And so it finally arrives, the first episode of the second season of the brand new Doctor Who, something which only three years ago would have seemed unthinkable. It has been a hell of a year and I sometimes have trouble reconciling the fact that the Doctor Who I have known for the last twenty years, a guilty pleasure to be confessed to at your peril, the pillar of ridicule by tv and sci fi pundits and a series that has had to claw its way every last inch back to tv, is now gasp, the height of critical and commercial success. In short I should be doing cartwheels that twenty years of unswerving devotion has been paid off, many would say a Who fan has never had it so good. Unfortunately last year also brought the sobering revelation that this new series of Doctor Who was not produced as many would have hoped as a serious sci fi show that would take its rightful place alongside Star Trek, Babylon 5 etc, but as a piece of 2005 entertainment for kids designed squarely to sit alongside the playstation, Yu Gi Oh cards and the likes of Ant and Dec. That it has been such a sterling success goes to prove that Russell T Davies probably knows a lot more about popular tv than I will ever do, so I have become reconciled to the fact that I am going to have to agree to differ over this new series, many love it unconditionally, while I still remain uncomfortably sat on the fence being entertained and irritated in almost equal measure.

As a semi sequel to The End of the World, New Earth carried much of the same strengths and faults of the earlier story. The story once again boasted a superbly realised futuristic enviroment which was on a par with a lot of stuff offered in recent feature films, I can only take my hat off to the BBC for the slick look that they have given Doctor Who, which holds court with most of the modern US series. When one thinks about the cheapness of shows such as Neverwhere only 10 years ago, it is remarkable how far things have come. The location more than anything last year evoked the classic Doctor Who setup of something sinister going on under the surface, and with the enigmatic cat like nuns and some weird patients, I thought the story was going to be something pretty special. Unfortunately as was often the case last year, for me the story was marred by far too much camp silliness. The bodyswapping, the rather camp and annoying character of Chip, and various other quips and gags, placed the series once again as a show seemingly targeted at the very young. Many I am sure would disagree, but I still don’t think the humour drama balance is quite right, The Christmas Invasion seemed to be heading in the right direction, but once again the tomfoolery prevalent in this episode sat uncomfortably with the rather bleak nature of the underlying story.

The opening teaser got the story off to a rollicking start, and one could almost sense the anticipation as Rose and the Doctor once again set off into the great beyond. From the opening moments David Tennant filled the shoes of the Doctor effortlessly. While appreciating a lot of what Christopher Eccleston did with the character, at times he seemed to be struggling and when he went off mark he went off badly, sometimes creating a character that was scarcely recognisable as the Doctor. In contrast David Tennant strode through the whole story completely at ease, never for one minute having to try and convince the audience he is the Doctor. As yet he hasn’t had a really great standout script, but on the evidence of the Christmas Invasion and this episode I think the part is in safe hands and I think some of the stuff to come will give him a chance to really shine. Only in the possessed Cassandra scenes did he slightly lose credibility, but probably did the best anybody could with this material.

Billie Piper in contrast seemed somewhat weaker in this episode than usual. Probably because much of the episode was given over to her being possessed by Cassandra, Rose got very few standout moments in her own right.

The return of Cassandra herself was somewhat of a mixed blessing, she was one of the few genuinely amusing camp comic creations from the last series, and her few scenes in her trampoline form where a joy to behold, unfortunately the whole bodyswap idea became very tiresome as it went on and once again seemed to be too much of a divergence from the main thread of the story. The Face of Boe’s return seemed a deliberate setup for a future plot strand, but I for one was glad to see him back. He is without doubt a superbly realised alien creation and it is just a shame he wasn’t given a bit more to do, series 1 had a few false starts on the monster front (I wont mention the Slitheen) but we now seeming to be getting some pretty good and believable aliens, and the Sisters of Plenitude easily put the cheetah people from Survival to shame.

The basic premise of the plague farm and the birth of a new breed of humans was an interesting one, there seemed to be a real good germ of an idea somewhere underneath it all, but it never quite sprouted. Drowned under the frenetic pace and the constant cutting about from one idea and place to another, the poignancy of the message the story seemed to be trying to make about the nature of life and death was lost. This is where I get the notion that Russell T Davies thinks the whole country suffers from attention deficit disorder, he seems so frightened at the notion that the viewer may become bored or turn over to the other side, that there has to be new joke, special effect or big moment every few seconds. While I agree with a lot of his perceptions, it is this worry that is preventing the new series from having many well plotted involving stories. It more often than not feels like we are watching the edited highlights, there is never any chance to build up a sense of mystery, characters such as the Duke are introduced and then dispensed with as the story flits between disparate elements in an attempt to keep the viewer watching. If I am honest I get the impression Russell T Davies concocts his stories a bit like Terrance Dicks said he had to do on the five Doctors, he has a list of ingredients and big set piece moments and the rest is a case of joining up the dots, one very rarely gets the sense of a clear progression from point A to point B. Again Mr Davies probably knows more about modern tv than I do, but this approach is why we have never had a modern equivalent of Genesis of the Daleks or Inferno, these stories grew organically from their respective ideas, gradual unravelling plots not afraid to have a quiet moment or two, one didn’t feel the writers were checking off a list of crowd pleasing ingredients as they went along.

So a somewhat mixed start to the new series: a very confident turn from Tennant in his first full story, a basic solid Doctor Who setup with a great looking location, a good story idea and some interesting characters, all of which unfortunately failed to gell into a cohesive whole, and sprinkled with too much of a camp sugary overcoat to be the standout start to the series it could have been.

The episode starts with a scene on the Powell Estate where Rose and the Doctor are saying goodbye to Jackie and Mickey. This would not be important, but it shows that the programme is still "grounded" in every day life. Although we may be visiting the year 5,000,000,000,023, where the grass smells of apples and the people fly about on hover cars, we don't forget that we have just left a very real council estate, where people have very real concerns about whether the washing is done, who will cook the chips and beans, and of course, where their teenage daughter is. This makes us care more about the characters, they are real people, not elements from a computer game or characters generated by the roll of dice. Mickey also elicits some sympathy as his "I love you" isn't reciprocated by Rose.

The theme music used is the re-vamped Christmas Invasion version, with its added orchestral parts and brief sound effects at the beginning. This therefore, must be David Tennant's version of the theme music. The CGI and/or model work (you can't tell what's what these days) is astonishing, whether it is the futuristic city of New New York, or the thousands of 'Tomb of The Cybermen'-like chambers, the perspective, lighting, and focus is all rendered perfectly. We can become blasй about effects we've seen before - We know they can 'do' Cassandra, so when we see her now we aren't gazing in wonder at the effect, we're listening to what she say, but it's still well done, however they do it. I had wondered whether she would have survived in a different form, having been left with just a brain at the end of her last appearance, but even though this might make logical sense, it is dramatically much better for us to see the "bitchy trampoline", so that we (and especially younger viewers) can realise that this is the same character returning.

The shape of this season seems similar to the last, if, that is, we take The Christmas Invasion as the first episode of the new series. If That was the debut episode, full of fast thrills and excitement, and then this is the comedy counterpart of the End Of The World, complete with two returning characters. The following episode is the historical story, etc., etc. But on to the returning characters. It is reassuring to see The Face Of Boe make another appearance, given how much he was spoken about in the last series, much anticipation has been built up. Here he is voiced by Chandler & Co.'s Struan Rodger (he played Barbara Flynn's husband) and he lends a dignified, unpretentious gravitas to the part. He has a final secret which he won't reveal until he and the Doctor meet for the third and last time. I only hope that that next time we see a bit more of him, because he's a great character and well-realised by both the actor and Neill Gorton's visual effect. The other 'plus' this gives the story is that there is an unanswered question; a Bad Wolf-style mini story arc, likely to run through the series. Like the inclusion of Cassandra, and the fact that the story follows on from The End Of The World, this rewards loyal viewers, but is not intrusive as to deter casual viewers (they may even be tempted into watching further episodes to find out the Face's secret).

David Tennant and Billie Piper both perform well, with the latter having a lot of comedy work to do, especially in the scenes where she is playing Cassandra. At times, the comedy and innuendo gets a little out of control, and this is perhaps evidence of a very confident production team. This undermines the realism in a couple of areas, mainly to do with the mind-transfer machine. A staple of science-fiction (having been used in Doctor Who several times before, but to better effect in The Prisoner), mind transfer machines are sometimes used as an excuse for actors to give OTT performances, and David Tennant probably oversteps the mark here. Tennant is his jolly self throughout most of the story, but does get a small chunk of steely moralising near the end of the episode, showing that his character probably has more dimensions than we have seen so far. He seems more mercurial than the ninth Doctor, and the fact that we have lost such a great Doctor as Christopher Eccleston makes it even more remarkable that Tennant has succeeded so well in stepping into his shoes. As for the supporting characters, Zoл Wannamaker makes the most of her limited screen time, even appearing as a beautiful, younger Cassandra in a couple of sequences, and I hope we see her again in whatever form. Her acolyte, Chip, is played with imagination by Sean Gallagher and again it would be a shame if we don't see him again. The cat nuns' facial expressions are all but hidden by their masks, but they have some good vocal performances, with Brothers and Sisters' Dona Croll appropriately playing a sister!

The cat nuns were very well realised. When you compare the effort that went into making them with the equal effort that went into 1989's cheetah people, and then see how much better 2006's results are, it gives a good if a of how technology has marched on in the last 17 years. If, presumably, they are a race of people and only some of them work as nuns/nurses, then it would be nice to see more of them in future stories. They were especially popular with my four year old, who was a little sad when the "naughty cat" fell down the lift shaft! That brings me to the most shocking aspect of this story; the make-up design used for the various visible ailments on the 'human guinea pigs' was almost unnecessarily realistic and I know older children (and adults!) who were also a bit distressed by this. That said, at least it was convincing, and when the visible skin complaints were seen to be healed, this acted as a reassurance to younger viewers. Having said that, I am not sure exactly how the medicines would have healed scarred skins so quickly, and why did just eight bags of coloured liquids cure thousands of disease when they're supposed to be taken intravenously anyway? But I digress and I nitpick. This was a great 'funny episode', and Doctor Who has to be able to laugh occasionally (nobody likes a sci-fi series which takes itself too seriously). And despite the comedy, there were serious moments, and quite a touching ending (which I won't reveal!). Altogether, this gets eight out of ten, and I can't wait for next Saturday to come round!

A season opener, introducing a new Doctor. The return of a camp villainess, who assumes the identity of the Doctor's companion. A story which derives from popular science headlines, but which is not remotely scientifically plausible. Ring any bells? OK, so New Earth isn't as bad as Time and the Rani, but the fact that the comparison is possible is worrying.

What a curiously unengaging first episode. If you've not yet seen it, here's my advice: forget all the hype about this season being bigger and better, turn off your critical faculties, and sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Good points first: it's visually stunning (full marks to everyone in the production and design departments), well directed, and both lead actors are clearly having a ball. Anything else? Well, here's where the reservations start creeping in. We get our first visit to an alien planet (hurray!) - but not only is it a dead ringer for Earth (I know, the title tells us that much), complete with human extras who could've wandered in off the street, but most of the story is set indoors. Mystery is piled upon mystery (who has summoned the Doctor? who is spying on Rose? what is the Face of Boe's secret? etc.) - but we're either given the answer straight away, or not given an answer at all. Either way, no tension is generated. Oh, there was one other positive (in fact, the only time for the whole 45 minutes I felt gripped) - the trailer for next week looks great.

What went wrong? Is it just that expectations were too high, and that after the marvellous 'The Christmas Invasion', anything was going to be a disappointment? I don't think so. Sadly, the fault lies in the script. First, the pre-credits sequence. Rose's mum and boyfriend say goodbye to her as she catches the train to go off to university - or may as well do for the amount of excitement or emotion in the scene. (Actually, that would have been an improvement; it would at least have made us wander what was going on.) Second problem - in their first full episode together, Rose and the new Doctor get separated very early on and spend very little time with each other. Third problem - the attempts at comedy felt forced and (to this reviewer at least) just not funny. Everything had to be heavily signposted and laid on with a trowel - what happened to lightness and wit? There are quotable lines in 'The Christmas Invasion' that still make me laugh, so RTD can do humour; but when he gets it wrong, it seems to go badly wrong. (Cassandra-as-the-Doctor dancing and Cassandra-as-Rose's false Cockney speech particularly grated).

Other reviewers have commented on aspects of the plot that just didn't make sense (e.g. mixing the various intravenous drips and curing the Flesh by spraying them with the resulting mixture, and then having them transmit this cure by touching each other). I'll mention one more: how come, if the Flesh suffer from all (human) diseases, the plague is not airborne? (Answer: having it being transmitted by physical contact enables lots of running away down corridors, and also makes the AIDS symbolism stronger. Fine; so just don't say they have all diseases, then). It was also unclear how the different elements were connected. Was it just a coincidence that Cassandra and the Face of Boe ended up in the same location again? And why re-introduce them when neither had anything to do with the Cat-Nurse-Nun plot? RTD clearly loves his creation Lady Cassandra, but I'm afraid he didn't make me care about her in the slightest. Consequently, the ending just felt flat and dull, rather than emotional. Overall, it felt like plotting by numbers, formulaic and derivative. (Which is a concern, this early in the Who revival). Is the problem that the other producers and writers are so in awe of RTD that no-one submits his scripts to the same level of scrutiny as those from other writers?

Maybe I'll revise my opinion when I've seen it again, but my first impression was that this is the weakest of the 'New Whos' to date. I'm still looking forward to next week; but let's hope that along with the spectacle (Werewolf! Queen Victoria! Matrix-style Kung-Fu Monks!), there's also some excitement, wit and engaging characters.

So series Two began with hope
That the Who would not begin
A downward slide
Down that slippery slope
Where familiarity sets in
And comparisons are as regular as the tide.

So Number Ten smiled forth with pride
That belied menace within
Like ‘god’ to act
With power to decide
The fate of Spotties –the new human-
And procrastinate His ordination as a fact!

So effects vivid and profuse
Nicely shaping a city
Of great advance,
Which made strangely obtuse
Elevators of my century
And basement corridors; the new quarries perchance?

So Russell delivered once more
A script of charm and ideas
Logically
Linking secrets in store,
Zombies to inject fears,
And under-using felines made-up brilliantly.

So too many themes, too briefly
Explored with little detail,
And break-neck speed
Sequences, too quickly
Flashing by, makes us think of the tail
Pandering to youth, setting Who’s agenda indeed?

It's a generally accepted truth that fandom usually has a problem with the current incarnation of the show. Classic examples are the DWAS's Deadly Assassin demolition, the demonisation of Graham Williams and DWB's anti-JWB hate campaign.

While there is no denying that there are differences in quality and tone between the periods mentioned above, the fact remains that when the shouting died down fans realised that they actually quite liked the period they'd just been decrying. How does that work? Because now the show was silly / violent / not on the air anymore, and they didn't like that even more.

It's another generally accepted truth that those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Here we are in 2006, and the accepted orthodoxy is that Russell T Davis cannot write "good Doctor Who".

I have just finished watching New Earth, and I thought it was lovely. There was humour, action, some great acting, some medium-good effects and a perfectly good plot. Russell T Davis seemed to have taken heed of some of the criticisms of his plotting last year and carefully foreshadowed the things he'd need to hang turning points around - good for him.

It seemed to me that there would be plenty here to please even the grumpier sections of fandom - dingy, green-lit corridors. A Doctor who saves the day. The suggestion of a "story arc". A very "New Adventures" moment when the Doctor takes Cassandra back to meet her old self. All this and pustulent zombies too.

Yet, upon logging on to Outpost Gallifrey I find that the same old depressing sledging has started up again. Grumbling from people who think that Doctor Who should be a dark, adult show like it used to be, despite the fact that it has never been any such thing.

I would suggest that a portion of fandom isn't doing itself any favours here, and could probably do with a bit of a paradigm shift if it is going to walk proudly towards a happy future.

Firstly, Doctor Who is a children's show. Always has been, always will be. The books might have fooled a few folk into thinking that it was actually a textually dense sci-fi series with lots of intricate plotting and death and space battles and stuff - but the actual series was a bunch of ropey old nonsense with plot holes galore, that got across the line with jokes, the occasional scary set piece and a clutch of inspired performances from the leads.

So you guys making big lists of But It Just Doesn't Make Any Sense would be advised to check out Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood's excellent About Time series, and be comprehensively assured that it was ever thus.

The other problem that faces the weird mass mind of organised fandom is prejudice. It has become received wisdom in much of online fandom that "RTD's episodes are the weakest". Ideas like this have power to influence our expectations, and I genuinely think that a lot of people are sitting down to watch an RTD episode with a preconceived notion that they will not like it. With this mindest, they are more likely to nitpick than laugh, shiver or expirience all the good things.

New Earth was a great, fun piece of television. I reckon some of you know in your hearts than when Producer X is in charge in 2008 you might well dislike his vision too - if Producer X knows what he is doing, that is. Fans dislike change, and change and renewal are vital to a show's continued success - and a show that panders exclusively to its fans will die a death.

If that happens, you'll be desperately wishing you could have Doctor Who as good as New Earth every week. Why not enjoy it now? This is what Doctor Who is like in 2006, and it's wonderful.

The wait is over, the Doctor is back, and, erm, the season seems to have opened with a pantomime. The 45 minute format should be a canvas for creating richer stories than the 25 minute format of yore, with greater emphasis on characters and their plight, not an excuse to fill the show with bad jokes and improbable set pieces. I was looking forward to having my fears about David Tennant proved wrong, but after watching him gurn, shout and simper for the duration of the episode, I'm still to like him at all as the Doctor. Every single previous Doctor has been played with some weight, a distinct feeling that this character is ancient and that behind his humourous nature there lies a huge alien intelligence. Instead, here we get him saying 'I've still got it' when Rose/Cassandra kisses him, and generally being a bit damp for the whole episode (and not just during the disinfectant shower). Once he settles into the part and decides on a coherent portrayal I'm sure he'll be many people's favourite Doc, but for now, to me at least, he's David Tennant playing dress-up.

Thematically this episode not so much borrows as steals outright from other sources. It's a shame that Doctor Who, of all shows, is reduced to stealing ideas from lesser programmes. I spotted elements of Farscape, The Matrix, Star Trek and The Outer Limits that had been lifted outright. Suspending disbelief was a chore throughout, with dodgy CG vehicles, worryingly contemporary sets and garb, and something of a cop-out ending. RTD is a wonderful ideas man, and has brought the Doctor back in such a way that a current audience will accept him, but after the superb Christmas Invasion, New Earth is an enormous let down. The episode has already instantly dated thanks to the use of the term 'Chav'.

Its one saving grace, for me at least, is the gorgeous Billie Piper. What a girl! She handled the hackneyed possession subplot and cringe-inducing dialogue really well, and no doubt made Dads up and down the country grin while 'examining' herself when possessed by Cassandra.

Actually, it did have another saving grace, and that was the onscreen appearence of Zoe Wanamaker as the human form of Cassandra. I was very impressed with the final scene, not just her performance, which was spot on, but also the scripting of the scene; the kind of scene where RTD really shines. This pleased me immensely.

Maybe I am being a little harsh about the episode. No doubt kids loved it, and I am ecstatic that the BBC and the crew have put so much blood, sweat and tears into making the Doctor an icon all over again, its just that they can do so much better than this. SO much better. They have some of the finest talent in the world, and this is their chance to show those damn Americans how to make original science fiction. They did it it the last series, here's hoping that this one improves rapidly.

However... The teaser for next week's episode looks utterly brilliant (not to mention the looped trailer on BBCi- the rest of the series looks superb). Here's hoping.

New Earth- 4/10 for the story, 10/10 for Billie.