and her mention of the Mr. Copper Foundation. The Dalek-destroying guns were pretty badass. I'm really annoyed by false earth destruction and false regeneration gimmicks at this point, though. It's not bad, it's just ... done.

The Davros costume was unsatisfying, and the shot of the spinning TARDIS following in the subwave field was a bit cheesy.

Maybe if he got back to traveling the universe a bit more like in the old days. They say those episodes have smaller audiences, though. Argh.

All in all this series 4 has not been up to scratch for me. And I've defended the revived show up till now. It isn't even Donna -- I like Donna, but they neutered Catherine Tate instead of letting her do what she does best.

He's only got, what, 3 left?

But then, no one knows if he his PHYSICALLY limited to a set number, or if that was the law on Gallifrey. The Master had more, and the Doctor wasn't always one to follow the rules, even when there were people left around to enforce them.

I think you can assume that nobody on the current writing staff cares how many reincarnations the Doctor gets.
I'm hopelessly confused by the "Doctor is reincarnating / Tennant is signed up for a couple more years thing. *sigh*. Only 6 days before I find out.

I think you can assume that nobody on the current writing staff cares how many reincarnations the Doctor gets.

I'm not so sure about that. Have you listened to any of the episode commentaries? Particularly on the ones with Tennant or Davies involved, you can tell from the beautiful geekery on display that you've got diehard fans at work in this show. In spite of RTD's almost worship of the character, he and all of the writers (Moffat, especially) are operating with all three decades of history in mind. Why else would you bring back Davros, a character recognizable to nobody who is a fan of only the current series?

My guess? Ten's regeneration is going to be interrupted/sabotaged, the massive amount of energy redirected, possibly even as a means of jump-starting Davros's inter-planetary engine. Of course, I might be completely wrong and Ten might simply regenerate as himself, but you don't do a mid-regen cliff-hanger with the expectation that things are going to turn out as expected ... especially with Cpt. Jack saying things like, "Come on, Rose, you know what happens now."