Russell T. Davies has been heavily criticized by some fans for his ‘domestic’ emphasis – Davies, it is said, is more interested in the companion Rose and her family connections and melodramas than in the Doctor and old-fashioned ‘Who’ adventure. It’s a criticism that is both somewhat warranted and somewhat exaggerated, but it’s interesting that the story perhaps *most* interested in Rose’s family life, Paul Cornell’s ‘Father’s Day,’ turns out to be an utter triumph, by far the finest of the 2005 series. Not only is it a fast-paced, classically Whovian adventure with great monsters, but in tying the emotional component that Davies worked to bring to the series in to an exciting plot (as opposed to merely tacking it on, as happens in stories like ‘Aliens of London’/’World War Three’), it also brings something truly fresh and new to ‘Doctor Who,’ while at the same time making better use of time travel than perhaps any story in series history.

First things first. This story hinges on a questionable hypothesis – surely no other Doctor would have the bad judgment to grant a companion’s request to witness the death of someone so close. But the Ninth Doctor is different from the others – in fact, we’ve already seen him make mistakes several times by this point in the series (trying to help the Gelth, encouraging Adam Mitchell to experience future culture and then lambasting him when he does, etc.). But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, in terms of the series’ dramatic element – how many times in classic ‘Who’ did all sense of danger evaporate because this infallible Super Time Lord was on the scene? I’m thinking specifically of certain Pertwee and McCoy stories, but it really could be said for most of them (except maybe Davison) . . . . Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is different from them all – he is at once more alien and estranged from humanity than any Doctor since Hartnell, and yet more *human* any of the others, in his imperfection, his failings. Eccleston is truly at his best here – dark and furious when he stares down Rose and insults her, authoritative and classically Doctor-ish when taking over the situation at the church, child-like and haunted when he listens enviously to Stuart and Sarah talk about their banal lives . . . and of course shocking when he pays for his caprices with his own life (for once). It’s hard to say how fans will ultimately remember Christopher Eccleston – fondly, as the actor who brought ‘their’ character back from the dead, or as an uncommitted deserter, as well as a symbol of Russell Davies’s sins as producer? Time will tell, but is can’t be denied that he’s in fine form here.

But of course, this story is more Rose Tyler’s than the Doctor’s, and Billie Piper plays the role with all the commitment and good taste we’ve come to expect from her. Camille Coduri is as screechy and shrewish as ever, but for once it works in the context of the story. Still, the best acting here probably comes from Shaun Dingwall as Peter Allan Tyler. It’s a perfect performance: Tyler is a believable and likeable non-hero – we can see why Jacky would be annoyed and impatient with this dreamer’s schemes (a separate compartment for yogurt?) – but we can’t help liking him. He’s beautifully written, too – not ‘the most wonderful man in the world,’ but extremely kind (you can see it in the loving way he looks at Rose, and one of his first questions about his own future is “Am I a good dad?”), and smart enough to figure out who Rose is, and how exactly she caused their dilemma in the first place. *And* brave enough to face what he must do to make it all right . . . .

These characters come together in a rather brilliantly constructed and moving time-travel story. Considering how key time travel is to ‘Doctor Who’s’ basic concept, it’s amazing the series hasn’t asked these sorts of questions more often. The Chronovores – excuse me, I suppose it isn’t exactly established that the Reapers *are* Chronovores, though they seem close enough to me – are scary and believable, and yet ‘Father’s Day’ is really a story about living in the past, and the futility of wanting to change it. Cornell’s script is dotted with interesting takes on the question (Stuart’s father warning him that his future self might not be so thrilled with his match, etc.), and it all comes together in a blissful harmony of ideas and aesthetics.

All in all, a wonderful ‘Doctor Who’ story, perhaps the first real classic of the new era.

As I read about the premise to this story in various press articles that were previewing it, the first thing I thought to myself was: "Ah no, another lame time paradox story." This particular sci-fi concept of going back in time to save someone you loved who has died has already been so overdone that I was less-than-thrilled to hear it was going to be the central theme of a story this season. I had always loved the way the old series had taken some of those overdone sci-fi plotlines and rather than make them a central idea, would use them as just subplots instead. For example "Mawdryn Undead" explores that whole "what would happen if you travelled back in time and met yourself" premise quite nicely but also has several other important plots going on at the same time. In such contexts, I had no problem with using one of those overdone ideas. But putting it to the center of a storyline could only be a bad move as far as I was concerned.

There was only one thing that had me believing this might still have a chance to be a good story. And that was the fact that Paul Cornell was writing it.

Paul wrote all the best Doctor Who novels when the show was off the air. Even his weaker material was still so amazingly good. I'll even admit, when I heard the series was coming back, one of the first things I wanted to know was if Cornell had been commissioned to write any stories for the new season. So, even though I was a bit disenchanted by the premise of the whole story - I knew that if anyone could handle it well, it would be Paul.

And I was right. He did.

"Father's Day" is, of course, deeply sentimental. And it's meant to be. It's Paul showing us that our favourite series can explore more things than just the boundaries of time and space. It can be a story about people and relationships. The new series is doing this a lot in all kinds of different ways, but it did it best in this story.

But even with all the "mushiness" going on, the plot is well-executed. Paul makes sure that beyond the sentimentality, there's a genuine story there too. And one of the neat underlying ideas that the plot explores is how troubles with time are handled now that the Time Lords are gone from the universe. It was even neat to see how different the Doctor is now regarding such situations. In the old days, he would have never brought a companion to such an event - knowing it would be a risky thing to do that could get him in trouble with his own people. But, his own people are gone now. Which means he really can do whatever he damned well pleases. Including actually allowing time to be re-set by letting Rose's Dad live. It made me really see just how different the universe was without Gallifrey in it.

Of course, replacing the Time Lords are these nasty Reaper creatures. Who I quite liked and definitely want to see more of. I think we should definitely get another story some time where the Doctor actually gets to talk to them a bit (he is still, a Time Lord, after all - that should get them to actually acknowledge him on some level besides being "something to eat when time goes wrong"!). They are a very interesting species that were scary and nasty and nicely underexplored so that we would want to see more of them again in the future. I'm almost thinking it might be a neat premise if the Doctor purposely engineered a time paradox sometime because his back was against the wall and he saw no other way to defeat the bad guys except to "sick the reapers on them". Just an idea...

Anyway, now that we've tackled the plotline - let's explore the real "meat" of "Father's Day". I think, first and foremost, it's about the idealisations we make of other people. Particularly how children see their parents. Even though she never met him, Rose has such a huge pre-conception of her father. It doesn't help, of course, that this great social more of "always speaking well of the dead" has coloured her perception even more by the stories her mother has told her. But certainly one of the central themes of this story is watching poor Rose see all these illusions get stripped away and discovering that her Dad really wasn't the best of fellows. That he might even be a bit of a loser.

How nice then, for Paul's "triumph of human spirit" theme to ring through and have Rose's Dad overcome his own defects. Not only does the "loser" end up doing the right thing in the end, but he's also clever enough to figure out what's going on all on his own and then take those necessary steps. Once more illustrating that beautiful idea that Paul loves to bring out in his characters. That there's always "more to people than meets the eye" and that we all have the potential to exceed the limitations we put ourselves under. It's the fact that these ideas are woven into the very sad storyline of Rose having to experience the genuine grief of losing her father that finally gets my eyes to water a bit at the end. If this had just been a one-dimensional "sob story" it would have fallen flat. But because it had such beautiful undertones about courage and responsibility, when Dad does finally go out and get hit and the vase breaks once and for all, I actually found myself getting misty-eyed. Something I thought Doctor Who would never be able to legitimately achieve. Even if it came close once or twice with companions dieing or neat supporting characters like "Tommy" in "Planet of Spiders".

Even my Mum - who, by no stretch of the imagination enjoys sci-fi, just happened to be watching the show that night and now watches it every week because the superior writing of the series has won her over. That, to me, is the ultimate testament of a good story. When even people who dislike the genre will start tuning in regularly!

Anyway, I know I'm going on quite a bit about just the script but it goes without saying that performance and direction were in good shape here too. And though I hear some folks complaining that this is another story where the Doctor "doesn't seem to do much of anything" you hardcore fans need to clue in to the idea that this is not a new concept to the series. Pertwee and Tom Baker were always saving the day all by themselves but if you look at any other era of the show - there are plenty of stories where the Doctor is busy just running around and trying to keep himself alive and that he serves as only a minor catalyst to the resolution of the central conflict. A good example of this would be what many folks consider the best Who story ever "The Caves of Androzani". So let's all settle down here and enjoy the fact that our new series doesn't want to be too formulaic by having the Doctor be the "be all and end all of everything". Let's allow the ole Doc to be a bit ineffectual now and again, it's neat to see him so vulnerable. And to see companions and supporting characters be so useful too!

So, in the final analysis, even though it has to fight against other really fantastic stories like "Unquiet Dead", "Dalek", "The Long Game" and "Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", "Father's Day" does just seem to beat them in terms of "best story of the season." Mind you, at the time of writing this, I have still not seen the final two episodes of said season. So that opinion may change. But, given my deep adoration of Cornell's writing skills, it's going to be quite the challenge!

I find it hard to really write just how ‘Father’s Day’ made me feel. When I saw the Trailer for it at the end of ‘The Long Game’, I was undoubtedly intrigued, but nothing could have prepared me for just how bloody emotive it would be.

From the outset, things are tugging at the heartstrings; Paul Cornell’s choice to begin ‘Father’s Day’ with a flashback to Jackie Tyler telling Rose how her Father died and what a nice man he was sets things up nicely for the next forty-five minutes. In this one Episode alone, we are given absolutely everything that Russell T. Davies promised us we would get with Series One- we get realism, touching moments, a small dash of humour and a lot of powerful moments. It is, in short, an emotional roller coaster and one that, upon first transmission, managed to leave my entire family and myself with tears in our eyes.

The script is just superb; from off-hand moments forewarning the destruction of time, such as hearing music from 2005 on the Radio in 1987, to moments of utter surprise, such as the Doctor discovering that his TARDIS has turned into a real Police Box, ‘Father’s Day’ is littered with moments that impress upon the mind at an instant. Admittedly, there are moments which seems a little too convenient perhaps- why should time be trying to repair itself by keeping the car which should have killed Pete Tyler driving around on loop; also, doesn’t the Doctor’s decision to allow Rose the chance to talk to her Father in his dying moments stink of sheer naivety if nothing else on his behalf? She decides to save his life- I’m not surprised. Still, if this is the weakest it gets and the end result is as superb as it is, I don’t really think such things should be dwelt upon.

The acting here is terrific- Shaun Dingwall as Rose’s Father is superb and really brings a sense of reality to his character; here is a role which could have been so clichйd and so wooden and so painfully dull, but Dingwall makes him sympathetic and loveable; no wonder Rose decided to save his life. When his time has come again, I admit that I was all choked up. His acting was so natural that it made the character as real as you can get.

The returning cast members remain as strong as ever, with Billie Pier and Christopher Eccleston still remaining as gripping and superb as ever eight Episodes into Series One.

The Directing by Joe Ahearne is every bit as strong as his Direction of ‘Dalek’; in particular, the Reapers attacking the various human victims is handled very well indeed, with the scene where they slowly devour everyone in a Playground bar a baby Mickey being a really good example of how to generate suspense very quickly and simply.

Murray Gold’s music once more is strong, providing some lovely music to counterpoint the on-screen action, especially when Rose watches her Father die for the first time, and then reflects upon it afterwards.

In all, ‘Father’s Day’ is a shining example of how good ‘Doctor Who’ and television in general can be when executed correctly. There is a lovely moment when the Doctor informs a soon-to-be-married couple that he wishes he had their lifestyle, but if such a life would deny viewers of Episodes are great as this one is, then I’m sorry but I’m going to have to be selfish and pray he never gets what it is he would like. ‘Doctor Who’ doesn’t get much better than this.

We were out all day on Saturday. For the first time the video had to be set, and I was unable to watch Doctor Who at 7:00. Upong arriving home at 11:15 at night, I had to watch it even though I was rather tired. I quickly was wide awake though, as this emotional rollercoaster wound its way to its stunning conclusion. I went to bed that Saturday night acknowledging that Doctor Who had never been this profound – and even though it was midnight I really wanted to phone my Dad. He’s no Doctor Who fan, our bond generated mostly on the Football Terraces, but this story had touched me – and my feelings towards him brought to the fore.

The sheer scope of stories that are being told by the new Doctor Who is striking. We have always known that DW has an extremely wide range of storytelling available, within its boundaries. The beauty of the new series is that so much of this diversity is being embraced – yet still keeping the show intrinsically Doctor Who.

The author of this beautiful piece is unsurprisingly Paul Cornell. The original idea was Russell Ts – but Cornells stamp is all over it. Cornell can write Human Nature better than most – and he doesn’t shirk here. It’s right up there with Unquiet Dead and Dalek as brilliant new Who.

Increasingly the connection is being made in fan circles that the best episodes of the new series are not written by Russell T – but this for me is missing the point. Russell T had the original idea for it all. Diversity of writers has always been a key strength of Who, but there always needs to be a Marshalling force (Script Editor, Producer) to bring individual visions to fruition. Russell T is the main Marshall – and therefore deserves great credit for all these stories. I note with interest though that more new writers are coming in for the 2nd Series – but I bet Russell T will be the guiding force again. The main man on new Doctor Who is Russell T Davies, not Eccleston, not Billie Piper. This is Russell T Davies show, and he is definitely staying in – that’s the most positive news I can think of. If it wasn’t for Russell T, there would be new DW TV Series – simple as that.

Back to Fathers Day though. Taking the real world as its setting (like much of this series), the perils of Time Travel are explored in very personal way. The street could be anywhere in Britain, the Church could be the one at the end of my street – that I believe is the point. Never has the fantastic mixed so well with the day-to-day so well, as it is doing time and time again in DW 2005. A Time Travel Story with Monsters – that’s totally Doctor Who.

The Reapers are a fine addition to the Monster Ranks – definitely on the more impressive end of the scale. The books got into a right mess with Time Paradoxes, time and time again complicating an already complex enough issue. Time Paradoxes are fascinating though, and the simple yet horrific results – the Reapers, bring an added threat to the Doctors travels. They are particularly impressive here too, with the background of a Church to fly around.

Rose has dominated the series (Russell T wanted to be the Companion, not the Doctor – that’s interesting), and here she takes that domination up another level. Billie Piper is amazing throughout. Thankfully too though the Doctor has plenty to do too, even though again he’s involved, but not the ultimate saviour.

That accolade belongs to Shaun Dingwall as Pete Tyler – and it this character who stands out from the Wedding Crowd. This Delboy type character is beautifully realized by writer and actor. Impressive too (again!) is Camille Coduri, as Jackie – who manages to portray her younger self brilliantly.

The 9th Doctor and Rose are brilliant together – that’s the saddest thing about Christopher Eccleston only doing 1 series. This TARDIS team deserves more stories – I’m pleased more books have been announced for later the year. The easy friendship they now have is delightful – shown up more than ever in Fathers Day. It’s a lovely partnership, witch each thriving off the personality of the other.

Fathers Day is a brilliant episode. It’s wonderfully localized Doctor Who – fulfilling the ethos that Russell T Davies loves about DW – that of imagining the TARDIS at the end of the street. The fantastic is close enough to touch, with the limits of the imagination being the only boundaries. The series, and this show particularly, is wonderfully family based, with Rose being the key player – applauding the ties we have, that are set by blood. It’s brilliant TV in every way – and I am loving it more and more. 9/10

There are episodes of television shows where the writers make so many stupid mistakes and there are so many inconsistencies and things that don't make any sense, you pretend the episodes never happened. Father's Day is one such episode of Doctor Who that I consider never happened. I am a big Doctor Who fan, but this episode was REALLY badly written.

Why does the Doctor take Rose back to see her father get killed? The Doctor himself knows the dangers of messing with history, so why would he risk altering Earth's timeline to indulge Rose's wish? This doesn't make any sense at all. Let's say for the benefit of the doubt that he could keep Rose as an impartial observer to her father's demise who doesn't interfere. Then why doesn't the Doctor make Rose promise him not to save her father (and consequently change history) before he materializes the TARDIS? Why do the Doctor and Rose leave and come back, making dangerous doubles of themselves in that time period? Why do the earlier doubles of the Doctor and Rose disappear when the later Rose saves her father? How come there wasn't a double of the TARDIS that also disappeared when the doubles of the Doctor and Rose disappeared? Why doesn't the Doctor go back and prevent Rose from saving her father?

How does the interior of the TARDIS disappear? The interior of the TARDIS CANNOT disappear! The interior of the TARDIS has temporal grace or temporal invulnerability. The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental (bigger on the inside than the outside) and the TARDIS interior exists in another dimension.

Why does the phone the Doctor listens to only play the first telephone call made by Alexander Graham Bell, over and over again? This is never explained.

Why does the TARDIS key glow, and why does the TARDIS slowly materialize around it? This is something else that is never explained and doesn't make any sense.

Why does the Doctor tell Rose "Don't touch the baby!" yet he keeps Rose in close proximity to her younger self, knowing that if Rose touches her younger self, the Reapers will be able to come into the church? Why doesn't he lock Rose away in another room, or lock the younger Jackie and the baby Rose in another room?

Why does Rose act like such an idiot in this episode, when Rose has been previously characterized as being smart and brave? Rose's stupidity is really out of character. Why does Rose save her father when she knows it will change history? Why does Rose touch her younger self after the Doctor tells her "Don't touch the baby!"?

After the Reapers destroy the Doctor, how and why do the Doctor and the other people killed by the Reapers magically reappear when Pete runs in front of the disappearing and reappearing car and kills himself?

Why does the car that is supposed to run over Pete continually disappear and reappear while going around the same block?

Why does the TARDIS reappear, in a different place from where it landed, when the Doctor and Rose are going to leave? Why does the TARDIS reappear at all, with its interior now intact? Why don't we hear the TARDIS materialization noise when the TARDIS rematerializes?

Why do the Reapers disappear at the end of the episode when history is still altered?

Why does the Doctor leave Rose's history and the histories of Rose's mother and father forever altered when the Doctor himself is against changing history (even though he did change Dalek history)?

How come the writer of this episode, Paul Cornell, never took into account the possibility that there may be no temporal paradoxes, and that changing history may just result in another parallel universe or timeline?

As you can see from all these inconsistencies, unanswered questions, and things that don't make any sense, Father's Day is a VERY badly written Doctor Who episode, and to me, this episode never happened.

When 'The Unquiet Dead' was first broadcast, it felt good, and it felt great. In short, it felt like Series One had reached its peak already, three episodes in. Of course, this was arguably not to be and later episodes proved themselves to be just as evocative in terms of appreciation, but despites this I still think that there is a strong case to be made for hailing 'The Unquiet Dead' as the best of the best in Series One.

'Doctor Who' has the most remarkable formula, in that it can dip in the past and future with equal ease and get away with it, and here is a good example of the show doing just that. If everything looked fine and dandy in 'The End Of The World', then things are positively glowing throughout 'The Unquiet Dead'. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper seem to be having a whale of a time prancing around (or, perhaps, swanning off) in Victorian Cardiff, and their enjoyment adds to the undeniably joyful ambience that presides over this episode.

Visually, everything simply feels Christmassy- the snow looks crisp and cold, the ghostly blues and red of the gaseous Gelth by contrast look so stunning against the dark and brooding backdrops that the episode as a whole is a veritable treat for the eye. When they said they were bringing 'Doctor Who' back, and they were going to try their hardest to make sure it looked great, I bet they had this episode in mind. In terms of looking so blissfully aesthetically pleasing, 'The Unquiet Dead' is not beaten throughout Series One.

Whilst I found Euros Lyn's direction a little stale in 'The End Of The World', here it looks truly brilliant. The exterior scenes sweep in and out and about, giving Cardiff a grand and appealing guise whilst the interiors are nicely contrasted between the large and comfortable main rooms where the richer reside, and the cramped relative squalor of the servants' whereabouts.

Just observe the difference between the grandiose wide shots of Charles Dickens' horse and carriage trotting down Cardiff, and the cramped tight shots of the smaller and more haunting cellar in Sneed's house. It's visual moments like this which set scenes far better than any dialogue could ever do, and full points must go to both Euros Lyn, and the unsung hero of the New Series, the Director Of Photography: Ernie Vincze BSC.

Murray Gold's incidental music for 'The Unquiet Dead' perfectly compliments the visuals and the tone of script, with the rousing music following the explosion of Sneed's house being the highlight of it. There is arguably too much music, but when it is as good as it is here, there is little room for complaints.

Mark Gatiss' script is thankfully every bit as impressive as the visual interpretation of his words. The dialogue literally crackles, with the interaction between the Doctor and Rose managing to perfectly capture the relationship thus far exclusively established by Russell T. Davies; their banter throughout is evocative of older Doctor-companion partnerships, whilst also managing to tie in with the new direction for such a pairing. The Doctor's comments concerning Rose's Victorian costume perfectly captures this, and that is merely one moment in a story full of such delights. For me, however, the stand-out moment has to be Rose's first footstep into Victorian snow; her acting, the direction, the music, the sound effects and Gatiss' expert handling of the situation is a real lump-in-the-throat moment. You suspend your disbelief- you believe you are there.

The plot in 'The Unquiet Dead' is great too. Zipping along at a pace hitherto unknown to 'Doctor Who', the plot manages to tell the story of an alien invasion attempt, the hierarchal status of Victorian England whilst also charting the re-birth of Charles Dickens' youth. Beginning 'The Unquiet Dead' with a sombre and depressive Dickens and ending it with a reinvigorated and blissfully optimistic one gives the episode as a whole the same sort of positive feel.

Gatiss writes for Dickens so well that you can see why Simon Callow seems as happy as he is to be playing the character. His writing for the other cast is superb as well. Gabriel Sneed and Gwyneth are both instantly recognisable and well-realised characters, and the pairing of the two of them works very well indeed. As well as Dickens' story, this is Gwyneth's also. Her journey from hapless Servant girl to Saviour of the World is both touching and natural, and never feels forced. If only all writers could pull off such feats with perfection.

Perhaps best of all is the fact that 'The Unquiet Dead' boasts- without a shadow of a doubt- one of the greatest openings to a 'Doctor Who' story ever: possessed dead body kills man by breaking his neck, knocks out an Undertaker then screams out her gaseous innards in a very real sense. Cue title sequence. Brilliant!

In all, it is hard not to see why all the fuss was generated over this episode. The acting is brilliant; the script is strong; it is visual stunning; the episode throughout is aurally pleasing too with every sound effect and musical note being perfectly placed in the overall scheme of things. When the TARDIS dematerialises at the conclusion, you can see tiny flakes of snow tumble off the windows of everybody's best loved Police Box. It's little moments like this- such tiny attentions to detail- which raises this high up in the pecking order of quality throughout Series One. The general consensus was correct- 'The Unquiet Dead' really is on par with as good as it ever got.