For my review of "The End of the World," I'm going to start at the end of the story. Specifically, the Doctor's revelations that Gallifrey was destroyed in a war and that he is the last of the Time Lords. Personally, that bit of news didn't shock me, because I've been following the BBC book series and already knew that it had happened. What surprised me was that Russell Davies decided to incorporate something from the book series into the TV series. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he keeps the same details of how Gallifrey was destroyed and who did it, but he's already embraced the big picture, and I never would have expected that.

And really, I think it's a smart move. Any TV show with an ongoing storyline and an enthusiastic fan base can get tied up by its own continuity if it runs for long enough, and no show has run longer than Doctor Who. From a business perspective, if the show is going to grow a new generation of fans, it's got to do something to clear out the big back story tangle. We who have followed the show for decades may enjoy its rich history, but new viewers - especially children - aren't going to sit still for it. Those who want to know more have plenty of resources, especially those here at Outpost Gallifrey, where they can find out all they want. Those who simply want to enjoy what's on their screens now are able to do so. Meanwhile, from an artistic perspective, I can see how Russell Davies, Christopher Eccleston and the rest of the new Doctor Who team would want more of a free hand to tell their stories their way. Getting rid of Gallifrey does that for them.

Think of Gallifrey's destruction as being like a forest fire - it's terrible to see all that beautiful old growth go, but that's the only way for any new growth to take root and blossom.

(By the way, if you want to catch up on the war and Gallifrey's destruction, reading the books, "Alien Bodies," "Interference" (parts 1 and 2), "The Shadows of Avalon" and "The Ancestor Cell" will give you the essential points of the story.)

Now, on to the episode itself:

I do believe the second new Doctor Who episode spent more on special effects than the entire 26 original years of the series combined. With more CGI than the movie Gladiator (or so I'm told) and aliens galore, "The End of the World" is a visual extravaganza - just the thing to keep people watching after the initial excitement of the premiere.

And unlike a lot of other SF/F shows, there's actually some story to go with it.

Just like the premiere, we see much of "The End of the World" from the perspective of the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler. We get to see something I don't remember seeing in a previous companion - second thoughts. Rose ran into the TARDIS rather impulsively at the end of the premiere, and now she's wondering just what the heck she's gotten into. Fortunately for her, the new Doctor is cellphone-savvy, giving her the ability to call home to her mum from five billion years away (although he does warn her, "Wait 'till you see the bill.").

We get to see more sides to the Ninth Doctor, and the way he interacts not just with Rose, but with some of the aliens they meet, too. I liked Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor even more than I did last week, which in a way only made me more ticked off at him for leaving the show so quickly. We're just getting to know him, and there are already no more than a dozen of his stories left to go. We'll probably never hear him do a "past Doctor" story for Big Finish, and the BBC might not want to go on publishing books about his Doctor after he's gone. So much potential wasted. It's a shame.

The episode does have a few cheesy bits. The "last member of the human race" has some interesting taste in "classical music." (Personally, I thought it would have been funnier if the jukebox had played one of Billie Piper's old hits, but I guess Britney will do.) The space station where the story takes place has been invaded by refugees from the movie Minority Report, and in order to save the day, the Doctor has to run through these spinning fan blades that made me think of Galaxy Quest. But it's all just part of the fun. The rest of the story more than makes up for it.

So all in all, it's a fun romp with a touch of sadness, both onscreen and behind the scenes. The new Doctor Who is off to a great start. Now, bring on Charles Dickens!

This second episode of the new Doctor Who had a lot riding on it. In many ways a more important episode than Rose, this is the one that had to retain the casual viewer who watched the first episode out of curiosity, this is the episode that could actually make or break the new series; at least until the undoubted viewing figure boost of the Dalek in episode 6.

This review does contain spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the episode I would suggest you read no further.

Whilst we will have to wait a few days for the viewing figures, it seems to me that The End of The World was another very good piece of television drama and very good Doctor Who.

Christopher Eccleston has once again given us a magnificent portrayal of the Doctor, giving the character an emotional depth and range we have seldom seen before and making his departure from the role all the more a matter of regret. The infectious enthusiasm from Rose was still present, along with the infectious grin and cries of ‘fantastic’. There was also an underlying cagey anger and sadness, very ably portrayed by Eccleston, concerning the destruction of Gallifrey and the fact that he is, so far as he is aware, the last Time Lord. There is also very convincing grief and a tear (which I do not for one minute believe was added using CGI afterwards) following Jabe’s comments about his origins.

Billie Piper continues to impress as Rose and here proves conclusively what a good actress she really is; much, I suspect, to the surprise of nearly everybody. Like her co-star she convincingly conveys a wide range of emotions and I was particularly impressed with her bewilderment at the various alien races and her confusion / fear over her realisation that she had run off with an alien she knew nothing about.

As a Doctor Who tale The End of The World was superficially lightweight, but with hidden depths that are perhaps only appreciated on repeated viewing. There is comedy, to be sure, but comedy that is never overdone to the point where it becomes camp. The Moxx of Balhoun’s gift of bodily fluid had both myself and my nine-year-old daughter laughing out loud. The Steward was the perfect officious functionary to be found the universe over and his stuffiness was a further cause of amusement. The Lady Cassandra was also, initially, comical and not entirely unbelievable given the present unhealthy obsession with cosmetic surgery.

There is humour, to be sure, but there are also dark undertones; not least the murder of several members of the observation platform’s crew and visitors. Perhaps the most horrific murder is that of the plumber, a character we quickly come to identify with and become sympathetic to, only to see her die as she tries to do her job. The death of the steward affects the viewer less, perhaps because he is an almost entirely unsympathetic character, but his death does serve to illustrate the fate awaiting Rose immediately and, subsequently, the rest of the observation platforms temporary inhabitants should the Doctor fail.

The death that affected myself, and those watching with me, the most was that of Jabe. Somehow I expected that she would survive, that her heroism deserved reward and her death brought genuine feelings of sadness and regret. It was a truly poignant moment in the new series and one that left a lasting impression.

Even darker, perhaps, than the immediate deaths are the revelations about Gallifrey, though the planet is never actually named. The Doctor’s anguish at the destruction of his home planet and the deaths of his fellow Gallifreyans is clear; indeed it is obvious at the end of The End of The World that the Doctor has taken Rose to see the end of her planet so that she can understand how he feels about the end of his world. So that she can understand him, a little better and thus to strengthen the bond between them.

One controversial aspect of The End of The World has been the death of Cassandra, with some even suggesting that the Doctor is guilty of murder. Personally I think that this is going too far. The only way that the Doctor could ensure that Cassandra was brought to justice was to reverse the transmit device. He may not have realised her skin would dry out as quickly as it did. True, he made no move to help her, but a failure to act to preserve life does not equate with murder, at least as it is currently defined by British law.

Was The End of The World one of the best Doctor Who stories ever made? Possibly not, but it was great family entertainment and promised much for the rest of this first season of new Doctor Who.

There are no expletives in existence which could accurately tell you how sad I was to hear Christopher Eccleston would not be continuing and so I watched this episode with some forlorness. (I mean, would one more season really be that bad? He's already typecast - as a moany northerner!) However, I shall put this behind me as I come to review what was a vast improvement plot-wise and in suspense terms from 'Rose'. While 'Rose' was enjoyable and fast-paced, this episode is more gently paced giving the viewer time to breathe.

Its main strengths were the very human aspects of the show. Rose's freaking out about being in a room full of aliens was inspired. That is how we would all react. Companions in the past have landed on planets, and when they've met an alien they usually act as though they lived with aliens all their lives! That was very enjoyable - shows Russell T Davies knows us human beings so well. The argument between Rose and the Doctor was skillfully done and I really loved the 'designated driver' line. Rose's call to her mother also emphasised that even though she was light years away from Earth, she was still one of us. And the scene at the end, when she takes a look at the Earth as she knows it - full of people, talking, walking, eating was arguably more spine-tingling than the "spinning through time" piece in 'Rose'. That was probably my favourite part in the whole episode. It brought home the series' message; the planet won't be here forever, so let's make the most of life. Brilliant. And I've had many a time when I've confessed to a girl that I've "no money" in the same nonchalant way as the Doctor did. However, is he the only Time Lord left? What about the Master? The Rani? Will they be making an appearance? The Physic ID was a neat little idea too - very Doctor Who.

The plot of the story was simple enough for kids to understand and a nice laugh for adults. It was certainly more suspenseful and there was more of a build-up to a climax. Watching the end of the world was a clever plot-line and without cliches, although there were some general nods to 'The Curse of Peladon'. Cassandra was a delightfully horrid villain and I was one with the Doctor in allowing her to splat her thin remains across the room. I did feel sorry for the Moxx of Balhoon though. Poor dear. The Doctor's "bristling with ideas" scene was brilliantly straight to the point and a competent denouement to the episode. You really were rooting for the Doc there and happy to be in his company. Jabe the Tree was gorgeous although the scene where she lights on fire could have been quite harrowing for kids watching at that particular time.

So what did I dislike? Well, there was nothing I really disliked specifically. I just think, so far, we haven't seen many modern classics. (By classics, I would be refering to the top 20 Who stories of the past as voted in the last DWM poll) I've certainly enjoyed the last two episodes but they're more on the scale of adventures you're not realy bothered with, but have to own on video/DVD all the same. 'The Curse of Peladon' is a good example of one of these type of stories. While being witty and suspenseful, I doubt there will be many having nightmares after watching this episode. 

I'm beginning to think that Russell T Davies knows strong characters and emotional plots but doesn't know good science fiction/fantasy all that well. However, I'm still enjoying myself and we are only two episodes into a long run so I shall hopefully be eating my words! It was just something that crossed my mind. The next episode, written by someone other than RTD, looks very good and I cannot wait for Steven Moffat's Blitz story!!!

*Phew* that's more like it. And it was the first time I had heard the words 'iPod' and 'prostitute' uttered in an episode of Doctor Who. 

I've spent the best part of last week since the debut of 'Rose' trying to work out one thing. Did I really like it? A friend asked me on the phone the other day which I preferred, 'Rose' or the TV movie of 1996, and do you know what? I couldn't answer, I think I replied with something along the lines of 'I liked the TV movie's epic grandeur, but thought the new show had the humour that was missing from the US version', although if I was being honest, I would say that 1996's TV movie had the slight upper hand, after all, at least it took its source material seriously, in a way that 'Rose' failed to. Believe me, I've attacked the TV Movie in my time and I won't mince my criticisms. I was even attacking 'Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace' long before it became trendy to do so. It’s just that there was something just not right about 'Rose'. The whole time it had felt like I was watching set of actors in a parody of a sci fi show against a backdrop that was straight out of 'Eastenders'. I so badly wanted to like the new 'Who', yet I had this horrible nagging feeling that soon I would be joining in chants of "Russell T Davies raped my childhood". However, once 'The End of the World' had finished I was almost in tears, and not only at the highly charged emotional ending. It was like an old friend who I had believed I would never see again really was back.

I won't resummarise the plot, many others will have no doubt done that before me, but to me, this is the series as I remember it, and yet feeling new and refreshed in a way that it so desperately needed towards the end of its original tenure. It wasn't perfect. The aliens still looked like men in suits and there was still the taste of the cheesy humour that was the downfall of 'Rose' (The Tardis gets a parking ticket!?!).

However, the creature effects were up to Henson standards and looked far more authentic than the CGI aliens that fill other series. And so what if the blue steward and his crew looked like men in blue face paint, the actors took their roles seriously enough that we soon forgot that was what they were. And yet whilst the pace was still lightening fast there were moments where everything slowed down and we got to learn far more about the characters. The likes of the attendant/plumber that Rose befriends were not shabbily acted comedy grotesques like Rose's mother, but fully rounded (or flattened in Cassandra's case) creations. Not to say that a few of the supporting aliens could have been given more screen time, but such are the limitations if a 45 minute format, as others have pointed out elsewhere. The biting satire that was always present in the old series was back, with tirades against racism, the hypocrisy of the class system, and the materialistic modern culture of obsessive self-improvement. The CGI was impressive and put to perhaps its best use on the exterior space shots (although I do have to say that as a drinking pal of mine works for The Mill's CGI team and he gave me a lift to the station a few months back!).

To be honest, the announcement about Christopher Eccleston's resignation hardly affected me last Thursday. I cared little for his overacting in 'Rose' and I had theorised before last week's announcement that such a noted actor wouldn't commit to a long running series anyway. Yet this week I had my heart in my throat as Doctor number nine recounted the loss of his home world and I felt his sadness at Jabe's demise. As we learn more about this Doctor's recent past we can theorise more about why he is so different from his past incarnations. This is a man carrying the scars of war and the loss that conflict brings. This Doctor has more in common with Ron Kovic from 'Born on the Fourth of July' than any of his eccentric predecessors. Note his militaristic haircut and his dulled down 'uniform' look, lacking any extravagance. Why dress up when everyone you cared for is no more, and there is nothing to dress up for? Note also his cold-blooded willingness to let Cassandra die. No wonder his Tardis is just a patchwork of used 'found' parts if he can no longer return to Gallifrey to repair it. Yes, there was still a playfulness to Eccleston's Doctor, but it was kept in better check than his constant over-comedic acting in 'Rose'. If anything this Doctor's over-reliance on humour is only an antidote to the sorrow he hides within himself, sorrow he cannot even discuss with his companion. 

Of course, the destruction of Gallifrey (assuming this is still the same continuity as the original series) opens up a whole host of plot possibilities, and with last weeks select revelations about a mysterious war hints that we might be getting that all to common of threads found in a modern Sci fi TV show - a story arc. There will no doubt be hardcore fans who will spit upon Davies for taking such bold steps to shake up continuity, but if the series is going to grow and change it needs to shaken by its roots by revelations like this. Somehow Gallifrey's destruction makes sense; everything has to eventually have an end. After all, what the Star Wars saga be without the fall of the Jedi Knights, or the Norse myths be without the coming of Ragnarok? So who were the other combatants in this war? Did they perchance look like a set of marauding pepper pots? Did the Master survive Gallifrey's destruction, and if so, which side did he fight on during the war? How would being the only two surviving Timelords change the dynamic between the Doctor and the Master in any future confrontations? Aren't these just the sort of questions we fans like to waste our time dreaming about? 

'The End of the World' was easily the best 45 minutes I've had in recent times. I only wish that 'The End of the World' and 'Rose' had been edited into one ninety-minute pilot so that the likes of the Sci Fi Channel (and those who failed to tune in after seeing 'Rose' last week) could see what they were missing. Despite the sadness of the tone at the end of ‘The End of the World’, that in time everything dies, the Doctor reminds us to cherish the life that we do have. I felt like a part of me had been restored, but most important of all, I couldn't wait to see the next episode, which was always my reaction at the end of an episode of the old series. And that my friends is what it should all be about.

There is genius at work here. A trip of a lifetime was promised. So far it is proving to be just that. People search for deep meaning in Doctor Who. Ardent fans will argue its rich moralistic exposure of society. Occasionally that was there - but rarely and not as deviously and cleverly as it is now unfolding.

The End of the World in its perfection is merely an outer layer constructed to be stripped away only to tease us that an exceptional story arc is developing. It is that which is the trip. Who is taking us on that trip? The Doctor, ostensibly. Certainly Eccleston in the space of less than an hour of screen time has proven himself to be the Doctor and has now set the standard that must be matched and bettered by those who may follow. Confirmation of Chris' departure has only elevated the sense that something special is happening here. Something only this special show could achieve. The isolation, vulnerability, loneliness and emotional instability and sometime coldness of his portrayal of the character are only enhanced and conveyed by our knowledge that we are getting to know someone at the same time as acclimatising ourselves to his departure. For a show that has the anachronistic twists of time travel at its core, isn't this just so perfectly apt?

Yet whilst it is Eccleston who pilots the Tardis, it is Russell T Davies who charts its course. I never expected that course to be so emotionally charged. It is Russell who is steering that trip. He's seeding clues and building new layers. First - the war. Then the war "We lost." Then the nameless enemy who won that war. My guess is that they are not mentioned at this time because they too are being re-invented. I guess that the dangerous species that is so unspeakably evil and mighty enough to defeat the Lords of time will be revealed as merciless soldiers bred to follow orders whose only function is to kill. But we are three episodes away from their reinvention as self-sufficient darkness that have thrived, strengthened and no longer need to seek out their father to solve their inner woes. That's just my second guessing. But only writing that is this engaging incites the brain to guess ahead. When was the last time science fiction did that for you?

Has anyone noticed - even this early - the prevalent undercurrent theme of the natural course? The Doctor would not leap in to save something - our earth - that has spent its purpose and had its time. Just as he would not "moisturise" Cassandra who had outstayed her time. Yet he intervened against the Nestene Consciousness to save the apes who had only just started to walk. Yet, Gallifrey, he reflects; "Went before its time." This Doctor is up to something. He has a plan. Rose is being tested by association. Is she the assistant who might help him put right something that should not have happened? Can this Doctor step into the time vortex, perhaps walk out of the Tardis Doors in flight, leaving Rose in charge of the Tardis so that he can interfere and change his own timeline to prevent defeat in that war and save a planet that "went before its time?" 

I feel that Russell is doing something possibly thought impossible. He is creating a new show whilst cleverly, deviously and subtly honouring its rich past and continuity without allowing it to drown in the minutiae of such detail that marked the latter Nathan-Turner years. Russell is breathing life and regenerating the whole idea of Doctor Who and he has made us excited and proud and emotionally involved in a way few of us have felt for any work of fiction since we first watched Doctor Who as children. Tears rolled from my eyes during the End of the World taking me back to the last scenes of Planet of the Spiders and Logopolis. But for which world was I more emotionally upset at its passing - the Earth or Gallifrey? And which world now - at 37 - do I want to Doctor to step in and save?

There is magic at play here. Russell is frantically pumping that bicycle pump. He is making me feel 7 years old again. He has rolled away 30 years of emotional hardness. Today I read on the BBC news website that drinking milk might cause Parkinson's disease for middle-aged men ... “Beef or eggs or global warming?” Say no more. I remember when the future was not all doom and gloom. This show, in two episodes, has reminded me that it is still possible to view the world with excited eyes that show the horizon as not the end of what your vision can perceive but only the first point in the distance from which you can see even more ...

I may be reading into it something far too deep. But who cares ... I am excited. In a negative world isn't it nice to have 45 minutes of escape and hope?

What’s certain by this stage is that Russell T Davies’ Doctor Who is intended for the Harry Potter generation. What with the wheelie bin episode last week, and the campy munchkin theme that plays over our introduction to the ‘little blue men’, it’s evident that this is a universe that has aspirations towards being cute as well as scary, funny, dramatic and all those other buzzwords we’ve been fed in recent months. Of course, Harry Potter is all of these things, but what the music seems to be saying is, ‘Yeah, yeah, there’s blue men in it – it’s science fiction – but Harry Potter’s a bit silly too, and you like that, don’t you? Go on, it’s ironic. They’re cute!’ Doctor Who isn’t really about irony. It’s about wit, and the music has none. It shouldn’t dominate and intrude like this.

Perhaps we can just ‘blame’ Murray Gold for the score, and move on, because ‘The End of the World’ had much to recommend.

The Doctor, I’m starting to realise, has problems. I love those old articles in Doctor Who Magazine where each Doctor gets a bit of amateur psychoanalysis. Pertwee, we find, is going through a mid-life crisis. Tom is actually mad, and tells lies. Davison is an old man in a young man’s body, hence his difficulties at being ‘the Doctor’. With Eccleston, it’s clear something’s gone terribly wrong. He shouts at Rose when she asks about his past, and has no compassion for the soon-to-explode Cassandra. It seems he’s trying hard to become what the Doctor he once was, but his past – the war – makes this near-impossible. He’s the last Time Lord now (perhaps with some exceptions), and he’s got nothing to rebel against. This is the loneliest we’ve ever seen him, and his attitude’s starting to undercut the flighty stories he’s strolling through. He’s also the most human Doctor we’ve had.

It’s only the second episode, and Rose is already my favourite character. It’s such a surprising performance from Billie Piper, full of wonderful choices that seem at once to break the rules and to be genuinely instinctive. Either Russell T Davies has been highly specific in his scripts, or she’s a great actress. I’m surprising myself here, and I was one of her defenders. Rose doesn’t know what she wants, but she’s the first companion to really notice this, and actually have an attitude to the universe that’s believably ambiguous.

The story this week was almost as slight as last time, but the jokes were (mostly) good ones, and the characters didn’t suffer too badly from the inevitable economy of the writing. The Moxx of Balhoon was fantastically irrelevant, but at least he was an interesting colour, since colour was the only real purpose of most of the creatures on Platform One. The ‘moments of tension’, like last week, were somewhat forced and unsubtle, but they made character stuff possible, and gave it some sense of importance. It’s like he’s in communion with the Holy Spirit when the Doctor steps through the third fan, but it’s probably that he has some psychic connection with time, partially lost with Gallifrey. Euros Lynn handles this beautifully; it would have been less good with Keith Boak’s frenetic sound-and-fury approach to direction last week.

Moral problems and emotional issues that look set to stretch forward into the rest of the series are already starting to creep in, but for the most part ‘The End of the World’ was crazy fun, with some spectacular special effects. The death of the Earth even had some drama invested in its visuals. The story was almost weird, if not for the almost-irritating score. And I suspect only Russell T Davies could get away with ending the world to the sound of Britney Spears. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.