The Shakespeare Code

Two words! "Absolutely Brilliant!" ?This has got to be the best episode of Doctor Who since its 2005 return, and probably amongst the top ten ever.

Dean Lennox Kelly played a blinder as William Shakespeare, coming across a bit like Liam Gallagher, "Shut yer fat mouths", and also bits of Giacomo Casanova and Billy Connolly. ?I though it was a nice touch to play him as a really "in touch" character, not afraid to speak his mind, and to have him state categorically that he new that the Doctor was a time traveller from another world and that Martha was from the future was a master stroke. Martha telling the Shakespeare joke to the Bard himself, or should that be "barred" was rib tickling.

David Tennant's Doctor seems to have calmed down his act somewhat, yet without diminishing the spontaneous side to his character. Last season, I felt that he and Rose were heading for a fall, as was the case at the end in "Doomsday". ?Donna (Catherine Tate) was a welcome change at Christmas, although I'm glad she did not become a permanent companion, as she got a bit irritating towards the end.

However, Martha Jones is great, and having watched Freema Agyeman's performance as Adeola over and over again to try and gauge what Martha might be like, I was pleasantly surprised by the difference when I watched "Smith and Jones", but did not write anything about it as I was so bowled over by it that I could find no fault at all, except for the obvious plot holes that come with anything science fiction.

"The Shakespeare Code" was fantastic, and yet some bits had me not knowing whether to cringe or laugh out loud. The conversation with the Doctor and Martha, with the refences to the Doctor having cried and cried when reading book 7 of Harry Potter, and the questions as to whether magic was real were really well done, and then in the Globe Theatre we get to discover that "Expelliarmus" actually worked to defeat the witches, and whatever it was they were summoning up by the utterance of those words and numbers they had made Will Shakspeare write down. It was hilarious, and somehow reminiscent of Rose Tyler that Martha should be the one to suggest the words that ultimately saved the day. Expelliarmus, indeed. When the Doctor and Martha lay side by side on the bed however, I began to worry that another snog was on its way, and was glad when it didn't happen.

Queen Elizabeth demanding the Doctor's head, and appearing to know who he was is a bit of a mystery, and I wonder if we shall learn why or how this is so. And it will be interesting to see next week if the Tardis materialises on New Earth with an arrow still stuck in the door... ?10/10.