Back in 2006, my friend Joseph talked me into watching this amazing television show that we like to call, ‘Doctor Who’, well that’s actually its name and that’s why we call it that title. Anyway, after the success that was ‘Rose’, the BBC commissioned series 2 for the following year. After the series 1 finale, Christopher Ecclestone regenerated into the fan favourite, the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant. Obviously at the end of series 1, we knew that David Tennant would star as the Doctor and Billie Piper would return as Rose Tyler.
[Note: This list does not feature ‘The Christmas Invasion’, that episode will be covered in a future article]
EPISODE 1: NEW EARTH BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right, so the series opener. The episode which kicks off the entire series, what do I think of the episode. One word - lacklustre. The episode has a lot of potential and after the previous series opener it is disappointing in many aspects. But I’ll admit that the episode had some good parts. The CGI of New Earth was fantastic and the performances by David Tennant and Billie Piper were fantastic. But it is just so cheesy; the comedic moments don’t jell well with the whole plot of the episode. In my opinion, it’s not terrible but at the same time I don’t look back on the episode that often.
EPISODE 2: TOOTH AND CLAW BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right this episode was really annoying. I watched every episode from ‘School Reunion onward, then I watched ‘New Earth’ yet this episode was evasive, it took forever to find it on television. But, it was worth the wait. I absolutely love this episode. This is a favourite of mine. The performances were amazing, the CGI on werewolf – spectacular. Series 2 had some really good ripper episodes this was one of them. I seriously recommend this episode to everyone who hasn’t seen it.
EPISODE 3: SCHOOL REUNION BY TOBY WHITEHOUSE
Ah…where it all began for me. This is the episode that made me a whovian. Although not my first experience of the show (future article?), this is my first proper whovian episode. I love everything about this episode. David Tennant truly shown his fondness for Sarah Jane/Elisabeth Sladen as when the Doctor was smiling when they first met, that was more of David Tennant. He grew up watching Sarah Jane, so it was a privilege for him to be acting alongside her. Elisabeth Sladen had a beautiful performance as Sarah Jane and Billie Piper had a great performance too (doesn’t mean I’m a fan). God I love this episode.
EPISODE 4: THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE BY STEVEN MOFFAT
Oh, Steven Moffat. You graced us with ‘The Empty Child’ and ‘The Doctor Dances’ and now you bring us this piece of…beauty. This episode is one of Moffat’s best, not my favourite but this is certainly up there with ‘The Empty Child’ and ‘The Pandorica Opens’. This story had beautiful performances from the main cast and Sophia Myles, beautiful sets and beautiful writing (what happened, Moffat!). This episode had a lot of love put behind it and like ‘School Reunion’ it clearly shows through. Watch it, love it.
EPISODE 5 & 6: RISE OF THE CYBERMEN/ THE AGE OF STEEL BY TOM MCRAE
Alright, we’ve had the Autons and we’ve had the Daleks, both had great introductions to the new generation. So, how did the new series do, reintegrating the Cybermen into New Who? To be honest, they did a great job. Yeah, it’s not perfect but it’s certainly a really good episode. Everyone in the cast had great performances; Shawn Dingwell was a welcome presence to the cast as Rose’s father, albeit a parallel version. The Cybermen were truly menacing in this episode, in fact its one of my favourite Cybermen stories of New Who.
EPISODE 7: THE IDIOT’S LANTERN BY MARK GATISS
Mark Gatiss is a writer who is like a double-edged sword he can make great episodes (e.g. ‘Cold War’) and he can make not so good episodes (e.g. ‘Victory of the Daleks’). So what is ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’ well I’m not going to lie, it’s a ‘Victory of the Daleks’ episode, I don’t hate it but I don’t like it. I just really don’t like the plot of the episode and the cockiness of Rose in this episode, sure it was all in good reason but I really didn’t like it. But the setting, god, the setting was great. I truly felt as though I was in the 1950’s. So, it’s a double edged sword. It’s not Gatiss’ best script for the show but it wasn’t terrible, he really does understand Doctor Who and I really do respect him for that.
EPISODE 8 & 9: THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET/ THE SATAN PIT BY MATT JONES
Oh my god…this episode came straight out of left field and blew practically everyone away. It had great performances by David Tennant and Billie Piper, so did the guest cast. The story was truly chilling. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, I was really terrified when I watched this because well, it’s has the devil in it, why wouldn’t I be scared. The CGI completely blew me away and the prosthetics on the Ood, truly brilliant.
EPISODE 10: LOVE AND MONSTERS BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
……………………………………………………..Watch it but you won’t like it.
EPISODE 11: FEAR HER BY MATTHEW GRAHAM
Matthew Graham, the guy who wrote ‘Life on Mars’ (which starred John Simm) was tasked with writing this episode on the last second. Seriously, that’s an honest to god fact. This episode is a lot better than the previous episode but at the same time, I can’t say it’s good either. Yeah, great performances but the episode is really cheesy in my opinion. It’s like a pizza with cheese inside the crust; it’s enjoyable but full of cheese.
EPISODE 12 & 13: ARMY OF GHOSTS/ DOOMSDAY BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right so it’s that time of the series, the finale. The story that the entire series has been building up since practically, ‘Bad Wolf’. Seriously though, the whole Torchwood story arc started in Series One. Anyway back to the point. Russell T. Davies decided to put his name on the whovinerse map (even though he brought back the show) by putting the Daleks and the Cybermen (albeit Cybus) in the same episode – fighting each other. And…although the battle of Canary Wharf was a great addition to the episode, it was disappointing. I mean come on, you put the two most iconic monsters in the show together and you show up the monster you have just reintroduced. It was embarrassing to be a Cybermen fan and see them get obliterated by Daleks. Now if it was the Mondasians it would be a different story. But the most powerful thing about this episode is the departure of Rose and Jackie Tyler. Although I don’t like Rose, I’ll admit. It was pretty powerful, the first time I watched it, I was at my friend Jake’s house and he cried. I saw a tear run down his face.
In Conclusion, Series 2 was a great series of Doctor Who. Full of many genres’s ranging from adventure, comedy and horror but it was certainly cheesy at times and it features possibly the worst episode of Doctor Who ever. But the series had great writing, great acting and great special effects. I’m sorry if I offended anyone if they enjoyed certain episodes but this is my personnel look back of the second series. And when the series gets thing right, it gets it right. Below is my order of preference when it comes to the second series.
10, Love and Monsters
9, Fear Her
8, New Earth
7, The Idiot’s Lantern
6, Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel
5, The Girl in the Fireplace
4, Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday
3, School Reunion
2, Tooth and Claw
1, The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit
[Note: This list does not feature ‘The Christmas Invasion’, that episode will be covered in a future article]
EPISODE 1: NEW EARTH BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right, so the series opener. The episode which kicks off the entire series, what do I think of the episode. One word - lacklustre. The episode has a lot of potential and after the previous series opener it is disappointing in many aspects. But I’ll admit that the episode had some good parts. The CGI of New Earth was fantastic and the performances by David Tennant and Billie Piper were fantastic. But it is just so cheesy; the comedic moments don’t jell well with the whole plot of the episode. In my opinion, it’s not terrible but at the same time I don’t look back on the episode that often.
EPISODE 2: TOOTH AND CLAW BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right this episode was really annoying. I watched every episode from ‘School Reunion onward, then I watched ‘New Earth’ yet this episode was evasive, it took forever to find it on television. But, it was worth the wait. I absolutely love this episode. This is a favourite of mine. The performances were amazing, the CGI on werewolf – spectacular. Series 2 had some really good ripper episodes this was one of them. I seriously recommend this episode to everyone who hasn’t seen it.
EPISODE 3: SCHOOL REUNION BY TOBY WHITEHOUSE
Ah…where it all began for me. This is the episode that made me a whovian. Although not my first experience of the show (future article?), this is my first proper whovian episode. I love everything about this episode. David Tennant truly shown his fondness for Sarah Jane/Elisabeth Sladen as when the Doctor was smiling when they first met, that was more of David Tennant. He grew up watching Sarah Jane, so it was a privilege for him to be acting alongside her. Elisabeth Sladen had a beautiful performance as Sarah Jane and Billie Piper had a great performance too (doesn’t mean I’m a fan). God I love this episode.
EPISODE 4: THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE BY STEVEN MOFFAT
Oh, Steven Moffat. You graced us with ‘The Empty Child’ and ‘The Doctor Dances’ and now you bring us this piece of…beauty. This episode is one of Moffat’s best, not my favourite but this is certainly up there with ‘The Empty Child’ and ‘The Pandorica Opens’. This story had beautiful performances from the main cast and Sophia Myles, beautiful sets and beautiful writing (what happened, Moffat!). This episode had a lot of love put behind it and like ‘School Reunion’ it clearly shows through. Watch it, love it.
EPISODE 5 & 6: RISE OF THE CYBERMEN/ THE AGE OF STEEL BY TOM MCRAE
Alright, we’ve had the Autons and we’ve had the Daleks, both had great introductions to the new generation. So, how did the new series do, reintegrating the Cybermen into New Who? To be honest, they did a great job. Yeah, it’s not perfect but it’s certainly a really good episode. Everyone in the cast had great performances; Shawn Dingwell was a welcome presence to the cast as Rose’s father, albeit a parallel version. The Cybermen were truly menacing in this episode, in fact its one of my favourite Cybermen stories of New Who.
EPISODE 7: THE IDIOT’S LANTERN BY MARK GATISS
Mark Gatiss is a writer who is like a double-edged sword he can make great episodes (e.g. ‘Cold War’) and he can make not so good episodes (e.g. ‘Victory of the Daleks’). So what is ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’ well I’m not going to lie, it’s a ‘Victory of the Daleks’ episode, I don’t hate it but I don’t like it. I just really don’t like the plot of the episode and the cockiness of Rose in this episode, sure it was all in good reason but I really didn’t like it. But the setting, god, the setting was great. I truly felt as though I was in the 1950’s. So, it’s a double edged sword. It’s not Gatiss’ best script for the show but it wasn’t terrible, he really does understand Doctor Who and I really do respect him for that.
EPISODE 8 & 9: THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET/ THE SATAN PIT BY MATT JONES
Oh my god…this episode came straight out of left field and blew practically everyone away. It had great performances by David Tennant and Billie Piper, so did the guest cast. The story was truly chilling. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, I was really terrified when I watched this because well, it’s has the devil in it, why wouldn’t I be scared. The CGI completely blew me away and the prosthetics on the Ood, truly brilliant.
EPISODE 10: LOVE AND MONSTERS BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
……………………………………………………..Watch it but you won’t like it.
EPISODE 11: FEAR HER BY MATTHEW GRAHAM
Matthew Graham, the guy who wrote ‘Life on Mars’ (which starred John Simm) was tasked with writing this episode on the last second. Seriously, that’s an honest to god fact. This episode is a lot better than the previous episode but at the same time, I can’t say it’s good either. Yeah, great performances but the episode is really cheesy in my opinion. It’s like a pizza with cheese inside the crust; it’s enjoyable but full of cheese.
EPISODE 12 & 13: ARMY OF GHOSTS/ DOOMSDAY BY RUSSELL T. DAVIES
Right so it’s that time of the series, the finale. The story that the entire series has been building up since practically, ‘Bad Wolf’. Seriously though, the whole Torchwood story arc started in Series One. Anyway back to the point. Russell T. Davies decided to put his name on the whovinerse map (even though he brought back the show) by putting the Daleks and the Cybermen (albeit Cybus) in the same episode – fighting each other. And…although the battle of Canary Wharf was a great addition to the episode, it was disappointing. I mean come on, you put the two most iconic monsters in the show together and you show up the monster you have just reintroduced. It was embarrassing to be a Cybermen fan and see them get obliterated by Daleks. Now if it was the Mondasians it would be a different story. But the most powerful thing about this episode is the departure of Rose and Jackie Tyler. Although I don’t like Rose, I’ll admit. It was pretty powerful, the first time I watched it, I was at my friend Jake’s house and he cried. I saw a tear run down his face.
In Conclusion, Series 2 was a great series of Doctor Who. Full of many genres’s ranging from adventure, comedy and horror but it was certainly cheesy at times and it features possibly the worst episode of Doctor Who ever. But the series had great writing, great acting and great special effects. I’m sorry if I offended anyone if they enjoyed certain episodes but this is my personnel look back of the second series. And when the series gets thing right, it gets it right. Below is my order of preference when it comes to the second series.
10, Love and Monsters
9, Fear Her
8, New Earth
7, The Idiot’s Lantern
6, Rise of the Cybermen/ The Age of Steel
5, The Girl in the Fireplace
4, Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday
3, School Reunion
2, Tooth and Claw
1, The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit
