Long six months, wasn't it?

It's a testament to RTD and his team that the time which has elapsed since The Parting of the Ways has seemed almost interminable. From the moment we heard 'Barcelona' we've been waiting to see this, hoping desperately that the change of Doctor wouldn't spoil the formula. So, was it worth the wait?

Oh my, yes.

That said, the first fifteen minutes of 'The Christmas Invasion' are a bit of a mixed bag. The regenerated Doctor is suitably exciting, mysterious and loopy. Billie Piper's Rose is, as ever, superb (can you imagine the shambles if she'd left the show?). A couple of things ring a bit naff, though. With the main body of the Sycorax plot being so much fun, you do cringe a little at the (poorly realised) robot Santas and killer Christmas tree. If 'Rose' taught us anything, it was that things which worked in the seventies for the show (the Autons etc) really don't now. It all feels a bit shoehorned in. We couldn't have had a single Sycorax warrior (maybe even disguised as Santa to begin with) as a scout who tries to kidnap the Doctor?

Still, the Doctor's 'pilot fish' explanation works, just, and we are propelled on to far firmer ground as the show does Independence Day, UK-style. It's nice to see Harriet Jones return to face a threat greater than farting aliens (it still guts me watching the box set that the Slitheen two-parter is ruined by that ridiculous 'gas exchange' business). The UNIT bunker is superb, as well. Very CTU.

Then things get really, unexpectedly, dark. Having millions - billions - of innocent people wandering to the tops of buildings, preapred to jump off, was far more affecting than death rays or bomb threats. Real people, watched by their loved ones, about to commit suicide. It's a deeply unsettling thought, and RTD at his best, when all the camp is put aside.

Things go from bad to worse and Rose, quite understandably, decides to run and hide. She's done the honourable thing in the past, but without the Doctor at her side she feels lost and helpless.

It's worth mentioning here that the Rose sub-plot, although it may well be ignored in the final analysis of many, was the strongest aspect of the episode for those of us who watched the last season so avidly. This was the most 'new-Who' aspect of 'The Christmas Invasion'. Rose has seen the man who changed her life forever, who she was willing to die for, change into a stranger, a helpless stranger who can do nothing for her any more. And she's devastated. It's like the worst break-up anyone could experience because it's so inexplicable, so alien. Her tears when she tells Jackie that the Doctor is gone and her little turn and hug when Mickey notes how much she loves the Doctor are up there with anything from 'Dalek', 'Father's Day' or 'Parting' in terms of quality writing and acting.

So, the Doctor is useless or worse, the Sycorax are poised to massacre a third of the population, Harriet and Rose have tried their best but have failed. It's the end.

And then the Sycorax leader startes to speak English.

Once again, RTD's keen eye for spine-tingling moments comes into play as our heroes realise what is happening, the camera pulls in to the TARDIS and ... the Tenth Doctor calmly opens the doors and delivers a line clearly nicked from Buffy. Possibly better-used, though. And who cares when we are all cheering anyway? A beautiful moment, and from here David Tennant OWNS the screen. So many highlights come flying that it takes multiple viewings to really appreciate them - 'Am I ginger?', 'Oh, that was rude', 'No, wait, that's the Lion King'. Five minutes into this sequence and you are in no doubt (and I'm sure this counts for the new generation of kids raised on Chris Ecclestone, too) that this is the Doctor, and he is absolutely 'a whole new man'.

Another shaky moment now, as RTD's ambition maybe outstrips the show's capabilities a little as the fight is taken outside to what is clearly a beach with an AWFUL matte painting in the background ('The Long Game' is no longer the worst offender on this front now). Keeping the fight indoors with a hole in the floor leading out of the ship might have been a better call. Still, Tennant's energy carries us along all the same.

Another little complaint - if, as the commentary and extras on the BBC website suggest - the fight was painstakingly rehearsed for 5 days, WHY does the director insist on filming the whole thing from the chest up, thus missing most of the swipes and parries?! Is it purely to maintain the already shaky illusion that this is taking place on the outside of the ship? Bit of a misstep.

So, the Doctor wins after some nifty hand-growing that would make Luke Skywalker go green with envy and the BEST lines of any new episode - 'Witchcraft!', 'Timelord.' - and the earth is saved in time for a quick rant about the uselessness of satsumas. and just before we get our happy ending, we see a flash of the old, darker Doctor, still very much alive behind Tennant's grin. No second chances, indeed.

And we're still not done, yet. Harriet Jones' decision to fire upon a retreating foe is both shocking and understandable, a lovely moment of moral ambiguity that helps unleash a little more of the Doctor's darkness. Tennant plays this scene as well as CE played any of his key scenes in season 1, again boding well for what is to come.

And, since it's Christmas, we get the family dinner and the fanboy-pleasing 'Doctor dressing' scene. His wardrobe is every bit as extensive as you'd expect!

But by far the most pleasing aspect of this episode comes at the very end, and it comes from Rose. Watch as she and the Doctor gently reestablish their friendship, and gaze at each other with a suggestion of even more. She leans in with an excited, relieved smile and looks happier than ever at the prospect of being with him. Whether this was picked up in the writing, Piper's acting, the directing, or all three, it is a moment of brilliance, because Rose takes the audience with her. This new Doctor is complete, strong and just as much the man we love as before, but with suggestions of something new, less-damaged. It's an exciting new start.

A final word on David Tennant. While casting Chris Ecclestone was impressive and turned out to be a great piece of thinking, it may actually be Tennant's casting which really guarantees Doctor Who's long-term future and audience. He has enough of the new, darker essence introduced by Davies and Ecclestone to stand comfortably in the new format, but long-term fans will be delighted by just how noticeably 'Doctor-y' he is, from mannerisms to costume. Let's just hope the depth that the writers gave Ecclestone's Doctor is maintained.

Can't wait to visit New Earth is spring - it's going to be a long three months.

How to begin....

Christopher Eccelston was an excellent doctor. Someone who could express the feelings of deep sorrow and resignation The Doctor would have been going through after the destruction of Gallifrey. He also had the ability to be light hearted and show moments of charm. After such a long break and what had happened within the universe of Doctor Who, it was what the series needed and he was fantastic.

David Tennant on the other hand (as several other reviewers have stated) IS The Doctor. I am American so I really don't know this guy as an actor. I know he is well known in the UK and I know he has theatre in his background but I simply can NOT believe how much I love this Doctor in such a short amount of time. I will admit that part of it is relief that RTD and the boys found someone talented and worthy of the role but it is so much more than that. Several reviewers have said some of the things I am going to say but this is how I feel so I'll sound like a parrot through some of this review.

David Tennant is in this show for about 20 minutes. Some people have said it's not a good thing but I believe the buildup is excellent. In some of my reviews of Season 1 I stated that I kind of got tired of the Earth episodes. I really liked all of Series 1 and I understand budgetary reasons but I would have liked to have a few alien worlds in the mix. Hopefully that will happen this season or the next. At any rate, this episode was perfect even though it was yet another Earth episode. If there were plot holes, I didn't see them or I didn't care. Yes, the Santas got alot of play before TCI aired and they didn't really play a role but they were just the small fish and that's the way it was. Also, it helped tie in to make this a Christmas episode (because there wasn't a whole lot about the show that made it "Christmasy"). Tennant takes a hold of this role and never looks back. Someone said he had an interview where he didn't seem interested in going on for the third season. I really don't believe this after seeing his performance last night. He took a part of just about every Doctor so far and made the role his own. He mimicks our own questions about what type of Doctor he is. Is he an intellectual like Hartnell, a clown like Troughton, a physical and intellectual warrior like Pertwee and so on.... We don't know yet, neither does he and Tennant revels in it. Where Eccelston clearly liked the role (especially in the first couple) and commanded respect because of his tone, this Doctor has a wide range of emotions. In the span of 1 minute he shows he can be humorous, goofy, funny and extremely commanding with amazing believability. He speaks a word of the Sycorax (when he asks the leader if he is a cowardly name) so it appears he knows of them (very Doctor-ish, even if he doesn't know them he acts as he does, with authority and pulls it off perfectly). He has a better opinion of humans (at least until Harriet Jones betrays him) as he talks to the Sycorax leader about their potential instead of just calling them "apes". I could go on and on but Tennant is amazing and I don't at all say this lightly--he really could be the best Doctor ever. Just to put this in perspective I love Doctor Who and every single Doctor has many aspects I love. Tennant seems very capable of encompassing them all and you can feel his love for this show.

As for the episode, I could see where some people might think it was slow at times before the Doctor wakes up but I didn't care. We waited for years before Series 1 and even then the wait until this episode from "The Parting of the Ways" seemed like a lifetime. As a huge Doctor Who fan, I don't see any of these episodes as slow. For god's sake they are only an hour long. Some of the older episodes were up to three or four hours long! Yes, the Doctor could have regenerated and been just fine but that would have been a contradiction. RTD knows and shows how much he cares for Doctor Who by making Tennant's regeneration just that: An unpredictable process that is complicated and can be very unpredictable to say the least. Plus, as I said before, it makes Tennant's entrance that much more powerful.

Harriet Jones didn't mean a whole lot to me, she was a good actress in the role in World War Three and it is neat that she ends up being Prime Minister but her use of weapons to kill the Sycorax didn't bother me as much as the fact that it was Torchwood that did it. I feel that Captain Jack was one of the best companions Who ever had and he grew enormously in the short time he was in the Tardis. The fact that in his first "appearance" he is a party to murder like this is disturbing. Hopefully the fact that Torchwood lost 1/3 of his staff means that he had not joined them yet or that in Torchwood's first episode their side is explained because as it stands I don't like it. The fact that Harriet destroyed them though and that the Doctor says he gave them the wrong warning shows volumes about how they both feel. Harriet grew up quite a bit (though she still feels she needs to flash her badge which was amusing as was the Sycorax leader saying "Yes we know who you are") and though it was hard for her she felt that to protect the Earth this ship had to be destroyed. A far cry from the woman who hid behind a couch when the Slitheen were attacking. The Doctor on the other hand wanted to be more optimistic than his predecessor about the human race and might have been but after the destruction of the Sycorax ship he has no choice but to admit that humans are dangerous to say the least. He also shows just how much he is a master of human nature by planting the seed of her defeat with just six words. A brilliant way of showing how everyone has stayed the same, and yet changed dramatically since Season 1. Rose has grown up as well. Several times she takes charge and several times she explains herself and her positions quite clearly in a very short amount of time. Again, a far cry from the girl working in a department store and unsure of her place in life. All around an excellent episode. Very entertaining, a great idea of what is to come and an absolutely brilliant performance by a very worthy 10th Doctor.

Last of all the shots of what's to come was AWESOME! The Cybermen and K-9 in motion! Sarah Jane Smith, those cat people, Queen Victoria.... I'll have to agree with a few others that have said, this could very well be the best season of Doctor Who ever. I can't wait!!!

First off I have to say, David Tennant is an amazing Doctor Who!!!

The 10th Doctor is an utterly distinctive and instantly legendary characterization. You can say he has bits of Troughton and Tom Baker, but really, he's his own man. Speaking internal monologues out loud constantly, stylish/geeky, boyish one minute then with the authority of God the next, no Doctor has been this sure footed in their first story since William Hartnell.

Tennant's "Robot" was The Children In Need Special, and that wasn't even a story. This is his "Ark In Space". Could he match Tom Baker in the legendary stakes? YES.

Where I was maybe a wee bit unsure if he might be too young to carry the authority the role needs in the CIN special, there's just nothing else on the screen when he gets going in this story, in the end, TCI all comes down to him and his brilliant performance. David Tennant is an acting genius, be in no doubt. Incidentally, he doesn't do much till the last twenty minutes, and I haven't even mentioned the big spaceship yet.

It is irritating that we have to wait so long for the new Doctor to strut his considerable stuff, and I feel this is a cynical decision in the hope the audience will go "We can't switch over now, David Tennant hasn't done anything yet". It's marketing, and I feel a bit cheated in the same way I do when they don't kill Jason at the end of a Friday The 13th film, not for dramatic reasons, but because it suits the producers more than the audience.

But to the actual story. TCI is epicly epic on an epic scale that scales the scales of scaling. It's huuuuuuge!!! You've gotta love the confidence RTD and his merry gang have just now, to push British television to these kind of heights. The story does sag like a souffle in the middle, but is possessed of enough genius moments and dialogue that you won't give a damn about that by the end.

James Hawes proves again his massive ambition when it comes to visuals. What's nice is, unlike the dark streets of The Empty Child, TCI's most memorable scene is in brilliant sunshine. What a contrast for the CV. Expect him to be snapped up by Hollywood anytime soon. We're so lucky to have a director of this world class (and a writer and lead actors too of course).

In the end, this story bodes so well for the future. The Piper/Tennant chemistry is instant, he even gets on with Rose's Mum. You just want to be around these people, even Rose's Mum.

Series 2 will be even better than series 1, and you can chop off my hand if that isn't so.

P.S. David Tennant is an amazing Doctor Who!!

I'm a self-confessed fan boy who has all the videos, DVDs and Big Finish stuff. I love it all, even when the plot holes are big enough to drive a fleet of Dalek ships through a script. And I did enjoy The Christmas Invasion as I sat and watched it whilst away with my mum, knowing that back home my flat mate, my partner and all my other non Dr Who friends would be watching it too.

But a classic episode The Christmas Invasion was not.

Yes, there was much to enjoy. I liked the Harriet Jones character and cheered at her line about the US president making the alien incursion into a war. Indeed some of the dialogue was as sharp as it comes, "Earth is defended", "No second chances", the Lion King gag, the Arthur Dent bit, Rose trying to mimic the Doctor when trying to negotiate with the Sycorax, and the wonderful way the Doctor has a go at the Prime Minister near the end of the episode for sinking her metaphorical Belgrano.

But the story didn't really make sense did it? What was the Blood weapon exactly? How did it work? Why were the Santas attacking Rose and Ricky? Why did they run away at the sight of the Doctor's Sonic Screw Driver? – (Indeed Ricky pointed out that that didn't add up…) I could go on, but most of all, what was stopping the Sycorax simply invading the earth irrespective of what the Doctor did?

The story had some reasonable set pieces, but the Tardis crash landing FX at the start of the episode wasn't up to the Mill's usual very high standard. And I wasn't convinced by the sword fight at the end, the direction looked a little clumsy. The fight should have been more exciting.

On the positive side the new theme tune arrangement sounded greet – pity the BBC felt that they had to talk all the way through it at the end. And the clips of the next series looked brilliant. David Tennant has made a reasonable start as a new Doctor, not easy when filling the shoes of the great Christopher Eccleston

RTD had proved that he can deliver great Doctor Who that can be enjoyed by all. This episode may have ticked all the boxes in terms of Christmas family viewing, but in Season 1 he delivered much better than this. Yes it is an enjoyable romp, but it doesn't stand up to repeated viewing. Shame that, really.

My overriding conclusion from an initial viewing of The Christmas Invasion was that Russell T Davies (as ever) got a lot more things right than wrong.

A prime-time Christmas Day slot would come with certain caveats В– nothing too demanding in terms of plot, plenty of gimmicks, plenty of knockabout dialogue between the main characters and plenty of effects. And I think RTD and his merry men and women polled four from four in that count.

I was a bit concerned that too much of the Christmas angle would descend the show into high farce but, in truth, it was a lot more minimal than I expected and, as the killer Santas and Christmas trees had been trailed beforehand, I actually felt the writer only did what he had to in order to justify the title.

The Santas were genuinely menacing (rather like the Autons in Rose, IВ’d have liked to have seen more of them, but accept thereВ’s only so much you can shoe-horn in) and the spinning tree was a bit of harmless flotsam. CanВ’t imagine it would have gone down too well with the В“puristВ”, but gimmicks such as this do appeal to the mainstream audience, and itВ’s their interest which will keep this show floating at the front of the BBC flotilla.

I thought the story was a good romp (the hour flew by). As I said earlier, it had to be simple enough to keep a tiring Christmas audience awake, with a regular sprinkling of В“wow, look at thatВ” if they were starting to nod off. Obviously, there were holes in the plot if you can be bothered digging, but I canВ’t. Even if I could, season of goodwill and all that!

It was actually more Star Trek TNG than Doctor Who in a lot of places for me, but I greatly enjoyed the former, and had no objections to such a spectacle. And it was a spectacle. It looked like a movie В– and a well-made one at that.

I liked the Sycorax (and was pleased The Doctor finished off their leader В– gave the promise that the dark side remains intact) and was also pleased Harriet Jones finished off their spaceship. The Margaret Thatcher/Tony Blair analogies (the former in respect of HarrietВ’s physical makeover from the previous series and the latter in terms of transition from popular leader to warmongering megalomaniac В– allegedly) were obvious, but worthy.

And what about the new Doctor?

Watching David Tennant on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on Friday night (funnily enough) I thought he looked pretty weary, even allowing for having to put up with Ross at his oafish worst.

I didnВ’t get the vibe from any of TennantВ’s soundbites that he relished the prospect of hanging around in the role beyond a third season. Of course, he may have been genuinely concerned at the reaction to his first episode. If the latter was the case, then he should only leaf through this Forum (and IВ’m sure others) for reassurance.

David Tennant IS The Doctor.

A terrific performance. Stole every scene he was in and, while I was a huge fan of Christopher EcclestonВ’s Doctor and felt he was an impossible act to follow, Tennant shows every indication of being capable of achieving the impossible.

He doesnВ’t have the physical presence of his predecessor, but the role will be written to take that into account. And, anyway, you get the impression he can take any line in any script and make it his.

This really was a remarkable start to his tenure. Energetic, funny, charming, chuck in any adjectives you wish. In terms of screen time, he had less than might normally be expected for the lead role, but almost all the lines I scene I recall instantly had Tennant in them. I always thought he was going to be brilliant, now I know for sure.

And the episode-closing little segue of treats to come В“in the springВ” has me genuinely thirsting for the start of what I believe will be the finest-ever Doctor Who season.

On the first day of Christmas
my true Beeb gave to me
a Doctor in his Pee Jays.

On the second day of Christmas
Auntie explained to me
two beating hearts,
Of a Doctor with a new face.

On the third day of Christmas
My dear Beeb scared me with
Three evil Santas
Controlling death,
And a Micky with a fierce tree!

On the fourth day of Christmas
My Dav-ies gave to me
Four leading males
All very good,
Two helping birds,
One a-lien and one slept through.

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love gave to me
five d..e..c—ades,
Forty long years
Since Hartnell
To cam'ra said
'Happy Christmas,' to you and me.


On the sixth day of Christmas
dear Doc said evily
six words, a-laying
Fear and doubt
For falling Prime
Ministers
To take a drop
Into mediocrity!

On the seventh day of Christmas
My true love wrote for me
seven hams an acting,
Six foot Sycorax,
Fine wri-ting,
Right royal jibes,
Three leading hens,
Two space-ships,
And an alien up a gum tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas
My Russell made me think,
Eight thoughts a – chilling;
Billions a - walking,
Families di-vided-
Will they jump?
Earth's Torchwood fear!
Whose watch-ing?
Two cracking whips
And a Doctor with a new hand.

On the ninth day of Christmas
My Davies gave to me
Neat lines a-dancing
With grace and purpose,
Poking fun at Royals-
'Oh-they're on Buck roof.
Fine Bush wit!
This England strong
Can have strength
To alone act
To save our world from misery.

On the tenth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Ten lordly effects;
Fine fir Tree dancing,
Hard Santas fighting,
Sycorax so jungly,
Torchwood a beaming,
Gold new breath,
Fine tardis bouncing,
Good Unit set,
Earth's opening shot
And an ashfall on an estate.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A confused Piper piping
Ten-tav'ly holding
The plot line steering
Through invasion and
Strong explanation
Of Doctor's new form.
Face so new!
With Lion King quotes,
Smell of change
And power shown
To those against his authority.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
We give to Russell T
Twelve drummers sounding
Applause piping from us,
Tenant a –leaping -
His role for keeping,
Our minds a-waiting
Stories to delight,
Monsters a-fright'nin',
Few more years!
For this Time Lord
To bring us
Through stories new….
A fine Tenant at Num-ber Ten!

(Heavily borrowed from a certain song… try to sing it through, it nearly scans!)