Chad's New Who Reviews

INVASION OF THE BANE ★★★★ What a difference 20+ years make! Back in 1981, Sarah Jane Smith starred in a pilot for Doctor Who 's first spin off series, K9 and Company . Independent and self-assured, Sarah received K9 as a gift from the Doctor and foiled a plot by local cultists to sacrifice her Aunt Lavinia's ward Brendan to the pagan goddess Hecate. Despite high ratings, a full series never materialized due to a regime change within the BBC, and Sarah and K9 would only be seen together again during a brief scene in The Five Doctors . Then, the New Series came along and gave both characters an opening for the spin off they deserved. Some time after School Reunion , Sarah Jane Smith has busied herself defending the Earth from alien invaders and helping those in need. With K9 occupied sealing an artificial black hole, Sarah only has an alien supercomputer, Mr. Smith, and a few gadgets (sonic lipstick, sexist much?) to rely on. That is until Maria Jackson and her recently divorce...

THE CHRISTMAS INVASION ★★★ Doctor Who's first Christmas special since 1965's  The Feast of Steven , poses the question: What happens when the Doctor is unable to help during a crisis? Well, apparently everyone turns into wimps and can't do anything for themselves. The story owes a lot to the Fifth Doctor's debut in  Castrovalva , with the new Doctor out of commission from a regeneration gone wrong. The difference being his companions Tegan and Nyssa take charge, while here Rose falls to pieces. It's the weakest characterization of Rose to date. David Tennant shines in the few moments the Doctor's conscious, and he's suitably heroic during the climax. The Sycorax make for intimidating baddies, with a fantastic design. Penelope Wilton makes a much welcomed return as Harriet ("Yes, we know who you are.") Jones. The Doctor angrily changing history by bringing about Harriet's end as Prime Minister is shocking. It seems trivial, but the ramifica...

ROSE ★★ Short on plot, big on characters... Well, some of them.  Where the episode succeeds is in introducing a new generation of viewers to the Doctor, and Christopher Eccleston excels in the role. Also superb is Billie Piper as new companion Rose Tyler, effectively serving as the gateway drug to Doctor Who.  Of the peripheal characters around them, Clive—the conspiracy theroist—is the most successful, and it's really quite a shame he's killed off. Strangely, the ones closest to Rose are the characters least defined. Her mother Jackie is a self-absorbed, promiscous horror, while Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith is, to quote Rose herself, a useless lump. Questionable directorial decisions are another downside, while the Autons are nowhere near as scary when they appeared in the Classic Series. THE END OF THE WORLD ★★★★ Now this is more like it. A rather wonderful whodunnit set against the backdrop of an Earth about to vaporise. The culture shock of time travel and me...

Welcome to my blog where I'll be posting my reviews of the New Series of Doctor Who  and its spin offs The Sarah Jane Adventures  and Torchwood . I've been a fan of the original series for over thirty years, and I think you'll find I'm much too opinionated for my own good. But I hope you'll enjoy my random thoughts as I embark on this rewatch marathon. My scoring system to pretty simple. ★★★★★ = Excellent ★★★★ = Very Good ★★★ = Good ★★ = Fair ★ = Poor ~ Chad