I'm disappointed by the new season of Doctor Who so far. I like the new season of TORCHWOOD better. The recent news of Steven Moffatt to take over in 2009. Russell T. Davies sometimes gets what DOCTOR WHO is about and then sometimes he just doesn't get what made it great.

VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (Christmas Special)- The Christmas special isn't that bad, but I think having a third episode with a Christmas theme is pushing it too far. So I hope the next Christmas Special episode isn't set during Christmas at all.

401: PARTNERS IN CRIME- The only reason the episode works is the dynamics between The Doctor and Donna. If you take that out, you notice the plot isn't that good. This episode is one example of why I won't miss Russell T. Davies when he leaves the series after next year and Steven Moffatt takes over as show runner.

402: THE FIRES OF POMPEII- The Doctor takes Donna to the last day of Pompeii only to be wrapped up in a plot by aliens and people who can see the future. This is the strongest episode of the season so far.

403: PLANET OF THE OOD- The Doctor and Donna land on a planet where The Ood are altered to be slaves. They discover the horrible truth about what is being done to them. This episode with the odd is a poor follow-up to the two part storyline that introduced them two years ago.

404: THE SONTARAN STRATAGEM/ 405: THE POISON SKY- I love to see The Sontarans, UNIT, and Martha Jones back. However, each one of them isn't written that well. They are really wasted. The Sontarans get an unnecessary battle cry. The new characters with UNIT are totally forgettable and they just worship The Doctor too much. Then they are much worse than when The Brigader ran the outfit. Don't even get me started on the blue armor of the Sontarans and the private school run by the young guy who develops a zero emission system for cars. The other irritating factor is that we get to see two more episodes where the new companion's family is involved in the plot. I hope the next companion for The Doctor features no family in the stories at all. Blink and you will miss Rose's second appearance (she first reappeared at the end of PARTNERS IN CRIME).

406: THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER- This episode is the other strong point of the season so far. Martha gets to do a lot more in this episode and her separation from The Doctor and Donna works to the episode's advantage. 45 minutes isn't enough to properly deal with a new character that will probably appear in a future episode, the suddenly fabricated soldier daughter of The Doctor aka Jenny.

this review is (c)6-2-2008 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com  

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