I have come to several conclusions about the new series. Firstly the two part stories are just going to disappoint. The Empty Child closely follows Aliens of London in being disappointingly bad despite the amount of potential it has. Both episodes had so much dramatic potential within the original idea for them but somewhere along the way it all becomes lost. The drama and possible tension, and scare factor, is replaced by needless humour, poorly scripted sequences, one dimensional characters and even worse characters who show some signs of being interesting are killed off or just written off.

My second conclusion is that Christopher Eccleston will constantly revert to the smiling idiot of earlier episodes, as scripted by Russell T.Davies, at every opportunity possible. Instead of showing some diversity in his performance and displaying emotions relevant to the situation he decides, instead (and probably at the request of Davies) to approach every scene with a great big grin smacked across his face. Why? It totally ruins the scene. When he could be curious, interested, worried, concerned and create a really good scene he instead decides to ruin it all by grinning. It’s totally annoying, childish and makes me feel that everyone involved with the production of this series clearly feels that this is a children’s show instead of a family show. It all strikes of dumbing down and approaching it all smiling, like those constantly smiling children’s television presenters, so the little kiddies don’t get frightened! I’m sorry but its what you tune in for, isn’t it?

And that leads me onto another point. Apparently cuts have been made to this episode as producers felt it was just too horrible and scary for young viewers. Well there wasn’t anything scary. Nothing. It was all ruined by a lame script, duff performances and awful special effects. Anything that may have been remotely scary now comes across as cringe television. We were promised a scary episode and I feel utterly let down, again. But will the second part, as with Aliens of London/World War Three, manage to turn things around?

Yet more criticisms I’m afraid. Dreadful, awful, terrible, cringe-worthy special effects. There was nothing remotely good about them. They looked totally fake and computer generated, they just didn’t feel real at all. In every review I’ve done so far I’ve moaned about the lack of believable special effects and so my rant continues. If you are going to do an episode that heavily relies on special effects, and this one did in the air-raid sequences, then the effects have to look real. You’re audience has to believe them otherwise they won’t engage, or believe, in what’s happening. Now at this point people will moan about budget restraints. Well Battlestar Galactica manages to have excellent, and believable (!), special effects on a very limited budget, so why can’t Doctor Who? And as I’ve said before if you can’t have good special effects, as the new series quiet clearly can’t, then have episodes which are driven by storylines/plots and will carry much better on screen than those heavily reliant on showing the special effects which producers seem to think are brilliant. I really do think that the new series needs to return to Doctor Who’s grass routes of episodes focused on the plot, but that’s just my opinion.

The script in this episode was bad throughout, there were one or two good bits, but for the main part it was dreadful. The flirting sequences between Jack & Rose were extremely cringe-worthy. What was the write thinking off? Surely he could have come up with better scenes than that? However, Jack briefly flirting with the RAF person was quite good. The Doctor moaning to the cat about companions who wonder off was good and Nancy was good, though that actually maybe because the actresses manages to turn a awful script into a good performance. Jack is a good character but suffers from poor scripting. The episode it self once again has too much humour, or maybe just bad jokes. “What am I going to arrest you for, starving?”. A terrible, childish joke which one expects to see in a CBBC drama not a Saturday night family show.

How long did that air raid last for? Surely air raids didn’t last that long? If they did then the bombers must have come in waves of attack instead of the continuous attack that seemed to be happening on screen. The attack seemed to last for a long time and one’s left wondering what had happened to the RAF. Why weren’t they defending London? It just seemed ludicrous that the Germans would launch a raid lasting that long because A) Fuel would be limited B) It’s night time so poor vision would be a problem C) British Fighters would have more time to attack and destroy the enemy.

Richard Willson is good as Doctor Constaine but he’s killed off too early. Why couldn’t he have survived into the second part? What’s the point of killing off a character played by a talented actor after only minutes of screen time. He seemed a very promising character but instead the writer just kills him off.

However, the war time setting is a good one but I think that it would have benefited from a better storyline, or just a better script. The idea of Time Agents protecting and guarding time after the destruction of the Time Lords is an interesting concept. Hardly original though, is it? Didn’t the books set up a similar scenario after they wiped out Gallifrey. It slightly feels that the series are taking events that happened in the books and then using them in the television series, claiming their original ideas, because so few have read the books. Seeing as the books have continued Doctor Who during the many years it spend in the wilderness I think a little more respect should be given to the book range.

Captain Jack looks set to be an interesting and dynamic edition to the Tardis crew, if he gets better scripts, and hopefully his bisexuality won’t be ignored. It’s the first time Doctor Who has tackled sexuality and I hope they don’t back out from fear of critics and the Mary Whitehouse’s (RIP) cronies who watch the airwaves and complain about anything that doesn’t conform to their rather narrow-minded view of life.

Marks out of 10? On first viewing it has to be 4/10.

How many kids on Monday morning are going to wander round the playground at school saying "Mummy!" Time to get back behind the sofa kids! The Empty Child was billed as the most horrific episode of Doctor Who ever. A genuine sense of fear and foreboding permeated this episode, with a bizarre almost X-Files like plot. Plus we get a new male companion.

After the rather ineffectual Adric, sorry Adam, we get Captain Jack Harkness: Part space hero, part flash git! John Barrowman certainly has the matinee idol looks and charm, so much so I started to feel jealous of him snuggling up to Billie Piper! Nice work if you can get it John! Seriously though, Jack is a character who could’ve easily been unlikeable and annoying as Adam turned into. The difference is we’re are invited not to trust Jack right from the start. Knowing that he’s in for the rest of the season (and beyond?) its reassuring that Barrowman plays the part well and makes him likeable and more textured than the usual bad-boy-turned-good stereotype.

Florence Hoath as Nancy played yet another strong and believable female character. With her character acting as a surrogate mother to homeless kids on the streets of London, I'm guessing she’s been named after Nancy in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist? The scenes between her and The Doctor were touching and very well played. Richard Wilson was superb as Dr Constatine. Never once did I think he was going to lapse into Victor Meldrew and go "I don’t believe it!" I can’t believe he was only in it for about five minutes, but nevertheless his performance was sinister, sympathetic and tragic. And as for his extremely grisly fate…

Like many great Doctor Who episodes, The Empty Child was made memorable by some wonderful little moments that make Doctor who unique. The comedy and character moments which one would expect from Steven Moffat. The look of comic despair as the Doctor realises when he is. Rose exclaiming "Ok maybe not this T-shirt!" as she hangs from the barrage balloon. The Doctor’s interaction with the kids around the dinner table. The bizarre image of Jack and Rose dancing to Glenn Miller on an invisible spaceship tethered to Big Ben… oh, and "its a real pleasure to meet you, Mr Spock!" Priceless!

Then you had the behind the sofa elements. Who would have thought the image of a kid in a gas mask cryng "Mummy!" could be so freaky and unnerving. And the sequence as Dr Constantine’s face morphs into the gas mask was as horrific as you could possibly get for the time slot. In general, the special effects were excellent as usual, and the design of London in the Blitz was largely authentic, although the lighting probably was too bright for a blackout. Gosh, imagine that, an episode of Doctor Who where the lighting was too bright! The episode culminated in a wonderfully edited cliffhanger of close-ups of gas masks that was genuinely chilling! I can’t wait for next weeks episode and I’ve so far resisted the temptation to watch the preview that was sensibly put after the credits, thank you BBC!

Believe the hype, this is Doctor Who at it’s scariest! Mind you, as I type this, I’m watching the Norway entry in the Eurovision Song Contest which is even scarier! Imagine a nightmare-inducing hybrid of Bon Jovi, Marilyn Manson and The Village People…

"I want my Mummy!"

Wow.

That pretty much sums up what I think of this episode. It has horror, it has romance, it has history, and, of course, it has Sci Fi. The effects were superb, and the directing was top notch. Fantastic!

This has to be the scariest episode so far, the Gas masked freaks (for lack of a better name) are very scary. (or maybe I just have a phobia of Gas masks. Who knows?) The scariness was slightly diminished by the constant repitition of "Mummy?" but otherwise, it gives Bram Stoker a run for his money.

Suprisingly, there was some good humour, such as "What am I going to arrest you for? Starving?" Again, this stopped the episode from being to scary, and this was probably for the better. After all, we don't want parents phoning in and complaining, do we?

Also, the characters were very good. Captain Jack had just the right level of cheesiness to be a perfect wheeler-dealer. Nancy was good as a new take on the old "Freindly hommeless person" concept, and for this I congratulate the actress. Doctor Constantine was also good, but was a bit of a one hit wonder.

Lastly, the cliff hanger was perfect, I can't wait to tune in next week! If only I had a TARDIS. Ah well ,C'est la vie.

I don't know how I am going to fill three paragraphs with praise for what could possibly be one of the best stories of the series and I am not just talking about the new ones! From the beginning with the rackety TARDIS being buffeted by the "bomb" to the truly spine tingling cliffhanger this was a pure joy to watch!

This story boasted a great storyline and outstanding visual effects. This makes it more and more difficult to watch the old series without cringing at every attempted "special effect" though! One of the best parts of the episode was when Doctor Constantine's face turned into a gas mask although I think that the BBC should have left the skull cracking sound in for added effect and worried about any complaints later!

The episode also rectified the problem of the controversial preview for next time seeing as this was a two parter. Even though I criticized it's presence last time I must admit I guiltily peeked at the trailer after the credits, but I dont think I was alone in doing so!

There's not much else I can say because I tire of typing out how fantastic something is! I think that this could shape up to be the best story of the new series, so I cant thank Steven Moffat enough for making such a gripping and actually scary story.

Doctor Who at its very best. Having read a large amount of this episode I was genuinely looking forward to it from the beginning, almost rivaling that to the Dalek episode. And I wasn’t disappointed. It had the dark element that under strong writing and creative directing can really thrive. And like the Dalek episode it didn’t disappoint.

The story itself was fantastically woven together, creating a dark setting yet continuing the exploration of this series, which remains predominantly on Earth.

The CGI throughout was very good, possibly the best so far of the series, especially the skies of war torn London. The morphing scene, which I waited with baited breath, was extremely well made and well done to the production team for going ahead with this. But again there were moments here that showed the modernized, character based elements of Doctor Who. It’s about the continued exploration of the characters, including this time the introduction of Captain Jack Harkness.

What I find fascinating about any series/film is the introduction of key characters especially when they are introduced amid a relation ship that has been developing; the three’s a crowd element. But Jack was quickly brought into the story in the best possible way, the flirting element between himself and Rose. His ship, fairly reminiscing of the TARDIS, showed the character without Jack actually needing to say anything another element that I am a huge fan of in film and TV. Using objects, signals to show who someone is with out them baby feeding the audience.

Again very strong performances from the cast, Christopher and Billie were very good, as was Richard Wilson whose small screen moments added to the tension which was waiting to explode.

A dark, chilling episode that terrified kids of my friends, so all in all another well made, well written episode, possibly the best so far, possibly!

Oh. My God.

In all my years of being a Doctor Who fan, there have been moments that made me jump, made me laugh, cry, gasp in shock...

Never before have I been actually creeped out by an episode of the show before. That's what "The Empty Child" did for me. And you know what it was, too. The boy. The eponymous Empty Child. The one running around Blitz-era London, wearing a gas mask, making telephones ring (including the one on the exterior of the TARDIS!) and radios flick on with its constant begging of "Mummy? Are you my mummy?"

....AAAAAAGH!

I wouldn't have thought so, but considering the setting and time period, this actually felt quite a bit like a New Wave Japanese Horror film. You know the ones -- Ringu, Ju-On (The Grudge), Dark Water... very moody, very much DREAD inducing. The Ringu influence is a little obvious: the telephone rings, but begging for mummy instead of "seven daysssss...", and radios turn on by themselves instead of a television set, but all the same, it WORKED dammit! Of course, the idea that the curse affliction is a virus of some kind actually goes towards Koji Suzuki's novel sequels to Ringu, Rasen (aka Spiral) and Loop, in which he gets more scientific with the nature of Sadako's (Samara's) cursed video, and determines that it's actually a virus of some kind. (This also somewhat filtered into the non-novel film sequels to Ringu, namely Ring 2 and Ring 0 [which was actually another adaption of Suzuki's short story "Birthday"], but not so pronounced. No idea whether or not the American Ring Two picked up on this, haven't seen it yet) But I digress. The point it, IT'S CREEPY.

And what's even more amazing, is that this episode initially started out looking for all the world like it was going to be a knockabout pulp actioner, reminiscent of even most recently Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Rose swings from a blimp whilst the Nazis raid! The Doctor tries to get close to a torch singer (if only briefly)! Captain Jack, who will, incidentally, get you high tonight and take you to your special island, saves the day in his own particular brand of stolen time vehicle! WHAT A GUY!

But wait -- Captain Jack isn't really a Time Agent, he's a con man, and his latest scheme may have caused the current crisis. WHOOPS! Damn that irresponsible time travelling, the kind that the Time Lords USED to clamp down on...

There was some controversy in other reviews I've seen, about the Doctor's speech to Nancy, about how Britain was the first to "say no" to Hitler's aggression. I'm split on this -- it reads half as what Nancy needed to hear to give her hope, and half as a send-up of the old series' tendency to (over)state England's importance in the Universe. But it didn't offend me.

Overall, a mishmash of influences leads to me feeling creepy and spooked for the first time ever watching Doctor Who. That Stephen Moffat guy, he's got a future, he should try comedies next...oh, wait...