We're roughly halfway through the debut season of the new "Who" and on the whole I have been pleasantly surprised. Having said that, I don't think it has been a coincidence that the two episodes so far that have been truly top-notch are the two that have not been penned by Russell T Davies. We all owe Davies a debt of gratitude for bringing the Doctor back in the first place, but he might be taking on too much by writing most of the episodes in addition to his duties as producer. Anyway, more on that later...

As a die-hard listener to the Big Finish audios I've had the opportunity to enjoy Rob Shearman's previous work, so the news that he would be writing a television episode featuring nothing less than the Doctor's most notorious enemies filled me with confidence for the show's future. The episode, titled simply enough "Dalek", certainly did not disappoint. I'm leery of the trend that casually throws around the term "classic" before the closing credits have even finished scrolling down the screen, but I'll make an exception in this case. "Dalek" is destined to be regarded in the same vein as "Genesis of the Daleks", and not only because of the parallels between the Doctor's attitude to Dalek life. Shearman's episode brings additional layers to the whole Dalek mythos just like its predecessor but manages to do it in only a fraction of the time.

The above comment regarding the story's length is one of the key strengths of "Dalek"; this is the first of the new series' 45-minute one-parters that seemed to fit perfectly within its limited timeframe. It's a bizarre facet of the "Doctor Who" universe in which any story less than 90 minutes is seen as somehow lacking while virtually every other television show in existence fits comfortably under an hour. Granted, plenty of "Who" stories have featured tons of filler to pad out its length but even so fans have become so conditioned to the traditional length that anything less is seen as less substantial. Even the Big Finish audios and full length novels reinforce that prejudice. At any rate, I was worried about the shorter stories coming into this new series and until "Dalek" my fears had been largely confirmed. All of the previous one-parters left me wanting more; in the case of "Rose" and "End of the World" in a critical "Is that all?" sense. Even "The Unquiet Dead", as great as it was seemed like it could used something more. "Dalek", while I wouldn't have complained seeing even more of such quality writing, nevertheless had a beginning, middle, and end that left me with the satisfied feeling of having seen a complete story.

Another highpoint of this episode was the acting of one Christopher Eccleston. Previously his performances have left me with very mixed feelings; the Doctor's attitude has been way too breezy, flippant and at times downright annoying with the idiotic grin plastered on his face half the time. At times I wouldn't have been surprised if he had broken out the spoons. It wouldn't be fair to blame Eccleston for all of this, however; for one thing almost all the previous doctors went through similar growing pains in their early stories as the actor himself as well as the writers came to grips with the latest incarnation. The tragedy in this case is that Ecclestone already has a much tighter time-frame to grow into the character before he leaves the role. Part of the problem also lies with the writing for the character, more particularly Russell Davies as the primary writer. The goofy, off the wall characterization fits in with Davies' idea of comedy within the series; I've always enjoyed the comedic aspects and sense of fun found in the classic series but at times Davies' writing seems to veer closer to Benny Hill than Doctor Who. Shearman fortunately brings back the dramatic, darker aspect to the Doctor which is especially important in an episode such as "Dalek". The threat would be drastically undermined if the Doctor resorted to an endless stream of one-liners and gags, something that weakened "Aliens of London/WWIII". This episode illustrates how Ecclestone certainly has the ability to be a great Doctor given the right material. He works much better in a serious role with the occasional comedy versus the clownish role with the occasional drama that has been the case so far.

As usual, Billy Piper is excellent in this episode. As an American, I had never heard of her until she was cast as Rose. Learning that her claim to fame was as a pop singer didn't exactly thrill me but she has turned out to be the most consistently enjoyable aspect of the series. The guest stars in this episode also held their own; I was worried that the American setting would mean plenty of caricatures of the "Texas oil tycoon" or brass "New Yawker" variety but fortunately they stuck to a more neutral accent. The Dalek itself certainly earned its starring role, thanks to the work of Nick Briggs as this generation's version of the deadly pepper pot. The script made great use of the creature, from the deadlt use of its sucker to its downloading of everything on the internet! Perhaps my favorite scene was not the Dalek levitating up the stairs, as I'm sure it was for many, but a later scene in which it wipes out an entire room of soldiers using the sprinkler system and electricity. It was a clever and interesting way to demonstrate the Dalek's intelligence and its deadly nature without resorting to yet another generic shootout.

"Dalek" has confirmed my overall belief that the new series has the ability to have just as successful a run as the original show. Even with my reservations for the RTD-written scripts I'm still enjoying the overall progression of the season. The second half of the season seems to contain a more serious and dramatic tone with perhaps more revelations about the mysterious "Time War", one of Davies' overarching storylines that I am enjoying in addition to the ongoing connection with Rose's family and friends back home. At any rate the rest of the season has the potential to set up the Doctor's adventures for many years to come, with or without the ninth Doctor.

If you frequent forums, newsgroups and the like without contributing then you are known as a 'lurker'. Many of you reading these reviews will recognise that quality in yourselves, but every now and then something comes along that breaks you out of your apathy. A moment so profound, so life changing that you are forced out of the shadows to yell it from the rooftops and tell everone else about it. In science it's been labelled the EUREKA moment. What event would cause a scientific mind to leap naked out of their bath and run yelling down a public street?

Well no nudity in public for my epiphany. I like to reserve a special place in my tele-visual history for the WOW moments. On Saturday night, a cynical classic Who fan of some 36 years sat down and watched a beloved, but in his view, underachieving, resurrection deliver a WOW moment that registered high on the richter scale. Dalek delivered - in spades.

Let me put this into context.

I've lived WHO from Pertwee to Baker, from Davison through to the other Baker. My enthusiasm was drained by the travesty of... I mean the Trial of a Timelord, only to have it re-ignited by 'Fenric' only to have it dashed by the cancellation when it had just become interesting. I had slim hopes for McGann and the movie... yet the infamous 'kiss' scuppered any creditability it may have gained from me. So it was that the Doctor faded into television history.

17 years and the landscape was changing... Star Trek had a Next Generation, Deep Space Nine came and went, Voyager voyaged and Enterprise confounded original series devotees... Mulder and Scully opened (and closed several times) the X Files, Babylon 5 was the last best hope for peace' before being decomissioned, Buffy was the chosen one, died and was resurrected... as indeed was her vampire love Angel... all contributed in their own way and gave rise to inspiration for others to follow... but you know that...

The US fantasy output had 'raised' the bar - in script writing / dramatic and special effects terms. Nothing the British could do could challenge or compete with the genius of Whedon, Straczynski or Carter... at least that's what we had been led to believe.

I'm not one to deify writers, creators etc, and RTD is a long way off that with his own scripts, but I must congratulate him on the first two non RTD scripts of this new series. Gattiss's 'The Unquiet Dead' invoked nostalgia of Hinchcliffe WHO, and now Shearman's Dalek.... to coin an often used ninth doctor phrase "Fantastic!"

Twenty minutes in, after much promise came the WOW moment. Two minutes of Dalek action in the corridor showdown with the bases forces. Two minutes where I remembered what it was like to be a child again. That wonderful feeling of awe and inspiration where you look at the screen with undiluted pleasure. EUREKA! Te ruthlessness, the brutality... this was a Dalek displayed in it's purest form doing what it does best. The re-invention was realised superbly... with post-Matrix forcefields dissolving bullets, skeleton exposing exterminating rays and the clincher? The 360 degree revolving mid section. Such a simple idea... and a perfect accompaniment to what went before. The aerial POV shot of this new movement was inspired! Yet it didn't stop there... who could watch the movement of the Dalek as it shifts itself into it's next direction post the corridor slaughter and not be chilled by it? This could so esaily have been a static Dalek moves forward shot, so congrats Joe Ahearne for going for a more artistic and aesthetically pleasing viewpoint.

So impressed was I that I had to view BOTH the BBC Three reruns.. just to see if this moment was as good as I thought it was. Could I be being deceived? Was WHO 2005 delivering the goods at last after the abomination that was the 'two parter' that shall remain nameless... (Third World War indeed... waste of a powerful title...Wind breakers would have been better....)? Dalek did deliver and I wasn't being decieved.

Sure I can be critical; Rose could touch the Dalek even though the "last guy that touched it burst into flames"?; the emotionless pre-DNA transfer Dalek could be "glad" that it had met Rose?; the Dalek reasoning that "what use are emotions if you won't save the woman you love"; slightly dodgy CGI in places, the cop out power drain / internet download (some broadband connection!) and the slightly 'too convenient implosion'...(if that's what it was... I'd much prefer it to have been a time jump....) But in counterpoint the episode has such richness... from great atmosphere to stunningly effective use of location (the Millenium Stadum at Cardiff was an inspired choice), tight direction and classic dialogue; "You would make a good Dalek..." ; "If you can't kill what are you good for.. Dalek?" "E-L-E-V-A-T-E!". I can't let my review pass without praising the subtle refrence to classic WHO in the prologue.. "an old friend.. well.. an enemy.. the stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit" recited over the image of a blank expressionless "Invasion" Cyber head. How may households rang to the cries of... "Dad what is it?" Well done Mr Shearman for not labouring the point. (Just bring them back and let the new generation really know what they are...)

I hope the new generation of WHO fans will enthuse about this as much as this veteran does. THIS is what it's all about. This is why I love this programme. If there is nothing else offered by this revival then the 2 minutes of WOW delivered here will have made the 17 year wait worthwhile. File with those other classic moments... my first glimpse of a Dalek in Day of the Daleks, the Sontaron reveal in the Sontaron Experiment, the Cybermen appearance at the end of episode 1 of Earthshock, the marshmen in the swamp of Full Circle... and I'm sure you have a long list too...

If Mr Davies wants to learn anything about his audience then he too should become a 'lurker' and realise that he has started something good. As all fledgling shows this new 'infant' will make some faltering steps... but when it learns do do things right (as it has done here) it should do them MORE! Here's one lifetime fan hoping for less 'soap' (exterminate Mickey please) and more WOW in the weeks to come.

As another sci-fi visionary once said; "Faith manages".

The Daleks had been ridiculed, often imitated, and had generally lost their edge. No longer were they the stuff of nightmares; they were now the figures of fun. With this in mind, Robert Shearman had a hard task in writing this Episode, and it is a pleasant surprise that it was as great as it is.

Slowly but surely, the Dalek strips away all possible points of humour: the sink plunger arm becomes a sucking, lethal, and head-breaking (literally) weapon, as well as one able to break codes and absorb information; the circular balls on the Daleks’ bases are no longer pretty, decorative attachments but are instead spherical bombs which are used to commit suicide, or self-extermination if you prefer; the gun turret in the Dalek centre can now swivel around 360°, making any notion of sneaking up behind them and, say, pushing them into a freezing cold lake on Spiridon no longer reasonable. This Dalek could single-handedly wipe out the entire Thal army in less time than it takes to surmise the plot of… well, a ‘Doctor Who’ story with very little plot- insert your own parallel here!

The actual plot of ‘Dalek’, rather famously now, borrows the lone-Dalek-in-a-cell scenario from the beyond-excellent Big Finish play ‘Jubilee’, but scenario aside there is very little in the way of similarities, which is a good thing as it saves me having to write out lengthy comparative paragraphs, though I shall come back to it later on nevertheless.

Here we have what everyone believes to be the last Dalek. Ever. The Daleks are no more; they fought a war against the Time Lords and were wiped out, though quite why they were fighting each other and what it actually entailed is something we never learn throughout Series One. This is a Dalek which is alone, and consequently confused. It kills, because that is what it does. It exterminates because it is a Dalek, and Daleks exterminate.

After some nifty DNA-extraction from a certain Rose Tyler (o, she of the easy deception), our entrapped friend is free to begin its killing spree, and kill it does. The bodies fly thick and fast, the screams echo and in one very memorable scene, the Dalek even makes sure everyone is watching it as it gloatingly murders a room full of base personnel in a rather imaginative way. The actual repair of the Dalek seems a bit convenient, though I cannot really see another way in which it would have worked, considering how the Episode ends. The use of a solitary Dalek was a superb way to make them seem all the more hostile and threatening. After all, if one Dalek alone could cause the immense damage this one did, imagine a whole army of them…

The supporting characters Shearman has created are just as memorable as the Dalek’s actions within the Episode; Henry van Statten- played with obvious relish by Corey Johnson- is the perfect ‘Doctor Who’ baddie. He is selfish, arrogant, rude, and out only to save himself at the expense of everybody and everything else. Bruno Langley debuts here as Adam, and he gives a performance that shines, so when he joins the TARDIS crew at the end of the Episode, it is a pleasant and most welcome surprise. As Van Statten’s aide, Diana Goddard (played by Anna Louise Plowman) is just as cold as her boss, but so less vocal that she gets away with not being shouted down by the Doctor. Alas, she is given little to do compared to Van Statten and Adam but she still makes an impression.

Once more, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler is a joy to watch, from the slow way she is tricked by the Dalek to the moving conversation she has with the Doctor via Mobile Telephone. If this wasn’t enough, Christopher Eccleston turns in his best performance to date as the Doctor. This is a Time Lord scarred by all he has seen, witnessed and fought in, and his sheer anger throughout the Episode is gripping stuff; you cannot help being drawn in. Everything, from his one-on-one conversations with the Dalek to his rant at Van Statten following Rose’s apparent demise, is so good that one is compelled to watch.

The Director of ‘Dalek’ was Joe Ahearne, and he is quite simply terrific. The ambience he creates fits the Episode perfectly; when it is meant to be moody, it is moody; when it is meant to be a bit lighter in tone, it is lighter in tone. From the reveal of the Cyberman head in a glass case near the start of the Episode to the interplay between Van Statten and the Doctor to the scenes with Rose and Adam talking about extra-terrestrials, everything is as close to perfection as can be achieved. Complimenting this very nicely indeed is Murray Gold’s incidental music; his score is big, loud, operatic and grand, and lives up to the expectations of the visuals every step of the way.

The very ending of the Dalek in ‘Dalek’ is good, though arguably not clear enough. Many people have complained that it is shown to be weak and full of heart due to having a conscience, but in truth it has anything but that. It does not kill itself because it has gone ‘soft’ and seen the error of its ways. It kills itself because it can no longer kill. It wants to exterminate all living things, but cannot. It wants to see the destruction of all things, but is prevented from doing so, so it kills itself. It is not a happy ending; this Dalek has not been redeemed. If anything, it shows itself to be just as nasty as it has done throughout the Episode. It wants to kill, but it cannot, so it kills itself. It dies through lack of sadistic alternative.

If I had two complaints, they would be that, as mentioned above, the ending lacks the clarity that it really should have, and also, from a personal point of view and one largely irrelevant to the Review, I preferred ‘Jubilee’.

For a start, I think that its four-episode format allows the supporting cast to develop more, and also the Dalek undergoing similar treatment reaches the same state as the one in ‘Dalek’ without the lack of conscience, making for, in many ways, a more powerful ending and certainly a more interesting Dalek. Perhaps I just wanted ‘Dalek’ to be longer than it was, but for me ‘Jubilee’ wins the crown as the better story. Despite this, I still think that its television equivalent was superb, so it’s a bit like comparing sublime with fantastic- they’re both good, but one has the edge.

‘Dalek’ was a chance to make everything the Daleks once were prominent in the viewers’ minds, and Shearman has succeeded remarkably. This is an Episode that could have gone so badly, but it doesn’t. Everything shines from the acting, to the Direction, to the golden Dalek casing (which looks brilliant and quickly quenched any thoughts within which wanted the Dalek casing to be silver like in ‘Death To The Daleks’ in my deepest, darkest fanboy dreams). Okay, so the ending lacks the clarity it deserves and, for me at least, the source of inspiration (‘Jubilee’) remains superior to this, but that is not to say that I disliked this. In fact, I loved it, as the rest of this review will show. ‘Dalek’ is a resounding triumph, which does ‘Doctor Who’, Christopher Eccleston and- above all- Robert Shearman proud.

We are hitting the middle episodes of Doctor Who 2005 now, and the production team wisely re-ignited the public interest with those wonderful Daleks – the main reason the show took off in the first place. After just over a month on TV, this would have seemed a great idea – a definite pulling back of viewers after that initial excitement of the first few shows. Fact is though that Doctor Who 2005 has been pulling the viewers in regardless. Admittedly Aliens of London 2-parter had seen a slight drop in viewers – but it was still popular and massively in the public eye.

Dalek presented something extra special in a season that continues to enthral and amaze. Time and again this series has exceeded my expectations – and Dalek was no different – and those expectations were so high too!

Christopher Eccleston was at his best in Dalek, but increasingly it is Billie Piper who is claiming the major accolades for performance amongst some brilliant characters. Her lovely scene with Adam in the workshop was wonderfully flirty. It is Rose who has the confrontation with the creature at the end – the Doctor clearly bricking himself at the possibility of being anywhere near his Number One Foe. It is Rose who increasingly is the Major Star of Doctor Who – even though, I have to stress this, the 9th Doctor is brilliant too.

The episode was beautifully paced, and I think it’s the Director who deserves praise for that. The wonderful opening in the Museum, with all the strange artefacts on show. The inclusion of the Cyberhead was glorious – has anything looked so shiny and worthy of display more? The Dalek was introduced at perfectly the right time, and Christopher Eccleston excelled in his fear.

The supporting characters, from the cold collector Van Statton to the genius wonderkid Adam, were very good too. I rather warmed to Bruno Langley, and it will be interesting to see how Rose and Doctor take to this new travelling companion.

Dalek essentially was about the Dalek though – hence the imaginative and totally appropriate title. And in this regard we have brilliance. Isolating the major Doctor Who enemy this way made me think of Hugh, out Next Generation Borg fame. But then I moved beyond that – this individual of an enemy race was handled much better, and with far more gravitas. This lone Dalek was infinitely more powerful than anything seen in the series thus far. I genuinely believed that this Dalek, on his own, could produce more devastation than anything we had thus far seen. I was totally convinced because of the design and execution of this iconic Monster.

I am warming to Murray Golds music more too – and in Dalek he reached his peak thus far. The dramatic vocal score particularly emphasized the menace presented – and was a perfect counterpoint throughout to the action. Excellent production. Another reassuring aspect of Dalek was this was the first Directorial chore for Joe Ahearne. As he is directing the bulk of the rest of this series, that bodes very well for its quality.

The sets were marvellous, and I loved the totally appropriate use of the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. I have always thought Sports Stadia were very bunkerish. I will be watching for any Daleks the next time I go through any Sports Stadium!

Another interesting aspect of Dalek is the script. I have been a big fan of Rob Shearmans work on Doctor Who since Holy Terror. His scripts are continually superior to most of Big Finishs consistently excellent output – they are that good. Jubilee, the inspiration behind some of this TV script, was one of the best. But yet Dalek went its own way, with only the imprisoned Dalek of the start reminiscent of Jubilee. This story is mostly about a Dalek on the rampage in an underground bunker – there was none of that in Jubilee. All the usual Dalek put downs were present and correct here – but further emphasized how superior this new Dalek was.

In short Rob Shearmans script totally fitted its TV medium, as Jubilee totally fitted its Audio Medium.

I am convinced that Dalek will win the Poll for Best Story of the season – even if the Daleks return later on. I thought it was magnificent – the second brilliant episode of the Series so far (the Unquiet Dead was glorious too, for all kinds of other reasons). Dalek shows again that new Who is brilliant Who.

Aren’t we the lucky ones – we have 7 more stories this year, and another massive season next year. These are truly golden years for anyone who has ever loved Doctor Who. 10/10

Dalek was undoubtedly one of the most disturbing, emotional and exciting episodes of Doctor Who I have ever seen. Writer Robert Shearman skilfully gave us an episode that had the requisite amount of thrills and drama, but with an emotional wallop that has surely never been seen in the series before.

With just one Dalek to contend with, the battle for the Doctor against his deadliest enemy was far more personal and totally believable. It was disturbing to see the Doctor first cowering with fear as the Dalek threatened to exterminate him (for the umpteenth time, you’d think he’d be used to it by now!) But then to then see him taunting the Dalek and explode with uncontrollable fury. Then just when you’re reeling at that, he actually tries to kill the Dalek in cold blood…

This was powerful emotional stuff and superbly played by Christopher Eccleston. Never before have we seen a Doctor be so scared; not even Patrick Troughton! The gradual development and exposition of the Time War back story actually had me on the edge of my seat. This episode, perhaps more than any of them so far, really gave Eccleston a chance to excel and show just why the production team chose him in the first place, regardless of him only wanting to do one season.

Nicholas Briggs gave the Dalek voice so much more character than any other Dalek voice actor before. The sixties Dalek voices (apart from the films) always sounded camp, while Roy Skelton in the seventies was scary yet monotonous, mainly due to the script. Here, for the first time, the Dalek ran through a gamut of emotions, even managing to instil some sympathy in us while still maintaining its menace. And when the Dalek spoke about Rose being the "woman [the Doctor] loved!" I was gobsmacked!

And what of that woman? Well, Billie Piper continues to impress due not only to her talent but also due to the writing. The production team are aiming to show true character development and consistency, plus building up a relationship between the Doctor and Rose that is genuine and believable. The scene where she says goodbye after the bulkhead closes was heart-wrenching, I literally was on the edge of my seat!

It wasn’t just the emotional level being hiked up, the Dalek had its image updated too and its scare factor significantly increased. No more sink plunger jokes thank you; although you knew it was coming, the new and improved deadly plunger no doubt had audiences cheering. The exterminating effect was superb but an old Git like me missed the old-style negative effect. Any traditionalist fan however will be pleased that this Dalek story fulfils the usual requirement of a high body count, with not only the electrocution scene being memorable, but also the individual deaths of minor characters like DiMaggio were realistic and shocking.

With the trio of the Doctor, Rose and the Dalek taking up the majority of screen time, the other actors should be praised for making their characters quite memorable. Corey Johnson was suitably menacing as Van Statten, perhaps being more of the story’s villain than the Dalek. Anna-Louise Plowman as Goddard had little to work with but still gave a solid performance. The character of Adam Mitchell threatens to be another Adric, although fortunately he is, at least, well played by Bruno Langley.

The ending was odd, but in a good way. I had imagined that we would actually see the Doctor blasting the Dalek to bits. To see it just give up and self-destruct at first seemed wrong but on reflection, it does seem to be the more appropriate ending. The Dalek mutant was another triumph for the special effects crew.

And the Cyberman cameo at the start was strangely moving, focusing as it did on the "teardrop" design. Despite it being one of the dated designs, it managed to look realistic and not retro or quaint. Maybe I’m getting old too?

Dalek was fantastic as the Doctor would say! The best episode of this series so far, full of wonderful moments and for me it managed to demonstrate in just 45 minutes, all that is wonderful about Doctor Who.

Dalek continues the season's downward trend with an episode that promised much but ultimately delivered little of any real quality.

A lot of fans seem dazzled as usual by the high production values, but this was a resolutely uninspired run-around. Take the Dalek climbing the stairs incident - I'm no fan of the McCoy era, but at least the climax to Remembrance part one had pacing. Given that everyone know the bloody thing was going to levitate, what was the point in having it sit there for about two minutes listening to a load of old piffle about being made to surrender? The subsequent death of the trooper was gratuitous and contrived - there was no reason for her to stay and get killed - she already knew her weopen would be useless.

But these are small points compared to the more serious charges that, with each passing episode, can be laid at the feet of Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. People seem to be enjoying his "anti-hero" stance, but this idea that the Doctor is now some sort of intergalactic war veteran with psycologicial scarring and a predilection for bouts of gut-level brutality -well, does any of that do anything to evoke or develop the essential magic of Doctor Who?

The Doctor is supposed to be a HERO folks, he was never meant to be Avon, or Garibaldi from Babylon 5. By all means make other supporting characters messed up and flakey, but for God's sake, give the kids a central hero they can rely on. In the Unquiet Dead he ended up with his back to the wall, having made a monumnetal error of judgement and almost destroyed the world - fortunately Dickens was there to save everyone. In the next story he allowed himself to be cooped up in one room for nearly a whole episode, eventually replying on Rose's mobile phone and a council estate urchin to save the day by proxy. And now we have him standing around getting all emotional while Rose inadvertently defeats the Dalek with a dose of her own humanity.

Come on Russel T. Davies - give us a story in which the Doctor finally DOES something heroic and positvie, where he behaves like the Doctor! Subverting his character is an act of sabotage that will only be appreciated by hard-core fans. A new generation of children need the brave, resourceful centre-stage hero which we were treated to between the years 1963 and 1980. Anything other approach and we end up slipping down distinctly Carmel-esque slopes.

One other thing about this episode that drove me nuts was the heavy handed and over prescriptive incidental music, which became positively unbearable at the climax. Having revealed the Dalek creature in all its one-eyed glory, the story then slipped into slushy melodrama with the kind of string-driven pap that blights american movies. The whole of the final sequence had enough emotional content already - here was a Dalek choosing suicide! Why do we need to be told how to feel by slushy music? Can you imagine that happening at the end of Ark in Space as Noah sacrifices himself? A flurry of strings as Chase gets eaten by his compost machine? Those fine memorable dramatic deaths happened in the complete absence of music!

And finally - it seems we have another Adric on our hands. I've already forgotten the name of the character, along with his face, his voice, and his non-contribution to the story. Just what is it about him that the production team felt would be a good companion? Blandness personified! Rose's boyfriend would have been infinitely better, and that's not saying much.

All in all, this episode (SFX trumped up as potentially the greatest episode ever!) reminded me of a forgettable Doctor-less comic strip from the back pages of Dr Who weekly. A major disappointment.