Doctor Who season 2, part the third
So, if I was going to rank the episodes of this season, what would be top? It’s a tough choice, but I think the presence of Lis Sladen and Anthony Stewart Head just pushes School Reunion to the top. This was a wonderful piece of storytelling, with the added bonus of giving Rose something to think about. Plus the moments of characterisation for the Doctor, why he leaves his companions behind and the effect he has on their lives, give us a real insight into his life.
Second, I think, would be Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (yes, I’m counting two-parters as one). It was a fitting end to the series, managed to not make Daleks vs Cybermen into fan wank and wrote Rose out in a semi decent way. Beautifully shot, exciting and surprising (and surprisingly well written), it was only let down by the ending (and Catherine bloody Tate, but I’ll gloss over her!). I unashamedly love it, and it was very close behind School Reunion for favourite.
Third - Girl in the Fireplace, which was almost joint second because it’s just a beautiful episode. Reinette is a fantastic character and the connection between her and the Doctor is wonderful. The only reason it didn’t make second place is the plot hole of doom.
Fourth - Impossible Planet/Satan Pit. After a few dodgy episodes, these renewed my faith in the series. We had the best guest cast/group of characters of entire New Who imo, and I’m really hoping we get to see Zack and Ida again soon. I loved the way it refused to give us a conclusion to what the Beast was, leaving us something to think about, plus, again we got an insight into the Doctor, *and* Rose had a decent characterisation again!
Fifth - New Earth. I’m sorry. I know most people think New Earth is crap but there’s something about it that I love. I can’t help it - it’s just so much fun! It was a fantastic way to hook people back into the programme and it got to show off the new Doctor’s quirks while having enough references to Nine to remind viewers it’s still the same alien really. And it puts a huge grin on my face when I watch it, so in my opinion that makes it good!
Sixth - Fear Her. I do like it, and there’s nothing wrong with it per se, it just has nothing to make it stand out. And Matthew Graham needs to get over his policeman obsession (or not actually, because I still want series 2 of Life on Mars, but you get the point!).
Seventh - Tooth and Claw. OK, it looked beautiful, but it just didn’t do anything for me. I found the Doctor and Rose’s attitude annoying and the dialogue was unrealistic - I just can’t see Queen Victoria putting up with some of the things Rose said. Good SFX - that werewolf was wonderful - but apart from that the best thing was Tennant’s Scottish accent!
Eighth - The Idiot’s Lantern. Good idea, poorly executed. Actually, that’s unfair. I have issues with some of the direction, but the episode itself isn’t that bad, and it does give us Tommy Connolly and his mum. Unfortunately, it also gave us the worst bit of acting I’ve ever seen from David Tennant, and that’s what really puts me off the episode. Which is a pity, because there are some really nice moments in the rest of the episode and I really like Mark Gatiss’ writing. It’s just not as good as some of the others.
Ninth - Love and Monsters. I really admire what RTD was doing here, a very brave idea, and I think it was a really good piece of TV, but I don’t particularly want to re-watch it. Another good guest cast though, and I’d like to see Elton again at some point.
And finally, Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. If I was rating two-parts in their separate components, Age of Steel would probably be higher, but I’m not, so RotC pulls it down to bottom of the list. In my opinion, RotC is the poorest, most boring episode of New Who yet. And I know that some people love it but honestly, only the fact that it was Doctor Who stopped me turning it off. It was just too slow to be interesting, and that’s a pity because it was a good concept and an interesting way to re-invent the Cybermen. The last ten minutes were good, but it was too late by then. Age of Steel was better, and Mickey’s character arc over both episodes was great to watch, but too little, too late. Not something I’m in any hurry to watch again.
So that was season 2. All just my opinion of course, and it’s probably way off beam on some, if not all points but hey, my journal! If I want to write crap, I’ll write crap! :) Although the fact that it’s 3,644 words of crap is probably slightly worrying. If you made it through them all, I think you probably deserve a medal. :)
Part one
Part two