They look fake!' my sister scoffed a couple of hours before I sat down to watch 'Rise of the Cybermen' tonight. I rolled my eyes at her, content in the knowledge that Doctor Who is very much 'in' and she was one of the few unfortunates who hadn't 'got' it yet. There was a small knot of worry in my stomach, though - mostly as I didn't 100% disagree with her.

Not that I have any problem with the design - the steel-clad, art-deco look is a beautiful piece of work, well-realised. The thumping sound of their feet crunching the ground was a nice addition, too. It's just that, well ... where the alien look of the Daleks really didn't need much of a rethink, I had hoped from the very beginning that the production team would get to the heart of what the Cybermen are and come up with something a little more horribly blank cyborg and less bulky toy soldier. Even in the 80s the design was starting to look just a bit man-in-suit silly ...

As for the story, it's hard to call at this stage. As a part one story last season, 'Aliens of London' had me cringing throughout. 'Rise' is a vastly superior piece of work. I'm curious, though, to see what others think of it - particularly the '45 minutes is too short' brigade who have bemoaned the brisk pace of recent episodes. Even as a long-time Doctor Who fan, I can't help but think that 45 minutes as set-up really only leads to a rather plodding pace.

The character work was, as ever, lovely, although I do wonder if Rose-wants-to-see-Pete isn't a bit redundant after a whole episode was devoted to the idea last season. I mean, she almost ripped all of time apart last time around. Hasn't she learned anything? Mickey's contribution helped add some freshness to the proceedings, however, and his meeting with his grandmother was very touching, demonstrating just how far he has come since 'Rose'. Unfortunately, Noel Clarke does himself no favours when it comes to portraying his alter-ego, Ricky. Apparently 'Mickey talking permanently through a snarl' is enough to show how different he is from our own boy.

Roger Lloyd Pack, hailed by many leading up to this episode, is a little patchy, too - his slow enunciating villain shtick wearing a little thin come the episode's end.

It's as if the team (or perhaps simply RTD) felt that the core idea was too shocking for the timeslot and softened the whole thing up to compensate. A prime example of this being the superb scene where the imprisoned homeless are sliced and diced by a nasty-looking contraption, screaming the factory down (a real Cyber moment), ruined by the insane choice of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' as a soundtrack. Classical music, opera, even a ballad would have had the same softening effect over the scene without making it completely ridiculous.

Tennant, Piper and Clarke (as Mickey) keep things tight enough to hold the episode together, however, and the parallel spins on Pete and Jackie are entertaining.

All in all, a hard episode to rate until the second part has been seen. I'm hoping a little more menace in next week's Cybermen will lift the story. A move away from the present-day-looking party in a fancy house (which made the Cybermen look even more like guys in costume) should help, as would some death and mayhem on the streets.

Good call not spoiling next week with an immediate trailer, right enough.

A golden opportunity was missed here to produce a genuine Cyberman version of Genesis of the Daleks in order to provide an excuse for having a parallel world array of the new Who soap-opera cast, Mickey and the Tylers. New Who sometimes seems as cramped as Albert Square - you'd think with a TARDIS and the whole of time and space to traverse, the Doctor et al could more frequently avoid reunions with Rose's tiresome family. The parallel Earth is a very very small parallel world indeed. One cannot entirely blame Mr McRae, at his tender 26 years, for a very flat and uninteresting script and its seemingly pointless revision of the entire Cyberman history and origins simply to suit, no doubt, the whims of an overly dominant producer who wanted an excuse to feature parallel Tylers for no particular reason. But what's the point of reintroducing an old enemy simply to completely re-write their entire mythology? The only excuse can be that it is a parallel universe, not therefore the same one which contained the tenth planet Mondas; an alternative reality in which the Cybermen rise from Earth itself rather than a twin planet. This is excusable ultimately.

Instead of Davros we get Lumic, who happens to creak about in a wheelchair (instead of the bottom of a Dalek casing), and has a tendency to rant meglomaniacally. It's ironic that in an episode which is unusually serious and generally well-acted by everyone (bar the excrutiatingly irritating Jackie) that the central villain is shamelessly hammed up by Roger Lloyd-Pack, delivering his lines in an even more mechanical way than the Cybermen themselves. A truly amateur performance; highly disappointing.

The rest of the cast however - yes, even that spike-haired Geordie from Children's BBC - act extremely well and quite believably, lending a certain credibility to the story.

The Cybermen are excellently portrayed and with their rather retro-designs (even down to having steel flares) and deeply mechanical monotones, are strongly reminiscent of the classic Troughton versions, by far the most successful and affecting; this episode at least pays respectful homage to the classic adversaries in a way far more interesting and convincing than the often very dull versions of the 1980s. These are brilliant realisations of the Cybermen - the voices are superbly inhuman, and the new topical catchphrases of 'delete, delete' and references to human 'upgrades' and so on is admittedly pretty inspired; so too is the obsessive motive of Lumic in creating the Cybermen: to prolong his life, which is rapidly deserting him. For the first time significantly, the truly disturbing sub-text to the Cyberman context is palpably examined, with its moral implications regarding the loss of emotion - such Nietzschean undertones only superficially touched on in the shambolic Silver Nemesis; there's a definite Dorian Gray sub-text here too, which of course ironically is paralleled in the Doctor's own seeming agelessness. It's a creepy concept, and in this unusually philosophical dissection of the Cyber psychology, Rise of the Cybermen is a lesser cousin to the classic Dalek of last year, an episode which sported the kind of sheer energy, tension and intensity that Graeme Harper twice exemplified in the classic series moreso than this, his belated return to the director's chair, demonstrates.

Nevertheless, Rise does display a certain directorial flare in places indicative of a true master Who director: the low-angle shots, the Camfield-esque pace and militaristic elements, the token motley group of mercernaries (cue Stotz's gang from Caves and Orcini and Bostock from Revelation) including one incongruously middle-aged, craggy, sexually indeterminate member (cue Tasambeker) and so on. This is a more seasoned Harper at work here, doing all he can to inject a dull and colourless script with all the energy, intensity and momentum that he possibly can. At certain moments Harper makes this story exciting genuinely, though the restrictions of the rather comic-strip style new Who frequently tug his efforts down. This episode so far does not indicate in any sense the kind of brilliance Harper achieved in particularly the magnificently dramatic Caves of Androzani. Rise simply isn't in the same league, though it is still one of the better directed and dramatic of the new cannon. Euros Lyn's direction of Dalek last year however is far more Graeme Harper than Harper's own Rise of the Cybermen is.

The story's basic ingredients make for very traditional Doctor Who, and the scenario of the story is strongly reminiscent of late Troughton stories such as Invasion and the earlier Pertwees circa Season 7 and 8. It's not, again, in the same league by any means, but at moments it does grab you. There is 'something' about this story so far; an intrinsic directorial confidence (down to Harper of course), and in places Tennant performs convincingly, especially when first confronting the Cybermen. His rather comical turn as a waiter is also amusing in a non-grating sense. Tennant is essentially a comedy actor, and so is much better at comedic moments than his far more intense predecessor Eccleston, who seemed very awkward when trying to portray eccentricity - this idiosyncracy didn't sit well on Eccleston at all. Where Tennant can be less convincing though is at times when required to demonstrate his timeless authority - in the scenes lamenting the seeming death of the TARDIS, he is fairly affecting, but one cannot help but think of how Tom Baker would have played these scenes, with his intrinsic gravitas of voice and manner, he would have acted this bit very gravely indeed no doubt, as at the beginning of Logopolis when he announces that the cloyster bell signifies that the TARDIS is being ominously summoned somewhere, 'wheezy as a grampus' - what a brilliant description of the TARDIS that was by the poetic Christopher H Bidmead.

Rarely do any of new Who's scripts deliver such timelessly evocative lines as were so frequent under the pens of the old writers. Reflective of the general blandness of contemporary television scripts, many of new Who's episodes tend to be fairly pedestrian in writing terms, lacking the literary colour of classic Who writers such as David Whitaker, Chris Boucher and of course Robert Holmes. Considering his young years then, Mr McRae can be forgiven for the mediocrity and simplicity of many of the lines he gives his characters; the script is mostly lifeless and routine, with very few flourishes of language, but is at least adequate. The neo-topical concepts injected into this story of a parallel Cybermen's rise, such as the - visually tacky - ear-pods, hollographic billboards and references to downloads and upgrades however are fairly inspired ideas which fit the steel skin of Cyber mythology very aptly.

So on a basic Who level, Rise of the Cybermen works well, promising nothing more than it can deliver, and overall, delivering it quite well. The zepellins are also a nice idea, as is the - not that obviously - art-decco elements to their interiors. Even the CGI is ok.

What's the bet Mickey gets the Adric-treatment next episode? It seems to be on the cards. That'll be 2-0 to the Cybermen then.

Not bad, but not classic material. I'll reserve final judgment after seeing Age of Steel.

6/10 for the first episode.

I am willing to wait. Since this is a two-part episode, I am willing to wait and see if this manipulative, muddled mess was just a very slow lead-up to a grand adventure.

After the wildly imaginative GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE, the bar was set high for the return of the DoctorВ’s number two nemesis. What we received was a rehashing of old and new clichГ©s.

First of all, Rose and her father. Rose received a beautiful and sincerely touching second chance to establish some sort of relationship with her dead father in FATHERВ’S DAY. That episode gave us a real chance to explore why Rose is Rose and why she formed such an instant attachment to her father.

If you think about it, Peter Tyler and the Doctor are not that much different. They both hatch В“impossible schemesВ” and (at least in the end) are willing to sacrifice themselves for the people close to them. Of course, the DoctorВ’s plans always succeed. ThatВ’s why he gets his own show and Peter Tyler died in a car accident in 1987.

Peter Tyler should have remained just that, a sweet and satisfying memory. To dredge him up again in the context of an В“alternateВ” world seems like a cheap rehashing of that episode from the first series. It plays unnecessarily upon the character mythology of the new show. For Rose to go blindly after her В“third chanceВ” to be with her dad seems selfish and a little masochistic.

But itВ’s merely a setup so that we can learn more about the В“alternate universeВ”. The universe itself has some imaginative touches, but really doesnВ’t engage you as a completely different dimension. It seems that pretty much everything is the same except for the zeppelins, the earrings and the curfew.

Even the alternate Mickey, or Ricky, just grimaces more. I love the character of Mickey, and I really enjoy Noel Clarke, but we did we really need to learn his backstory? To add that on top of RoseВ’s baggage seems unnecessary В– and really defines why this episode is so sluggish. His past is so similar to RoseВ’s that it doesnВ’t add any differentiation or emotional depth.

And whatВ’s with Mickey going from competing with the Doctor for RoseВ’s attention to suddenly acting like a scorned boyfriend (В“You can only chase after one of us.В”)? It seems very contrived. Are we being prepared for Mickey dying heroically?

With so little action and so much emotional angst, you are ticking away the minutes until something really interesting happens. When the Cybermen finally appear, itВ’s visually interesting and they do look scary. But therein lies a bigger problem.

The Cybermen will always look like robots. They will always look like a human creation. The thing that has made the Daleks so gripping and wildly frightening was that they looked so alien. Nothing had looked remotely like them before. Their weird voices and flailing pokers form an instant odd dread of being near them.

The new Cybermen look updated. They pound across the screen and big booming bass music tells us they are scary. But when they speak, you crank up the volume. And when they emit their new catchphrase В“you are deletedВ”, you groan. It comes across as a pathetic attempt to put them on par with Daleks screaming, В“Exterminate!В”. And it just doesnВ’t work.

It seems obvious that the real Cybermen are using Lumic as an agent to further their long-standing hatred of the planet Earth. Whether Lumic knows this or not is an interesting question, but really not that interesting. One hopes this is the case and that this isnВ’t an В“alternateВ” genesis story for the Cybermen. The Dalek mythology remains intact (blessedly without Davros, so far), so letВ’s hope the Cybermen are the same.

There is still time to pull this mess around with a boffo second episode, but this first episode В– viewed on its own В– does not merit much excitement or praise. Even if it is a lead-up to bigger things, it did little to generate enthusiasm for what is to come.

Having almost wet myself at the trailers for this weekВ’s who-fest, I had a lot of expectation of the episode in hand, entitled В‘Rise of the CybermenВ’. And it did not disappoint. Right from the chilling beginning to the thrilling end, every minute of this episode was one to savour. Wonderful acting from everyone, especially Roger Lloyd-Pack as John Lumic, the creator bent on survival. Anyway, to the episode itself. It begins with a nervy scientist being electrocuted by the prototype Cyberman, after a В‘debateВ’ with John Lumic. The episode then switches to the TARDIS, which crash lands after it came flying out of the time/space vortex and into nothing, or so we think. Mickey, (Unfairly ignored by the Doctor and Rose, but a wonderful, 10В…20 minutes. 29В… scene) then discover it to be a parallel Earth, and the TARDIS trio wander off for a while. The Doctor then discovers one small piece is clinging on for dear life, and gives away ten years of his life to charge it.

Rose then receives a mysterious text on her phone, regarding the reported ill health off John Lumic, who dismisses the speculation in the clip. She then spots above her head one of the marvellous zeppelins, which is quickly halted due to the DoctorВ’s arrival. This is a cue for more of unsung hero Noel ClarkeВ’s great performance of Mickey, who becomes upset as being regarded as the spare part. While he wanders off ready for an emotional appearance of his Gran, Rose does a runner into town, with the Doctor following swift. The following scenes are a bit dull, with the exception of the В‘Rose the Yorkshire terrierВ’ joke, which has you chuckling away at PeteВ’s В‘here we go againВ’ expression.

And then it reaches the interesting В‘child catcherВ’ scene, with the tramps being rounded up for experiments. They all go but for one, Jake Simmons, played by the former Byker Grove actor Andrew Hayden-Smith, who seems somewhat quiet in this episode. Anyway the tramps are rounded up into the van, screams of terror etcВ… And then for the nice little scene with The President and John Lumic. The debate is well executed, and you can see the true madness on LumicВ’ face when he is denied permission to carry out the upgrade. You feel a slight twinge of moral decline with Pete TylerВ’s optimism for Lumic, making it feel В‘Oh well you canВ’t destroy BritainВ’s population but thereВ’s always (New) GermanyВ’. The В‘New GermanyВ’ line as well as the technology used on the parallel world feels too much like В‘New EarthВ’, as if humanity has whizzed too far forward than the present. But as itВ’s a parallel world in a different dimension you can sort off let them go a bit, plus itВ’s the Cybermen.

Next comes the upgrade scene with the rounded up tramps, which sends a rare and welcome chill down the spine, with the pop music sounding strangely sinister along with the screaming and images of sharp pointy objects diving into the bodies of human beings. This is a rare scare, which disappointingly doesnВ’t occur too often in Series 2, but you can let them off given children are watching. Still, there maybe should have been blood on the medical objects.

And then for the ending, which can be summed up conveniently in six words. And no, they arenВ’t В‘DoesnВ’t the script look tiredВ’ (Ok, thatВ’s five, but itВ’s good enough for BBC Wales! HopefullyВ…) instead, it would be В‘I dub thee Sir Tom MacRaeВ’. Just when everything is chilled, calm, settled, relaxedВ…chilled turns to the other meaning. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch And the silhouettes of an old enemy returns to haunt the Doctor once more. Out of the gloom comes the Cybermen, who return with a bang by smashing the windows into microscopic pieces. Obviously no one told them there was a door. They surround the Doc and co. until one of them finally decides to break the silence by killing the President of Great Britain. Not the easiest way to get power but there you go. Everyone starts screaming and legging it everywhere possible just to get away from the C3-PO look-a-likes, and the Doctor, Rose and parallel Pete run through a window just to escape from the party-gone-wrong. One corner- Cybermen! Another- Cybermen! Try another- Cybermen! They are finally trapped by the steel nemesis, and after the drastic and unsuccessful attempts to escape by volunteering for the upgrade, the all-too familiar stings rings out, leaving us with another long week of waiting and waiting. A great episode in all respects and could be wrapped up by a classic. Bring on The Age Of Steel. 8/10.

This is probably the closest that the new series gets to evoking the nature of the original series, particularly the pacing. I thought this was deliciously paced. Most have complained it was too slow but I'd describe it as a slow burn, a building up to the inevitable. This is probably Graeme Harper, wanting to slow it down and get the maximum benefit by doing so.

There were so many interesting elements in this one, all juxtaposing with each other and there have been many comments that the feel of the episode was disjointed. I think that was deliberate and many of the sequences in the episode are designed to create this feeling.

From the top, let's get the death of the TARDIS thing out of the way - because it's simply the MacGuffin to get them into the parallel Earth situation. Some have been irritated by the way this element was so casually resolved. For me, it’s just a device to get the characters into this alternative Earth and keep them there until the events play out.

The vital things in this story, besides the triumphant return of the Cybermen, is the development of the Rose/Doctor/Mickey dynamic and the alternate take of the Rose/Pete/Jackie family unit from an altogether less attractive viewpoint. A number of scenes were very important for me. The scene with Rose and Jackie outside the country house where Rose is stupid enough to think that because she's again found that spark of recognition in her father then she's on to a winner trying it with Jackie and can rekindle some kind of surrogate family in this alternate world. The repellent attack from Jackie is such an emotional wallop and it also echoes the de-humanising of people by Lumic via his application of corporate technologies - to the extent of turning individuals into Cybermen and the literal raising of the rich elite over the dispossessed (the zeppelins and Pete's millionaire salesman schtick). Jackie’s heart and soul belong to Lumic and this version of Rose’s mother really does highlight the clever way Camille Coduri has made the character actually rather ‘lovable’ on the other Earth. Rose is looking for unconditional love from a very different version of her mother and she's suddenly made aware that love comes at a price and it has to be earned.

The other crucial scene is when Mickey visits his Gran. It’s a wonderfully sensitive scene that’s redolent of lost lives, things that should have been said and done in Mickey’s own world. Noel Clarke...what a revelation. He was so very good in the scene and much of his back story was also finally revealed and gave us great insight into a character that at the start of Series One was a bit of a no-hoper. This adds depth to the character and builds upon the series themes of sacrifice and redemption. This story will certainly be about how Mickey 'makes a difference' in contrast to a now very unlikeable version of Rose. A quietly clever juxtaposition that's been taking place over the last few episodes and since The Christmas Invasion.

This is also feeding into the confused and somewhat insensitive nature of Rose that we are now being shown. Witness the horrible baiting of Mickey from Rose and the Doctor. We're all aware this is going to come to a distressing conclusion - much of it in next week's episode, I think - and Rose and the Doctor will be changed by it.

There are key elements of Greek Tragedy running through this episode – themes about lives being torn apart by outward suffering or inner conflicts (literall, for the creation of the Cybermen), The sacrificing of a society, the losing of individuality in order to form groups – both the Cybermen and the Preachers. And there’s the lovely symbolism of Heaven with its Angels ( the zeppelins, the rich elite ) and Hell with its Demons ( the Cybermen, the dispossessed, the conversion factory). Evokes cleverly in the visuals - we’re always looking up at the zeppelins overhead or down from the machines as they fly over London.

The Cybermen...great. The last fifteen minutes of the siege on the house were note perfect in terms of visuals, lighting, editing. A tour de force from Harper and what the intended pacing has been leading up to do.

John Lumic - I'm still wavering over Lloyd Pack. He was a bit up and down for me and I think if you take him in the spirit of a Bond like villain it just about works and I can see how some people are criticising him for being a poor man's Davros. But there are enough sparks in the performance to relish even if it occassionally gets hammy. Doctor Who has always had it's fair share of OTT performances and it always will have.

For me, he isn’t Davros or Frankenstein. He’s Prometheus – symbolising the suffering and sacrifice involved in spiritual or artistic striving in trying to transform the human condition into something more refined, more exquisite, more God-like. Naturally, here it’s all for the wrong reasons and he projects his suffering onto people who can’t fight back.

Visually - lots of greys, browns and references to Art Deco, Orwell, Verne, Metropolis, Weimar Germany, the steam-punk aesthetic. Echoes of Invasion, Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

Music - some lovely nods to Father's Day from Murray. A nice touch as this epsiode shows the disintegration of a family unit with Rose as bystander rather than Father's Day where it was about re-integration of the family unit with Rose as an active force.

Finally, I must conclude with the factory conversion scene. One of the most unsettling scenes in the series so far, the scene’s use of music (The Lion Sleeps Tonight – how very ironic!) can be compared with how Reservoir Dogs used ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’ on the soundtrack. Granted, it's no comparison in terms of the violence but the 'dread' that both scenes evoke with the juxtaposition of music was highly effective in both cases.

A treat of an episode, perhaps unfairly seen as a disappointment, but where the pay-off in ‘Age Of Steel’ will I’m sure elevate its reputation.

Sifting through the line-up for Series 2 before it began, two stories stood out for me as likely high spots В– the impending Cybermen two-parter and School Reunion, and I was really excited about seeing both. The problem with such great expectations В– in my experience anyway В– is that the event itself rarely lives up to the anticipation. However, there are always exceptions and, IВ’m happy to report, School Reunion was one great exception!

There were so many memorable moments crammed into 45 minutes, itВ’s difficult to know where to start. How about the beginning, thatВ’s a very good place to start . . .

As I noted in a previous review, В“New WhoВ” (for want of a better expression) doesnВ’t mess around with foreplay В– and, in School Reunion, this was never better illustrated. Before the opening titles have rolled, we find ourselves in a school, have encountered a wonderfully-malevolent headteacher played by Anthony Head, of whom more superlatives В– though I wonВ’t have nearly enough В– later. Plus weВ’ve witnessed a schoolgirl meeting with an audibly-horrible end. And a bespectacled Doctor already on the scene as a teacher.

Another promising start, and the episode built on that encouraging opening. RoseВ’s appearance as a reluctant dinnerlady (Billie Piper does В“sulkyВ” particularly well!) and the suggestion that there were strange goings-on in the school (and in the chips) would certainly have grabbed any floating viewersВ’ attention.

And then there was a trio of reunions in the school (incidentally, although this was an obvious episode title, it was no less a brilliant one). Mickey Smith was back В– OK, heВ’d only been away for a couple of episodes, so weВ’d barely had time to miss him. But it had been considerably longer away for Miss Sarah Jane Smith and K9 В– although youВ’d never have guessed, so smoothly did they fit into their roles.

SarahВ’s story В– of what happens to a companion post-TARDIS В– was a fascinating subtext to the main tale of schoolkids being cultivated by a shape-shifting alien race for lunch В– and for control of Creation! With a new В“dream teamВ” of Doctor, K9, Mickey, Rose and Sarah, there was no doubt they were going to be a match for the Krillitanes and, of course, they were. There was something in the chips В– the oil В– and that, together with a sacrificial robot dog, made it another successful episode for the good guys!

So that was School Reunion in a nutshell В– but just why was it so good?

Firstly, the setting. Perhaps because the very first episode of the original series in 1963 began in a school, the series is synonymous with the classroom? Whatever, it all tied into the theme of reunions В– and it just В“feltВ” so right.

As did the return of Sarah Jane Smith. She may have В“got oldВ”, but nothing like 30 years older В– Lis Sladen still looks terrific, those wide eyes and trademark lip quiver which are SO Sarah Jane were still there, and the script contained everything fans could have hoped for В– and more.

The tension between Sarah and Rose (La Piper does jealousy really well, as we saw in Boom Town and The Parting Of The Ways) is something which wouldnВ’t have been expanded upon too much in years gone by, but this sort of emotional byplay is an important ingredient of 21st-century Doctor Who.

В“The missus and the exВ” were essentially fighting over who loved The Doctor В– and who The Doctor loved В– more. Their В“my monsters were bigger than your monstersВ” scene was superb, but it was pleasing that they found common ground by the end, and wouldnВ’t it have been fun if Sarah had stayed aboard the TARDIS?

The scenes between Sarah and The Doctor were FatherВ’s Day-esque in their intensity. SarahВ’s bitterness at being so unceremoniously dumped was evident В– and it was nice to see David Tennant run through a range of emotions, including his desperate loneliness, which linked him to his predecessor more than in previous episodes.

There may have been a pedantic continuity issue with the old series В– Sarah did meet several Doctors in The Five Doctors and did, in theory, get a chance to vent her emotions then. But I prefer to explain that away by suggesting that her memory of that adventure was wiped when she was returned to her time stream. Russell T Davies obviously likes his continuity, though В– SarahВ’s line about В“the spaceship flying overhead at ChristmasВ” was a nice touch.

And, this time, Sarah did get her В“closureВ” at the end of the episode В– a really emotional goodbye and hug - and a new, shiny, pet robot dog!

It was fun to see K9 again, too В– complete with rust, which was an amusing twist, as was Rose and MickeyВ’s dismissal of him as rather low-tech. He does seem rather low-tech compared to the The MillВ’s creations В– what would they have made of K9 from scratch? - but he did save the Universe, so there! And, of course, it was no great shock that The Doctor was able to produce a Mark 4 (albeit very quickly!).

Great as everyone else in the cast was, maybe just top of the class was Anthony Head as Mr Finch. If there is such a thing as quiet malevolence, he delivered it superbly. A wonderful two-hander between Finch and The Doctor over the swimming pool was a high-scoring draw between the two protagonists. Perhaps the most-terrifying thing about Finch wasnВ’t so much that he had designs on shaping the Universe in his image, it was that he would nonchalantly eat you for lunch afterwards!

The Krillitanes themselves were Reaper-like in appearance, but equally effective. Obviously, they couldnВ’t be shown to be devouring small children В– but the clear inference was enough to earn them a high fear-factor rating. Yet another visual-effects triumph.

And then there was Mickey Smith. A character who has grown enormously in stature since his introduction in Rose. Then, he was basically a one-dimensional wimp who was little more than a bit-part player В– now, after improving steadily throughout last season, we have a rounded character full of humour and plenty of depth. If not quite an all-action superhero in his own right, MickeyВ’s certainly a welcome addition to the TARDIS crew. ItВ’s an added dimension which can only increase the fun . . .

Noel Clarke actually had the pick of the one-liners here, which was quite an achievement in a sparkling script peppered with sharp, witty dialogue (as one might expect of Toby Whithouse, the principal writer of the excellent No Angels) and he delivered them with aplomb.

The gleeful observation to The Doctor about В“the missus and the exВ” is likely to go down in Doctor Who folklore, but his witty aside to Rose about В“watching the chipsВ” when comparing her to Sarah was a laugh-out-loud moment. MickeyВ’s realisation that В“IВ’m the tin dogВ” also brought a hearty chuckle.

And whoВ’d have thought it would be The Doctor rather than Rose who was the happier to have Mickey join the crew? Another nice twist. After meeting Sarah, Rose now has extra insecurities about what her relationship with The Doctor is, and this can only make for more tensions as the series progresses.

Great story, wonderful script (what a Doctor Who debut from Whitehouse), terrific performances from the cast, stunning visual effects and, for me, the best score Murray Gold has delivered В– I often wish background music was just that, rather than an in-yer-ears full operatic performance. However, the music here just accentuated the script perfectly.

Series 2 may have started slowly with New Earth, but it gathered pace with Tooth and Claw, and is now into full stride with School Reunion. Hard to believe it gets much better than this, but what a treat if it does.