I enjoyed "Rose" and "The End of the World", really I did. "Rose" was about as good as we could have expected, given that it had to introduce the series' main characters and concepts as well as tell a story, but its breakneck pace and slightly self-conscious "modern"-ness made it a bit hard to warm to for me. "The End of the World" was jolly good fun - sometimes likeably daft, sometimes effectively dramatic - but again it had a pretty slender story that made me wonder if this 45-minute slot was going to work. (And I wasn't hostile to the format - the old series was guilty of some outrageous padding.) 

So I was hoping for a lot from episode three. I was hoping that the pace might settle down a bit - wacky fast-paced fun is all very well, but please, not every week. Similarly, I was hoping for a bit more atmosphere. Oh, and maybe a slightly more involved story. And perhaps most importantly, I was hoping for a few more scares!

Thankfully "The Unquiet Dead" achieved all this in pretty spectacular style. The Victorian nighttime setting took care of the atmosphere; the brilliant script took care of the pacing; the monsters took care of the scares; and the servant girl's psychic gifts, the house's history, the aliens' double-crossing and the character of Dickens gave the story a lot more depth than either of its predecessors.

I thought the Gelth were terrific monsters, too - a great, original idea brilliantly realised. Both the zombies and the gaseous forms were very effective. I hope we see them again.

Simon Callow was great fun as Dickens, but the real star of this one has got to be Mark Gatiss. He has written exactly the sort of Who story I have been hoping for ever since the new series was announced - well-paced, atmospheric, scary, funny, original, the works. He deserves to feel every bit as chuffed as he no doubt does, because this was almost as much of a dream come true to watch as it must have been to write. The jammy swine.

With two excellent episodes under our belt, I sat down with a little trepidation to watch The Unquiet Dead, because it was written by Mr. Gatiss. I am not a fan of League of Gentlemen, or most of his other works, but found myself happily surprised by the presented episode.

The story itself was less scary than the trailers had conveyed, but it was neatly put together all the same. The running theme about the Time War is there, and so is a good example of the Doctor's different morality values - even if they turn out to be wrong in this instance! Simon Callow plays Dickens wonderfully, and the twist at the end of the story where the Doctor informs Rose that he will die shortly and so not get to write the story is slightly numbed by the fact that they are encapsulated inside the TARDIS - set aside from the time outside.

My only criticism of the episode is not concerning the story at all - but the way the Doctor's 'northern' accent seems to have also acquired stupid, dumb-sounding northern slang as well! The scene between him and Dickens in the carriage made me squirm - not because it was a slight dig at Doctor Who fans, that sort of criticism/humour I can take after being a dedicated fan for twenty-odd years - the Doctor's use of "Your Brilliant" over and over again, like a mindless dimwit just lost respect from me in the scene. It must also be noted that "fantastic" is becoming decidedly irritating - I'm hoping that he is not going to be bursting out with it in EVERY episode in the season.

I think that the pacing is slightly off with the episodes, there seems to be not much happen at the start - or it is a lecture session for Rose - followed by slightly more active part and then the resolution gets belted out in five minutes near the end! That said, overall the series is shaping up well, and I'm looking forward to next week's episode as the first part of a two-parter! Maybe the pacing will be more traditional, so we have a feel of an un-rushed story climax.

So, we've had a trip to the present, a trip to the future, and its all been good. Really good. But a trip through the archives shows that no era of Doctor Who has managed to do past, present and future to the same standard. So, it was with a little trepidation that I sat down for The Unquiet Dead. 

I needn't have worried. The standard has been set, and its obvious the series is going to stick to it. My chief concern was that the League of Gentlemen stalwart would overdo the humour, and that Callow's performance would be a tad camp.

Neither fear was justified. Some nice little touches, such as Charles Dickens using the phrase "What the Shakespeare...?", and the Doctor's new classic, "I love a happy medium".

The attention to period detail is superb (after all, isn't period drama what the BBC does best?). The characterisation of Dickens is well-observed, and played with integrity, and the supporting cast is strong enough to suck you into 19th century Cardiff. Excellent make up and CGI work well with the atmospheric lighting to complete the piece.

Again, mention is made of the Time War, with some concerned looks between the Doctor and Rose - subtle enough reference to the backstory of the ninth Doctor, continuing hints from Rose and End of the World, without bogging the show down in a constraining arc-story.

My only complaint for this story is that apart from the historical setting, its a little too similar to Image of the Fendahl for me. That said, had the likes of RTD, Gatiss and Cornell not been influenced by Dr Who in the 60's and 70's, I wouldn't be writing this now.

I was very impressed... finally.

The first episode seemed a mess, the second episode showed promise, but this one felt like a proper programme. One with atmosphere, ideas, acting and everything!

I am not saying it was the best thing ever (it still ranks behind 24, Twin Peaks, West Wing and a couple of other modern shows in my humble opinion), but it bodes extremely well for the rest of this series. It was a stock episode - and nothing of major import occurred - but the general quality was amazing.

My 6 year old was hiding behind her cushion, peeking out at the screen, and she has just been a bit scared after being told to go to bed. This is what we want!

Obviously not scaring 6 year olds willy nilly, but a television show with a bit of intelligence and atmosphere that the family can watch together and enjoy. This is the first time in years that I have watched an early evening show on a Saturday with any form of enthusiasm. I just cannot wait for the Daleks (and hopefully at some point the Cybermen and the Sea Devils).

Tonights episode involved aliens acting as zombies because they could possess the dead through the gases the corpses emit, with Charles Dickens saving the day. Ecclestone has finally learnt to smile without looking like he should be put in a straight jacket and Ms Piper looks good whilst being locked up (2 episodes in a row). The big character actor - Simon Callow - put in an interesting performance and looked like he wanted to be there - keeping the traditions of Dr Who intact. The script was tight, amusing and exciting, the FX convincing and the acting effective.

All in all, fantastic entertainment. Each episode makes me like the new series more and more. 

Can't wait for next Saturday, as it should be.

A creepy pre credits sequence sets us on another adventure in this reimagined Doctor Who series that would surely have had Mary Whitehouse up in arms. And in the words of the ninth Doctor, I think that's "fantastic!"

It's another great episode with some wonderful lines from Mark Gatiss and beautiful direction from Euros Lyn. Superb performances from all concerned, especially our two leads. Watching it really took me back to Saturday evenings when I was about seven or eight years old (once tonight's episode has finished, I half expected to have to go to bed!)

Christopher Eccleston simply IS the Doctor and watching tonight's episode really made me sad that he's not continuing beyond this season. If only there was some way he could be persuaded. He's funny, he's angry, he's intelligent, he's sad. And he's fallible. But most of all, he's brilliant. Particularly memorable is the sequence in the cab where he explains to Charles Dickens that he's his number one fan. 

And Billie Piper really is an absolute revelation. Brilliant since episode one, tonight she continued to show her excitement at the possibilities of time travel as well as a genuine strength of character that only hints at some more brilliance to come.

This is the third episode of the series...and the third time that a 'recent' war has been mentioned (a "time war"). Is this the Faction Paradox war from the BBC books, ending in the events of The Ancestor Cell? Or is this a different chronology altogether? I'm intrigued at the hints of what may be to come in the series.

And let us not forget the special effects which really are "special". According to Doctor Who Confidential it was one man who created The Gelth virtually on his own...and it's an amazing feat.

But if I were to quibble...and it's only a minor quibble...I might suggest that the pacing was a little uneven. The episode built up nicely, leading to the inevitable confrontation. But the resolution seemed a little too quick...and then the following scenes leading to the close of the episode too long, like padding. But it's a minor nit pick.

I loved it. Roll on next week!

Well, after (what I thought was an excellent episode of Doctor Who) 'The End of the World', we come to the third episode of the new series, this time written by Mark Gatiss. It had a lot to live up to compared to the fantastic previous weeks episode, and did it succeed? Well, not quite. The period setting was nicely achieved, and it was great to see the great Simon Callow at last making his long overdue appearance in Doctor Who in the shape of that other great man Charles Dickens, but (this might just be me) I was left yearning for a more futuristic story set on Platform 1. This wasn't a bad episode, but compared to the swift pace of the other two episodes I felt this one was a little bit flatter. There were some wonderfully spooky moments, as there should be in a ghost themed story, but parts of the episode were just too talky in my opinion and were quite boring, and brought the whole thing to a standstill at times, when it needed to be much quicker in pace.

Eccleston is certainly making the part of the Doctor his own, and is very likeable, but even he seemed a bit more restrained compared to the past couple of episodes. There was however some lovely dialogue between the Doctor and Dickens in the carriage, and Billie Piper as Rose is still a revelation. Once again she puts in a believable and strong performance which does wonders for the credibility of the show.

As for the monsters of this episode, the Geith, they were very well realised. These creatures made of Gas were a nice and original idea, and were never more terrifying than when they were occupying a dead person's body. I had flashbacks of 'The Curse of Fenric' when the Geith tried to get to the Doctor and Rose through the bars of the crypt. and the period setting itself brought back vivid memories of 'Ghost Light' , in fact, 'Ghost Light' would have been an appropriate and fitting title for this story! There were certainly shades of Season 26 in this instalment, and I could quite easily have imagined seeing Sylvester and Sophie in this kind of setting!

That is what's so odd, so far this episode has had more 'artistic' nods to the original series than the previous two, and yet I found the first two episodes much more fresher and energetic and new. What I'm saying is, being a fan of the original series 'The Unquiet Dead' should have appealed to me more than the other two, but it didn't! The story is reasonable and the acting on display is first class, even the script is peppered with some splendid dialogue, but altogether it just felt a little flat. 6/10

Marc Platt or Mark Gatiss?...I think Mr Platt's 'Ghost Light' just edges it!