I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, but I wonder whether splitting the seasons - and thus spreading two series over three years - was a way of diverting the budget towards the big fiftieth celebrations? That would explain why they can now go back to one proper season a year. Then again, I don't know how the…

I don't really want to downvote anyone - so I'll upvote your comment instead of downvoting Jay See's.

The problem I had wasn't the length of time the Ponds spent as companions : it's that their story had a great conclusion in season six, and anything after that felt like an unnecessary and unsatisfying extension.

That wasn't what I meant, but is a better point than the one I was making, so thanks!

Definitely a great Tennant performance, though I don't know that it's really the quintessence of Tennant,

Ah, you're meleagrophagosexual? You need a place in the acronym.

Yea, that's quite a good choice! I can still imagine another Doctor in that episode in a way that isn't true of Eccleston here, though.

I rather wish this had been the last appearance by a Dalek. It would be a great final episode, and would have left viewers to remember them fondly as truly formidable and (in this era) underused villains. I don't think any of the Dalek episodes since have been anywhere near as good, so they'd be no great loss.

That is in fact a sorely underrated episode - but we can discuss that in a few months' time.

Yea, I feel like this is the episode in which only Eccleston could have played the Doctor : it's the one best-suited to his style and strengths. It's harder to pick similar episodes for the subsequent Doctors. 'The Lodger' probably makes the best use of Smith's unique take on the role. I'm not sure what episode is the…

Gaaah, where did I miss this?!

So your saying that liking 'Doctor Who' and knowing much about 'Doctor Who' are basically inimical? :-)

And why does it follow the course of the steps if it could just fly right up the centre of the stairwell? This is a Dalek with a little theatrical flair to him.

I enjoyed this review. These episodes - which I happen rather to like overall - are so often dismissed as "farting aliens", as though that's all there is to them. It's good to read a thoughtful analysis of what aspects of the episodes don't work, and why, as well as an acknowledgement of what does work. To put a show…

Whenever I see Penelope Wilton on television, I feel compelled to announce "Yes, I know who she is".

And killing the ninth will only make him regenerate into the tenth anyway, so you can fuck him all over again.

Oh, I'm happy to let it go, too. It's just that so much else that could also be accused of being fan-service was really natural and well-integrated. This was there just to make us all squeal with delight. (Mission accomplished, in my case.)

On the DVD commentary for 'The Unquiet Dead', Gatiss says how unjust it would be if the episode wasn't repeated every Christmas. It seems almost a shame that official Christmas specials came along and stole this episodes'seasonal thunder.

Yea, it really shows off the programme's possibilities, by setting a story in the far future, by actually destroying the planet Earth, and by mixing genres gleefully - an Agatha Christie-style drawing room mystery, set in space. It also showed how alien and odd the content would be, with some great creature design,…

I still like Rose in her later appearances, but she's probably at her best opposite Eccleston, where she's a well-fleshed-out companion, rather than, effectively, the Doctor's girlfriend.