Where do you start? For me, this worked - perhaps as all 'Doctor Who' should - on several levels:

Can I start with the obvious? The visuals were incredibly impressive - not at all creaky - and I watched "The Mind Robber" last week! ( Mind you, I don't share the view that they didn't all work in episode one of the new series either ). The exteriors of the space station were easily up there with the best.

I was completely enthralled by the slow tracking shots of the shuttles ( were they shuttles? ) arriving in the glare of the sun. And what a spectacular end to our (?) planet! Those scuttlings spiders!! Cassandra!!! The Face of Boe - so brilliant because he (?) was so briefly used. The Moxx of Balhoon didn't get much to do before being turned into goo! One minor criticism - and it is - in the words of an old teacher "carping", what happened to the reflection of the metal spider's legs in the glass table top? I may be mistaken here, but I have only watched this once.

Which neatly brings me on to the editing: Fast paced ( and I thought "Rose" was a lightning speed introduction ) and clearly demonstrating a real 'jois de vivre', a real zest for the programme. The denouement wasn't as rushed as Rose - though the despatch of the 'villain' was as equally easy and as equally quick. I loved Cassandra drying out and splattering the room but couldn't help but wondering what happened to the 'brain' in the jar underneath. Presumably "she" died of a loss of face!

Which, even more neatly, brings me to the script: The fact that Cassandra started life as a "he" was as inspired as Rose's "I'm talking to a stick!" line. Brilliant, quite brilliant! 

Yet again Russell T. Davies demonstrates his skill at combining the ordinary with the extraordinary - the comedic with the deadly earnest: As with last week's episode, where Rose is suddenly and unnervingly surrounded by eerily creaking shop dummies which stalk her through Henrick's basement, or where Chris Eccleston's 'Eric Morecambe' routine with the Auton's hand suddenly becomes deadly serious as it grabs Rose/Billies's face ( am I alone in momentarily confusing fiction with reality here? To me this was curiously effective, the thought of suffocation raising gut fears - and I'm old enough to remember those plastic daffodils! I haven't seen them since 1971, either. But I digress ).

This week we are treated to Rose's encounter with a blue plumber wherein we see a mix of the ordinary; social comment about prejudice - the plumber asking permission to speak - reminiscent of the signs in Bed and Breakfast windows of my youth reading " No Coloureds " (see also "Remembrance of the Daleks").

Throwaway lines about Cassandra to the effect "I'm going to have a word with Michael Jackson over there" serve to ground the programme further in the here and now. In the face of all the wonders we are treated to, who could not be moved by Rose's sudden, but understated, realisation that she has left her world behind to travel with a complete stranger? To be utterly reliant on him? Someone with potentially no way back. And how strange to talk to your mother on your mobile about the mundane when she's been dead for five and a half billion years? Very real concerns in a fantastic environment. Brilliant! Quite Brilliant!

As I say, this worked on several levels; the spectacular and the very ordinary - the alien and the very human. 

I disagree with comments about the incidental music in last week's episode, I didn't find it intrusive. Look and listen to the 'online' section of the chase sequence from "Rose" over Westminster Bridge and down onto the Embankment - this captures the fast pace brilliantly ( and is emminently hummable! ). This week's served to do the same with equal finesse. The part where the Doctor was trying to close the sun screens was suitably tense.

As to the players; Goodness they excelled: From Chris Eccleston's tear at the "premature" destruction of his home planet in the ( now twice mentioned ) war, to Jasmine Bannerman's incredibly sexy performance as a tree! Characterisation at a genuine level is beginning to emerge - yes, I think that her destruction was just a little ( in fact quite a lot ) too sentimental to be true, but, hey, you can't have everything ( are Timelords fireproof? Move over Emperor Ming! ). 

Chris and Billie are brilliant, the visuals are brilliant, the script is brilliant - the return to Earth to buy fish and chips was inspired - I enjoyed the music and above all I enjoyed the ride. News of a second series and a Christmas special has made the ordinary life of an ordinary bloke a little bit more special. Sad perhaps, but appreciatively true.

This episode takes the new viewer deeper into the Doctor's world, introducing elements of the Tardis and himself while in the company of a host of colourful characters. Unfortunately it does this around a rather flimsy storyline. Cassandra's plot is rather silly, but what can you expect when you are flat.

However, it had some great elements. Seeing the new (old!) Tardis in action was excellent - the Doctor pumping away extra hard to get further into the future was a great touch. The idea of the National Trust owning the Earth and returning it to a 'classic' form was spot on. The current debate on heritage and the role of people in it has been answered in emphatic form. Finally, some good alien creations - particularly the trees, but a number of the also rans were no so convincing (a tribute to classic Who?). I'm sure others will comment on Cassandra. It would be interesting, however, to ask other reviewers if, were they to get so flat, would there be any other bits they might like to keep apart from a mouth and eyes. 

But the bombshell - gallifrey gone (?) (planet not website, of course). Tears in the Doctor's eyes - when does that happen? Rose asked the question we all did - so who was this war with that wiped out the Time Lords? As an episode to set us watching for further answers - why, when and whether all other Time Lords were really all killed (we have quite a list of errant ones for a start), it will keep us watching. Have we been given a mystery that will become clear during the current series? Or, is the new Doctor being established with a new mysterious personna that will remain opaque as with the first Doctor? Time will tell.

The week prior to the transmission of this episode was dogged by the news that Christopher Eccleston would not be reprising his role as the ninth Doctor for a second series. But even without this external influence, the episode was still a disappointment. I don’t wish to sound like some unfairly overcritical fan boy, but ‘The End of the World’ was a below average story which would have been better suited to the format of a novel than a 45 minute television episode. Let me point out that I am in no way opposed to the new series, despite an initial apprehension at hearing of some of the people involved in it. However, after seeing the first episode ‘Rose’ I was won over and convinced that the cast and production team were on the right track, so please don’t take this review to be unfairly severe.

So what exactly do I object to in the story? Well, this was to be the first ‘futuristic’ adventure; escaping the mundane confines of modern day earth and allowing imagination to run wild. In this sense it succeeds, at least for the first ten minutes or so. The introduction to Platform One and the myriad alien ambassadors assembled there is wonderfully handled with a subtle hint of menace as ‘gifts’ are exchanged amongst the different species. It then proceeds to go downhill as Rose and the Doctor descend into unnecessary sentimentality leading to a phone call back in time to Rose’s mum. While all this mushy ‘character development’ is going on in one room, the mystery is unfolding elsewhere...

However, most of the potentially suspenseful scenes are clumsily handled and consequently rather dull. For example, the scene where the “plumber” discovers the intruders in the vent shaft is crude and predictable, as is the sequence in which the Doctor has to negotiate his way through several giant rotating fan blades. But worst of all is the sequence in which Rose is trapped in a room into which unshielded sunlight is gradually filtering. The special effects in this scene are excellent, as is the performance by Billie Piper, but the whole thing is ruined by Britney Spear’s ‘Toxic’ belting out in the background. I’m in my teens, so perhaps my perspective is an immature one, and maybe the inclusion of this song appears young and trendy to the show’s makers; but to someone of my age it feels like watching an embarrassing relative trying to be cool. 

Despite all this, the episode did manage to wield some dramatic impetus. But at what price? The destruction of Gallifrey and the entire Time Lord race (except of course for the Doctor—and probably the Master). In what is clearly meant to be an emotional scene, the Doctor confides in Rose that his home world has been destroyed in a war and that he is the last of his people. It would be rather obvious if it turned out that the Daleks were responsible for this, but since the Doctor didn’t answer when Rose asked with whom the Time Lords had been at war, it seems likely that it was the Daleks. No doubt this revelation is being reserved for dramatic effect in the first Dalek episode. This is the kind of damage usually inflicted upon the Doctor Who universe by the novels. Many writers of dubious literary talent rely heavily on shock tactics (e.g. lets kill off an assistant, wipe out a species, make the Doctor gay, etc) and indeed Gallifrey has already been destroyed in the books. But I for one was perfectly happy to ignore this addition to Whovian chronology, but now the same disaster has been thrust upon us in the television series. So, are we never to again see Gallifrey in all its’ emerald splendour? Apparently not.

These are my criticisms of the episode, but it had its good points too. The special effects were terrific and the aliens equally impressive. I do however think it a shame that the much anticipated Moxx of Balhoon (wonderfully realised and performed) was amongst the gathering of aliens shunned aside in favour of the intrusive sentimentalism which dominated the story. All in all he only appears on screen for about twenty seconds. Nevertheless, when he was on screen he looked wonderful, as did the rest of the aliens. Platform One itself was also convincingly created and made a visually impressive setting. My only fear is that the failings of the script and direction might make the BBC reluctant to utilise any more such imaginative settings for the second series. 

From this first extra-terrestrial excursion it would seem that Russell T. Davies is less concerned with exploring alien worlds and indulging the escapist magic which made the original series so enduring, but rather with looking at our own modern day culture from different perspectives. This is all very well for a show like Star Trek, but for me it just doesn’t feel like Doctor Who. Doctor Who has enough depth of character and dramatic power as it is. It doesn’t need tearful phone calls and pretentious philosophising to make us pay attention. ‘The End of the World’ wasn’t an awful episode, but it was disappointing and certainly wasn’t as good as ’Rose’ had been the previous week. Fortunately though, the preview of Mark Gatiss’ ‘The Unquiet Dead’ was brilliant. It looks likely to be both atmospheric and scary, and hopefully a worthy addition to the classic gothic horror stories. Sadly, ‘The End of the Word’ must be ranked along side less successful stories such as ‘Four to Doomsday’ and ‘Terminus’. To be fair though, had it not been for the revelation about the destruction of the Doctor’s home world I would probably have enjoyed it more.

It's taken me (and obviously a few others) time to get over the joy (and shock) of the last few days. Much has been said about Chris's decision to leave so suddenly after the start of what we've all been waiting for for 15 years, however, after watching The End Of The World tonight, it surely is time to put all bad feelings to one side. The show is back, will go on to a second series and will feature the Doctor!

As a lifetime fan, the continuation of the series must take priority. Actors come and go, regenerations take place and new actors take up the role. The series is not what 'original' fans remember Doctor Who to be. It is updated, it is new and it is 2005. We need to move with these times and salute the fact that the series has returned at all. After watching Rose last week, I was a little unsure of the pace of the episode and also of Chris's portrayal. The End Of The World is moving me in an altogether different direction. I CAN see the Doctor in Chris, all the little mannerisms and wit of previous incarnations brought together for perhaps the first time. I've just said to my wife that it's such a shame that he has decided to leave. He has the potential to perhaps be the greatest of them all. Enough of that, on to tonight's episode.

Again, the pace of the episode caused me concern.. Being so used to 4 or 6 episode stories, the general feeling of rushing and cramming everything into 45 minutes was again apparent in the first 5 minutes of the story. I guess this is something that again we will have to get used to.

Reading the latest edition of DWM today, it previewed TEOTW and told us to keep our ears open for future plot strands. Well, surely the biggest revelation about tonight is that Gallifrey has been destroyed and the Doctor is the last of the Time Lords. Have I missed something here? Or is this linked in to the last Eigth Doctor novel to be released in June. Time will tell.

I thought the aliens in TEOTW were excellent, but a little disappointed that there was little dialogue from the Moxx of Balhoon who looked superb. Pity he got fried in the end! The same could be said about the Face of Boe. These two had featured in DWM and in the TV clips prior to transmission and I was looking forward to seeing how they would develop. Still, again I guess you only have 45 minutes per episode and limited time on camera unless you are one of that episodes main characters.

The comedy aspect concerned me but the timing of it in Episode 2 was spot on. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how all the separate 'secret' plot strands fit together, and I hope we get to see the demise of Gallifrey whilst Chris in in the role. His emotion when Jabe spoke to him about who he is and also when he told Rose he was the last of his kind was tingling. 

Overall, a great second story. Still can't quite believe it's back but that will take a few weeks to get used to.

A good start for Chris. 11 Episodes to go, lots more to see and learn. I now find myself waiting with bated breath how the change will happen either in Ep 13 or the Xmas special. Until them lets give him the benefit of the doubt - he IS the Doctor.

I hadn't been entirely convinced by the first episode, it seemed fun enough and I liked the new Doctor and his assistant, but at the same time it seemed a bit rushed and, well, I sadly realised that this new show probably wasn't going to be for me. Though I was still going to keep watching it, anyway!

Any worries that it might be a chore were dispelled by the second episode. Now the characters have been introduced, we start to get to know them a little better. What I really liked about this episode was that I realised that there was going to be some real depth to the characters, Rose didn't just switch into assistant mode, she actually sat and worried about what she'd decided to do by following this strange man across time. And the Doctor's often overtly cheery persona (occasionally it gets too much looking at him grinning away) seemed to be compensating for the terrible suffering he's obviously going through.

Some of the first episode effects had been done well enough, but still showed their budget a little I felt. The second episode was a huge improvement, I loved it all (perhaps the fans were a little dodgy, but then fans often are!), the dying planet Earth, the Sun, the space station.

The creatures were all nicely done, I had been a bit sceptical about some of them from the trailers and what I had picked up from the papers (often against my will, but I couldn't NOT look at them). As it was they looked great, were wonderfully written as real alien people and rather naugtily defied many of the expectations I'd been led to believe.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of Soft Cell and Britney, more than a little bit camp perhaps, I never expected to hear the sounds of Toxic coming across as the world ended. But along with many of the other ingredients it helepd make Dr Who feel a class act, and can't have done it any harm as far as kids watching went. I got that same eery feeling that I got when I first heard the Beatles playing in the Tardis (I hope I didn't dream that).

The story was fast paced, had more to it than the Auton story, and was crammed full of little nuggets of humour and humanity, plus what for me was a truly shocking revelation about the Doctor and his people. This had been referred to in the previous episode in an oblique way, and I think this additional sub-plot is what has helped convince me that this Doctor Who really is for me as well as those pesky 8-12 year old kids (and I hope they enjoy it more than I do).

Oh, there's lots more I could add, the operation of the Tardis was entertaining and comical, and next weeks episode trailer makes it look as though the kids will need years of psychotherapy before they ever leave the safety of behind the couch again. Excellent!

All I feel I can say beyond this is - well done everyone!

What a fantastic and truly remarkable episode. With the first episode I wasn't so sure, but this second one really hit the mark. This was Doctor Who in all it's wonderful glory. It had all the essential elements you would and should identify with Doctor Who, comedy, drama, monsters, wobbly sets...only kidding, the sets and special effects in this episode were the best ever presented in the entire series (even beating the TV Movie!). Every emotional box was ticked tonight. Russell T Davies proves why he was the right man for the job by producing one of his best ever scripts for television. I can't overstate it enough but this was groundbreaking tele for BBC1. If that episode alone doesn't recruit a lot more new fans, then no other episode will.

I felt Eccleston as the Doctor was a bit hit and miss in the first episode, but his performance in 'The End of the World' was spot on. His characterisation of the Doctor was fascinating to see, he held the episode together so well and made the part totally believable that it was gripping to watch. Piper as Rose was excellent (as she was in the opening episode), her and Eccleston have a great on screen chemistry, and it's lovely to watch and feel how much they do care for each other. The end of this episode really demonstrated just how compatible they are to each other, and how they both need each other. Indeed, the last bit of dialogue was Doctor Who at it's emotional best, it was both sad and upbeat. Russell T Davies really delivered the goods in bucketloads. 

What about the monsters?...A carnival of monsters to be precise. What a fantastic collection of unusual and brilliant looking aliens. The much talked about Moxx of Balhoon played by Jimmy Vee looked great (although I felt he didn't have much screen time), and Zoe Wannemaker as Cassandra (or rather Casandra's voice!) was wonderful. A lot of credit must go to everyone who worked on creating this character, it really pushed the boundries in special effects, and created one of the most visually stunning characters ever shown on television. Yasmin Bannerman as Jabe (one of the tree people) looked lovely and put in a very likeable performance. She not only quickly warmed to the Doctor, but also warmed the audience. It made her final scenes all the more tragic and powerful, and the Doctor's reaction to this was very personal. 

The plot was fairly straight forward and easy to follow...but don't let that fool you. This story was one of the finest ever to have the name Doctor Who attached to it. The way it was written (have I mentioned a certain Russel T Davies yet?), acted by everyone concerned, directed, produced, you name it, just about everyone who helped in some way to create this unique piece of television drama deserves a huge pat on the back. This episode proved that everyone working on this show cares about Doctor Who, and fully understands it's function as a mainstream television programme. Watching this episode made me realise just what we will all be missing when Christopher Eccleston leaves. He is shaping up to be a fantastic Doctor, and I'm sure (as the series progresses) will be giving Tom Baker a run for his money as Best Doctor!

Doctor Who is well and truly back! Even when Eccleston leaves, you can be safe in the knowledge that this show is in safe and very capable hands, plus there's the added bonus that Billie Piper's signed up for another series...Sorted!