A lot of us Who fans first fell in love with Doctor Who because of the cliffhangers. They were always well executed and always left you fearing the worst for the Doctor and his companions. But this week's episode finale for me was one of the best ever and it is full marks for the Doctor Who team for teasing us all the way that the cybermen were going to invade earth ... and then what do you know, the mysterious sphere has nothing to do with the metal meanies at all, and in all their glory, the Daleks take centre stage at the end of a thrilling episode.

In last week's review of "Fear Her" I had suggested that the new season of Who had not quite lived up to the same atmosphere as last season in terms of gravitas. Well, score that out. This was the episode we have been waiting for to showcase David Tennant at his best as Doctor Who.

From the opening scenes with Rose admitting she was on her final journey, to the generous homecoming and, fourth on-screen kiss for the Doctor, though arguably the least enjoyable, the episode had begun at a rattling pace.

The arrival of the ghosts was suitably mysterious and the Doctor's efforts to pin one down and find out what they were all about had more than a touch of Ghostbusters about it.

The arrival at Torchwood was similarly impressive and I really thought that Tracey-Ann Oberman was first class in the part and suitably sexy as well. I am sure a few of us wouldn't mind if she was the new companion but we'll move swiftly on! She was fantastic and gave Torchwood an air of true professionalism and authority.

The appearances of Derek Acorah, Tricia and Barbara Windsor were neatly done. The glorious finale with the cybermen invading Earth was marvellously done right down to the little boy trying to escape from the cybermen by running up the stairs only to confront another one! How many times were you in that situation as a kid when watching Doctor Who and imagining what could happen! Don't have nightmares, do sleep well is the BBC Crimewatch's message. Whether the same can be said for the Doctor after the finale of this epic story remains to be seen but it is shaping up to be one hell of a battle next week. The cybermen versus the Daleks and the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, Jackie and Rose's Dad re-united, I can't wait till next week's encounter. Just like it always used to be. The cliffhangers were the best!

Now that was a bit good. Actually, that was a lot good. The penultimate episode of Series 2 promised much in the exciting trailer at the end of Fear Her, and it simply delivered all that and more, in the shape of this sparkling jewel in the second-series crown.

It just makes such a difference to story pacing when you have two episodes to play with rather than one, and the tempo was absolutely spot-on here. The best-structured episode of the series so far, Army Of Ghosts was in no rush to reach its climax, yet it still felt as though it cracked along at a good pace, with plenty of thrilling highlights along the way.

The first of those highlights was the now traditionally excellent pre-credits sequence, in which we learn that Rose is В“deadВ”. I suspect В– well, IВ’m absolutely certain В– that RoseВ’s В“deathВ” wonВ’t mean В“deathВ”, not with the concept of alternative worlds floating around. You could be said to В“dieВ” in one world, for instance, and go to another. You could В“dieВ” in another sense В– inside В– if, for instance, your parents were killed. A distinct possibility here, with the expected В“reunitingВ” of Jackie and Pete. And, of course, you could die and go to Hell . . . which turns out to be eternal life. Or something. But it will be fascinating to discover how RoseВ’s end comes, and I shall hope to avoid serious spoilers before seeing the concluding part. A lot of credit (yet again) to Russell T Davies for his story-arc-building skills in both series to date, to bring us to this point.

And talk of story arcs brings me to Torchwood. Understandably, with a 13-part series upcoming, Torchwood was always going to play a prominent part in the В“mothershipВ” series, but it worked really well, with the little hints (albeit not particularly subtle ones) dropped in previous episodes pointing to here.

I enjoyed Tracy-Ann ObermanВ’s performance. She does have the look of a femme fatale, a Sharon Stone-type in Basic Instinct, a woman who could charm the pants from you, and then deposit an ice pick between your shoulder blades (or somewhere worse) or, indeed, a stone dog upon your head, which is what her character did in EastEnders. ItВ’s unlikely Yvonne Hartman will be called upon to perform such malevolence, not with all that metallic competition around, but there was the hint of the fascist about her. I could certainly see her head to toe in a tight black uniform and jackboots, but perhaps thatВ’s just me . . .

An interesting facet to the character of Yvonne is that she is driven by a desire to make Britain Great through TorchwoodВ’s activities. In a sense, does that make her motivation В– and that of those like her В– akin to the basic В“we will conquer and destroy all in our wayВ” mantra of the Cybermen or the Daleks?

It was good to see Mickey Smith back. And quel transformation! The last time we saw him, Mickey was well on the way from В“upgradingВ” from rather-wet-boy-next-door to all-action resistance fighter, and it looks like heВ’s well and truly the latter now. The excellent Noel Clarke clearly relished playing the action hero in Rise Of The Cybermen/The Age Of Steel, and he was in his element here.

And a word for Camille Coduri, too. SheВ’s always been good for the lighter moments, with her wonderfully-wide eyes, and it was fun to see Jackie take a trip in the TARDIS at last. Obviously, sheВ’s been carried along to Torchwood for a reason, and thatВ’s just another intriguing question left open for the final part.

As well as the guest cast being in good form, David Tennant and Billie Piper also rose to the challenge of a very special story. Tennant was close to his Christmas Invasion best here. Yes, the Ghostbusters stuff and the decidedly-low-tech 3-D glasses were a bit daft, but so was Tom BakerВ’s scarf and the jelly babies and the rolling eyes, and he was a legend. This is just an aspect of TennantВ’s Doctor, and I feel we will see the manic moments still evident, but toned down, in the next series. As IВ’ve opined before, in his quieter paces, of which there were plenty here, Tennant really does excel. IВ’d love to see him as a darker Doctor in Series Three.

Billie Piper always shines (Tooth And Claw excepted, when she was underwritten) when Davies scripts. Rose is his baby, more so than The Doctor, which was an inherited character, and weВ’ve seen throughout the two series how far she has travelled В– literally and metaphorically. В“You even look like him,В” Jackie told her when she saw her daughter at the TARDIS controls. Obviously, how the end comes for Rose В– in whatever form В– is the big question to be answered next week.

That the Army Of Ghosts В– there have been some great episode titles in this series, and this was another В– turned out to be Cybermen crossing over from the parallel world we visited in Episodes 5 and 6 was no great surprise when we saw one of the metal giants lurking in Torchwood (nice touch to have them crashing through plastic sheeting, just like the old days!). But the revelation of the Army was В– as weВ’ve come to expect from The Mill В– superbly realised.

And then there was the end-of-episode cliffhanger. For me, nothing has ever topped the end to Episode One of Earthshock, and I honestly didnВ’t think anything would. When you consider that the image of the Cybermen materialising all over the world would have made a spectacular ending on its own, I wondered what on Earth (or beyond Earth) Davies could have up his sleeve to top that. Well, now we know! To have the flying Daleks В– and a wonderful BLACK Dalek at their head В– emerge from the slowly-opening sphere was simply breathtaking. A wonderful piece of TV, and I just wish I was seven or eight years old, and had no idea what was about to come. An image you would carry with you throughout your years, as I have of cliffhangars in The Green Death and Planet Of The Spiders at that age.

Another great score from Murray Gold, weaving in all his previous themes from both series, and it was all overseen brilliantly by Golden Graeme - and this is only the first half. The Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Jackie in a fight to save the Earth from Daleks AND Cybermen. In an episode called Doomsday. Just what the seven or eight-year-old would write, as Davies himself has said. Without having seen Doomsday, I canВ’t say for certain that this story will take high rank amongst the best Doctor Who stories ever, but Army Of Ghosts has been the pick of this high-quality Series 2. So far!

On a day in which Andre Agassi waved goodbye to Wimbledon and Andy Murray showed that he is a champion of the future, England played in a dramatic World Cup quarter-final and Zinedine Zidane of France showed that while age may take its toll, class is permanent, it says much for Russell T Davies that he could create a TV drama which lived with those unforgettable sporting moments. Dismiss out of hand anyone who says otherwise, THIS is Doctor Who. And this is classic Doctor Who. Enjoy.

At last В– a really terrific episode of Doctor Who from the showВ’s primary writer! Daleks, Cybermen, the return of Mickey, Torchwood and an army of Ghosts: this episode truly did pull all the stops out. And comparing it to last yearВ’s season finale, the mostly execrable Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways, is a real eye-opener; В“Army of GhostsВ” is just in a totally different league. And judging from the В“next weekВ” trailer, there is going to be significantly more harmony of plot here than in that two-parter, which was in effect one boring episode and one densely-packed story about something else altogether.

Brilliantly, В“Army of GhostsВ” managed to be interesting all the way through. From the beginning I was hooked - Rose and the DoctorВ’s voyage to an alien planet in the pre-credits sequence (a lovely and romantic special effects sequence for so short a time, as well), and particularly the Doctor practically dancing round the console operating the switches, really made me feel like I was watching Dr Who В– more strongly, actually, than anything else in the whole of the new series so far apart from the closing ten or so minutes of В“The Doctor DancesВ”!

Also brilliantly, in an episode in which ghosts roam the streets and the Daleks emerge at the end from a sinister sphere, Russell manages to show that the Cybermen are still a serious threat, and very definitely something to be afraid of. Despite their appearances being kept to a minimum for most of the running time, when they do appear to take control at the end they are truly awesome, and the DoctorВ’s line В“not an invasion В– itВ’s too late for that. ItВ’s a victoryВ” highlights the extent of the threat to the Earth as Cybermen appear literally everywhere; not only outside the Taj Mahal, but at the top of the stairs in a middle-class household somewhere in suburbia! The episode was epic in scale.

But is it a victory? Although we, the audience, all knew what was coming out of the sphere after the Dalek-gun effect in last weekВ’s trailer, the appearance of three Daleks must surely surprise even the Cybermen, who have opportunistically followed the capsule into a new universe with no real idea of what is inside. Given that Daleks-versus-Cybermen has been the secret desire of probably quite a few fans for a while, and that Daleks-and-Cybermen-team-up is a close second, I think Russell knows what heВ’s doing here, and I hope he doesnВ’t receive any stick from his new fans for pandering to the В“old guardВ” of fandom. With any luck, whichever route he goes down in the series finale next time (or even if he does both!), the scenario will be interesting to new fans of the series as well.

The portrayal of Torchwood was also sufficiently interesting. Having Chrissy from Eastenders as their chief is looking like quite good casting, as Tracy-Ann Oberman makes a quite charming villainess. Incidentally, the anti-Empire stuff missing from В“Tooth and ClawВ” surfaces here; TorchwoodВ’s motivation seems to be the creation of a British Reich. But it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been; the Doctor doesnВ’t deliver any stinging rebukes at all, which, though welcome, is rather out of character for him В– he seems to be favouring the В“IВ’ll ignore you then В– youВ’ll soon come roundВ” approach at the moment (viz. his doorstep conversation with ChloeВ’s mother in В“Fear HerВ”).

Torchwood, interestingly, is portrayed as a fairly normal organisation В– its employees even instant-message each other about being bored, while Yvonne, nominally (and actually) the villainess, indulgently ignores the romance blossoming between some of her subordinates. While this could have been inappropriate, I think this really pays off here В–Torchwood, although conceptually a bit silly (how many secret organisations/locations are there in the UK? UNIT, C-19, the Glasshouse, the Forge, now Torchwood), is not just a one-dimensional assortment of ciphers.

As for the regulars, Tennant is still on a high, totally engaging and commanding, whether trapping a ghost in a triangulation network, explaining about boots and footprints, taking a wrong turning in the corridors or making holes in plate-glass. Rose gets to demonstrate her independence and courage again, Jackie, though rather useless, doesnВ’t feel too shoe-horned in, and MickeyВ… well, he hasnВ’t done anything yet, but itВ’s nice to see him again (I was expecting him, but not in that capacity). Given that Pete Tyler and MickeyВ’s boring chum from В“The Age of SteelВ” are also putting in appearances next time round, I canВ’t help but wonder if Russell hasnВ’t taken on too much for a 45-minute episode; but we will see.

Who else thinks Jackie and Pete and Rose and Mickey are going to get together and live in the parallel universe?

Well, now.

For me, 'The Satan Pit' two-parter was the best of this season so far, but right now, minutes after episode 12 has ended, I want to go back and rewatch the episode immediately for the first time since 'Bad Wolf' last year.

The Doctor and Rose return to visit Jackie, only to discover that the ghosts of loved ones have been returning on Earth for two months, the result of activity at the mysterious Torchwood Tower.

Sure, there are some plot holes - peoples' belief in the ghosts being their loved ones having the strength to pull them further through the dimensional gap is pretty sketchy, and the Cybermen sitting completely undiscovered in a construction area which happens to be located in the most secure site in Britain (complete with alien technology) is rather ridiculous. Also, the Doctor's 'who ya gonna call?' was a little cringe-worthy.

Seriously, though, who cares?

The beginning of the episode screams 'epic tale coming!', with Rose's narration and suggestion that this is the story of her death catching us from the get-go. We even get a shot of Chris Ecclestone in 'Rose', back where this all began. From there, the story never lets go, choosing wisely not to dwell too much on the ghosts plot, instead allowing Rose and Jackie to once again question the dubious future of a companion of the Doctor's. We get more of a look at Torchwood and the lovely little surprise of Mickey's reappearance (unless, like me, you guessed that would happen back after 'The Age of Steel'). Much as 'Bad Wolf' was last season, 'Army of Ghosts' is really all set-up for the mouth-watering battle to come. Thankfully, though, Russell T Davies avoids the pop culture overload of last year's penultimate episode, settling for a genuinely amusing series of television clips dealing with the ghosts.

And the cliffhanger ...

I'd heard a suggestion in the tabloids months ago that the finale would feature a battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen, but I didn't actually believe it would happen.

I have no doubt Davies is going to be criticised for the move - it does seem like a fan's wet-dream rather than a viable story - but I'm more than happy to be optimistic and trust that the built-in payoff and excitement of a season finale will help carry the ambitious proposal. And, despite always preferring the Cybermen to the Daleks, I found myself leaning forward with a huge grin on my face as the screeching, evil creatures came out of that sphere. Exactly as I was last year during the Doctor's rousing 'I'm going to save Rose Tyler' speech, in fact.

Of course, this time, it looks like he's going to be able to do anything but ...

As for the other aspects of the production, David Tennant, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke have their characters down perfectly, the SFX is back to its polished best and Murray Gold combines a nice selection of past musical signatures for continuity with a newer, action-packed score.

Next week's going to be epic, no doubt about it. And if Davies can resist the deus ex machina resolution that slightly marred 'The Parting of the Ways', I'll be utterly delighted.

Bring on 'Doomsday'.

Well, that was one to raise the hairs on the back of the neck! As he did last year, RTD provides a penultimate episode that leaves me thinking “how the hell are they going to get out of that?”. I hope this year the ending is more satisfactory. If it proves to be so, this could be another story to go down in history as a true great – and we’ve already had at least two of those this year.

OK, so I had an inkling that the Daleks were going to make an appearance, and if the Cybermen broke through from their universe then I expected Mickey to follow. But both were handled cleverly. No, I didn’t notice that it was Mickey working in the sphere room until Rose saw him.

As for the mysterious sphere itself, I did realise the colouring in the room was rather like the Daleks from last year, and the sphere could almost be an enlarged ball from a Dalek case. So no mystery there for me, but even so it was quite hair-raising when the three Daleks emerged at the end of the episode.

But I am getting away with myself. Early in the story there was humour, as the “ghosts” appeared and the Doctor went ghostbusting. But it was handled well, even the scene from East Enders and other TV programmes. Perhaps RTD has learned how to package the humorous moments, for example I have no fondness for East Enders but I laughted out loud.

It was almost a Pertwee moment with the Doctor rushing out with his ghost detecting cones, and surmising that they might not be ghosts at all but that people just wanted them to be. With horror it slowly dawned on me that the ghosts might be Cybermen, I think there’s even a hint of cyber voice.

In the Torchwood Tower when the Doctor stops the “ghost shift” by gleefully telling Yvonne to go ahead and pulling up a chair from which to watch, I almost felt the script was very typical of Tom Baker at his best. But David Tennant handles it differently, with a zeal that even Tom didn’t have. That is why Tennant really is the Doctor in a way that Chris Eccleston wasn’t.

Oh the scene with the polythene in the building zone, quite terrifying. Graeme Harper knows how to pull off a frightening scene for sure! As it becomes clear that the Torchwood office employees have been taken over by the Cybermen, who have already broken into our dimension our attention turns to the sphere…and when the Cyberman states it is not theirs, the look on the Doctor’s face is wonderful.

So the sphere opens, and the Daleks are revealed. How will our friends get out of this one? Lets hope this time nobody swallows any magic dust and wishes the baddies away.

9.5/10

One second. One second was it would take to have lifted "Army of Ghosts" from a being a fairly hum-drum episode to one that would go down in history as one of the most remembered.

I've never really felt compelled to write a review before. I almost did for "Tooth and Claw" as I wanted to recognise that perhaps (maybe) RTD, as much as I respect him for the quality of his earlier work, could write a really good episode of "Doctor Who". And I nearly wrote in to write one for "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit" to recognise it as one of the best "Doctor Who" stories fullstop, but to rank it the best story of seasons one and two of the revival.

So what is it that's prompted me to write about "Army of Ghosts"?

One second.

In the hope that RTD and the production team read these reviews - as well they should, for I have much respect for the opinions of the regular reviewers who feature on this site - I have to plead that they never ever again inflict such forewarning to an episode.

I refer, of course, to that one second of last week's trailer. The extermination.

We knew the Cybermen were back. And thanks to the BBC being unable to keep things quiet just another few weeks, we know that Rose is leaving.

There was more than enough to entice viewers for this week's episode... So why, for heaven's sake, did they have to show that one second extermination.

A week in advance, we knew the Daleks were back.

All throughout the episode I was thinking when are the Dalek's showing up... It was all too obvious very early on that it would be the cliffhanger.

And yes, the cliffhanger did get the heart pounding even knowing it was coming... But for someone who had no indication prior to last week's trailer that the Daleks were back, that cliffhanger could - in fact, it would - have blown me away.

I suppose there's an argument that, if I don't want to know what's going to happen in the next story, don't watch the trailer... But surely the trailer is supposed to tease the viewer, not give the whole game away?!

One second. One second we could have lived without.

Anyways - to review the episode so that I can justify my writing in, rather than ranting in! - the eipsode was clearly a prelude to something bigger... And next week is going to have to deliver a pretty spectacular payoff after such a middling affair... RTD take note of "The Impossible Planet" as to how to make a first episode something to rate on its own, rather than as a protracted introduction.

It was good seeing Jackie getting a trip in the TARDIS - miffed as she was.

And it was good to see Mickey back, 'though if the Cybermen were back, you kinda figured he'd be not too far behind. Next week, Captain Jack has to be back I guess. Torchwood not too far away in our viewing schedules.

But please, let's not see Yvonne Hartman much more. No great talent there.

And on that note, I'm relieved that the rumours of Adeola being the next companion were just that... Wouldn't want the Doctor travelling with a wooden plank, now would we?!

A so-so episode that lacked any suspense - the Cybermen knocking a door over, rather than shattering it! - but one that could have been saved by omitting that one second last week.

Regardless - I am looking forward to next week.