Series 3;Episode 1:the verdict

[Nick]

Not too bad..but you still get the feeling of it being rushed to get it all into 1 45 minute episode

miles better than the Christmas special

[RitaLittlewood]

I enjoyed the moon stuff apart from a couple of things. If the Doctor absorbed radiation, he'd never have turned into Tom Baker. Also if he was dead he'd have regenerated.

The stuff before and after was too similar to Rose. I could see it all coming and the actor playing her dad has to be worthy of Doctors!

I felt it was rushed too. I mean, all he had to do was pull the plug out? No imagination. Have to see how the rest of the series goes.

Patsy

[sallywebster]

I really enjoyed it, but didnt like the scenes with Martha's family as much as the other stuff.

[madamesinclair]

Martha Jones is a worthy successor to Rose Tyler

[RitaLittlewood]

They've introduced companions in the past which family but apart from really The Keeper of Traken when Nyssa was orphaned, they were all superfluous rather than a major part of the script.

They didn't really have to mention the character she played last time at all. After all, Peter Purves played two parts in the same story and no one said, "Hang on. Weren't you related to Morton Dill?"

Patsy

[sootycat]

Nice to have the opener away from London and Cardiff.

I enjoyed the episode, loved Anne Reid. ;D
And I think Martha is great.

[RitaLittlewood]

I thought it WAS London. They had bad CGI of Big Ben and the London Eye.

Anne Reid was good in The Curse of Fenric too.

Patsy

[RitaLittlewood]

Reviews of last night's ep. From the People:

1 April 2007
GONE TO THE DOCS
Jon Wise
THE DOCS THE BBC'S biggest, brightest, shiniest and most overly-hyped flagship show - Doctor Who Really Cares Any More? - is back.

Billie Piper is a long-forgotten memory of blonde hair and bushy black eyebrows.

But is her replacement, Freema Agyeman, right, much cop? If wooden, bland, unoriginal is your thing, then she's fantastic. Let's hope she settles in as the series progresses.

When Doctor Who burst back on our screens two years ago shinier than one of Alan Sugar's Bentleys, it was exciting and fresh.

Billie took time to warm into her role as sidekick Rose Tyler but, before long, she carried the show while the Doctors changed.

Writer Russell T Davies injected a sense of fun and excitement back into the cult series with impressive special effects and a modern glossy shiny sheen.

But as we embark on a third series, minus the brilliant Billie, that gloss has vanished.

What was once new and exciting is now boring and repetitive.

It feels a struggle to have to engage with a new sidekick for the Doctor.

The constant changing of actors leaves a continuity problem larger than Simon Cowell's ego. A problem that could have been overcome if this series offered something new to distract. But if the opener is anything to go by, then we're in for the same tricks over again.

Rather than a big, bold, Dalek-filled start, we were palmed off with naff aliens and a schmaltzy storyline.

A Cardiff hospital was blasted off to the moon so that Florence Finnigan, the fabulous Anne Reid, could satisfy her blood-lust. The patients, who have to go down as some of the worst actors in telly history, were all facing death when the oxygen supply ran out.

And any hopes of fantastical life forms was misplaced.

Instead, Davies and his team treated us to a bunch of talking rhinos chasing through the halls of the hospital looking for Florence.

Hardly original, Vanessa Feltz has been around for years.

Florence was guarded by skin-tight leather-clad men with full-tinted motorbike helmets - less ET and more Zovirax.

While it was still easily watchable sci-fi fun, after two series this is starting to feel lazy and lame.

NOW the main staple is in place, it's time to turn to producing believable, different, and most importantly, impressive aliens and plots.

Otherwise it will start to feel as outdated as the Doctor's 1950s style London police box, Tardis.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday Mirror:

DR WHO SPACES ME OUT
WANNABE a Doctor Who script writer?

Forget about it unless you can come up with this kind of terrific dialogue from the leader of the rhino lookalike Judoons - an intergalactic police force full of thick thugs.

"Bole, sco, fole jo, no crow, crow blow, cole show, roe."

That's easy for him to say! Yes, the guy in the Tardis was back fighting the far-fetched forces of evil.

And, flanked by his pretty new sidekick Martha Jones, the Time Lord didn't let his huge army of fans down.

Playing chirpy Cockney trainee medic Martha, Freema Agyeman is set to be just as popular as her smash-hit predecessor Billie Piper.

A Rose by any other name etc.

And there's no denying that energetic David Tennant doesn't deliver the goods.

Last night's opening salvo saw London's St Thomas' Hospital turning into a rocket, soaring from the banks of the Thames and landing on the moon.

Not again!

As all the patients went into a blind panic it was clear that in space everyone can hear you scream.

Anyway, with an all-star cast and the Doctor's obligatory snog with Martha, episode one saw our time-travelling hero save the universe with seconds to spare. Like he does every week.

[sallywebster]

Im sure it was London as well.

[RitaLittlewood]

As is said, a Rose by any other name. Companions in the past were different, pretty much like Doctors. Humans or aliens. Leela was the best. Knocks spots off Rose and Martha with real girl power.

Patsy

[sootycat]

We only saw a bit of London though.

[eithne]

I liked Martha, and thought she was fairly good. I honestly didn't think she was wooden at all. In fact I thought she was better that DT in a few scenes. I laughed when RTD said "it would have been easy to copy Rose... but we didn't" in Confidental. She isn't Rose I'll admit, but incredibly alike her.

I hated the storyline. I completely agree with the review that it was far-fetched. A simple yet well executed storyline is far better than a complicated, badly executed one IMO. There were too many twists and turns, most of which were useless or not needed. Obviously an episode written by RTD. A moon storyline could have had so much potential, if it weren't for his usual tripe.

I have to admit it feels familiar to the first two series - having a big CGI building in the first/second episode and then the historical character in the second/third episode. Can they not change the formula a little, to keep it fresh and exciting?

As for Martha's family, none of them are really that good... especially the parents. Even if we just had her siblings it wouldn't be too bad - but did we really need her annoying step-mother?

[RitaLittlewood]

Thud! Not sure I can stand the shock, Eithne. You're criticising! LOL! Seriously, that was the problem I had with it. Watch any new companion story of the past and although some are completely dire like Planet of Fire, there is at least a story. When Jo Grant was introduced in the 2nd Auton story, there were two things lifted from the first one, including a line with the name of the villain changed. However apart from that they are excellent stories and still miles better than Rose.

I did feel Martha was Rose-like, even the way she spoke. Couldn't the companion have come from somewhere other than London?

Don't forget there's also the Daleks again. Overkill. I love the Daleks but in the 60s during Dalekmania they realised enough was enough so rested them for 5 years.

Patsy

[Nick]

I agrre Patsy...why would the Daleks keep coming back to Earth..?only to fail yet again...there must be millions of places they could go to away from the Doc

[RitaLittlewood]

As we know. They're bound to have a new home planet after Skaro was destroyed by the Doctor the way the Cybermen invaded Telos after he did the same to Mondas.

Patsy

[gingercat]

Finally saw the 1st episode today..thought it was very good & Martha a good replacement for Rose...Liked the Anne Reid part as well.

[Deleted]

Agreed - we really enjoyed it too, and we think Martha could turn out to be one of the best companions ever.

[eithne]

My Rose-tinted glasses make me doubt that she will be surpassed by Martha - however I think she will be given a good run for her money.

As for another London-based companion, may I suggest the next one come from Cardiff. That city has never ever been featured in DW to my knowledge, and I'm sure RTD wouldn't object!

[RitaLittlewood]

Wasn't Cardiff where that whatsit was? Dead bodies rising because of the gas and then he took Margaret the Slitheen to dinner while recharging the Tardis.

Patsy

[Lane Kent]

I quite liked this episode and even preferred it to "Rose" which I wasn't so sure about first time round. Martha seemed to fit into the role further along the episode went. The end though was very like "Rose."

[eithne]

ritalittlewood said:

Wasn't Cardiff where that whatsit was? Dead bodies rising because of the gas and then he took Margaret the Slitheen to dinner while recharging the Tardis.

Patsy

Sorry! That was meant to be sarcastic - something it is incredibly difficult to do on a board like this.

[RitaLittlewood]

LOL! Sorry, Eithne. I missed the point entirely. I'm getting dumb.

Patsy