I've had a lot of problems with Russell Davies throughout this series. He writes with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, he can't develop characters and plot at the same time, he doesn't bother to develop characters beyond the Doctor and Rose (and even the Doctor is often left to Christopher Eccleston to flesh out), he appears to appreciate the old series primarily as camp. All of these failings and more have corrupted much of his writing on the new Who, turning often promising concepts into disappointing episodes. With "Parting of the Ways," however, I was anticipating something different: how could anyone dissapoint on a massive, (relatively) big budget Dalek invasion? Well, Mr. Davies somehow lowers himself to the occasion.

The high point of the episode is unquestionably the Daleks themselves, particularly their new role as religious zealots. The notion that human-derived Daleks, now seeing themselves as corrupt, impure, and "fallen," would worship the Dalek Emperor as the last pure creature in existence out of their own self-loathing, is a fascinating one, and one that deserved to be explored further. There is a powerful connection between the appeal of God and the religious revulsion towards impurity and "sin," and a closer examination of this Dalek religion could have made for excellent, intelligent, germane social commentary, and finally expanded Daleks beyond their role as 1960s Nazi analogues. Davies has little time to do this in 45 minutes, however, and spends much of that time setting up its bewildering resolution.

It's rather tragic that the episode falls apart at its ending, because it's the ending that needs to accomplish so much. It needs to wrap up the Dalek 2-parter, provide a sense of closure to the Time War, explain the "Bad Wolf," and bring a satisfactory close to Christopher Eccleston's run as the Doctor. Does it do all this? Yes. Does it do this satisfactorily, acting as a real payoff to the series? Not hardly.

The use of a deus ex machina is always somewhat feeble - it cheapens the story and short-circuits the drama by breaking suspension of disbelief - but Davies's particular choice of plot device is beyond disappointing. The notion that anyone can crack open the Tardis, take a gander inside, and become omnipotent for a couple minutes would be absurd even if this exact same plot device hadn't been used two weeks prior in "Boom Town." Why, exactly, does the Doctor even bother setting up his delta wave weapon, risking the eradication of everyone on Earth, if he knows that a simple dip in the Tardis would let him selectively obliterate the Daleks? It would kill him, sure, but apparently so would his delta wave stunt, seeing as he'd sent away the Tardis and hadn't planned to survive. In fact, there's reason to believe the Doctor could've done a better job wielding the suddenly godlike powers of the Tardis than Rose; she brought Captain Jack back to life, and maybe the rest who were exterminated on the station, but the Doctor might've been able to bring back the Time Lords if he'd thought about it, or anyone else wiped out by the Daleks. In fact, if he's feeling generous, he could burn another regeneration to do that right now. Why not? It would be limp and undramatic, but who needs good writing when you've got God in a box?

The resolution of the Bad Wolf arc is so slapdash one can only come to the conclusion that the Bad Wolf references were inserted into the series long before Davies knew what they were supposed to mean. Many of the references make no sense now in retrospect - how are the trapped aliens in "End of the World" facing "the classic bad wolf scenario"? is Gwyneth from "The Unquiet Dead" meant to be terrified at a future Rose? - and even the very notion of Rose using "Bad Wolf" as a message to warn herself is just plain silly. With the power of a god, couldn't she have come up with something simpler to understand than the repetition of an ambiguous two-word phrase? A telegram would've been more sensible: "Dear Rose, please knock open the Tardis console and go back to the future. Love, Rose."

This is presumably the last we see of the Daleks, and therefore the last we see of the Time War, which has so dominated and influenced this series. You'd hardly know it, though, watching this episode. The Doctor mentions how his people died for nothing, and it's true - as long as the Daleks exist, the destruction of Gallifrey seems like a sad, cruel joke. But we don't get to really feel the Doctor's reaction to this, or see him confront and deal with the shellshock that's defined his character. What a missed opportunity! So much of Eccleston's Doctor has been marked by a dark, vindictive, tortured streak that dates back directly to the Dalek extermination of his people. There's more at stake here than just an invasion of Earth; this is his chance to do for Earth what he couldn't do for Gallifrey, to save and preserve instead of simply exacting revenge. But that never comes across in this script, and the episode is much poorer for it.

Even the regeneration sequence feels clumsy. Too much time and conversation passes between the Doctor "kissing" the deadly energy out Rose (I let this pass without comment) and between the time when it becomes clear - visually and dramatically - that he's dying. In fact, the effect of showing the energy flowing *out* of the Doctor and back into the Tardis accomplishes just the opposite, suggesting that the Doctor has safely removed the threat. This may have been intentional - Davies opting for a dramatic fake-out - but if so, it was a huge miscalculation, producing an awkward disconnect between the event that kills the Doctor and his actual death. As a viewer, I'm dramatically invested in the destruction of the Daleks, the threat to Rose, and the Doctor's sacrifice; when that moment passes, the tension is dispersed, and asking me to take it up again after listening to some joke about dogs in Barcelona is a bit much..

This episode was not all disappointments and weak endings, certainly. The Daleks are suitably frightening again, although not the terrifyingly cold-blooded masterminds portrayed in "Dalek." Sending Rose back home to London and telling her to leave the Tardis to gather dust was a nice touch. Even the Mickey and Jackie appearance was handled well: a pity this is the fourth goodbye we've said to these characters; if they'd been previously handled with any restraint, the sight of Rose leaving her family for the Doctor would've had some emotional impact. The action sequences are nicely paced and dramatic, although an opportunity was missed to make this more horrific; with an unstoppable army of Daleks marching up a closed space station and dealing out slow methodical death to everyone they meet, a feeling of true claustrophobia and inevitability could've added to the menace.

On the acting: Billie Piper does an excellent job with the script she's been given, especially in the back-in-London sequence, although it's easy to see how she could be flummoxed by her awkwardly-scripted turn as a Suddenly-Glowing Omnipotent Plot Device. John Barrowman finally comes into his own in this episode, shining with just the right combination of smarm, heroism, and desperation, a shame considering that his character is unceremoniously ditched at the close of the episode. Eccleston rises above the script's failings, and made me wish once again that he had been in a series helmed by a writer willing to make the best use of his talents. I want to get behind his Doctor's last lines - "You were fantastic... and so was I" - because Chris *was* fantastic. But like Colin Baker before him, his talent was held back by weak writing and a limp direction, and the potential far outstripped the real. Here's hoping David Tennant gets a better shot.

Well it's over for the time being...time was up on Saturday 18th June 2005 for Christopher Eccleston's doctor and what a finale. The BBC had cleverly built up this episode over the past week with a 'Time Is Up In..' countdown, even going as far as having a countdown clock prior to the transmission of the episode and.. BOOM.. we never looked back.

The pace was unrelenting, with the Daleks in full flow like we have only ever imagined them to be and the characters in classic fashion were separated during the episode to lead their own emotionally driven mini-stories within the episode. Make no mistake about it -this was a powerful, emotionally charged episode from the spectacularly edited pre-credits sequence to the grand finale. Earth was wiped out continent by continent, there was no Davros and the Dalek emperor found out what we already knew about our hero -he just doesn't kill innocent beings even though he may be averting disaster. Oh.. and he doesn't always win, he doesn't always get it right and occasionally he needs a helping hand in times of desperation. Looking beyond all the explosions, the drama and the emotion this episode raised a number of very interesting issues very cleverly hidden away by Russell T Davies amongst all the carnage, the most significant of which was the doctor's relationship not with Rose but with the TARDIS.

I'd always felt there was more to the TARDIS than just being a vehicle for the Doctor to get around -Russell T obviously agreed as he gave our favourite time machine a heart and a soul and made it come alive, saving it's occupant in the nick of time just when he needed it most. The concept of the TARDIS as a thinking, feeling ,caring being which is alive and responsible for the welfare of it's occupant is one which I hope is explored as the series progresses.

On the negatives front the whole series has been built around death and its consequences -death is seen and felt in most if not all of the episodes and it's irreversibility has been impressed upon us on more than one occasion but here in this episode we see it reversed -quite a contradiction to all that has gone before. A minor gripe in an otherwise faultless episode.

Which now brings me on the grand finale -much has been said and written about Christopher Eccleston's decision to leave and I will not tread over old ground here. Suffice to say I watched Chris's interview with Jonathon Ross the night before 'Rose' premiered on UK television and one of Ross's questions was concerning the fact that we all know, despite everything that happens, the doctor always wins. To which Eccleston replied: 'Wait and see -you will be surprised'. So it was always his intention to do just the one season and it should not surprise anyone -he is a very gifted actor who has appeared on stage and screen and wants to move onto new things. Lets just thank him for reviving our beloved show and wish him well.

And a warm welcome to David Tennant - a wonderful regeneration scene which took me completely by surprise and he seems to fit the bill perfectly.

Roll on Christmas and series two.

Well, I have to say I am a little disappointed. My wife, who has been watching as avidly as myself actually exclaimed "crap!" at the ending of this story.

Things start well, with an army of a million Daleks poised to invade earth. The Doctor learns that the Emperor Dalek has survived and, harvesting dead or unwanted humans (such as refugees, the homeless) has created a new Dalek race and. The Emperor Dalek now believes itself to be God, and seeks to turn the entire human race into Daleks much in the same way the Cybermen turn humans into their own kind.

The Doctor finds out that Satellite 5 can generate something called a Delta wave which should destroy all the Daleks, but while constructing the apparatus to achieve this he discovers that it will destroy all life on earth too. He faces a moral dilemma, save the earth and the Daleks might take over the entire universe...destroy life on earth and the Daleks and their threat should be gone forever. Having failed to destroy the Daleks before, can he do it now?

The problem, as with so many of this series stories, is that it is not the Doctor who saves the day. Rose, sent back home and instructed not to return, finds a way to do so and saves the day. She opens the Tardis console, looks into the time vortex and gains the power to see all the past, and all future possibilities. It also transpires that Rose is the "Bad Wolf", having herself placed the references through time and space to let herself know that she can get back to save the Doctor and future earth.

In an ending that some will see as a cop out, the Doctor predictably cannot destroy the earth and admits he is a coward. The newly enhanced Rose manages to turn all the Daleks and their ships to dust, but the Doctor realises this power will kill Rose as nobody is supposed to stare into the time vortex, not even a Time Lord. So in what looks like a passionate kiss, he sucks the vortex from Rose.

This causes every cell in the Doctor's body to begin to die and kicks off his regeneration into David Tennant.

I do feel this ending was disappointing. Once again the Doctor had to rely on his assistant(s) to save him, and while this is not a bad plot idea at all we've seen it too many times this year. I do take RTD's point that having built up several characters such as Mickey and Captain Jack, he wanted them all to have a part to play in the final episode. But Doctor Who was always about the Doctor finding a solution to a problem he stubled across. Until the final 10 minutes, this two part adventure was absolute classic Doctor Who full of suspense and mystery...then it suddenly ended. Oh, was that it?

All I can truly say about The Parting of the Ways is WOW!!! My previously unmovable favourate, Genesis of the Daleks, has finally been toppled!

I am not saying it was completely perfect (I dare anyone to find an episoe of ANY show that was completely flawless) yet the final episode just had that right 'zing' to it that made it the best 45 minutes of television I have ever seen.

With no quick pre-titles cliff-hanger resolution we have grown used to from the second parts of the previous two-parters, Parting of the Ways offered a simple recap before launching into the beloved theme music - at this point I felt a tad sentimental that this will be the last time I feel the excitement of a new episode until christmas.

From here we are treated to an almost bond-style teaser in which the Daleks fire their missiles at the spinning TARDIS, which blocks it using new shields (though I did come up with the idea part way through this that the TARDIS chamelion circuit could turn it into a fighter ship - Jack in a X-Wing vs Space Daleks anybody?)

Rose and a Dalek are brought into the ship and Jack blows the Dalek up. Doctor Who finally reaches the X-Files and Stargate audience I believe it should have captured from the beginning.

From this point I became a little disappointed. Though I half wanted Davros to make a return at this point, despite the nagging belief that the Daleks deserve to be menacing without him again, my money was on the Daleks resurrected through the lone survivor from Episode 6.

My world fell apart as the re-vamped Dalek Emperor enters. Though according to Doctor Who Confidential it was a model, it still seems to look CG to me. The voice may be cannon with the 1960s version but in form it just lacks the looming majesty, I will however congratulate the design team with showing the Dalek itself within a clear capsule - no illusions that it's Davros in disguise again.

The story gets underway with true Dalek carnage. The tried and trusted Doctor Who classic of running down corridors in fear makes a welcome return and the Daleks wipe out every human on the station.

Character development goes in different directions with Jack making a great leader in Rambo-style, whilst Rose's Weakest Link team-mate from Bad Wolf abandones his clever scheaming gameplay and just comes across as arrogant and thoughrally dense.

The Doctor's aim of generating a Delta Wave, can't he just reverse the polarity of the Dalek's beam instead of coming up with more ridiculous gobbledigook?

The emotions between the Doctor, Rose and Jack were spot on. Though some may be against the kisses I think they had to be and the characters were all the better for them. Having said that I think Jackie and Mickey's stories have beeen told and their repeated re-occurance, whilst good at first, is beginning to wear thin.

And now we come to the final revelation and Bad Wolf is...ROSE?!!! I can't deny I was surprised. Fairly original - and not with any of the fan theories - it was only let down with the crude way in which the console was opened.

The regeneration, boy I was so hoping for it, was (can I bear to say it?) Fantastic! Truly dramatic and emotional, if you ignore Eccleston's insistance on grinning like a bafoon in every scene. Tennant had from those few lines the right querkyness to make the part work and I only hope that he doesn't follow his Casanova routine in Doctor Who.

In short, it didn't meet all my expectations in terms of plot but for action and general screen presentation it was great.

With Russell Davies at the helm, the new series has often felt more like fanfiction than television. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when character interaction takes precedence over plot then the feel of 'Doctor Who' has a tendency to sidle out the back door. Worse still, it seems that Davies isn't just a fan of 'Doctor Who' -- many scenes from 'The Parting of the Ways' felt like a thinly disguised tribute to Joss Whedon.

The choices for the Bad Wolf & the Dalek controller were nowhere near as interesting as those I've read in fannish speculation, and there seemed to be only tenuous connections with the 'Bad Wolf' episode. The massed Daleks lacked the menace that imbued the single survivor in 'Dalek', and their video-game-like invasion felt contrived & rather pedestrian. Gun-toting Jack felt like he'd wandered in from another series. And, oh dear, the literal _deus ex machina_ ending -- let's just say Davies has now penned the Mary-Sue epic that every fanwriter needs to purge from their system.

Grumps aside, there is plenty to enjoy in 'The Parting of the Ways'. Chris Eccleston delivers a near-perfect performance throughout, and, as in 'Bad Wolf', Joe Ahearne makes him look almost Christ-like. I'm really going to miss the 9th Doctor. The Doctor's decision to send Rose home & her decision to return both felt right, and Rose's scenes in London worked surprisingly well. (I cheered when Jackie turned up with the tow-truck!) The various secondary characters were all given honourable deaths. Finally, one has to applaud the Beeb for daring Outraged of Tunbridge Wells with the same-sex kiss.

Not bad, but not stellar either: I'd expected far more from the season ender.

It seems a while ago now since we were promised the trip of a lifetime and an exciting new re-awakening of a much loved tv show which had been off the box for years. The return of Doctor Who was something we have craved for years. I, for one, could not quite understand why it had been taken off air, given that it had plenty of scope and storylines could take place anywhere and in any time.

Creator Russell T Davies has done a smashing job bringing back the show he loves and it has provided us with many jaw-dropping scenes and plenty of emotional drama to re-invigorate the show in style. With the dynamic Christopher Eccleston at the helm, joined by Billie Piper who has really given the character of Rose plenty of heart, the show has had a massive impact.

There is no doubting the show has delivered with an elegant and loving revamp which gives the modern day Who some of the best characteristics of previous incarnations ... and importantly, made Dr Who cool again!

Eccleston has played a masterful role in re-launching Dr Who and the wrong lead could very well have cost the show despite the high quality of the scripts. His performance at times has been exemplary particularly when dealing with the Daleks, Fathers's Day and End of the World.

And now we come to the big finale. The Parting of the Ways had something of an epic feel as it drew the whole series together in stunning fashion. As much as I enjoyed it, and it was a terrific episode and climax, with yet again, superb dialogue between the main characters, I did feel it had a few faults and almost tried to cram in just a bit too much. Loved the Dr and Captain Jack rescuing Rose from the fleet of Daleks ... superb stuff.

The biggest disappointment for me was the Doctor admitting he was a coward. Why was this line not deleted? How can you have the main hero or star of the show admitting he is a coward? Perhaps to show he was almost human?

The dilemma featuring Tom Baker's Dr and whether he was brave enough to kill off the Dalek race at the embryonic stage in Genesis was far better handled. You don't just have the Doctor announcing to one and all (including one of the highest rated episodes of the series no doubt) that he is a coward. That spoilt things a tiny tad for me. The brief near romantic relationship between two of the Game Station controllers was designed to show that these people had characters before they were brutally exterminated. But it was a bit too much additional emotion considering we already had enough going on with Rose going back to Earth. The Daleks were good and I liked how they made their comeback what with the Emperor Dalek and all! The Emperor was resplendent in his big comeback since 1967 and the loud booming voice was very much in keeping with Troughton's face-off.

I loved the first ten minutes or so as the Dr, Rose and Captain Jack confronted the Emperor with the forcefield in place. The episode was peppered with some really emotional moments, particularly when the Dr sends Rose back to the planet Earth as for the first time, we see the Doctor almost realising that things might all go wrong as humans and Daleks could be destroyed.

The fast and fiery dialogue in this series has been superb (what a time to go for a leak from Captain Jack was one which had us all guffawing) and some of the interaction between the leads has been superb.For me, that is one of the best things about it. Even Captain Jack's kissing exploits were delicately handled and a nice touch. It was good that he did not die but I am very disappointed that he will not stay as a regular throughout the next series after being left on the Games Station. I know he is coming back next series but he has really been a nice shot in the arm for Who and I think it would have helped ease the regeneration if he stayed for that.

I was not overtly convinced with Rose being "Bad Wolf". I thought there may have been some deeper meaning. When she read it in the playground, how did that convince her she was to go back and try and save the Dr? There have been some wide and varied theories on the internet about who Bad Wolf actually was. But the conclusion as she saved the Dr was enthralling stuff all the same.

All the business with Rose, Mickey and her mum trying to open up the Tardis was quite good fun. The big finale was excellently handled in the most part (except THAT line) and Rose taking in the Vortex and the Dr giving her the kiss of life was a majestic way of finishing the series.

The regeneration sequence was good (if a little quick) and the Dr's last few lines of dialogue were superb. I certainly hope that the new Dr and Rose visit the planet Barcelona!

I also particuarly liked the nod to the very first regeneration sequence as the screen shot shows the Dr looking at the back of his hand on the console which seemed reminiscient of "The Tenth Planet". When the Dr said with his wide toothy grin, "You've been fantastic Rose, and you know what, so have I" - I could not agree more.

Thank you Russell T Davies for bringing back the show with vigour, character, massive emotion and real depth and also thanks to Christopher Eccelston for being brave enough to take the part which could have been a poisoned chalice. Dr Who is brilliant again - perhaps the best it has ever been in some respects given the superb special fx, brilliant high class acting, and amazing scripts. I believe the show is in very good hands and wish David Tennent good luck in carrying the torch. We may have only had one series of Christopher Eccleston but the man has been an absolute star. Dr Who was never this good. It may never be as good again. But if anyone can continue the legend of Who with panache and a touch of class, I think it is Russell T Davies.