Russell T Davies is a genius! How can a man get it so right and so wrong in the space of forty-five minutes? Now that is real talent!

So, what did he get right? The relationships between Rose, her mother and Mickey for a start. All is forgiven Jackie and Mickey. I despised these characters in 'Rose' but the performances of both actors here was excellent. I thought that the idea of a genuinely traumatic reunion, courtesy of the Doctor's mistake, was a real highpoint of the episode; well-acted and convincing. Mickey's jealousy regarding his perceived relationship between the Doctor and Rose was well-scripted and well acted. I also found the animosity displayed towards Mickey by the Doctor funny, if only because there is no real reason why the Doctor should dislike him. He just does.

Penelope Wilton put in a fine performance and I thought that the spaceship crashing into Big Ben was one of the most iconic moments in the history of Doctor Who. And that's about it, really.

There was so much that I disliked about this episode, the blame of which can only be placed on two people: Russell T Davies and Phil Collinson; the former for writing such drivel in the first place and the latter for letting him get away with it. I mean, for goodness sake...fart jokes! And this is supposed to be the best writer writing for television. I have never felt so patronised while watching a Doctor Who episode, or so embarrassed. How can a sense of threat and menace be built up when such juvenile material has been written in the first place? And, I'm sorry...but a zip in the forehead? Is this supposed to be post modernly ironic: Guess what kids...Doctor Who monsters used to be men in rubber suits y'know! Now, however, they are merely bland and poorly realised CGI effects. I know that the Slitheen were given limited screen time and they may yet prove to be a serious threat but there first episode inspires little confidence.

It is telling that the best episode, in my opinion, of the series so far was not written by Russell T Davies. If he continues to set his standards so low, sacrificing real threat for cheap and childish gags, then I have little confidence in the rest of the series. Please, for series two, someone stop his omnipotence. He's asleep at the wheel. Oh, well, maybe I'll be proved wrong next week. Please. Please!

Now back to the story (or episode?) itself. It opened with a brief re-cap from episode 1 'Rose' , reminding viewers that Rose has a family, boyfriend and past. This nicely sets up this near-future adventure which reintroduces these elements. The Tardis arrives in the pre-credits sequence only for the Doctor to discover that Rose hasn't been returned 12 hours after she originally left, but rather 12 months!

All this is a rather slow and predictable opening, but things soon pick up when the UFO flies overhead and hovers over London's landmarks and finally crashing through Big Ben and falling into the Thames. This particular scene is wonderful and superbly filmed, the model sequences here are some of the best ever presented, and all the partial-authentic News 24 stuff following was very well done and added more credibility to the whole proceedings. It was great seeing the Doctor sat down watching the tele, only to have Rose's flat populated with friends and family constantly talking in the background and effecting the Doctor's concentration. Very much something I can identify with!

The Doctor being confronted by the army was another fantastic scene, and then seeing that Pig in a spacesuit, was astonishing and is something that you could only find in Doctor Who. The Doctor's reaction to it's death was very moving and surprisingly effective, and what about those farting aliens, well, they were certainly something new to Doctor Who, and the big kid in me found these moments very funny (I'm easy to please!).

When we see the Slitheen revealed by their unmasking towards the end of the episode by unzipping their foreheads (and how great was THAT effect, it helpfully explained how Scaroth and the Foamasi probably concealed themselves under very convincing human skins). The cliffhanger ending was brilliant, and with the Doctor and friends in immediate peril it brought the whole thing to an adrenaline rushed finale! Shame then that it was followed by a teaser for the follow-up episode, it kind of took the shine off the ending somewhat. What a missed opportunity!

Still, overall the episode was pretty good and ticked most of the right boxes, it was funny, dramatic, shocking and action-packed. Billie Piper is still magnificent and lovely as Rose, and Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor is great, the best Doctor since Peter Davison in my opinion. Now you must excuse me, but my bowels are about to release something quite fowl I think. 8/10

The secret of watching the new Doctor Who series is simple. If you are perturbed by any scene, any comment,any monster...then just try and think why RTD wanted it there in the fist place. The man knows his stuff. The burping bins, the flatulent aliens that so many old-school viewers will no doubt complain about, are there for the kids. They will love imitating the Slitheen, the ET type creatures in ALIENS OF LONDON. You can imagine, and probably hear, the school playgrounds on Monday morning. And that is the magic of Doctor Who and the magic of RTD.

To begin I must admit that this has been my favorite episode so far. I have been fascinated by the background story of the Doctor and the time war and actually gasped when it was revealed that Gallifrey was gone. Anyway this story, at least in episode 1, has been pretty lean on the details only revealing information that was already known (ie the Doctor is 900 and UNIT wouldn't recognize him due to regeneration). It is with this that I think the show's producers have made a bit of a mistake. The Doctor is over 900 yes, but he does age. If I recall he has been 900+ since the days of Tom Baker but he must have aged along since then. I mean was he 900 when Hartnell was the Doctor (I am not sure) but if he was did he really manage to get there on one regeneration and has burned 9 since then? Ugh, with no carry-over companion it was a perfect moment to age the Doctor. Anyway, a small point.

I really liked how the Doctor and Rose are on the outside looking in for a while. That they were forced to watch the crash on TV like everyone else was a good way to go about things. Far to often in the past the Doctor has shown up and just said, "I'm the Doctor and I'm here to help" and with no questions it is accepted. I thought it would be a good place to use the psychic paper (which I think is a good way of getting the Doctor in on a story, especially considering the fast pace of things) but the way they did it was brilliant. The news casts, etc.. also made it feel much more real! I was very impressed.

The story itself is really quite good as well. I was pretty upset when it was over and really wanted more. There are a few issues (such as the flatuence) but overall I thought it was really well done. The story seemed a bit slower than the other episodes but this is probably because they have 2 episodes to work with instead of one, and I really like this. It gives time to build the story up over the first episode and then have the crazy, fast paced "save the world" action sequences in episode 2 of the 2 parter. I'm expecting the second episode to move quite quickly. The pig-alien was a big disappointment but they made up for it a bit with the reasons and the unfolding story line.

The special effects were a little dubious in parts. The "unzip the head" style movement from person to person the aliens use was pretty tacky (in my opinion) but the actual aliens themselves were wonderfully done. The crashing of the space ship in London was magnificent and really set the tone for the episode itself. I guess I should be used to some dubious effects in Doctor Who as I am a newer fan who got into the series during the last season of McCoy and thus have been used to the dated effects of years past. It is a bit of a style for Who but I am starting to feel the "blue light" effects are getting a bit old. Hopefully with Daleks and others coming we won't see this effect for a while or it risks becoming the wrinkle of star trek (ie all aliens are human just with wrinkles located in different parts).

Over all I am really excited as this is the first time I have experienced a true cliff-hanger. The old days saw me watching Who on PBS and so it was complete serials rather than episodes. This is the first time I have actually had to wait a week to see an episode because it hasn't been broadcast yet. Based on part 1 of this story I hope they do more dual-part episodes in season two. Anyway that's it for now, time to go eat some jelli-babies.

Previously, on Doctor Who....

We've marvelled at how, in reinventing the show for the 21st Century, post-Buffy, tv-savvy family audience, RTD et al have kept the show eerily familiar for us older fans. Sure, the action is faster as dictated by the 45 minute format, and the sets don't wobble, and the effects are actually effective, but the essence of the series is still that of the show we've loved for over 40 years.

But in Aliens Of London, we encounter an entirely knew concept - and a welcome one at that. Yes, over the years, many an adolescent boy has felt the first stirrings of something alien in his pants at the sight of the Doctor's companions. And yes, we've all hidden behind the sofa as the latest Little Miss Screamy is threatened by the alien of the week.

Yet, somewhat strangely, we've never really had an exploration of the aftermath of a young woman absconding with a 900-yr old timelord. OK, so there was a brief, throwaway line in Survival, but here we have a whole backstory about Rose's departure. And it works! Strangely, it fits right in with traditional Who. Set against the backdrop of an alien incursion, we hear about the 12 month search for Rose, the suspicion thrown at Mickey, and the suffering of Rose's mother. Its that classic Who mix of huge world/cosmos shattering events with a parochial subtext that has always played a big part of the show's appeal.

As for the main plot itself, its the usual high standard the new series has become synonymous with. The farting aliens wear a little, the gag is overdone a tad, but the plot twists are inventive and tidy. The cliffhanger (thank God they're back!) is right up there with Deadly Assassin Episode 3, Remembrance episode 1, and all your other favourites.

Tidy performances from the supporting cast, and a fleeting glimpse of UNIT, adds yet another success to the RTD vision of Doctor Who. And after 16 years of VHS and DVD watching, I find myself enjoying the fact I HAVE to wait seven days for the resolution. For the first time since I first heard a CND spokmesman, I'm really looking forward to World War III.

Rather like "Rose," I found myself enjoying this episode a whole lot more on the second viewing than I did on the first. I'm starting to think that this is something to do with Keith Boak's somewhat unconventional directing style, with his sometimes unusual choices of how to edit scenes or join one scene to another. Upon first viewing, this leads to a feeling of "huh?" On the second viewing, when I'm more ready for it, it doesn't seem to jar nearly as much. An example of this is near the start where Rose's mum is tearing into the Doctor for having had Rose away for so long, and she slaps him... and then suddenly there's a jump-cut into what looks like the middle of another scene where she and Rose are having a good cry together about where she's been. I think this is the sort of cut that we're supposed to take as a stylish move, when what I was really thinking was "did something go wrong here? Did the transmission jump a scene?" As this didn't happen on either of the last two episodes, I'm going to blame Boak.

Another strange choice on his part is the way the Slitheen are being portrayed, with them all goofy smiles, farts, and giggles over how their plan is going and what they're up to. They're enjoying themselves a little too much for my taste... although this may ultimately turn out to be the whole point, in which case this complaint might evaporate. We still don't know what their ultimate intentions are, and it may very well not be straightforward invasion (as Mickey thought) and quite likely has something more to do with that radiation trace under the North Sea that the Doctor mentions towards the end. This is always part of the problem when evaluating just the first part of a story... some things that don't look like they make sense likely ultimately will. The CG effects that realize the aliens when they are finally revealed are quite varied... I like that they've given us an explanation for once of how the huge alien is fitting inside a human body suit (with that electrical force field compression thing), but there are certain shots where the aliens look far too computer-generated. And then again there are others where they look fine. As this didn't happen so much on the last two episodes, again I'm wondering if this is somewhat down to Keith Boak... maybe he just hasn't got a good eye for what's convincing and what isn't and should be rejected. Oh, and have you noticed that all of the people they've taken over are quite overweight? Perhaps they can only squeeze themselves down so far.

I do like the mechanics of their plan though. The idea of aliens faking other aliens all to form a trap to capture all of Earth's extraterrestrial experts (and the Doctor into the bargain) is inspired. It's almost an "Avengers"-like idea really. Their choice of Porky the Pig as a pilot is a strange one, but as the Doctor himself points out that the aliens are clearly joking with this, that would seem to lend further weight to there being something on their agenda more akin to plain old fun than scary invasion. Maybe this is just a load of "teasers" (see The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

But enough about the Slitheen... the real highlights of this episode (and they are very high) are the interactions between the Doctor, Rose, Mickey, and Jackie. The teaser sequence was fantastic, where the Doctor and Rose separately realize they've arrived 12 months late, in a scene that gave me the same "bang your head against the table, Doctor" feeling I had at the end of part one of "The Marian Conspiracy" where the Doctor and Evelyn first realize they've landed in Queen Mary's reign, not Elizabeth's. I love how angry Jackie got and how weepy she and Rose got and how real that was all played. Mickey's reactions were just as real, with his pent-up anger at having been the falsely accused of murder all this time coming over very well. In fact, I loved everything in the first 20 minutes as they reacted both to each other and to the crash landing of the alien spaceship... with a party forming over at the Tyler flat and the Doctor having to fight a little kid for control of the remote. The interjection of the "Blue Peter" segment on how to make your own spaceship cakes was _genius_, owing not a little to the similar segments we've been treated to on many of the "Doctor Who" DVDs of recent years. :)

What I liked most in this though was Rose, and how she was given a more central role than she's had in the last two episodes, and how wonderfully Billie Piper played it all. She has a small moment early on where she says something casually, in passing, where it suddenly hit me that she truly is the "First Officer" of the series now... it's when she and the Doctor are on the street looking at the traffic jam that's formed, and she says to him something like "What do we care about London traffic? We've got the TARDIS." I _think_ this is the first time she's actually said the word "TARDIS," and she said it so matter-of-factly, like it's something that's just as much hers as the Doctor's that really made my heart warm. I got a similar feeling when he gave her her own TARDIS key later on, and when her faith in him was borne out as he rematerialized it right where she was waiting for him (along with Mickey and Jackie though!). (and I like this idea of the key glowing a bit when the old girl's arriving) I also enjoyed her glee at getting to go into 10 Downing Street, and how she doesn't really let her lack of access to the big meeting get her down as she instead befriends Penelope Wilton's character and has a nose around in the Cabinet room. She has that normal human reaction of awe at first, but then switches into "first officer of the TARDIS" mode.

Let's see... other random things I liked... --- at least giving UNIT a name-check and having some personnel at the meeting... I still have my fingers crossed for a cameo by a certain someone in part two. :) --- the news reports and the way they were shot... seemed pretty authentic-looking to me... maybe Boak should move over to news --- the nice, really long TARDIS demats and remats --- the triple-cliffhanger (though the "Next Week" thing spoils it a bit)

And finally I'll close with full, non-random praise for Penelope Wilton's character and performance. I can very, very easily believe in a minor government personage being so wrapped up in their own issues that they still want to lobby the PM even though aliens have just landed. I also love just watching Wilton in anything I ever see her in as she's so good, from "Clockwise" to "Shaun of the Dead." She has a way of being bewildered and fearful yet resolute at the same time that few if any other actors have.

At first I was thinking 6 out of 10 on this... upon a second viewing I think I'll raise it to 7. Roll on "World War Three" and the conclusion!