This is my first Doctor Who review, after reading and enjoying this website for several years now, this episode has sparked me to write to you!

As a hardcore fan of Doctor Who since Tom Baker (when I was growing up), right through to present day, and experiencing the highs of the series (Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars for example), and the lows (The Two Doctors, Mark of The Rani, Twin Dilemma etc), I find myself totally enjoying the new series. I think technically and production wise the BBC team are producing top-notch quality Doctor Who for the new generation, and it pleases me to see it back on the TV regularly. I still get excited by the cliffhangers, and the return of old foes such as the Cybermen and the Daleks.

This episode then, was a dramatic change to all that I've seen before, and I must give Russell T Davies deep respect for this ambitious piece of work, looking in at the Doctor's life but not from the Doctor himself, or even his companion, but from an outsider just caught up in a moment of seeing the Doctor when he was young.

After the thrill of the two parter Impossible Planet/Satan Pit, which I regard as a real high point of the new series by far, this totally threw the audience again into a whole new direction. No more revelations here about Rose potentially dying, or the dark undertones that have been present recently, but instead we get a fun, almost hilarious episode that, although I should hate and detest with every fibre of my being as a Doctor Who fan, I cannot!

I thought it was great fun. Peter Kay as the Abzorbaloff just made me laugh outright at the screen, especially the chase sequence into the street towards the end. Nobody else could have pulled this character off than Peter Kay - who did fabulously! I must also give respect and admiration to Jackie Tyler here, who I have found annoying and irritating throughout the two new series', but here I see a different side to her - the moment where she finds Elton's photograph in his jacket is excellent. The way she defends BOTH the Doctor and Rose adds to her character, and was excellently played by the actress.

I think the series needed a small breather in between all the excellent stuff that has gone on before, and this provided clean, healthy fun and entertainment. I did not take it seriously at all, nor is it destined to be a 'must see' doctor who episode, but it just goes to show the versatility and ambition this show still has, after all this time.

I know that if I had the coveted job of writing for Doctor Who (and boy I have tried!) I would be writing darker, more atmospheric pieces quite like The Satan Pit. This is the Doctor Who I remember, the scary ones, the ones with excellent stories and sci-fi, the ones that challenged your views and beliefs.

This was a complete contrast, but perfect for the 7 O'Clock time slot, and perfect to give us a bit of comedy and fun into the series. I am sure I will be smiling in a few weeks time at the image of Peter Kay running as the Abzorbaloff!

After last week's amazing epic and frankly superb episodes what were you doing?

Telling your friends how great Doctor who was after all these years?

Convincing them to watch on Saturday night?

Telling them that they were wrong about Doctor who?

You needn't have bothered.

Because if they tunned in to watch this weeks episode I can only imagine that they wont be tuning in again. Ok that is a bit overly harsh, as a comedy episode it works well. As a spoof of doctor who it's funny but please put this show on BBC 2 so I can watch a real episode of Doctor Who on BBC 1.

The problem with changing writers every other week is that the tone of the episodes changes so dramatically. We have moved from two episodes of heavy drama with no comedy to an episode dripping with it. In some ways its nice to have a comedy episode after such a dramatic 2 parter but in the same way it feels disjointed as the story line could have been building towards the final episodes to come. And then to further confuse matters the show is carried by a character that people did not tune in to watch.

Now I bet this episode cut down on Billie and David's filming schedule and it was probably pretty cheap to shoot but so much more could have been made of it. Some of the writing on the series is starting to feel lazy just because its a kids show it doesn't mean that it doesn't have to make sense or have a decent plot.

The best thing about this episode were the jokes. Peter Kay was on good form and the one liners were cutting and well delivered, some I was surprised to hear in a pre 9 pm show. Some great comedy about how he finally tracks down Jackie Tyler did make me smile and several other clever moments: One of the voices sounded muffled and I thought it can't be there but oh yes it was! The return of the Sleveen, or at least their sister planet, very funny, very clever but one too many jokes and somehow the show doesn't feel real any more. And that is the problem with the comedy, good as it was, it ends up making Doctor Who feel more like pantomime than drama.

The main actors pulled off a doctorless episode well and I really was beginning to care about them just before they got sucked into Peter Kay's waist coat. But to not include your best to actors, your most dramatic characters what a waste! It's like trying to play table tennis with your hands tied behind your back: you could do it but you're gonna look damn silly trying.

Best moments:

The opening sequence
Most of Peter Kay
The most easy detective work since “who stole Ronald McDonald's hamburgers.”
The Doctor confronts Peter Kay

The worst moments

Seduction Jackie Tyler style
Peter Kay running down the street in a big green fat suit and a black thong?. Frightening for all the wrong reasons.
That montage band sequence What? Why? Were you even interested?
The ending.

Like watching the friends spin off Joey, funny but you kept wondering what the other characters were doing. I kept thinking “what is the doctor doing?” “Is it some kind of cunning plan?” Perhaps its all building up to why the doctor was in his house that night. But no it wasn't and no it didn't. And when the doctor finally turns up he doesn't seem to do any thing other than standard defeat the monster tactic no. 3 pretend you aren't bothered about the hostages. Defeating the Peter Kay monster was poorly explained and so disappointing but at least he went out with a squelch. And did he swear? I know It was cut short but not short enough because it really sounded like he did. This is a show for kids!

The best thing I can say is it was funny and in places very funny. It felt like one of the big finish Christmas productions but following last weeks effort it just seems like a completely different show.

If there was one rule this show broke it was “show don't tell the audience” because voice over included, this did a lot of telling.

I'd give this episode 4/5 for being a comedy episode and 2/5 for being an episode of Doctor Who

Oh and don't get me started about that “we have some kind of love life” line!!!

What a load of codswallop!! It was like watching a story from the Sylvester McCoy era! I always had an idea that this episode was going to be "odd" from things I had read and knowing that the story was created as a result of the Blue Peter design-a-monster competition.

I started to watch this episode with an open mind, and in a way I quite enjoyed seeing the story from Elton's point of view. However, in a very short while though it seemed as though no-one was taking the script seriously, which was a shame as there were good actors in this show.

What really made the story so awful was when Peter Kay entered the room.........

He was hamming it up completely like they did in the late 80's oddball stories that I hated so much. At this stage I couldn't take the story seriously at all and was almost tempted to even stop my DVD recorder! The Abzorbaloff was not a convincing monster, not that I'm sure it was meant to be judging by the tone of the whole story. It was just Peter Kay in a rubber suit talking in his northern accent. Not sure how anyone could have taken this seriously really.

I laughed at the end when we saw Elton hold up the slab with his beloved's face on it talking to him, but only because I found it so ridiculous. This story would have been better suited as a sketch within Little Britain.

Definitely the worst episode I've seen in a long time.

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!