This episode was always destined to be the most emotional of the new series, and after the more traditional 'Who' of The Long Game, it was to be a very different type of story. Rose never knew her father, Peter. He died when she was a baby. Brought up by her mother, she only knew her father from what she had been told. As far as she knew, Peter was a businessman, a loving husband, and a doting father. He died alone - the victim of a hit and run.

This background information has been lurking behind the scenes since the first episode, and was re-told - perhaps with more detail - skillfully by Rose, and in flashback by Jackie to her young daughter. Explaining to the Doctor why she's been thinking so much of her father quickly, and easily, explains to the viewer. Rose merely wanted to see her father when he was alive, to know what he was like, and - more importantly - she didn't want him to die alone. But, as the Doctor says, be careful what you wish for.

On seeing her father, and witnessing his death, Rose is incapable of action. She asks the Doctor for a second try. At this point the story could so easily have become Groundhog Day, but fortunately Phil Cornell must have been aware of this and stipulated that they could only be there twice. On this second attempt to be with her father at his death, Rose realises that she can't face losing him again, and acting purely from grief she rushes out to save his life. Who amongst us can say, hand on heart, that we wouldn't do the same?

The catastrophic results which ensue from this single act lead to the end of the world, and inevitably Peter realises that he is the only person who can save the world - the only person who can make things right. Along the way we witness tempers, and tantrums, from Peter, Jackie, Rose and the Doctor, and Rose discovers the truth about her parent's relationship. Disappointed, and disillusioned, she watches them bicker. Rose is overflowing with remorse that her selfish actions have led to such a catastrophic turn of events, and again she has to face the death of her father. But this time she has a chance to say goodbye, as does Jackie, and Peter chooses to die - rather than being a victim, he becomes a hero, someone Rose can be truly proud of. Peter recognises that the Doctor knew the truth, that he knew that Peter had to die - but was trying to find a better solution. In the end, Peter doesn't die alone. Rose is with him, and she comforts him in his final moments. She attains closure, and, in two short scenes, we see the truth of the strong bond she has with the Doctor - his actions and her father's mirrored when comforting her.

This episode was wonderfully written, fully exploring the 'what if?' scenario, which we all face when dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Can anyone truly say that this element of time-travel has been so well explored since H G Wells? Once again, we see a more human side to Eccleston's Doctor, and Chris was - as ever - superb. The Doctor's anger at Rose's stupidity - from the simmering silence to "I picked another stupid ape" - and his attempt to protect her, and her family, and his self-sacrifice, were portrayed in a wonderfully understated way. All of these emotions truly convey how much the Doctor cares about the human race, perhaps the most moving speech was when the Doctor was talking to the couple who were about to get married, ending with "I never had a life like that" shows us just how much the Doctor lost in his years of exile.

Camille Coduri, and Shaun Dingwall, were excellent as Rose's bickering parents, who recognised that they still loved each other intensely at the end of the episode, and who's courage and self-sacrifice poignantly saved the world. I felt their grief, and pain, and the mental anguish that Pete was going through was so well portrayed. But the praise really has to go to Billie Piper. This is certainly Rose's hardest adventure to date. She doesn't realise how hard this will be, and she faces her emotions head on. Two weeks ago Chris portrayed the Doctor in a highly emotional state, believing that he'd killed Rose. This week Billie portrayed Rose in a similarly emotional state, believing that she's killed the Doctor. On top of the grief, and remorse, which Rose was already dealing with, Billie made us feel that this really was the worst day of Rose's life. When Rose hugged her father, as he realised who she was, I felt her pain and grief - and this is all testament to Billie's superb acting. She has been a revelation in this series, and this episode has surpassed all others in terms of her acting - I'll never doubt her again.

At the end of this episode, I was left wondering what I would do if I had a TARDIS - how, or if, I would fight the temptation to do something similar and save my mum's life. And I know, deep down, that like Rose I'd meddle with history. In that situation who wouldn't? And I cried. I cried when I watched a second time, that's how strong the story is. That's how good the acting is. This is twice now that 'New Who' has made me cry. And this finally proves that great Sci-Fi can also be great Drama. Hats off to all involved, and thank you Russell for believing that stories like this belong in Doctor Who.

I simply can not believe how good "Father's Day" was. This is a story that has been done several times throughout science fiction, and it is a subject that has at least been brought up several times in Doctor Who: The past cannot be changed or there are consequences. Period. However where so many other stories could have been predictable or have dozens of loopholes, this story is solid and surprisingly touching thanks to the acting of Rose and her dad (I'm sure that someone from England will point out he is from this show or that, but as an American let me just say he did a very good job). One of the best things about the episode is that we have worked out that her Dad will need to throw himself in front of the car to save the day about ten minutes into the story. The best part is, so has the Doctor and he sacrifices himself to protect Rose. It is impossible for any of the previous Doctors to ever have said anything close to as mean as what this Doctor says to Rose when she saves her Dad, and yet she knows he would never leave her and he accepts a sincere apology from her with a grin and a hug. Sign of the times and it works brilliantly. Another sign of the times is the fact that the Doctor has worked out the solution while being in the situation for just a few minutes, and neither professes to everyone how he has in bombastic fashion, nor does he "work it out" as the episode progresses as many of the past Doctors would have been forced to do (because of a much longer episode, or sometimes the sheer stupidity of the people around him).

Another great thing about this episode, is the use of a new creature. Where many die hard fans would say "Oh and how come we haven't ever seen THESE guys before?!", the writer says almost matter of factly that the Timelords would have stopped these creatures right away but they are gone. Therefore, there are potentially many things we will be able to see that are now possible without these "Guardians of the Universe" around to act as cosmic police. It was one of the first times I saw the potential good of not having Timelords as opposed to the obvious sadness and bad.

On a side note, this episode was such an easy concept and in the end it is what made it great. Star Trek Enterprise ended this weekend, and if you don't know yourself I believe you will read or hear what a piss poor job they did of ending it. The people in charge don't care about their fans, they don't care about their franchise and that's a couple of many reasons why Star Trek is now gone. Perhaps that's why America won't show Doctor Who. They are scared of the comparison. You can feel the care put into this show. It truly is sad that Chris is gone because he puts so much emotion in this Doctor. Billie is amazing as well. It has to be like Britney Spears being a new cast member in Star Trek and actually being one of the best actors in it. It has to be amazing to be English and see what she does for this show. From the materialization of the Tardis, to the acting and emotion put into these characters, to the addition of new FX, this has become some of the best Doctor Who ever made and that truly is amazing.

Back to a summary of the episode itself, the new creatures were awesome and well explained, the acting was excellent (I'm a big guy and the last part with Rose and her Dad made me want to call my Dad), and the care put into explanation of the story and seal plot holes (to the point of showing the doubles of the Doctor and Rose when Rose tries to go to her Dad a second time!) made this very simple "Father's Day" story, in my honest opinion, one of the best.

This has got to be the episode least like Doctor who of the whole 42 years. But it was a triumph. The best piece of Doctor Who drama I have seen and probably the best already drama too. I even had to endure heckling during this episode. Regular eaders interested in my rveiews may know that I have to watch this episode at work as I am a bar manager at a social club but I have the tv on for the first hour or so (until the lottery is called). My first viewing of each episode is supported by a handlful of members who come through the door at 7. There was an elderly gentlemen who complained all the way through about "this c**p", yet my veiwing was not spoilt despite this.

It has become common to bash Murray Gold's incidental music in this series (sometimes even by me) but apart from a weak score during the first Reaper attack I was thoroughly impressed. I liked the "McCoy" era sting during the point of view shots at the start and it was quite emotional (my boyfriend Gary was in tears) during his 'piano' accompaniment during Rose's final scenes with her father.

Which brings us to the crux of the episode - A relatively straight, moral emotional tale that just happened to have monsters in it. EVERY performance was deep and portrayed with a huge amount of feeling. It was a very somber episode but still not maudlin. Billie Piper remains excellent as is Chris Eccleston. Shaun Dingwall was the perfect person to be Billie's father even though her was never around later (as is the want of the plot).

And the Reapers - Bloody marvellous - again the best monster I've seen in this series of Who, possibly any series of Who and probably any series..... The effects seamlessly blended the creatures with the live action even with clever little touches like one scraping rubble from the church walls with it's 'claws' All kudos have to go to the Mill for their efforts. I had no thoughts of CGI when I watched this as opposed to the floating dalek in that episode.

More back story to keep the arc-interested happy and a simple yet effective time jumping moral dilemma for the rest. I can't fault it. RTD still trailing I'm afraid - But to your credit, you're a bloody genius (I'm sure you've heard that before).

I'm a little confused how much has been remembered by others outside the TARDIS crew but to be honest I don't think it really matters that much.

I'm rating it 2nd after The Unquiet Dead and before Dalek, Rose, Aliens/WWIII and The End of........

This is the first time I've scanned some other reviews online before writing my own, and it's shocked me to see how many people reacted badly to this episode. This seems to have divided the Doctor Who diehards and the rest of us even more than 'Dalek'. After I watched 'Dalek', I felt that we wouldn't see a better episode this season. I'll have to watch 'Father's Day' again to be sure, but I might have been wrong ...

Paul Cornell was probably the most prolific and exciting of the new generation of Doctor Who writers to pick up the reins when the show went off-air. It's only fitting, then, that he gets a shot at it now it's back, and he does wonderfully. What's especially telling, though, is that 'Father's Day' only feels half-Who. The other half is sheer mainstream drama, a lovely counterpoint to last week's episode, which was about as Who as you could get. Slightly melodramatic at times? Well, maybe, but this is Saturday evening television, not gritty Monday night BBC2. And it's a million miles away from the slapstick of episodes 4 and 5, the only major misstep for me this year.

It's interesting that Simon Pegg was initially pencilled in to play Rose's father. He can perform serious drama just fine and would have been great, but it's gratifying to see that Shaun Dingwall, brought in when Pegg couldn't make filming for 'Father's Day' and did 'The Long Game' instead, does a cracking job of portraying the man who was never as perfect as his widow made him out to be but, at his core, would have made a wonderful father to his little girl. The moment where he realises who Rose is and they hug is a highlight of the season so far. And, yet again, Billie Piper shows why she is one of the new series' biggest assets. Thank Gallifrey she's staying for another season.

Speaking of which, as each week goes by I'm getting more and more disappointed that we won't get more Ecclestone. The ninth Doctor is the most interesting incarnation in decades. I love David Tennant's work and it's good to know the Doctor is in safe hands, but more Chris would have been great.

Special mention should go to the CGI again this week - with few expensive sets to build the budget was clearly free for good monsters, and the Reapers are by far the best we've seen so far. Slick, scary and possessing a truly alien feel.

As in 'Dalek', the incidental music was a bonus instead of an annoyance.

Overall, 'Father's Day' is probably the strongest episode of the season in terms of sheer drama, everything from the Doctor's furious disappointment with Rose to her touching final moment with her Dad played beautifully.

In the end, how you feel about it is going to depend on whether it's great Who you want to see - this is it, but not in the form most fans would prefer - or just good TV. When they brought Who back we all hoped for a slick new version that wouldn't embarass itself. What we've got instead is something far superior, a show which really makes the most of the versatility of its premise and allows its characters to behave like real people. We should be grateful.

In the end, though, it really won't matter. There are millions of people out there who will never buy a DVD, book or toy, or attend a convention as we have, but who will continue to watch as long as the show demonstrates this quality. And that means more Who in production which is Just Plain Good.

I've just watched ep 8-Fathers day and it's safe to say I am impressed, very much so infact I would be bold enough to say that it clearly ranks (as did Dalek a fortnight before) a as a classic.

Although on one hand this is "traditional doctor who", it's also one of the most innovative of the series. It is a story told through rose's eyes and as a result broke new ground evoking emotions not seen since the joy of Adric getting squashed whilst trying to rid the world of beryl Reid! Whilst many will complain that the doctor is the star of the series and he's not getting the lions share of the story (a fault of last weeks ep),this week it acted as an advantage and highlighted the sheer talent of Ecclestone who reduced to the role of support act managed to give his greatest performance yet. Stripped of his usual goofiness the doctor became likable, serious and more powerful, imagine Davidson mixed Pertwee with rather that Colin baker mixed with McCoy. It also made Doctor who a drama once again yes we had monsters, bloody good ones in a cgi sort of way but also we cared about the characters we felt for roses as she dealed with her dilemma, we cheered when a little Mickey ran away from the reapers, we felt shocked to find out that roses dad was useless and felt guilty that we'd misjudged Jackie so badly. The Biggest shock of the story however came from the realisation that perhaps rose used the Doctor agreeing to go with him on his travels not through as we thought through love but as a means to an end planning to get the doctor travel back to the 80's after all. As usual Billie piper stole the show I hope she goes on to bigger things (and by bigger things I don't mean series two of hit me baby one more time!)

The support characters were all good well rounded and acted to perfection, a special mention must go to the excellent Shawn Dingwell who played roses dad, left with no option he had to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the world it was a role the Simon Pegg passed on after seeing the long game I bet he's kicking himself. Camille coduri had more to do in this episode which was good because she has become the best reoccurring character since the brigadier. The main plaudit goes to Paul Cornell however he is my favourite doctor who writers who over the past decade wrote some of the greatest doctor who novels too date. Let's hope his association with the series doesn't end here. And nnote to BBC books pay this man a bundle to publish a novelisation of the episode and no don't get Terrence Dicks to write it.

If I have a fault with this episode it would be with the length whilst esp. like aol/ww3 are not bad episodes fathers day would be more suited to a two part format. Infact I think that's the fault of the series on a whole everything runs two fast blink and you miss it.

All in all one of the best stories to date keep up the good work! PS isn't it nice finally not to be embarrassed when people ask you what you favourite program is!

Of all the episodes in the new series, I had been looking forward to this one most of all. The idea of time being unforgiving, somehow managing to always thwart those who would interfere with it, has held much fascination for me. Importantly, the idea that the Doctor acknowledges the inflexible nature of time (despite being a Time Lord) has conveyed an overall sense of responsibility to the series.

I believe the original premise for 'Father's Day' was to have Rose confronted by an inability to change past events (her father's death), presumably becoming part of the history she was trying to avert; the story was to be devoid of special effects, instead concentrating on the attendant emotional issues and would have been a brave and unique homage to a sci-fi concept that has been much examined.

The writer, Paul Cornell, admittedly taking the story in his own direction, explored the consequences of Rose actually altering events; an opportunity was thus provided to make the point that the life of a seemingly ordinary man could possibly distort history if that man is supposed to be dead.

The duplication of the Doctor and Rose, separated by only a few minutes served to highlight the practicalities which must be observed when time travelling. Such considerations, it must be said, are not wholly original, similar ideas having been explored in other sci-fi shows and films. However, the 45 minute duration (highly criticised in relation to some previous episodes) imparts a sense of urgency and real time dilemma to the situation as these practicalities are addressed.

Although the story could have worked with the minimum of special effects, I thought the physical manifestation of Rose's actions (The Reapers) was highly effective. They retained a sense of the gothic aspects of the series, especially in the context of the church setting, and also visualised the vengeful nature of time. Almost immediately after Rose's intervention, Cornell created a sense of impending doom by initially showing our flawed universe through the eyes of the Reapers; the first handful of deaths and their ambiguous manner being in the spirit of the classic series. The mental trauma suffered by Mickey in the park was deeply disturbing, as his friends (and mother?) were removed from time; this unease was later intensified by the discarded bike and child's shoe.

The idea of an adult Rose interacting with a father she has saved while her one year old self is in close proximity was a masterstroke in terms of the wealth of possibilities which time travel can present. Rose telling her parents to stop arguing was poignantly ironic, as her desire to experience and interact with both her parents (as a family unit) resulted in her doing so in a way typical of dysfunctional families, as a mediator and referee.

In his previous contributions to Doctor Who, whether they have been books or audios, Cornell has always involved the reader/listener on an emotional level and for this rare talent, deserves kudos. I feel that, for Father's Day, the writer has again achieved this objective and there is no doubt that this is the most emotive and sympathetic episode of any series of Dr Who to be given screen time. Cornell succeeded in making the viewer care about the relationship between Rose and her father; additionally, we were shown that there are as many meaningful issues in the past of any one person as there are in the landmark events more usually visited by the Doctor and his companions.

Generally, the acting performances were polished yet natural. Eccleston portrays sympathy, empathy and admonishment in terms of the Doctor's reactions, together with a wistfulness in that, although he admires the Earth and humanity in general, he is incapable of experiencing the simplicities which he knows make humans so special. The most impressive aspect of Piper's performance was the fact that beneath the understandable exuberance at what she had achieved, there was a sense of guilt and a defensive need to justify her actions to the Doctor, whilst knowing he could not accept them.

Shaun Dingwall's portrayal of Pete Tyler's self sacrifice was beautifully balanced; rather than the tediously clichйd 'a man's gotta do...' diatribe, we were treated to the enormity of the situation being resolved in terms of a Father's responsibility for his child's actions. His awareness of his inadequacies, together with his genuine gratitude for the few hours spent with his future daughter, imbued a sense of credibility to an unlikely action on his part.

The understated direction rendered the viewing seamless in terms of fluency and characterisation. Perhaps the most impressive directorial achievement was in conveying the idea that the car was the true 'Reaper', destined to endlessly circle the church until it's hitherto thwarted purpose was fulfilled.

In terms of the causality and continuity dealt with in stories where people return to (and interact with) their own pasts, I suspect that the time paradox aspects of the episode will be criticised, yet there is no virtue in this; self righteous statements of the 'that couldn't happen because...' type have no merit because time travel is wholly theoretical and hence hypothetical. If anyone can demonstrably disprove the interpretation of the subject by people such as Wells, Heinlein, Cornell or indeed anyone who has written fiction on the subject, then please step forward: it's a non-starter.

I think, as Doctor Who fans, we have all waited and hoped for an episode that is perfect, that conforms to our own perception of what makes the show great; if adequate budgeting is discounted from the criteria, then, for many, such episodes have already happened during the classic series. The current series makes it possible to assess the show in an entirely new way; distractingly poor sets and effects are now a thing of the past and for this reason, a fresh opportunity to revisit the expectation of the perfect episode is afforded.

I have been a fan of this show for thirty years and hence I'm not fickle in the sense that, due to the big budget and higher profile, I have abandoned the old series in preference for the current one; however, I genuinely believe that, due to an understanding and incorporation of the elements of the show which have made it so thought provoking, writers such as Mark Gatiss and Rob Shearman have created near perfect episodes in the best spirit of the classic series. Cornell, however, has fashioned something which, to me, transcends the different factions of sci-fi and fantasy and is able to stand up and be counted outside of the sphere of Who fandom.

Thank you, Mr Cornell, for a perfect episode of Dr Who and a generally superb piece of television.