The issue of temporal paradoxes was one that Doctor Who dealt with all too rarely; usually the TARDIS was simply a device for establishing setting, and it was left at that. When it did rear its head, it was treated differently each time: in The Aztecs it was established that history simply couldn't be changed because from the future's point of view your interference has already happened so it's all been factored in. This would seem to be the most logical idea, and is borne out by stories like The Visitation in which the Doctor's involvement results in the great fire of London.

In Day Of The Daleks the Doctor could change history safely as by doing so he was in fact repairing a temporal paradox and generally giving history a bit of a spruce up. City Of Death presented a more standard alternate-timeline theory, while Attack Of The Cybermen told us that to change history would destroy the universe. Now, with Father's Day, changing history results in massive gargoyle like creatures appearing and eating everyone.

Frankly, that one came a bit out of left field.

Maybe I'd underestimated Paul Cornell, but I enjoyed Father's Day a lot more than I thought I would. With such a complex subject it's easy to get bogged down in problems but he subverted this by giving us a character study first, monster story second. In this sense it's slightly disappointing as the Reapers are such superb monsters: not evil, but doing what is necessary to protect the time/space continuum. I must admit though that keeping them in the background increases their menace, and the shots of their silhouettes swooping round outside the staned-glass windows of the church work wonderfully.

As with Dalek Joe Ahearne's directing was excellent, a particularly good example being the washed-out overcast effect used when it seems that the good guys have lost. The shot of the time-looped car going round and round is chilling, and Murray Gold provides one of his best scores for the series.

Now to the most contentious aspect: the Doctor's apparent death. The Doctor's plan fails, and it takes the noble sacrifice of Rose's father to bring him back. Ordinarily this would be fantastic, but in a series where the Doctor seems less and less involved in the resolutions of the stories it seems to be taking it a bit too far.

What this episode is first and foremost though is an emotional journey for Rose. This was something the original series never really got the hang of (sometimes it did though: the Doctor comforting Victoria in The Tomb Of The Cybermen is my all time favourite scene), and this completely thrashes the most emotionally literate episode of the original run, The Green Death in that respect. It makes it even more of a pity that Russel T. Davies, with his smug jokes and less than subtle subtexts is in charge.

Overall then, a 9/10. The least of the three non-RTD scripts we've had so far, but when you consider the brilliance of The Unquiet Dead and Dalek this is hardly a dreadful criticism.

Well, that was certainly emotional and dramatic television - my wife and I both had watering eyes - but was it Doctor Who?

Rose and the Doctor travel to November 1987 so that Rose can be with her father as he dies. But instead, being an emotional human, Rose saves him and unwittingly causes a rift in time. This brings demon-like "reapers", and we're told their intent is to put right the time rift. They seem to believe they can accomplish this by randomly attacking and eating people.

Good use of location work sees Rose attending a church wedding with her father, mother and baby self. The reapers attacking a church was good symbolism and handled well by the effects team. An amusing moment was Rose meeting a four year old Mickey, who is frightened by the goings on and clings to her.

As the story progresses, Rose's dad realises who she is and why she travelled back in time. He also realises that the only way he can heal the rift is to sacrifice himself and be run over by the car that Rose saved him from. In the meantime He and Rose have a few hours to bond and get to know each other.

All emotional stuff, great television and a lovely story...but what has this to do with Doctor Who? Not a lot really, as the good Doctor admits he doesn't know what to do (in fact he does know, but isn't willing to tell Rose that the only way forward is to lose her dad). He really doesn't do anything much in this story, and seems an inconsequential character.

So, as far as this season of Doctor Who goes it does provide more answers to Rose's past and to the Doctor's own lack of feeling (except anger) at the loss of the Time Lords this was a success. But as a slice of Doctor Who, it didn't "do it" for me.

Eight episodes down and to my mind we have two absolute classics, two duffs and four good episodes. I can't complain but I do seem to prefer episodes not written by RTD. Which is a shame as without him we wouldn't be watching this show at all. I was glad that he stated in tonight's episode of "confidential" that he does not want Doctor Who to become a soap opera.

We're over halfway through the season now. So what does Father's Day show us we haven't seen before?

Well, it brings much more of a touchy-feely emotional side to Doctor Who. We see [through some superb acting by the entire ensemble] depth in the characters and in the script that we wouldn't see otherwise. The BBC keeps up it's reputation for doing 'the past' [does 1987 count as a period drama?] well, as everything seems, well, 1987-ish, besides the large mobile phone [I thought they still had large, briefcase-sized power sources/aerials back then].

The script would, in any other sci-fi series, be excellent, but after some of the Dr Who episodes we've seen here seemed not as good as it could be. In the first half of the show [especially when Rose gets a lift off her dad] there's some incredibly unsubtle hints at the paradox of Rose being in the past, which to be honest made me wince.

We see more of the BBC's favoured 'let's show a monster-eye-view of people being destroyed to lower CGI costs by omitting the monsters', which we saw in the past two episodes too - we saw Max the Jaberwocky come down, and Dalekcam. Nothing wrong with this, but when we already know what the monsters look like from previous weeks' spoilers it seems somewhat pointless.

One thing definately noteworthy is Murray Gould's score of incidental music. It received a panning in previous weeks, but this week it was, in my eyes [or should that be ears?] perfect. Violins were out in full force, beautifully realised, but the touch of genius was having silence when Rose's Dad died [for the second time]. It takes skill and nerve to write good incidental music, to omit said music to heighten the tension, drama and emotion surely takes more. Mr Gould is talented; let's call last week an off week.

What else? The CGI remains impressive. I'm not sure how convinced children used to entire CGI films or PC games found the Reapers, but I found them convincing [although possibly not quite as flowing as a real biological creature would be]. The highlight in CGI terms though would be either the Tardis semi-appearing and glowing yellow, the Doctor [or the passers-by] being "swallowed" by the reapers, or the disappearing and reappearing car [an Austin something? Not my era].

One thing struck me this week - the continuity. The reapers only arrive now [for the first time in Doctor Who canon, I assume] because the Time Lords can no longer control them. That's continuity for you. Plus, we see baby Rose, 5-year-old Rose [who, by-the-by, looks nothing like 21-year-old Rose] and adult Rose. We see wee 5-year-old Mickey [who looks more like adult Mickey, but also gets some cheap shots lobbed in his direction].

So this week showed us a different side to Doctor Who - one where the emotions have higher priority over the flashy CGI, over the plot, over everything else, really. And it's not the worse for it. Roll on World War Two next week.

After the more mellow and traditional Doctor Who romp in the form of The Long Game, we are introduced to one of the most dramatic Who stories to ever grace our screens.

Father's Day is the story of Rose's encounter with her father on his death-day in 1987, and the consequences of her actions when she prevents his fatal hit and run accident.

The episode is perfectly written, with some beautiful dialogue between Rose and her father, as well as the Doctor and his companion. The arguments between the Doctor and Rose add to the mysterious layered texture to the Doctor's character, once again played perfectly by Christopher Eccleston.

It is nice to see Billie Piper given a much more substantial and more challenging role to play, which she copes with well. Her acting ability is no doubt proved as a gem by her emotional confrontations with her dad, and the revelations as to his true character.

The episode visually is good, but one wonders how the younger generation will react to this much more 'talky' episode. However, the Reapers save the day, with a chilling appearance and attitude, and manage to be entertaining monsters, which profit from the lack of in-depth study towards them.

The abduction of the Doctor is a good idea, with the limelight falling onto Rose's father to save the day. The climax and its build up are by far some of the most tear-jerking and dramatic scenes in Doctor Who's history, and they make the episode an instant classic.

Another Saturday night, another episode of the good Doctor. As the third episode not to be written by Russell T, would this follow the same pattern and actually be rather good? The answer, as is so often the case with Doctor Who, lies somewhere between yes and no.

Rose alters time to save her daddy and all hell breaks loose. It seems a little unfair that Adam was punished (a life long sentence!) for trying to alter the world a little, whereas Rose gets away with a few stern looks and the odd tear. We all assumed the character of Adam was created to throw light on Rose's abilities as an assistant, and then two weeks later she pulls this stunt. Her actions are understandable given her history but I would have liked to see more long-term consequences. But perhaps we will re-visit all this in a later episode - let's just hope Pete Tyler doesn't end up being the Master.

Talking of Pete, Shaun Dingwall put in a good performance as a man living on borrowed time, and although I am now very bored of listening to Jackie shouting at everyone, the moment she finally realised the strange teenager was her daughter was actually quite touching. Once again the Doctor didn't seem to do much, though it was exciting to watch him take control of the churchgoers, if only for a little while.

Like most of the other episodes, 'Father's Day' managed to squeeze in lots of plot and character but the denouement still felt rushed. It would surely have been more interesting (and believable) for Pete Tyler to discover the truth, freak out and run from the church in fear and cowardice, only to be run over. 'Fathers Day' spent a long time building up a picture of Pete as a shifty, worthless Del Boy, only to transform him into a genuine hero in the last few minutes.

Russell T has said a number of times that the show must remain 'grounded' for us to stay connected with Rose and the Doctor. I can't say I agree and I think the (only) major failing of the series so far is that it too often descends into a soap opera - and not a very good one at that. Am I the only viewer who groans inwardly at the sight of Rose's family in trailers for the next week's episode? That said, 'The Empty Child' looks pretty great - roll on next week!

I've just got around to watching Father's Day, and I think I finally know what's wrong with the new series.

It isn't the intrusive or inappropriate music of End of the World. And I don't think it's really the pseudoromantic bond between Rose and the Doctor in Dalek, or aliens with supposedly comical long names. I think the problem is Russell T Davis.

In interview, he said Rose and the Doctor would be given equal billing. This turns out to mean Rose is the star and the Doctor is her all-purpose plot device. It's her concerns, feelings and actions that drive the show. The Doctor is there to transport her to settings where she can meet the local sentient life and display emotions.

This is evident in the first scene of Father's Day when Rose asks to see her father on the day of his death, and the Doctor cheerfully responds, "Your wish is my command."

Actually, he lets her do it twice, so they get to see themselves from the first time, in spite of knowing the great dangers of being "present in two aspects" as the Black Guardian once said. Inevitably, Rose impulsively saves her dad, and mucks up causality.

The wedding party get trapped in a church, with the Doctor using an idea straight out of Sapphire and Steel that the party would be protected (for a while) from the time creatures because the church is old. Cue a series of dialogue driven emotional set pieces.

We get to see the Doctor envious of the bride and groom, because he doesn't get to do romance and ordinary life. He says the couple are "important" and that he will save them because of their ordinaryness.

The Doctor tells us (once again) that his world – still not named as Gallifrey – is gone, and mentions his friends and family, indicating he would dearly love to go back and save them. Presumably this family is the clan of warring cousins in Lungbarrow. Has the Doctor ever mentioned any family in the television series before? Apart possibly from Susan, the canonical Doctor has always been a rootless renegade.

Rose realizes that the father she'd been told about is a fabrication from the mind of her grief stricken mother, but that the real man is both a failed wheeler-dealer and a decent, charming fellow. He later makes the greatest sacrifice a father could make for his daughter, dying to save her, and incidentally the rest of the world.

We even get to meet Mickey as a boy of about 5. Which, seeing as this is 1987, would make him about 23 in 'Rose'. The prepubescent boy hugs the girl he won't meet for years in a 'foreshadowing' of their later relationship.

RTD described Doctor Who as a 'Space Opera'. This turns out to mean 'Soap Opera'. Science Fiction is a way to explore ideas, not a forum for exploring tortured interpersonal relations.

He pointed out, quite correctly, that Doctor Who has consistently ignored issues about companions joining The Doctor, disappearing from their ordinary lives, and abandoning loved ones to go exploring the universe. Companions seem to effortlessly jettison their past lives and associations when they step into the Tardis.

There is a perfectly good reason why emotional bonds to friends and family are ignored. It's because they don't belong in Doctor Who!

If you want to know about the endlessly layered complexities of someone's neuroses - their insecurities, loves, fears, and of course their family - watch a soap opera, or a 'reality' show. If you want to play 'What If' games with technology, history or the laws of physics, science fiction is the place to be.

Obviously Doctor Who - and science fiction in general - has always had personalities and interpersonal relationships. The first Doctor was a wise but curmudgeonly explorer with bewildered companions, the third was a benign avuncular dandy with a series of innocent relationships with young women in short skirts, and the fifth a profoundly moral man who was very patient with his whining (and sometimes scheming) young friends.

But in Doctor Who under Russell T Davis it's just far too much. The science fiction elements of the plot are paper thin, while the soap opera elements are luxuriously thick. It's mildly interesting to find out about Rose's background, but not to have her family the center of every second adventure.

The Tardis is a way to easily find new worlds and threats for each adventure. It lets us see new aliens and human cultures, new mad scientists and fascistic robots, new political corruption and amazing technology, each time our mysterious, nameless hero lands somewhere.

It is not a way to find new angles for examining the inner life of a teenage girl.