Doctor Who: Series 2

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 ramifications of the Doctor's actions will be felt in the third series.

NEW EARTH ★

Not quite as bad as I'd remember it, and yet remains a poor mish-mash of styles with what seems like ten plots going on at once. There's a good, central idea at the story's heart, but it's buried beneath the throw-everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to the script. For a start, Cassandra's miraculous resurrection could have been discarded. The weak attempt to redeem the character boggles the mind, with an ending that accomplishes nothing to change Cassandra's ways before she ever started down the dark path. Billie Piper is genuinely funny when Rose is possessed by the vain plastic surgery addict, but once Cassandra begins hopping from body-to-body, it all gets ridiculous and the joke becomes as thin as Cassandra's skin. Originally, the "Flesh" were meant to die, but in an attempt to emulate the EVERYBODY LIVES ending of The Doctor Dances, this was changed to a cringe-inducing cure-all in which the Doctor might as well have waved a magic wand. Disappointing.

TOOTH AND CLAW ★★★★

Why couldn't this have been the season opener? A thrilling, action-packed adventure! When the Doctor introduces himself as James McCrimmon, it is a lovely nod as guest star Pauline Collins—giving a stellar performance as Queen Victoria—was nearly a companion alongside Jamie in The Faceless Ones. After being unconscious for most of The Christmas Invasion and the silly palooza of New Earth, this feels like the first time David Tennant's been allowed to stretch his legs and show what his Doctor can do. Although I often remark that nothing ages faster than CGI, the werewolf holds up very well indeed. Nitpicks? The Doctor and Rose's bet over getting the Queen to say "I am not amused" starts out cute, only to become annoying after awhile. This season's arc—establishing the spin off series Torchwood—has its birth here. It works well, but I feel Torchwood would have been better suited as a black ops group within the long established UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) from the Classic Series. Oh, and one more small point? I really would have loved to have seen Rose in period clothing. Victorian dresses fall under the category of being impractical for running from a rampaging werewolf, but Rose would have looked gorgeous all the same.

SCHOOL REUNION ★★★★

Sarah Jane Smith! K9! Anthony Stewart Head in Doctor Who! The story—which bears some similarities with the direct-to-video spinoff Downtime—adds another bonus as almost all the elements gel together beautifully. Having said that, my only nitpick is the portrayal of Sarah and Rose as rivals. The idea that Sarah has wasted her life longing for the days in the TARDIS is ludicrous. Sarah Jane Smith? Not in a million years. Rose suffers the most here with her insane jealousy of Sarah. Is Rose that dense to believe she's the first person to travel with the Doctor? Rose should count herself lucky the Doctor wasn't reunited with Leela or Ace because Miss Tyler would've certainly gotten her behind kicked! Elisabeth Sladen recreates Sarah Jane Smith as if she's never been away, and she effortlessly steals every scene she's featured in. The episode's ending still makes me teary-eyed.

THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE ★★★★

Steven Moffat trots (trots... Arthur the Horse... geddit?) out the first in a long line of riffs on 'The Time Traveler's Wife' while David Tennant's Doctor cements himself as Casanova in space. Overall, the story's a rather wonderful dark fairytale, with a lovely performance from Sophia Myles, and memorable monsters in the gorgeous clockwork droids. Rose's characterization continues to vary from story to story this season. The inconsistency is frustrating, but she's far more likable here, which is surprising given the green-eyed monster she turned into in the previous adventure. It's a wonder Rose didn't try to scratch Reinette's eyes out!

RISE OF THE CYBERMEN / THE AGE OF STEEL ★★

Frustrating would be the best way to describe my feelings toward this two-parter. The return of the Cybermen filled me with such excitement at the time. Then, it all turned out to be a damp squib. Plopping a human brain into a steel suit does not a Cyberman make. So, henceforth, whenever the creatures appear I shall refer to them as "Cybusmen". Another squandered opportunity is the parallel Earth setting. There is very little to  differentiate this world from the original, especially when the characters are virtually the same. Originally the setting—based on the acclaimed audio drama 'Spare Parts'—would have been much darker, with a dying populace actively replacing their limbs. All that's left of that idea is the President's throwaway line of "a sick world" that's never explored. Throw in a dash of soap opera antics, and you have another disappointing mishmash of styles. Roger Lloyd-Pack gives the most misjudged performance since Richard Briers in Paradise Towers. Mickey's finally afforded a decent story arc—although why Noel Clarke chose to play his parallel counterpart Ricky constantly sneering is beyond me—only to disappointingly exit at the end.

THE IDIOT'S LANTERN ★

Painfully dull. The faceless people—reminiscent of the Shape from Adventure 4 of Sapphire & Steel—could have been creepier if the Wire had controlled them to do her bidding. The usually reliable Euros Lyn's direction leaves much to be desired, with every other shot a dutch angle that left me wanting to reach for a dramamine. What aggravates me the most is the story's ending with the Doctor and Rose encouraging Tommy to make an effort to have a relationship with his abusive father. It's just wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to express how angry it makes me.

THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET / THE SATAN PIT ★★★★★

Brilliant stuff! Proper, scary Doctor Who that proves base-under-siege stories will always be a winning formula. The Ood are fantastic creations, with a simple but effective design. There's a hint of Cthulhu about them, which is appropriate in a tale steeped in Lovecraftian themes. The Dæmons already explored the origin of the Horned Beast, but such criticism would be nitpicking of an excellent tale. The Doctor's own beliefs are put to the test as, for once, he confronts a menace that defies science. David Tennant plays the Doctor's enthusiasm for mankind's drive to explore with such infectious glee. And a round of applause to writer Matt Jones for delivering the best characterization of Rose Tyler all season. I'm usually not a fan of Murray Gold's bombastic scores, but his work here is inspired.

LOVE & MONSTERS ★

Arguably the most polarizing story in the history of the series, Classic and New. You either love it or you hate it; for me, it's yet another substandard tale in a wildly uneven season. Crafting a script around a child's winning Blue Peter entry was always going to be risky. Instead of being as large as a double-decker bus (as the little boy envisaged) the Abzorbaloff is reduced to an actor in a fat suit making another fart joke. It's a shame Clive was killed off in Rose because a "Doctor-lite" installment about his obsession with the Doctor really could have worked well. This is just an embarrassing mess, with the basic idea being one Torchwood would tackle far better with its episode Random Shoes. In short, I would happily junk Love & Monsters in return for just one of the missing William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton episodes.

FEAR HER ★

What the hell went wrong with this season? Was the production team too focused on setting up the Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures spin offs to give Doctor Who the attention it deserved? There's simply no excuse for even one poor story in a 13 episode season. Fear Her is just horrible. Love saving the day (yes, really) would be an increasingly alarming trend in the revived series. It is such a lazily twee problem solving device, and it amazes me that any TV show—especially Doctor Who—would lower itself to choose such a quick fix. The closing moments of the Doctor sensing a storm coming after Rose states no one will ever split them up is about as subtle as a falling piano. Admittedly, the best thing about Fear Her has to be Rose, whose strong characterization in The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit continues on. Where was this Rose during episodes like The Christmas Invasion? She's pretty sensational here.

ARMY OF GHOSTS / DOOMSDAY ★★★

Farewell, Rose. "The story of how I died." What a cop out. This is the height of the revived series as pure soap opera. Rose's later return during Series 4 has soured the oft-mentioned good-bye scene on the beach. Graeme Harper films it beautifully, but it's far too overwrought for my taste, and still not a patch on the Doctor's good-bye to his granddaughter Susan in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Victoria in Fury from the Deep, or Jo in The Green Death.  As for the story itself? The Torchwood arc mixed with a wet dream of Daleks vs. Cybusmen feels like fan fiction gone wild at times. That's not to say the story isn't enjoyable. It's great fun at times—particularly the bitchy exchanges between the Daleks and Cybusmen—but the Tyler family drama could have taken several back seats. After all the buildup, Torchwood turned out to be quite a letdown. Had the budget for the season run out? A big white room, a couple of corridors, and a shoddy hangar. I can still remember the feverish fan theories over the Genesis Ark, with the most popular being Davros at its center. It does beg the question: How did the Time Lords manage to trap millions of Daleks inside? One of my favorite things about this two-parter is Tracy Ann Oberman's Yvonne Hartman. She's a force to be reckoned with and it's a pity Yvonne didn't escape being converted into a Cybusman. Just imagine the spark flying banter she and Jack might have had!