That was quite a strong opening episode, I too liked the whole miming scene, the Doctor making it clear with Donna theres to be no hanky panky but we all know theres a kiss coming from her somewhere down the line although I doubt it will have the same connotation as the others.

All in all though, I loved it!

Ha!

I'd say it was more the other way around. She'd already made it bloody clear she didn't fancy him, before he brought up the whole "all my assistants fall in love with me" problem. Oooh, they're arrogant these timelords.

Yeah, pretty enjoyable. I think Smith and Jones was a great episode on it's own and the best series opener, and first episodes are always the hardest to write but Partners in Crime was much better than the first two.

Wilf (Gramps) is amazing and Cathrine Tate was, yeah, good. I mean, yeah. I'm looking forward to having a totally new dynamic in the pairing.

Rose was... there. So, is that the series arc? Will all episodes end in Rose walking around looking sad.

I loved the Adipose plush toys on DW Confidential though. I want one.

It's nice to see Jigglypuff getting work again...



I think I'm coming round to JJJ's assertion that Doctor Who is one of the worst things on TV. I enjoyed watching 'The Daleks' on BBC4 far more than the series 4 opener.

I will eat my words, Tate has promise as a character, so, so glad there isno lame ass love story, and a shiver went up my spine when the 'bad wolf' base line kicked in... I look forward to whats coming.

Great Episode. "Martha Fancied me" and the funny squelch when the cab ran over the adipose

And was a fantastic surprise at the end! This series is going to be bloody good

Well I love both and love the show and am very happy loving it.

I think anything that gets very popular will have people saying it is the worst... Titanic love it/loath is not the worst movie ever made and yet it constantly tops Worst Movie polls just because it is more famous that some ghastly films...

It's got nothing to do with it's popularity.

It's got everything to do with being poorly plotted, badly scripted, and the main villains being as threatening as a rice pudding.

They've obviously learned nothing from Human Nature/The Family of Blood - they were brilliant in every way. To see last night's offering, you'd think they'd never happened.

You know what... It's not often that don't like an episode of Who, but that was a real pile of wank! It had positives... I like Tate, Tennant and Cribbins... but there was never any real sense of danger... The storyline was awful and the creatures were toooooo cute... They reminded me of the rabbits in Wallace and Gromit, and to me seemed like a marketing gimmick... oooh... we make these really cute and all the kids will want them... I really have to agree with Starscreamer here...


However, I did like the miming scene, and the "mate" scene... I like that the Doctor is going to have a real fiesty companion, who we probably haven't seen since Tegan, or maybe Ace. I also like the ending... Not how I imagined it was going to go down...

And the clips from next week look like it's back to how it SHOULD be...

Perhaps RTD should just have Moffet write all future Who episodes from now on!

Whilst it was a distinct improvement over Voyage of the Damned and Last of the Timelords, I can't say I was hugely taken with last night's episode (I'm not saying it was a bad episode, it just didn't think it was very impressive).

I think, for me, it was simply a case of more of the same, there wasn't anything particularly different about the story to differentiate it from half a dozen others that Davis has written - he really is king when it comes to light-weight froth.

On the more positive side Catherine Tate was good, and I like the way she and Tennant work as a pairing, it will be good to see how that develops over the course of this series.

I was surprised at the appearance of Rose as well, though not to the *gasp!* levels of some! I hadn't expected to see her so early in the run.

Apparently there isn't an overall arc in this series, like the Bad Wolf, Torchwood or Saxon ones in previous series, there will simply be something taken forward from each episode into the finale. What's the betting that the element from this story wasn't Rose, but the missing birthing planet? The Adipose were supposed to be some kind of malleable genetic lifeform, I wonder how easy it would be to turn them into Daleks?

I thought Tate did a bang up job, she made a better impression on her first episode than Freema did with hers although towards the end of the last series Freema was actually quite good.

Although I did like the opening episode, I wasnt sold on the Adipose look, they looked too kidsy, if thats a word. I wouldnt want Tate's character falling in love with the Doctor, its been done before and I would prefer to see episodes sans all those 'I wonder if he likes me like that' crap.

We all know its Rose he wants though he'll never say it himself.

The SF plot was shit, RTD's nearly always are and I expected no more, but the rest of the epsiode was great. I particularly liked the early scenes of their parallel investigations, which was a really nice bit of structuring. After they were reunited it was predictably good fun and I'm very fond of their dynamic. The Rose reveal was a fantastic bonus, as was the adorable Cribbins waving.

All the Adipose stuff was utter bollocks, but as an opening episode to reintroduce Donna and kick-start the new series, I thought it was very successful.

After Freema, Tate's, more experienced, acting chops are most welcome and I think she got the tone spot on. The miming was a joy. I could do without another bloody irritating mother though, especially one that looks about 10 years older than her. Just how young is Donna supposed to be?

Why is episode two always a stupid historical romp, with some character actors pretending to be famous historical figures? Episode two looks exactly the same as the Shakespeare one, but in ancient rome.

You also have to understand that this episode isn't an adult sci-fi drama, it is a family adventure show and so they have to cater for the kids watching. The Adipose, I bet, were a huge hit with them and that is fantastic news.

They still sucked though.

Kids like having the shit scared out of them, least I did.

Kids aren't stupid, it being a family show is no excuse for Davis' weak grasp of what makes a decent story. Kids like good, and often quite complex, stories. I have no problem with the Adipose themselves, my Mum has already said she wants one as a pet, but the story (as ever) made no sense, had no sense of peril, no twist, no nothing. It was just an excuse for some comic special effects, running around and shouting. It wasn't as bad as '42' or 'The Shakespeare Code' or 'Daleks in Manhattan', or fucking-Trinny and Susannah-fucking-bots... actually comparatively it was a great work of science fiction storytelling.

Luckily he did everything else really well, mainly the reintroduction of Donna, and was supported by an excellent cast.

We all know we'll probably have to wait for Moffat's double bill before we get a decent story, but for me at least there's plenty to enjoy in the meantime.

I reckon the 'Daughter' Story will be a good'un.

Someone on another forum linked this-



BINGO!

I am so playing that next episode... even if it isn't a Russel episode.

I don't know why I liked this episode and most episodes and you guys didn't. I don't think it's because I'm stupid, even though that is true... I think it might just be because I honestly do not take the show seriously in the slightest. I enjoy it, it's probably me favourite show currently on, but at no point is anything too silly because I tune in expecting a silly show. I love it that way.

Oh, and I made this...



All my old ones are here...

http://hamishsteele.blogspot.com/2008/04/t...n-darkness.html

^ me likee

No, I don't think you're stupid to enjoy what is - after all - a piece of Saturday evening entertainment.

I'd agree with those who've said the sci-fi plot in this episode was lacking - but then I think it is in a lot of episodes that are still good episodes. And RTD is not the only person capable of writing duff episodes - they've been happening since the birth of Dr Who if you ask anyone who's been watching them since then!

This episode was meant to bring us up to date on the Doctor's travels since we last saw him, to tie up loose ends, re-introduce Donna and explain her re-appearance. All of which I think it did rather well.

Yes, the aliens were too cute - but that's the trouble with Tribbles (to mix cute aliens from Star Trek into the mix). Getting beamed up to the mother-ship had overtones of ET (another cute alien).

I can understand that none of this makes the Who afficionados happy - but I suspect that in terms of the viewing audience they're a small minority. I suspect there are more kids watching with their parents, and that they're loving whatever jolly japes the Doctor gets up to, without worrying too much about whether the plots stand up to serious scrutiny. And sadly that's why Rose returns, because they luff her.

You speak the truth.

They say the Sci-Fi plot was lacking but I thought it was sort of supposed to be. Doctor Who has the most flexible format ever created for a drama so I don't see why some fans hate it when they try something new. A show has to develop, and sometimes it is surprising how little Doctor Who has in it's run. And now, there is a plot without real villains, without much peril and with aliens which are seemingly benevolent and everyone is up in arms because it doesn't conform to the regular Doctor Who format.

I thought it was a great and fluffy opening episode, everything it should be - even if the plot was a little Sarah Jane Adventures.

Lack of peril... that's it exactly...

There should always be that moment of "How will the Doctor get out of this one?" element to an episode... there was none in this. It was the mash potato of sci-fi. BLAND!

I consider myself to be a Who aficionado (at least I've loved the show for as long as I can remember), and I liked it.

Granted though, I'm not a hardcore fan in the traditional sense, because I don't complain all the time. Well, I do, but just not about 'Doctor Who'.

Like anything I think people see the past with Rose (no pun intended) tinted glasses. The Who of your childhood will always be better than what's on now, because it was so much more magical and you were so much less cynical and undemanding.

I rewatched Ghost Light recently, and it made no bloody sense what so ever, but I remember being terrified and amazed by it as a child. I know McCoy probably isn't the best example, as a lot of fans have little time for his era, but I adored him and Ace (Rose MK I). Though some of the stories seem strange and convoluted now, I kind of wish they'd try something a bit more complex and dark now.

Really?

I know that certainly used to be the case, but a lot of fans I know prefer his stuff, mainly because it's darker in tone.

Meh.

Anyway, yes, darker stories, please.

It's a bit of a hack cliche to say he was the worst doctor.

He was my first, so he'll always be special to me.

I'm with Tom Baker on the subject, that no actor actually failed in the role. It's a three-ring circus situation, there's something for everyone. Even if a particular Doctor isn't to your taste, there's lots more to choose from.

I would say that there have been weaker Doctors, but no bad ones.

Well Saturday's Doctor Who left me more than satisfied. Sure the story itself was a little bit lame, but it was more about re-introducing Donna to the show.

The mime sequence was brilliant (particularly Donna's face when she first clocked the Doctor) and "charity Doctor" had me laughing out loud.

I knew Tate would be good, Tate was good, and Tate is going to continue to be good. It's good to have an assistant that isn't going gooey over the Doctor.

And that cameo! I let out an audible "fuck!"

I watched it last night and enjoyed it too.

Story wasn't great, but it was nicely comic and I laughed more at Tate than I ever did with her comedy boohockey.

"I'm waving at fat" made me laugh, and as the Sost says, the mime bit was great.

Good fun telly.

I worked out who it was about half way between the start of the shot and the reveal.

As camp as it might sound, I recognised the hair and the purple jacket...

Kev W

Me too ;-)

Me as well... I mean, it was perfectly obvious if you think about it...

The cameo by Rose saved the whole episode.

Catherine fucking Tate (to use her full name) is a big mistake.

The Doctor is over the top. That befits a man who lives outside normallicy. His assistant is there in effect to play the viewer, as we see things through their eyes. Having a gurning cow like Tate ruins that, as both now are playing it panto style. Her ridiculous reaction to the Doctor's remark about needing a mate was awful, and a worrying sign of things to come.

I don't agree with that.

The tone of the episode was light hearted, and there were some slap stick moments, but I wouldn't say it went into pantomime territory at any point.

I strongly suspect we will see a more serious slant on proceedings in later episodes.

On the basis of one episode that's a bit of a damning statement. Particularly as your criticisms really should be directed more at the writing rather than the performance.

The assistant may well be there to act as the viewer (personally I always thought they were more of a device to explain to the audience what is going on and what the Doctor's thoughts are), but with the last two assistants that seems to have been forgotten more in favour of viewing how wonderful "humanity" is through The Doctor's eyes.

At least in Donna we will not have another assistant fawning over him. The "panto style" was probably evident in that episode because that was the tone of that particular episode.

As for more dramatic episodes I'm sure Tate will hold her own. She is a highly respected TV and stage actress, and once a member of the RSC. She's not just one trick pony that's lived off a couple of catchphrases.

You may be right, but I don't have a good feeling about it.

Totally disagree with you.

The cameo by Rose was a nice but gratuitous touch. The episode would have been just as good without it.

Catherine Tate was better than I was expecting, and that really wasn't panto style. I don't know how she'll fare with more serious plots - but I'll reserve judgement till I see that.

She's got quite a few more on her deviant art page here: mimi-na.

I like the Monsters of Whodom, and the Family of Blood pane from the Season 3 litho!

They're all rather lovely. She's very good.

She is, but a shade ranty as well, if you read her main page.

She has done some very good Doctor Who images, posted them on the web, and then expected people not to take copies and use them elsewhere - I thought we got past that level of naivety years ago!

Thank God for that - I was beginning to think that I have a problem...

Kev W

Thats where I originally saw them, I do quite like her Who stuff but youre right, she can be a tad ranty

I'm not saying you don't ...

My deviant art page has a lot of Doctor Who stuff... but it isn't as good.

http://spune.deviantart.com/

Thought yould might like these..

If you want to hawk your wares more widely, we have a Deviant Art Thread!

Tah.

Love the last motivational poster!

OUCH… that was even more damning than mine. Granted, the episode was weak… very, very weak, but I thought that CT saved a lot of it from being totally abysmal. She was a lot more subdued than she was in the Runaway Bride, and I think she's going to have the kind of gravitas and balls that we saw from someone like Tegan, who didn't take any cr*p (although kept on and on about getting her job as an air hostess back, instead of having fun with the Doctor)… I think both CT and DT have great chemestry onscreen, which unfortunately, I don't think that DT and FA had. Although FA fit in far better in Torchwood.

I have high hopes for this season and am chalking it up to a sub-par storyline!

I don't know if I would cite Tegan as an example of a good assistant!

Nyssa, certainly.

Come on... Sure, in the beginning, she complained a lot, but she was feisty...

Although, in retrospect, maybe Nyssa is a better example.