Ugh.

World War 3 was a huge disappointment when compared with Aliens of London. Aliens was my favorite episode of the new series and I had high hopes for the second episode of the serial. As I expected the action was fast and furious but it didn't really last.

I guess that is my first complaint: two much of the Rose/Doctor/Mother/Mickey dynamic. While I really liked the angle where they returned to Rose's time and we saw what happened with her and family, etc... there was just a little bit to much of it this time. In my opinion this should be the backstory, a sub-plot that rounds out an episode. This dynamic almost dominated the episode. Considering the amount of this that we had in the first episode of the serial as well there was just a bit to much for my taste. The part where they were locked in the cabinet room and that part of the story was great and touching, but the last 8-10 minutes of the episode were not as good. I'm not saying that I don't like this stuff but weave it into the story line better. I must admit I let out a huge sigh of relief when Mickey declined the offer of a spot in the Tardis. *whew*

My second complaint is that the aliens were way to goofy this time. The farting, etc... was a bit much in the first part but their goofy antics in the second part were just over the top. A few times in the episode they frantically tried to put their suits back on...this was ok the first time but the second time they tried it was dumb. The way that the PM and the general acted was also ridiculous and the mindless idiots in the complex just accept that the two goofiest people ever are now running the country. The foolishness of the aliens can be forgiven this time but I fear they are continually going to be this way. Hopefully they won't be.

The story is just a tad bit ridiculous as well. I especially find it hard to believe that when the Prime Minister has a news conference warning of the vast amount of weapons in space that no one else bothers to verify it. I mean surly a country like the United States may attempt to check this out on their own, or perhaps an amateur astronomer with $500 telescope in his backyard? The United Nations is going to vote to give nuclear codes to the UK without even checking the sky for themselves? If a mothership is lined up so perfectly that the UK can determine its belly is right over London then surely someone else could have seen these aliens. Ugh. It just is to much. I know it is science fiction and everything and they have to move the story on at a fast pace, but if the story is this foolish perhaps they should tighten it up a bit. After all they invested two epsiodes in this story, maybe they should have taken the time to build a solid second episode.

This is the first time I have been disappointed by the new series and it is unfortunately a BIG let down after Aliens of London. Another thing that concerns me is that after Aliens of London there may have been a lot of buzz an the second part may have had a higher viewership due to the positive talk. A lot of new, first time watchers may have tuned in to see the poorest episode thus far and may decide to give up on Doctor Who based on this one.

It improved dramatically from Aliens of London. Once again the Doctor took lead role again and calmed down a bit over his treatment of Micky, realising he's not a bad kinda guy and who knows, might someday end up doing good. Even the Slitheen improved when we found out what their real agenda was. you could say this was Russell T Davies best script so far, but then that's because I appreciate the anti war message that he was saying and the satire on the false Weapons of Mass destruction 45 minute claim but most important of all was how gung ho the humour race can be when faced with war. IE Blow them up, thus bringing the educational factor back into Doctor Who

However I was somewhat surprised that Micky after using his computer skills to save the world didn't want to go with Rose and join the Doctor in his adventures. Mind you though there's always the 2nd series. Perhaps RTD might include Micky as a future companion. On the whole World War Three provided a balance from the silly childish humour seen in Aliens of London. It was good to see the Doctor once again solving a problem and saving the world. Christopher Eccleston was serious for a change and not being his usual patronising self and if he keeps this up he'll be well respected even though he only did one season.

I also appreciated Penelope Wilton's scenes as Harriet Jones MP. You could really feel for the character and hope that in the future British Politics does have a better woman Prime Minister than Margaret Thatcher who ruined the lives of so many people.

Three Cheers for RTD. Let’s hope he gets nominated for the Nobel in 2005.

Since Charlton Heston pounded the sand in front of the down-on-her-luck Lady Liberty we've all known what Sci Fi was capable of. A level of shocking, nerve tingling brutality that domestic drama just can't replicate. Last night's Doctor Who somehow managed combine domestic drama with a sci fi shock which will stay in viewer's minds for sometime to come. The sight of Rose's mum waiting for 10 seconds and Micky starting what must have been an all-nighter staring at that spot was gut wrenching, finally a glimpse of how this series can better its previous incarnations. The ending to this episode was little short of genius.

Following last week's Aliens of London this episode was for me, duty over desire, and expectations were low. Seeing the Slitheen incapacitated by their own weapon and managing to get back into disguise just in time for the Doctor to return and look a wally in front of the military hinted at more of last week's pointless capering. However, what emerged from this was an excellent character driven disaster movie where Eccleston's grinning was reigned in for enough time for him to completely endear himself to his audience. Covering up for Mickey's reluctance to leave in the TARDIS, being unable to make the ultimate decision to risk his companion's life, diplomatically threatening the Slitheen that he would stop them if they didn't leave and finally nervously pacing the TARDIS waiting for Rose to ditch shepherd's pie for some stellar surfing added up to Eccleston's best performance to date.

I dont know what was different about this episode compared with last week's, perhaps it was the emotionally packed conclusion, the fact that each of the Doctor's associates had something meaningful to do, the emerging series continuity, it might have been the glass of wine I had with my dinner, whatever it was it made the farting seem less annoying. Whilst I wouldn't take back any comments made about the last episode this one certainly put to bed the notion that RTD couldn't write for his own series.

One minor gripe would be the obvious political commentry, the fat greedy Slitheen start a false war motivated by profit citing the presence of massive weapons of destruction and its New York where the decision is made to go ahead (geddit?). Sci Fi deconstructing the present through images of the future is nothing new, nor is it unwelcome, Star Trek, The Prisoner, Planet of the Apes and others have all commented on contemporary politics with great effect. Unfortunately when Andrew Marr is standing outside No. 10 talking about "massive weapons of destruction" the message is as subtle as a sledgehammer with 'I'm a political statement about the present govornment' written on it. The kids didn't get it and the adults all thought it anyway, this didn't change anyone's mind offer a moment of reflection and, for some, may have even been in poor taste. This is especially frustrating when Rose's own heartbreaking departure represented a triumph of open mindedness Vs xenophobia which far better made the point I feel RTD was getting at.

So my review started with the end and ended with the end which may be a little unfair to the rest of the episode. It was great fun with genuinely superb moments, what more could one ask for? Ans, The Daleks, oh yeah that's next week.

An intriguing second part to this eventful two parter. Setting predominantly most of the episode inside number ten was a risky idea, one that worked more on dialogue then an explosive finale. However this part was also about the lesser characters building the role of Mickey and his relationship with the Doctor and also Rose’s mother who she is and showing that there are feelings within these characters.

The concept of hacking more into UNIT was a clever move, I was realty glad to see UNIT brought back and was deluged with questions to who they were during the first part, but again it’s a good was of linking back to classic episodes.

Brilliant acting from Ecclestone and Billie Piper and I thought the Penelope Wilton’s role was well cast and preformed by a wonderful actress. Complementating the ac ting was again a good script from Davies, he aloud the story to move at its own pace without forcing it forward who changing it in any way.

Again there were small elements of which tailed over from the first part, which I found a little debatable again the flatulence, and I found the mysterious blue light, which appeared inward then, outward when they opened their heads intriguing although that added to the suspense and horror of the story.

The aliens were good, very childish and this came across well and thought the actual concept of them selling Earth was again a striking clever more from Russell T Davies, they were almost an intergalactic homes under the hammer!

However a strong well written episode again showing Davies’s strength in this field, and I look forward to the return of the Dalek on Saturday which looks fantastic.

After watching Episode 4 "Aliens of London" I had high expectations of "World War Three". But after viewing it, I feel that I was cheated. Russell T. Davies should really start thinking about other writers taking over the show. I just feel he doesn't have the ability to put out good "Doctor Who" stories. When writing for science fiction I feel one must always have believable situations backed up by some science. But with "World War Three" I found more plot holes than any other Doctor Who story I have ever seen.

It seems like RTD was halfway through writing the whole story, thought it wasn't good enough so then went in a completely different direction. The idea of Aliens faking a crash landing to kill all the experts on Earth so they won't have anybody to fight back is a good one. But when you start throwing in a family of "Aliens" who really just want us to nuke ourself so they can then sell the earth for scrap, is completely unbelievable. First off, the have a spaceship, they have better technology, yet they somehow can't seem to blow us up or the planet for that matter. If your from outer space and your in the "Business" of destroying worlds and selling them off as scrap, wouldn't you think you might have at some point just gotten weapons yourself to do it, and skip the whole 1-5 year plan of taking over governments and causing war?

Second: What was with the vinegar thing? That just made me feel like RTD thought we were stupid. It was like the garbage can that "eats" Micky in episode 1 which burps. This is a family show, but this latest story gave us farting aliens who die if you throw pickled eggs or salad dressing at them. I'm all for having a little bit of "camp" in an episode. But I don't think this is a comedy. Also when somebody gets on national television and claims a spaceship is right above the United Kingdom, don't tell me NOBODY takes a telescope or maybe just LOOKS UP! and says "Ummm it isn't their liar!". I feel that out of all the episodes so far, this was the laziest writing of them all. The 9th doctor really doesn't do anything here. He just talks on the mobile and gets Micky, Rose, Jackie and Harriet to do everything for him. And a good note though, once again Billie Piper shines throughout the episode. Christopher Eccelson is beginning to behave worse than Colin Bakers doctor though. I hate to say it but I'm kinda looking forward to him regenerating.

Third: Either make Jackie and Micky companions, or just drop them. I'm tired of going back and forth from Rose's life, to the Doctor's. The whole point of Doctor who's companions is that they are taken away from the world they know and put into outer space on adventures. It doesn't work when they "Visit" home every other episode. What's next? She forgets her favourite CD and goes home for zips home quick second to pick it up? For a doctor who doesn't do "domestics" he spends a lot of time with Roses family and friends. And I know in this episode it was only because of the situation that he interacted with them, but I checked upcoming episode casts and Jackie and Micky will be back.

I do have to say though the costumes and special effects were good. But I feel RTD has to make a choice, either write for Doctor Who, or produce it. But I don't think he can do both. The best episode so far wasn't written by him and it was the best. When you want the viewers to believe that you can hack into government missile control using just ONE password from your home computer.......its time to call in other writers. In the meantime, bring on the Daleks!!!

Not a classic, but a marked improvement on Aliens of London. Unlike the first part of this two part storyline, there wasn't anything in this episode that I felt was "off" (save lifetime backbencher Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North's constant self-introductions; it may work for William Shatner as Denny Crane, but Penelope Wilton didn't pull it off). Even the Slitheen's rather ridiculous appearence and personalities worked a little better here than in Aliens of London because we were given the explanation that they aren't meant to be scary full-blown invaders, but loathsome businessmen. The twist of them merely being a family instead of a race was moderately clever as well. Bonus points to Davies for managing to make some quite pointed commentary of US foreign policy via the Slitheen; a group of money-hungry monsters creating imaginary weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to hoodwink the UN and seize a valuable asset can't help but be compared to the Bush administration and their misadventures in the Middle East.

One underlying theme of this episode that I found interesting was the evasion of responsibility. Jones "orders" the Doctor to enact his plan even after he says that it could cost Rose her life, thereby sparing him an agonizing moral dilemma. The Doctor lies for Mickey after he essentially tells the Doctor he'd be scared to death to travel in the TARDIS, saving him some face in Rose's eyes. The Doctor can't bring himself to promise Jackie that he'll keep Rose safe. Evading responsibility can have tragic consequences. Coupled with the boatload of corpses that've piled up this season and the theme that the Doctor's only real companion is death, I can't help but wonder how the Doctor's lack of accountability will catch up with him.

I suppose the only serious complaint I have is the dread "buffalo" password. It's marginally plausible that UNIT might have one overriding "skeleton key" password and that the Doctor would know it, but the Royal Navy also having the same exact "skeleton key" is a bit much to swallow. A friend I watched the episode with suggested that the Doctor himself planted the password in every computer on Earth, which is possible, given the "worldwide virus" disc the Doctor gives Mickey at the end, but in the absence of a clear rationalization, we're forced to conclude that it'd ludicriously easy to seize control of England's armed forces (in all fairness, many major motion pictures commit similiar sins).

Ultimately, it looks as if Aliens of London was an aberration rather than the beginning of a downward spiral for the new series. If, as I've heard, Dalek marks the start of a more adult tone for the series, free of the juvenile antics of Aliens of London, I feel reasonably assured that Doctor Who's TV future is very bright indeed