After seeing the sneak preview at the end of "Boom Town" I was of course intrigued, but I assumed the Daleks must be part of a game designed to get at the Doctor. It opened well, reminding people of Episode Seven, and having the Doctor just appear in the Big Brother house was good for not getting stuck in that sometimes monotonous formula of "Where are we going to appear this time".

Including the Weakest Link with Anne Droid was clever and pulled off well. I was impressed with Fitch's( the weakest link in the first round) reaction to be voted off and when Rose realises what she's done she is horrified. Though Anne Droid did just look like an oversized Playmobil model.

Captain Jack in "What not to Wear" was contained far too many absurd things in it, such as the gun he was "Hiding". The jokes just don't mach the serious ending.

The Doctor's reaction to Rose's supposed death was done tastefully with the background noise being drowned out.

Now, the ultimate flaw of a good episode. The revelation of who is controlling and manipulating Earth, which was a suspenceful scene, was revealed to us almost exactly one week previously in the "Next Week" preview. Had we not known that the Pepperpot pests were going to appear I'm sure it would have been shocking. The Dalek scenes were'nt done tastefully at all. No interesting camera shots, other than the breathtaking zoom out of the Dalek fleet. Apart from that they just plonked them in front of a camera and had them do the hackneyed Vallainous "don't do nothin' or the girl gets it,"

Then cue some hammy dialogue from The Doctor in the vain of "Next Episode I'm going to do exactly what you expect me to and save the world, get the girl and kill you all!" which prompts the Daleks to say "He's probably right but let's have a go anyway," The there was a good shot of them flying about preparing for war.

I don't dislike the episode, more that it could have been better.

Penultimate Praises

Daleks like they used to be
Decisive in their Borg like inhumanity.
En mass, looking like an epic
Film scene in their grand totality.

Costumes of smooth line design
Capturing their human procrastinators’
Of game. Twisted with satiric hate
These oppressive deadly metaphors.

Drama like it used to be
Targeted wisely to snare the whole family.
With Big Bros theme, and camera
Looking on Chris’ finality.

Arcing of immense planning
Meandering with intent this series through.
Treating audience with respect
All ages drink their level of the brew.

Bad wolf clues liberally
Sprinkled with flair but left inexplicably
In the air - here I lost their thread.
Who planned such clues so carefully?

Humour with innuendo
Of a homosexual kind continues so.
Nice to see our moral Doctor
Leave the gun, urging girl to leave the show.

Acting like it used to be.
Character driven with delivery
By Chris constant in rationale.
Compassionate for the needy.

Well............ what do you say? The last time I sat gripped like that with me mouth open and me tea falling out of it, Id just been electrocuted,,,but thats what happened last night.

It started pretty normally, even though we didnt get a totally decent excuse how the three travellers were hi jacked from the TARDIS, but who really cares? The Doctor appears in Big Brother, and considering the current bunch of bizarre and weird sex mad bimbos we have in the genuine Ch4 series at present,,the Doctors housemates could have all been aliens and still seemed more normal. This thread played along fairly as expected, as did Rose on the Weakest Link,,theres been so many leaks and spoilers in the last few weeks that no one was unaware of the general theme of this episode.

Jack and his 'hidden' weopan??? well, it made me smile, but a little crude, even for this series where hes camping it up for Christmas, not that its an issue with me, I love camp humour,,just not sure if DR WHO is the right place for it.

The Androids were fairly basic in design,and followed the general theme of the shows, except with the killings, which werent killings as we found out.

When we discover that the Doctor himself is largely responsible for everything that has happened here, it suddenly becomes much more sinister and with the shows all coming from this present Earth time period, one has to wonder if Adam isnt up to his neck in all this ...he has the oppurtunity, the knowledge, is a genius,is potentially spitefull and very sly..maybe he was kidnapped after the Doctor dumped him and used,,who knows,....well, we will soon and I cant wait.

I cant rid myself of the suspicion that maybe the Doctor isnt who he appears to be either..its a rather elaborate trap dont you think?

All these episodes are nothing more than set ups, scripts and stories for them to play in for the amusement of someone or something else...it brings back memories of The War Games and Carnival of Monsters.Somehow the idea of the Daleks sat sitting, slippers on and sipping a mug of cocoa watching 'the zany adventures of the Doctor' on TV at night after a day of mad exterminations, doesnt feel right...their not interested in TV, plots, humiliation,,they just KILL.

Rose's killing was a shock,I know she doesnt die, i know she does more episodes,,but it was so well done,,that for just a few seconds, I thought 'Oh God'....but once that surprise wore off, it was obvious that she was elsewhere,,,which also beggars the question,,where are all the other humans killed playing these games?

Surely they are not this new breed of Daleks? Have they been first Entertainment and then fodder for the transmutation into a Dalek?

What an irony? Earth being destroyed by what were Humans origionally.

The scenes on the Dalek ship were magical and this where I stopped chewing ...the first thing we hear is that old familiar throbbing sound of so many Dalek episodes ...and then that distorted view of the Dalek gliding up behind the woman. Fabulous....and then to top all that, we have hundreds of ships whith thousands of Daleks, everywhere...goodness,it brings all those comic strips from the 60s suddenly to life, now we have the ability to show on TV what the artists painted decades ago..and wasnt it wonderfull?

Being a hardcore fan from way way back, I know roughly whats happening,so we know the Dr croaks, we know theres a mega battle,,but I suspect theres going to be so so so much more,,,maybe our little Dalek friend from earlier in the series reappears and helps Rose,,who knows,,,but whats for sure,is that next weeks episode is going to be amazing, with all the questions answered , some amazing effects which we just arent used to in this show and some more fabulous acting...

Finally,,,the acting,,cant ignore that,,Chris is just so good, and those final moments when he addresses the Daleks, you can see them back off a little,,this man has absolutely nothing to lose, and thats when people are at their very most dangerous.God I wish he wasnt leaving, these 3 just work so well together and this new Doctor due at Xmas,,well, he may be a fabulous actor,,but hes too young and pretty for me, and I find it hard to take that seriously.

Jack is Jack, charming, camp and very amusing, Im assuming some answers about his memory loss are answered too,,,but he just seems to thrive aboard the TARDIS, loving every single minute of it,which is portrayed to the audience watching...and then theres Billie,,Oh she is such a find,,thank god, we had these three actors to launch this series, its success is down to them,,obviously the Production team and all the Technicians too, but its They that we watch each week. Im very sorry Chris is going, despite the daft grins, hes a joy to watch, I only hope the new guy can follow his lead. We owe a lot to RTD, theres a huge amount of critism of him too, the camp, gay references especially,,,well I dont mind those,,thats a fact of life whether we like them or not,,,people dont like the Kitchen sink drama,,,I do,,it makes it more real, makes it easier for the new generations to associate with it, I do think however, maybe RTDs scripts havent been up to scratch with the other writers in this series, and thats a personal view,,Im not overly happy with endless farting monsters etc..but without him, we wouldnt be watching this series now..so credit and thanks where they are due.

Roll on next week..............

And so the mystery is finally revealed - um, or is it?

'Bad Wolf' is an odd episode, by turns cringeworthy and gripping, slow and exhilirating. The words which have haunted the Doctor and Rose throughout their adventures belong to a shady organisation running Satellite Five, last seen in 'The Long Game'. To my knowledge, however, it was never adequately explained how the influence of this organisation manages to extend to all the various places the TARDIS crew have travelled. Perhaps in next week's episode...

The reality TV commentary is initially quite amusing and the everyday experience taken to the extreme is pure classic series. It does grate, however, with at least one scene too many for the Doctor, Rose and Jack in their respective shows before the plot really gets moving.

Rose's 'death', however, is played beautifully, as is the 'gearing up for battle' scene and the Controller (who could have been given more space for development and made a little creepier) reaching out for the Doctor's help. The Doctor's realisation that it is his fault that things have got so bad on earth is a very nice touch, also.

The biggest problem with 'Bad Wolf' is that it relies so completely on its final (spine-tingling) revelation to satisfy viewers that it leaves huge numbers of questions open. What are the Daleks up to? Why their interest in Earth? How much have they been manipulating the Doctor's travels? What do they want with all the humans they are teleporting to their fleet when they 'die' in the games? And why the phrase 'bad wolf'?

It is impossible to rate the episode properly until seeing 'The Parting of the Ways', but there seems a real danger that the season finale will focus so fully on the final battle, Rose's fate and the Doctor's last stand (not to mention what will happen to Jack) that all these 'why's that would justify the season-long build-up will just be left behind. And there is little more disappointing that a season finale which does not live up to its own build-up.

The reality TV idea is a good one, but I can't help but feel that it might have been better if RTD had placed it earlier in the season (instead of World War Three would have been nice, but it could easily have taken the place of The Long Game) and left 'Bad Wolf' to answer all the necessary questions before the final face-off.

That said, it's entirely possible that 'Parting' will answer everything, thus leaving 'Bad Wolf' as yet another solidly entertaining episode in a wonderful season of television. Only one week to find out and a regeneration just around the corner ...

When I first found out that The Weakest Link and Big Brother were going to be in this episode I thought that Russell T Davies had lost the plot. However I have to say that after seeing the episode I am impressed at the way it was done. I am glad that Anne and Davina were willing to do the voices for the Anne and Davina Droids, I somehow don’t think it would have been the same if they hadn’t done them.

The Captain Jack makeover was quite amusing to, this is a character that I like and will be sad to see go. The reminder of all the Bad Wolf references was a nice touch. Then for the 1st time that I can remember this series, The Doctor looked distraught and lost; when he thought that Rose had been disintegrated. The panning out on the fleet of Dalek ships added to the drama and the way they showed the hundreds of Daleks on the ship was a great touch to I felt, complete with a couple of Daleks in hover mode.

I must confess that overall I have not been a great fan of the Russell T Davies episodes to much, but with this episode I have to give credit where credit is due. If someone had told me a year ago, that in the new Doctor Who series, the Daleks would be controlling TV Stations broadcasting The Weakest Link and Big Brother amongst other things, I would have laughed at them. Indeed last week when I saw the trailer for this week’s episode I still wasn’t sure. But in my opinion Russell has done a fantastic job on this episode and I am looking forward to next week’s episode.

Well, what can I say? Words can scarse compel me to begin describing the brilliance of what I've seen today.

Picture this, the psychotic Ann Robinson droid, with Rose before her, laughing as if it is all a joke but then sensing the sinister truth behind the gameshow facade. Rose soon begins to quake as the Add droid disintegrates a contestant.

The Doctor on the other hand finds himself in the Big Brother house and I can tell you, it's not as bad as you may all think. I began watching this episode with dread for what the BB content was going to do to it, but let me tell you, everything in the episode was put together brilliantly.

Captain Jack naked...mmm rather tasty if I do say so myself. After blasting the Trinny and Susanna bots head off our sexy hero makes a dash for it and finds the Doctor with a new friend, Lynda with a Y not an I.

Things get heated as the Doctor witnesses Rose disintegrated herself, turned to a mere pile of ash (pity though, the resiliant cow escapes death aboard a Dalek saucer).

As the episode draws to a climatic cliffhanger, the Controller, a human linked to the Game Station computers is beamed off the ship where she is exterminated by the Daleks after completeing whatever ghastly plan the Daleks had set her to.

The Doctor is told by Jack that Rose is still alive and uncovering the Dalek saucers, he engages them in conversation.

The Daleks and their saucers...wow! Excellently done, a true homage to the sixties designs. Rose is held as hostage to force the Doctor to whatever plan the metal meanies have in mind. He tells them 'No'.

So the episode ended. But what of next week?

Doctor "But how did you survive the Time War?" he asks the Daleks onboard their ship.

Unknown voice "They survived through me" a familiar Dalek-like voice come from behind the Doctor. Is this Bad Wolf?

Overall, I would give this episode ten out of ten. Russell. T. Davis, you're a genius!