Y'know, I was rather concerned that the announcement that Chris is leaving would have taken some of the impact of the new series away, but on the strength of tonight's wonderful episode 'The End of the World', this season is going to turn out to be something very very special for WHO fans old and new. It's huge and flashy, yes, but this episode has DOCTOR WHO all over it. The interplay between the Doctor and Rose has started to pick up momentum nicely. I was at first worried that after the first episode Rose would suddenly come across as an 'old hand' at all this adventuring malarkey, but no, her continued wonder and unease at the things she witnesses is wonderful to behold.

The advent of a pre-titles teaser sequence (including a lovely shot of the TARDIS in flight through the vortex) is a nice touch, adding to the drama and making the theme tune that bit more satisfying, which now we've had a chance to get used to it, is settling nicely and feels right for the tone and look of the series. The opening CG views of the Platform are gorgeous- a tad reminiscent of babylon 5 perhaps, but gorgeous nontheless, and the voiceover concerning the prohibition against using teleportation devices, weapons and religion was excellent.

For me, the script was very satisfying, nicely weaving elements of the show's rich mythos into a riotous romp of a tale.I did like the explanation of why everyone speaks English. One thing I am curious as to what other parts of fandom thought of is the revelation that the Doctor is the last of the Time Lords due to a war wiping them all out. For me it gives the EDA books a little weight, taking into account Gallifrey's fate. The look on the Doctor's face when Jabe is at his side is amazing, the sheer weight of pain in his eyes, then that tear that escapes as he turns his head, magic. Nice one Mr Davies.

Aaaaahhhh Jabe, Jabe Jabe! What a beautiful makeup upon such a beautiful actress. Ignore her dodgy past in Hollyoaks and concentrate on the character; Regal, powerful, graceful and yet utterly courageous. The teaser at the end of 'Rose' made her makeup seem a little...hmmm... odd on camera, but once you are treated to the close shots of her, it's clear that any worries were unfounded. Her fate is certainly a shame. The other Trees could have been used a little more for my liking, but with so much going on in one episode it's a small quibble. Lady Cassandra? Well she could never look perfect could she? Not on the timescale and budget available for the series, but she was amazing anyway, and the floating brain in the jar section of her platform was a nice touch. Zoe Wanamaker's vocal performance was spot on.

I really enjoyed the scene with the modified mobile phone. Rose's expression as she looks at the dying Earth while talking to her mother, 5 billion years in the past, was very powerful. Moments like this keep popping up in this new series, moments that cement it firmly in dramatic territory and giving it more credibility as a serious show. It has the humour, the monsters, the action, the characterization, and now the FX, acting talent and respect that it deserves.

This is not only excellent science fiction television, it's excellent Doctor Who. It's definitely different, but ladies and gentlemen this is definitely Doctor Who. I can't wait for next week. Episode 3 looks just as much fun, and its nice to remember how much fun it was, popping between time periods for each story.

Everyone involved must be very very proud of themselves. What an achievement.

British SF. Real British SF that respects its history while moving forward.

Who'd have thought it possible?

‘The End of the World’ tries to be many things at once – a whodunit, a satire, a comedy of manners, and a character piece that paints both the Doctor and Rose in deeper shades than we saw in ‘Rose.’ It simply can’t be all these things successfully, but the fault doesn’t really lie with Russell T. Davies’s script – as with ‘Dalek,’ there just isn’t enough *time* to give all the story elements their due, and as a result, the final product has a somewhat compressed quality. That’s the price of this short-teleplay form – this is the kind of plot that could have made a great four-part adventure in the old days, cliffhangers and all.

But, despite this problem, ‘The End of the World’ isn’t really all that bad. It brings a wonderful alien color back to the world of Doctor Who – these aliens are a bit campy and costumey, but that’s never really been out of place in the series, and, indeed, one almost expects Alpha Centauri to show up at this little shindig. Some fans have criticized this first season of the new series as being too Earth-bound, but that seems silly to me – stories like this one, as well as ‘The Long Game’ and the final two-parter, might as well be set on alien planets. 

As for Davies’s writing contribution, well, his dialogue *is* rather grating in places – the satire about iPods is about as sharp as a boxing glove, and will date terribly. It’s also true that none of his characters here are terribly deep – even Lady Cassandra comes off as merely arch, more the ‘bitchy trampoline’ of Rose’s estimation than a Doctor Who supervillain. And Jabe is purely functional. But that’s not really so out of place in a story that clearly aspires to be the sci-fi equivalent of an Agatha Christie ‘cozy’ mystery. As for the acting, Simon Day’s Steward is amusing in his flips between serene servility and impatient near-panic, the rubbery aliens, as I said, are fun, and the spidery robots are creepy and effective. Plus, Billie Piper gets some good scenes – in particular, the one where she befriends Raffalo the plumber has a way of bringing the out-there sci-fi scenario down to earth, which seems to be a major goal of Davies’s in his approach to the series. The design is quite beautiful (an obvious homage to eighties Who) and the special effects, especially when the sun shields fail, are certainly impressive.

One last concern is worth mentioning, though, and that is the story’s rather ghoulish resolution. I find it hard to believe that the Doctor would stand coldly by and watch the last human being, even a murderer in grotesquely altered form, agonize and explode before his eyes. Even Rose asks him for mercy, but he has none – this is not only out of character with his previous incarnations, but with his own later this season, when he cannot bring himself to kill the humans on Earth in ‘The Parting of the Ways.’ It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, frankly – fans should be warned.

Still, this worth a watch overall.

Wow. 

I had my reservations after the first episode, as per my review. It just didn't quite click. 

This episode clicked, and how.

>From the preview of last week, I wasn't overly hopeful, boy was I wrong. From start to finish this was 45 minutes of pure Who. The characterization that was so lacking in episode 1 arrived in spades. Eccleston is already a truly great Doctor, here we saw both the humour that already characterises him, and the darkness that we have been promised. There is obviously pain about the loss of Gallifrey, we already know that the Doctor could not save the Nestene, maybe there is guilt about the role he played in the Gallifrey war. he is, apparently, the only survivor.

Billie finally showed her acting mettle. I'm a harsh critic of hers but she has finally silenced me. I'll fully admit I was not convinced by her in anything she has done up to now but in these 45 minutes she fully vindicated her casting. She was fantastic. 

The special effects deserve a special mention. Nothing to write home about last week, they were obviously saving their money for the heavy usage here. Not a dud shot in sight.

Zoe Wanamaker was absolutely wonderful as always.

Psychic Paper a great idea and finally a reason why everyone on Who speaks English.

Jade (Jayde?) was a wonderful character and actively felt like more of a companion than Rose in this episode, a real pity that she died. If this was supposed to be the "romance" of the series, it didn't feel like it. It worked well. But this Doctor is far more human than any of the others. He displayed some previously unseen powers here but his failing cost Jade her life.

Fantastically inventive death of the supervisor and one of my favourite Who scenes ever as The Doctor tries to rescue Rose from the same fate. "It would be you in there!" has to go down as one of the greatest lines in Who.

Fans over a walkway, that can't be turned off and the switch to save the station the only thing beyond them. What an illogical place to put a switch. Was this a reference to the brilliant film Galaxy Quest which itself was parodying Trek? The scene where the heroes have to travese a corridor of smashing walls which are there for absolutely no reason is an absolute classic. Completely illogical to do this in Who but a great piece of reference.

The incidental music was far better than last week but still not particularly memorable. On the other hand, the modern music used was inventive and the Doctor dancing to Frankie Goes To Hollywood (Was it?) was hilarious. 

A few small niggles, as some people noted in the last episode, the Sonic Screwdriver appears to be this Doctor's weapon of choice, already it has made more appearances in two episodes than possibly the fifth, sixth and seventh Doctor's era's combined. Let's see how he fares next week in the Victorian age.

I think Russell T. Davies needs to tighten up his writing slightly, last week we had Clive who provided exposition and then died. This week we had a blue plumber who did absolutely nothing except purposely die. Not a disaster by any means but we need to care about a character before they die.

The death of the Time Lord race is a great idea, and a very bold, very modern twist, but just how did it happen? Gallifreyan's are almost impossible to kill. You have to kill each and every one twelve times, not to mention that they can manipulate time, are scientific geniuses etc etc. I have a feeling that the Daleks are involved. 

Also with the intimation that the Doctor is the last remaining Time Lord will we never again see The Master, The Rani, The Monk, The Valyard, surely all of these Time Lord's are running around in different times before the war but technically after their own deaths. Why does The Doctor get so cut up about it when he can just travel to a time before the destruction of Gallifrey? But I'm just being pedantic.

The series has hit it's stride and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Eccleston's leaving will no doubt affect how some people view this series but I think on this evidence, it may actually be right for this particular series and Eccleston's only mistake being that of timing.

Overall a vast improvement on last week in every way. Everything about this episode shone. It remains to be seen how the continuity twists revealed in this episode get sorted out, I personally don't see how, when The Doctor himself has won out over almost every alien race and evildoer in the galaxy, the entire race of Time Lords can be wiped out with all their powers, and I think it'll be a shame if we never see The Master again. But there are twists and there are twists. This is a very modern twist and I'm not sure if it was wise, but it will no doubt play out over the rest of the series and only then should we reflect on where the series has gone.

Overall, for the episode as a stand alone 20 out of 10. As per direction of the series 12 out of 10. Bold but is it too far?

Oh, I almost forgot, THE TARDIS NEEDS A BICYCLE PUMP TO WORK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? The Doctor may be big on mechanical improvisation but come on! (Tribute to the quality of the episode that I actually forgot the horror with which that struck me)

I remember back in the latter days of the original series, Doctor Who fans coined a term: ‘oddball’, applied to the sort of Doctor Who stories that featured giant licorice allsort men, Ken Dodd and had the tendency to take the general concept of Doctor Who less than seriously. 

I remember reaction at the time to these particular stories was adverse, although opinion in general seems to have settled down to the notion that they were a brave experiment, but not altogether successful.

What has surprised me most so far in this new run is how much a debt the new series owes to these latter day McCoy stories. With its burping bins and now Britney Spears in space moments, one cant help but question the production team’s motives in evoking (whether intentionally or not) an era of the programme which one would think it would be doing its damnedest to try and bury the memory of.

Like Rose, I have found this story gets better on repeated viewing. On first viewing I thought it was patchy, meandering between brilliance and mediocrity. Preconceptions out of the way however, on the second viewing I could see what Russell was trying to do, the thing succeeds in doing what those McCoy stories tried to do but failed. I do however question its placing in the season, a story this off beat, this experimental could be make or break for many viewers. I personally would have thought it much wiser after the something for everyone approach of ‘Rose’, to ease viewers in with something much more approaching traditional Who, that is assuming any of the future stories fit this mould. Even in the age of Buffy, where silly ideas in series are commonplace, I feel some new viewers may have potentially found the whole thing slightly too weird, much better I would have thought to place it later on after the audience has settled and are less likely to be put off.

That said maybe the production team were planning on hooking viewers caught by Rose with some serious eye candy and certainly on that note the production paid off in spades. The production design on this series so far has been nothing short of excellent, from the brilliant Tardis interior, to the corridors of Platform one the new series has easily shed that image of those white walled studio bound sets. Similarly the effects, while having at times the traditional TV CGI look, were for the most part outstanding. The rendering of the dying sun in particular is something I think will be remembered for many years.

After the first episode I was somewhat undecided on Eccleston, but on this episode he grew on me considerably. Paul McGann was instantly acceptable in the part, but to be fair didn’t have to do anything but play an eccentric fop. Eccleston and Davies are doing what few producers would have the courage to do, making a modern Doctor, taking the core essence of the character and dumping all the frills and I personally think they’re not doing a bad job. Even the notion of the Doctor having a romantic side, didn’t seem as incongruous as when the 8th Doctor decided to get it on with Grace Holloway. Billie Piper gets better and better, in just two episodes her character is on the way to becoming perhaps one of the best companions ever. Her likeable, down to earth style is a breath of fresh air, she could so easily have been Buffy in space, but so far has proved one of this series’ strongest assets. The rest of the performances were variable: the blue guy with the skullcap seemed somewhat camp and over theatrical, while the female plumber with her regional accent and somewhat less than impressive costume I thought brought the whole thing down to that level of Doctor Who blandness which I hoped this series would avoid. Zoe Wanamaker however provided a thoroughly entertaining performance as Cassandra, a very imaginative character both in design and performance. 

I must however admit to being somewhat disappointed in the Moxx of Balhoon and the Face of Boe, two very effectual designs were wasted in their lack of use and in the case of the Moxx, having a rather ineffectual voice. What were hyped up certainly in the press as being the next generation of Who monsters, I think will have left a lot of viewers feeling disappointed. The Moxx in particular with his Mekon like appearnce could have been another Sil, but ended up being about as memorable as the guardian from Colony in Space.

I am currently somewhat confused about Murray Gold’s rather schizophrenic incidental scores, as with the previous week this episode had some killer themes particularly the recurring Doctor choral theme, but also had some bloody awful distracting tunes. How quite the same person can be responsible for the excellent theme tune, but also turn out rather soulless jaunty dittys is a bit mystifying. 

After being entertained for half an hour, but not sure whether all the incessant jokes and pop culture references were what I had been hoping for from this new series, the final ten minutes or so won me over.

From the tense scenes of the Doctor struggling to save everyone from being burnt to a crisp, to the melancholy aftermath of the earths destruction, never has a Doctor Who story been quite so poignant. This was the Doctor Who Russell had promised, but had so far failed to deliver, a Doctor Who with emotional resonance, a Doctor Who that stimulated thought, a Doctor Who that made you believe it could be real and for that I am willing to forgive it most of its shortcomings. As the final scene played out, a simple but flawlessly scripted scene about everyday things, and the scream of the theme cut in , it became clear that this show has the potential be one of the biggest things on tv.

However I think next week is make or break, we still need a story that makes the connection between the to coin a phrase ‘spooky escapism’ of the original and Davies bold new Doctor Who with heart. Unfortunately if the Unquiet Dead gives us another dose of camp, overly referential humour I feel this series may by its own design be neutralising the very effect it is trying to achieve.

I have to admit that although I enjoyed 'Rose' thoroughly, I did find it a little bewildering at first and in retrospect could not help but criticise the extremely fast-paced story, the rather overbearing incidental music and the fact that it really should have been at least half-an hour longer. That said I still had high hopes for the series and knew that the first episode was always going to be difficult to pull off, and so it would be prudent to allow it to find it's feet before launching into a debate over every little niggle. It did not help matters when the news of Christopher Eccelston's untimely departure was leaked a couple of days before the second episode aired and I found myself in a whirlwind of mixed emotions regarding the series' future and Eccelston himself. But thankfully come Saturday evening I had managed to overcome my doubts and see fit to give the show a deserved chance by attempting to judge both it and Eccelston's performance fairly, whilst not letting my expectations get too high.

I was then taken very much aback when I found myself completely enthralled by forty five minutes of truly superb television drama. I almost managed to regain the sense of child-like wonder which had now become so elusive in my rather torrid adult life. 'The End of the World' completely re-instated my faith in the series in a matter of minutes, as soon as I saw The Doctor inform Rose "Welcome to the End of the World" and Murray Gold's brilliant re-invention of the theme kicked-in, I was hooked. 

Never has Doctor Who looked so beautiful. Despite the apparent consensus that the special effects still aren't good enough, I thought they were pitch-perfect, with the opening shot of Platform 1 being just as impressive and memorable as that famous shot of the Star Destroyer looming into view in the original 'Star Wars', and let's remember this isn't Battlestar Galactica - this is Doctor Who. 

Gold's incidental music has also very much improved, with the subtle piano-led score playing perfectly alongside the lush visuals and emotionally-driven moments. 

The pacing - although still fast and exiting is also much better, allowing time for many dialogue heavy scenes to be played out in a much more thoughtful fashion and allowing the audience to have a 'breather" whilst they assimilate what's going on. 

I loved the array of intriguing new aliens on display, with the character of Cassandra being a particularly impressive creation but would liked to have seen more of The Moxx Of Balhoon and The Face of Boe, although I'm led to believe that they shall re-appear at some point later in the series. I can't wait. 

The episode was filled with poignant moments some of which I have to admit brought a lump to my throat - the scene where Jabe confronts The Doctor with his past (Beautifullly played by Eccelston and Bannerman), Rose's phone call to her mother and the ending in which The Doctor reveals a little about his troubled origins to Rose and there is a magical shared moment between the two time travellers. I finally felt like I was watching Doctor Who again. 

Both Eccelston and Piper have managed to get to grips with their characters remarkably quickly, and any doubts I had about Chris' interpretation of the role or indeed Billie's acting ability were immediately dispelled after viewing this story. 

I'm sure the episode has it's faults, but I just didn't care - Doctor Who is back! 

I heartily agree with Danny Sabres' observation that The Doctor is now more akin to Batman - being a fan of both characters I can easily see the parallels - the revelation concerning Gallifrey, somehow gives The Doctor a more interesting slant, he is a hero but like Batman there is a good reason for his choice of lifestyle, essentially it is all he has, it is his reason for being and now like Bruce Wayne, The Doctor cannot go back. 

This is his life and his curse, (the death of Jabe obviously had a profound effect on him). He's got a job to do, after all who else is there? 

By the conclusion of 'End of The World' I was entranced, and became genuinely exited at the thought of next week's thrilling adventure!, Chris may be leaving prematurely but the shows' future looks bright if the rest of the season is as assured and well-realised as this.

After the 'kitchen sink' settings of Rose, The End of the World - with its far future setting and strange alien creatures - was an ideal choice for episode 2 (if only to demonstrate the incredibly flexible format of the programme to new viewers). It was a refreshing contrast. Apart from Rose's phonecall to her mum and a visit to the chip shop, Earth only appears in The End of the World to be destroyed by the sun and the themes of death and apocalypse run right through the script from beginning to end.

The realisation of the setting, and the characters within it, was remarkable, and probably the best that Doctor Who has ever seen. In this respect it felt like a much, much better Curse of Peladon! The script was highly ambitious, however the production team pulled it off with greatness. The effects were marvellous and the 'creatures' and costumes fantastic. Of particular note was the costume of Jabe, which, with it's regal splendour, enhanced our understanding of the character. Also the realisation of the Moxx and Cassandra were wonderful. Even the little blue people were good.

It was therefore a shame that there was not enough time for more from these characters. Even the villain of the piece - the Lady Cassandra - is only on screen during the episode for about five minutes. Jabe is used well, however the Moxx of Balhoon and the Face of Boe (aside from looking very good) don't add much to the story at all (and, given that he was fried at the end of the episode, I doubt we're going to see the Moxx again). Obviously a lot of time and money had to be spent on the aliens in order to make the whole thing look effective, however it felt a little wasted and I was aching to hear something from those three intergalactic monks. Maybe another time...

Apart from it's zoo of characters, this episode may well also be remembered for it's humour. Davies's script is genuinely funny and there is a confidence and ease about the humour that has not been a part of Doctor Who since Douglas Adams's days. Not once did it detract from the serious moments of the story and we should all welcome the return of 'fun' to Doctor Who after so long. The iPod joke, Britney Spears, the Ipswich gag - these will all go down as the funniest moments in Doctor Who. Never should Doctor Who be so earnest and dull that it cannot have a laugh.

Some of the funniest lines go to Billie Piper who was again on top form (all the stuff about the Doctor and Jabe 'polinating' and being back by midnight was great). She is an incredibly effective actress and brings a wonderfully natural air to the character of Rose. This is helped of course by Davies's writing, and Rose's reaction to the aliens is so true and genuine that you begin to realise how often this aspect of the companion's character was neglected in the old series. Tucked in amongst the frenetic pacing, I really liked her quiet little scene with the plumber.

Chistopher Ecclestone's Doctor was again good - apart from a couple of duff 'comedy' moments (namely his constant grinning as the delegates were being introduced and his painful 'dancing' to music). I found his lack of compassion towards Cassandra quite shocking at first, however, on thinking further about this, I realised that it fits perfectly into the mood and theme of the episode (of which more later). However the third thing that will make this a remembered episode is the layer upon layer added to the Doctor's character. As well as learning all of the stuff about Gallifrey being destroyed in a war (I have no problems with any of this), the scene where Jabe talks to the Doctor about it is truly remarkable (for Doctor Who) and profoundly moving. Even if Ecclestone is sometimes a little too over the top at playing the fool, his 'serious' acting in that scene, and in the final moments of the episode, was wonderful. It goes to show that having such an accomplished actor in the role does pay off and it is sad that he wont be returning next year. I think that this is he first time that we have seen the Doctor shed a tear on screen - and it worked so well. His reaction to Jabe's death was also well done.

There was more of a plot here than was evident in Rose, however the limitations of the 45 minute format are beginning to show in this respect. Just as the speedy resolution to last week's plot was to throw a vial of antiplastic into the Nestene Consciousness, this week the solution was to pull a lever (albeit the scene was a lot better, with the death of Jabe and the whole shutting his eyes to walk through the rotor bit). The whodunnit theme was over so quickly. It would have been so much nicer to have just a little more time - however it wasn't too detrimental to the episode. I have high hopes for the three 2 parters.

Finally the overall feeling of the episode worked well. Its title is apt given that the themes of death, the passing of time and apocalypse were so prominent. The scene where Rose phones her 'dead' mother, the Doctor's line about "everything having its time", the destruction of Gallifrey and of Earth, the sacrifice of Jabe, the grotesquely extended lifespan of Cassandra. Nothing is constant and everything must pass in time. Underneath the jokes there was great pathos and sadness and the chip shop line at the end topped it all off magnificently.