Doctor Who Series 2 Review

Doctor Who Series 2- Tennant's Debut Proves Entertaining if Frustrating

Hello! I am back! I have finally finished my A-Levels and should be able to review much more regularly on this blog, thank you for all the support so far and I would really appreciate sharing etc as I really enjoy doing this and hopefully, more exciting projects coming up. Also, if you have any review suggestions or just want to chat my socials should be linked or feel free to comment. Without further ado here is my review of Series 2 of Doctor Who.

Series 2 is probably the most inconsistent series of the show, as we reach some of the best Doctor Who can offer and then there is a lot of misfires and some wrong decisions here and there that really pull down what should have been a lot better. Without further ado, let’s go through every episode of Series 2 of Doctor Who.

New Earth



‘New Earth’ is beyond ridiculous. If you laid out the plot and ideas in this episode it would seem like an incoherent mess, but somehow the episode manages to feel somewhat coherent and on top of a lot of fun moments, features a lot of excellent character. The Doctor and Rose go on a trip to New Earth, where they visit a hospital where its mysterious cat nurses have been torturing grown humans with disease. Immediately it’s a bizarre setup, but I love how it immediately establishes the relationship between Ten and Rose, as they go and visit a new world for some fun and light relief, this is maintained in the fast-paced fun pace to the whole episode. The return of Cassandra really drags down the episode, don’t get me wrong Zoe Wannamaker is incredible, but the body switch subplot is just an excuse for the actors to have some fun l, it’s highly entertaining but feels more Scooby Doo, than Doctor Who. The visual design is some of my favourite of the series, the clinical feeling to the hospital and the cat nurses look amazing, as well as the fantastic contrast in the underground of the facility. Tennant is a pure joy to watch, he fits into the role like he has been doing it his own life and he has fantastic chemistry with Rose holds the episode together. Cassandra as a character has the strongest arc in the episode, even of it’s done through a ridiculous nonsensical body swap plot, but her death is undeniably moving and beautifully performed. It’s dumb, over the top but is an exhilarating ride for Ten's first trip.

Tooth and Claw


I’m never much of a fan of the historical episodes, they often get bogged down in the historical rather than the episode itself, however ‘Tooth and Claw' is an amazing blend of gothic horror and wit, with a sprinkling of Queen Victoria. The Doctor and Rose wind up in 18709, by accident and the upside utilises their chemistry to pull off its ambitious and exciting concepts, as Ten's sense of adventure and excitement mixed with his ability to respond to threat and stakes makes him really stand out. The production design is in every way outstanding, the recreation of 19th century Scotland is flawless, except for the CGI of the werewolf which is obviously dated but director Euros Lyn cleverly works around this to make some amazing moments of genuine horror. The episode isn’t the most ambitious in its sci-fi concept, it’s much more of a genre piece and takes full advantage of that by having Ten and Rose bring some levity to the quite dark story, little things like them having a bet if Queen Victoria will say any of her catchphrases is signature Davies character development and I live it. A brilliant mix of horror, history and hilarity.

School Reunion


Very rarely does New Who visit Classic Who, but ‘School Reunion’ is the best example of the show returning to its roots and results in an outstanding episode. Sarah Jane Smith is often regarded as the greatest Doctor Who companion and her return is emotional and a homage to the shows past whilst not getting carried away with fan service. Elizabeth Sladen was one hell of an actress, her interactions with The Doctor are full of so much sorrow, nostalgia and excitement, the moment she sees the TARDIS always gives me goose bumps from just Sladen's face. Now, this episode isn’t just the episode where Sarah Jane returns, it is a fantastically constructed low-key sci-fi, guest writer Toby Whitehouse motivates every action in the narrative, paying perfect attention to some elements and giving the episode amazing pacing. The only real fault is the over-reliance on child actors and ironically the ‘alien in disguise' gimmick being a bit overdone, but I think the villain of the Krillitaine has a magnificent design and Anthony Head's performance is so creepy and intimidating, he reminded me a lot of older master’s which may be an intentional homage. ‘School Reunion' is charming as hell, an absolute amazing closure for Sarah Jane Smith as her relationship with Rose feels almost like passing a torch as well as her last interactions with Ten being downright beautiful.

The Girl in the Fireplace


And Moffat returns with an incredible episode, a challenging and unique concept mixed with hilarious comedic moments for Ten results in a highlight for the second season. Ambitious concepts have always been Moffat’s forte and the concept of discovering a spaceship with several doors to Madan De Pompadour’s life is incredibly inventive, ideas are piled on top of each other, but he threads them through with the excellent dynamic of Rose, Ten and Mickey.  This is an episode that undoubtedly proves that Moffat has excellent skill in blending his characters and narratives, the Tenth Doctor runs wild and free in this episode, Tennant brings such energy and excitement and it may be one of my favourite performances, especially when the episode leans into the more emotional dynamic of the narrative. The relationship with Mickey and Rose is admittedly the least interesting part, it is one of those arcs that I ultimately like how it plays out in the end but the way it gets to that point feels a bit repetitive and tropey, they do have some fun moments in the climax though. It is a visually ambitious episode as much as it is narratively, the design of renaissance France combined with the rustic gothic sci-fi of the clockwork robots is such a great binary visual design that is just beautiful, the Clockwork robots, although ultimately are nothing more than an antagonistic force with a purpose, are some of my favourite designs in the show.

Rise of the Cybermen/ Age of Steel


If there ever was a set of episodes that I would describe as aggressively mediocre it would be Season 2’s Cybermen two-parter. It just is incredibly forgettable, a return of arguably one of the most iconic Classic Who villains, the Cybermen in a muddled sitcom mess of a two-parter that is incredibly camp in an undeniably fun way. The introduction of a parallel world is treated so casually in the episode that really is just for character reasons rather than narrative, Rose discovering a world where her dad is alive and Mickey meeting a rebellious superior version of himself. These are wonderful arcs, although the Rose storyline is something that has been done before countless times, it feels fun and serves a purpose in the overall progression for this character. It is much of a set-up episode, with the Cybermen being a threatening force that doesn’t really do anything inventive or new. The darker theme and tone of conversion is my personal favourite parts of the villains, the way this episode utilises Jackie as a character signifier is beyond effective and really works. Ten is always as playful and energetic as usual, but he does an excellent job at conveying the fear and understanding of these villains he has faced before. Overall an entertaining episode for character, but ultimately falls down in its unambitious storytelling and weak climax.

The Idiot’s Lantern


I will defend this episode till I die, Gatiss returns again and although not quite as good as ‘The Unquiet Dead’ it is an equally weird fun and incredibly entertaining episode. Ten and Rose end up in 1950’s London for the coronation, but in what might be somewhat of an attempt at a theme, the T.V begins to take people’s faces. For me, this has an excellent set of supporting characters with some amazing character interactions and developments that maintain the weak narrative and uninspiring climax. The Wire is a wonderfully creepy villain, Maureen Lipman does a fantastic job at melding that 50s stereotype with a genuine unnerving alien figure. Season 2 has a recurring issue that the characters and moments between these characters are much stronger than the plot and climatic resolution, this episode reveals a ridiculously over the top climax involving full action hero Tennant which echoes the Fourth Doctor’s death that just comes off as stupid to the audience. However, I do really enjoy the domestic dynamic Gatiss explores, the family is a brilliant representation of the changing times of 50s Britain, it is extremely on the nose but seeing Ten and Rose mock a man whose sensibilities are ridiculous in comparison is undeniably amazing. It is an absolute mess, but I really love this episode in all of its entertainingly camp ways.

The Impossible Planet/ The Satan’s Pit


I would argue this is by far the strongest two-parter in the history of the show, it showcases everything Davies’ tenure did well in an operatic sci-fi epic that relies on character and subtleties in order to deliver an amazing experience. There is an essence of melancholy and dread that I adore, one of my favourite moments in the Tenth Doctor era is the moment where Rose and Ten sit and contemplate living a life together as they realise the TARDIS may not be recoverable. The space station where the plot takes place is literally sandwiched between a black hole and a satanic force deep underground, with an excellent rustic orange aesthetic. The set of supporting characters are basically perfect at this point, the base under siege is a wonderful Doctor Who trope that this episode somehow simultaneously makes epic yet small, with apocalyptically high stakes but beautiful character decisions. The episode goes out of its way to make you care about these characters, making them entertaining and interesting with genuine faults and sets of morals, Rose and Ten learn more about the characters as the episode’s stakes progress which I adore as a writing style. The Ood are an extremely fascinating villain, their thematic presence is just as fascinating as their design, but it is the Beast which is a truly momentous villain for the show. The CGI doesn’t quite stand up, but that climactic scene between it and Ten is amazingly written, I love what he represents and I’m glad they went for the ambitious design for thematic purposes. An amazing two-parter with a lot to unpack in terms of character, themes and visually hallmarks for the series.


Love & Monsters


Oh boy, this is definitely the most infamous episode of Doctor Who of all time, in most discourse this is pointed to as a disastrous episode in every form and way. It is undeniably bad, ridiculously terrible but falls into that category of Davies’ Who which is just self-aware enough to be so bad it is good. The protagonist of the episode is Elton, as Davies experiments with a Doctor-lite episode that I think is meant to be an ode to fandom and its quirks. If this wasn’t a full budgeted and constructed episode, but a mini-series it would have functioned a lovely exploration of what makes Doctor Who’s fans what they are, instead we get Peter Kay in all green make-up and one of the weirdest euphemistic jokes of the show. I get what the point is, the idea of a group of people trying to find The Doctor that become friends is a sweet and interesting idea, I even love the idea of switching the POV. But it is the Abzorbaloff that really, and I mean really, drags this episode down, it is ridiculous, goofy and not at all threatening so the third act meanders about trying so hard to not take its self seriously yet having to try and provide some conflict. It is terrible, of that I’m not ashamed to admit, but I do really love the insanely misguided essence of this script if all else fails at least you can enjoy some ELO.

Fear Her


Now, this is about as bland as an episode of New Who can get, ‘Fear Her’ is a ridiculously meandering and mediocre episode which is about as entertaining as a bowl of mud. I hate using the word, but this episode is just boring, no amount of Ten and Rose’s chemistry can save what is one of the dullest plots this show has ever seen. A creepy girl can draw people, causing these people to disappear and be trapped in the drawings, Rose and Ten arrive to investigate these disappearances set in the backdrop of the 2012 Olympics. This would be an interesting idea if the mystery wasn’t revealed to the audience in the cold open and the rest of the episode was just insubstantial nothingness. There is really nothing that irredeemable about the episode, I usually skip it when rewatching, the support characters are bland and one-note and the alien idea is just ‘misunderstood alien’ which is an awful trope that the show always struggles to grow out of. Don’t bother with this one.

Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday


Everything this series has been working towards is this incredible finale, I adore these episodes and I love the blockbuster tone and stakes that they have whilst containing one of the most iconic and emotional climaxes in the show’s history. If you had to ask anyone what moment in Doctor Who makes them cry, a lot of the responses will be Doomsday, which is really proof that the relationship between Ten and Rose is an absolute highlight of this series. It is a true and tested structure the episodes follow, a slow burn mystery-orientated opening part with a focus on character and stakes before a cliff-hanger that increases the stakes into a wonderfully extreme second part. I think the introduction of Torchwood is a fantastic idea, it motivates the plot to a location and fantastically collides modern day Britain with Doctor Who Sci-Fi. The pacing really sells this episode, the slow burn of the Ghosts, with Ten and Rose truly demonstrating the impact of their adventures together, resulting in an incredibly dark end for her character. Murray Gold’s score is iconic, the way he combines the Daleks and The Cybermen’s themes to create this incredible battle is beyond effective and ‘Doomsday’ is a piece of music filled with so much emotion. The re-introduction of these two iconic villains facing each other is a Doctor Who fan’s joy but the way Davies shifts the focus to the helpless characters in Torchwood in a perfect resolution marks this as a highlight. I love this two-parter and I think it really sells the dramatic and operatic stakes with possibly the most emotional scene in the show’s history.


The Runaway Bride


After an epic emotional finale, for some insane reason, the show takes a step backwards and the Christmas Special is an aimless ridiculous and dull episode. The introduction of Donna, even with the foresight that she is going to become one of the best companions on the show, feels like nothing more than a ridiculous celebrity cameo. It has a tone of something similar to an episode of ‘The Royle Family’ than Doctor Who because the writers and the actors have no idea what to do with Tate. It fascinates me that this episode was written without the idea that Donna would become a companion because so much of it is dedicated to her, but none of it can be interesting character development, she goes through the blandest of arcs in the space of one episode which leads to no impact for Ten. It seems backwards to say that I think more time needed to be spent with Ten and his grief, a lot of Season 3 is dedicated to that, but I think for an immediate follow-up it doesn’t do the original any justice. The villain is a wonderful technological achievement for a ridiculously over-the-top performance of an antagonistic force that just kind of stands there the whole episode, it doesn’t do enough character wise to justify its disregard of its plot. ‘The Runaway Bride’ is an odd episode, to say the least, a weird nothing episode that can easily be skipped.

And there we have it, full of incredible hits and embarrassing lows Tennant’s debut proves to be a highly entertaining series, if occasionally just due to its campiness. Thanks for reading!