The excellent School Reunion was going to be a difficult story to follow - especially in the emotional stakes. If anyone could come up with the goods it would be writer Steven Moffat and, in many ways, he almost did it!!! Doctor Who has always worked well when exploring more unusual concepts and ideas - The Mind Robber being a perfect example of the unexpected. So mix the court of Louis XV, robotic clockwork killers and a futuristic spaceship with a living heart and instant time windows into the events surrounding Madame de Pompadour and you have a very non-traditional but enjoyable DW adventure.

Season One gave Christopher Eccleston some very good lines but the Ninth Doctor tended not to be the centre of the plots - Rose almost dominating many of the story lines. This time round David Tennant's tenth Doctor is very much the leading figure with many aspects of his emotions and past being investigated. His attraction to young Reinette as her imaginary friend from behind the fireplace grew to a full blown fascination with the man called the Doctor - as the Doctor met the older versions of Reinette the mutual attraction grew until they touched minds and understood each other's loneliness. OK so many DW fans will not accept that the Doctor should have romantic thoughts but surely this is a Time Lord who has become very vulneranble after the death of his race, has learnt how devastating his involvement can be with his former travelling companions and now desperately needs to belong to a race - even if it is human. Another emotional rollercoaster as the Doctor experiences what could have been a very passionate relationship only to loose his Reinette and become a wanderer in time and space again!

The feel of the story is excellent - BBC Drama always excel at period pieces so the lavish external and internal scenes around Versailles looked great and the clockwork droids were both chilling and powerful - those black eyes and smiles were positively Hammer horror at is best!

A relatively small cast excelled with Sophia Myles' performance being outstanding. Poor Rose and Mickey were very much in the background this time - but as for Arthur the Horse . . . a future rival for K9 perhaps!!!! David Tennant gave many dimensions to his character again - almost Tom Bakerish in parts - but the humour here was far more in keeping with the story (as last week). He is really a tremendous Doctor and is developing into his own special characterisation.

Every episode of this series seems to take the show on further and further - the clips of the Cybermen episodes suggest that the best could be yet to come!

Two things to say at the outset of my review. 1) This is the only episode of this new series that I have seen so I maybe unfair in basing my opinion on this one story. 2) David Tennant is streets ahead of Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor - in the right story he could be one of the greats.

First the good things about The Girl in the Fireplace. I greatly enjoyed David Tennant's performance up to a certain moment, which I'll write about later. Gone was the gurning of Christopher Eccleston, here was a Doctor who could save a child from the horrors lurking under her bed without making cheap jokes and grinning like a maniac.

I also found it refreshing that Rose had very little to do in this episode and that it mainly focused on the Doctor. There has been a lot of gushing about Miss Piper's role in the new series on these reviews and I don't think that it's any coincidence that these are entirely written by blokes. I'm not saying that her performance is bad, but her character can be tiresome. The rivalry over her in the last series between the Doctor, Jack and Mickey was pathetic and her possessive attitude to the Doctor is also starting to annoy.

I also loved the costumes and settings for this story.

The moment my disillusionment came was when the Doctor went sneaking around after Madame Pompadour like a lovesick schoolboy seemingly dazzled after just one kiss. I felt as if the Doctor was being transformed into some kind of cosmic Casanova or getting a touch of Captain Kirk Syndrome. The whole thing would have worked better if Madame's passion for the Doctor had been entirely one-sided and he'd had to resist her seductions!

I found the Doctor acting drunk very cringe-worthy as well - it was like seeing my Dad plastered - and where did he get shades from in 18th century France?

Was this episode also a not so subtle attempt to prepare the audience for Rose's departure? It seems that these days the Doctor would rather spend the evening dancing with his latest conquest than save Rose's life. He also didn't seem to show a great deal of concern at being stuck in 18th century France away from her. Had this episode been placed in the previous series the Doctor's whole concern would have been to get back to Rose.

The villains here were not particularly scary either, apart from their very first appearance. They didn't seem to be very robustly designed and it seemed that practically anything could destroy them. This made it all the more surprising that Madame Pompadour seemed to have made no preparations for their arrival in the five years after Rose's warning. All they would have had to do was dump buckets of water over them or something similar. Maybe they should have dumped a cold one over the Doctor and Madame at the same time!

Anyway this is just one story among others - maybe it's the Bad Wolf of this series (not a lot happened in that bar a lot of male posturing over Rose) The bit they showed of next week's episode looked very good. Less mush and more action!

Tonight’s episode by Steven Moffat was another masterpiece. The opening of Reinette calling out for the Doctor in her time of need through a fire place, opened this piece with intrepidation of how does she know to call the Doctor?

Enter the titles and we are now in 51st century in a space ship, on investigation the new crew wander around while Rose wants to know where when why, Mickey is gob smacked that his first journey is on a space ship. The whole design is great and the CGI of the space craft and outside through windows is fantastic. The crew find a fireplace, eighteenth century at that, and a girl Reinette who says that it is France in 1871. The Doctor finds a way of opening the magic door which is a spin of the fireplace. I loved that especially the way that the Doctor now has some adventure on his own. David is fantastic in this scene making it all very frightening and dark. He finds the clockwork man under the bed, what a creation really spooky and the weapon is very menacing but again using items that children can identify with. Having the young Reinette setting the journey is good for the children too as the fact that Reinette controls the danger is a good plot, the clockwork men need her for something but what. The eerie Tick Tock in the back ground and the music behind is subtle but so important and really adds to the overall tension and the darkness that is being created. The Doctor saves Reinette by taking the clockwork man to the spaceship.

The Doctor attacks the clockwork man and then unmasks. This is a wonderful creation, clockwork mechanics a great design concept that works so well. The Doctor revisits Reinette who is now a woman. Wow did anyone see the kiss coming; I thought this moment was shocking but yet surprisingly likable. This Doctor is so charasmatic and a flirt that it certainly goes with this Doctor that kissing would happen. David’s Doctor is tender, passionate and emotional and I think this makes David’s intepretation fascinating to watch.

In this episode we have another powerful women’s part in Sophia Myles taking on the part of Reinette. This is a great portrayal and Sophia has made good work of all lines emotion and drama that she has been given. You can see why she was cast and it is lovely to see so many women getting decent parts in science fiction. This series has been delivering these strong roles and Reinette is a character that is instantly likeable; wish I could say the same about Mickey.

Back on the spacecraft and Rose is teaching Mickey about time travel and getting on with it. Rose is a strong character but is being limited by Mickey. Fortunately Rose is so well written and acted by Billie that she is able to shine even in limited time. Rose’s emotional journey continues in this adventure, the heart being wired disgusted Rose, the jealousy she shows at why did you pick this woman to the clockwork man shows that she doesn’t want to share the Doctor with a beautiful woman like Reinette, who is clearly gaining the Doctor’s attention. Rose also benefits with a lovely scene with Reinette on her being ready when she is 37 and demonstrating how difficult it is for her to explain the concept of how Reinette’s life is being viewed by portals in Mirrors, Tapestry’s and Fire’s. The scene where Reinette walks through the tapestry onto the spaceship is simple but clever. Reinette after seeing into the Doctor’s mind while the Doctor searches for the answer, she sees and understand the Doctor’s loneliness that comes from his travelling and long life. The line to Rose about we understand that the Doctor is worth the monsters don’t we Rose, again illustrates to Rose there is more than one person who knows why she travels with the Doctor. Mickey sees this to and implies to Rose that the Doctor surrounds himself by women a point Rose chooses to ignore.

The relationship between the Doctor and Reinette is superbly played and this journey is why the adults will stay interested as it is a beautiful and emotional ride. Each time portal window showing another layer of the relationship and even though time is limited between them the time is enough to show a love story.

The story climaxes with the Doctor penetrating the window riding on a horse. Genius where else would you see this moment anywhere else but in Doctor Who. The visual effect was strong and well worth the tremendous efforts of all the production team involved and Steven’s ability to write without budget constraints in mind. This scene is definitely a fantastic achievement. Saying that though all departments are equally as good, the visual effects and set pieces are really strong. The location of Ragley Hall fits beautifully and the costumes are a real highlight of the episode in my eyes. The clockwork men and women look visually fantastic and I love the contrast of the regular cast members against the back drop of the eighteenth century costume. This episode is definitely going to very re watchable as you soak in all the elements that have gone into this episode, there is too much to take in on one showing.

So the Doctor heroically saves Reinette and leaves Rose on the spaceship. With the Doctor trapped Rose cries over the loss which is another Billie beautiful moment and so subtably done. We then move to David whose portrayal over the loss of Reinette at the end of the episode is so compelling. The Doctor showing this emotion is very bold stuff but it all works so well. Words don’t always say it all and it is to David’s credit that he can command the scene even when saying nothing is what makes him in my eyes the best Doctor there has been so far. I know that many people will be saying that we just move on to the new but I believe that it will be difficult to emulate David when he decides to go. I’m hoping that this isn’t for years.

For me the only element not working in this series is Mickey, he didn’t do anything for me last year and I find his character so unmoving, you can see Noel is giving his best but it not holding my attention. I only hope that with continuing episodes this does change as this element may spoil a weaker episode but as we haven’t had one yet I’m not worrying about it.

Last season, with his Hugo-nominated 2-parter "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", Coupling creator Steven Moffat thrilled, creeped out, and altogether made me go "Wow." A story that took parts from WWII drama, pulp action SF, and New Wave Japanese Horror, melded together and was essentially the best story of the season. So can Moffat repeat?

Yes. Oh, God, yes.

Following right on from "School Reunion," in which we saw Rose learn of the Doctor's prior lov...er, companion, and realize "Hey, I ain't necessarily the only one," we have the Doctor involved in a time-crossed, and star-crossed, romance with Rienette (sp), the Madame du Pomapdour.

Going back and forth between 18th-century Versailles and a 51st-Century deep-space vessel on the blink that happens to be "punching a hole in the universe," Moffat brings us the creepiest (again!) robot monsters seen on the series ever. Faceless, clockwork automatons, repairing their ship with the materials they have on hand -- namely, the crew. Eyes for cameras, hearts for engines. YICK! Their voices are eloquent and soulless, much like the eponymous "Robots of Death" from the Tom Baker years, but at least THAT time you had faces to look at. The repair droids, with their strange desperate logic in seeking out Rienette, must wear masks to accomodate even that. And makes them all the more creepier, and basically, the Cybermen are lucky they have a 2-part to even come close to sort of calculated, yet misguided, menace the clockworks provided.

I liked the time windows, and the way they worked just made the ending all the more heartbreaking. Mere moments pass for the Doctor + company, yet weeks, months, years pass in Versailles. Rienette lives a lifetime of waiting and hoping for the Doctor. A lifetime of being in love with him... it seems kinda strange, but given how long Sarah Jane waited for him...

I LOVED THE HORSE! I WANTED THE HORSE ON THE TARDIS! "I let you keep Mickey!" HAH! Oh, yes, and Mickey. Nice touches. He still processed it as being like a movie, or simulation -- "It's so realistic!" Not much on the Rose/Mickey ship front tho... funny she seemed rather miffed at the end of last week. Come to think of it, Rose didn't seem to catch onto the whole tragic romance thing going on, did she? Mickey did... Hell, he's waited around for Rose long enough.

And what of the Doctor? Well, let's face it, this was an Eccleston episode through and through. "The Lonely Angel" was a tag that certainly applied to him moreso than Tennant's Doctor thus far. "School Reunion" hinted at it, but half the time I saw the crew cut and leather jacket on the Doctor in this one. And once again with the Doctor dancing, and extolling the virtues of bananas. Are these gonna be Moffat signatures or what? But yes, the Doctor dances once more, and in the end, his hearts are broken. Rienette as more of a Cameca than Sarah, I guess. All the same, this was Tennant's best performance so far, and I'm now finally starting to feel him as the Doctor. Now he really wears the part of What The Monsters Are Afraid Of. But DAMN I about got emo on that ending.

Ah... this is definitely the best one of the season so far. Moffat is 2-for-2, and well on his way to becoming the new series' Ben Aaronovitch.

Now let's see the Cybermen top that next week.

I am trying to enjoy this series, I really am. I'd love to recapture the excitement I felt during the majority of last season's run; the scariness, the pathos, the humour, the sheer imagination rooted in deep soul...

But I'm sorry to say that when the Doctor reincarnated he seemed to lose his soul. Poor soul. To be fair, I don't think that this is Tennant's fault, he is a very good actor, and has the capacity to be a great Doctor, if only the scripts, and the stories allowed.

Okay, this started well. The ship, the fireplace, the girl; all very atmospheric and mysterious, this appeared to have the markings of a classic. And it ran well until we realised that the plot didn't really hang together that well, and because the plot didn't hang together that well, the supposedly "scary" bits failed to either shock or provide the necessary goose bumps. The premise that Madame de Pompadour's life was being observerd until she was "ready" was very scary, and I liked the way time was allowed to progress at a rapid pace from the Doctor's perspective but not from hers, it really gave the piece a sense of the ethereal. It was a fairytale in which a child has to face monsters under the bed , combined with Alice's adventures in wonderland. A truly lovely idea, which could have been truly moving, scary and sureal. However, the Monsters turned out to be pretty typical androids lost in space; only "carrying out orders, sir!" Okay, the clockwork mechanism was a nice touch, but it could have been used far more spookily, if only the writers hadn't gone down the predictable Sci fi path of providing easy answers.More of which later.

Humour! I love humour, I relished the way the last series used humour to great effect, particularly during it's darkest episodes. But for some reason this season appears to have turned into a Blackadder / Hitchhikers hybrid, both of which I love, but I don't think this approach really works for the Doctor, at least not in an episode not written by Douglas Adams (R.I.P, I love ya!)

The ship was apparently called the "SS Madame de Pompadour" Well, it's a bit Douglas Adams, but without the style or the wit. This was an easy answer to a promising question, and a lazy plot.

I really hope the Cybermen deliver.

This was a clever story. The interesting point for me is that I (aged 38) loved it. The kids (9 and 11) got restless, a bit bored. All that love stuff. Yuk! And even the 11 year old asked where the horse came from? Why was it on the spaceship? (I've said we'll have to watch it again and see if we can find out). This demonstrates to me how bloody difficult it is to tow the thin line between writing for adults and children. I feel that Russell T Davies tries to do this and often brings down the kind of criticism we see in these review pages. Sometimes he succeeds, as with Tooth and Claw.

Generally, the same problems dogged this story as the first three in the run. Too ambitious. For all the personnel sitting around the table discussing the script in Confidental, they seem to have forgotten to hire an editor. Others have commented that the length of the show could be upped to an hour, but the flip side to this is decent editing and a quantum of self-discipline. Say what you like about American TV, the editing and tightness of their TV shows beats the majority of Brit TV into the ground, (I'm not American by the way).

Having said this, I'm still fasinated by how the second series is developing. It's got a very different feel from the first. You can really see there's a guiding mind behind it's development. That's where Russel T Davies comes into his own. The guy knows TV. The Doctor has changed. He's no longer the needy Chris Ecclestone model. Rose has been sidelined. It was sort of shocking when he rode through the mirror (so that's what the horse was for! - thrilling denoument - very sloppy) leaving Rose and Micky to die (?) in the spaceship. I enjoy this kind of character development; it's something the classic series just didn't have.

The look was perfect. Sorry guys, the horse through the mirror was okay - but very "effecty". You should have left it out probably. Direction was excellent.

Now, let's upset some people. I don't think David Tennant is quite as good as the Doctor as everybody seems to say he is. I've waited a couple of episodes to let him settle down into the role, but he seems somehow...lightweight to me. He's okay, he just about carries the story and all that, but he just hasn't got the presence and the weight that Christopher Ecclestone had. He isn't a center of gravity. I've a theory about this: Mr Ecclestone pissed a lot of fans off by leaving after the first series, but if you look back at his performance as the Doctor, it was superb in a way that David Tennant doesn't seem able to match. Well, not yet, anyway. Consequently, Chris E isn't given quite as much credit for his portrayal as the Doctor as he should. David Tennant seems, even in this episode - in which he is given an opportunity to shine (series two's version of Dalek I'd say) - to be all over the place. His delivery of some of the lines is so fast that you can hardly make out what he's saying. and that voice...at one point, when he first saw the clockwork droid, he really did sound like a slightly butcher version of Kenneth Williams. Perhaps they should have allowed him to speak in his native accent. To my mind, with the scripting in the majority of the episodes since "Rose" being somewhat undisciplined, Chris Ecclestone provided an all-important 'earthing' of the show. From about episode 3 of the first run onwards, he knew exactly what he was doing as an actor. Well, that's what i feel at the moment anyway. I hope that Mr Tennant finds some way of being more solid as the run goes on.

All in all, I'm enjoying this run as much as the first.