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!

HmmmВ… This episode reminds me of the Deep Purple album Stormbringer. Nice to see the team trying something different from the norm, but did it really work? Yes and no.

IВ’m sure in the end itВ’ll come down to what the public at large think as to whether or not oddball episodes like this crop up again. Personally I think itВ’s great to see the production team confident enough to try a stunt of this nature. Personal experience and real life have been major aspects of this revitalised new Doctor Who since Rose, and it is certainly justifiable to bring facing the effects of the DoctorВ’s activities on other В‘normalВ’ people outside the realm of fan fiction and into the mainstream series. However, great as that idea is, and successful as the video diary-method was for maintaining the focus away from the Doctor and Rose, it was the real life aspect that failed for me.

LINDA was a set-up that most of the adult audience, IВ’m sure, could associate with or accept В– particularly as the focus on the Doctor waned and they became more of a general social group. The episode lost credibility, though, when Victor Kennedy took control. At that point the episode began to feel like a poor attempt at a League of Gentlemen-style show. Unquestioning obedience from these normal people, no real concern when they start disappearing. If there was some mind control in operation then that would have been fine. But no, these apparently normal every day people begin behaving in an unnatural way and bang! - there goes the grip on reality.

On the City of Death DVD new series writer Steven Moffat states that when monsters and villains are not played as a serious threat what a cardinal sin that is for Doctor Who. The production team had gone on record as saying that Peter Kay was not being brought in as a comedy turn, but as a proper actor playing a proper role. Why then was the Abzorbaloff allowed to be played as a figure of fun? There was a threat there, but it ended up being concealed behind ridiculousness and so it became a joke. In Confidential, we are told that you couldnВ’t possibly have Peter Kay on an episode without it being obvious who he was and using him to full effect В– a thinly veiled admission that he was allowed to do what he wanted and everyone thought it was clever and hilarious.

It was hilarious В– but it shouldnВ’t have been in the way it was. There have always been great comic moments in Doctor Who В– particularly in Russell T DaviesВ’ re-invention of it - and I appreciate that after quite a harrowing two-parter itВ’s good to have something more light-hearted. Love and Monsters should have been whimsical, different, but it ended up sending itself up and at that point it stopped being good Doctor Who.

I could cope with the Abzorbaloff, but what really tipped the scales for me against this episode was Ursula ending up trapped in a paving slab. That was utterly ridiculous. I laughed at the (assumed!) rude gag about the love life at the end, but it was almost as if sheВ’d been left like that just for that. Nothing IВ’ve seen in Doctor Who since it returned has led me to believe that the Doctor would consider leaving a living, feeling Human Being like that when it wasnВ’t a self-inflicted punishment.

On a more positive note, Marc WarrenВ’s Elton Pope was interesting and alluring enough to keep the viewer focussed on him throughout, and I did feel for him when he was trying to fend off Jackie and when he realised he did actually like Ursula a lot. He could have been a terrible geek, but he was played with an open honesty that just made him an average guy and not a figure of fun.

This was probably Jackie TylerВ’s best episode ever and it was refreshing to be amused rather than annoyed by her. Maybe seeing her out of context, so to speak, is something that should have happened a while ago? Her loneliness and her support of Rose and the Doctor was great to see.

Peter KayВ’s performance as Victor Kennedy was excellent too. The eczema gag was a peach and his grandiose style was both compelling and repulsive (hence the League of Gentleman feel). ItВ’s a shame the Shakespearean clowning ham took over when he was transformed.

Overall, then, this episode didnВ’t quite work for me В– although there were aspects of it that I thought were excellent. But, as long as it doesnВ’t harm the series as a whole, I canВ’t see any major problems with being flexible and adventurous with the format in this way.

Firstly, a word of praise for the link up between Blue Peter and Doctor Who which saw 9 year old William GranthamВ’s design for the Abzorbaloff brought to life by Neill Gorton and worn by the inimitable Peter Kay. This is a wonderful affirmation, if any was needed, that Doctor Who is a childrenВ’s show in which many adults happen to take, shall we say, a passing interest. What a great moment it must have been for William to see his design brought to life.

Secondly, given the right material, there isnВ’t any reason Peter Kay wouldnВ’t make an effective В“villainВ” in the series; his performance as Victor Kennedy is fine. And although the point was almost entirely lost in truly cringeworthy attempts at humour in the exchanges with Elton, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler demonstrates the negative impact the Doctor has had on her life by taking Rose away; obviously things didnВ’t work out with Howard from the market.

On to the story. Using the В“itВ’s just an offbeat episode and harmless bit of funВ” ploy to justify its inclusion what we have witnessed is an appalling exercise in smut and piss-taking unparalled in the televisual history of the series and not I may add doing justice to the endeavours of a nine year old in creating the monster. Cleverly on RTDВ’s part, the story is largely beyond criticism itself- where do you start- but one or two comments may be relevant before I close. IВ’m not one for conspiracy theories, but watching this made me wonder whether a decision has already been made at the BBC that the show doesnВ’t have a future beyond next season thus handing a licence to RTD to make sure people wonВ’t miss its passing that much. It used to be said that the highest form of torture was to be locked in a cell and forced to listen to Tony Blackburn jokes day in and day out. You can now replace that with watching a DVD of Love and Monsters. I hope the Government are paying attention because here is a seriously effective remedy for soaring crime rates and anti social behaviour. Yes, give them a DVD of this and force them to watch and I guarantee you repentance en masse.

To quote or loosely quote from the excellent RTD story Tooth and Claw. IВ’ll not have it. This is not my world. We are NOT amused.

Fear Her? Fear him- RTD. The man who was so instrumental in the success of Doctor Who 2005 is now turning parts of Doctor Who 2006 into a living nightmare. 0/10

Oh my God and Jesus as well. How does he keep getting WORSE?!

Tooth & Claw, though not perfect, was a step up. Wishful thinking, it seems, to have hoped that this would be a permanent improvementВ… Come on - Love & Monsters was, well, abysmal.

DonВ’t get me wrong В– I love Doctor Who more than I really care to mention, and I want so much to be able to equally love these new series. In fact, I was kind of a В‘lapsedВ’ fan when the Eccleston run kicked off, and since then IВ’ve been trying to qualify exactly what my thoughts are about the В‘reinventionВ’ of something I love so muchВ… (For my sins though, it has thoroughly restarted my interest in all other things Doctor Who В– spending far too much money on eBay, catching up on Missing and New Adventures I never got round to reading before, etc etcВ…)

So, itВ’s not like IВ’m slagging the revival off just for the hell of it В– yeah, itВ’s not quite how IВ’d ideally like it to be (В‘darkerВ’, more developed/ambiguous plots В– Ghost Light/Fenric styleeeee), bu-utВ… ThereВ’s been a lot of shit, but at the same time enough good stuff (ummВ… The Girl in the Fireplace, The Impossible Planet) to justify continued viewing. I desperately want it all to be honest-to-God AMAZING - but then, an abortion of an episode like Love & Monsters comes along and cruelly dashes all my hopes and dreams. Etc. Ahem.

The annoying thing about bitching about this particular episode is that I know people are going to assume that either/or a) IВ’m so closed-minded that I canВ’t deal with an episode that doesnВ’t obviously fit into an established format from the original series, or feature the Doctor all the way through, or, b) that IВ’m completely heartless and immune to, yВ’know, emotional exchanges and meaningful stuff about friendship, and all that jazzВ… The things this episode was so clearly and so desperately aiming for. Unfortunately, the В‘emotionalВ’ subtext (or should that just be В‘textВ’; there wasnВ’t a lot of sub about it) was so painfully cack-handed and simplistic that it had the effect of simply making me very cross indeed rather than making me empathise with the characters (such as they were). And as for the idea of, if you like, В‘experimentalВ’ approaches to Doctor Who В– yes! By all means! The idea of doing things outside of the archetypes of the original series was a mainstay of some of the best of the Virgin and BBC novel ranges; we know it can work В– by all means transfer that to the series itself!

Unfortunately, a video diary by an emotionally retarted Elton John namesake doesnВ’t cut it. Look - heВ’s a real person! Ooh В– a В‘postmodernВ’ metaphor for Doctor Who fansВ…! No, heВ’s a bit of a tosser, and LINDA never for a moment seemed to consist of real people. Sorry, Russell, but no dice, grandma. (And what the hell was all that ELO padding?!)

The idea of В‘everydayВ’ people whose lives have been touched by the Doctor in some way (as in Rose), is potentially interesting В– that it becomes an insipid and pointless metaphor for В‘the fansВ’ ruins it somewhat. Also wouldВ’ve been nice to have some acknowledgement of the DoctorВ’s different bodies, which couldВ’ve easily been made to fit in, and be intriguing rather than off-putting to the newer viewers if done well (which, considering this was a RTD script is perhaps asking too muchВ…). In fact, with the flashbackВ’s to EltonВ’s childhood I found myself automatically expecting the Doctor he encountered to be the Fourth (which wouldВ’ve made sense in terms of the whole fan thing) В– how hard would it have been to show his feet and his scarf dangling, and dub over an inimitable, В‘Oh, helloВ…В’. (And after the overload in School Reunion, you canВ’t say that kind of continuity reference would be inappropriate or alienatingВ…)

As for the В‘plot,В’ such as it was В– why the fuck is he so proud of the Slitheen that cant even let them lie, and introduces an inhabitant of their twin planet. Or whatever the explanation was. If I were being uncharitable, IВ’d take Davies to task on the gaping holesВ… Oh, wait, I am feeling fairly uncharitable. So, sorry, what was KennedyВ’s motivation againВ…? He wanted toВ… eat the Doctor, oh yes. Ah. Glad to see the art of the intelligent plot isnВ’t dead.

Just cos youВ’ve decided to do a В‘concept pieceВ’ on the importance of friendship (ie, a huge bit of sledgehammer-subtle foreshadowing regarding RoseВ’s potential demise) doesnВ’t mean itВ’s acceptable to completely disregard plot. And as for the final paving slab related revelation (which, surely, robs the entire В‘emotional coreВ’ the story seemed to be trying so hard to develop, of its power?), Jesus ChristВ… Actually, I was thinking, if this was, say, a Paul Magrs story, he could probably take all the, erm, more outlandish elements of this script and make them seem perfectly believable, by creating a world consistent with such things, where they wouldnВ’t seem out of placeВ… The trouble here, I think, is that Davies is trying В– albeit in a very cack-handed way В– to make such implausible events co-exist with a pseudo-В‘realisticВ’ harsh world in which there is pain, unfairness, etcВ… Unfortunately, these two approaches completely diffuse one another. Which is not to say that implausible events (even to the degree of living paving slabs) and emotional content are mutually exclusive; however, this episode was so much of a mess that nothing whatsoever gelled. I guess it must be a fine line between having the talent to make such a balancing act work, and just thinking you do. (DonВ’t even get me started on the Scooby-Doo running around at the beginningВ… It wasnВ’t funny and it sure as shit wasnВ’t clever.)

I think my problem with DaviesВ’ scripts, and this lighter approach to Doctor Who is that when I discovered the NAs at about 12, I suddenly realised everything that Doctor Who could be and what it could achieve, and as such, IВ’m still a stickler for a more serious approachВ… (Which is not to say that IВ’m not partial to silliness, so donВ’t think IВ’m completely humourless. (Aargh. Actually, when people say that, they mostly are, arenВ’t they? Bollocks.) IВ’m a fan of Barbarella, for GodВ’s sake! (В“DECRUCIFY THE ANGEL OR IВ’LL MELT YOUR FACE!!!!В”, indeed!))

So, yeah. The thing is, despite that, I tend to find myself watching things like (get me!) Kuroneko, or Six Feet Under, or The New World, or even Fanny & Alexander (things which arenВ’t necessarily of even broadly the same genre (or genres) of Doctor Who), and thinking, Sorry, WHY exactly canВ’t it be this good?!. I guess if those are the sort of standards IВ’m hoping for, IВ’m going to be pretty thoroughly disappointedВ…. But I just think, when youВ’re dealing with a programme, and key concepts, which can do literally anything - fit into any genre, go anywhere - if this is the best non-typical format the current production crew can come up with, then weВ’re in pretty dire straights.



PS Not looking forward to the season finaleВ… Can you imagine how tediously maudlin and wannabe В‘meaningfulВ’ and emotional itВ’s going to be if Rose does cop it? ChristВ…