The End Of The World

I hadn't been entirely convinced by the first episode, it seemed fun enough and I liked the new Doctor and his assistant, but at the same time it seemed a bit rushed and, well, I sadly realised that this new show probably wasn't going to be for me. Though I was still going to keep watching it, anyway!

Any worries that it might be a chore were dispelled by the second episode. Now the characters have been introduced, we start to get to know them a little better. What I really liked about this episode was that I realised that there was going to be some real depth to the characters, Rose didn't just switch into assistant mode, she actually sat and worried about what she'd decided to do by following this strange man across time. And the Doctor's often overtly cheery persona (occasionally it gets too much looking at him grinning away) seemed to be compensating for the terrible suffering he's obviously going through.

Some of the first episode effects had been done well enough, but still showed their budget a little I felt. The second episode was a huge improvement, I loved it all (perhaps the fans were a little dodgy, but then fans often are!), the dying planet Earth, the Sun, the space station.

The creatures were all nicely done, I had been a bit sceptical about some of them from the trailers and what I had picked up from the papers (often against my will, but I couldn't NOT look at them). As it was they looked great, were wonderfully written as real alien people and rather naugtily defied many of the expectations I'd been led to believe.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of Soft Cell and Britney, more than a little bit camp perhaps, I never expected to hear the sounds of Toxic coming across as the world ended. But along with many of the other ingredients it helepd make Dr Who feel a class act, and can't have done it any harm as far as kids watching went. I got that same eery feeling that I got when I first heard the Beatles playing in the Tardis (I hope I didn't dream that).

The story was fast paced, had more to it than the Auton story, and was crammed full of little nuggets of humour and humanity, plus what for me was a truly shocking revelation about the Doctor and his people. This had been referred to in the previous episode in an oblique way, and I think this additional sub-plot is what has helped convince me that this Doctor Who really is for me as well as those pesky 8-12 year old kids (and I hope they enjoy it more than I do).

Oh, there's lots more I could add, the operation of the Tardis was entertaining and comical, and next weeks episode trailer makes it look as though the kids will need years of psychotherapy before they ever leave the safety of behind the couch again. Excellent!

All I feel I can say beyond this is - well done everyone!