There haven’t been many episodes this year that I feel would have slotted into the old series very comfortably and this is primarily due to the essential elements that have been crucial to making the new series such a success. The soap opera-ish elements, the fast pace, the kinder budget…had the End of the World been made during JNTs reign I suspect we would be horrified at how embarrassingly cheap and camp it is. The only episode I would happily shift back would be The Unquiet Dead as it was clearly written by a man who wanted to bridge the old and new series with his favourite genre from the Doctor Who’s hey day, the pseudo historical. Well now we have a second episode which I feel encapsulates everything I personally love about the old series, strong witty dialogue, good character interaction, a sense of romance about science-fiction, a fascinating setting and scenes that just would not appear in any other series. And despite all this it also includes so much of what makes RTDs Doctor Who so wonderful too, the sexual tension, amazing effects and the sense of realism that sells the story to you.

This has been my favourite episode of the year so far and I’m glad it came along when it did. After feeling disappointed with Dalek, bored by The Long Game and pissed off with Father’s Day this was something to really sit back and enjoy. I cheered, I whooped, I laughed and I hide behind a pillow…I haven’t enjoyed anything on TV this much since World War Three.

I’d like to get my superficiality out of the way first and talk about Captain Jack. What a babe. Is it just me or is there something extremely attractive about a handsome rogue? John Barrowman plays the right exactly right, charming his way into Rose’s good books so he can pull the wool over her eyes and con her out of a lot of money. Whilst I understand there is some controversy over Jack being bisexual (it’s the end of civilisation as we know it!) and suggesting that RTD has some kind of agenda (hmm, I believe there are some bisexual people about but we cannot possibly have them in Doctor Who because it’s making a statement! Which of course having a straight companion who has a black boyfriend is not! So there!) what I think people should be more worried about is his wedging between the Doctor and Rose. She is clearly head over heels infatuated with Jack and I forsee some glorious tension between the three of them ahead. But for now this dashing, quick witted criminal is a fine innovation for the series, the primary difference between a male lead that does not work (the gorgeous Bruno Langley) and one that does (the gorgeous John Barrowman) is that Barrowman gets to play somebody with an engaging character and a purpose. I know who I feel in love with!

Jack brings out a side in Rose that we have never seen before, that giggling girlie we always try to surpress but unleash when somebody charismatic and charming starts chasing you. And while I can see why the producers would want to make Rose a strong, sensible woman and they have certainly spent enough time dealing with the complexities of being a time traveller AND a daughter/girlfriend but it is now time to let her have some fun. Billie Piper captured my reaction to this episode perfectly in Rose, whipped up in the giddying sights of blitzed out London, swept off her feet by a charming conman, showing a newfound sense of confidence against the Doctor…she really has come into her own. Her scenes outside Big Ben are fantastic, not just because it is audaciously imaginative of itself but because we can see Rose growing up and enjoying her adventures. When Jack lit up Big Ben (probably not the greatest idea in an air raid mate!) I was clapping but playing Glen Miller whilst negotiating and dancing in front of the clock face with German planes whooshing around was inspirational. Could any other series have the confidence and style to even attempt this?

There was a wonderful noir-ish sense to the direction of this episode which helped give it another mask and the return of some graphic imagery in Doctor Who is long overdue. The Autons were not as scary as they once were, the corpses in The Unquiet Dead were counter pointed by some ridiculous characters, the Reapers got on my nerves (because they weren’t adequately explained)…what we need was some truly horrific monsters to get those bed sheets soaked again! And the sight of gas masked victims of the war closing in on the Doctor, Rose and Jack certainly qualifies as some of the freakiest imagery in the series. It is that sense of the unknown again and the loss of any recognisable features, like the mummies and the robots from Tom Baker’s era, these blank staring masks contain something evil and mysterious beneath them that sends the shivers up the spine. Plus capitalising on the Poltergeist horror of the scary child was a stroke of genius, and the constant, begging “Muum-mmmy” emanating from the masks was very scary indeed. You should also take into consideration how well filmed these masked people were, shots such as the tilted close up on the gas masked shadow outside the front door or the close up on eyes of the mask at the climax with no features beneath it, and you have the first successfully shit your pants scary monsters in the new series. And I am glad they took the skull cracking sound effect away from Dr Constantine’s terrifying morph into a gas mask, thanks to the incredible performance by Richard Wilson and the flawless special effects, it was already disturbing beyond belief. The kids must have been terrified!

Talking of the special effects I have to congratulate the Mill for their excellent work in this episode. I have been reading threads of people moaning about how fake war torn London looked in this episode but I have to disagree, for the amount of time and money the FX team have they have done an incredible job of realising the Blitz with a sense of scale and spectacle. Because there is such a sense of romance and excitement to the scenes where Rose is hanging from the balloon I could swallow some blurry matte paintings because it was all so ridiculously entertaining and the bangs and flashes, planes shooting past and dizzying sense of height generated by the special effects only heightened the breathlessness of it all. Perhaps the series should not be glamourising the War so much but when a setting is as vivid and rich as this I shant complain. Thanks to some stunning period detail (including musical numbers which sweep you back to the 1940’s effortlessly), convincing performances and excellent dialogue (“Don’t you eat!” one man cries at the German planes as the they soar overhead at tea time!) I was no longer in 2005 watching the telly but afforded a visit into wartime London.

It was how the episode switched tone so invisibly that reminded me of Buffy during at its peak; how one scene can scare the hell out of you (the POV through the gas mask watching the homeless kids on the street) and next can warm your heart (Nancy feeding the children on stolen food and still reminding them of their manners) and the next a gob smacking visual stomach-flop (Rose standing atop an invisible spaceship in the middle of an air raid). Not only does this keep the episode interesting but it shows what a fascinating mix of genres it can cope with, not just in one series but one episode.

Steven Moffatt should be very proud of this script which is full to bursting with excellent dialogue, the quality of which (ie making me laugh and gasp!) I haven’t heard since World War Three. He allows the Doctor much more Doctor-ish lines than ever before I genuinely got the sense that this was the real ninth Doctor, the one who followed all the others. His chat with the cat in the alley was cute (Hasn’t every Doctor had one of these moments? Despairing at the ability of his companion to wander off!) and there were numerous wonderful scenes with Nancy (especially his romantic summary of the British resistance to German oppression) and his quick fire dialogue with Rose has rarely been better (“Are you sure about that T-shirt?”). Jack and Nancy are afforded real personalities and engaged me immediately and even Dr Constantine, who is barely in two scenes, emerges a strong, sinister character.

However this is still part one of two which is both a curse and a blessing. Everything is fairly frightening at the moment because all we have is the empty child wandering the streets infecting people without an explanation to spoil the mysteriousness of it. Next week will have to try even harder to give me the willies as I fear there may be some disappointing scientific explanation behind everything. This episode definitely has the ‘first episode’ feel that the old series used to capitalise on, without having to please the viewer with answer it can concentrate on setting the scene and going BOO! And with scenes as in your face scary as the gas masked victim jumping up at Rose and the toy monkey coming to life, it succeeds admirably.

Brilliant direction, writing and performances (isn’t Christopher Eccleston’s comedian moment at the microphone wonderful?), this is sharp telly and no mistake. It is episodes like this we will be pointing at in the future when we talk about Doctor Who being re-invented with a BANG!

As I told a good friend, almost orgasmically good.

Another incredible episode,right up there with the Unquiet Dead and Dalek and yet again I am saying this about a non RTD scripted one.I can only hope that the second part(which has possibly the poorest title for a story in the show's history) lives up to the promise created by this.

From the moment the Doctor wandered in to admire the singer,detracting him briefly from his task,I felt we were on to a winner: the period atmosphere created seemed perfect,with not a hint of political correctness as people were seen doing what most adults did in 1941- smoke cigarettes!And pretty soon a wonderful contrast was created: the Doctor right in the thick of it,caught up like a detective in a maze of mystery and darkness in wartime London,encountering phones that ring when they shouldn't,a spooky child in what at first seems a bog standard gas mask but is actually something far more chilling,and a girl who clearly knows more than she's letting on.....and then there's Rose,starring in her own mock Hollywood romance,less swept off her feet than swept from the sky,drinking champagne and flirting with Captain Jack amidst a backdrop of bangs and flashes.Splendid stuff.

Many older/long term viewers will have cringed at Rose's accusation that Captain Jack is "coming on to her" but whatever embarrassment they may have felt was hopefully quickly dispelled by Jack asking Rose if she liked Glenn Miller,whereupon the two share a romantic dance.

Christopher Eccleston was at his most impressive as the Doctor here- serious,inquisitive,with only a few well judged jokes.What with Rose's T shirt and the Doctor's speech about little England standing up,alone for a while,against the menace of nazism,why we had semi-patriotism here too....something for everyone.

A great cameo from Richard Wilson and one of the most horrifying transformations in the show's history as the plague virus finally consumes his face.Also the empty child's sister Nancy is very convincing.

Very sad that initial findings seem to show that such a great episode lost about a million viewers due to the schedule change and maybe the ITV competition.

‘An Empty Child’ is the best episode of the new series so far in my opinion. Why? Firstly it is probably the best written story so far, just shading it over ‘Dalek’, with good dialogue, a plot that is easy to follow, but does not feel too rushed the way a few of the one-parters have. Stephen Moffat has also managed to create a genuinely scary and suspenseful story without relying on an old monster. The TARDIS phoning ringing, the child’s creepy ‘are you my mummy’, a face turning into a gas mask, and a cliff hanger with zombies- this episode had it all.

Also excellent was the design, form Jack’s fantastic spaceship to the really authentic looking period locations and the creepy black-out streets which give the story a wonderful feel. The special effects were also of a good standard, although at times perhaps there was two much C.G.I.

On the acting front high marks for everyone, especially Eccleston, who gave one of his best performances, particularly in his scenes with Nancy and in Albion Hospital with Constantine. John Barrowman also impressed on his debut, while Billie Piper again showed that fans were wrong to be concerned about her casting. Richard Wilson was also good, although his screen time was a little shorter than I would have liked.

I for one cannot wait for part two!

Well, this is the episode that really delivered the goods for me. The mystery ridden Empty Child marks a return to classic Who and contained at least two scenes that will remain forever with the viewer.

The Empty Child sizzled from the start and ensured that the viewer was kept on the edge of his or her seat as the drama unravelled. The point-of-view shots from the ghostly child of the title proved unsettling and the figure's appearance in various scenes were used to great effect.

The skybound scenes of peril with Rose were extremely well executed, with the boys from The Mill producing a visually stunning recreation of the blitz from their electronic box of tricks.

Richard Wilson's unfortunate demise as Doctor Constantine will become forever known as "the gas-mask scene" - possibly the most bizarre "death" scene yet witnessed on Doctor Who, guaranteed to send the adults scurrying behind their settees, never mind the children.

Solid performances from all cast members, particularly John Barrowman as Jack Harness, a stonking great script from Steven Moffat, and fluid direction by James Hawes resulting in 45 minutes of pure television bliss.

Finishing with a rivetting cliffhanger which brought back memories of many Italian zombie movies, The Empty Child proved a stunning return to the haunting '70s earthbound tales and left me gasping for more.

This is the Doctor Who episode I have been waiting for since ( I could say it all began, but I was only born in 1967) I remember watching it. For all the time periods that the Doctor has visited, he has never dealt with any machinations of the Second World War. The nearest he has come to it is in The War Games but that was WWI and soldiers transported no another period and Curse of Fenric but that was set after.

And as far as I am concerned the best "ghost" stories have elements of WWII in them, saying that only Sapphire & Steel's 100 part Second Adventure (actually it was eight, but t seemed it went on forever) springs to mind. So this story already had a heads up in my view. And it didn't disappoint.

The precredit sequence was one of the better of the series. I have find these to be hit and miss affairs. Just another nod to the theme tune which I love (another request for a fast release on CD)

The Doctor and Rose land and it's straight into the adventure. The chills start almost immediately with the "child" constantly calling "Mummy" and the incidental music assisting. I've already got chills up my spine and I'm 38 and it's daylight at 6.30pm. Rose finds a rope and is pulled up into what HAS to be the best special effect sequence (ever -- well, bar Star Wars episode III opening battle) These scenes of the blitz surpass anything I have seen in Pearl Harbor and the like. Already Rose is in peril and the clever thing in this opening escapade is that what I expected to be the cliffhanger of the story (Rose falling from the rope) was handled in the first 20 minutes.

Her eventual rescue by Captain Jack is great with her doe-eyed look and fainting pure comedy. In fact there is quite a lot of comic moments in this episode considering the very dark and sinister nature of the plot with a special note to the most unforced "Doctor Who?" line in the whole Who history. Going back to Captain Jack, which I could again and again. His bisexual tendencies have been mentioned in the media and I initially thought this might be unnecessary overkill on a theme (there have been frequent gay references through the new series so far) the throwaway line was quite minimal and funny too. In the event I hope this thread is continued.

The child actors were superb; again, British kids can perform creepy better than anyone. The child stalking the city was just plain shit-scary even just with his hand through the letterbox. Richard Wilson as the "other" doctor had limited screen time and I hope there is more of him next week but he certainly commanded his brief scenes. However, this is Chris Eccleston's best performance to date, eerily subdued but again with a huge amount of humour coming across very "human". Billie Piper again has her best role in this "Hello, Hello" - faint "Doctor Who?" etc.

As mentioned the effects were outstanding and it's a long time that I have found a cgi/special effect to send shivers up my spine. That happened during Doctor Constantine's transformation. But as I said before, it's got that WWII ghost story/gas mask voices in the air creepiness that I adore.

Finally I was really happy that they had abandoned the trailer of the next episode as I don't think they should be part of two episode stories (it was on after the end credits, but my tape switched to Confidential before it finished so I didn't see it). hopefully this will be lost altogether for cliffhangers.

Stephen Moffat shoots to the top of my list with this story and although I agree the "guest writers" have written the better stories, those badmouthing RTD should take a step back and take note that his stories are just as good and I'm sure he has had the most input in the story arc which I find the most interesting. With respect to the other producers and heads of BBC, he brought Doctor Who back successfully to our screens.

So, Empty Child heads my list beating The Unquiet Dead (finally off top spot), Father's Day, Dalek, The Long Game (purely for Simon Pegg's performance), Rose, AoL/WWIII and The End of the World.

To put my review in context I need to give you some background to my Doctor Who past.

I am in my late thirties and grew up as a kid watching Doctor Who. When I was nine my family relocated to darkest Africa, this meant that my TV knowledge of Doctor Who ended during the Tom Baker era. He was my fave doctor followed by Pertwee.

In the absence of the TV show in Nigeria, I read a few novels but not many. Hence my knowledge of Dr. Who while not insignificant is nowhere near geek level.

With this in mind when I moved back to England, I tried to watch episodes of the Doctor that I had missed but could not help but find it cheesy and very unscary!

But I was among the people who eagerly awaited the launch of this new series. The first episode left me a bit cold and so did the next two.

I decided that I will watch it for a couple more and if it does not improve I'd jack it in.

Well along came the episode "Dalek" which I liked and decided to stay for a few more, then we got "Father's Day" which in my opinion is the best episode so far and is a classic in the making.

Now "Empty Child" had a tough act to follow but guess what? It is a good gripping yarn.

There is always something chilling about kids acting strange. And in this episode the image of a kid with a gas mark walking around continually asking if you are it's mum, was as scary as the cybermen (they scared me the most as a kid).

In this episode we are introduced to the concepts of time agents, which is a new one to me but may be something others are aware of and which I missed.

The acting in this episode is of great quality and Richard Wilson's (good ol' Victor Meldrew) portrayal of an undersiege medical Doctor was top class.

The thing I like about this new series of Doctor Who is that it has a unique British feel to it, the manifestation of the symptoms of the disease on it's victims was something I'd only expect from an Brit's mind, it was twisted!

The whole idea of how Rose gets picked up by a blimp and just happens to be spotted by the time agent I found a bit implausible. And is it me but does Rose seem to get smitten quite often? I mean I know that Mikey is a bit of a wet blanket but he hasn't been offically dumped yet has he?

I liked though the idea of the time travelling con artist and how he tried to sting the Doctor but surely as a time traveller money shouldn't really be a problem should it.

Another good touch was how Rose vocalised the fact that the Doctor does not act in the manner of most american Sci-fi characters with thier scans and more stereotypical ways and she finds the conman more comforting when he acts more like Spock.

This is a two parter and I found it gripping enough to make me eager to watch the concluding part.