Well they're all obligatory now. Rejoice!

I'd also call The Next Doctor and The Snowmen blandly passable, but there is definitely a spark missing that Carol has in spades.

I dunno, when Ten wasn't really mean, he could just really screw you up if you pissed him off a lot. Nine was just generally nasty to people he didn't like, where Ten would put up with them for a bit.

Yeah, that's what I was going for.

Neil Patrick Harris as Nine instead, and then he leaves to do HIMYM.

"It was basically what they tried to do with the 6th Doctor, only actually succeeding."

THAT is Doctor Who at its best. Just the core appeal right there. RTD's angst and Moffat's byzantine plotting can sometimes interefere with it, but they can't kill it.

Nah, though the Impossible Girl stuff was unbearable, there were moments in Cold War and Hide where she appealed to me.

Fair enough I guess.

Weird sci-fi show from last decade that you really should watch.

Best Christmas special easily.

True, but I'd then say that three has the best episodes in his run, and four is the most consistent.

He's the only new Doctor who's could be mean to people, and frequently was. There were some old Doctors like that, but they were not as effective as Eccleston.

Yeah, it was never unbearable, Miracle Day excepted, but it was never really effective either.

That's good speculation, but they never showed that in the actual show, which is what bugs me. All Rose really has to offer is "doing nothing wrong". She's just sort of blandly perfect, but without any standout qualities to recommend her. While the Doctor may need the presence of anyone, I would like something more to…

Probably over Thanksgiving break. Too much work until then.

Moffat's a 7 year old in a sandbox. He does really cool and creative things with his toys, but they're still just toys to him. There's no connection on an emotional level. I love his writing and dialog style, and his plotting in his early episodes is very smart, but the more his run wears on, the more tiring it gets.

I was ragging on Rose as a character in a lower post, but I have to agree that Piper's acting is a good point. She acquits herself well, especially in her second season.

I think RTD sees himself as much more of social commentator than he actually accomplishes. Wow, humans can be shallow and boring, great insight.

I guess I'll be the shit-stirrer here. Though her episodes are generally pretty good, Rose is the worst New Who companion (unless we're counting Adam) and taking the whole series into account she's easily below the median (though not close to the bottom). I understand why they went with a bland everygirl for the first…