Doctor Who fans, lend me your ears, I come to praise Russell T Davies, not to bury him. At least to a certain extent. Oh, and when I come to deal with the end of the episode, I will not be held responsible for my words! But more of that later.

My father, watching this, felt В“cheatedВ” and В“sickenedВ” В– by the casual and offhanded way in which our favourite В‘showrunnerВ’ keeps bringing Doctor Who fandom into the series, and then making fun of all and sundry, and particularly by his continued obsession with sex, in what is supposed to be a childrenВ’s show. В“Russell canВ’t help it, poor man, heВ’s obviously got something wrong with him,В” say I, defending RTD, although I can see what dad means.

Nevertheless, this episode has a great deal to recommend it В– right up until the end. Most obviously it has some nice continuity, which is a plus! Then thereВ’s the line about В“all these different DoctorsВ”, which is even better, although sadly there are no images of Tom Baker or Peter Davison. Then thereВ’s some nice direction, and a great guest spot from Danny Blue.

And, believe it or not, itВ’s very well presented, and excellently plotted. This last is the one good point which does last until the very end В– far from being В“reasonlessВ” as dad also protested, in fact it is EltonВ’s early, random experience with the Doctor which leads him to join LINDA, the groupВ’s infatuation with the Doctor which leads the alien to use them to get at the Doctor, and then RoseВ’s return home, pre-figured in her phone call to Jackie which leads her to abort her В‘conquestВ’ of Elton, which allows the TARDIS to materialise, seemingly co-incidentally, at just the right time to save EltonВ’s life.

This is, incidentally, quite a good outing for Jackie, who works best in small doses, although her excuse for seducing Elton, that since Rose has left her she has been a bit В“madВ”, rings hollow, as she was blatantly always like that anyway. Rose, for her part, seems to be feeling guilty about the way she has been treating Jackie (and not before time), springing to her defence before even thinking about the hideous alien attacking the man she has come to chew out. В“No-one upsets my mum! Except, um, me. And my best friend.В”

Then there is the ELO soundtrack. IВ’m a bit partial to Jeff Lynne myself, and I think itВ’s a real shame the way ELO has become synonymous with rather sub-standard pop, when the early records were so amazing. Of course I realise that stuffing this episode full of ELO sounds is little different В– probably, to many, worse В– than references to Muppet Christmas Movies and Blockheads, which so annoyed me in В‘Tooth and ClawВ’! But that was the Doctor expressing a preference then, whereas this is just an ordinary guy, so I think IВ’m still not being entirely hypocritical.

EltonВ’s naГЇvetГ© with regard to Jackie, and the subsequent spin it puts on his relationship with Ursula, is rather nice В– in fact, the episode is very touching indeed. Right up until the end, when of course Russell blows it all to shattered, smouldering pieces in spectacular style.

To go off at a bit of a tangent В– RussellВ’s attitude to Doctor Who fans is utterly merciless, isnВ’t it? He will keep bringing them in, only to exterminate them in various horrendous waysВ… Clive got shot by an Auton in the very first episode, Mickey, after months of abuse by the Doctor and Rose, has been unceremoniously dumped in a Cyberman-infested parallel universe, and now weВ’ve witnessed the grotesque annihilation of LINDA. Should I be afraid? I think I probably should, because I am exactly the kind of fan Mr Davies В– and, by the look of it, Steven Moffat В– loathe with a passion; the reason being, I take it all very seriously.

Mr Kennedy is all too obviously an allegory of people like me, who arenВ’t content just to sing songs, live the mystery, and not ask too many difficult questions, as LINDA are. Kennedy, upon his arrival, makes it hard; refusing to just sit back and enjoy it all, he turns their hobby into В“workВ”; in short, he introduces В‘modern fandomВ’ into their idyllic world, and ends up sucking the life, not only out of their harmless В“Doctor WhoВ” obsession, but literally out of all of them. So there you go; Russell T Davies hates us! But he still wonВ’t give us back our precious!

The wiping-out of EltonВ’s touching, happy crew of amateur songsters and mystery-hunters is the most disturbing and sickening thing in the new series so far. Well, I hear you cry, thatВ’s alright В– even in an episode that is merely serio-comic in tone. After all, the DoctorВ’s way of life has consequences (as we learnt В– at length В– from Boom Town last year). Aliens kill people, sadly (at least, in Doctor Who they do). And I would freely admit that the original series sometimes had a somewhat dubious attitude to life and death, particularly with regard to the В“noble sacrifice endingВ”. And Russell even has the saving grace of not having invented this particular monster and its hideous characteristics.

But it is the utterly vile way in which RTD deals with it that leaves a bad taste in the mouth (again В– В“Tooth and ClawВ” was the same). The fate of all those nice people is completely at odds with the overall tone of the episode В– and rounding it off with an oral sex gag is just unbelievable; as if Ursula, having been shorn of her body, her entire life, and bound into a stone apparently for eternity, would be content to just accept it and, making the best of things, go down every night on some guy В– whom, previously, sheВ’s only nearly had a Chinese with?

I didnВ’t think that even Russell T Davies would expect his audience to laugh, after the obscenity of what happened to Ursula and the rest. And at that? But, reading, on the official website, that В“Fear ForecastВ” thing theyВ’ve invented, thatВ’s how at least some of the audience (not the children, thank God) seem to have reacted. В“Elton! Fetch a spade!В” Sick? You bet.

Still, as I said above, heВ’s obviously got something a bit wrong with him. As for the Doctor, I reserve my judgement. He was probably bluffing when he seemed to allow the alien to absorb Elton. He might have been sorry, although he didnВ’t demonstrate it in any way other than a cursory apology for EltonВ’s motherВ’s death, many years ago. But his assessment of himself В– not В“niceВ” В– is, fundamentally, as true of him as it was of Eccles. Why does David Tennant only play psychos?!

Ah, Russell. So close. So very close.

Since it relaunched, Doctor Who ahs been accused of taking the Buffy route in order to find success. Having been a massive Buffy fan myself, I saw this as no bad thing, although I would certainly say the show has plowed its own furrow much more than he detractors claim. 'Love and Monsters' is the most Buffy-esque direction the show has taken so far, in that it breaks the format completely. It's bound to annoy many fans and quite possibly bore many of the children who have become the Doctor's new fanbase.

Yet it oh-so-nearly works.

I liked last season's 'Boom Town'. It wasn't flashy, but it was a lovely character piece mostly overlooked due to many people's hatred of the Slitheen (which I share). Where 'Boom Town' was initially called 'Dining with Monsters', 'Love and Monsters' (this season's equivalent) could very easily have been called 'Collateral Damage'. An examination of what happens to those left behind when the Doctor leaves, it was massively touching in places. The loneliness of the LINDA members, Elton's quiet, ignored little life forever damaged by an early encounter with the Dcotor and, most importantly, Jackie's feelings of abandonment communicated themselves beautifully. All the while, the story was kept interesting by punchy direction and a deliberately down-to-earth, mundane style. Nods to previous earthbound stories 'Rose, 'Aliens of London' and 'The Christmas Invasion' gave the story a lovely sense of continuity.

What could have been an interesting little change-of-pace, however, is badly damaged at times by Davies' oft-criticised determination to wedge pop culture references and cringeworthy camp into the proceedings. Elton's love of ELO (with its accompnaying scenes of dancing and amateur band action) were almost as horrific as the Abzorbaloff's panto-esque adoption of a Bolton accent in its natural form. The idea of the creature is a truly hideous one and more could have been made of this. Instead, we were forced to watch as Peter Kay chased Elton around an alley in a cheap-looking, cheesy chase sequence that would have looked bad in the Sylvester McCoy era.

It's the cheap cheeriness that really lets this episode down. With such potential for a story exmaining the lot of those left behind and ignored by the Doctor, preyed-upon by a creature who wants to absorb them out of the world completely, we could have had a low-key, inexpensive piece of foreshadowing for what could well be Rose's final fate. But RTD, for all his brilliance and imagination, is incapable of avoiding the trap of cheap humour and yet another bloody reference to the Slitheen. The constant references to the reviled things goes against the epic feeling the show should be nurturing, making the universe seem confined to the Powell estate and Raxico-bleeding-fallopatorius.

I adored parts of this story, I really did. It just makes me all the more frustrated that Davies, who excels at writing about the darker side of the human character, doesn't quite have the courage of his convictions to make 'Love and Monsters' what it should be.

That said, the episode was interesting enough to garner a strong reaction from me, which still puts it ahead of 'New Earth' and 'The Idiot's Lantern' this season.

Next week, our last one-off before the finale and an interesting-looking threat in suburbia. Hopefully this week's modern-day setting won't detract from the story due to their close scheduling.

Why???

What theoretical demons is Mr Davies trying to exorcise
As he preaches his ideas on fan and web power, disguised
As an essay pontificating from an ivory tower!
Do we need physchology of the lone parent at this hour?

What story arcs is Mr Davies trying to tell
When we move to Earth (again) from interplanetary hell?
Please donВ’t forget which character weВ’re switching on for
Again itВ’s Ma TylerВ’s perspective weВ’re forced to endure.

Which bodily jokes are we employing tonight
To make us laugh at the ludicrous sight
Of a truncated Slitheen relation running down a cheap back alley;
His own stuffed with human remains and Northern folly?

With Mr Kay so promising as a potential villain of mysterious discord
Who allowed him to use such alien Northern vocal chords?
В‘Eee by gum!В’ bring back the Goodies В–however dated
Like them, I hope this farce is never repeated.

Which director or script editor or producer allowed
This scipt and plot as science fiction В–or had they bowed
To gods on high, who undid two seasons of hard work?
Or is this SatanВ’s retribution for going down the hole-heВ’s back with a smirk!

My daughter hated it to the point of annoyed boredom
And from the mouth of babes asked with aplomb
В‘Why didnВ’t they Absorb this alien into the Coronation story
Wearing the faces sucked into the TV would appear quite gory.

Just last week I thought with pride and eager anticipation
On how far the Mill had pushed special effects
Since the early Daleks.
With mature themes built on the legacy of Mr Nation.

I sincerely hope Mr Grade was otherwise engaged
Or he may have been enraged
That the Beeb, on the world stage
Could take the Doctor so quickly back to the Ice Age!!

Fancy leaving the spectacles on PotterВ’s Myrtle,
For all to view the corny gags and pace as slow as a turtle.
No paving stone was left unturned for a cheap laugh
Whose body will be under the patio for this gaffe?

Please please let us not be earthbound
With Tyler arcs and aliens that belong buried underground.
No more London based stories but letВ’s get back into space
And use MillВ’s effects and good writers before the doctor loses HIS face!

Hands up if you thought LOVE AND MONSTERS was going to be dreadful? I did, and for some of it I thought I was going to be proved right.......it wasn't great, it wasn't a classic, but it did contain points of interest.

The basic plot centres around a gang of UFO spotters who are following the Doctor- suddenly a real alien bursts into their lives and things go seriously pear shaped. Enter Peter Kay- and exit Peter Kay in a pool of goo. Fundamentally it was a nice idea, the absence of the Doctor and Rose for much of it meaning that the focus was on those who are touched by his presence. Marc Warren performed creditably in the central role, evoking both pathos and comedy when needed. The opening pre-credits scene was suitably dramatic, and Elton's subsequent account of the building up of his cult group convincing, if a bit twee in the music scenes. I didn't need the constant harks back to the band playing. Then Victor Kennedy bursts into things and suddenly they are hunting the Doctor for real. Elton gets freindly with Jackie, but is rumbled, and then the creature begins to destroy it's prey- but just when it all seems to be over.....enter Mr Tennant, back from filming Episode Nine just in time to save the day.

The plot built itself up fairly nicely, and there were some atmospheric moments and nice use of music. Elton's confused loyalties as he spied on Jackie were a nice touch to things, and Jackie's affirmation of her protection of the Doctor and Rose as she susses him out was lovely. And it does make sense that the Doctor would be latched onto by some kind of esoteric nut group somwhere along the line.The Doctor becoming a focus for everything from serious research to artistic expression was interesting as a comment on how people react to a "something" that they follow- after all everything from religion to sport generates such diversity of expression in their adherents, so why not our hero? The links back to the Autons and the Sycorax were neat. It was a nice touch that when the little gang got their dream and met aliens it wasn't what they thought it would be. And yet.....

There were some really silly bits along the way. The opening corridor chase scene just seemed stupid rather than funny, and I struggled a bit with their easy subjection to Victor Kennedy. Maybe it just their slavishness to the idea of finding their dream. Whatever. Kennedy's holding people back for private chats was obviously a ploy to absorb them and the idea was better done in SCHOOL REUNION. I know this was a lighter hearted episode but even so it came across as daft. And the Absorbaloff itself?

It could have been worse. Bless the lad who designed it, because it was a good idea. I loved the idea of the victim's faces talking out of it's body. In a more straightlaced story, played for horror, that could have been really scary. Played on a lighter level it still worked to an extent though. It's disdain for Slitheen was another nice, unobtrusive continuity nod. But would it really be so stupid as to run out into broad daylight? And it was destroyed way too easily, and its dissolution just came across a bit wizard of oz....Oh, and one of its victims was stuck in its backside. So like Cassandra, it talks out of its nethers....this was less offensive than the pathetic stream of burp/fart jokes in ALIENS OF LONDON, but I could have done without it. But children will probably love it.

So, having been a patchwork of good bits and bad bits the whole thing actually ended quite well. Much as I bemoaned the creature's easy end, I liked the aspect of the Doctor thinking out a solution on the spot, seeming to disregard Elton's life but actually having an answer in mind- while Rose looks bemused but trusting. Then we get the recollection as to why the Doctor appeared in Elton's house while he was a child- that was a spooky moment and I think would have made a better story than the one we got. But hey ho..

And so it all wrapped up with Elton's final soliliqy. Interesting, but I was a bit peturbed at meeting the Doctor being seen as a mostly negative experience. We've had a dollop of this this year- Sarah picking up the fragments of her life, Madame de Pompadour waiting for the hero who never returned etc. It's all in context- when you've been travelling you have to come down to earth, and Elton spent a lot of the story on the run. Much as this examination of such issues boosts the Doctor's mystery value and adds a realism to things, does it need to be seen negatively all the time? In SCHOOL REUNION the deflation afterwards was the price of the adventure (probably realistic), here the experience was a destructive touch on a man's life. Yes, Sarah would have found it hard, and Elton was as I've said on the run, but can we see the Doctor leaving a more positive aftermath behind him sometimes? Contrast the ending of the DEADSTONE MEMORIAL novel where after the adventure a disillusioned Hazel McKeown has had her sense of wonder restored to her- some of that would be nice here to counterbalance the negative. After all, he can't always leave bitterness behind him.......

And so we're on episode 10 already! It's been a mixed ride- from the patchy (this episode, NEW EARTH) to the fairly good (SCHOOL REUINION, TOOTH AND CLAW, IDIOT'S LANTERN) to the superb (GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE and the Cybermen and IMPOSSIBLE PLANET two parters). Here's hoping FEAR HER is good and the climax is up to scratch. If we manage to end on a more gripping episode than PARTING OF THE WAYS I'll be surprised, but who knows?

A very-difficult one to review, as there has never been anything like this in Doctor Who lore. Now, thereВ’s nothing wrong with being unique. But was it good unique or bad unique? Or somewhere in between?

If the script for Love and Monsters had arrived unsolicited on Russell T DaviesВ’s desk, I wonder what heВ’d have done with it after reading it. Or rather, which manner of waste-paper disposal would he have used? Shredder? Bin? Return to sender, address unknown, and donВ’t trouble us again? Make a little bonfire with it perhaps? It certainly wouldnВ’t have been made into an episode of Doctor Who. Yet an episode of Doctor Who it did become В– being the bossВ’s idea might have helped it! В– but did В“the bossВ” make it work? В‘Course he did!

An episode in which neither The Doctor nor Rose had more than a couple of minutesВ’ screen time was always going to be different. To do it from the viewpoint of an entirely-new character, Elton Pope, was bold in the extreme, but Davies was helped here by Marc Warren, who was terrific as Elton. A well-written character you could warm to from the start, and the impossible job of playing the lead in a show without its two lead characters, was one he excelled at. So tremendous credit to Warren. If heВ’d have been unconvincing in the role, this would have been a deeply-uncomfortable watch.

The early scenes of The Doctor and Rose chasing a monster (without getting into the questions of what was it doing there and what happened to it!) in and out of doors was harmless fun, as was the introduction of LINDA. Loved the ELO music, too.

Peter KayВ’s involvement was a gimmick, of course, but he was good as Victor Kennedy, and obviously enjoyed his stint in the monster suit. It had to be recognisable as Kay, otherwise there was no point in his casting. Quite why it had a pronounced Northern accent, IВ’m not sure В– I know, I know, lots of planets have a North . . .

The idea of the Azorbaloff wasnВ’t a bad one, if a bit В“comic stripВ”, although as it was (literally) designed by a nine-year-old as part of a Blue Peter competition, that was understandable. And making it a neighbour of the Slitheen was a nice touch, and enabled the designers to choose bits of cast-off from RaxacoricofallapatoriusВ’ finest! I felt a flashback to В“the SliveenВ” would have been nice at this point, as IВ’m not sure the name is as instantly well known to all viewers, especially as they didnВ’t appear this season. The faces of В“the absorbedВ” on the monsterВ’s body was one of the episodeВ’s high points. This was a clever concept by the young designer, and very well realised by The Mill.

The scenes involving Elton and Jackie Tyler were also amongst the best of the episode В– as well as the obvious comedic value, IВ’m sure weВ’ll find this was significant as part of the season story arc, as was EltonВ’s observation that the time would come when Jackie and Rose would pay for their involvement with The Doctor. And I donВ’t think it would take the combined brainpower of LINDA to work out that В“pay offВ” is only a couple of episodes away.

I did chuckle at the В“we have a love lifeВ” line while the open-mouthed head of Ursula ensconsed in her paving stone sat on EltonВ’s lap, but IВ’m amazed it wasnВ’t cut! Captain JackВ’s bottom didnВ’t get past the censor, but that line did? I suppose it would have flown over the head of the younger members of the audience, but still . . .

As a piece of TV, it was very watchable. As an episode of Doctor Who, I couldnВ’t say I preferred to it much of the season, but it was SO different, itВ’s difficult to compare anyway. If you take the episode for what it was, a bit of fun designed to bridge the gap between some powerful, darker tales (and to ease the pressure on the lead two actors, presumably) I think you can make peace with it, and think of it with affection. It was a worthwhile gamble and, all things considered, one which paid off.

LOVE AND MONSTERSВ…..and well Marc Warren stealing the whole show in Hustle like fashion!

Can I just say nice little episode in light of the fact Billie Piper is leaving however our two main leads take a back seat in this one. Letting the superb guest cast which was a pick of great British talent and more or less letting them shine instead (good idea with this line up)

It was also a wickedly clever episode, David Tennant and Billie Piper getting the funniest and yet serious bit in one blast В– Marc WarrenВ’s Elton telling the story in true hustle like fashion only the con was on him to a certain extent.

However for an episode that wavered in places and that though it was well done it never the less lacked somehow in places В– not down to the actors but more the script and what last nights episodes did make obvious.

Something that has been getting to me of late in the last five episodes the fact that neither Billie Piper or David Tennant are getting the kind of scripts that are really giving them the chance to deliver and its no use!

Ok on to the good points the scary funny alien at the start and the doctor on classic form and the great line В‘DonВ’t I know you from somewhere?В’ ah nice way to get us all hooked considering how it all fell into place at end.

The comedy of Kay who is on fine form here and as weВ’ve never seen him before or want to again more to point. The flashbacks Elton telling us the highВ’s and lows of his life the doctor arriving just in the nick of time to save him and in no way to be forgotten Jackie!!!!

Who seemed determined to steal the show in ever other way and give us a good laugh as well, this episode was a classic in many ways and since I watched Marc Warren away back in Band of Brothers.

He has only continued to grow and enthral as an actor and he was the one who really made this episode so unique and special (plus ironically it was his second appearance on Doctor Who)

It was an episode with its moments and the tale it tried to tell is done with wit and style its serious point coming across in all to true Doctor who fashion yet it was the expressions, the one liners and that as Elton rightfully pointed out there is a price to pay with being with the doctor and put it this way В– wait till Doomsday and maybe then all which has been hinted at will bar fruit.

Along with what shone in The Christmas Invasion once more coming back into play only with the depth all these episodes since have given and for a further tiny point David Tennant was great here in this episode especially the opening bit where we see him to start with!