Bad Wolf

So, 198,095 years into the future and TV is still dominated by 'reality' shows? A tad unbelievable...the only shows still likely to be running then are Coronation Street and Countdown. However, if one is going to play with such topical references then Big Brother, Weakest Link etc are as good as any I suppose. The Big Brother House did, however, look lame - were they finger paintings by contestants on the wall or was that left-over art from Playschool? And the contestants were way too articulate, and over-dressed. Has RTD actually watched BB recently? The female contestants should have been surgically enhanced and falling out of far too skimpy bikinis and the male contestant ought to have been screamingly gay. Actually, it came across as a Blue Peter version of Big Brother....nice young people with finger paintings. Pity the BBC had not hired Jon Tickle to appear - he would have introduced an element of the bizarre.

I hope that the Doctor's apparent flirtation with Linda was simply intended to provide some dramatic counterpoint to his feelings for Rose when it appeared that she had been killed, since there was no sense that Linda was likely to be a particularly interesting or strong replacement for when Rose leaves the show. As for Rose's 'death'; that was less of shock than a reason to puzzle briefly about how she was in fact not going to be dead given that we all know Billy Piper will be back in part of Season 2.

Once again, I was left wondering what the point of Captain Jack is, except for providing some very bland eye-candy. Jack remains a one-dimensional, sexually ambivalent, occasional action-man. Sexual ambivalence does not, in this instance, make him interesting and looking self-satisfied and delivering one-liners does not provide depth either. Whilst a third occupant of the TARDIS may be required to help move the plots along, how about introducing one whose character actually evolves and has some shading?

In comparison, the characters of the Doctor and Rose have continued to grow over the series - with an exception this week for Rose, who was mainly reduced to giggling and looking horrified (thankfully without the pig-tails). It is, of course, the character of the Doctor which has developed most - and the all too-frequent inane grinning of the early episodes is almost gone, to be replaced by a sense of darkness and torment. All credit to Christopher Eccleston for his characterisation.

The Daleks...please God, if they are going to be the supreme Evil Beings in the Universe, can they not speed up a bit and stop being so simply peevish. In 'Dalek' the novelty of seeing the lone Dalek elevate was diminished by its speed...Adam and Rose could have run off, put a brew on and settled down to a nice cup of tea and a packet of chocolate hobnobs in the time it took to rise up the stairs. Thora Hird on a Stannah chair lift would have been quicker, and probably more alarming. This latest bunch don't look much more competent either. Simply getting into a hissy fit because the Doctor refuses to comply with their evil plan...ooh, I'm scared. Whilst I appreciate that they are iconic villains, I guess I've never been overly impressed with the capabilities of the Daleks and I suspect this is not going to change next week either. What I am looking forward to, however, are some impressive set-piece visuals and plot revelations.

Re-reading this, I am conscious that this is sounding overly negative. However, to put in context I'd say it was much preferable to anything featuring Slithereens, not as effective for me as 'The Empty Child', but nonetheless an entertaining precursor to what will hopefully be a glorious Season Finale. It was Dr Who as fast-paced light entertainment, operating at several different levels. More than a nod at the topical and humorous, but with continuing development of a deeper plot for those who are paying more attention, and through the series as a whole, an ongoing sense of revelation of the character of the Doctor himself. Just what is needed for a Saturday evening....any evening in fact.