Of the 3 Slitheen episodes to date, this is far and away the best, but it still lacked enough action to be wholly satisfying.

It was, like FATHER'S DAY, too preoccupied with its concept of exploring the consequences of the Doctor's lifestyle. This meant that the potentially exciting plot of Cardiff succumbing to pan-dimensional nuclear destruction was allowed to go out with a whimper.

Having said that, it went a long way towards making the Slitheen's race a slightly more rounded one than before - we learned a lot in our 45 minutes about the race's social structure, life cycle, and morality than a single episode should really have time for. As in DALEK, we even find a moment that allows a little empathy with the bad guy.

Some nice touches include the Doctor and Rose commenting on the appearance of the Bad Wolf motif, a cameo by the guy who played the undertaker in Remembrance of the Daleks, and some good lines.

Ultimately, though, the episode suffered mainly from coming directly after the sublime THE DOCTOR DANCES. However, anyone who thought the series would slope away from that peak can be heartened by the teaser for Episode 12. It would seem that BOOM TOWN! serves the role of a pause for breath. Because lets face it, dear reader, the next episode looks like one hell of a roller coaster...

Next Time, folks...

Episodes of Doctor Who in 2005 are too precious to waste, but Boom Town! was a missed opportunity to re-invent Inferno, one of the best stories of the Pertwee era.

What was the point of this episode? Seemingly, it was to provide more 'domestic' and further pick away at the moral credibility of the Doctor's character.

The 'domestic' is presumably meant to provide continuity through a season of (mostly) single episode stories, but I sense that most fans would rather this continuity came in the form of multi-episode stories like the excellent Empty Child duo.

Grounding Rose's character in the present day (her ongoing relationship with Mickey and, in previous episodes, her phone calls home to Mum) goes a long way towards undermining the premise of the new season, namely that to have an adventure and live her life to the full she was prepared to leave all that behind. It surely dampens the sense of adventure if you are never further than a ring-tone away from home. Doctor Who in 2005 is just too safe.

Would any previous Doctor have complied in the execution of the last Slitheen? Why did RTD devote an entire episode to this moral dilemma, which can only leave us feeling less sure of the central character? Admittedly, the scene in which 'Margaret' challenged the Doctor about his always moving on and leaving destruction in his wake was intelligent, but this theme is the stuff of self-reflexive moments, not whole 45 minute episodes. We haven't waited 16 years for a new Doctor Who just to see the concept deconstructed, however cleverly.

Combined with his smugness (seemingly infectious in this episode) and emotional insecurity, the Doctor's vindictive moral grandstanding is very off-putting.

Am I the only one who felt that the unsatisfactory and unexplained ending, in which the TARDIS literally provided the 'dues ex machina', did more to undermine the mystery and wonder of that machine than to enhance it?

Reference to Venom Grub was amusing, though - would Bill Strutton have imagined it in 1965? And Mickey got the best lines.

So after the sublime horror of 'The Empty Child' and 'The Doctor Dances', the series takes a bit of a nose dive.

First of all...and with apologies to any Welsh readers...why Cardiff again? Okay, so there was a link to the rift of 'the Unquiet Dead' and RTD is from Swansea. But basically it looked like an opportunity to highlight some of the tourist attractions of the redeveloped dockland area. And just who thinks that a story based on the idea of a nuclear power station being built in the centre of any city has any credibility? Yes, yes, yes...Doctor Who is all about suspension of belief but that is a suspension too far.

All hail the return of Slitheen - not. Still annoying in appearance with the unnecessary combination of big doe-eyed innocence and unpleasantly large claws. What's with the face of ET meets Bambi approach? Just not scary, just not cute. Thankfully, however, there was less of the toilet humour burping etc of 'World War III'.

And Annette Badman did her character real credit when in human guise plus a wonderful bit of repartee between her and the Doctor when he takes her our for a meal....'hmm dinner and bondage..'.

Captain Jack...yes, well what was the point of him this week? Indeed, what is the point of him at all? Why has the Doctor taken him on board as a redeemed baddie when he dumped Adam at his mother's with a socket in his head. There would have been at least as much potential for Adam's character to develop, and there was sense in that he was a much more realistic chancer than comic-book square-jawed Jack. Jack's double entendre dialogue should not save him

Rose and Mickey...some nice development there and a real sense of Rose being caught between the desire to explore the wonders of the Universe on one hand hand and be back in South London with her boyfriend (and a decent hairdresser - drop the pigtails please) on the other. Aahh, love will eventually win the day, but presumably not till the second series. Or perhaps Mickey - who was looking decidely mean and moody when he walked off into the night - will develop into an evil, yet clumsy, mastermind set on destroying the Doctor and all his works

The Doctor...yet more dark shading of his character during the conversation with Margaret as they talked about the pathology of killers. Christopher Eccleston is at his very best when the focus is on the harder, unpleasant aspects of his character. And only one annoying outbreak of unsolicited grinning early on in this episode - so perhaps that gurning will be gone by the end of the series.

TARDIS...thanks for the explanation of the chameleon circuit for any new viewers wondering why it is as it is. But what was this business about the living heart? And how did it make Margaret regress? If TARDIS is a living being - shades of Moya from Farscape surely - perhaps more could be made of the relationship between her and the Doctor in the future?

So, what was the point of this episode?

Not scary. Not funny. It did move Rose and Mickey's relationship along. And it highlighted yet more darkness in the character of the Doctor.

Lame story though, and weakest of the series so far.

Fantastic character piece. The team of Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack with Mickey along for the ride was brilliantly inspired. This makes you realise they made the right decision in keeping jack on instead of Adam. Lets just hope he survives through till season 2.

The story itself was great, the sci fi threat took a back seat to characterization and it worked so so well. I truly felt sorry for Mickey, but at the same time can perfectly understand Rose for wanting to go on her adventures. Was a nice touch to hear of different planets she had been too, as on TV we have only seen her on Earth and space stations above Earth.

It was also nice to see some great banter between Captain Jack and the Doctor, last weeks the banter was with Rose and this time he had some great banter with the Doctor.

It was also inspired to bring back the female Slitheen. She was a great actress and her sparring with the Doctor was brilliant. I loved and laughed out loud at the scenes of her running away teleporting and the Doctor keep teleporting her back. Hilarious when it happened 3 times before she said "what have I ever done to you".

The effects when the Rift broke up was brilliant, and the tourist board at Cardiff must have been very happy. This episode made Cardiff look amazing.

I actually thought it was a shame she became an egg, as I would have liked to have seen the Slitheen again. But we did hear that there was other family on other planets, so maybe we will see them again.

The character of Mickey who seemed to be the weakest in the episode Rose, was brilliant here. I thought during the original Slitheen 2 parter he was good, better than the episode Rose, but in this episode he has become a character in his own right. Shame Jackie never put in an appearance though. I also liked how the Doctor likes Mickey now. Which was great fun.

Overall Russell T Davies and his team delivered a brilliant character piece, well written, funny and acted perfectly. And the trailer for next weeks looks pretty damn good too.

There has been some criticism that this series has favoured character over plot especially in RTD written pieces. Boom Town is another such character study. But, that is exactly what this episode should be. If you were to look at the first season as one interlocking story, better linking than the E-space trilogy, Black Guardian trilogy or even the Key to Time season, you would want to step back and take a breath after the adventures so far. In this guise Dr Who can afford to do this. I couldnВ’t be sure that this episode would have worked earlier in the season but as the calm before the storm of the last two episodes it works perfectly.

I would have to say as a proposal it doesnВ’t look interesting. Even as a trailer it didnВ’t overly appeal. IВ’m sure if you have problems with the Slitheen too the episode doesnВ’t look like it will win you over.

Coming in as a new critic to anything (IВ’ve never commented to anything in writing prior to this new series В– some of you may have noticed horrendous grammar and spelling mistakes and possibly even contradictions), I have been conscious of not overly praising the series (possibly just to show I am paying attention). But, it turns out to be one of the best pieces of the season so far and it must put those RTD critics to shame.

Everyone shines in this episode with special mention to (again a guest star) Annette Badland as the remaining Slitheen who delivers her sinister side against comedy and pathos. The viewer really does want her to survive by the end of the episode. Her actions are justified as is her need to escape. She doesnВ’t hang around like a Sontaran experimenting on mankind. She just wants to leave. BadlandВ’s vocal talents also give further meaning to the excellent scene with the revealed Slitheen discussing families and, like the Dalek mutant beforehand, this effect delivers emotion. Eccleston is a perfect foil and is quite engaging throughout from his quip about buying dinner with captain Jack, his suspicions surrounding В“Bad WolfВ” ( I wish I could work out all the references В– IВ’ve got some but not all) and, well, actually the list goes on. Noel Clarke continues to improve as Mickey but I thought he still looked a bit like the Auton version. I promise I will do an overview of Billie Piper before the end of the season but her performances remain faultless.

John Barrowman as Captain Jack though, (or maybe itВ’s just Jack) didnВ’t follow up his impressive debut with much to do. I have criticized the gay undertones before but am getting used to them now and after reading other reviews can appreciate they are generally harmless. Besides I am more than happy to watch Barrowman in a tight T-shirt any time. Unfortunately his character didnВ’t really have much to do which again becomes a trait of the male co-stars (Mickey now having redeemed himself).

The story had a bit of science-fiction at its resolution; I suppose to satisfy the kids and those who need a bit of action. I mean even BuffyВ’s В“The BodyВ” had a Vampire fight. In the right place these character pieces will be a welcome addition and I expect that I am actually going to feel a lot of sadness when this Doctor departs, more so than I have probably felt for any other incarnation.

This has become RTDВ’s best piece of writing in this series and IВ’m tempted to place it third (or fourth) after The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and The Unquiet Dead.

I know many will see Boom Town as following the trend of Russell T Davies episodes not living up to those of other writers. Myself, yes I found this episode didn't quite achieve what it set out to do, but am also quick to defend Mr Davies from criticisms of this so-called 'trend'.

You see, I like his writing. A lot. This whole series style is his baby after all. TYhe emoptional undercurrent, the plot and character development are all his, reghardless of who actually wrote the episode in question. And, I also have to keep reminding myself that he wrote my second favourite episode this season, 'The End of the World".

Where Boom Town fails is in seeming to havew no real plot struucture. Just when you think you know which direction the plot is moving, it shoots off in a different direction. The power station plan gets dismissed very early on, without ever actually being resolved. (So the mayor has disappeared. Does that mean the town won't go ahead and open the power plant anyway?) Tyhe dinner scene was obviously meant to present us with an interesting exploration of the ethics and morals of our hero and villain, but as it was interspersed with witty one-liners and a bit of slapstickk, any dramatic effect was lost.

And that, I think, has been a majopr failing of the Slitheen all along., Because they have always been presented to us as a race we can't take seriously, a family of farting alien conmen, the attempt to give pathos to the last survivor was always fighting an uphill battle.

The Mickey / Rose subplot caught me by surprisse with the talk of hotel rooms etc. Characters in Dr Who actually planning to have sex? Extra-marital and dirty weekend style? Somehow it just didn't sit right. Although it was good to finally address the long overdue fallout of Rose's eagerness to leave Mickey for the Doctor in the first place.

Captain Jack I haven't made my mind up about yet. So far he seems to be only on board the TARDIS to provide bisexual innuendos and give tech talk when the Doctor's otherwise engaged. He really seemed surplus to requirements here and I hope that isn't something that we can expect in the future.

A disjointed and an ultimately unsatisfying episode that ended before it ever really started. Forty five minutes in search of a plot.

Then of course was the trailer for next week. I wonder at the concept of robotised game show parodies as I can see a fine line between clever and just plain silly about to be walked. And then the whole thing was saved with those final few seconds of the true enemy coming into play. I punched the air! I screamed! I can't bloody wait!