It has to be said that Aliens of London is the episode of the series so far that has left me least ecstatic - whether that is because of the quality of the episode, or just because the novelty of new Doctor Who is subsiding remains to be seen. However there were many bits that I liked and some that I was not so keen on.

The crash landing and the mocked up BBC News 24 coverage was excellent - as had been expected from last week's trailer. It's good to see a full scale invasion of Earth again - with the army, politicians and mock TV crews - and this felt like very traditional Who territory. In fact, there were many elements that made this episode feel more like the old series than any of the previous three. In many respects it felt reassuringly familiar. It is obvious that the two parter format is going to allow for more slow-building, complex plots and this, again, felt more like 'classic' Who. While not being overly complex, the plot was interesting, and the idea of the faked crash landing good. The mention of UNIT was also a nice little touch, put in to excite those of us who care about these things. The Doctor was once again quickly bossing around soldiers, just as he used to do in the Pertwee days. The Slitheen look very like traditional Who monsters, right down to their slightly rubbery, 70s looking costumes. And there was a cliffhanger! Just like the old series...only this one was largely negated by the teaser trailer for next week. Yes, I know nobody expects that the Doctor is about to die, but to see him running around grinning, just three seconds after the cliffhanger takes the edge off of it a little bit. That was a shame.

So, there were many elements to this episode that seem, on paper at least, to be very 'old Who'. However, if anybody was expecting Spearhead from Space, they were in for a shock. This was '2005 Who' through and through (and more specifically 'RTD Who'). After the sombre ghosts of The Unquiet Dead I think some people may have been unprepared for farting aliens and flying pigs, however I think that, outrageous as these elements seem, they managed to work - just. While they were a little too frequent, at least the fart gags did have a reasoning and purpose in the plot (beyond making the kids laugh). And the pig - well that was a complete surprise and an audacious move. I find that, as silly as 'RTD Who' (in contrast to The Unquiet Dead) can sometimes be, I do actually quite like it. And I think the reason is that it is so fresh and daring that it takes my breath away. It is so different to how the series was, while still being recognisably Who, that I can't help but be impressed. It would have been inconceivable in the old series that a companion would turn around to the Doctor and say "you're so gay", but in Aliens of London it was a minor aside that seemed so natural I'd completely forgotten about it five minutes later.

Other non-traditional elements of the story were, of course, the 'domestic scenes' and, once again, these do work. I love Rose's mum and even Mickey is alright this time around. However, I do feel that the series should now start to move on a bit beyond 'Rose's story'. It's been refreshing to see that the companion, and the effects of time travel on her, have been handled realistically, and she has been given a background. But if Rose is still squealing "but it's soooo alien", endlessly pondering the effects of time travel and arguing with her boyfriend and mum by episode 13, it may have got a bit soapish and a bit boring.

Finally, I just need to make a point about Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. Although his portrayal is largely good and his relationship with Rose interesting and intriguing, I just wish he would stop laughing and grinning inanely at everything! It sometimes seems a little put-on and makes me wince (I think it was in the car going to Downing Street). There seems to be a hint of a slightly pseudo-sexual relationship developing between the Doctor and Rose and it will be interesting to see how that pans out over the series - tricky territory.

All in all then, I enjoyed Aliens of London. The silliness really should have been toned down a bit, and hopefully CE will calm down a little as the series goes on, but Doctor Who is still the most original, enjoyable, clever and interesting programme on TV on a Saturday night by a long shot.

Russell T Davies is a genius! How can a man get it so right and so wrong in the space of forty-five minutes? Now that is real talent!

So, what did he get right? The relationships between Rose, her mother and Mickey for a start. All is forgiven Jackie and Mickey. I despised these characters in 'Rose' but the performances of both actors here was excellent. I thought that the idea of a genuinely traumatic reunion, courtesy of the Doctor's mistake, was a real highpoint of the episode; well-acted and convincing. Mickey's jealousy regarding his perceived relationship between the Doctor and Rose was well-scripted and well acted. I also found the animosity displayed towards Mickey by the Doctor funny, if only because there is no real reason why the Doctor should dislike him. He just does.

Penelope Wilton put in a fine performance and I thought that the spaceship crashing into Big Ben was one of the most iconic moments in the history of Doctor Who. And that's about it, really.

There was so much that I disliked about this episode, the blame of which can only be placed on two people: Russell T Davies and Phil Collinson; the former for writing such drivel in the first place and the latter for letting him get away with it. I mean, for goodness sake...fart jokes! And this is supposed to be the best writer writing for television. I have never felt so patronised while watching a Doctor Who episode, or so embarrassed. How can a sense of threat and menace be built up when such juvenile material has been written in the first place? And, I'm sorry...but a zip in the forehead? Is this supposed to be post modernly ironic: Guess what kids...Doctor Who monsters used to be men in rubber suits y'know! Now, however, they are merely bland and poorly realised CGI effects. I know that the Slitheen were given limited screen time and they may yet prove to be a serious threat but there first episode inspires little confidence.

It is telling that the best episode, in my opinion, of the series so far was not written by Russell T Davies. If he continues to set his standards so low, sacrificing real threat for cheap and childish gags, then I have little confidence in the rest of the series. Please, for series two, someone stop his omnipotence. He's asleep at the wheel. Oh, well, maybe I'll be proved wrong next week. Please. Please!

Now back to the story (or episode?) itself. It opened with a brief re-cap from episode 1 'Rose' , reminding viewers that Rose has a family, boyfriend and past. This nicely sets up this near-future adventure which reintroduces these elements. The Tardis arrives in the pre-credits sequence only for the Doctor to discover that Rose hasn't been returned 12 hours after she originally left, but rather 12 months!

All this is a rather slow and predictable opening, but things soon pick up when the UFO flies overhead and hovers over London's landmarks and finally crashing through Big Ben and falling into the Thames. This particular scene is wonderful and superbly filmed, the model sequences here are some of the best ever presented, and all the partial-authentic News 24 stuff following was very well done and added more credibility to the whole proceedings. It was great seeing the Doctor sat down watching the tele, only to have Rose's flat populated with friends and family constantly talking in the background and effecting the Doctor's concentration. Very much something I can identify with!

The Doctor being confronted by the army was another fantastic scene, and then seeing that Pig in a spacesuit, was astonishing and is something that you could only find in Doctor Who. The Doctor's reaction to it's death was very moving and surprisingly effective, and what about those farting aliens, well, they were certainly something new to Doctor Who, and the big kid in me found these moments very funny (I'm easy to please!).

When we see the Slitheen revealed by their unmasking towards the end of the episode by unzipping their foreheads (and how great was THAT effect, it helpfully explained how Scaroth and the Foamasi probably concealed themselves under very convincing human skins). The cliffhanger ending was brilliant, and with the Doctor and friends in immediate peril it brought the whole thing to an adrenaline rushed finale! Shame then that it was followed by a teaser for the follow-up episode, it kind of took the shine off the ending somewhat. What a missed opportunity!

Still, overall the episode was pretty good and ticked most of the right boxes, it was funny, dramatic, shocking and action-packed. Billie Piper is still magnificent and lovely as Rose, and Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor is great, the best Doctor since Peter Davison in my opinion. Now you must excuse me, but my bowels are about to release something quite fowl I think. 8/10

The secret of watching the new Doctor Who series is simple. If you are perturbed by any scene, any comment,any monster...then just try and think why RTD wanted it there in the fist place. The man knows his stuff. The burping bins, the flatulent aliens that so many old-school viewers will no doubt complain about, are there for the kids. They will love imitating the Slitheen, the ET type creatures in ALIENS OF LONDON. You can imagine, and probably hear, the school playgrounds on Monday morning. And that is the magic of Doctor Who and the magic of RTD.

To begin I must admit that this has been my favorite episode so far. I have been fascinated by the background story of the Doctor and the time war and actually gasped when it was revealed that Gallifrey was gone. Anyway this story, at least in episode 1, has been pretty lean on the details only revealing information that was already known (ie the Doctor is 900 and UNIT wouldn't recognize him due to regeneration). It is with this that I think the show's producers have made a bit of a mistake. The Doctor is over 900 yes, but he does age. If I recall he has been 900+ since the days of Tom Baker but he must have aged along since then. I mean was he 900 when Hartnell was the Doctor (I am not sure) but if he was did he really manage to get there on one regeneration and has burned 9 since then? Ugh, with no carry-over companion it was a perfect moment to age the Doctor. Anyway, a small point.

I really liked how the Doctor and Rose are on the outside looking in for a while. That they were forced to watch the crash on TV like everyone else was a good way to go about things. Far to often in the past the Doctor has shown up and just said, "I'm the Doctor and I'm here to help" and with no questions it is accepted. I thought it would be a good place to use the psychic paper (which I think is a good way of getting the Doctor in on a story, especially considering the fast pace of things) but the way they did it was brilliant. The news casts, etc.. also made it feel much more real! I was very impressed.

The story itself is really quite good as well. I was pretty upset when it was over and really wanted more. There are a few issues (such as the flatuence) but overall I thought it was really well done. The story seemed a bit slower than the other episodes but this is probably because they have 2 episodes to work with instead of one, and I really like this. It gives time to build the story up over the first episode and then have the crazy, fast paced "save the world" action sequences in episode 2 of the 2 parter. I'm expecting the second episode to move quite quickly. The pig-alien was a big disappointment but they made up for it a bit with the reasons and the unfolding story line.

The special effects were a little dubious in parts. The "unzip the head" style movement from person to person the aliens use was pretty tacky (in my opinion) but the actual aliens themselves were wonderfully done. The crashing of the space ship in London was magnificent and really set the tone for the episode itself. I guess I should be used to some dubious effects in Doctor Who as I am a newer fan who got into the series during the last season of McCoy and thus have been used to the dated effects of years past. It is a bit of a style for Who but I am starting to feel the "blue light" effects are getting a bit old. Hopefully with Daleks and others coming we won't see this effect for a while or it risks becoming the wrinkle of star trek (ie all aliens are human just with wrinkles located in different parts).

Over all I am really excited as this is the first time I have experienced a true cliff-hanger. The old days saw me watching Who on PBS and so it was complete serials rather than episodes. This is the first time I have actually had to wait a week to see an episode because it hasn't been broadcast yet. Based on part 1 of this story I hope they do more dual-part episodes in season two. Anyway that's it for now, time to go eat some jelli-babies.

Previously, on Doctor Who....

We've marvelled at how, in reinventing the show for the 21st Century, post-Buffy, tv-savvy family audience, RTD et al have kept the show eerily familiar for us older fans. Sure, the action is faster as dictated by the 45 minute format, and the sets don't wobble, and the effects are actually effective, but the essence of the series is still that of the show we've loved for over 40 years.

But in Aliens Of London, we encounter an entirely knew concept - and a welcome one at that. Yes, over the years, many an adolescent boy has felt the first stirrings of something alien in his pants at the sight of the Doctor's companions. And yes, we've all hidden behind the sofa as the latest Little Miss Screamy is threatened by the alien of the week.

Yet, somewhat strangely, we've never really had an exploration of the aftermath of a young woman absconding with a 900-yr old timelord. OK, so there was a brief, throwaway line in Survival, but here we have a whole backstory about Rose's departure. And it works! Strangely, it fits right in with traditional Who. Set against the backdrop of an alien incursion, we hear about the 12 month search for Rose, the suspicion thrown at Mickey, and the suffering of Rose's mother. Its that classic Who mix of huge world/cosmos shattering events with a parochial subtext that has always played a big part of the show's appeal.

As for the main plot itself, its the usual high standard the new series has become synonymous with. The farting aliens wear a little, the gag is overdone a tad, but the plot twists are inventive and tidy. The cliffhanger (thank God they're back!) is right up there with Deadly Assassin Episode 3, Remembrance episode 1, and all your other favourites.

Tidy performances from the supporting cast, and a fleeting glimpse of UNIT, adds yet another success to the RTD vision of Doctor Who. And after 16 years of VHS and DVD watching, I find myself enjoying the fact I HAVE to wait seven days for the resolution. For the first time since I first heard a CND spokmesman, I'm really looking forward to World War III.