Army of Ghosts

This Episode is a bright shining star in an otherwise very poor second series. Up to date I have been underwhelmed by the 2nd year of the new Doctor Who, I have found the writitng to be infantile, cliched and and at times downright cheesy. A few episodes were a bit above average but that's the best I have been able to say about this series, that is until now.

Army of Ghosts has got me pumped!

Don't get me wrong, this episode still has a lot of the faults mentioned but the scope of the plot and sheer magnitude of the event just overshadows any flaws.

I mean we have Cybermen AND Daleks!! The episode built up very nicely to the climax and the reveal was very well done.

I am a Cyberman fan from childhood and was disappointed with their first appearance this year and did not hold out much hope for this episode. But somehow they seemed more menacing this time round than before! The scene with the kid trying to escape up the stairs only to see another Cyberman appear was great and I am sure will scare a lot of kids.

Mickey, who I do not normally like always seems to be at his best when directly involved in action. I liked him a lot this episode and his new can do attitude. I definitely felt he was competant enough to really save mankind.

The acting in this episode was actually much better than the norm. Even the minor characters played thier part unlike normally when we have been subjected to minor characters being overly theatrical. Raj the scientist was paticulary good.

The Torchwood Director, Yvonne actually came across very well, I expected her to be your normal TV baddie boss, who never listens till it is too late. She actually listened to the Doctor without appearing to be in awe of him or kow towing to him.

The Doctor himself was less his irritating self despite the Alonso cracks and the Ghostbuster bit. He did not gurn as much and I found him a lot more bearable! Rose was great as usual and I liked how she got caught out with the psychic paper. It seems to me she did not really believe it would work anyway!

I love Jackie Tyler and she can do no wrong in my eyes and really look forward to the second part where she meets her husband from the alternate Earth.

And lastly we have the Daleks and they look as evil as ever and this is coming from someone who always favored the cybermen but in this episode the Dalek appearance was justifibly the climax of the episode and has got me all excited for the conclusion.

Only good episodes give me the impetus to right a review and this has been the only one I have reviewed this season, lets hope the final episode lives upto all expectations.

Exterminate!!