(756) The End of Time - Part Two

The End OF Time is the final appearance for David Tennant as the Doctor (apart from his 2013 appearance). This is 47^th and final episode and is the sixth longest serving Doctor in terms of episode credited to. This is also his 1,468^th and final day as the Doctor and becomes stays as the third longest serving Doctor in that respect. It is also the 60^th and final episode for Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner as executive producers and the 31^st for Russell T Davies as writer and becomes the seventh most credited writer in Doctor Who ever and the most credited writer since the show returned in 2005.

The first scene after the titles have played is set on Gallifrey and it’s the most that we have seen of Gallifrey since the show returned. Sadly the room that the Lord President meets the other Timelords in is less impressive. I suppose that it could be argued that it just means that there is nothing to distract you and your attention could be focused on Timothy Dalton. Dalton’s character is called Lord President for most of the story but it isn’t until the end that he’s called Rassilon.

It’s nice that the drumming was started by the Timelords and he has had this all his lives. It gives an nice explanation as to why the Master has been the way that he has been since he debuted in Terror of the Autons. The idea of using six billion copies of himself to find where the signal of the drumming is coming from is.

When the Lord President arrives on Earth that is what things start to ramp up and soon Gallifrey appears above the Earth and I love how quickly things spiral out of control. The reason why the Time War was timelocked is finally explained and its quite a good one.

Bernard Cribbins is fantastic in this story and the scene where he is trying to get the Doctor to shoot the Master is one of the best scenes in this story. The fact that Wilfred is the one that knocks four times and causes the Doctor to pretty much sacrifice his life is something that would normally make him a terrible character but it shows how close Wilfred and the Doctor have become that he is prepared to do this ultimate sacrifice.

The performance that John Simm gives in these two episodes is much better than the one he gave in series twenty-nine. The Master is used rather well and is quite central to the story but not in his usual way. The fact he gives up his life for the Doctor is the perfect way for the Master to exit the story.

The Doctor jumping out of the ship to crash land into the main room of the Naismith mansion seems a bit of an over the top thing to do but its not as bad as the hover boat scene in Planet of the Spiders. I thought that the moment when the Doctor realises he is alive and then hears the four knocks is a heart stopping moment and the look on Tennant’s face is so sad. When he decides to go into the booth to let Wilfred out it’s a scene that is as emotional as anything in the show since it returned. Even when RTD was trying to be emotional, this was the first time that it seemed to have an effect on me.

The final fifteen minutes is given over to the Doctor saying goodbye to all of the people who have been a part of the show during RTD’s time. I mentioned during the Journeys End review that too much time was given over to the soppy sentimental stuff but that wont happen here. You don’t appear in so many stories without earning the right to say goodbye this way. The first people that he visits are Martha and Mickey are seen trying to dodge a Sontaran and have become a married couple.  That seems like a bolt out of the blue. Next was Sarah Jane and Luke also return and the Doctor saves Luke’s life after he runs into the road. This was nice cause because Elisabeth Sladen does seem to well up and it’s the last time that Sarah Jane would appear in Doctor Who because she passes away the following year.

Captain Jack is in a bar with Slitheen, Judoon, Adispose, the Hath and ends up hooking up with Alonso from Voyage of the Damned. The tune from Daleks in Manhattan is playing in the background. Next up is Jessica Hynes appears as Verity Newman who is a descendant on Joan Redfern from Human Nature. It was perhaps for time reason that they didn’t go back to Joan Redfern and instead went for her granddaughter. Whatever the reason for it doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s a nice moment. Donna gets married (properly this time) and sadly doesn’t notice the Doctor but Wilfred and Sylvia do. The Doctor goes back to meet Geoffrey Noble and I had forgotten that bit and it was a nice touch because Geoffrey would have appeared in the 2008 series had he not passed away. The final encounter was with Rose which was always going to be the case. It happens just before Rose meets Eccleston’s Doctor but I do wonder how Rose wouldn’t remember him later on.

After all the goodbyes are done, the Doctor takes a slow walk towards his TARDIS and I think that this is where Murray Gold’s music works its magic because it builds up and up trying to crank up the emotions of the moment. I suspect that Tennant’s final words as the Doctor aren’t 100% acting. There must have been a part of him during that scene that wanted to carry on but not everything can go on forever. As last words go “I don’t want to go” is a million times better than “Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice, Carrot Juice”. The destruction of the TARDIS was a great moment and this is the last time that it features like this (it makes an appearance later in the next series).

Matt Smith’s opening minute wasn’t the greatest start and I know that there is suppose to be a bit of madness to this part but it was perhaps just a bit too mad. That said I know certain people that I watched this scene with weren’t convinced that Matt Smith was the right person to play the role. It’s hard to judge someone after such a short time but I was convinced that he would prove everyone wrong and now it remains to be seen whether this is still the case.

The End of Time was a good story and I think that it gave Tennant the send off that he deserved. Tennant had a difficult job to do when he took over from Christopher Eccleston in June 2005 but over the course of his time on the show he has helped the show increase in popularity and despite some iffy moments, the Tennant era has been really good and it will be interesting to see how watching the Smith era an episode a day will match up with Tennant’s.

(750) The Stolen Earth

This is going to be a stat filled review today. First stat is that The Stolen Earth is the 750^th episode of Doctor Who. It is also the 200^th story as well which is a point that could be argued. I would argue this by saying that Trial of a Timelord was four stories not just one and I have clubbed Utopia with Sound of Drums and Last of the Timelords. The BBC say that this story is number 198 and that Planet of the Dead is the 200^th but I think that we should leave it is it is.  This episode sees the return of Davros 81 episodes ago or 7, 185 days since the final episode of Remembrance of the Daleks. In the 2005 series, the Daleks returned, in 2006 it was the Cybermen that returned and in 2007 the Master made an appearance and so it was Davros’ time to make a comeback.

This is where all three shows that RTD is involved in are in the same story. Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures and their respective characters join the Doctor Who world. This is a arguably the biggest episode of Doctor Who. You could see it as Doctor Who’s answer to The Avengers film. Russell T Davies has to fit an awful lot into two episodes and that’s not an easy thing to do.

There is a slight issue with the idea of people able to make phone calls on their phones and yet the planet has moved. In one scene Luke is able to make a call and then in the next scene Martha can’t make a call.

When the Daleks’ voice sound, it’s a moment that gave me goose bumps. I can’t deny it but the sound along with the Murray Gold music helped make it seem like an big moment. The thing is that the reason for what the Daleks are doing isn’t explained. I think that there isn’t enough time to properly explain this but that didn’t bother me really.

It wouldn’t be a series finale without cameo appearances. They have become something of a calling card for Russell T Davies. However one of the cameos is quite interesting. Richard Dawkins makes an appearance and his cameo is interesting because he’s married to Lalla Ward. Paul O’Grady also appears.

The Shadow Proclamation has been mentioned countless times since 2005 and we finally get to visit it. Personally I think that it should be something that is talked about but not seen. During this period of the episode we learn more about the planets moving but Russell T Davies comes up with the idea that Bees are aliens. This is first instance that I think shows that Russell T Davies was starting to lose his grip on what works and doesn’t work. This is his last series as Head Writer (although he is still in charge for the specials).

Davros doesn’t appear until quite late in the episode and even then we only see his metal hand (blown off in Revelation of the Daleks) and his blue head light. We don’t get to see him properly until the end and then it’s the best couple of minutes in what is a superb episode. Julian Bleach has a difficult job because he will be compared to Michael Wisher and Terry Molloy. What is impressive about his performance is how he manages to mix their version into his own. The mask that Bleach has to wear is very good because it allows Bleach to very as expressionative as he wants to be. Wisher and Molloy didn’t have that luxury but thankfully the process has improved and we get to see the benefits. I just wish there had been more of Davros in this episode.

This episode marks the final appearance of Penelope Wilton and I love how she introduces herself as former Prime Minister (even to the Daleks). This short appearance seems to be designed to give her character some redemption because of what happened in The Christmas Invasion. It’s a lovely performance from Wilton and it reminds me of what was so good about the character.

The question that has to be raised in this two parter is whether enough time is given to all the supporting characters who normally are central characters. Luke doesn’t really have much presence in this episode but its Gwen and Ianto that have the better slice of the action but that’s because Captain Jack is so involved in the central story. Russell T Davies does manage to make everyone seem relevant to the story. Martha is in ‘New York’ with UNIT and then teleports to London but doesn’t really do very much yet seems relevant to the story.

The cliffhanger is quite possibly the best cliffhanger that the show has ever come up with. It starts with The Doctor running towards Rose and the Doctor being shot at by a Dalek. I thought sneaking the Dalek in to what was suppose to be a lovely moment was a great decision. The final shot is of the Doctor seemingly regenerating. Bearing in mind that at this time, David Tennant had announced he was leaving, it seemed like this was going to be Tennant’s final episode. I think the there was a genuine belief that the Doctor would regenerate. That week between episodes was an awfully long time.

(744) The Doctor's Daughter

So todays episode is one which features David Tennant and his future wife and daughter of the fifth incarnation of the Doctor and his father in law Georgia Moffett. This follows on from the previous episode but isn’t part of a three parter. This is the second story from Stephen Greenhorn who wrote the rather interesting Lazarus Experiment from the previous series so there was always the possibility that he might get away with it again. Sadly within a few minutes it seems this isn’t going to be the case.

Within three minutes Martha is taken by the Hath. Martha is poorly served in this episode as she is stuck with the Hath and cries when one drowns in some quicksand. It seems like Martha was bought along in this episode for someone to interact with the Hath. The problem with this is that it’s just so in your face about it. Her final scene isn’t quite as emotional as it was at the end of Last of the Timelords.

The monster of the week are the Hath. The Hath don’t speak, they don’t even have any translation device which makes their involvement somewhat difficult. I can’t figure whether this is a good thing or not. On the one hand its quite different to not have an alien race speaking English yet on the other hand it slows the interaction between Martha and the Hath down.

I think that General Cobb was a good villain but one of the problems with the story is he doesn’t get the chance to be as good a villain as he could be. I think that Nigel Terry manages to do a good enough job to at least seem like the most interesting character. It would be wrong of me to not mention Mrs David Tennant. In 2008 they weren’t a couple and so its only now that it weird to watch them and think that on screen they might be father and daughter but in real life they are husband and wife. Taking that out of the situation I thought that Moffett did a good job. Apparently, it was Steven Moffat’s idea to bring Jenny back to life. I think that in hindsight this was a mistake cause she hasn’t been mentioned once since this episode and so as good as it looked to have her on her own adventures, in terms of Doctor Who narrative its not a clever idea.

It’s a slightly disappointing episode because it seems like to many things have been crammed into 45 minutes. I also think that it was a mistake to bring Martha along in this episode because it devalues her previous exit.

(743) The Poison Sky

Today’s episode is the 34^th for David Tennant as Doctor and that ties him with Colin Baker. Tennant is now just three episodes away from matching Sylvester McCoy. I got the most recent edition of Doctor Who Magazine and on the cover it has the line about how Earth survived 92 invasions which is an incredible stat. A couple of things have changed in my mind since watching the previous episode. Firstly there is the introduction of Martha. I mentioned that Martha’s introduction seemed to be solely so that she could be cloned. I have to admit that it is quite fun having an evil Martha in the story. When Martha meets her cloned self it is quite a nice moment and

Another thing that has changed since watching The Sontaran Stratagem. Rattigan doesn’t seem quite so annoying in this episode. I think it’s because the inevitability of his demise that makes him seem more normal than he was in the previous episode. He is abandoned by his followers at the academy and after his hissy fit he is belittled a bit before redeeming himself and killing himself and blowing up the Sontaran ship.

The Sontarans plan to turn earth into great big breading ground is quite a good one. I think that it might have been nicer if the plan have been made clearer and revealed earlier in this two parter. The idea is the sort of idea that would have worked quite well as a series finale.

There is a blink and you’ll miss it appearance of Rose. As the series approaches the half way mark her involvement is going to be more noticeable. In fact I think it’s the first time since Partners in Crime that Rose has been on our screens.

Helen Raynor’s previous story was the Daleks two parter in the previous series which had its moments but I think that this is a stronger two parter. I thought that Christopher Ryan was a good Sontaran and he was a good leader. I know this is a strange thing to say but I thought that the lighting gave the Sontarans a different look which I quite liked. I think that Robert Holmes would have liked this story because it uses the Sontarans in a way that compliments his characters.

What is a surprise (still) is the rather cliffhanger style ending to the episode. Martha has become a companion again although this time not quite as willing as he was before. I think that the Sontarans have been bought back and used in a good way. I have appreciated this story much more than when I watched it in 2008. The design of the Sontarans has been one of the successes of the story but it’s a story that has managed to bring in a lot of elements and make it all work. It was quite a shopping list that Helen Raynor had to deal with and this episode continues the good trend that the series is going on.

Tomorrows episode is going to be another interesting one.

(742) The Sontaran Stratagem

The Sontarans are the first of two classic monsters to return in this series. This is the first appearance of the Sontarans since The Two Doctors which was remarkable 107 episodes ago or another way to look at it 8,463 days ago. This episode sees UNIT make a return to the show and also Martha returns after an absence of five episodes.

The humanising that Donna has been putting the Doctor through has been good so far but in this episode it gets rather annoying. It happens when she asks the Doctor if that is what he does and turns his companions into soldiers.  There is a funny moment where the Doctor thinks that Donna is leaving and gives a lovely speech before realising that Donna is just visiting her family. The best thing about Donna visiting her family is that it means Bernard Cribbins get to be in an episode.

There’s a nice joke about the Doctor working for UNIT in the 1970’s and then questions whether it was the 80’s. This is because the date of UNIT stories is always something of a mystery because it was said that they took place about five years ahead of when they were transmitted but its never made clear on screen.

The pool where a faceless body is growing is quite grim and when it jumps out at the UNIT soldiers is a great little moment. Doctor Who Confidential highlighted the fact that the pool is the same prop that featured in The Fires of Pompeii.

The Sontarans costume started really good in The Time Warrior was really good and over the years it has got worse and this is the best ever. The Sontarans weren’t allowed to take part in the Time War and its quite funny to think that they must have been the only race in history to moan about not taking part in a war. Also we see more Sontarans in this episode than we have ever seen in all the stories combined. The little chant that they give at the end of the episode is superb because it just goes with the way the Sontarans are. Stahl the Undefeated is played by Christopher Ryan who played Kiv in The Trial of a Timelord: Mindwarp and to be honest the voices sound quite similar. I didn’t think about it at the time but watching it a day at a time means that its more noticeable. In fact its only been three months since that story. Dan Starkey makes his first appearance as a Sontaran and little did anyone know that he would still be playing a Sontaran. He is rather good and these two are the only two that don’t always wear their helmet.

Luke Rattigan (Ryan Sampson) is a young genius but the problem really is that he is quite annoying. It’s quite funny when the Doctor is trying to outsmart Rattigan. It’s clear that he isn’t in control and it’s a little bit clichéd.

There is a nice moment between Martha and Donna where Martha pretty much tries to scare Donna off. This clearly doesn’t work as Donna is prepared to carry on travelling with the Doctor. There is a question that needs to be asked as to why Martha is in the story. It seems too soon since she left to bring her back and its seems that the only reason is to get her in the situation where she is cloned. It’s a shame really but

The final shot is of the Doctor standing in a smoke screen and that ends what was a rather good episode. It’s another episode which has shown a gradual improvement after the surprisingly disappointing start to the series. The Sontarans’ return is better than I thought and it will be interesting to see whether things continue on an upward trend or not.

(737) Last of the Timelords

I am surprised at how quickly this twenty-ninth series has gone. Whereas the previous series seemed to drag at times, this series has been a huge improvement.

The Master’s little dance bit isn’t something that we would have seen Anthony Ainley do or Roger Delgado doing that. I think that it’s something that make the Master seem more made crazier. I hadn’t realised how good John Simm is in this episode. When he’s on screen I am enjoying the episode and when he isn’t on screen then I find myself wishing he was on screen. The thing about this Master is that his plan is like his plans of old. It’s so convoluted that its almost boring but unlike his plans of old, it doesn’t get stopped at the last minute by the Master.

The encounter that the Doctor the Master have on Earth is a short, snappy but very impressive bit and to be honest all the scenes between the two of them are very good.

I thought that the Master being shot was a bit of a mistake. It would have been good if he had managed to escape like he always did. The Master refusing to regenerate (didn’t know it was an option) seems to indicate a very firm end to his character although there is always the potential for a get out clause when a mysterious hand picks up the Master’s ring.

The make up to make Tennant look old works quite well at first. It’s not quite as good as the make up he had in The Family of Blood buts it’s still good. However when the Doctor is made even older then the effect looks very poor. He looks like he has come from one of the Harry Potter films.

One of the episodes successes is that it manages to show the destruction of the world by people talking about how countries have fallen.

One of the biggest clunkers in Doctor Who history is when Captain Jack seems to insist that he is the Face of Boe. It just doesn’t work and is a little bit silly. Even back in 2007 I thought that it was a bit of a misstep.

Martha does a lot of driving the narrative in this episode. She is the one that has been on the journey around the world and has played an interesting game of double bluff because we were made to believe that she has spent the last year looking for bits of a gun. Her speech about the Doctor is a nice one because it basically tells people that the Doctor is the hero, not her. It’s weird to think that for most of the episode, the Doctor and Martha don’t meet. It’s not until the end that they are in the same scene together. It’s frustrating that Freema Agyeman leaves at the end of this episode because she has been a breath of fresh air after the rather staleness of Billie Piper.

The goodbye scene between the Doctor and Martha was really well done. It was an exit that made sense and worked and is one of the stronger exits for a companion.

Like Doomsday, this episode has a cliffhanger for the Christmas Special and this time it’s more epic. The Titanic somehow manages to crash into the TARDIS leading to a WHAT from Tennant like he did in Doomsday. This has been a better episode than I thought. In my mind I had previously thought there was far more sentimental nonsense but actually it was all in proportion. The story with the Master ended at the right time and the departures of both Captain Jack and Martha were given the right amount of time.

Last of the Timelords is a good end to the season which has been consistently strong. I think that the next series (and Christmas special) is where the Tennant era goes downhill a bit. But maybe things might be different.

(736) The Sound of Drums

The sound of Drums is the penultimate episode of the series. The pre-title scene is very good because it basically sets everything up in just a couple of minutes. The Master has called himself Harold Saxon and has become Prime Minister. His first proper scene with his cabinet is very god and shows a wonderful example of how borderline mad he is. That scene is memorable because he gases everyone and the camera moves in towards him as he is tapping the glass four times. 

The first conversation between the Doctor and the Master is the best thing of the episode. It is what people had been waiting for and it came at just he right time. An ex platoon is given about what happened to the Master and how he got out of the predicament that he was in during the TV Movie. He hid from the Daleks during the Time War which essentially shows him to be a coward or it could be seen as a typical fight for survival. John Simm is very good and manages to play the Master.

Lucy Saxon is an interesting addition to the story because it's clear that the Master doesn't really care about her but is just using her. I thought her best scene was when was talking to the reporter. The reporter has worked out that Harold isn't the man he claims to be and seems to be about to spill the beans before going back to normal and revealing that Saxon is lurking in the room.

Sharon Osbourne, Busted and Ann Widicombe all make cameo appearances in what has become a regular tradition. I can't say that this bothered me because it was quick and was relevant to the story (sort of).

The Toclafane are a new creation. They are a interesting creation although they don't serve a purpose outside of his story. It would be wrong of me not to mention the scene with the Teletubbies. It is a lovely nod to the 1972 story The Sea Devils where the Master is watching the Clangers. It is a scene that I have been looking forward to since I saw the Clangers scene because it was clearly written as a nod to that story. 

Martha is quite different in this episode because her family are in danger. She isn't the fun and nice person that she has been for the previous eleven episodes but becomes rather nasty to the Doctor although it's not easy to blame her. It could be argued that her parents and sister being locked up by the Master is Francine’s fault. What was the point of getting Reggie Yates in the episode? He makes one very brief appearance and then is never seen or heard from again. I think that his casting has been one of the biggest mistakes since the show returned in 2005.

The scene where the Doctor talks about Gallifrey and its the first time that we see Gallifrey in the new series and some backstory about the Master. Basically the Master went mad at the age of 8. It does a nice job of explaining what happens to kids on Gallifrey.

The U.S. President appears in this episode (not the real one I should add!!!). This is the first time since Abraham Lincoln in The Chase that a U.S President has featured in Doctor Who. There is a nice bit of tension between Winters and Saxon. There are nice digs about the invasion of Iraq where it was clear that the U.S. we're calling the shots.

The Master has used the Doctor’s TARDIS as a paradox machine. Seeing the TARDIS in that red glow is fantastic and it's good that it's being used in this way because normally it's just a prop to get the regulars from place A to Z.

The addition of the song when the Paradox machine starts is quite a mixed thing cause at the time I liked it cause it seemed new but now it doesn't seem to work as well. From the moment that the President is killed the episode really starts to ramp up towards the cliffhanger. Things look bleak for the regulars cause the Doctor is an old man (more about the make up tomorrow) and Martha is fleeing into the distance. I thought that this ending was really good.  It was a very good episode and continues the good trend and I am really looking forward to the final episode of the series.

(735) Utopia

Utopia is the first in what is technically a three parter and it sees the return of the Master. It also sees the return of Captain Jack Harkness. He returns by literally running and screaming at the TARDIS. I think that Jack is the one that sends the TARDIS to the year 100 Trillion. I commented that 42 was the last story to be directed by Graeme Harper but I was wrong.

Derek Jacobi starts as Professor Yana but becomes the Master. It's hard to believe that he would appear in Doctor Who although having seen him in a rather unfunny ITV sitcom it's not as surprising as it once was. Yana is trying to help people find Utopia. It's good to see Yana knowing that he is the Master although he doesn't know it. Not only does he not know it he doesn't even know that he’s a time lord. There is a gradual build up to when Yana becomes the Master and the fob watch from Human Nature becomes more relevant. The message from the Face of Boe in Gridlock becomes important as well.

I will confess that I didn't put the you are not alone line and Yana together until it was pointed out to me. It's quite clever how things that have featured in this series have led to this episode. The story arc for this series has been better than the previous series.

I thought that David Tennant was ok in this episode. There were a few moments where the Doctor was a bit too arrogant for my liking. I know an argument could be made that he is always arrogant but it's more noticeable in this episode.

There are two groups. There are the humans and then there are the future kind. The humans are a rather sorry group of people who are at the end of the universe and seem to be not far from the end. It's somewhat of a shame that the Doctor is essentially the one that sends them to their doom without realising it. 

The future kind are rather good as they seem to be rather stupid but aggressive. It's not quite clear to me why they are determined to stop the humans from leaving which is perhaps the only aspect of the story that doesn't quite work for me.

It's quite good how sometime has passed and there has been a whole load of Torchwood stuff since then. The flirting gag that was used quite often during his original time on the show is back and used a few times. There is a bit of an issue between the Doctor and Jack. The Doctor doesn't really like he idea that Jack is basically a fixed point in time. That is why the Doctor left and didn't try to find Jack.

The episode really shifts a gear when Yana opens the watch. This is where I think that Graeme Harper’s direction. The incidental music is really good and it's very distinctive. The drumming sound is very good and the fast tempo is a nice change to most of the new series episodes.

John Simm’s brief appearance as the Master is rather fun and energetic. Like Jacobi, it's surprising that John Simm agreed to take on such an iconic role. Simm is a very good actor and it feels like some credibility has been bought to the role.

I thought that this was an episode of two halves because the pre-master story was interesting but not the meat of the story. The actual meat of the story is what I found more interesting and this is where the finale really gets going. The performances were good but I think that the best is yet to come.

(734) Blink

Blink is the story that is Doctor-lite however unlike Love and Monsters which is the weakest New series story and one of the weakest stories ever, this story is memorable because it launches arguably the greatest monster to have come out of the new series. Who knew that something so simple could have such an effect. Due to the Doctor and Martha being out of the picture for most of this story, the responsibility falls to Sally Sparrow. With this being a Steven Moffat story, it should come as no surprise that most of the action in this story takes place inside an abandoned house.

The weeping angels are a superb creation. They are simple yet very effective. We never see them move or show any signs of life. The actresses dressed up as the Angels do a superb job because I never see them move, not even an inch which isn't an easy thing to do. They can't look at each other and every time you blink they move. It's fun trying to not blink. It's never explained whether just closing one eye at a time would keep them at bay. I love the idea when Sally and  Larry are trying to get into the TARDIS the Angels make the lights flicker.

Carey Mulligan is another actor that has gone onto great things. I think that she is one of those people who would have made a very good companion. She becomes quite the detective. I found the interaction between Sally and Billy Shipton to be quite good but it goes downhill and their scene where billy is older is really grim. I thought that Finlay Robertson does a good job as Larry who is effectively Sally’s sidekick. It's a sort of loveable dope type character but it's one that works in the context of this story.

The thing that the Angels do is to touch people and they go back in time. As the Doctor they make you live to death and take the energy from the life they take. The first victim of this is Kathy who ends up in the past and writes a letter to be delivered at the same time when she is hiding.  What is quite good is that there is an explanation as to what happened to her and she isn't just forgotten which was always a possibility. Shipton is the second person to disappear but he’s still alive and is able to talk to Sally about his experiences.

What is quite funny is that the Doctor hides messages as DVD Easter eggs and in 2007 that wasn't a major thing but in 2015 with stuff like Netflix and on demand, DVDs  seem a little bit old fashioned. It's like the 2007 version of VHS’s. The Doctor speaks to Sally through the DVD and this is a rather clever way. This is another rather well written story from the future show runner. This was at a time when people still like Steven Moffat and this is arguably his best story that he has written for the show.

It's good that the Doctor and Sally finally get a scene face to face towards the end of the episode. It's a great brief scene but the episode ends with the idea that all statues could be weeping angels. I will admit that I did play with the idea that this could be a real thing. It shows how well the episode worked. It is regarded as one of the best new series episode and it's not hard to see why. Yesterday I said how it was the first story since the TV movie to get in the 8’s and this is the second episode in a row to get in the 8’s. At the moment, Blink is the ninth highest rated episode ever and the fourth greatest story ever. It’s just overtaken The Family of Blood and Human Nature and is the best story of the new series.

The story benefits from superb acting and the directing is also impressive. Hettie MacDonald take the simple approach which does go overboard to try and inject some unnecessary action scenes. It's not over the top and it suits the writing of Steven Moffat. Now with that story out of the way it's time to get ready for the final story which is in effect a three parter and sees the return of Captain Jack. Oh well the quietness couldn't last for ever.

(733) The Family of Blood

Nice little bit of trivia to start off with that this episode was transmitted in my 24^th birthday. I now feel old but at least this episode makes up for it. I have started to read the novel and at the moment it’s very different even though I am only a dozen or so pages into it. Bernice Summerfield is in 1913 and no sign yet of the Doctor but back to today’s episode. Rather interestingly they use the pre-title scene to replay what happened in the previous episode. Normally there is something that happens before the title

I like how Martha is the one calling the shots at the beginning of the episode. Quite literally calling the shots. She continues being the one that is watching over the Doctor.

The family are quite a good group of villains considering that they using human forms that aren’t related to each other. The little girl is quite creepy and very similar to the girl in Remembrance of the Daleks. When she goads the Doctor/John Smith into one of the schoolboys into shooting her I was surprised at how good the actress was. It’s revealed that The Doctor ran away cause he was being kind cause he knew that he would have to finish them off for good. They wanted to live forever and the Doctor made sure that they did in rather ingenious ways. I like the encounter between Jeremy/Brother of mine and the Headteacher. The headteacher is rather gung-ho and Baines tries to show him how he’s a fool. The shootout between the schoolboys and the scarecrow with a hymn being played is a very strong moment and his death at the hands of the little girl is perhaps inevitable.

The sight of several dozen scarecrows behind Baines is another cracking shot and Charles Palmer deserves a lot of praise. The weeping angels are coming up in the next episode but its fair to say that the scarecrows are another great creation and it would be cool to see them in something else.

The discussion about Martha’s ability to be a Doctor between Martha and Joan is interesting cause its another example of the attitudes towards women more specifically ethnic women in 1913 England.

I actually feel sorry for the Doctor cause as John Smith he doesn’t want to change. He wants his current life. There is a lovely final scene between John Smith and Joan. There’s a lovely flash forward to life as a married couple, kids and his death. He looks old for the first time this series. When they meet with the Doctor as himself it’s very different and both Tennant and Hynes deserve credit for the scenes they have together. In fact everyone worked really well over these two episodes and there wasn’t a weak link the entire cast.

The scene where the Doctor encounters the family and starts off by pretending that he’s human is a great scene and a great moment from the Doctor. It’s a moment where as a viewer I was relieved that the Doctor was back and doing what he does best.

Tim fights in the First World War and its a moment that is superb and not something that would have been done in classic Who and shows how the show as developed since 2005. That moment is followed by a Remembrance Sunday service which I thought was another classic moment and it shows that even though this is a piece of drama that war isn’t all fake guns, explosions and tomato ketchup.

I was worried that todays episode would disappoint me, that it would live up to how good the opening episode was but this was one of the best episode of the series and in fact ratings wise it’s the ebst episode since its 2005 reboot. Human Nature is third with The Parting of the Ways at number two. As a two parter it’s the best two parter beating the Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways season finale. It’s the first time since The TV Movie that a story has rated in the 8’s and the first time since Remembrance of the Daleks that a series story has rated in the 8’s. I haven’t until now appreciated just how good this story actually is. It is definitely the best Tennant story and tomorrows episode is another of the Doctor-lite episodes but one that is way better than Love and Monsters.

(732) Human Nature

Human Nature and Family of Blood is held in high regard by most Doctor Who fans and it’s not hard to see why. This is the first Doctor Who story to be adapted from a novel. Dalek had elements from Robert Shearman’s Big Finish play Jubilee but this was the first novel to be used. In that book it’s the seventh Doctor and Bernice Summerfield and Paul Cornell has had to obviously make some changes. I will be honest that I haven’t read the book but I am going to start today and see what the differences are so I wont be doing much comparing but this is a story that could have only been done from this series onwards because I don’t think that viewers would have gone with this story in 2005.

There’s a great dramatic opening with the Doctor and Martha before it suddenly changes gear and the Doctor has gone posh and Martha has turned into a maid. The Doctor and Martha are being chased by the Family of Blood who are after the Doctor’s life force to stop them from dying.

The Doctor’s life force in in a watch and the big thing is making sure that it isn’t opened yet because the family will find him. This is put at risk when Latimer finds it and opens it briefly.

There’s an interesting bit of racism in this episode which isn’t something that has been addressed in Doctor Who before and its quite a brave thing to do and a sign of how things have perhaps changed.

Jessica Hynes plays the love interest in this two parter and its clear that its doomed to fail in one way or another. She plays Siobhan Sharpe in the very funny W1A and she is very funny but has the ability to do some serious acting.

This story sees the appearance of Thomas Brodie-Sangster who has gone on to have a big career appearing in stuff like Game of Thrones and most recently Wolf Hall. He plays Tim Latimer who has ESP and he sort of hovers around the story for most of the episode and only really becomes relevant to the story towards the end of the episode.

Harry Lloyd plays Jeremy Baines and is one of those that becomes the human form of the family and he is totally horrible and is what most people would imagine private school snobs are like in 2007 not just 1913. When is he taken over by the family he seems to become superb and his performance makes him seem rather dangerous and that adds to the whole two parter.

Journal of Impossible Things is a book that John Smith has created and it has scribbles and loads of drawings in it. One of the most interesting moments comes when there is a page with several previous incarnations

I’m not one for pointing out continuity errors (partly because I never notice them) but at the 25:18 mark whilst the schoolboys are shooting at mock up targets. There is clearly a lorry passing by in the distance. It’s very small because its far away but it’s not something that would have been there in 1913.

I commented how David Tennant gave one of his strongest performances for sometime in 42 but I have to say that its rather bland compared to what he does in this episode. Tennnat gets an opportunity to play the Doctor in a different way and do something different in the lead role and he does wonderfully with it. Ok so he isn’t really playing the Doctor but watching him in todays episode I see the Doctor not John Smith and that is how good Tennant was. Even Freema Agyemen manages to keep up with Tennant. Martha has to ensure that things are going as smoothly as possible until the Family have died but it was inevitable that things were going to go wrong quickly because the story would have been boring otherwise.

There is a nice nod to the show’s creation where John Smith says his father is Sydney (after Sydney Newman) and his mother is called Verity (after Verity Lambert). I thought that this was a lovely nod and one that was designed to please the long time fans and as one of those I have to say that it was lovely.

The episode does move in a slightly slow pace but I didn’t mind it. I thought that there was enough goodwill on screen that I just let it pass by and when it did start to pick then it leads to a rather good cliffhanger. The Family of Blood know that the Doctor is John Smith and are going to kill Martha and Joan if he doesn’t change back but John Smith doesn’t know how to and he has to choose between which of them is killed. This was a great opening episode and the worry now is that the concluding part wont live up to the hype.

Interestingly Phil Collinson is promoted to Executive Producer and Susie Liggat has become producer making her only the second woman to be a producer in Doctor Who. Not quite sure what the reason was for this because he goes back to being producer in Blink but it’s interesting that it was 42 years between female producers.

(731) 42

Two years ago today, I started An Unearthly Child. A year ago I was watching the first episode of Death to the Daleks. I started watching an episode a day and I didn’t think that I would last that long but here I am on the second anniversary and watching an episode that I had never rated that highly. The initial idea of the episode is rather good. The Doctor and Martha have 42 minutes before the ship they land on crashes into the sun. The story is effectively told in real time and there is a clock that appears ever so often to show us how long there is left. The thing is that it doesn’t seem to really stick to it and kind of gives up to it towards the end just as the tension is starting to get racked up.

I think that one of the reasons why I haven’t like this story in the past is the silly question system that Riley and Martha are trying to answer. Answering such questions as to who had the most sales isn’t something that really works. Also the fact that Martha rings her mother to answer the question. The second time that she rings her mom it’s done slightly better. There is a strange woman in the room with Francine. The actress is Elize Du Toit and she is honestly credited as Sinister Woman.

Graeme Harper directs a Doctor Who for the final time and he signs off in style. This episode has a claustrophobic and grubby feel to it. Watching it I felt hot and the episode does move along at a good pace. Ok I have found this episode to be better than I remember it. It’s not a classic by any means but there aren’t as many faults as I remember. The design of the ship is something that works in the favour of the story and it hides the fact that this is a studio bound story and that there aren’t any outside scenes.

The highlight of the episode comes when the Doctor is infected and he gets to say BURN WITH ME. This is one of the strongest performances that Tennant has given for quite sometime. I like that he gives a bit of vulnerability to these scenes and its not a side of the Doctor that we have seen before. Freema Agyeman continues to impress and manages to give a solid performance.

At the end of the day I think whilst this is a good episode, its one that sort of fills the gap in the running order. The rest of the season is something that I am really looking forward to especially tomorrows episode so this story is always one of those that is destined to be forgotten. Had this happened in the previous series then it would be one of the best but when the stories in a series are so strong then anything that isn’t as good wont stand out.

(730) The Lazarus Experiment

The sixth episode of this series is the first time that Martha has been back in modern day settings. Martha attends an event which sees a man turn back the aging process. The setting of this episode allows the whole Jones clan. There is a nice thing where a lackey of Mr Saxon’s plants a seed of mistrust in Francine’s mind. Whilst Tish and Leo are more willing to go based on what they see but people are whispering in her ear and the final words in the episode are hers because she is warning her about the Doctor because of what Mr Saxon has said. I am going to go on a bit of a rant here about the Jones family and in particular Leo. There is a point to have Adjoa Andoh and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Francine and Tish respectively) but what was the point of casting Reggie Yates. At the time he had a career on Radio 1 and clearly very busy so his involvement in pretty limited as a result. This is the most that we see of him in this series and there is a blink and you’ll miss it in the finale. They could have cast someone else in the role and they would probably have had a greater impact in the series and definelty the finale.

The interesting thing about this episode is how it seems like a lot of superhero moves which sees some smart or rich person who tries to change something or do something that is beyond them and things go badly wrong. That’s not a bad thing and Stephen Greenhorn does well with this idea but it’s one that is split into two parts. The idea of someone wanting to look younger is something that is never going to end well and it’s interesting to see how the Doctor deals with someone else who looks younger despite being very old. It’s almost as if the Doctor is jealous of Lazarus which is quite amusing.

Mark Gatiss stars in this episode instead of writing it. He plays Professor Richard Lazarus who starts the episode as an old man. Gatiss is one of those rare people who is just as good an actor as he is a director. Gatiss’ best scene comes in the church where he’s just wrapped in a blanket talking with the Doctor circling him. Thelma Barlow plays Lady Thaw and is the second person from the BBC sitcom Dinnerladies to feature in this series. Lady Thaw is someone who clearly wants money and power and doesn’t care how she gets it and so when she is killed I can’t find myself feeling sad. When Lazarus dies, there is a bit of sadness because he ends up dying whilst looking the same as he did before the experiment.

I thought that the creature that Lazarus turns into was really good. The only thing that let it down is the face. It looks rather poor but thankfully the close ups are kept to a minimum. The rest of the effects work rather well and there are several moments which look awesome and shows again that the effects department have taken a step in the right direction since the previous series.

There is a cool shot where the creature is chasing the Doctor down a corridor and the camera does a full 360 rotation and that was sadly ruined in the NEXT TIME trailer at the end of the previous episode. Despite this, it’s still a good camera shot. It’s another well directed episode from Richard Clark.

For me the best part of the episode is what takes place in the church. This feels more like new Who and the fact that Tish seems to have joined the Doctor and Martha is something that works well and the way that the creature Lazarus is defeated is quite good and overall I thought that this was a sort of return to form. It’s not a classic of the series but it is another good story that has some impressive moments and there are things that develop the Saxon story arc a bit more. Tomorrow’s episode the second anniversary and it’s a story that not in my Top 10.

(729) Evolution of the Daleks

I’ve just realised that I am approaching the second anniversary of this marathon. On the first anniversary I was watching Death to the Daleks which isn’t one of the greatest Dalek stories ever and its fair to say that before watching yesterday’s episode I would have rated these two stories the same. I mentioned that the Radio Times had spoilt the big surprise about the Human Dalek but its something that still bothers me because its nothing new that TV guides reveals big plot points on the covers every week but never to the extent that the cliffhanger is revealed.

Despite the lack of surprise when the Human Dalek. The start of the episode is rather quite good. It leads to a nice little conversation between Dalek Sec and the Doctor. The Human Dalek Sec is quite impressive when he is talking to the Doctor at the beginning of the episode. The whole reason why the Daleks are there in the first place is because they want to create new Daleks. To be honest it’s a rather dull plan.

I love the two Daleks talking in the tunnels and they are looking around to see if anyone is listening and it’s not something that we have seen before and it’s just fun to see. The three gold Daleks are quite the backstabbing lot and the whole thing about the Cult of Skaro is that they do all the thinking and there is a great bit where one of them says that they have dared to think about life with Dalek Sec.

The performances from David Tennant and Freema Agyeman are quite good. Ok they aren’t classic performances but they are the only things that make the episode worth watching. The anger that the Doctor during this episode is another reason why Tennant’s Doctor is very good. Martha does seem to take a new stride in the role as the companion and she ends the two parter in a better position than she started. Even all the supporting characters were on good form and its still weird to think that Spiderman has been in these two episodes.

The thing about this episode is that most of it was largely forgettable. It’s definelty clear that this episode lost some steam in this forty-five minutes. I still think that as a two-parter this story is far stronger than I have previously given it credit for. I think that after the good run of episode that there have been this series, this is the weakest episode of the series so far and it’s not the weakest Dalek story since they returned in 2005 but neither is it a classic.
 

(728) Daleks in Manhattan

Daleks in Manhattan is the first two parter of the series and it’s not a story that I rate very highly. In fact before watching this episode today I use to think that it might be the worst Dalek story of the new series and the worst Dalek story since Destiny of the Daleks. The big selling point of this episode was supposed to be a surprise and thanks to the Radio Times this was ruined before the episode even aired. The one Ace that the story had was dealt before transmission. This story was written by Helen Raynor who at this time is normally the script editor. This makes her the first woman since Rona Munro to write for the show.

The thing about this episode is that neither David Tennant nor Freema Agyeman set foot on American soil. They are filming in Wales but visual effects are used to create the idea that they are in 1930’s America. The visual effects have really taken a big step since the previous series and it really shows in these two episodes. Perhaps the best comes when Dalek Sec ingests Diagoras. The character of Diagoras is one that was always going to meet a sticky ending and that proved to be the case.

This episode features Andrew Garfield who has played Spiderman since 2012. Garfield plays Frank and it’s not a particularly important roles. He doesn’t even make it to the halfway mark before taken by the pig creatures. Hugh Quarshie also appears in this episode. Quarshie can be seen regularly in Holby City and plays Solomon in this story and is instantly someone that the Doctor and Martha can trust.

The experiment causes great conflict between the remaining members of the Cult of Skaro. All but Dalek Sec don’t think the experiment should take place because then the Daleks won’t be pure. There is something interesting about this and I actually think that it’s more interesting as to why Dalek Sec thinks it is ok for this to happen.  

Despite the revelation been spoiled by the Radio Times, the design of the Human Dalek is quite good. Even today it still looks like a great effect and it does make for a good cliffhanger but at the time I watched this episode was a little disappointed. However watching it today I found myself liking the episode a lot more. It’s not a classic by any means but there was enough to find it entertaining and a lot better than I thought. Whether this will still be the case in the next episode remains to be seen but I still think that it’s the weakest of the Dalek stories since 2005.

(727) Gridlock

Gridlock is one of those stories that I have always had a soft spot for. I don’t know why but I do and this series is going from strength to strength. The Doctor promising Martha with just one trip was never going to be just one trip and he breaks this rule pretty quickly. The first TARDIS scene is quite nice because it is The Doctor trying to tell Martha about Gallifrey is quite sad and it’s the first time that he’s stopped and thought about his home world since that little scene in The End of the World.

Gridlock is a very apt name because people move incredibly slowly. It takes 12 years to move 5 miles. I have days like that going to work.

Martha is kidnapped by Milo and Cheen because it means that their car has three passengers. Your not a Doctor Who companion until you have been kidnapped. This is the first time that Martha has been separated properly and Martha holds her own with Milo and Cheen. The Doctor spends the entire episode trying to find Martha and yet the episode works this way. It’s fun seeing Martha pretty much thrown in at the deep end and at one point comes to the realisation that she could die and her mum and dad wouldn’t know what happened to her.

The car that appears in different guises is the same set. Some credit needs to go to the set designers because it cant have been an easy task but they pulled it off. It helps that the different characters that feature in each car make it seem like a different home. Due to the speed that they are travelling at they are basically living in these cars. I don’t think I could live in them as there isn’t very much room in there and the lack of Bluetooth means that I couldn’t listen to any Big Finish on my phone.

Ardal O’Hanlon is a guest star in this episode and I know him best for playing Dougal McGuire in Father Ted. He is disguised as a cat and plays Thomas Kincade Brannigan. It’s hard not to like Brannigan because he is so cheerful. I think that the character could have featured more but I suppose the restrictions of the plot mean that he is stuck in the one car. It’s another example (Peter Kay being the first) of ideal casting been squandered.

The song Abide with Me is a wonderful addition to the episode and its lovely in the context of this bleak setting. Then again it’s not exactly an uplifting song because everyone (bar the Doctor) gets all emotional. A classic era makes a surprising return in this episode. There was no hint anywhere that this monster was going to return. The Macra last appeared in 1967 so it’s a monster that hardly anyone has ever seen. I don’t know what the point was really because they could have been nameless and it would have worked the same.

This episode sees the third and final appearance of the Face of Boe who as mentioned in New Earth reveals his secret and its that the Doctor is not alone. This is basically telling the Doctor that there are more Timelords. Although the Doctor is convinced he is wrong which will be explained in future episodes. There is a nice explanation about the Time War which is the first time that its been talked about any certain degree. This ending was perhaps a lot more downbeat than I had remembered in the past but overall I thought that the performances were strong and Richard Clark did a great job in directed what was largely a CGI episode and did a great job of making it seem like their were loads of cars instead of just one. The next episode is the first two parter of the series and from memory its not one of my favourites.

(726) The Shakespeare Code

Martha’s first trip into the past takes her to 1599. I will be honest that I haven’t been the biggest fan of Shakespeare. I did the usual stuff at school but could never really get into it and so the idea of spending 45 minutes in his companion wasn’t something that I was particularly looking forward to. This isn’t the first time that Shakespeare has been in Doctor Who. It was way back in 1965 and it was a blink and you’ll miss it moment but this is the first time that he’s so integral to the plot. The thing about this episode is that they filmed inside the actual Globe Theatre. Not even the Oscar winning film Shakespeare in London was allowed to film in there. I think that the fact they were able to film in there helps create a wonderful atmosphere.

This is the second episode in and Rose is still getting a mention much to the annoyance of Martha. The relationship between the Doctor and Martha is different to what the Doctor had with Rose and it’s refreshing that this is the case. Martha’s reaction to being in that time period is quite amusing and Martha doesn’t make it all about her like Rose did and I am liking Freema Agyeman more and more.

The effects of the surrounding area is truly impressive and looks wonderful. It’s something that they wouldn’t be able to do in a movie so it’s great they are in this episode.  They really have stretched themselves in this series and this is one of the most visually impressive episodes since the show returned in 2005. The effects used when the Carrionites are swirling around the globe is another superb effect and one that I think looks as good as it did in 2007.  If there is one thing that I don’t think works quite well is the masks of Doomfinger, Bloodtide and Lillith. They seem a bit poor but I don’t know if that is just because they haven’t aged as well as most things.

David Lennox Kelly plays William Shakespeare and does a really good job. Bearing in mind that he has free reign to play him as he does, I find that his performance to be truly engaging and it’s a shame that he hasn’t returned. Had he appeared in the Steven Moffat era then he would have been a regular character.

Gareth Roberts has done a great job in making the episode amusing but too much. It still feels like a Doctor Who episode but its having fun in it surroundings and the running gag is that Shakespeare is using lots of words and sayings that the Doctor uses. I have enjoyed this episode a lot and thought that the performances were very good, the writing was sound, the directing was just as good as the previous episode (which makes sense considering it’s the same director) and the whole vibe of the episode was a good one and I am really looking forward to tomorrows episode because its one of my favourites of the series.

(725) Smith and Jones

These new series are going fast. It only seems like five minutes that I was watching Rose and here I am watching the first story to feature Martha. After saying goodbye to Rose and briefly saying hello to Donna, we get introduced to Martha Jones and for a moment I just wanted to stat things up. Between the Christmas Special and todays episode just 96 days had past and that that is the shortest gap between stories since seasons 5 & 6 back in the late 1960’s and it’s the sixth shortest in the shows history. Having thought that the previous series wasn’t as strong as it could have been, this is the first one where the people writing for the show knew what sort of Doctor they were writing for and this shows. Like Rose, this has to introduce Martha and that means that there is a family to introduce as well. It really doesn’t take long for Martha to show why she’s better than Rose. Even her family is better than the Tyler’s.

The Doctor and Martha seem to hit it off straight away and it’s a different dynamic than there was between the Doctor and Rose. The romance is reigned in a lot with these two. There is a nice explanation given by Martha where she says she has a cousin that worked in Canary Wharf and this gets around how the two look the same.

The monster of the week is a Rhino looking race called The Judoon. They look really good and their first appearance is one of the highlights of the episode because to see them marching along the service of the moon isn’t something that could only work on new Doctor Who. The Judoon are basically policeman and it’s a great idea from RTD and I know they appear in future stories but this will always be their best appearance. They show their power in just towering over people and they work well in the story. The cool thing that takes place in this episode is the hospital that the Doctor and Martha are on is taken and placed on the Moon. That is a great idea and the visual effects help make it look really good.

Anne Reid returns to the show after appearing in The Curse of Fenric and in this she plays a blood sucking alien calling herself Florence Finnegan. She gets her blood by using a straw which was a source of irritation to many but I just thought that it was a really amusing way and it sort of doesn’t make the how blood sucking thing seem as terrifying as it would normally be. The Judoon are after her but she’s disguised as a human and she sucks the Doctor’s blood and is discovered by the Judoon so she basically trips herself up.

This is the series where the Saxon story arc begins and its not until the end of the episode where Saxon gets his first mention. It’s a blink and you miss it but at this time of the show, we had all got use to listening out for any mention of Saxon or Torchwood or Bad Wolf. Saxon got mentioned in the Christmas Special but the mentions are now goings to be far more frequent. I think that this is the strongest series opener that we have had. Rose was good just because we were glad to have it back and New Earth wasn’t very good really but this was the one which got it spot on and I am even more excited about this series.

(722) Army of Ghosts

This is the story of how I died are the words that were used in the NEXT TIME trailer in the previous episode and it gets used in the pre-title sequence. It’s clear that this scene happens at the end of this current adventure so there’s a nice journey to be had to see how she gets there. This biggest selling point of this story is the return of the Daleks and the Cybermen in the same story at the same time. It was always a question as to who would win if these two got into a fight and this story would give us the answer. As you would expect they don’t make an appearance until quite late in the episode which is rather frustrating but more of that in tomorrows review.

This story has a lot to do in two episodes, it has to write Rose Tyler out of the show and introduce and set up Torchwood properly and also give the series the finale that would match what we got in the previous series.

The episode starts off normally enough with the Doctor and Rose arriving back on earth with ghosts appearing out of nowhere. Sadly there is a moment which didn’t bother me at the time but now it does and its when cameos appear on TV. Way back in Aliens of London we had Matt Baker on Blue Peter and Andrew Marr on the news, now we have Derek Accorah (some BS peddler), Alistair Appleton (Cash in the Attic) and Barbara Windsor (Eastenders).

One of the more interesting things about this episode is that it marks the first appearance of Freema Agyeman who becomes the third person in Doctor Who to have started out as one character and then returns but in a different role. She soon get taken over by the Cybermen and then ceases to really have any purpose in the episode. In fact so little that she is killed before the episode is over. There is one slight issue with Torchwood. Torchwood is such a powerful organisation that it doesn’t notice when the Cybermen have set up a mini-conversion base in their building. On a positive note its typical Cybermen. They start small and use whoever is around to bulk up their numbers.

Mickey returns at the end of this episode with no explanation and a new name. He also manages to sneak a massive gun into the room where the sphere is and where he is working. The security is conveniently mixed because it doesn’t spot this and the Cybermen but it can tell when someone is using Psychic paper. Billie Piper’s penultimate episode in her original run is good for her because she gets to be a bit investigative even though she’s rubbish at bluffing her way into places.

The comedy is very well placed in this episode. If only it had been like this in Love and Monsters then I would have thought differently about that story. In this episode its typical RTD and by that I mean there are occasional gags which are delivered well by David Tennant. One of the more memorable ones is when the Doctor is trying to pass Jackie off as Rose and this gives the Doctor the opportunity to make some cheap gags.

The final few minutes are the best of the entire episode. It’s when we find out what is in the sphere (although thanks to the Radio Times we knew). When the ghosts are revealed to be Cybermen there is a wonderful few moments where the music helps create a feeling that Cybermen appearing all over the world is the epic moment that it should be. I liked this episode because it perfectly entertaining in the first half and really good in the second. If you compare this to Bad Wolf then this is miles better. I am hoping that tomorrows episode ends this story in the way that it should.