New Earth 6/10

I don't know what it is about this new series, but I still haven't had that "acceptance" that I had when I watched the 1996 TV Movie. When I watched that, I completely and utterly accepted that it *was* Doctor Who. Paul McGann *was* the Doctor. I had the same feeling when I recently saw "Scream of the Shalka". It *was* Doctor Who. That moment never happened for me during season 1 of new Who, and after 2 episodes of season 2, it still hasn't happened. Maybe it never will.

Now, having said that, season 2 is much more promising than season 1 seemed after "Rose". The look of "New Earth" is awesome; rich colours, great effects and make-up, great sets. Sure, the story was a little light (although the "zombies" were kind of scary in a B-movie kind of way), but it all seemed to work for me. It got a little monotonous after a while, but overall it was fun.

David Tennant is very good. I've learned to appreciate Christopher Eccleston more after re-watching some season 1 episodes, but I prefer David Tennant in the role. Sure, I haven't had that moment I talked about above, but he's still very promising (though there's still a long list of actors I'd rather see in the role: Bill Nighy, Eric Idle, Aidan Gillen, to name a few).

I don't know what it is, and its such a minor thing, but I love the Doctor wearing glasses.

The guy who plays Chip is very good; indeed one of the highlights of the story (especially when he's possessed by Cassandra).

The opening was rubbish unfortunately. At least the "good-byes" were kept very short at the start (though why they were even needed I have no idea), but the "I love travelling with you" stuff was so forced it was extremely difficult to watch. Luckily that's the only serious problem I have with the episode.

A more promising start than "Rose" was.

The good bits: David Tennant, glasses, Chip, the look of the episode.

Not so good bits: the hokiness at the start, it dragged a little near the end (the chase sequences), and the uber-"happy" ending paled to the ending of The Doctor Dances

Tooth and Claw 6.5/10

I love horror, and I enjoyed this episode. Again, the whole look of the episode was gorgeous. The CGI monster wasn't too bad (anything is better than the SFX from the original Who). David Tennant had some very Doctorish moments as well as some very funny ones ("Am I being rude again?" was priceless). The opening bit with the monks was kind of like Yoda dueling Count Dooku... very cool, but kind of pointless.

I used to like Rose. But I've found that 2 stories into season 2 and Billie Piper's portrayal has become very smug and is really wearing thin on me. I hope that changes (it's partly the writing but mostly her acting so I don't expect it to change). Unless she's doing a serious scene (ie: she's sad or what have you) she's just totally smug and annoying. The "we are not amused" joke was dragged out. And here we go with more Torchwood crap. That last scene with Queen Victoria was pretty much a commercial for the spin-off. I have a feeling it's going to happen with every episode, and every episode it happens in makes me want to watch Torchwood less and less.

The portrayal of Queen Victoria was good, and the supporting cast was quite good (especially Sir Robert). A few loose ends, but overall a very enjoyable episode.

The good bits: Tennant, the overall look and feel

Not so good bits: Rose is wearing thin on me, stop with the Torchwood references

School Reunion 9.5/10

Fantastic! Boy am I glad they got rid of that catch phrase. :) But seriously, this was my favourite episode of new Who to date, and yes it's mostly to do with the return of Sarah Jane and K9. Call me a fanboy if you want, I don't care. This is what *I* want in Doctor Who and nobody can tell me I'm wrong. Part way through the story I was finally able to say "This is Doctor Who!". I still haven't fully accepted Tennant as the new Doctor, but he's getting closer, and his scenes with Sarah and K9 really helped. There was so much good about this episode that I don't really know where to start. I guess I'll start with the nostalgia.

Liz Sladen was awesome; she looks good, and her acting was amazing. I loved every scene she was in. What a great idea to have the Doctor meet up with an old companion. Sure you could have created an "old" companion or you could have the Doctor meet Rose at age 50 (with a different actress) but it wouldn't be the same as casting an actual companion from the original series. Sure it's a lot bigger for old fans, but I think any new fans who are going back to watch the old series would find it interesting now to watch Sarah Jane episodes. The Rose/Sarah Jane relationship was great. It was also just so nice to see the character of Sarah Jane in a higher quality production. Her final scenes at the TARDIS look wonderful with the sun and falling leaves. Brilliant. It was also great to see K9, though he had to take a back seat (literally in one scene) since they had to (as usual) cram a lot into 45 minutes. His scenes though were great and it was just wonderful to see (and hear) K9 with the new Doctor.

But it wasn't all nostalgia goodness for me. There were other things I loved about this episode. I've never been a huge fan of Anthony Stewart Head. To be honest, I never really thought anything about him at all, except that he was the guy in the coffee commercials in the 80's. He is awesome in this though. I was hoping his character would turn out to be the Master, but oh well. He was so good, it was really almost a waste to use him in this role rather than save him for a recurring villain. Mickey was also wonderful in this. He's a great character when taken away from his typical sobbing boyfriend bit. I'm quite happy to see him join the TARDIS crew.

The only real bad things I have to say about this episode is that I would have preferred a 2-parter. The CGI wasn't too bad, though the aliens looked a little cartoonish when screaming.

The good bits: Sarah Jane, K9, Tennant, Finch, Mickey, the look, the nostalgia

Not so good bits: too bad it wasn't a 2-parter so I could have more Sarah and K9!

The Girl in the Fireplace 8.5/10

I really enjoyed this episode as the score indicates. Yes, it was more romance than action, but romance in a good sense. To me this was all about how lonely the Doctor is, not about the Doctor having sex like many reviewers have mentioned. These reviewers say that when Reinette asks the Doctor to dance she is referring to having sex, and that she and the Doctor do. Now they seem to forget that the night she says that to him is the night she first becomes the King's concubine and there IS a ball going on after all! Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. On the topic of sex and the Doctor... though I am definitely of the mind that the Doctor is an asexual being, they've done a pretty good job in new Who of letting the viewer decide whether or not there's any sexy stuff going on. Those who say there is, are obviously seeing it that way. I am not. When Reinette kisses the Doctor, it is a little too passionate on Tennant's end of things for my liking, but the rest of the romance is all about the Doctor being lonely; not a sexual attraction. The final scene of the episode is just a sad, lonely old alien (not a man who fell in love and had some brief sex and is now sad because she's out of his life).

I actually think Mickey and Rose are great in this episode. Sure they don't have much to do, but they make the most of it and I actually like them a lot as a team.

Nothing much is explained in this episode and I love it. This is the kind of unexplanation I adore. Clocks and clockwork men and spaceships and draw your own conclusions. I love it!

The music was superb in this episode, especially in the final scene. The final scene rivals even Adric's death, and would have been absolutely perfect if the music box music had been allowed to end the show rather than being cut off with the normal Doctor Who scream at the end. That scream undercut the sadness of the final scene unfortunately.

Once again the look and feel of the episode was great. All in all a super episode and not much bad to say about it at all.

The good bits: Very touching, Rose and Mickey, clocks and clockwork men, the first scene through the fireplace, the final scene

Not so good bits: the kiss was a little too passionate (how's that for nitpicking?)

Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel 5.5/10

Well, this was a mixed bag. Before I get into the rather long list of things I didn't like about this story, I will say that overall, after one viewing, I did enjoy it. That's why the rating is as high as it is. I reserve the right to change my mind after a second full viewing. UPDATE: It was lowered by a full 1.5.

Rise of the Cybermen was pretty weak. It had some good moments and hinted at the Cybermen being very cool. By why set it in an alternate universe? Apparently simply so you could have more Rose/family stuff going on (which had already been done perfectly in Father's Day and overdone in other stories in season 1, so why did we need to rehash it again? Because RTD loves Rose, that's why... I'm really tired of her character. We need a new companion). Mickey had a little bit of story going on here and he should have gotten more. Scrap the entire Rose angle (it would have been much more interesting if her parents didn't exist in this universe at all). Then we could have concentrated on Mickey's story which would have made his departure much stronger. As it was, it didn't have the emotional resonance it needed. Shame too, because Mickey was just getting good. Can we also please abandon the Rose/Doctor banter/goofing around/you're the greatest nonsense? It's painfully hard to watch and makes the Doctor seem like a real bastard at times when neglecting Mickey in favour of Rose. If that's what "making him more human" means, then scrap it and please make him more alien.

I liked the overall look of the Cybermen themselves. The stomp-stomping worked in part 1 but became very cartoonish and massively overdone in part 2. The Age of Steel did get a little better though, and made for a fairly enjoyable chase story. The "magical" TARDIS weapon and overuse of the screwdiver hurt the story yet again however. The whole "upgrading" idea isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the "delete, delete, delete!" catchphrase is a joke (and an obvious attempt to give the Cybermen a memorable line such as the Dalek's "Exterminate!"). I do like their voices; very old school yet understandable unlike the 60's Cybermen. I also like the blue light in the mouth when they talk. They really need ranged weapons however. At least in this story it sort of makes sense that they don't have guns as Lumic assumed everyone would be under mind control and therefore would not need to be hunted down.

I do like that they refer to the Cybermen of our universe, and therefore won't be trying to re-write "established" Cyber history.

All in all, a let down for the return of the Cybermen. This is mainly to do with trying to tell too many stories with the whole alternate universe thing. They should have seperated the two ideas. Have a Cyberman story. Then save the alternate universe one for a different time.

The good bits: Mickey, most of the new Cyber design, some good chase story, some touching bits (ie: the dying Cyber(wo)man talking about her wedding), Jackie's cleavage

Not so good bits: Rose, anything to do with Rose, "magical" solutions, too much stomping, loss of Mickey, yet again dealing with Rose and her father, Rose is a pathetic/greedy/self-centered companion

The Idiot's Lantern 6.5/10

I'm not particularly a fan of stories set in the 1950's. Let me rephrase that. I like 1950's stories set in the States, but not anywhere else. Conversely I like 1970's stories set in England, but not anywhere else (which is neither here nor there, but interesting to note). So going in to this story, I was worried. Then I see the Doctor with that ridiculous Elvis hairstyle and Rose in that 1950's get-up and I get even more worried.

However, this was an enjoyable story. Nothing great, but nothing really bad either. It had a cool baddie and neat effects and some great directing. It also had some stuff I didn't like, but let's look at the positives first.

There were some great directing choices in this episode. The weird angles and use of the televisions was very good. My favourite bit of directing came in the interogation scene. It begins with the inspector standing and the Doctor sitting. "Start from the beginning; tell me everything you know," the inspector says. As the Doctor does his thing, he slowly convinces the inspector that he needs help. By the end, the inspector is seated, and the Doctor is standing; "Start from the beginning; tell me everything you know," he says to the inspector.

The villain, The Wire, was also neat. The actress playing the representation of the baddie was very good (except when she was yelling the "I hunger! Feed me!" lines which went on too long and were cringe-worthy).

Rose was taken out of this episode quite quickly which left more time to focus on the Doctor which is always a good thing. Tennant again shows signs of being a good Doctor, but lately his "menacing" Doctor is 95% yelling all the time. Levels Tennant! Levels! And when he's joking, he speaks so fast even I can't understand what he's saying (which is saying something!).

The father in the story was too over-the-top. A friend of mine compared him to Harry Potter's uncle which is a very fair comparison. The reason why it works in Harry Potter is that Harry's aunt and cousin are all over-the-top, showing what a world Harry has to live in outside of Hogwart's. In The Idiot's Lantern, only the father is over-the-top in this manner, and therefore just seems, well... over-the-top.

The finale on the TV tower is over-long. It just kind of goes on-and-on-and-on... All-in-all though, I'd rate this one slightly ahead of Tooth and Claw.

The good bits: some great directing, The Wire, a neat concept, less Rose (I like her in small portions, like this story and The Girl in the Fireplace)

Not so good bits: some bad dialogue/delivery from The Wire, the father was too over-the-top, Tennant doesn't have that "certain something" yet, the finale on the tower was drawn out too long

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit 9.5/10

This is what new Who should be like! This was the best story of the new series (only the nostalgia of the Sarah Jane scenes in School Reunion is better than this). It's basically just a trapped-on-a-space-station-with-a-monster story, and that kind of story has been done a million times in sci-fi before, but guess what? It's been done a million times because it's a tried and true formula. And how great is it to see it done in Doctor Who with a budget! Scary, intense, sad, exciting... and that scene when the Doctor first comes face to face with the Beast! Yowser! And the scene with Toby on the planet surface... awesome! Oh my goodness, I can't say enough good about this episode. I was smiling through the whole thing saying "Yes! This is what Doctor Who *can* be!"

The secondary characters were very well-acted and realized even if they were stereotypical. The music was perfect for the most part. The Firefly-esque violin simple music was absolutely haunting. Unfortunately every once in a while the music switched back to the style we've heard before, but mostly it was brand new and perfectly suited to the episode. I'm a little saddened that the Beast didn't turn out to be Sutekh, and I'm wondering what the point was of casting Gabriel Woolf. I think it may have been simply to get the old fans hoping and talking of Sutekh. But he really had so little voice time, and it was usually altered, so it really could have been any actor.

David Tennant was great and how wonderful was it to see the Doctor on an actual alien planet, in a space suit, and doing sci-fi type stuff without need to use the sonic screwdriver and getting involved in the story without relying on the psychic paper!

There are only a few things I didn't like, but unfortunately they were unlikable enough that I couldn't give this episode a 10. Firstly, we have yet another stupid Torchwood reference. Secondly, the opening bit with the Doctor and Rose saying they could just get back into the TARDIS and leave was WAY overdone (a one-off line and snicker was all that was needed...), and Rose's acting when she took charge at the beginning of episode 2 reeked of that smugness that I hate in the character.

Those things aside however, this was absolutely brilliant.

The good bits: The first meeting of the Doctor and the Beast, Toby on the planet surface, the amazing music (particularly the scene with Toby on the surface and Scooti floating in space), trapped on a space station, scary, sad, the Doctor in a space suit, an alien world, the Doctor getting mixed up in things without needing the psychic paper to do it

Not so good bits: Torchwood reference... the Bad Wolf references in season 1 worked because they were story related... we know Super Rose was sending the words throughout time and space to warn them of the future... the Torchwood references in season 2 are only there to advertize the Torchwood TV show and that's unforgivable (even if they have a role in the season ender, it's still just an advertizement for the new show)

Love & Monsters 6.5/10

I wasn't looking forward to this episode as I had heard some things about it that didn't sound appealing. Also it was officially labelled an "off beat" episode and it had an alien designed by a young fan. However, I was pleasantly surprised by it, though it was nothing special. I don't want many episodes like this one, but every once in a while they can be a nice change of pace.

Firstly, the Doctor and Rose are barely in it, which I would normally say is a bad thing. It worked for this story however. This is a story about a small group of people who meet to discuss the mystery of the Doctor. The main character is Elton, and the actor playing him is very strong and is the main reason the episode works. He reminds me of a young Malcolm McDowell. The storytelling angle is very well done here as well, and because it's storytelling, some of the weaker parts of the episode (the chase sequences at the beginning and the end for example) are more bearable in their silliness. The supporting characters are great too, especially Ursulla (played by Moaning Myrtle). Even the Abzorbaloff creature wasn't too bad in a cartoony kind of way, which works in this type of story.

All in all, it was an interesting "off beat" episode, and I don't really have too much to say bad about it except that I hope they don't make too many like this. And again we had more Torchwood crap (I guess we'll never hear from UNIT again).

The good bits: a well told story, Elton, supporting characters

Not so good bits: Torchwood references, some silly chase sequences, the Doctor leaving Ursulla in that state (the Doctor I know would never have done this, nor would he have left Adam with that alien technology in his head in "The Long Game")

Fear Her 5/10

All in all, there's not really anything wrong with this episode. It's just a little on the boring side. So the 5/10 rating is more for the fact that there's nothing in this to make me want to watch it again, rather than there being stuff in it I don't like.

The setting kind of looked like the street from "Survival", and I liked the Doctor's brief mention of being a father before (I guess hinting at how he had a granddaughter).

The acting was fine and I suppose it was a little creepy, but all in all it was just too boring. The Olympic torch bit at the end was a little silly too. The trailer for the final two-parter looks great, but it's easy to make trailers look good, so we'll have to wait and see.

The good bits: harmless little story

Not so good bits: couldn't understand a lot of Tennant's lines with his frantic mumbling, kind of boring (and everything after Impossible Planet/Satan Pit may have this to overcome)

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday 8/10

This didn't quite live up to expectations, but was still very enjoyable. The Cybermen were much more impressive in this story than in their previous two-parter, and the Daleks were awesome as usual. The Dalek/Cybermen arguments/confrontations were awesome. I was kind of hoping Davros would be inside the Genesis Ark, but it wouldn't have really fit with the story anyway. Even the parallel world worked in this story.

There were a few minor nitpicks, but overall it was enjoyable. I'm also very happy to see Rose gone from the series. Billie Piper has proven a great actress, but the character of Rose was really starting to get on my nerves (as the reviews above point out) and Rose's releationship with the Doctor was at times cheesy (sometimes rivalling the Anakin/Padme scenes from The Clone Wars) and always made me nauseous. I could easily rant here about how some fans (and RTD) get all haughty-totty saying that we're stupid if we think the Doctor has no sexual thoughts/functions. Why? Because he *looks* human. He isn't human. That's like Time Lords saying "hmmm, these humans look like us therefore they must live for thousands of years". But I won't rant. :) I just hope the new companion doesn't have mommy issues and have to race home to see her family every other episode. Some people (again including RTD) have said this is largely a budgetary issue - you can't have every episode set on an alien world. Well, that's a cop out. If you don't have the budget, don't make a show like Doctor Who for crying out loud! I don't want another 6-7 episodes set in modern day Cardiff! I also hope they go for another dynamic between the Doctor and the new companion. No more "lovey-dovey, 'aint we best buds" nonsense.

Rose's departure was well done however and it was sad. It also makes me realize we will no longer have Jackie and Mickey. This is a good thing, but really hits home that we are going to really be starting fresh in Season 3.

The Dalek/Cybermen stuff, the wrapping up of the parallel universe stuff, and the departure of Rose raise this to an 8/10, otherwise it was a fairly average episode.

The good bits: the Cybermen, the Daleks, Cybermen vs. Daleks, Jake, Rose's departure was handled well

Not so good bits: the episode looked too new and shiny, Torchwood sucks

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So my thoughts on the 2nd season: I enjoyed David Tennant more than Christopher Eccleston in the role. However, he still doesn't have that Paul McGann quality I've mentioned numerous times. Maybe if you could combine Eccleston with Tennant, you'd have a great Doctor. Tennant is too whiny for my tastes, and sometimes that whine combined with his quick talking make it impossible to understand what he's saying. I hope he gets more comfortable with the role next season. I'm glad to see Rose gone as she was really grating on me this season. Overall, I preferred the look and feel of season 2 to season 1 and this season had my two favourite episodes from the whole new series so far ("School Reunion" and "Impossible Planet/Satan Pit"). I hope they do more alien worlds next season. Final standings:

Loved:

School Reunion
The Girl in the Fireplace
The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit

Liked:

Army of Ghosts/Doomsday
Tooth and Claw
The Idiot's Lantern
Love and Monsters

So-so:

New Earth
Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
Fear Her