Well well. The 14th episode of 2005 broadcast on the big day itself, and it actually beat Coronation Street in the ratings...remembering the dark days of the late-eighties when the soap repeatedly slaughtered Doctor Who in the ratings really brings things home. Blimey,it's been quite a year, really, hasn't it.

Cutting to the chase, the important stuff...I could've *sworn* I saw Robert Carlyle as an 'extra' in one of the crowd scenes with the 'A-positives' heading for the nearest high building. It wasn't a turkey overdose-induced hallucination, honest!

Sorry. The *really* important stuff. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I rate David Tennant's 'proper' debut as the tenth Doctor? OH yes.

Having the Doctor struggling with a difficult regeneration as others drove the plot reminded me very much of 'Castrovalva' (a favourite) and I think this worked well here too. Rose was an emotional mess, Mickey increasingly proactive and brave and Jackie came over all nurturing in the quieter moments; I noticed her placing a cup of tea next to the Doctor as he lay unconcious; as it turns out, rather a good idea! Nice little character developments here...but all leading up to that wonderful scene where the TARDIS doors open, and the Doctor enquires "Did you miss me?" I am so encouraged that from this moment on, the episode belongs to David Tennant completely...the initially off-hand Fourth Doctor-esque attitude towards the alien threat; his warm if rather addled reactions to Rose, Mickey and Harriet Jones; the instinctive way that he knows what needs to be done here...pressing the "great big threatening button" (love the way he says "button") and challenging the Sycorax leader; the heroic 'duel' fought in his pyjamas....indeed more Arthur Dent than Captain Kirk, and thank heavens for that. (no offence to the original, splendid Star Trek series, mind)

But there is still a steeliness there. No second chances for the Sycorax leader, and cold fury when Harriet Jones fails to live up to his expectations. The former, very Ninth Doctor, the latter very Fifth.

I adored the costume room/ Christmas dinner sequence very much. Beautifully directed and edited, and soundtracked by one of Brian Wilson's mid-sixties pop symphonies...wow. I love the Doctor's new look and grinned even more when he put on his spectacles. Reminded me of Hartnell, Davison and Jarvis flamin' Cocker all at the same time! (That's never happened before...!)

Moving on, Billie Piper again appears to be incapable of giving anything other than a superb performance, and I personally thought Camille was hilarious and actually rather loveable here, although I'm sure others will disagree! (Her hug with the Doctor and whispered "Are you better" at the end was rather sweet, I thought.) This Doctor clearly does do "domestic", and I was relieved that the possibly twee "everyone's safe, it's Xmas and, oooh look, it's snowing!" ending was a little more than that. ("That's not snow...it's ash.")

I thought the plot was pretty generic and simple (The Sycorax were VERY Star Trek-y), but necessarily so...a big invasion story with Christmas-y elements that was fun and dramatic and, most importantly, a successful introduction to a new Doctor. Some parts didn't work 100% for me (Thought the 'pilot fish' stuff was a bit vaguely explained, for example) but,as an 'old' fan (Do you mind?!) I am used to the regeneration process, and obviously it is crucial that the 'new' generation who adored 2005 'Who' are kept on board and take to Doctor Number Ten....with this fun hour of television with a terrific Tennant debut, I think things are going to be fine.

As for the 'Coming Soon...' clips; Phwoar. 'The Guardian' had a snippet the other day saying that Whovians (who they?) are already worried about the 'Rose kisses Doctor' clip...oh, come on! Context is everything; yer a good paper, stop making things up!

Speaking of context, as a 'bridge' between Doctor Who 2005 and 2006; Doctors Nine and Ten; I think this deserves a cheery 8 and a half out of 10.

Roll on spring.

I watched series one. I even enjoyed quite a bit of it. But there was one thing increasingly disturbed me on the way to episode thirteen.

I really didnВ’t like what the Doctor had become.

ItВ’s not Christopher EcclestonВ’s fault, although he never seemed to catch the inherent oddities of the character to me. He was given a set of scripts that turned a hero into a time-travelling chauffeur, carrying the real star of the show to whatever time and place her greater common sense and interpersonal skill could be best used to save humanity.

Billie Piper was outstanding, and thatВ’s not something I expected to find myself saying when her casting was announced. But what the Hell had Mr Davies, that self-proclaimed Doctor Who fan, actually done to the Doctor?

Maybe my lowered expectations for The Christmas Invasion worked in my favour. The first forty minutes may have dragged at times (especially with Rose was wailing on her motherВ’s shoulder about the Doctor abandoning her) but boy, did it pick up when the Doctor got going!

I had my doubts when David TennantВ’s casting was announced. I knew very little of him as an actor, but I knew his age, and I knew what he looked like; and in neither respect did he fit my mental picture of the Doctor. ThatВ’s as good a call on my part as doubting Ms Piper proved to be.

From the moment he pulls the electrocuting whip thing out of the SycoraxВ’s hand with an indignant line about its more trivial danger, the Tenth Doctor absolutely owns The Christmas Invasion, amply atoning for the length of time weВ’re made to wait to see him. Darting around the highly impressive interior of the spaceship, talking at a million miles an hour, attention flitting between Rose, the Sycorax and Harriet Jones, heВ’s instantly the Doctor, and immediately in charge. ItВ’s a joyous performance, infecting even the lines which ought to make you groan. "CanВ’t get the staff," he says, deadpan, before debunking the blood control threat in the last way you could be expecting. Wonderful.

I loved the Lion King speech, with its emphasis on admiration for humanity. I loved the Doctor suddenly pulling himself up on being rude, something his last incarnation appeared to take pleasure in. Most of all, I loved the payoff to RoseВ’s sulk about tea. "The solution to everything" indeed.

Tennant is obviously at home in the role, more so in twenty minutes than Eccleston appeared in a whole series. The Doctor has his old love of being the Doctor back, and that is the best piece of news since it was first announced he was returning to our screens.

ItВ’s just as well Tennant is so good, since the first two-thirds of the episode are spent showing how much the Doctor is actually needed. So much for Rose, the equal companion. Full marks to Billie, she gives it plenty of lip-tremble, but the character has guts, and the actress is at her best when showing them. Her scared, defiant little speech to the invading hordes was her best moment of the episode, but it all pointed up the same thing. SomeoneВ’s gotta be the Doctor, as she said; pity only the Doctor can be.

Much has been made of the DoctorВ’s power, bringing down a Prime Minister with six words, but really, didnВ’t Harriet Jones destroy herself? What hope for a national leader who appears live on television admitting she canВ’t cope with a crisis? It doesnВ’t take a political correspondent to estimate the life expectancy of that kind of creature, even if she did hint at the kind of masculine genitalia her factual equivalent could do with displaying to his fellow "statesmen". The suspension of disbelief has its place in Doctor Who, but it works better for me with images of great big alien spaceships casting shadows over two great British fighting men than with an implausible PM pressing the self-destruct button on her career.

Still, Penelope Wilton is an actress who doesnВ’t know how to give a bad performance, and just when the incessant introduction was beginning to grate came the payoff. The translated "Yes, we know who you are" was one more clever Russell T Davies touch. Like the Sycorax leader (a bravura turn from Sean Gilder) suddenly spouting English, making Rose and everyone else turn to the TARDIS. Like the revelation of the Sycorax on JackieВ’s television screen. He may have difficulty constructing a coherent plot at times, but the Head Writer certainly knows how to grab his audience.

Speaking of plot, I thought The Christmas Invasion RTDВ’s best to date. I donВ’t pick through every episode; if itВ’s entertaining and it hangs reasonably, I wonВ’t mind the odd unanswered question (such as, what was the point of the pilot fish, except to add a bit of festive colour?). I could do without his obsessive interest in the Tyler domestic angle; Jackie still irritates, despite Camille Coduri getting one perfect moment in the kitchen. Just watch her look of hurt when Rose snaps at the inevitable "is he a different man?" question. IВ’ve seen that look on my own motherВ’s face, more often than I care to remember. A few seconds of real relationship adds immeasurably to any programme. More, and youВ’re watching Eastenders.

IВ’m no expert on special effects, but bashing up the Gherkin raised a cheer, and the Sycorax ship, like the Sycorax themselves, impressed. The image of still, silent figures ready to jump from great landmarks like the Coliseum was a bit grim (especially for a Christmas broadcast) but admirably effective in conveying the scale of the Sycorax threat. I couldВ’ve done without Murray GoldВ’s crescendo of music as the TARDIS doors opened up, but thatВ’s a nitpick. Otherwise, I barely noticed his work, which I mean as a compliment. Background music should remain that; itВ’s only noticeable to me if it jars.

I havenВ’t mentioned Mickey. Which means he didnВ’t make me want to put a foot through the screen. ThatВ’s an improvement on last year. Thanks, Noel Clarke.

And thank you, Russell T Davies for restoring the natural order of Doctor Who (with a bit of help from David Tennant). For the first time, I felt like I was watching my old favourite again. 8 out of 10!

What do you get if you cross Independence Day with Time And The Rani?

To be fair, it would do The Christmas Invasion a great disservice to compare it to either of the above, although there are certainly elements of both present. However, this episode is far more coherent, intelligent and entertaining than either.

The Christmas Invasion has to satisfy several requirements, not least of which is convincing nine million people that it is still part of the same show which starred Christopher Eccleston a mere nine months ago. Repeating the opening shot from his first episode, and then focussing most of the first half on the characters we already know and love (Rose, Mickey, Jackie and Harriet) is therefore a wise move and works very effectively. Less effective, though, is the danger they are quickly put in, with the attack of the Santas and the Christmas Tree. There are no explanations as to why or how these "pilotfish" (what a gorgeously bizarre term that is) take these forms, or how they arrive on Earth in advance of the main threat, or how they are so easily disposed of. The Santas are very sinister, however, and Murray Gold's hyperactive Jingle Bells music plays an immense part in making the tree so scary. More chilling than either of these is the instant hold the Sycorax have on a third of the population, and the idea that they could kill them with the touch of a button.

The arrival of the beautifully designed Sycorax spaceship allows for some of the best effects yet seen in Doctor Who, as both the Powell Estate and yet another prominent London landmark are extensively trashed. The effects triumph extends to the Sycorax themselves, who are one of the most impressive looking (if very slightly rubbery) aliens to appear in the show for a very long time.

The new Doctor finally appears for his first confrontation, and here's where things start to go runny. The tension of the moment is utterly spoiled by the lengthy and all-too-self-aware dialogue he spouts whilst the evil alien menace simply stands and watches him reintroduce himself to everybody before he bounds about their ship like Bugs Bunny. We then suddenly learn that the Sycorax's plan to kill a third of humanity won't actually work, which makes you wonder why exactly they bothered.

Nevertheless, the Star Wars-esque sword fight which follows soon puts the show back on track, and allows Tennant to show a tougher side to his Doctor, as he defeats the leader and delivers some truly wonderful dialogue. This combination of dark ruthlessness ("No second chances") and manic comedy ("Not bad for a man in his jim-jams") make him more comparable to the Seventh Doctor than any of his other predecessors, although Tennant seems to have slipped into the part far more effortlessly than McCoy, or indeed most of the others, did.

There's a sting in the tail for The Christmas Invasion, however, as our Brigadier-replacement Harriet Jones orders the destruction of the defeated Sycorax, just as Lethbridge-Stewart did with the Silurians. It's done in a somewhat unconvincing way (and once again, Star Wars comes to mind, as the laser effects are strongly reminiscent of the Death Star in that franchise), but it allows Tennant to show his dark side again. Shaky though her position appears to be at the end of the show, we know from World War Three that Harriet Jones wins the next two elections anyway, so I'm sure we haven't seen the last of her. Penelope Wilton is such a superb actress that I'm looking forward to her next appearance already.

There's many, many wonderful touches in this episode (the TARDIS crash landing; the wardrobe room moment; the final scene) that help to make this the most impressive debut for a Doctor since at least Castrovalva (and arguably since The Power Of The Daleks). Tennant seems to have a good grasp of the role (although he does need to calm it down a bit to keep it believable) and the 2006 series looks incredibly promising.

8/10. Here's to the future...