After the two-part plot-hole riddled exercise in pompous self-indulgence that comprised the finale of season one of the new series of Doctor Who, my faith in Russell T. Davies’ scripts was, to say the least, somewhat lacking. Having rather enjoyed ‘The Christmas Invasion’, I was feeling more optimistic about the Davies-penned season two opener ‘New Earth’, but was still rather cautious; fortunately, despite some criticisms, I found myself largely relieved.

‘New Earth’ sees Russell T. Davies juggling his new Doctor, Rose, an old enemy, an old acquaintance, Cat Nuns, zombies, and two distinct subplots, as well the series’ first on-screen alien planet, within the constricting time frame of a single forty-five minute episode, and for the most part he pulls it off. To start with the last of these first, the planet in question is New Earth, and whilst it’s closely based on the old one and is, blatantly, the Welsh coastline with some CGI added, the simple fact that the Doctor takes Rose out of Earth’s space and indeed to a different galaxy automatically broadens the scope of the series in a way that feels rather refreshing. It helps that ‘New Earth’ looks rather good; the CGI is obviously CGI, but it’s easy on the eye, and the hospital exterior meshes convincingly with the studio and location work used for the interior. As for the occupants of the hospital, the Sisters of Plenitude are a far cry from the Puss-in-Boots misfortune of the Cheetah People and look great, and as Davies manages to admirably restrain himself from making cheap pussy jokes, then I shall do the same. The Face of Boe looks just as striking as it did in ‘The End of the World’ and having apparently decided to reuse the character because the creative juices started flowing whilst he was writing its profile for the Monsters and Villains book, Davies puts it to good use here. The secret that the Face of Boe will reveal to the Doctor just before it dies is suitably intriguing, although so too were the various Bad Wolf references in season one, and that turned out to be narrative- and dramatic excrement.

‘New Earth’ tangles the Doctor and Rose up in two subplots, both of which are moderately, but not wholly successful. The first of these is the secret of the Sisterhood, who it turns out have managed to discover cures for every known disease by creating large numbers of supposedly mindless human clones on which to perform laboratory tests for their various drugs and therapies. If this sounds like a thinly veiled and ham-fisted attack on the controversial topic of animal experimentation with a few pot shots at cloning technology thrown in without a great deal of thought, this is because it is. I wouldn’t mind, but Davies has nothing intelligent to say about the subject, either for or against; there is a general message that animal testing is a bad thing, but the reasons given by the Doctor, who is thrust into the position of moral mouthpiece, tend to revolve around the more specific message that if you are going to use cloned humans as test animals, it is best to ensure that don’t develop sentience and go on rampages. The rampage in question results in a blatant homage to the works of George A. Romero, which works reasonably well, as plague-ridden zombies lurch around the hospital slowly infecting and killing everyone they come into contact with. Director James Hawes does a good job of depicting the claustrophobic horror of these scenes; the pustule-covered zombies look as effective as they could do within the limitations of the episode’s time slot, and they have a certain remorselessness of purpose common to the genre. The problems with this subplot, which are admittedly fairly easy to live with, lie with the plot; the Doctor’s solution to the problem is to mix all of the Sisterhood’s cures together, reasoning that if the clones have been used to develop cures for every possibly disease, then combining the cures will free the clones from their curse. This does rather raise the question of why the Sisters have already realised this before him, and why they even bother with separate cures; the Doctor only has a dozen or so bags of coloured water around his neck when he slides down the lift shaft to confront the horde, so each must already contain a potent cocktail effective on several diseases (think carefully about the ramifications of the phrase “every disease”). It might help too if Davies was prepared to add a dose of realism by mentioning some genuine disease, but instead we get pulp science fiction rot such as petrifold regression. Given that the Sisters have measures in place to quarantine the hospital, one might also ask why they haven’t developed fail safes to stop all of the cells opening at once and rather easily, since all it takes is Chip to pull a lever, and for one of the handful of clones thus released to jam his arm into a junction box.

Mention of Chip brings me to the second subplot, which sees the return of Cassandra, last seen in ‘The End of the World’. The incessantly bitchy last human works quite well, although this is as much to do with Zoe Wanamaker’s performance as it is to the script, and her decision to transplant her mind into Rose’s body results in some of the funniest lines in the episode, including, “Oh my god, I’m a chav!” The kiss is also highly amusing, especially the Doctor’s speechless response to it, but the best aspect of this subplot is that it gives Billie Piper a chance to show off her acting skills, which turn out to be even better than I had expected; she manages to sound like Zoe Wanamaker and act like Cassandra with remarkable ease, and far more so in fact than David Tennant does. Although Tennant gets the worst lines, including “I’m beating out a samba!” and his brief verbal drag act comes perilously close to crossing the line between funny and irritating. The whole subplot falls apart at the end, firstly as Cassandra enters the body of one of the clones, and immediately shrieks, “I look disgusting!” Mere seconds later however, she’s emotionally telling the Doctor, “All their lives they’ve never been touched”, a small shift in character which might have been more convincing if this had been her first reaction. She is, admittedly, monumentally, shallow but this only makes the episode’s ending feel more forced, as she switches from callous mass murderer, extortionist and black mailer to tragic figure accepting, rather rapidly, that it is time for her to die. Personally, I’d have been more convinced if she’d abandoned Chip and leapt into the body of one the nuns. The ending, as the Doctor and Rose take her back in time to tell herself that she is beautiful, is nauseatingly sentimental. It says a great deal for the Doctor’s character that he’s willing to do favours for someone who has just tried to steal his companion’s body, but it is a bit hard to swallow. I also find myself wondering why Cassandra blames Rose, “that dirty blonde assassin”, for her apparent death in ‘The End of the World’, when it was clearly the Doctor’s doing. You’d think the man who wrote both that episode and this would know what he was doing, wouldn’t you?

But in terms of the lead character, ‘New Earth’ works very well as a season opener. Tennant, and the Doctor, is markedly less manic than in ‘The Christmas Invasion’, and having settled into the role does a fine job of it. He shifts effortlessly between comedy, whimsy, and drama, and conveys the Doctor’s anger when required with ease. As in ‘The Christmas Invasion’, he immediately feels like the Doctor in a way that Christopher Eccleston often didn’t quite manage and for the second episode in a row, Davies allows the character to be proactive and save the day through a combination of ingenuity and bravery rather than leaving it to Rose. He gets one or two dodgy lines, Davies still demonstrating a tendency to let the Doctor self-mythologize, such as when he announces that there is no higher authority, and when he rather awkwardly tells the Mayor of New New York’s bespectacled harridan, “So I’ll have to stop you lot as well then. Suits me”, but for the most part the character works brilliantly. Tennant also conveys a great deal through facial acting, especially when he confirms that Rose isn’t in her right mind by asking, “What if the sub-frame’s blocked?”

I have other criticisms of ‘New Earth’. Rose seems fine whenever Cassandra leaves her body, which is fortunate considering that one at least one occasion she’s very high up a ladder, but when Cassandra leaves her for Chip, she conveniently faints into the Doctor’s arms, which is remarkably contrived. The fey and obsequious Chip, who might as well be wearing a gimp suit, is astoundingly irritating. The most annoying aspect of the episode however is Murray Gold’s abominable incidental score which veers from pompous melodrama to forced wackiness to cloying sentiment with all the subtlety of, well, Keff McCulloch. Despite these criticisms however, and it may seem that I’m being rather harsh, ‘New Earth’ succeeds in being entertaining, engaging, and thus a suitable season opener. I suspect however, that as with Season One, the first episode will not be typical, and that the best is yet to come.

Bring to mind everything that upset you about Russell T Davies' writing in last year's Doctor Who. The dreadful humour, the look-at-me-aren't-I-clever references, the way sexuality barged its way in where it was completely unnecessary. Now imagine that the BBC distilled it, and made a programme out of it.

Imagine 45 minutes of pure, unfiltered Russell T Davies.

I think I'm in Hell.

The premise is simple. The new Doctor takes Rose to see Earth's future - its even further future, because the half dozen glimpses we've already had weren't enough. It's a new planet entirely, but the human race lives on with it. But how? Who are the strange cat-woman nurses who offer their mysterious cure to all ailments, and what is the cure? Interesting questions anyway. It would have made a great episode for Sylvester McCoy.

Unfortunately Davies hasn't got a clue how to approach the issue. By the end of the episode it seems to mean something or other about the human race's will to survive, and our sympathies are geared towards marauding, disease-ridden zombies. But it all happens so fast that it doesn't work, particularly because about half a dozen things are confusing the issue.

For instance, Cassandra is back. Oh, Russell's very happy with that creation; isn't it just masturbatory that she's given such coverage, the same way Rose happened to mention the Slitheen every other episode last season? Zoe Wanamaker is largely wasted as her character body-swaps between characters. In the case of Rose, she uses the excuse to tart Billie Piper up to the nines, breasts heaving and hair tossed. It's frequently embarrassing to look at the screen, as passers by may assume that Doctor Who abandoned all subtlety and went with a scantily clad bimbo companion. Well, they'd be half right.

And then she possesses the Doctor, who is a pretty major issue I'm having at the moment. David Tennant is actually rather annoying. His dramatic rants come out of nowhere, and I kept trying to get a handle on him as the Doctor (it seemed so easy in "The Parting of the Ways", perhaps because it was just one short scene), but I can't. He's clearly enthusiastic, but he hasn't quite got it yet. He and Rose - who is gushing and falling over herself far too much, in a way that suggests Billie simply fancies Tennant - are in awe of everything around them, so they're not acting normally, so I can't tell what they're really like.

Yeah. That's the excuse I'll go with.

Let's try not to talk about the scene where Cassandra steals the Doctor's body, and the loathsome gag about "not using" several "parts" of himself rears its ugly Russell-T-Davies-shaped head. For God's sake man, we appreciate that you enjoy your job. Would it kill you to have just a little respect for the series you're proclaiming as your own?

And he does. All the humour is turned up to eleven, from vaguely funny but nonsensical gags ("I'm a chav!") to dire, lazy zingers ("Go and play with a ball of string"). This is Doctor Who in a punny, one-liner mood. You can just feel that series we know and love dying under the ridiculous talons of Davies. He's suffocating it in his idea of a good time.

There are good moments, of course. As the Doctor fiddles with the TARDIS in the opening moments, he smiles as the column rises and falls; it's beautiful, and it's completely the Doctor. Then the production falls on its arse, as the windy location of Wales forces the first five minutes of dialogue to be totally (and obviously) dubbed. It's horrendous. Then along comes Murray Gold's "sweet" theme from "The Parting of the Ways", suddenly dumped in a satirical context and ruining any emotive memories I have of that last episode. It's like they're laughing at everything that worked.

I think I'm in shock. Just about every good idea is missed. The cat-women, for example, could just as easily be fish, robots or normal women; it's completely irrelevent (their make-up is uniquely good-looking, improving ten-fold on the similar species in "Survival", but the quality of the story is such slurry that this counts for nothing). The Face of Boe's involvement is ultimately a cop-out, so he's useless, and the final moments suggest that we sympathise with Cassandra. She was hardly a deep character to begin with, merely a repository for sassy comebacks and cruelty. If Davies is so taken with her, let him write his own adventures. Why smother the series with this stuff?

Sigh. I want to say "perhaps it'll look up", or "perhaps another writer will tone down the humour and make it all okay", but I said that at the end of last season, and at the end of "The Christmas Invasion". There's no getting rid of this bloody man, as he has no intention of leaving Doctor Who alone. Woe is very certainly me.

Look Who's back! On Saturday 15th April I sat through that dance program in sheer excitement waiting for the return of Doctor Who in it's second run - this time with a new Doctor.

After the simply amazing Christmas Invasion, New Earth seems slightly down in comparision to the christmas classic, which was arguably the best of the new generation of Doctor Who. As expected, David Tennant (the Doctor) was on fine form, delivering the part in such a way that makes most of the episode's flaws seem minor and almost unnecerssary to the whole structure. His sidekick Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) presents some problems toward the episode...

Unfortunately Piper is trying so hard to sound humourous, but fails miserably and sadly sounds very unlike Rose and actually more like herself when she's not possessed. Fortunately, Zoe Wannamaker (voice of Cassandra) is here to save the day! Her credits include many comedy's including the more recent My Family which give her a good boost during the belly-laugh scenes such as 'Oh my God! I'm a chav!' Which has caused laughs world-wide according to producer Phil Collinson.

Moving on from the characters, I'd like to present some slight niggles I had with New Earth's story. First of all, it has the potential and looks like a classic Doctor Who episode with freaky zombies in their hundreds creeping out of green tombs with a kind of "urghhh" noise (very reminiscent of The Tomb of the Cybermen).

However, the core audience for Doctor Who is children and for them to enjoy it they must understand the story. I think the story was delivered in a terrible way by the actors. An example of this is the confusion caused when Cassandra possessed Rose. There was no sign that Cassandra WAS Rose when not talking, and as the episode went on, I found myself believing that we were seeing the real Rose and not a possessed form. Another flaw in the story was the whole idea of the zombies and their purpose; which I must admit, I found confusing until watching the episode back.

Another surprising addition to the story was the Face of Boe. Many people have told me how pointless the scenes were, but I think they added a flair to the episode. My theory is that "the secret" has something to do with future episodes, as 'Boe did state the Doctor will meet him again. Not pointless, just mild hints.

Although the overall episode was average it is no change to last years Rose which featured a similar feeling to this episode, and thankfully last year things picked up as the series went on. Some of the acting was poor and delivered the story in a confusing way but other than that it was okay. I still think that Russell T. Davies cannot write Doctor Who. This is because most of his episodes have been average (except The Long Game). Let's face it, RTD really need's to start changing things in series three because series after series of mildly-entertaining Doctor Who will not suffice die-hard fans. My prediction is that after Tooth and Claw things will start to hot up and we will realise that this is a mere light-hearted opener to what will be a fantastic series.

So Doctor Who is back, after months of waiting with baited breath, countless news reports and a build up that not-surprisingly outshone the new Wembley Stadium, the very first episode of Doctor Who Series 2, graced our screens.

Unhampered by the dulcet tones of Graham Norton the episode got off to an interesting start, with Rose saying another goodbye to Jackie and Mickey. The arrival on New Earth is to be honest a bit rushed, infact that plagues the episode throughout and really brings back some of the rather upsetting faults of 'Rose' form the previous season.

The only real thing that really made me cringe in this episode was the stomach-churning relationship between the Doctor and Rose. It just seemed to tacky and with a bit of luck won't develop much further. Fair enough character development is essential to television programmes these days it seems but one can't help but feel the Doctor-Rose 'love' relationship is undermining the programme and the main action. By all means let them travel the universe and have a laugh but all this mushy luvvy duvvy nonsense is...well...nonsense.

Despite this the rest of the episode is enjoyable. The Cat Nurse seemed a little spare to the plot at times, but it was wonderful to see Cassandra back, especially in human form. Chip is an interesting addition to proceedings and the mutants at the end of the episode might seem a bit cliche but are harmless enough (if you get my drift).

The drama could have done with a bit more time to develop but other than that it was an enjoyable romp, which started off the new series well. David Tennant seems to be finding his feet well and holds the episode up nicely. Billie Piper delivers a hilarious performance as the Cassandra-possessed Rose (and David Tennant's attempt is none too bad either)

The ending is a nice wind down moment and Zoe Wanamaker is wonderful in the final few scenes. The pathos is played well and David Tennant's last look at the unfolding scene is a good way to finish. The trailer for next week looks to be a good return to the more sinister and spooky side of Doctor Who, and with this episode a pretty much firm starting block (perhaps the humour could have been played down a little) the new series looks to be just as good as the first.

What a smacker ... and the episode was pretty darn good too!

Was it just me or did that kiss not last ages? Billie Piper playing Cassandra certainly did not miss the target, that's for sure.

Chris Eccleston must have been raging he didn't hang about for a second series and missing out on the big kiss off after all that flirting in the last series (though he did get some lip action with Captain Jack in the end!).

Watching it in his Salford home, I wonder what he made of it all.

I was very impressed. The touching start as Rose says her goodbyes before joining the Doctor was a nice and somewhat understated introduction given all the whoo-hah and hype that has surrounded the show over the past week. It was a simple and effective start.

The arrival in New, New York couldn't have been much better and I loved the wee robot spiders returning and of course, Cassandra. That was good we actually got to see Zoe Wanamaker in the episode too. What with Anthony Head and Pauline Collins still to come, the show really has attracted some A-list actors to the series - something which was impossible when the show came to an end in 1989 when Bonnie Langford and Ken Dodd were the celebs we had come to expect. How times have changed!

The lift shower scenes were terrific and funny and I loved the references to the NHS and the Doctor's concern about the lack of a shop. The Sisters of Plentitude were absolutely terrific and terrifying in equal measure judging by the Tardisode which was very scary indeed.

The true purpose behind the sister's plan was well executed and even the Face of Boe speaking was worth the wait and gives a sense of mystery in the same vein as the Bad Wolf intrigue from the last series. It might have been good if a few clues were offered but he disappeared just like the Tardis!!!

Given that the team working behind Dr Who now know they have a lead actor who will stay for the course, it is interesting to note how much the BBC are supporting the show with "Totally Doctor Who" and even reference made on the Radio 5 Live News Bulletin this morning!

One thing that did strike me after the Christmas Invasion and New Earth is that we still haven't really seen the Doctor and Rose adjusting to each other yet though they seem to get on pretty well! With the Doctor being out of action for most of the first episode while Rose was taken over by Cassandra for the majority of New Earth, it has been an interesting dynamic on Russell T Davies part and we will have to wait until Tooth and Claw to really see the relationship grow.

A very satisfying start to the new series and one which Russell T Davies can take some pride in. I thought it was good that the Doctor took Cassandra back to when she was a human and the final end. You never usually find out what happens to some of the Dr's enemies at the end of episodes but it gave something of a human touch, with overtures to "Dalek".

Tennant is very much his own man with his new uniform, sense of humour and manic personality which is shaping up to be very exciting.

Perhaps the highest complement you can pay to him is that it did not really strike you at any point that he was not the Doctor and he seamlessly fit in to the role as if it had been his all along. A very polished performance by both Tennant and Piper and something which looks positively sparkling. Who-rah!!!

"Fantastic?" - Not quite - As the first episode of the second series of Doctor Who premiered on UK terrestial television to an audience of 8.2 million viewers, it failed to deliver a story befitting the return of a much loved character. However, "New Earth" had its moments and there is no denying the chemistry between Tennant and Piper that exudes on screen. Tennant has yet to convince me he is in the same class as Eccleston, although he did a fairly decent job given the fact he appeared to have a script written in the mould of Eccleston's Doctor, despite RTD efforts to tidy up Tennants transition.

On the plus side the special effects were great - star warseque in standard for our first alien world adventure, and the new breed of diseased riddled humans would have have sent the kids running behind their sofas. The Face of Bo was a welcome return, now shrouded in even more mystery to be revealed in a later episode. Zoe Wannamaker was excellent as Lady Cassandra - shame about Tennant's and Piper's possession scenes - you either love it or hate it, and I hated it because it was a weak plot twist that detracted from the more sinister going ons with our feline Sisters of Mercy. RTD uses the characters of Cassandra and the Face of Bo to complete Tennants Transition as the 10th Doctor, but it just back-fires as you remember how great Eccleston's Doctor was.

It is early days for Tennant and glimpses of future episodes show real promise. I just hope RTD allows Tenants Doctor to reveal his own distinct querks that will enable us to love him in the same unique way we love his previous incarnations. - "Any one for a jelly baby?"