I have a strange relationship with Reality TV Shows and Quizzes. I find myself frequently watching the things, even enjoying them В– but then resenting them for the hour of my life just lost. To watch them for a while therefore, part of me must like them, but there is another part of me that switches over too. Whatever, there is something amazingly addictive about them, something that draws the viewer in like a tractor beam.

Many comments I have read about this episode, before it aired, have dismissed it already. The frequent comment being that Doctor Who shouldnВ’t be lowering itself to such TV fare. Yet this high and mighty attitude is quite farcical. For a start itВ’s judging something before sampling it, which I find very strange on its own. Another problem is that just because someone hates some TV or other, it doesnВ’t mean that someone else will hate it too, or that it doesnВ’t have a place. There are plenty of fans of Reality TV and Quiz Shows В– itВ’s very narrow minded to dismiss them out of hand, just because they arenВ’t your viewing preference.

My initial thought about Bad Wolf, before it had aired, was that this could very well be a satire on current TV. Doctor Who tapping into the collective consciousness of modern popular culture. I was intrigued whether the show would glorify these kinds of TV, or have something cautionary to say about them. The closer transmission came, the more intrigued I became, especially when reading the preview from Heat magazine В– surely one the most positive articles about new Who, and possibly the greatest indication that Russell T Davies is a genius for pitching new Doctor Who exactly at the right level for now.

The shows referenced here are fairly representative or their genre. Big Brother, What Not To Wear and Weakest Link are also very well known - itВ’s great kudos to the makers of DW that original presenters all voice their android contemporaries from the future. DW is again the show to be in В– and is relevant for the mass media. After years in the relative shade itВ’s all rather weird.

The episode itself took a little getting used to. The first half is chock full of the above mentioned TV shows, complete with android hosts. The reason for them being there was an excellent idea. Like in the previous episode Russell T picked up strands of previous stories of new Who В– to produce an often surprising result.

Christopher Eccleston was splendid as he tried to escape from his confinement in the Big Brother House. His clear boredom and restlessness at where he had ended up, quickly turned to concern for Rose. Rose is also her lovable self in the Weakest Link part. Yet she pulled off the giggles turning to horror supremely well as the truth emerged. Jack got to strut his stuff in the What Not to Wear segment В– a highly appropriate place for him.

I particularly liked the Doctor in the Big Brother house segment. The lovely Lynda with a Y was delightful. The Doctors exasperations were hilarious. Due to the short lifespan of the 9th Doctor I think I am enjoying him more, like a friend who comes and visits every few years, and you cram in as much as you can in the short time available, because you know they soon will be gone. The Weakest Link and What Not to Wear segments were less successful I thought. Rose and Jack were ever watchable В– but there were very little laughs, and it strayed a little too close to the real thing for my liking. The androids in charge were novel creations В– and after watching Confidential I couldnВ’t help but feel admiration for the actor inside each suit. The reality shows and quiz segments were highly unusual for Doctor Who В– and the premise behind their inclusion highly original.

As our heroes emerged from their respective shows, then the episode seemed to up a gear again. Jack was excellent as the Doctors muscle В– clearly loving the adventure, and highly heroic. Christopher Eccleston showed how well he can do pathos, as he thought his world had turmbled down. The last 15 minutes of Bad Wolf were amongst the best of the season, as the Doctor, Jack and Lynda charged through the Gamestation trying to find answers. The Doctors rant at the Daleks (with its Abslom Daak inspiration) was glorious. Then that Cliffhanger to finish the episode off, and whet the appetite brilliantly for the Seasons Finale.

What also impressed me about this episode was the Music. IВ’m more used to Murray Golds style now, and appreciate it far more. The TV Shows riffs were already there, but his adaptations were subtle yet effective. The Dalek chorus was terrifyingly atmospheric, and the whole scale of the oncoming battle pushed up a few notches as a result.

Every week for the last 12 weeks I have looked forward to Saturday like I used to when I was younger. For that alone the creators of new DW are forever in my debt. After Bad Wolf that expectation has been heightened further. The big explosive finale, with an ending we kind of know, but one that isnВ’t any less exciting.

This new series of Doctor Who has been a revelation В– a real rollercoaster ride, full of surprises and thrills, yet remaining essentially the same programme I have always loved. Onto the last Hurragh for the 9th Doctor В– it will be brilliant. 8/10

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.

I think I said this for a previous episode of this season of Doctor Who, but I find myself hard pressed to come up with a better word to describe this episode.

WOW!

I mean, super wow. This isnВ’t how a good writer or reviewer describes things heВ’s reviewing, but I donВ’t care. Wow wow wow.

ItВ’s all been leading up to this boys and girls! I read some reviews for В“BoomtownВ” last week, and a lot of people said that they thought the episode was destined to be crap but then surprised them all, even though it involved a retread creature that wasnВ’t extremely popular to begin with. I didnВ’t quite feel the same way about Boomtown but I sure do about В“Bad WolfВ”!

I literally sighed when the Doctor escaped the Big Brother house to find he was on Satellite 5 again. I mean, I just said in my review last week that part of the magic this show was starting to miss a little was the sense of wonder, of where each show would take place. It was only a matter of when: The В“whereВ” would always be Earth it just depends on past, present or far future. I love the show but please letВ’s see what the TARDIS is actually capable of some time!

Well first off, each situation was hilarious. The DoctorВ’s irritation at the В“MTV generationВ” and subsequent acceptance of their own death at the conclusion of the game was done very well. We also have a possibility of another companion, though highly doubtful. Besides the fact that the Ninth Doctor is almost dead (am I the only one regretting the fact that we know this more and more with each episode?), I sense a touching and possiblt noble death scene for the sweet В“Lynda with a yВ”. RoseВ’s encounter with the android was a little more scary but still very entertaining. It helps that we Americans have these two shows as well and so for one of the first times in the series we can completely relate to the humor of how these shows evolved over the centuries.

The best however is Captain Jack Harkness. This guy is excellent. Not only is he extremely entertaining (and handsome for the ladies!) but he is pretty much the perfect soldier. I thought that Rose was a great fit for this Doctor at the beginning of the series. He had just recently regenerated, presumably from dying in the Timelord/Dalek Time War which destroyed his entire race and forced him to kill many (but now we find out not all!) Daleks, something he clearly did not want to do but had no choice. This left him a little rattled and needing that sense of wonder that a young, new companion like Rose could give him. Since that first episode though, weВ’ve seen the Ninth Doctor hardened. A complaint several people have had about this Doctor is that he seems to be bumbling around a lot and letting humans do most of the heavy thinking or work. Having faith in Doctor Who, however, I saw this as planned. Whether is was the age old В“Humans have to do things for themselvesВ” argument, or the much more likely rattling the Time War did to our fair Doctor is not sure. I do believe the writers meant this Doctor to be a little less pro-active than his predecessors. Until now that is. Just as in the episode В“DalekВ”, we see the anger and pure hatred the Doctor has for these creatures. This is the perfect time for Jack Harkness. Besides his confidence and great personality (which help out the show as a whole I believe), he has really taken his part as the DoctorВ’s crew seriously. He takes orders from the Doctor with no question, but still has the military mind to think ahead and come up with plans (plans the Doctor graciously accepts when he feels they are correct). Besides all that, his scene with the two robot dressing units was excellent! В“Your viewing ratings just went up ladiesВ” В“ThatВ’s a Compact Laser Deluxe! Where were you hiding that?В” В“You really donВ’t want to knowВ”. Classic stuff and just adds to his characterВ’s humor and yet seriousness when itВ’s needed. Jack was never once scared, he went with the two androids until the situation got sour and then calmly implemented an escape that obviously could have come at any time he wanted it to. Jack is the perfect warrior to go after Rose and attack the Daleks.

Which brings us toВ….who writes the previews for the next episodes anyways?! It was completely, COMPLETELY unnecessary to destroy the surprise of there being Daleks alive at the end of last weekВ’s episode. There was plenty of footage they could use without you ever knowing what was to come. Then, at the end of this episode, itВ’s pretty well done right. Shots of the Daleks attacking the TARDIS, Daleks attacking Satellite 5, a scene with Chris saying he is either dead or close to (is he supposed to die here or at some future Xmas episode, IВ’m not sure) and last scene, the voice but not actually seeing the Supreme Dalek. Oooooo so cool. I think the appearance and knowledge that Daleks escaped the Time War could have had 1000% more impact if we didnВ’t know about it for a whole week.

Wrapping up, excellent acting as always, excellent effects and fantastic story that has been building this entire series. It is a terrific twist that somehow the Daleks have been manipulating this incarnation of the Doctor almost from his regeneration. On one hand I am very sad that this series and ChrisВ’ Doctor is almost gone but it has been an excellent run and В“Bad WolfВ” was by far the best episode to date.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is it! We are at war!

The Doctor wakes up with amnesia, to discover heВ’s a contestant on a futuristic and deadly game of Big Brother. Fantastic idea. Rose wakes up, also with amnesia, to discover sheВ’s playing a futuristic, and just as deadly, game of The Weakest Link. ErВ… pretty good idea. Jack wakes up to discover heВ’s on a futuristic/deadly What Not ToВ… yawn. TwoВ’s company, Russell; threeВ’s padding. The first twenty minutes or so of this episode just drag by, and it doesnВ’t get going at all until the Doctor announces heВ’s going to break out.

Why, oh why, couldnВ’t this episode have been based entirely around the deadly Big Brother concept? It couldВ’ve been so, so good. But instead, weВ’ve got dull scenes of the В“Anne DroidВ” (the jokeВ’s lost on us Aussies) asking countless silly questions, and a naked Jack with two oversized Lego figures, playing dress-ups. What couldВ’ve been a paranoid thriller has been turned into a camp nightmare unparalleled since The Happiness Patrol. And even that was cleverer, with its political agenda!

Oh well. At least weВ’ve got the lovely Jo Joyner as Lynda-with-a-Y, proving that there are better potential companions out there than the nauseating Adam, or even Jack, who I must admit has begun to annoy me a little at this point. He was good in Boom Town, but underused, and his scenes in this episode with those ridiculous robots are truly cringe-worthy. Not John BarrowmanВ’s fault, naturally В– that manВ’s a terrific actor, and perfect for Doctor Who. No, I just donВ’t like this script. Sorry, Russell. I loved what you did with Boom Town, but youВ’re really letting me down here.

Mercifully, things begin to pick up once the DoctorВ’s broken out of the game, and we discover weВ’re back on Satellite Five. The Doctor and Lynda are still being watched, from the Floor Managers on good olВ’ Floor 500. They give great performances, as does the Controller, a very chilling and very well-written character. RoseВ’s final scene with the Anne Droid is nicely suspenseful, and although we all know sheВ’s not really dead, itВ’s nice to watch the Doctor go more melancholy than heВ’s been all series (and thatВ’s saying something). When he breaks out of incarceration with Jack and Lynda, itВ’s with a В“LetВ’s do itВ”, and unfortunately not a В“Now!В”, which in my opinion wouldВ’ve been better. Less hokey. Oh well.

Finally they make it to Floor 500. And finally weВ’re in for some good drama, first from our leads, then from the Controller. I cheered when Jack discovered what was really inside the mysterious Archive 6 В– our trusty TARDIS. And even though I already knew it, I cheered again when Jack told the Doctor heВ’d discovered Rose was still alive. Perhaps it was the look on their faces as they hugged.

And here comes a shock. The Daleks are behind it all. Okay, not a shock in the slightest. But why on earth are the Daleks producing reality TV? And a century before, why were they behind the news stations? I mean, these are Daleks! Actually, I know why. Russell T. Davies. And his obsessions with media manipulation (Aliens of London, The Long Game) and reality TV. Okay, heВ’s running this show, he can do what he likes. But heВ’s also got a reputation as a good storyteller, so why all this self-indulgence? Like Aliens of London, this episode seems just like one forty-five minute private joke. Save it for Torchwood, Russell. This is Doctor Who.

Anyway. The Dalek ships look excellent. CanВ’t tell if theyВ’re models or CGI В– which is a good sign. The Daleks themselves wobble a little, but when it comes down to it, who cares? I certainly donВ’t. The Daleks are scary as everВ… until the army is revealed. IВ’ve hated the look of CGI Daleks ever since I saw The Curse of Fatal Death all those years ago. I know itВ’d blow the budget to make that many Dalek props, but it all just looks so fake this way! Seriously, the last shot just looked like a cartoon! Give me an В“armyВ” of three (like Day of the Daleks) any day.

So in conclusion, Bad Wolf was a big let-down for me. As I said before, it couldВ’ve been brilliant. Joe Ahearne delivered again, as did all the leads, but the weakness of the script, and the CGI Daleks, have put this story down in my bottom three of this series. Sorry.

So after the sublime horror of 'The Empty Child' and 'The Doctor Dances', the series takes a bit of a nose dive.

First of all...and with apologies to any Welsh readers...why Cardiff again? Okay, so there was a link to the rift of 'the Unquiet Dead' and RTD is from Swansea. But basically it looked like an opportunity to highlight some of the tourist attractions of the redeveloped dockland area. And just who thinks that a story based on the idea of a nuclear power station being built in the centre of any city has any credibility? Yes, yes, yes...Doctor Who is all about suspension of belief but that is a suspension too far.

All hail the return of Slitheen - not. Still annoying in appearance with the unnecessary combination of big doe-eyed innocence and unpleasantly large claws. What's with the face of ET meets Bambi approach? Just not scary, just not cute. Thankfully, however, there was less of the toilet humour burping etc of 'World War III'.

And Annette Badman did her character real credit when in human guise plus a wonderful bit of repartee between her and the Doctor when he takes her our for a meal....'hmm dinner and bondage..'.

Captain Jack...yes, well what was the point of him this week? Indeed, what is the point of him at all? Why has the Doctor taken him on board as a redeemed baddie when he dumped Adam at his mother's with a socket in his head. There would have been at least as much potential for Adam's character to develop, and there was sense in that he was a much more realistic chancer than comic-book square-jawed Jack. Jack's double entendre dialogue should not save him

Rose and Mickey...some nice development there and a real sense of Rose being caught between the desire to explore the wonders of the Universe on one hand hand and be back in South London with her boyfriend (and a decent hairdresser - drop the pigtails please) on the other. Aahh, love will eventually win the day, but presumably not till the second series. Or perhaps Mickey - who was looking decidely mean and moody when he walked off into the night - will develop into an evil, yet clumsy, mastermind set on destroying the Doctor and all his works

The Doctor...yet more dark shading of his character during the conversation with Margaret as they talked about the pathology of killers. Christopher Eccleston is at his very best when the focus is on the harder, unpleasant aspects of his character. And only one annoying outbreak of unsolicited grinning early on in this episode - so perhaps that gurning will be gone by the end of the series.

TARDIS...thanks for the explanation of the chameleon circuit for any new viewers wondering why it is as it is. But what was this business about the living heart? And how did it make Margaret regress? If TARDIS is a living being - shades of Moya from Farscape surely - perhaps more could be made of the relationship between her and the Doctor in the future?

So, what was the point of this episode?

Not scary. Not funny. It did move Rose and Mickey's relationship along. And it highlighted yet more darkness in the character of the Doctor.

Lame story though, and weakest of the series so far.