Ok. I've never submitted a review before, as I've always thought that I would just end up rehashing what others have said. But the time has come.....

As a massive fan of series old and new I feel that I should come to the defense of New Earth, as from what I've read in the reviews so far is that it wasn't loved as much as i think it should be!

Firstly let's deal with the story. Fantastic! Russell T always has so many ideas, and I for one don't see this as a bad thing. As RTD has often said, he wants new Who to be fast paced and packed with adventure. Remember this is a FAMILY show, attention spans are short, and Doctor Who needs to grab by the throat and not let go! If the action stops for a moment, there go the kids. Do we need to know how long the Sisters Of Plenitude have been growing the 'flesh'? Not really - does it make a difference whether they've been experimenting for months, years, decades? Of course not - the point is that they're doing it, it's wrong and the Doctor's going to stop it. Cassandra's back and we get all the explanation that we need about it. On with the show! The Face of Boe drops hints about a secret that he'll tell the Doctor about next time they meet. Goody! We all like a bit of a mystery and I'm sure the resulting information will be shocking (and a very clever progression for the show come season 3). Zombies, Cats, a new planet and the 2 main characters having fun? Bring it on! The Doctor and Rose are friends. Friends have fun. Friendships ALWAYS have their problems (and if you read the Radio Times, RTD alludes to the fact that the Doctor and Rose start to get over-confident "which could be their downfall"). Russell T Davis is a very clever man who does all these thing for a reason. As for zombies dressed in clothes - it's a FAMILY show - we can't have them running around naked now can we?!

Next we'll move on to David and Billie. All I can say is FANTASTIC!! David brings a new spin to the role, which fans should be used to now. He is Doctor 10 after all. He has a fabulous energy that kids will love (much easier to play-act than Eccleston!) and because of this, his moments of fury at wrong-doing are all the more engaging. Billie continues to be brilliant in her portrayal of Rose, and clearly enjoying having Zoe Wanamaker make use of her mind!! The comedy aspects are perfect for a FAMILY show (that's the third time I've said FAMILY isn't it?!) and who really cares if Cassandra would never use the word "chav"? How does anyone know she wouldn't? Again the chemisty between the Doctor and Rose is great, and this is obvoiusly down to David and Billie getting on so well, and in response to those who feel that the relationship is a bit tacky, would we really want our 2 main characters bickering? Surely we've got the 6th Doctor and Peri for that (or Eastenders).

On to the special effects. Pretty damn good! Loving New New York, was great to see Cassandra's spider again, and the lift shaft - wow! No complaints from this man.

Murray Gold's music was again in turns beautiful, exciting and haunting.

On the whole I'm one very happy (30 year old) man, who believes that the show is most definately on the right track. New Earth may not be the best story ever, but we can't expect to have the best story ever, every week! My friends 8 year old loves it. And surely if the kids are happy, us old timers should be happy too. New Who was never intended as a "treat" for the fans. It's for this generations kids and their families (that word again) and I for one feel all the younger for it. Doctor who has always been my little sanctuary, my secret fantasy, where that strange man and his time machine are always close by and keeping thing safe. It never once bothered me if I didn't get a complete history of a bit player in one adventure or another, and it doesn't bother me now. It's a weekly escape from reality and I love it!

Just seen the first episode of the new series- a day late, sadly. Okay, postive comments first! David Tennant is looking good, he's funny, sharp and intense, and most importantly the on screen chemistry with Billie is bubbling away nicely. For this new series to work I think this had to be a major priority. Rose's character gives the programme an essential dose of humanity, an emotional depth which the show needs to maintain if Doctor Who is to continue to maintain both its quality of story telling and it's broad appeal. Somthing which Russel T will need to have in mind when searching for a new companion for the Doctor!

Billie was superb in this episode, she was both funny and sexy when "pocessed" by Cassandra- a lovely performance.

The Cat people were beautifully realised and the city scape was stunning. Efforts were made to dazzle in this first episode, but sadly the story wasn't really up to it. Up until the last twenty minutes "New Earth" was enjoyable enough, but it seemed to lack any real emotional depth. This ommision was fair enough, but when the story tried to reclaim lost ground it really lost its way.The "lepors" simply wearn't scary, nor did you feel any empathy for them; the acting was far too "pantomime" for my liking. The scene towards the end when the diseased people were "healed" was reminiscent of "The Doctor Dances" from the last series (my favourite episode by the way), but had none of the emotional punch. And the final scene with Cassandra was just plain silly.

Doctor Who works best when it's grounded in the world we know, when history and everyday life is subverted and becomes scary. This episode lacked those essential qualities, I just hope that future episodes will reclaim lost ground.

First off, this is SEASON 2. Not Season 28 or whatever. Season TWO. The SECOND season of the NEW SERIES. Number TWO in a SERIES that is A NEW PRODUCTION with DIFFERENT PRODUCTION COMPANY.

Sorry, getting that off my chest.

Now then:

First off, if anyone noticed, this is the first time the new series has actually left Earth (or vicinity) and visited an alien world. So of course, they go to... New Earth. Um.

So we're at a hospital. Run by cats. I wonder if the "universal symbol" for hospitals being a crescent moon is some sort of commentary on the use of a red cross as it currently is in the Western world. Look closely at ambulances on the news when they're showing bodies blown apart in Iraq and you'll see a red crescent.

Ah ha! Two familiar faces now -- the Face of Boe and Lady Cassandra. Boe gets the plot moving but Cassandra figures into it a bit more.

"Oh my God, I'm a chav!" Oh come ON... yeah yeah, commentary on fandom, I know. Seems to me Rose is most chavish HERE being possessed.

And that's another thing -- the Doctor and Rose spend half the story being possessed by Cassandra. How does this show how the characters *themselves* are to new viewers? Remember, this is only the second story with the 10th Doctor, and he was incapacitated for most of "The Christmas Invasion." So, er... I'm not really getting any sense of what this Doctor is all about quite yet, beyond he's a bit bouncier and smiley than Eccleston, perhaps more conventionally attractive and Doctor-looking, and he's given to trying to shout like Keifer Sutherland at the odd moment. So is he still as haunted as the 9th Doctor? Would HE have quite as psychotic reaction to Daleks? There's a lot more that needs to be built up here, and so far spending 3/4 of one story incapacitated and part of another one possessed doesn't impress me much.

Not Tennant's fault by any means -- indeed, it's the same situation with Paul McGann's Doctor. I loved the actor's performance, but the story(ies) haven't really told me dick about the character. McGann turned in an excellent performance, but a) his Doctor came in only 1/4 through the story b) half of which was spent amnesiac [a common problem with regeneration stories, really] c) in the very end, the Doctor didn't really DO all that much. On this hand, Tennant is good so far, yet the Doctor is leaving me a bit blank at the moment.

...although maybe he needs to keep the glasses on.

Anyway.

Billie was great in this, having to play basically two different characters, one the embodiment of negative fan stereotypes about Rose. Fandom was all afluster about that kiss in the early trailers, but oh, wait, possession again!

Liked the cats, liked the Matrix-looking clone disease farm idea, but a "New Earth" with a "New New York" just seems, I dunno, done before. Even in Doctor Who, I can think of at least 2 novels with a New Earth.

And the Face of Boe is such a tease, innit he?

Overall... I liked the episode, but really wanted to love it. "Rose" was a bangstart, this one is a bit more steady, and I'm not sure it was the way to go. Still tho, 12 more episodes to go. Werewolves, ooo...

This show is simply magical.

Were there problems with the plot? Of course. Did it matter? Not a single bit. Ok so why did the humans have clothes? How did they know language? And there are about a billion questions about the nuns and New Earth. Still, the show is 45 mins long now and it's not going to change. More than anyone I miss the 6 part episodes where every character had a chance to shine but look at what they were able to do here! From the opening shot with flying cars and a huge New New York to gaze at, to Billie Piper steaming up the screen (and dare I say acting very well also!), to the flawless portrayal of David Tennant, this show is absolutely brilliant. It's just a wonder to watch!

I would go so far as to say that some of these plot holes and strange characterizations make it the classic Doctor Who redesigned as opposed to a brand new show with merely the Doctor Who name (which they easily could have done).

The Face of Boa is awesome! He looks cool, he gives great dialog and we will be seeing more of him! What more could you want? As for Cassandra, I admit that she was so incredibly evil and prepared to kill all aboard Satellite One that it's hard to swallow that she merely gives up. I was half hoping for her to jump into her younger self when the Doctor walked off but I feel like we had had enough of her anyway. She was good enough to visit again but not good enough to be a reoccuring character in my opinion.

Also in my opinion, this show rivals anything on television right now, plot holes or no. The effects are top notch, the acting is great, the Doctor has been recast superbly and we are in store for one hell of a ride. I can't wait for next weekend!!!

Mixed emotions about this one if IВ’m perfectly frank but the positives still far outweighed the negatives. It was a typical RTD story, crammed with ideas, imagination, fantastic dialogue, excellent characterisationВ…no complaints on any of those scores. It also had some murderously funny moments too, which for once are entirely performance driven rather than inherent in the script.

My biggest problem was with what we didnВ’t see. This felt like a much longer story squeezed into fourty-five minutes, you can literally feel the plot bursting to be free of that minute time frame and allowed to breathe. The plot isnВ’t, so the viewer isnВ’t either than the episode moves so fast you donВ’t have any time to consider anything that is going on. There is just far too many ideas here for any of them to be dealt with satisfyingly; the mind invasion, the sinister nuns, New Earth itself, CassandraВ’s return, the mutant rampageВ…any one of these concepts could have held the episode up but instead they all command your attention. What is it like to have your mind taken over in such a perverse manner? Why did the citizens of New Earth come to this particular planet? What is their culture like? How long have the Nuns been experimenting on humans? How did Cassandra end up under the hospital? What happened to the mutant population after their release from the diseases? There is so much potential here, so much to explore that this would probably have been better had it been one of the books, with their unlimited running time and chance to get inside the characters heads.

But what about everything we did getВ…

The look of the episode was fantastic as we have come to expect but to actually have the Doctor and Rose step out onto a new planet with spaceships whizzing by and a whopping great alien city in the background is marvellous and proves the show is willing to go much further this year now they have won over their audience. What with the Sycorax and now the Cat Nuns they are clearly ready to experiment with some more imaginative looking aliens too and the Nuns look painstakingly realistic, and shockingly beautiful. Add to this some stylish sets (arenВ’t they huge?), some clever visuals (such as the expanse of mutant cells) and a foot tapping (if repeated from last year) score from Murray Gold.

I can say with my hand on my heart I know I am going to absolutely adore David Tennant as the Doctor; a far more laid back and fun loving Doctor than Christopher EcclestonВ’s exciting portrayal. He creates a great deal of entertainment just being on screen, regardless of the story and director James HawkesВ’ comments that Tennant is bounding with energy in each shoot is apparent with every take. Whilst he clearly hasnВ’t forgotten his past he is far more willing to let go, with the ninth Doctor it was more like he needed to show Rose wonders to convince himself the universe is still a marvellous place but with the tenth it is like he is re-discovering that joy for himself. That great image of him lying back on the apple grass, hands behind his head, spaceships floating by, flirting like mad with RoseВ…he is clearly loving every second of his life. Which is what makes his stronger moments all the more shocking and his reaction to the Nuns mutant battery farm is astonishingly good (В“HOW MANY?В”). Unpredictable, just as he should always be. Even better is his ecstatic reaction to curing the diseased humans and brilliantly, cuddling up to one of them.

IВ’m sure there will be people out there who are horrified at the whole mind swap plot but for me this was the best part of the episode, a chance for Billie Piper to truly let her hair down and show us what she is made of. I expressed my dissatisfaction at RoseВ’s characterisation in The Christmas Invasion because she was a bit useless (I know I know that was the point but it still rankled) but here she is right back on top. Her excitement at stepping out of the TARDIS onto an alien planet is affecting and the relax atmosphere between herself and the Doctor bodes very well for the future. But surely she steals the episode with her interpretation of Cassandra (В“IВ’m a chav!В”), who ever knew Billie was capable of being such a bitch! ItВ’s brilliantly funny (especially when she snogs the DoctorВ…oo-er!) and things get even more slapstick when Cassandra dives into the Doctor allowing Tennant to really do some scenery chewing of his own. Frankly Cassandra in these two is so much fun I wanted her to stick around at the end.

Once again I am amazed at RTDВ’s skill at making something so insanely absurd extremely poignant. He pulls it off a few times here. The whole mind invasion is clearly being played for laughs until suddenly Cassandra jumps into one of the diseased and back into Rose and her description of their loneliness and desperation to be touched is real reality booster. But even more compelling is the ending, which sees Cassandra (a totally ridiculous character) travel back in time and visit herself when she was still flesh and blood and tell herself she is beautiful before dying in her own arms. It is written and performed beautifully and if IВ’m perfectly honest I found this ending more affecting than the end of Parting of the Ways. Something about the way the shallow human Cassandra suddenly realises what she is being told and her selfless attempt to save the life of somebody she has never met. Plus it is great to see Zoe Wanamaker in the flesh.

So what weВ’ve got here is a fast paced, enormously entertaining and surprising episode, leaving you feeling shortchanged only because as a two parter it could have been so much more. It is a confident and stylish opener, rich with performances and special FX and is more than enough to keep the kids happy.

Attention, especially these days, is always more heavily focused on season openers than most other episodes in a series, apart from maybe the concluding episode. After all, if the first show flops, then who’s going to watch the rest? In 2006, viewers don’t stay as loyal to a programme as they did in years gone by if it fails to live up to expectation. So, when watching the first show, the critical eye is more ready to spot possible flaws in a script, especially, it would seem, if that script is written by a certain Mr. Davies.

The episode gets off to a good start, Rose saying good-bye to her Mother and Mickey, while the Doctor fires up the TARDIS’ engines. Then they’re off, further than they’ve ever gone before, and into the titles. A nice little sequence that does well in whetting the appetite for the adventure to come.

As for the story, it’s good to see the TARDIS land the Doctor and Rose on an alien planet at last, and the effects by which this is achieved are pretty good. I can’t believe what I’ve read from some reviewers that the city of New New York, the hospital and the air cars aren’t convincing. Sure, I suppose if you watch this sequence frame by frame with a magnifying glass against the television screen, it will probably not stand up to scrutiny, and maybe it doesn’t compare to such earlier astounding effects such as the Doctor’s encounter with the Skarasen in the last episode of Terror of the Zygons, or the totally convincing planet of frighteningly realistic insects in The Web Planet, but they are pretty damned good. In fact the whole scale of the episode has moved up a notch from the last series, and the overall look is much more “Sci-Fi” than anything we saw in Christopher Eccleston’s series. Although in one scene, it’s apparent that the same location was used as for the Nestene lair in Rose. Surely some other location could have been found, or it could have been shot differently.

However, after a nice piece of reminiscing from the Doctor and Rose, they receive a summons, via the Doctor’s psychic paper, to the nearby hospital - which is where their troubles start. I’m not going to explain every detail of the plot, as there are many places on this site where you can read that, and the majority of people reading this will probably have seen the episode anyway, but as far as originality goes, the plot itself isn’t exactly new, even though, with recent events from our own hospitals concerning MRSA and the like, it does appear pretty up to date and topical. But Cat people, plague carriers, mind swaps - all have been done in Doctor Who before, although not in the same story. Here though, these elements are presented well, with the sort of originality that doesn’t make you question too much of what has gone before in the series. The story moves at a brisk pace, and never seems to lag, which isn’t difficult as add Cassandra to the mix, and you have a script that is almost heaving under the number of elements put into it. The downside of this being that, towards the middle of the story, things get a little bit manic, as not only are we presented with the threat of the escaped plague carriers, but we then have Cassandra swapping bodies left right and centre. Even though this is very humorously done, maybe we were presented with one body swap too many and the humour diffused somewhat the menace of the plague carriers.

The music of Murray Gold continues to be very good, and certainly, in parts, sounds more like a feature film score, and the beautiful, haunting piece of music for the scenes with the Face of Boe is particularly memorable (had the tune in my head all evening). I know many people are not fans of Murray Gold’s music, but it’s a far grander sound than a lot of the music from the old series. My only objection being to the tweaking of the theme tune, both beginning and end. There was nothing wrong with the theme in the last series and I believe that if something’s not broken, you don’t fix it.

As usual with Russell T Davies’ scripts, if watched on a superficial level, they appear to be full of plot holes, such as the plague carriers having speech and being able to think for themselves. But if you actually watch and listen to the dialogue, all of these issues are covered. Even the dodgy science of using intravenous solution, sprayed onto the carriers to cure them, suits the rest of the science of Doctor Who. After all, the series is about a man who can change his appearance, is 900 years old, travels time and space in a ship disguised as a telephone box and encounters monsters who, for the most part, want to take over the universe. If you accept that, then it’s slightly mad to then question other aspects of the series’ science, unless of course you decide on whether or not you’re going to like and accept a story based purely on who the writer is.

As for the supporting cast, again they rise to the challenge. The Cat nurses, while although guilty of a terrible crime against humanity, still allowed you to feel for them, because they truly believed that what they were doing was right. I really felt for the Novice as she was led away by the police at the end of the story, even though I knew I shouldn’t. And special mention must also go to Sean Gallagher as Chip, Cassandra’s loyal servant, who, having allowed his Mistress to inhabit him, meets with Cassandra as she used be, and in a beautiful piece of symmetry at the end of the episode, becomes to last person to tell her she was beautiful before dying in her arms. I had to admit, being the old softie that I am, to having a lump in my throat by this point, and was pleased to see that this series is obviously going to continue to trend that began in the last series of being more emotional.

The regulars are used well throughout this story, with Billie Piper showing that she has a good flair for humour. And what of David Tennant? Did he live up to expectations? The answer has to be yes! He manages to bring across a Doctor, who is humorous, ruthless, fun-loving and like a dog with a bone when something gets into his head “you should have a shop,” and manages to achieve all this within minutes of each other without it looking forced or unnatural. I loved Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, I think he managed to break the mould where the characterisation was concerned. But his portrayal did have one down point, and I found out what that was when I was watching New Earth for the first time - The Doctor is back! The ninth Doctor was so different, that for much of the last series, he didn’t feel like the Doctor. David Tennant does!

New Earth is basically a fun romp, a story that’s there to launch a series and to be enjoyed without being over analysed to the exclusion of all else. And in that, it succeeds.

8/10