And so an era comes to an end and the Tyler clan (et Mickey) are left to a "Rose"y future in the alternative Earth. And what a season which has played with just about every emotion possible - we have seen high drama, genuinely scary moments, humour, love, relationships, envy, sadness, bitterness and some mind blowing concepts. The fans have at times been critical of the more experimental stories with clear almost 50/50 splits with some of them. But Doctor Who is no longer specifically written for fans. It generates viewers of all ages and interests and whilst there is much to please fans it is important to recognise the way in which Doctor Who is now written and presented - to pull in as large and varied audience as it can - and that premise has worked extremely well!

Army of Ghosts had shaped up well - albeit giving Torchwood a sense of lack of direction. Doomsday picked up on last week's episode's strengths and us into a mad frenzied battle for Earth with mankind helpless in the path of destruction. The 4 elite named Daleks were on a mission and the mighty Cybermen stood no chance against the metal pepperpots - encased in force fields and with the ability to fly. Should we ever have doubted who would win in such a fight???

The story was of course set up to see the exit of Rose - just as the Auton invasion of London had been a means to introduce the Doctor into her life. Along with many other viewers, I had worked out the ending (well transfer to the alternate Earth that is) but it was a twist to see Pete run to Rose's timely rescue rather than Mickey - a nice twist!! And at last we saw the Doctor fully react to the loss of a companion - Rose had become more to him than any other now that he is the lone Time Lord. The tears seemed right - the unfinished sentence - well . . . he couldn't have actually told Rose he loved her could he? Full marks to David Tennant and Billie Piper for very fine and moving performances.

As with the Autons slaughtering shoppers in "Rose" there was something terrifying about seeing Cybermen in people's homes, on their stair landings, patrolling local streets and battling troops on bridges. And shots of London burning from the top of Canary Warf/Torchwood Institute - spectacular!!!! To be fair some of the CGE shots of flying Daleks were not as good as in last season's finale but I was still impressed! And the Daleks' method of extracting information from the brain was rather horrific stuff!!!

So as the closing titles flashed up - what were the unanswered questions? Well for a start, what happened to the Torchwood Institute on our Earth (with no Rose Tyler to advise)? Was it wiped out and will the new Torchwood series develop on a completely new set up?? And then the Runaway Bride - is Catherine Tate to be the new temp companion????? Well to quote the actresses most popular comedy character "I Ain't Bothered!" - what an unusual and unpredictable way to end the episode - especially after the high emotions of the farewells!

Congratulations to Mr RTD on an almost devoid of humour script that was very dramatic and to all the actors, production staff, musicians, special effects crew and back room boys and girls for making Season 2 so enjoyable and a treat for Saturday night!! Roll on the Christmas Special and Season 3!!!

170 days is just WAY too long to wait!!!

If you haven't seen the Confidentials for the each part of the finale, I would advise you to go out there and get them. What this group puts into this show is what makes it one of the best shows on TV period, not just in the area of Science Fiction. Imagine if great writers like Terry Nation and Pip Baker, directors like Ron Jones and Barry Letts and producers like Verity Lambert and John Nathan-Turner had the full support of the BBC when they were working on this show. Imagine if all of the people involved in Doctor Who from 1963 on did not have to worry (near as much anyway) about budget constraints or high up executives who thought they knew everything about everything people wanted to watch on television.

I'm not saying the 2005/2006 teams had it easy by any means. Just easier. If the writer or director had ideas for the show, there were people on the set who would say "You can do this, this and this but you have to stop at this". Most times, the director was able to do what they envisioned when reading the scripts for the show. Imagine that!

This season was a roller coaster to be sure. Without Chris Eccelston, without his gritty portrayal of the Doctor who has just lost his entire race could the show continue on or would the 2005 and 2006 seasons be another 1996 movie and make the show fall away into obscurity once again? No matter what you say about certain aspects of this season, the general consensus has to be that David Tennant grabbed this role by the family jewels and ran away with it. He has the forceful nature of Eccelston, but has also shown the compassion of the Doctors that came before him. His love for the human race and awe of their potential. Perhaps it was the writing more than Eccelston's skill as an actor but these were traits lacking in Series One. Again, for one season, the Doctor had experienced more pain than he ever had before. Eccelston's performance was brilliant and what the show needed to break away from familiar patterns and show just how damaged this Timelord really was.

In 2006 however, with the introduction of Rose into his life as well as her extended family, the Doctor had begun the healing process and could once again show some of his jovial nature. David Tennant performed this brilliantly from the first Christmas dinner in "The Christmas Invasion" to talking about Earth's future history in "New Earth" and on and on throughout the season. He would not allow people like Harriet Jones, the werewolf cult monks or even Torchwood to hurt the human race but also would he not automatically solve every problem the human race had (even though he often wanted to). His perfomance from day one was brilliant and, once again, exactly how the Doctor needed to be portrayed at this time in his life.

On to Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. The epic nature of having Cybermen and Daleks at the same time alone would have made this finale a Doctor Who's wet dream besides the fact that the episodes were very well written and acted. The introduction of the "Genesis Ark" was an excellent way to bring millions of Daleks once again appear from nowhere. Inside, I was hoping that since it was Gallifreyian technology it would somehow be able to jumpstart the Timelords back into existence, but the fact that it was a prison for millions of Daleks was an awesome concept and turned out to be a much better plot device in the long run. I loved Gallifrey and the Timelords but I really believe that dumping all of that excess baggage that every Doctor since Hartnell had to deal with is still the best thing for the show. The scene where the Daleks and Cybermen meet was fantastic! As they say in Confidential, the Daleks have their own set of emotions and the disgust and superiority the Daleks feel toward Cybermen was palpable. 5,000,000 Cybermen against one Dalek would be an even fight. Brilliant! One doctor and you (the Daleks) are actually scared. Brilliant! This was a flawless meeting and even though the threat of the Cybermen was the driving force of 3/4 of the two finale episodes, the Daleks showed themselves to be the true enemy of the human race and the Doctor. The Daleks had time travel technology, they had the weapons to attack and kill Timelords and the Cybermen were really just humans dressed up in armor with superior technology. Superior to humans that is.

The end of Rose Tyler was handled perfectly as well. I'm sure many hardcore fans would probably think it was a cop out for her not to have died. Underneath all the battles with Jake and his commandos, all the special effects, all the flash of Torchwood there is this emotional story of the Tylers, and the reunion of a family. It's all done so brilliantly you almost forget about the huge battle that is raging on outside. Jackie and Pete show that they are meant for each other whether they are from the same universe or not. Pete is still the same guy, it just so happens one of his "wacky ideas" happened to work on his world.

This episode had a lot to cover. 5,000,000 Cybermen and (with the help of the Genesis Ark) millions of Daleks had to be defeated, and as most of us knew by now Rose had to die. It was obvious to most fans though that Rose's death had to be no fault of the Doctor's both for his sanity as well as Jackie's whose promise he gave that he would protect them both. The Void radiation, in my opinion was ingenious. Here was a way for all enemies to be taken out at once and Rose and the doctor would also be susceptible to its' effects. The way Pete stepped in and saved her was awesome and since we all knew Rose would be leaving in this episode, it actually created a feeling of fear when she was being pulled into the void! It was actually a surprise when Pete jumped in and caught her! This is no small feat in 2006 television!

I believe this finale was perfect Doctor Who in every way. Yvonne bucking her Cyber upgrade and having a small part in the Doctor's victory, Jake jumping in and saving the Doctor, Pete's emergence as a leader and a parallel Torchwood all added to a story that could have just been a big Cybermen/Dalek brawl. What could have just been a 45 minute special effects laser battle was instead a great story of heart, of human ingenuity and the Doctor's evolution. They even came up with a way for him to truly say goodbye to Rose and it is not an easy message for Rose to get which makes it all the more believable and well done. He doesn't even say "I love you" which is just so perfect!

Bottom line, Series Two was perfect in my mind. Ups and downs to be sure but then again Series One was not 100% perfect (farting Slitheen anyone?). What makes this show perfect is what made 2005 perfect. This is a show that has been around for 43 years. Taken as a whole, this revamp of the classic Who retains the Tardis, sonic screwdriver and the Doctor's incredible brain and puts it in a modern context we can all relate to. It adds a complexity to characters and emotions that could never have been realized in the early years of this show. In this way I believe it is on par with BSG or any of the other shows considered to be top tier Sci-Fi. More than that though, it would appeal to its' target audience perfectly. People young and old can enjoy this show and, once again, in 2006 with all that we've seen on television this is no small feat.

Cheers to RTD and to the entire cast and crew of Doctor Who Series Two. 170 days simply can't come fast enough!

And what's with the Runaway Bride?!

Ok, as usual, I let this one stew for a bit. I've watched it time and time again, once it's dark enuf to enjoy on the Projector and not on some small telly screen.

I've decided this was FAB. It had it all, RTD has taken a few risks this series, and I love him for it. A show, or books, or Audios, or Comics, or Magazines, cannot last this long without risks. RTD has taken Dr Who and done it. He pulled it off BIG time. I watched Star Trek become formalistic and tedious (and I hate think that about ST) but it did. Star Gate went a little further and updated it's self. Buffy and Angel went further in how wonderfully they would take risks. We have had this in Doctor Who, but 10X more. Daleks and Cybermen? I need a tissue and a few private moments in the bathroom. Daleks, Cybermen, and the brilliantly built up 'Torchwood'? I will txt u when the bfroom is free. There will be no bog-roll left though.

We were promised epic, and we got it. This, like “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit” will end up in my edit suite, and get spliced together. For no other reason, than they are movies, and so well realised, it shocked me. I loved the cliff hanger, but I know the resolution now, so can boot up any Linux edit suite and put the 2 together. I can watch the Movies, that the BBC Wales are throwing at us, and adore them. I will still buy the DVD set, but sometimes, like the re-edit on 'Star Wars' ep.1 that did the rounds on the net, we know fans like to make changes. In this case I'll simply bang 2 ep's together to make a film.

Where does one start a review though? How does one describe a series finale that left my having to put my t-shirt in the washer because it was so wet with tears? Tears of joy, Tears of shock, Tears of Hope, Tears of Laughter? Ben (the B/F) went and watched on a chair, because he was ashamed sitting next to me on the sofa (he's a cold wally at times tho!)

Hope. Hope was good. He seemed defeated, but always Hope. I like that in a script. Many years ago when I was 16 I re-wrote the Bible, as a stage play to see how we'd cope with Jesus being born today, in the UK, in a tiny town. The Kids acting for me had done years of Nativity scenes at younger Schools, and Parents had watched about the same amount. I wanted to do the story, but re-engage the Kids and Parents. We did. (All the music was composed on an Amiga 500 for the techs!)

RTD seemed to want something in this Ep, that he got. I understand that, because if you take on a BIG story and try to re-invigorate it, it is hard.

He fed every fan's Dream, I think. Cyberman -vs- Daleks. The Doctor and the Humans were great. They were in the middle, and lost the fight As they should. If they wanted to win against the Daleks, they would need an upgrade.

As a season finale, it was perfect. Total 'Who' heaven. The music was a stunning effort, Goldis slagged by people in reviews, I think they are utterly wrong. The CGI was lovely, again at times the CGI is dissed, but I see lovely images that beat and other show because these guys LOVE 'Who'.

Acting was again TOP. Billie needs another BAFTA, and if our US friends have any sense at all, they need to reward her as well. DT also should have an award, because he is the best Doctor since Troughton. However America will easily deny this. Finally though, RTD deserves another award State Side for the Best Drama we in the UK have, and the Best you in the UK will ever have.

What a wonderful episode! It had suspense, drama, love, hard sci-fi, great acting, and the kind of war fans have wanted for thirty years. Put simply, what precisely did it lack?

Without a doubt, this is the best script RTD has written for the show thus far. The direction was also quite superb. While Graeme Harper may have thrown some of the fans, especially those in this forum, for a loop with the "Army of Ghosts," he returned true to form with this installment. The Daleks were vicious, callous, and powerful. In lieu of the insane creatures we met at the end of the 9th doctor's reign, these were the original, genuine article and it was a pleasure to see them in action doing what they were designed to do. For their part, the pan-dimensional-Cybermen were also a return to the past; they were cold, calculating killing machines whose pride and anger, as in past scripts, came out very strongly. The wonderful exchange between these two classic adversaries was brilliantly written. The Daleks referring to the Cybermen as pests and nonchalantly dismissing their destructive potential was fascinating, a distinct contrast to the ethical dilemmas faced by the humans in "Pete's world" who found it hard to blot out these metal monsters so carelessly. The humans, while opening the breach in both realities and helping spur the events of this episode and the prior one, were kind, strong, and compassionate, displaying precisely the qualities that endears the Doctor to his "favorite" planet.

RTD did his homework and maintained tradition and history. The Daleks recognize the Cybermen based on their form and function, describing them as lifeforms that "resemble" the Doctor's historical adversaries. The Daleks home planet of Skaro is referenced. The "background radiation" from series 1 that releases the Dalek from his shackles is elegantly woven into the fabric of this story and explained satisfactorily for the plot to be consistent and believable. And how about Pete's jeep? That was a U.N.I.T. vehicle, complete with camouflage!

For the sake of the young audience and heart-sick Whovians everywhere, it was a stroke of genius to reunite Rose with her family at the expense of traveling with the Doctor. She made her choice and the Doctor allowed her to stay and do what she wanted to do - the repercussions of which were due to the mission and not a well-meaning plan. It allowed both characters to remain true to themselves and to sacrifice for each other without some cheap, tidy ending.

My only qualms with the plot, minor as they may be, are: Why was there a Torchwood in Pete's reality since Torchwood was a consequence of the Doctor's involvement with Queen Victoria in a different reality? Why would the Timelords stick several million Daleks into a TARDIS-like prison instead of just obliterating them all? Or, put another way, couldn't the time war have ended a bit less disastrously if the Timelords had simply placed ALL the Daleks into one of these devices and then tossed it into the void?

Potential plot holes aside, this felt like classic Doctor Who. The love between the two main characters was palpable - not the kind of adolescent puppy-love found on American television but a true adult relationship. Seeing that adult relationship come to a close was hard to watch, partly because the "old team," as Rose put it, was a great one and partly because the breakup was inevitable.

Let's hope the strong characterization and high-quality scripts are continued in series 3.

First off, lets sort out the important things; the Daleks are SO NOT needed in this episode. Why? Because (a) a suitable threat is already posed by the Cybermen and (b) like most of this fantastic new revamped 21st Century Doctor Who series the DR WHO series is no longer just about monsters, celebrity guest stars and special effects (Yes! Resurrection of the Daleks I am talking about you) this series is now an official DRAMA series and itВ’s about characters and their interactions and this one was, in the words of an old friend, FANTASTIC.

I consider myself a normal, beer guzzling, football loving, girl-adoring bloke and yet I freely admit tears were streaming down my face on watching this episode. I have never felt the need to write a fan letter to the Dr Who offices, but on seeing this episode I felt a great need to write a letter to Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson to tell them how unbelievably grateful I am to all their hard work on this new series. I am PROUD to be Doctor Who fan something I have found very hard to say since the sad days of Sylvester McCoyВ’s admirable efforts against terrible scripts.

Billie leaving is the greatest sad point of this episode and on seeing her leave (the cause of the aforementioned tears) I find it inexplicable to think that this is the same person who I was so disappointed had been cast as the DocВ’s assistant back in late 2004. Billie Piper I owe you an apology. Not only have you been a fantastic assistant, but you are also clearly a FANTASTIC actress. Actions do speak louder than words and her and TennantВ’s portrayals of friends separated across universes without ever being able to see each other again is just the most poignant scene ever seen in Doctor Who (although the DoctorВ’s farewell to Sarah Jane in School Reunion is damn close). The music is fantastic, the acting is top notch and, well, I am speechless. Last series, it was В“FatherВ’s dayВ” and В“Parting of the WaysВ” that had me in tears, this year В“School ReunionВ”, В“Girl In The FireplaceВ” and now В“DoomsdayВ” have shown this cynical fool that Doctor Who is now no longer just a kids show, no longer a jokeВ…Doctor Who is now top class TV and deserves all the accolades it will undoubtedly get.

I am not going to go into the details of the story (frankly, Cybermen vs Daleks turns out to be a disappointing mismatchВ…then again I have ALWAYS preferred Cybermen over the pepperpots so I do feel the metal men have been treated badly in the В…erВ…war stakes) because this story was ALWAYS going to be about Rose leaving the Doctor and this fan was pleasantly surprised and hugely emotional at the endВ…Dr Who team В– job done. I look forward to Series 3 (Christmas Episode not so much. Am I bovverred that Catherine Tate is the star guest?...ErВ…Yes!!!??), but either way, this series has been a huge success (the woeful В“Fear HerВ” and В“The Idiots LanternВ” aside) for production, stars and writers and I for one have been hugely impressed. Well done, Who Team. I was well impressed and goodbye Billie. And before you go В“I just wanted so that youВ’ve been fantasticВ…Absolutely fantasticВ…And you know what?В” You will be missed greatly.

A very memorable episode - although not for the reasons I might have expected. To be honest, I feel that the conflict between the Cybermen and the Daleks was little more than a backdrop to Rose's departure. Although there were some elements of it that I enjoyed, there were more aspects to the 'showdown' that left me unsatisfied.

Firstly, the mismatch; John Lumic's Cybermen wouldn't be in the same league as the Daleks, for centuries. The nearest a Cyberman came to scoring a killer blow against a Dalek, was in their first encounter bitching contest. Aside from that, the poor old Cybermen had no better chance against the Daleks than the rest of us. Second, poor special effects! For the first time in the new series, a really unconvincing 'superimposed' look, as Dalek Sek (or whatever his name was) hovers above London with the Genesis Ark. I feel as if I'm stooping to a really low level of criticism for mentioning it, but have perhaps grown used to there being less effort involved in the suspension of disbelief, in recent years.

Third - the 'Genesis Ark.' Anyway, where did this Dalek 'Jesuit Order' come from? And the Genesis Ark? Why on Earth (or anywhere else, for that matter) would the Time Lords imprison millions of Daleks in anything? How long was their sentence? Could they get time off for good behaviour? How did they shepherd all those Daleks in there in the first place? ('Move along, please... Oh, and we'd prefer it if you didn't fire that thing in here...'). If it was a prison ship, where was it going? And then to lose the thing to the first four Daleks to happen along...

Fourth; 'You shall not pass!' Very 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. I know it was a case of Emergency Upgrading (they'd obviously realised that five million wasn't going to be enough) - but it must have been a real slap dash job to leave old loyalties, old vocal cords and old tear ducts in place. Or was that an oil leak? As I say - sloppy workmanship.

Fifth - Missed opportunities; 1) I haven't missed Davros at all, cropping up like a pantomime villain in every classic series Dalek story after 'Genesis'; but if you want those Daleks to keep coming... Perhaps after his emergency time shift, Dalek Sek might go questing for him... 2) Why wasn't Mondas explained in the Parallel Earth vein? All this 'twin planet that drifted off on a journey to the edge of space' was embarrassing even in the Sixties. The early Cybermen could just have easily have come from a parallel universe... 3) Is there a parallel Doctor? As there was no Rose and consequently, no 'Parting of the Ways', is he still Christopher Eccleston? There might have been scope for an alternative ending, there...

Things I did enjoy;

First: Mismatched as they are, the Daleks and the Cybermen are still great; the 'upgrading process' depicted in the new series is truly horrifying - much more so than the 'first an arm; then a leg; then a bit of brainwashing; then...' approach seen in 'Attack of the Cybermen' and 'Tomb of the Cybermen.' The idea of real, former people in there is nightmarish. Well done, chaps. Daleks - love the look; love the trademark arrogance; I like my Daleks with a bit of personality; this was a bit of a cameo, compared to 'Dalek', though.

Secondly: Rose's fate. Enjoy is the wrong word. >From Jackie's point of view, the Doctor has wrought miracles, uniting her family in a way that never would have been possible, keeping his word to keep Rose safe and making her rich into the bargain. Since he regenerated, she even seems to have forgiven him for turning her down, in her dressing gown. Rose also has her family and her boyfriend back - but can she ever be happy? Ever since 'School Reunion' she's been fighting off the idea that, like Sarah Jane, she'd be abandoned one day, replaced by someone new. When she asks the Doctor's image 'Are you alone?', I sense more than just concern for the Doctor's welfare. And then, cruelly, his time expires just before he can say to her what no Doctor has ever said to a companion. A very moving moment. I find it hard to be optimistic for her future happiness with Mickey, despite his having worked so hard to deserve her love. Maybe she is in the Void, after all. I liked my idea of a parallel Ninth Doctor. I'm just soft, I suppose. Dramatically, we were given a much better ending. But it must have taken a callous scriptwriter indeed, to treat her so.

Ah well. On we go. May we hope for a more consistent series, next year?