Best new Doctor Who story

http://bittergrace.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/madame_doctor2.jpg

Blink.

Human Nature/Family of Blood just beats Blink and Girl in the Fireplace. Dalek and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances other strong contenders.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s236/mezxspectrum/DW20052x10LoveMonsters-00278.jpg

I can't choose! Blink and Girl In The Fireplace and The Empty Child all in 3-way tie.

Moffat's stories are always rated as faves.

That's because Moffat is awesome.

Can we talk about the Xmas ep? I just watched it for the first time last night and thought it was brilliant.

Voyage of the Damned? I dug what they were trying to do (disaster movie in space!), but I don't think it really came off. Kylie's semi-ressurection was quite poignant.

Also there should be an embargo on angelic villains from now on, because they're just going to compare poorly to those in Blink.

Moffat has a golden touch, yes!

Would anyone seriously vote for "Aliens of London"? I hated those farting sytheen suckers.

Oh wait I'm talkin about the wrong one, sorry -- I saw the one with Catherine Tate and the Raknos

They were funny/creepy when they were inhabiting human bodies, but as soon as they revealed themselves they were a bit lame. But there are have been far worse stories.

xpost

haha was that TWO Christmases ago?? I am lame

Christmas Invasion remains the best xmas special IMHO. Great debut vehicle for Tennant.

it wasn't the best "story" by any means, but man I thought Tate and Tennant delivered KNOCKOUT performances. It was really affecting.

I love it when Lance pulls back from hatcheting the Raknos at the last minute, revealing himself to be evil, and was like "I had you going there! You should have seen your face!" -- and the Raknos is like "Ha! Ha! Lance makes Raknos laugh!"

Oh, and I voted for Human Nature/Family of Blood. Tennant's performance in it is moving and brilliant, and it's one of Moffat's finest episodes. Blink is just a shade behind it for me, mostly because it's more about Sally Sparrow (who was a great character and would make a great companion, I think) than the Doctor.

Aliens of London worked because it was the first time we'd seen nu-Who really go all out on the 'aliens go berserk around London' thing (Autons don't count). Its getting a bit old now.

Human Nature/Family of Blood wasn't Paul Cornell? It's directly from his book.

Oh, I think you're right. Dunno what I was thinking! Cornell wrote "Father's Day" too, I believe.

Yeah, it was Cornell adapting form his book. Blink was by Moffat.
No Cornell stories for series four though :/
xp

Both Father's Day and Family of Blood rule. Is there a Cornell story in S2 as well? He's really good at giving stories an emotional undertow that isn't cloying or just plain irritating.

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit
Love & Monsters
Fear Her

I still haven't seen any of these, are they worth downloading and catching up on?

Cornell is so awesome when he's on. When he's not on, ugh. (Fortunately, he's been on in all of his nu-Who stuff, plus he's way better/more consistent with TV scripts than novels.)

"The Satan Pit" is okay. "Love & Monsters" is great. Haven't seen "Fear Her" but people claim it's worse than "The Idiot's Lantern", which I find nigh-impossible to believe.

Matt - Love & Monsters definately (though it's one of the most devisive of the new eps), Impossible Planet is good for a giggle, Don't bother with Fear Her.

I thought "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" were both good. Quite scary...and they aired on the week of 06/06/06 which I like since that was my birthday. :D

"Love and Monsters" was the episode that made me sort of love Jackie Tyler.

"Fear Her" was kind of crap.

(oh yeah, I never saw "The Impossible Planet" so I have no idea if the setup for "The Satan Pit" is decent or not, but the payoff was good)

I liked love and monsters apart from the monster which was rubbish but had cost the princely sum of one blue peter badge.

Impossible planet/satan pit was ok, another Brits in space episode but 42 was much better on that score.

Not seen Fear her but it was Doctor who puff the olympics I think.

"Fear Her" was Doctor Who puff the olympics and also "let's reunite Tennant with his co-star from Casanova!"

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit : first part very good; creates a good suspenseful atmosphere + it introduces the Ood. Second part a bit overblown.
Love & Monsters : divisive, but I say excellent.
Fear Her : possibly the weakest nu-Who adventure.

I wasn't that bothered by Fear Her or Love and Monsters, but thought Satan Pit/Impossible Planet was great. Stupid bloody Olympics.

Wasn't Fear Her a last minute addition due to them unable to afford to make Stephen Fry's episode? Something like that, or so I read.

It certainly felt like late-series filler, at any rate.

Ahh, the ood came in in impossible planet. I forgot about that goes up in my estimation. Best new aliens in nuwho I think, glad they are back in the latest series.

we did this just before the finale last year and Blink won iirc

or TGITF wonnit...but yeah Moffat reigns obv

a complete bitch to find (people gotta stop tying 'dr' not 'doctor' in threads) but here it is:

Why Dr Who Continues To Please Us: Nu Who Poll

Best new aliens in nuwho I think, glad they are back in the latest series.

I love them, so glad they are coming back. DW should have replaced Rose with an Ood companion.

the Ood's ball thing as weapon is so naff it's good

DW should have replaced Rose with an Ood companion.

but the sexual chemistry would've been even better/worse (not sure which)

works in a Ben Hur/Spartacus chocking his enemy with his chains of slavery kind of way.

xpost

Oops, I was taking a rest from ILX at the time of that other poll and I thought 'd be the only one nerdy enough to start one. Should've known better.

The Ood are great, yeah. Their intro was stellar - "We must feed... We must feed... We must feed..." - titles roll - Chief Ood taps malfunctioning orb thing: "We must feed you."

Voted for "Blink"

Voted for Blink here too, though it was a toss between that and Last of the Time Lords. I really like the "alternative" stories that don't focus on the Doctor and more on the residual effects - "Love and Monsters" was pretty great for that, too. And weird use of ELO, it was hilarious. (Torchwood tried this gimmick in "Random Shoes" but it was okay, not spectacular.)

Impossible Planet... Ood was great, it started off intriguing, but then you realize The Doctor vs. Satan is a terrible, terrible idea.

End of the World
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
Idiot's Lantern
Blink

The Empty Child is so fucking creepy!

Blink, but The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances comes very very close.

Empty Child is kinda my best-of-the-best Who, because it is

a) legitimately scary
b) crazy alien technology
c) interesting companion (intro of Jack)
d) weird british historical bias

Still catching up, only halfway thru last year's season, but Girl in the Fireplace does it for me. Music was great, too.

I really liked Doctor vs Satan. Both parts are great.

I'm voting for Bad Wolf. That summer it was EVERYWHERE - I haven't seen a TV show take over the "national consciousness" (bluh) to that extent before.

Blink. It didn't atter that the Doctor took a back seat because the main cast is so strong and the characters so well-realised. Love & Monsters is at least a 7/10 for this reason.

Everything else Moffat touched is brilliant and has broad beyond-sci-fi appeal. At no point do any of these stories crawl up their own arse.

Fear Her was a great concept completely bollocksed up. None of the Red Dwarf-style Brits-in-space ones did anything for me; the Satan one in particular was excrutiating viewing.

Titanic was just stupid. I can't even be bothered quantifying this.

I know Blink was the best standalone ep, for story/performances/mood etc. But on principle I can't bring myself to vote for tennant over ecclestone. So that leaves me with Dalek, Father's Day and Bad Wolf.

And then there's this:

Dalek: I will talk to the Doctor.
The Doctor: Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!
Dalek: The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene.
The Doctor: Oh, really? Why's that then?
Dalek: We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated.
The Doctor: No.
[everyone looks at The Doctor, stunned]
Dalek: Explain yourself.
The Doctor: I said no.
Dalek: What is the meaning of this negative?
The Doctor: It means no!
Dalek: But she will be destroyed!
The Doctor: *No*! 'Cause this is what I'm gonna do - I'm gonna rescue her! I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and *then* - just to finish you off - I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!
Dalek: But you have no weapons, no defences, no *plan*!
The Doctor: Yeah, and doesn't that scare you to death?
[to Rose]
The Doctor: Rose?
Rose: Yes, Doctor?
The Doctor: I'm coming to get you.

Which gives me goose bumps written down, let alone performed (and try reading that while imagining tennant as the doctor...it's a) BORING and b) too easy! as his performances are so by-numbers these days). So yeah, Bad Wolf for me.

That post totally OTM.

That is the best single MOMENT in all of nu-Who, especially when followed up with 1x massive CGI montage of the Dalek fleet in space. I got ridiculously excited watching that for the first time.

Also Bad Wolf contains all of the best Captain Jack as ACTION HERO bits.

I have now got it down to a tie between Blink and Girl In The Fireplace. Which makes me realise that the episodes I tend to like best are the ones that play most freely with the concept of time itself, exploring the options that time-travelling can create. Fathers Day also played with this idea, but it was not as realised, and I thought the "ooh, scary monsters" idea was a cop out.

"That is the best single MOMENT in all of nu-Who"

we all agree with this right. stunning. goose bumps. it is what i always had in the back of my mind when assessing tennant, poor fella.

but as no one else will i am going to rep for rose's departure ep (end series 2)

It is a quite wonderful moment. It's a pity that the previous 40 minutes were nowhere near as good and that the next episode only came to life in it's last 10 minutes as well.

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion"

ok, who else has a strategem?

"Doctor Who and the deadly stratagem of cursed death"

Dalek: But you have no weapons, no defences, no *plan*!
The Doctor: Yeah, and doesn't that scare you to death?

You lot are mad! This was really hamfisted and cringeworthy!

but as no one else will i am going to rep for rose's departure ep (end series 2)

I wsa shocked and amazed that I loved this so much, seeing as Rose had, by this point, completely and utterly gotten onto every single one of my nerves.

S1 Rose>>>>>>>>>>>>S2 Rose

Accordingly:
S3 Doctor>>>>>>>>>>S2 Doctor

Is it generally agreed that series 2 is the worst so far?

YES

Um, no!

YES

It makes you realise how important the Doc/companion dynamic is to the overall success of a run - 9's relationship with Rose was more paternal/mentorish than the cloying doe-eyed and frankly slightly creepy Rose/10 love. then 10's slightly standoffish attitude to Martha made things interesting again.

That and 10 is like a dog on acid.

i think The Impossible Planet is good (and much better than 4 which was a great concept but the story didn't quite match up), Satan Pit much less so (altho the Doctor's lil speech re "the urge to fall" is great/eerie)

Eccles best moments are well documented (also love the scene after his speech with his head restingagainst the TARDIS door hearing dozens of "EXTERMINATE"s, and his stupid grin as he holds up a broken cable while attempting to build the Delta Wave BEST NU-EP EVER FEWLS)

Tennant's single best moment much harder to pin down: telling that horse he's not it's mother perhaps

and much better than 42 which was a great concept

the cloying doe-eyed and frankly slightly creepy Rose/10 love

It was a little creepy. All of the fans who think that Rose is the Doctor's one true love baffle and frighten me.

Tennant's single best moment much harder to pin down

Coldly and effortlessly fucking up the Family of Blood.

I was going to say Family of Blood as well, but for the John Smith moments.

His last message to Rose is pretty good as well - which will imminently be drained of all poignancy and meaning when she returns, WAY TO UNDERMINE YOUR OWN SHIT, RUSSELL.

Tennant's worst moment = going "you didn't have to kill her!" to a Cyberman, in a tone of voice that would have been slightly better suited to going "you didn't have to just gob in my drink!"

Tennant's worst moment = the entirety of "The Idiot's Lantern". that entire episode is like a gigantic bag of vomit.

Except for the King of Belgium gag.

in retrospect i think series 2 > 3 overall

I haven't actually seen all of the S2 episodes but none of the S3 episodes are as bad as "The Idiot's Lantern". Ugh.

"New Earth" was a lot of fun, though. The bouncing Cassandra impersonations were great.

The dalek 2-parter came close though!

Helen Raynor is an awful writer.

Well, yes and no. Her problem is that she's twee; when she focuses on her cutesy stuff, like the relationship between the ditz and the pig, she's terrible. When she has creepy monsters chase people through sewers, she's just fine.

Fortunately for her, most of the acting saves a lot of her nonsense; as irritating as they were I thought the portrayals of the lovesick couple were done very well.

I voted for Tooth and Claw since no one's mentioned it yet and <3 werewolves, but all the ones mentioned prior are at least as good or better.

Oddly, Helen Reynor is also responsible for the two best episodes of Torchwood so far.

the first post on this thread featured a picture of sophia myles, which I think unfairly influenced my vote.

dunno why the last Daleks story gets so much hate, beyond the generally boring dynamic of pretty much all Dalek stories

his performances are so by-numbers these days). So yeah, Bad Wolf for me.

I don't get this -- I think he's gotten better and better (and significantly less irritating) as the show's gone on. RTD's writing, on the other hand, is definitely worse... "Last of the Time Lords" with the CGI elf Doctor -- awful, awful, awful.

Tennant's worst moment = the entirety of "The Idiot's Lantern". that entire episode is like a gigantic bag of vomit.

-- HI DERE, Saturday, 5 April 2008 02:19 (7 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Shame. Gatiss is on top form EXCEPT when he's let anywhere near Doctor Who.

"New Earth" was a lot of fun, though. The bouncing Cassandra impersonations were great.

-- HI DERE, Saturday, 5 April 2008 03:05 (6 hours ago) Bookmark Link

RONG

We conned my sister-in-law into watching an episode, after months of talking it up. THIS is the episode we showed her, having not yet seen it ourselves. In retrospect the stupidest thing we could have done. Voyage-of-the-Damned-scale mess, that one.

blink >>>>>>>>>> the other things that are not blink

"Last of the Time Lords" with the CGI elf Doctor -- awful, awful, awful.

-- Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 5 April 2008 04:34 (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

WAHT

Gatiss' S1 ep was pretty good.

I'm going to say "Blink" because it was filmed at Diverse Music, my local record shop.

You in Cardiff? Seen any aliens lately?

No, in Newport, but they regularly film around here too.

My editor's from Newport. He says it's nothing but aliens, lunatics and tracksuits...and that's just his own very large family.

"Aliens, lunatics and tracksuits."

That should be a GLC song title.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Full marks

Is it generally agreed that series 2 is the worst so far?

Oh come on, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances was much better than that.

somebody start a nu-who POX thread! it's more fun than only choosing one, there's been way more than one good episode.

Good results, though I'm surprised Army of Ghosts/Doomsday beat out Utopia/Drums/Last of the Time Lords.

Is it generally agreed that series 2 is the worst so far?

I totally agree with this (though it wasn't a bad series, still generally enjoyable, and Tennant eventually won me over), but I'm really surprised to find it confirmed here, for some reason.

s2 ended well but the journey there was like the Belgian countryside.

No votes for Impossible Planet? Guys, watch it again, it's really good!

no it isn't

seriously though, it's horrible

Impossible Planet's alright, a middling story with some really nice touches.

Two votes for The Long Game is a bit weird.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7338764.stm

Who the fuck voted for Boom Town?!

hey, boom town is a good episode... more sitting around talking and less (but still some) running around after aliens/between explosions.

Boom Town is grebt. It allows the characters room to interact and grow.

Yes but the best of all the new episodes? Come on.

I think Boom Town is one of only two nu-Who episode I've not seen. Everyone told me not to bother. The other one was the second episode of Daleks in Manhattan. The first part of that was bad enough for me to feel like that was blessed relief.

Should have called it The Daleks Take Manhattan.

I've never seen Boom Town, I think it's the only one I haven't.

The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit is the only one of the zero-votes stories I feel bothered about, which is making me realise how rubbish most Dr Who is. Or for kids.

Gridlock, Smith and Jones, The Christmas Invasion, Aliens of London/World War Three and the underrated Cyberman two-parter are all decent too.

Yeah I like the Cybermen two-parter as well. School Reunion is great as well, even though it's transparently one of the kiddiest episodes.

Yes but the best of all the new episodes? Come on.

-- Matt DC, Thursday, 10 April 2008 19:09 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

god no way.

s2 is not significantly worse than the other two - why are people so keen to divide a mere 3 series so extremely? they all have equal share of highs and lows

Boom Town isn't that bad at all

Nah, s2 was distinctly average. Fear Her, Impossible Planet, New Earth, Tooth & Claw, etc. There's a load I can't even remember because that's the impact it had on me.

what is so bad about the Impossible Planet? it's only the Satan Pit where the problems really occur

there's only 3 episodes of s2 i don't like. it's generally not as good but hardly 'SO MUCH WORSE'.

Yes but the best of all the new episodes? Come on.

come on? the long game got TWO votes! boom town was like ten times better than that one. and bad wolf/parting of the ways pretty much sucked shit and it got four votes. this poll is madness! madness.

xp Impossible Planet is like a bad American sci-fi flick. Generic characters, generic plot, generic everything. I agree it had at least some potential before The Satan Pit ruined it.

boom town i like, but 2 people voted for The Long Game!

The Long Game is OK - I like what they do with Adam in it

Impossible Planet is like a bad American sci-fi flick

or a good American sci-fi flick, but with British accents. characters there to be killed off often have a generic quality, esp. in that kind of scenario - it's not a big deal. they did well to create as creepy an atmosphere as they did.

the characters in TIP seem a lot better than the ones in 42 also, so how much 'more' generic must they have been? the woman the Doctor goes down the pit with was v good.

With the exception of the S1 finale, has there been a good episode on a space station or an alien planet at all?

With the exception of the S1 finale, has there been a good episode on a space station or an alien planet at all?

-- Matt DC, Thursday, 10 April 2008 21:53 (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ban Doctor Who polls/arguing

The End of the World is good.

Utopia is good - the second half lifts it from meh to awesome

The Long Game is OK - I like what they do with Adam in it

The more Bruno Langley suffers, the better. He is such an awful actor.

Are all of you S2 apologists forgetting that "The Idiot's Lantern" happened during S2? Great idea, particularly with the family subplot, HORRIFYINGLY AWFUL EXECUTION.

By the same token are you forgetting how great TGITF was?

Blink's runaway success seems to indicate how much people like the aspects of Doctor Who that aren't exclusive to the show and are actually rarely done very well in it. I mean people love it so much as a great spooky story rather than as An Episode Of Doctor Who (which the other Moffat stories are MORE, I think, and better than Blink in that regard only).

TGITF was really good but not as good as the S2 finale; there's a good amount of overrating going on there because ppl like seeing the Doctor act like he's in love.

(I also thought "Love & Monsters" was better than TGITF.)

So Whens the Best Story In Tom Bakers 1st Season poll gonna be so we can have more arguing?

there's a good amount of overrating going on there because ppl like seeing the Doctor act like he's in love

this doesn't actually have a lot to do with why TGITF is so great imo - i don't care much about the Doctor in love, altho it was a pretty good stab at that.

unless you're taking about Doomsday here, i can't tell!

I love TGITF as much for the clockwork robot baddies as anything else.
I also loved that it felt more like an old school science fiction story.

Boom Town really is the weakest of the first series. I suppose it wss the first of the stop-gap episodes, but before they had the better idea of making it Doctor-light instead of story-light. Also an unwelcome hasty return of the Slitheen.

Girdlock and Impossible Planet was both robbed.

Boom Town really is the weakest of the first series.

I think it's better than Rose, The End Of The World and The Long Game altho I guess there's no one episode from s1 that bad. The Doc/Rose/Jack threeway camaraderie in full effect is probably Boom Town's best aspect tho, as fun as Madge Blaine can be.

The End Of The World was a promising idea cack-handedly executed.

a bit like the internet

I have come to the conclusion that any story that is resolved by the Doctor fiddling around rapidly with electronics until all the aliens blow up/turn into something else/fuck off back to their own dimension is basically rub. Get one sense of tension.

This is also why Blink is the best, because it doesn't do this.

the worst part of Family Of Blood is when he's sabotaging their ship by pretending to be a clumsy imbecile, so yeah OTM

No, I liked that bit! Especially when he catches the watch and instantly switches from John Smith to the Doctor. I mean, I guessed what was going on, but it was still damn cool and well acted, and I don't know if the kiddies would've guessed.

Dr Who fan makes his own shows

GRANT BATTERSBY

^ this has to become a meme somehow

A 14-year-old Dr Who fan has spoken of why he produces his own versions of the TV show for the internet.

"lol I'm a nerd, duh"

Dan wishes he was as cool as that kid when he was 14

So Whens the Best Story In Tom Bakers 1st Season poll gonna be so we can have more arguing?

^^ this

could do season of Baker, season of Pertwee, season of Baker, season of Pertwee...

sounds good

I kinda meant one after the other to space them out, rather than shitting up the site with more concurrent polls on the same topic ;_;

'shitting up the site'

Great name for an edgy new Channel 4 comedy.

That is the best single MOMENT in all of nu-Who, especially when followed up with 1x massive CGI montage of the Dalek fleet in space. I got ridiculously excited watching that for the first time.

That Ecclestone speech almost makes me cry.

Mind you, Derek Jacobi starting to twig the significance of his fob watch while Martha looks all edgy is right up there for top moment. That entire 15 mins is awesome.

'shitting up the site'

at least Geir hasn't discovered Dr Who yet, we'd have three of every single poll by now

Davros lacks melodics

talking to Davros is like talking to a computer

so email him instead

I wonder how season 4 would change this poll... I think right now "Turn Left" is my favorite episode of all four seasons.

I think Season 4 was quite strong as a whole (maybe even better than S2 and S3) but the peaks weren't as high as previous seasons. Turn Left was excellent, and Midnight and the Library 2-parter were great, though, and the final story was fun. My vote for Blink would have probably remained, though.

Now that I think about it, so much was going on during this season they didn't have room for an odd "Non-Doctor POV" story (like Blink and Love and Monsters)... shame.

Turn Left was the Doctorless one - he was hardly in it

That's true - I guess what I really meant was a story from the POV of a character outside of Doctor and his companions (also see "Random Shoes" in Season 1 of Torchwood).

Oh yeah, "Midnight" was wholly outstanding, too! The way they all turned on The Doctor was pretty terrifying; possibly some of the best ensemble acting of the new series.

Midnight is the best script RTD has written for the show, as I've just derailed an ILC thread to say. Turn Left comes second.

"Turn Left" is the epitome of well-executed fanwank. The story holds up well in its own right but the layers that are added if you've been watching from the end of the second season, plus Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, are just amazing. (I kind of wish Sarah Jane had ended up in the hospital for "Smith and Jones" now.)

otoh the cockroachy alien is so lame

waht, no

The giant cockroach was pretty fucking creepy (and fake looking). The fortune-teller was also really awesome. I also liked the horrified people freaking out at the alien they couldn't really see.

Is there a thread devoted solely to season 3, as there is for the others? can't find it.

i'm currently watching this run for the first time (martha's crap int she fnar).

dr who 3 - the ice warriors cometh

Turn Left was the Doctorless one - he was hardly in it

He wasn't in Blink that much either.

(although more than Turn Left)

Blink was the year before.

The first season didn't have a Doctorless one, did it...?

The fact that the cockroach was totally fake-looking was KEY to its total heebie-jeebiness.

It's like in C.H.U.D., when you can tell that the heads getting decapitated are totally fake, it makes it even more ewwwww.

I agree, actually! Somehow it not looking real made it seem even creepier.

can't say i agree - everything around it was pretty unnerving tho (inc the general 'something on your back' concept). tho if it had been a spider (as many theorised in spoilers early on, believing it to be connected to the Racnoss in The Runaway Bride) i doubtless would've found that creepier.

My one certainty is that if were CGI it would have felt completely harmless.

Similarly, the Dalek on the throne - the one who's just this brain-thing - looks pretty fake too, with his dangly twitchy arms, but it just makes him seem even more insane and alien.

Come on, the cockroach looked rubbish. It wasn't even a crap in a good way. Whereas the Dalek brain was proper spooky.

"Turn Left" was decent -- yay for mushroom clouds on Saturday kids shows! -- but after ten minutes I felt a bit like, "I can see where this is going, can we have the real story now please?"

Although I suppose that's a typical problem with "imaginary" stories.

I like all the episodes with little Doctor. Perhaps I don't actually like the character of the Doctor. I'd like to watch Love & Monsters again.

(I also liked the thing on Donna's back. I thought it was more of a beetle than a cockroach)

i tend to think of them as the same /insect racist

Speaking of racist, that fortune teller could've come out of a Fu Manchu movie. I'm not saying that killed the episode for me, but it was pretty embarassing.

It was out-and-out panto, and I thought the actress who played the fortune teller was fantastic at doing it.

In that exotic vein, perhaps the insect was a.. scarab?

she was much better as Chan-Tho

lol I was going to make scarab jokes

The fortune teller didn't bother me at all but I don't see that caricature very often in my entertainment.

How could you not love the Master after the way he wastes Chan-Tho? Srsly.