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.

Last week saw the start of the first two-part Doctor Who story in the new series and what a great start it was so this weeks episode already had a built in audience of over 7 million viewers, all anxious to see how the story ends.

World War III has a beginning that most viewers saw at the end of the previous episode, which in itself was characteristic of Doctor Who and immediately grabs the audiences attention.

It starts, as we all know (or if you don’t, watch the 4th episode), with the Doctor and other alien experts being electrocuted by aliens. The Doctor, on the spur of the moment, puts a tag on one of the aliens and they all start shaking writhing around with the electrocution, even the one in Rose’s mother’s house. Mickey enters Jackie’s house, grabs the chair and the alien over the head, then gets her up and they stumble out of the house. Meanwhile, at 10 Downing Street, the Doctor has recovered and gets the guards to come inside, where the aliens are. The aliens get the tag off and put the skin of the human back on. The Doctor enters the room with the guards, who don’t believe his theory that the two men at the front of the room are aliens, so he runs away. He gets cornered, but against a lift, which promptly opens and the Doctor makes his escape.

Rose and Harriet Jones are now running from an alien, as the Doctor appears when the lift doors open, sees the alien and promptly closes the doors again. He emerges on a higher floor. After more chasing, the Slitheen reveal the it’s not their race, but their surname and that they are here to start World War III and then sell off the radioactive chunks of the planet for fuel. The Doctor then closes the emergency steel doors and shutters, trapping the Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones in the cabinet room. Meanwhile, the UN is voting to decide whether it should allow Britain to have the access codes to their nuclear weapons. Rose receives a text message from Mickey. She rings him. Mickey sees the UN on the news and puts the phone to the speakers. The UN have voted to allow the access codes to be released. The Doctor has an idea, but it may not be safe for Rose. Harriet Jones steps in and announces it is her decision to make, as the only elected representative of the people in the room. She tells the Doctor to do it. The Doctor tells Mickey the “idiot” to go to his computer and go to the UNIT website. He does so and the white home page of UNIT’s website (which is actually available at www.unit.org.uk) appears on the screen. After revealing the password (which also works on the website) the Doctor instructs Mickey to launch a missile at 10 Downing Street. Rose suggests they hide under a doorway, as you do during an earthquake. The Guards become aware of the missile and one of them runs upstairs to tell the minister, the General and the MI5 people, only to find that they are all aliens. He runs out and all the guards and press told to evacuate the area. The aliens, waiting for the phone to ring with the access codes, are blown to bits.

The steel box that is the Cabinet room is left sitting in amongst a pile of rubble, as the doors open and out come the Doctor, Rose and Harriet Jones, who later becomes the Prime Minister for three successive terms according to the Doctor. After that, Rose packs and she and the Doctor leave.

So the story was good and so was it’s execution (having the UNIT website actually available was great too), but was it as good an end as the first episode was a begin? In short, yes it was. The Doctor was more himself than in any other episode before it in this new series, from running away form guards to saving the world whilst trapped in a steel box, this was Doctor Who.

The direction of it was, of course much the same as the previous episode and it was just as good. The CGI was pretty good too, from the aliens running around to a missile flying over and into central London. However, they still look too ‘clean’, in other words, you can tell quite clearly that it is CGI on a real London backdrop for example and it still doesn’t come up to the standard seen in other sci-fi series such as Star Trek Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica. So the graphical side is still lacking in this new series and needs to get better. The preview of the Dalek episode promises to make a start on improving this, partly because a lot of it is real, such as the Dalek itself.

Although this was a good story and Christopher Eccleston did some great acting, I still can’t help feeling he’s not quite the Doctor, but this does make me look forward to the second season, with David Tennent, even more. So thumbs up as far as the new series goes and I’m sure I speak for millions when I say, I can’t wait for the next episode. Roll on Saturday!

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.

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.

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.

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