Love & Monsters

I love Doctor Who, so it pains me to say this but....Worst episode ever.

This is not to say it was a horrible episode, it had very touching moments and some very good acting by actors I might recognize if I was in the UK. The little bit with Jackie was pretty good too, and shows that even though she slapped the Doctor and was very upset about him taking Rose from her, she has accepted the fact that Rose cares very much for him and Jackie will "defend them to the ends of the Earth".

Still, the "villain" was pretty goofy and even though he would have fit in very well in the pre-Ninth era very well I just don't think he was quite what we expect from our 2005/2006 incarnation.

When I rave about an episode, I just can't stop talking about it but when I see an episode like this, I don't know what to say. The absorbing FX were very good, but poor Ursela's fate even after being freed was a bit disturbing. To live out all eternity as a head coming out of a square made of plaster is not something very many of us would agree too and truthfully it seems a bit cruel (although the quick reference to a "sex life" for the two was rather funny).

I appreciate that Doctor Who in this 21st century world is a bit of a character study but to have an entire episode devoted to a conspiracy theorist's journey just isn't what I'm watching the show for, no matter how likable all the characters are. When "The X-Files" created The Lone Gunmen, they tied those characters very deeply to the creation of Fox Mulder and his journey as a character. If these people really had some tie to The Doctor other than seeing him in passing, it might have worked better. If this guy is a possible replacement for Rose than that would change everything because it would be background story on a companion however that is very, very unlikely. I'm not a fan that needs aliens and 45 minutes of special effects every single week but more time with The Doctor than we had for "The Christmas Invasion" is a requirement to fully enjoy an episode.