I thought it woould be interesting to add a review from a faithful Dr. Who fan who has been paying attention to things happening across the pond. I have always felt that the BBC has had something against Americans. I was extremely disappointed when they cut us off from Dr. 7 episodes for awhile (back in the 80's)and at that time, we had very little option but to wait. Now, we have the glorious internet and thanks to you Brits, we can watch Dr. Who without the year wait.

This episode has to be one of my favorites of the past two seasons, with The Impossible Planet close behind. However, I feel like the Satan Pit didn't live up to the first part and I was rather disappointed. I felt as though they had such a good setup that it could have been knocked out of the park. Sadly, it wasn't. Here, we see another perfect pitch and let's hope that this time that it is a home run and that the second part lives up to the first.

I too have felt that shows have been rushed. In Fear Her, we find the Dr. and Rose noticing a complicated mystery, and figuring it out in record speed and time and it's almost so unrealistic that it's hard to watch. I'm in my thirties now and would like to see things move at a bit slower pace and be a bit more realistic. I would like to see more two and possibly even three part stories. If you have a good story, don't ruin it by condensing it down too much.

This brings me to my last review and thoughts on this episode and the series as a whole. The character of Jackie and the one of Mickey are severely underused and overlooked. I understand the producer wanting to appeal to a younger, more hip crowd and that 20 something Rose was their answer to that end. But again, I like things a bit more mature and I would love to see Jackie go with the Doctor for a season or two. I loved their banter in this episode and would enjoy seeing more of it. Jackie would be a good anchor for the bouyant tenth incarnation of this Time Lord. Plus, she would allow this "aged" Dr. to act a bit more mature at times. I would also like to see Mickey join the Doctor. He could represent the younger crowd and appeal to them. How long has it been since the Doctor has had more than one young female companion at a time on air? Can anyone say Peter Davidson? That's an awful long stretch and I think it's a good time to try the multiple companions again. Any good show has a mix of personalities to play off of and the bubbly Doctor, grounded Jackie, and young, hot headed Mickey would make a splendid combination that these writers could use to make terrific stories.

So, here's to another good Dr. Who episode and hopes for many more. I will keep watching from this side of the pond in hopes for some more good things from the new Dr. Who.

Wow.....just wow.........

Not every episode can be hands down kick ass Doctor and enemy action, and as a matter of fact neither was this episode. This, however, IS Doctor Who. There have been a couple of episodes this season that just didn't seem to click. Love and Monsters was one of them. I know what they were trying to do, and kudos to them for going out on a limb and trying something different (which almost no show does anymore), but it just didn't work for me. The point is, when I was a kid growing up and watching this show, an episode like Army of Ghosts would have not only cemented me as a Doctor Who fan for life (oops too late) but pulled in anyone around me who even remotely enjoyed science fiction.

To start off, I am really....really sad that Rose is leaving the show. Sounds pretty much like she will die but whether she dies or not, this episode truly shows how great a team they are. As her mother says in the show, she has changed so much since the first episode of this new Doctor Who. Essentially she's the same girl who took the rope off the wall and saved the Doctor from the Autons but she is so much more confident and has simply grown as a human being. I disagree with Jackie though that she is turning into someone other than Rose Tyler just by spending time with the Doctor. Sure she isn't as much of a child but most parents would be happy to watch their children grow up into someone responsible and mature. So she cares more about the human race as a whole then working at a shop and eating fish and chips...this is a bad thing?

It is cool that Torchwood knows the Doctor, that they greet him the way they do and the dialogue is excellent.

"Wait, everything alien is yours...does that mean I'm a prisoner?"
"Of course, but we will make you comfortable...."

One of the admittedly nitpicky problems with the episode is how easy it is for the Cybermen to infiltrate Torchwood. I sure hope Captain Jack is able to help them turn into an operation that is prepared for that sort of thing. Which leads me into problem #2... would it have been so impossible to include Captain Jack in these last two episodes?! He was only the absolute best companion ever to appear in Doctor Who--so good he gets his own show for pete's sake. Besides an embarassing K9 and Company pilot, what other companion has gotten the kind of response that a new show is built for them? It simply would have been very cool for him to be there to see Rose off, and to show how he ties in with this mostly inept little group that was created to stop "the alien horde". Maybe he'll appear next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

Once again it's the alternate reality Cybermen which is not as cool as the ones that would actually know the Doctor and what kind of a threat he is but still...pretty cool. I am sad to say that the sudden appearance of ghosts around the world would actually cause us to destroy ourselves but in this episode I can suspend my disbelief enough to actually really enjoy this episode. Seeing Mickey was cool too. I'm not English so I'm not privy to any rumors or news but any chance he will be a companion? I know they were looking at some woman I never heard of but Mickey could be cool too. I couldn't stand his character at first but talk about growing up! He went from a cowering off and on boyfriend of Rose to a freedom fighter against Cybermen!

Overall, I got goosebumps watching this episode. Funny episodes are good, I don't mind space filler when there is good character development and acting in it but THIS is why I love this show. It has bits of humor to be sure but from the time the Doctor sees these ghosts he is on the ball trying to discover what they really are. When he sees the void ship he knows how wrong it is and when he is told that it does not belong to the Cybermen, his shocked reaction is so perfectly done, it makes me even happier David Tennant is such a perfect Doctor.

Other favorite scenes are when Rose tries to use the psychic paper and is caught because all Torchwood employees have psychic training and they can tell the paper is blank. Also how Torchwood has found all the alien tech that has crash landed on Earth for years and how they are using it to create a new British Empire. Also, the Doctor giving in, pulling up a chair and waiting for the inevitable "ghost shift". It freaks out the head of Torchwood so much she actually stops the shift!

Of course it would have been nice to have a different villain from the past emerge from the void ship but hey, I am not complaining. The thought of Daleks AND Cybermen on Earth, fighting each other AND us....wow!!!!

Last off I am very glad Rose's end will be on Earth. It was really the only way to do it. I'm sure it will be a sacrifice of some kind so as to alleviate any blame Jackie and Mickey would place on the Doctor, and it's the way her end needed to be. This was a near flawless presentation, and I really hope Doomsday will be a great send off for Rose and the Doctor (until next season that is...which starts WHEN?!).

Truthfully though with this kind of setup, I see no possible way it will be anything but...fantastic.

Pride comes before a fall, they say. How ironic that on the day that England bowed out of the 2006 World Cup, Yvonne Hartman has the gall to assume the British Empire will rise again, Rule not, Britannia! The series has constantly tapped into themes of nationalism and identity formed in the crucible of the post-war decline of Britain as a world power and the timing of this episode was truly bizarre - we were beaten by the Portugese and then invaded by Cybermen AND Daleks. How much more can the countryВ’s psyche take!

From the opening pre-credit sequence through to the nerve-shredding cliffhanger, this episode in particular closes the circle of narrative started in В‘RoseВ’. The opening narration is a clever and moving summary of entire development of Rose as a character. Complete with buses, chips, majestic alien landscapes and the two Doctors so dear to her heart. But this relationship with the sorcerorВ’s apprentice of time and space is showing its age, cracking open just like the fault lines in the universe so wonderfully illustrated in Torchwood HQ. That direct narrative, so Bergmanesque, is telling us that Rose Tyler will die. But is this going to be a physical death? Or rather, the death of a soul, RoseВ’s soul, as the journey comes full circle.

Once again, we have Graeme Harper giving us that agonising slow burn approach, gradually ratcheting up the tension and astutely relieving it with some lovely bits of comedy business. His direction was quite superb, especially with the reveal of the Cybermen. There were echoes of В‘Tomb Of The CybermenВ’ and В‘EarthshockВ’ visually as he went into a frenzy of editing as they burst through the polythene walls. He used the plastic to obscure their figures in a lovely cross reference to the В‘almost like a military displayВ’ blurred figures of the ghost-shift. Lots of big close-ups too В– with faces and objects looming out of the screen. Visual tips of the hat to В‘Evil Of The DaleksВ’ (TARDIS on a truck), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (TorchwoodВ’s alien archive), Men In Black and James Bond movies (the design of Torchwood itself).

Narrative nods to the past withYvonne using the energy of the В‘ghost-shiftВ’ echoing Professor StahlmanВ’s desperate search for alternate energy sources in В‘InfernoВ’ and the various В‘energy crisesВ’ often featured in the classic series. And we all know there will be a price to pay.

The important scenes, apart from the moody pre-credits, included the DoctorВ’s В‘horrificВ’ reaction to JackieВ’s observation of families coming back home as В‘beautifulВ’ and the brief scene where Jackie predicts RoseВ’s future with the Doctor. She sees a figure who В‘isnВ’t Rose TylerВ’ В– В‘not even humanВ’ in 50 years time. Both scenes reinforce many of the themes that have been running through the series as a whole. The Doctor doesnВ’t do В‘domesticВ’ and is horrified at the thought of families being reunited. Does he think the dead should stay dead? And is Rose now effectively dead to her own mother? Jackie canВ’t recognise this woman Rose has become and doesnВ’t even think she is human. Has RoseВ’s humanity already started to drain out of her because of her desire to be with the Doctor (and not with her family) В‘foreverВ’? Again, the narrative arcs back to В‘Parting Of The WaysВ’ in that this is the perhaps the pay-off for Rose getting ideas above her station and having airs and graces. Class mobility on a galactic scale seems to be a running theme. And one scene that should imprint itself forever is the В‘no escape at the top of the stairsВ’ Cyberman assault on Joe PublicВ’s two up, two down in deepest, darkest Home Counties Britain. The Cyberman at the top of the stairs should leave most children dreading bed time!

And only Russell T Davies could take the В‘mother-in-lawВ’ gag to new heights. Tennant and Coduri have a field day in some very amusing interplay when Jackie becomes Rose for a day! JackieВ’s lip-curling as Yvonne shows off TorchwoodВ’s assets is priceless and the DoctorВ’s horror at the thought of Torchwood recording his adventures in time and space with Jackie in tow was very amusing. Again, Davies also roots the story in the culture of the day with the brief TV cameos В– the best being the scenes from В‘EastendersВ’. They were perhaps a little self-indulgent and didnВ’t quite help the pay-off, particularly the scene of the Cyberman strangling TV host Alastair Appleton which although funny seemed too much of a stretch for me.

As the pressure cooker build up advanced, Murray GoldВ’s music really came into its own here. I donВ’t think he put a note wrong and the interlocking Cyberman and Dalek themes at the end were a fitting crescendo to the cliffhanger.

Thematically, we have an instance of the positive regression phenomenon all the way through the narrative; it is about going back over the same ground in order to go on, back through the layers of the unconscious in order to mature. Certainly for the Doctor and Rose this is the case В– a re-match with the Cybermen and the Daleks and loved ones from the parallel Earth reappearing В– indicates that this is the closing of a narrative in order to take stock, change and move on.

The Dalek sphere, denoting the В‘voidВ’ and В‘absenceВ’, is surely mirroring aspects of their being. They are void of pity, have an absence of compassion and humanity. But the sphere is also perhaps a reflection of humanity, is it our own nature being reflected back? Are the Daleks representative of our darkest unconscious drives, some of which are expressed in the hubris of the Torchwood agenda?

The ghosts (people who are not actually present) also provoke strong irrational outbursts of emotion, as if their invisible presence is felt long after they have left the room or are far away e.g. Grandad Prentice. Rose could also be viewed as a В‘ghostВ’ in relationship to her mother. The ghosts represent an aspect of the invisible psyche buried in the unconscious of which the ghost is only an image, representing that inner force. The ghosts are our own loss, our own guilt personified and this is really manifested when the in-human Cybermen materialise in their place. The Cybermen are a symbol of the institutionalised В‘loss of humanityВ’. And guilt personified comes in the form of brave Mickey Smith В– defending the Earth. He is still an important cog in the machinery of RoseВ’s life, reminding her of her humanity in contrast to the void at the centre of the Lonely GodВ’s unsettled journey through time and space.

A quick word about the regular cast - Tennant perhaps the best he's ever been here after some ups and downs throughout the series and Piper on the mark as ever. I felt that Camille Coduri got sidelined after the hilarious 'mother-in-law' routine and ended up standing about saying little for too long. Tracey Ann Oberman was suitable arrogant and haughty as Hartman. You could see her comeuppance a mile away but it was delicious all the same. And the bets are off it seems for Freema to be the next companion.

And so the episode concludes with every eight year oldВ’s fantasy В– Daleks and Cybermen in the same episode and ready to commence battle.Is this a wise move, I ask myself? Will the DoctorВ’s greatest foes be drained of their impact as they battle it out on Earth? Only В‘DoomsdayВ’ will tell. Let us just be content with perhaps one of the greatest cliffhangers in the seriesВ’ history.

Now that was a bit good. Actually, that was a lot good. The penultimate episode of Series 2 promised much in the exciting trailer at the end of Fear Her, and it simply delivered all that and more, in the shape of this sparkling jewel in the second-series crown.

It just makes such a difference to story pacing when you have two episodes to play with rather than one, and the tempo was absolutely spot-on here. The best-structured episode of the series so far, Army Of Ghosts was in no rush to reach its climax, yet it still felt as though it cracked along at a good pace, with plenty of thrilling highlights along the way.

The first of those highlights was the now traditionally excellent pre-credits sequence, in which we learn that Rose is В“deadВ”. I suspect В– well, IВ’m absolutely certain В– that RoseВ’s В“deathВ” wonВ’t mean В“deathВ”, not with the concept of alternative worlds floating around. You could be said to В“dieВ” in one world, for instance, and go to another. You could В“dieВ” in another sense В– inside В– if, for instance, your parents were killed. A distinct possibility here, with the expected В“reunitingВ” of Jackie and Pete. And, of course, you could die and go to Hell . . . which turns out to be eternal life. Or something. But it will be fascinating to discover how RoseВ’s end comes, and I shall hope to avoid serious spoilers before seeing the concluding part. A lot of credit (yet again) to Russell T Davies for his story-arc-building skills in both series to date, to bring us to this point.

And talk of story arcs brings me to Torchwood. Understandably, with a 13-part series upcoming, Torchwood was always going to play a prominent part in the В“mothershipВ” series, but it worked really well, with the little hints (albeit not particularly subtle ones) dropped in previous episodes pointing to here.

I enjoyed Tracy-Ann ObermanВ’s performance. She does have the look of a femme fatale, a Sharon Stone-type in Basic Instinct, a woman who could charm the pants from you, and then deposit an ice pick between your shoulder blades (or somewhere worse) or, indeed, a stone dog upon your head, which is what her character did in EastEnders. ItВ’s unlikely Yvonne Hartman will be called upon to perform such malevolence, not with all that metallic competition around, but there was the hint of the fascist about her. I could certainly see her head to toe in a tight black uniform and jackboots, but perhaps thatВ’s just me . . .

An interesting facet to the character of Yvonne is that she is driven by a desire to make Britain Great through TorchwoodВ’s activities. In a sense, does that make her motivation В– and that of those like her В– akin to the basic В“we will conquer and destroy all in our wayВ” mantra of the Cybermen or the Daleks?

It was good to see Mickey Smith back. And quel transformation! The last time we saw him, Mickey was well on the way from В“upgradingВ” from rather-wet-boy-next-door to all-action resistance fighter, and it looks like heВ’s well and truly the latter now. The excellent Noel Clarke clearly relished playing the action hero in Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel, and he was in his element here.

And a word for Camille Coduri, too. SheВ’s always been good for the lighter moments, with her wonderfully-wide eyes, and it was fun to see Jackie take a trip in the TARDIS at last. Obviously, sheВ’s been carried along to Torchwood for a reason, and thatВ’s just another intriguing question left open for the final part.

As well as the guest cast being in good form, David Tennant and Billie Piper also rose to the challenge of a very special story. Tennant was close to his Christmas Invasion best here. Yes, the Ghostbusters stuff and the decidedly-low-tech 3-D glasses were a bit daft, but so was Tom BakerВ’s scarf and the jelly babies and the rolling eyes, and he was a legend. This is just an aspect of TennantВ’s Doctor, and I feel we will see the manic moments still evident, but toned down, in the next series. As IВ’ve opined before, in his quieter paces, of which there were plenty here, Tennant really does excel. IВ’d love to see him as a darker Doctor in Series Three.

Billie Piper always shines (Tooth And Claw excepted, when she was underwritten) when Davies scripts. Rose is his baby, more so than The Doctor, which was an inherited character, and weВ’ve seen throughout the two series how far she has travelled В– literally and metaphorically. В“You even look like him,В” Jackie told her when she saw her daughter at the TARDIS controls. Obviously, how the end comes for Rose В– in whatever form В– is the big question to be answered next week.

That the Army Of Ghosts В– there have been some great episode titles in this series, and this was another В– turned out to be Cybermen crossing over from the parallel world we visited in Episodes 5 and 6 was no great surprise when we saw one of the metal giants lurking in Torchwood (nice touch to have them crashing through plastic sheeting, just like the old days!). But the revelation of the Army was В– as weВ’ve come to expect from The Mill В– superbly realised.

And then there was the end-of-episode cliffhanger. For me, nothing has ever topped the end to Episode One of Earthshock, and I honestly didnВ’t think anything would. When you consider that the image of the Cybermen materialising all over the world would have made a spectacular ending on its own, I wondered what on Earth (or beyond Earth) Davies could have up his sleeve to top that. Well, now we know! To have the flying Daleks В– and a wonderful BLACK Dalek at their head В– emerge from the slowly-opening sphere was simply breathtaking. A wonderful piece of TV, and I just wish I was seven or eight years old, and had no idea what was about to come. An image you would carry with you throughout your years, as I have of cliffhangars in The Green Death and Planet Of The Spiders at that age.

Another great score from Murray Gold, weaving in all his previous themes from both series, and it was all overseen brilliantly by Golden Graeme - and this is only the first half. The Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Jackie in a fight to save the Earth from Daleks AND Cybermen. In an episode called Doomsday. Just what the seven or eight-year-old would write, as Davies himself has said. Without having seen Doomsday, I canВ’t say for certain that this story will take high rank amongst the best Doctor Who stories ever, but Army Of Ghosts has been the pick of this high-quality Series 2. So far!

On a day in which Andre Agassi waved goodbye to Wimbledon and Andy Murray showed that he is a champion of the future, England played in a dramatic World Cup quarter-final and Zinedine Zidane of France showed that while age may take its toll, class is permanent, it says much for Russell T Davies that he could create a TV drama which lived with those unforgettable sporting moments. Dismiss out of hand anyone who says otherwise, THIS is Doctor Who. And this is classic Doctor Who. Enjoy.

At last В– a really terrific episode of Doctor Who from the showВ’s primary writer! Daleks, Cybermen, the return of Mickey, Torchwood and an army of Ghosts: this episode truly did pull all the stops out. And comparing it to last yearВ’s season finale, the mostly execrable Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways, is a real eye-opener; В“Army of GhostsВ” is just in a totally different league. And judging from the В“next weekВ” trailer, there is going to be significantly more harmony of plot here than in that two-parter, which was in effect one boring episode and one densely-packed story about something else altogether.

Brilliantly, В“Army of GhostsВ” managed to be interesting all the way through. From the beginning I was hooked - Rose and the DoctorВ’s voyage to an alien planet in the pre-credits sequence (a lovely and romantic special effects sequence for so short a time, as well), and particularly the Doctor practically dancing round the console operating the switches, really made me feel like I was watching Dr Who В– more strongly, actually, than anything else in the whole of the new series so far apart from the closing ten or so minutes of В“The Doctor DancesВ”!

Also brilliantly, in an episode in which ghosts roam the streets and the Daleks emerge at the end from a sinister sphere, Russell manages to show that the Cybermen are still a serious threat, and very definitely something to be afraid of. Despite their appearances being kept to a minimum for most of the running time, when they do appear to take control at the end they are truly awesome, and the DoctorВ’s line В“not an invasion В– itВ’s too late for that. ItВ’s a victoryВ” highlights the extent of the threat to the Earth as Cybermen appear literally everywhere; not only outside the Taj Mahal, but at the top of the stairs in a middle-class household somewhere in suburbia! The episode was epic in scale.

But is it a victory? Although we, the audience, all knew what was coming out of the sphere after the Dalek-gun effect in last weekВ’s trailer, the appearance of three Daleks must surely surprise even the Cybermen, who have opportunistically followed the capsule into a new universe with no real idea of what is inside. Given that Daleks-versus-Cybermen has been the secret desire of probably quite a few fans for a while, and that Daleks-and-Cybermen-team-up is a close second, I think Russell knows what heВ’s doing here, and I hope he doesnВ’t receive any stick from his new fans for pandering to the В“old guardВ” of fandom. With any luck, whichever route he goes down in the series finale next time (or even if he does both!), the scenario will be interesting to new fans of the series as well.

The portrayal of Torchwood was also sufficiently interesting. Having Chrissy from Eastenders as their chief is looking like quite good casting, as Tracy-Ann Oberman makes a quite charming villainess. Incidentally, the anti-Empire stuff missing from В“Tooth and ClawВ” surfaces here; TorchwoodВ’s motivation seems to be the creation of a British Reich. But it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been; the Doctor doesnВ’t deliver any stinging rebukes at all, which, though welcome, is rather out of character for him В– he seems to be favouring the В“IВ’ll ignore you then В– youВ’ll soon come roundВ” approach at the moment (viz. his doorstep conversation with ChloeВ’s mother in В“Fear HerВ”).

Torchwood, interestingly, is portrayed as a fairly normal organisation В– its employees even instant-message each other about being bored, while Yvonne, nominally (and actually) the villainess, indulgently ignores the romance blossoming between some of her subordinates. While this could have been inappropriate, I think this really pays off here В–Torchwood, although conceptually a bit silly (how many secret organisations/locations are there in the UK? UNIT, C-19, the Glasshouse, the Forge, now Torchwood), is not just a one-dimensional assortment of ciphers.

As for the regulars, Tennant is still on a high, totally engaging and commanding, whether trapping a ghost in a triangulation network, explaining about boots and footprints, taking a wrong turning in the corridors or making holes in plate-glass. Rose gets to demonstrate her independence and courage again, Jackie, though rather useless, doesnВ’t feel too shoe-horned in, and MickeyВ… well, he hasnВ’t done anything yet, but itВ’s nice to see him again (I was expecting him, but not in that capacity). Given that Pete Tyler and MickeyВ’s boring chum from В“The Age of SteelВ” are also putting in appearances next time round, I canВ’t help but wonder if Russell hasnВ’t taken on too much for a 45-minute episode; but we will see.

Who else thinks Jackie and Pete and Rose and Mickey are going to get together and live in the parallel universe?

Well, now.

For me, 'The Satan Pit' two-parter was the best of this season so far, but right now, minutes after episode 12 has ended, I want to go back and rewatch the episode immediately for the first time since 'Bad Wolf' last year.

The Doctor and Rose return to visit Jackie, only to discover that the ghosts of loved ones have been returning on Earth for two months, the result of activity at the mysterious Torchwood Tower.

Sure, there are some plot holes - peoples' belief in the ghosts being their loved ones having the strength to pull them further through the dimensional gap is pretty sketchy, and the Cybermen sitting completely undiscovered in a construction area which happens to be located in the most secure site in Britain (complete with alien technology) is rather ridiculous. Also, the Doctor's 'who ya gonna call?' was a little cringe-worthy.

Seriously, though, who cares?

The beginning of the episode screams 'epic tale coming!', with Rose's narration and suggestion that this is the story of her death catching us from the get-go. We even get a shot of Chris Ecclestone in 'Rose', back where this all began. From there, the story never lets go, choosing wisely not to dwell too much on the ghosts plot, instead allowing Rose and Jackie to once again question the dubious future of a companion of the Doctor's. We get more of a look at Torchwood and the lovely little surprise of Mickey's reappearance (unless, like me, you guessed that would happen back after 'The Age of Steel'). Much as 'Bad Wolf' was last season, 'Army of Ghosts' is really all set-up for the mouth-watering battle to come. Thankfully, though, Russell T Davies avoids the pop culture overload of last year's penultimate episode, settling for a genuinely amusing series of television clips dealing with the ghosts.

And the cliffhanger ...

I'd heard a suggestion in the tabloids months ago that the finale would feature a battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen, but I didn't actually believe it would happen.

I have no doubt Davies is going to be criticised for the move - it does seem like a fan's wet-dream rather than a viable story - but I'm more than happy to be optimistic and trust that the built-in payoff and excitement of a season finale will help carry the ambitious proposal. And, despite always preferring the Cybermen to the Daleks, I found myself leaning forward with a huge grin on my face as the screeching, evil creatures came out of that sphere. Exactly as I was last year during the Doctor's rousing 'I'm going to save Rose Tyler' speech, in fact.

Of course, this time, it looks like he's going to be able to do anything but ...

As for the other aspects of the production, David Tennant, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke have their characters down perfectly, the SFX is back to its polished best and Murray Gold combines a nice selection of past musical signatures for continuity with a newer, action-packed score.

Next week's going to be epic, no doubt about it. And if Davies can resist the deus ex machina resolution that slightly marred 'The Parting of the Ways', I'll be utterly delighted.

Bring on 'Doomsday'.