This is the first episode that has prompted me to write a review. Not because it is the first one that I have thought worthy for I've not been disappointed by any so far. But this is what I remember Doctor Who being like when I was growing up, full of time paradoxes and monsters.

I thought the episode was brilliantly made as always and it left me with plenty to think about when it was done but I do have a couple of nagging concerns.

First, I am now wondering if this series should be called "Rose", and not "Doctor Who", I can't remember any companion forming the central part of so many episodes, and here was no exception. I have no problem with this in general, but I am longing to discover more about this Doctor before he is no more.

Second, the whole idea of these creatures appearing to heal time doesn't really hold together and there seems to be no explanation as to why the hit and run car is now appearing outside the church.

Please don't misunderstand me. The writing in this episode, the relationships explored, and the realisation of the creatures themselves was all done brilliantly. But after the wonder has died down I'm still left wondering. Why?

After the average episode that was The Long Game i was hoping that Fathers Day would be a little more exciting and interesting as it dealt with a theory pondered by many peole: what would happen if i could go back in time and change this, that and the other? So im glad to say that this episode marked an excellent return to the extaordinary form of the new series of Doctor Who!

This story, in some places, felt like some from the old series, especially when we see things from the point of view of the monster (in this case called the Reapers, but i dont think they were ever called by this name on screen, unless i just missed it). As for the Reapers, what can i say? They were one of the most brilliant monsters to ever grace Doctor Who! They had a unique quality to them and looked as if they burst through a rip in time! The location where this story was filmed also looked stunning as it really felt like the eighties. The appearance of baby Mickey was also a great idea.

As usual the lead characters acted amazingly and convincingly and the guest cast also gave good performances. Surprisingly i couldn't see any Bad Wolf references, i thought it would be sprayed on the wall in the background of the play park, or that Rose would mention a Bad Wolf bedtime story told to her by her father.

So, this story was a great comeback after a perfectly fine story that just wasn't up to the high standards of the others. This story is definitely one of the best in the series so far, congratulations to Paul Cornell! As for the preview of next weeks, well, after i retrieved my jaw from the floor after seeing the awesome effects of the blitz, it seems that this series is just getting better and better. I cant see for the life of me why some people complain about looking forward to the preview when we should be more concerned with the episode that is being shown. The previews are an amazing way to hook the audience, tantalising us with some of the best parts of the upcoming story in such a hectic rate that it really catches your attention. On top of that it has the fantastic theme tune blaring over the top of it! It also gives rise to an amusing observation about Doctor Who fans: You know you are a Doctor Who fan when at the end of your day there is a preview of tomorrows events...

I've just got around to watching Father's Day, and I think I finally know what's wrong with the new series.

It isn't the intrusive or inappropriate music of End of the World. And I don't think it's really the pseudoromantic bond between Rose and the Doctor in Dalek, or aliens with supposedly comical long names. I think the problem is Russell T Davis.

In interview, he said Rose and the Doctor would be given equal billing. This turns out to mean Rose is the star and the Doctor is her all-purpose plot device. It's her concerns, feelings and actions that drive the show. The Doctor is there to transport her to settings where she can meet the local sentient life and display emotions.

This is evident in the first scene of Father's Day when Rose asks to see her father on the day of his death, and the Doctor cheerfully responds, "Your wish is my command."

Actually, he lets her do it twice, so they get to see themselves from the first time, in spite of knowing the great dangers of being "present in two aspects" as the Black Guardian once said. Inevitably, Rose impulsively saves her dad, and mucks up causality.

The wedding party get trapped in a church, with the Doctor using an idea straight out of Sapphire and Steel that the party would be protected (for a while) from the time creatures because the church is old. Cue a series of dialogue driven emotional set pieces.

We get to see the Doctor envious of the bride and groom, because he doesn't get to do romance and ordinary life. He says the couple are "important" and that he will save them because of their ordinaryness.

The Doctor tells us (once again) that his world – still not named as Gallifrey – is gone, and mentions his friends and family, indicating he would dearly love to go back and save them. Presumably this family is the clan of warring cousins in Lungbarrow. Has the Doctor ever mentioned any family in the television series before? Apart possibly from Susan, the canonical Doctor has always been a rootless renegade.

Rose realizes that the father she'd been told about is a fabrication from the mind of her grief stricken mother, but that the real man is both a failed wheeler-dealer and a decent, charming fellow. He later makes the greatest sacrifice a father could make for his daughter, dying to save her, and incidentally the rest of the world.

We even get to meet Mickey as a boy of about 5. Which, seeing as this is 1987, would make him about 23 in 'Rose'. The prepubescent boy hugs the girl he won't meet for years in a 'foreshadowing' of their later relationship.

RTD described Doctor Who as a 'Space Opera'. This turns out to mean 'Soap Opera'. Science Fiction is a way to explore ideas, not a forum for exploring tortured interpersonal relations.

He pointed out, quite correctly, that Doctor Who has consistently ignored issues about companions joining The Doctor, disappearing from their ordinary lives, and abandoning loved ones to go exploring the universe. Companions seem to effortlessly jettison their past lives and associations when they step into the Tardis.

There is a perfectly good reason why emotional bonds to friends and family are ignored. It's because they don't belong in Doctor Who!

If you want to know about the endlessly layered complexities of someone's neuroses - their insecurities, loves, fears, and of course their family - watch a soap opera, or a 'reality' show. If you want to play 'What If' games with technology, history or the laws of physics, science fiction is the place to be.

Obviously Doctor Who - and science fiction in general - has always had personalities and interpersonal relationships. The first Doctor was a wise but curmudgeonly explorer with bewildered companions, the third was a benign avuncular dandy with a series of innocent relationships with young women in short skirts, and the fifth a profoundly moral man who was very patient with his whining (and sometimes scheming) young friends.

But in Doctor Who under Russell T Davis it's just far too much. The science fiction elements of the plot are paper thin, while the soap opera elements are luxuriously thick. It's mildly interesting to find out about Rose's background, but not to have her family the center of every second adventure.

The Tardis is a way to easily find new worlds and threats for each adventure. It lets us see new aliens and human cultures, new mad scientists and fascistic robots, new political corruption and amazing technology, each time our mysterious, nameless hero lands somewhere.

It is not a way to find new angles for examining the inner life of a teenage girl.

This episode was always destined to be the most emotional of the new series, and after the more traditional 'Who' of The Long Game, it was to be a very different type of story. Rose never knew her father, Peter. He died when she was a baby. Brought up by her mother, she only knew her father from what she had been told. As far as she knew, Peter was a businessman, a loving husband, and a doting father. He died alone - the victim of a hit and run.

This background information has been lurking behind the scenes since the first episode, and was re-told - perhaps with more detail - skillfully by Rose, and in flashback by Jackie to her young daughter. Explaining to the Doctor why she's been thinking so much of her father quickly, and easily, explains to the viewer. Rose merely wanted to see her father when he was alive, to know what he was like, and - more importantly - she didn't want him to die alone. But, as the Doctor says, be careful what you wish for.

On seeing her father, and witnessing his death, Rose is incapable of action. She asks the Doctor for a second try. At this point the story could so easily have become Groundhog Day, but fortunately Phil Cornell must have been aware of this and stipulated that they could only be there twice. On this second attempt to be with her father at his death, Rose realises that she can't face losing him again, and acting purely from grief she rushes out to save his life. Who amongst us can say, hand on heart, that we wouldn't do the same?

The catastrophic results which ensue from this single act lead to the end of the world, and inevitably Peter realises that he is the only person who can save the world - the only person who can make things right. Along the way we witness tempers, and tantrums, from Peter, Jackie, Rose and the Doctor, and Rose discovers the truth about her parent's relationship. Disappointed, and disillusioned, she watches them bicker. Rose is overflowing with remorse that her selfish actions have led to such a catastrophic turn of events, and again she has to face the death of her father. But this time she has a chance to say goodbye, as does Jackie, and Peter chooses to die - rather than being a victim, he becomes a hero, someone Rose can be truly proud of. Peter recognises that the Doctor knew the truth, that he knew that Peter had to die - but was trying to find a better solution. In the end, Peter doesn't die alone. Rose is with him, and she comforts him in his final moments. She attains closure, and, in two short scenes, we see the truth of the strong bond she has with the Doctor - his actions and her father's mirrored when comforting her.

This episode was wonderfully written, fully exploring the 'what if?' scenario, which we all face when dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Can anyone truly say that this element of time-travel has been so well explored since H G Wells? Once again, we see a more human side to Eccleston's Doctor, and Chris was - as ever - superb. The Doctor's anger at Rose's stupidity - from the simmering silence to "I picked another stupid ape" - and his attempt to protect her, and her family, and his self-sacrifice, were portrayed in a wonderfully understated way. All of these emotions truly convey how much the Doctor cares about the human race, perhaps the most moving speech was when the Doctor was talking to the couple who were about to get married, ending with "I never had a life like that" shows us just how much the Doctor lost in his years of exile.

Camille Coduri, and Shaun Dingwall, were excellent as Rose's bickering parents, who recognised that they still loved each other intensely at the end of the episode, and who's courage and self-sacrifice poignantly saved the world. I felt their grief, and pain, and the mental anguish that Pete was going through was so well portrayed. But the praise really has to go to Billie Piper. This is certainly Rose's hardest adventure to date. She doesn't realise how hard this will be, and she faces her emotions head on. Two weeks ago Chris portrayed the Doctor in a highly emotional state, believing that he'd killed Rose. This week Billie portrayed Rose in a similarly emotional state, believing that she's killed the Doctor. On top of the grief, and remorse, which Rose was already dealing with, Billie made us feel that this really was the worst day of Rose's life. When Rose hugged her father, as he realised who she was, I felt her pain and grief - and this is all testament to Billie's superb acting. She has been a revelation in this series, and this episode has surpassed all others in terms of her acting - I'll never doubt her again.

At the end of this episode, I was left wondering what I would do if I had a TARDIS - how, or if, I would fight the temptation to do something similar and save my mum's life. And I know, deep down, that like Rose I'd meddle with history. In that situation who wouldn't? And I cried. I cried when I watched a second time, that's how strong the story is. That's how good the acting is. This is twice now that 'New Who' has made me cry. And this finally proves that great Sci-Fi can also be great Drama. Hats off to all involved, and thank you Russell for believing that stories like this belong in Doctor Who.