Wow! What an episode. The Dalek looked great. OK there was a lot of meaningless technobabble (extrapolating the time traveller's biomass?) but the emotional content more than made up for it.

The first scene in the space museum was interesting, didn't the Cyberman head look great in the glass case? "The stuff of nightmares" indeed. The first alien in a glass case that the Doctor looked at may have been the shami kebab version of the metamorph in Red Dwarf but I'm not sure.

Van Stratten was a fine over the top performance and all the speaking parts in the show acted well enough but the star, of course, was the Dalek. The voice was just right from its' screams while being tortured to its' final melancholy "exterminate". Probably just as well it committed suicide at the end, if it had escaped and gone to Salt Lake City in that damaged emotional state it could have ended up becoming a Mormon and I wouldn't want a Dalek going door to door trying to convert people.

The Dalek's appearance was very impressive. It was the T1000 of Daleks. Super intelligent, able to fly, indestructible and able to download the entire internet in seconds (just what would a Dalek do with all that porn?).

And at the end? Who would have thought that you would feel sorry for a Dalek? Great writing and just so true to the nature of Daleks. It could stand the death of its' race, it could survive a hail of bullets but it couldn't stand the idea of changing into anything other than a Dalek.

As for the rest of the cast, Billie Piper was excellent as usual, Chris Ecclestone went foaming at the mouth bonkers and the new companion was competent, more to come from him. The plot was interesting, one of the best Dalek stories since 'Power of the Daleks'. The comedy content was limited this week but there were still some good throwaway lines ("Broken, broken, hairdryer, broken, hey hey, lock and load") although I'm still waiting for a Doctor Who moment as funny as the death of Adric.

This vies with 'The Unquiet Dead' as my favourite episode of the new series but I would give Dalek the edge because of the Dalek's death scene. This was the saddest moment in Doctor Who for ages. The only moment I could compare it with would be the the part in 'Inferno' where the Doctor leaves the alternate Earth as it, the Brigadier et al are destroyed.

There was another random mention of 'Bad Wolf' in this episode. How can this phrase turn up in so many different situations? Can there be a reason for this or is Russell just playing with us? Perhaps the Doctor is really in the matrix and his mind is trying to tell us something. By the way wouldn't something of the Time Lords have survived in the matrix? Didn't they keep a backup? Maybe they were using an MS operating system and it crashed.

So anyway, onwards and upwards to the next episode.

I usually like to watch the new episodes a couple of times before I review them but alas, fate has had its way with that idea. Overall, I was pleased and I'm sure new viewers thought it was the best thing ever!

'Jubilee' - pardon me, 'Dalek' - was an episode full of expolsive action; the stuff that really turned me into a Doctor Who fan. The scene where the dalek rises, turns the water on and electrocutes all the troops almost had me literally weeting my pants with glee and surprise. "Oh my God!" was my exact words when I saw that. Great stuff! And the x-ray image and Dalek POV, used sparingly in Remembrance were well used here and really did show the Daleks to be evil killers that they were. Van Statten should have got exterminated though, although his actual fate was probbaly more fitting. Goddard was gorgeous - but I have athing for powerful women.

Christopher Eccleston's portrayal as the Doctor was quite surprising - like Troughton in 'Power' but on speed and red bull! This Doctor is a lot more ruthless than previous, and contrasts with Baker's 'Genesis' speech have already been alluded to by more capable reviewers. Such ruthlessness hasn't been seen since the infamous rock scene from 'An Unearthly Child'. I like it though; we don't want this Doctor to be too like previous ones do we?

As for the emotional Dalek - i wish I hadn't listened to the masterpiece that was 'Jubilee' as I would have enjoyed this episode more. Jubilee, I'm sad to say, literally had me in tears at the end so this 'adaptation' was a bit of a dissappointment. I'm glad I know the Jubilee similarities were intentional, as the whole world should enjoy that story - if only in the truncated auspices of a 45 minute episode. So good, but too much like Jubilee for me to really appreciate it.

And what the hell is the next episode about? I really can't tell from the trailer at all.

Well, what can I say? WOW. This episode is the one that Who fans have eagerly awaited ever since it was announced that the good Doctor was coming back. We've been bombarded with talk of this episode for long before it aired and all I can say is "boy does it live up to expectations and more".

Let's start with the obvious, the Dalek itself. Hugely impressive, taking the well established history and back story of the Daleks’ themselves and building on it. A lone Dalek causing so much death and destruction, we can now truly believe that a whole army of them could wipe out entire civilisations. Nice touches such as the rotating mid-section allowing all round fire and the now multi-purpose plunger ("What are you going to do? Sucker me to death?") gives us a truly evil and potentially unstoppable enemy. The scene in which the Dalek sets off the fire-sprinkler system and then “elevates” allowing it to electrocute it’s enemies shows just how intelligent and cunning these “pepper pots” actually are. Stairs? What Stairs? The much publicised “the Daleks’ can now fly” stories in the media recently, however they all seem to have forgotten “The Remembrance of the Daleks” in which we see them hovering up a flight of stairs after the Doctor (then Sylvester McCoy).

Which brings me to the little in-jokes throughout this episode. The aforementioned stairs issue is joked upon by Rose and the Doctor insults the Dalek by calling it a Pepper pot. All names and comments that the public has used as derogatory throughout the years, turned back upon us with a little knowing nod and a wink. Again a credit to the writing staff.

We are also given a full load of information on the continually hinted at “time-war”. We now know that it was fought between the Daleks’ and the Time Lords’ and that both races were wiped out as a result, all except the Doctor, who mysteriously claims that it wasn’t by choice he survived. There is certainly more of this back-story to be told.

Finally, I just have to give full credit to Christopher Eccleston, his acting in this episode was absolutely superb. Gone were the silly grins and face-pulling of the previous episodes, instead we are treated to just how great an actor he really is. From the moment he realises that he is sealed in a room with a Dalek; the truly primeval fear he displays, to a few moments later when it becomes apparent that the Dalek is “unarmed” and his fear turns to mockery and then to true hatred. The venom with which he (literally) spits his words was a joy to behold.

I for one hope that this is not the last we see of the Daleks’. Not now we have seen how truly destructive they can be. Just imaging a whole Dalek army rampaging through a city... Bring it on!

It's the moment we've been waiting 17 years to see. The daleks are back, and deadlier than ever.

The storyline is very straightforward. A lone dalek is held captive in a cell, and Rose enables it to break free. Such a simple plot enables the characters to indulge in some incredibly well-written dialogue, and The Doctor in particular gets the best lines, from ordering the dalek to kill itself to the joke about the hairdryer (easily the funniest line in the series so far). His constant verbal battles with Van Statten are wonderful, and his tirades against the dalek show a darker and more vengeful side to the character than we've ever seen before, to the extent where he even takes up arms to commit genocide at the story's conclusion.

There are some truly powerful moments in this episode, with the closing of the bulkhead door being the most nailbiting scene of the series this far. The non-fan I watched this with honestly believed she'd seen the last of Rose at this point, and the magnificent direction both here and throughout the show made this the most exciting new Who episode to date. The dalek POV shot with the Doctor's line "I made it happen" is also worthy of praise, as is the scene where the dalek exterminates an entire platoon with just three shots and the aid of the sprinkler system.

However, as is usual with this programme, the special effects are a real let down. Unusually, though, it's because they're actually too spectacular to be convincing, rather than too cheap. The more outlandish moments, such as the bullet-melting forcefield and the final self-destruct, seem to be written purely to show-off new flashy effects, and the suspension of disbelief is shattered as a result. The far simpler triumphs of the sucker arm, the rotating mid-section and the levitation, on the other hand, were very effective, and the geometric surfaces of the dalek design are ideal for realisation with CGI.

Sadly, there are one or two other flaws with this episode, too. The speed of recovery shown by the dalek with such a small amount of DNA, and the inadequacy of the explanations given to justify it, fail to convince. I also found it very hard to believe the final scenes where the dalek opens up to feel the sunlight, although that opinion may well be informed by the preceeding three decades' worth of utter nastiness shown by the creatures. Perhaps this scene above all gives us a clue as to why the daleks almost didn't return at all - it certainly wouldn't have happened in a Terry Nation script.

Murray Gold's music has veered wildly between superlative (The Unquiet Dead) and grating (Rose), and whilst it is still very heavy-handed in this episode, his borrowing from the themes from The Omen is inspired.

In conclusion, Dalek is a very enjoyable - and not a little scary - forty-five minutes, and despite the overdone effects, is shaping up to be one of the series' highlights.

8/10.

"You would make a good Dalek".

Wow! This was, in so many respects, the best episode so far. For the first time that I can remember, we have a Dalek that actually has some depth, and could seriously be taken as a threat. The interplay between the Doctor and the Dalek was superb, with some great one-liners, and Christopher was on top form; he really managed to convey the anger, hate, remorse, guilt and loneliness of a man who is the last of his race. Incidentally, this is the second story not to be written by RTD, both of which are demonstratively the best yet.

In the opening scene, there is a great shot of an alien facehugger egg in the background, a mechanoid and seeing the cyberman again was nostalgic, not only for us but for the doctor as well.

The first scene with the Doctor and the Dalek alone in the cage is a classic; so many gems here. The anger of the Doctor is real as well as the guilt. He implies he carries the burden of destroying the entire Dalek race as well as the Time-Lords, they share the fact that they are both alone in the universe. There is a nice parallel here with 'Genesis'; Tom Baker's Doctor agonised over the decision to end the Dalek race, but here we see a vengeful Doctor who does not give it a second thought.

On the downside, the beauty and the beast sub-plot with Rose and the Dalek was predictable and tedious, but their first scene was useful in that it showed the physiological manipulation the Dalek is capable of, was unexpected, and it was also interesting that the Dalek can regenerate using the DNA of a time traveller. The Dalek killing the guards, showed for the first time, it is a force to be reckoned with; the forcefield was an inspired innovation, though the levitation did not have the same punch, as its been seen before.

The Dalek killing using the combination of the sprinklers and gun showed its intelligence and ruthlessness, but its desperation evident when asking the Doctor what to do. Nick Briggs deserves special mention for his performance as the Dalek, particularly the scene with Rose in the lift. I loved the Dalek armour opening to reveal the Kaled mutant, as well as the admission that both the Dalek and Doctor have changed. Christopher's performance here is his best yet; the Doctor carries the guilt of not being able to save his people (and possibly the Daleks?). I will admit that I did actually feel sad and sorry for the Dalek as it self-destructed; great writing. My only real quibble is that with the limitations of the 45 minute one episode format, the secondary characters are never able to develop, so you never feel any great empathy with them. Overall though, a classic episode.

Dalek had once again given me expectations. The best Doctor Who scriptwriter of the audio years combined with the most anticipated on-going episode of the new series.

Did it work? Well in summary, yes and in more words without doubt.

Dalek had everything, an exceptional start, a well-driven middle and a memorable end. In a series that starts with Doctor returning from a 16-year regular TV gap and ends with a regeneration this still will be the one to remember. Whilst I hope I am wrong, I doubt any episode will beat this in 2005.

The Doctor and Christopher Eccleston grew up in this episode more that I could have anticipated. The hate and remorse in the Doctor is a new side to our beloved lead character. Even with what was to come I was moved by the Doctor’s emotion before a Dalek had been seen. The scene with the Cyberman was a bonus beyond belief.

The average viewers feeling of hate before the episode would be expected to be aimed at our Dalek, but by the end would be torn between the ruthless Van Statten and the hate filled Doctor.

All the cast worked, and the production reached a new level of professionalism. From the radio lead up I heard that the design team had taken the Dalek design apart to understand it. To rebuild it traditionally on the outside, but to be so fresh on the inside was refreshing.

I could continue to wax lyrical about this episode. But in summary give the man an Oscar. The man who deserves it most however I am undecided, and will let you choose. The nominees however are Robert Shearman, Christopher Eccleston and the head of design.