Entertainment

Doctor Who: 2 – 1: New Earth

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The Doctor has returned!

Saturday nights haven't been the same since the last season of Doctor Who ended – the triumphant return of The Doctor last year (thanks to Russel T. Davies and the team at BBC Wales) proved that the BBC were more than capable of producing good Sci-Fi and raised the bar for Saturday evening TV. I have high hopes for the second season, and will be posting my thoughts as episodes air. Note: I know this isn't technically the second season of Doctor Who but for a large number of new fans, it is: I'll be referring to it as season two. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum too – I don't like having something ruined before I've had a change to watch it, and I'll try not to inflict that on anyone here.

Episode one kicks things off nicely: It's nothing earth-shattering, aiming only to provide enjoyable, light-hearted Saturday evening TV, and along the way prove to be suitably scary for younger viewers (something which Who should, ideally, always strive to achieve). David Tennant somehow seems to be slightly less effective here than in the Christmas special but still manages to be entertaining, and I have no doubt I'll become increasingly enthusiastic about his take on The Doctor as the season continues. Billy Piper has quite a lot to do: As the single common thread linking Eccleston's Doctor and Tennant's it's important for Billy to put in a good performance for the first few episodes, and in this one she does. It would've been quite easy for New Earth to be rendered unwatchable by a terrible performance, but Billy pulls it off. Performance aside, Billy's cleavage also makes more of an appearance here than ever before, and I'm sure fans will consider this a positive. I'm impartial of course, my job is simply to state the facts…

New Earth is, by and large, a success. Admittedly, it steals ideas from both the Matrix and Night of the Living Dead (but provides an entertaining new explanation of the zombie's reaching arms), features a race of feline nurses (that are far less ill-advised than I expected), and makes jokes about Chavs and body/gender-swapping. And while none of this is ever likely to be accepted, enjoyed, or encouraged by the armies of hard-core Doctor Who fans, the Saturday night audience attracted by the BBC last year will no doubt find much to enjoy again this time.

The thing I like about new Who, and in particular Davies approach, is his vision. Even though this is a fairly throw-away episode, he still manages to dangle an intriguing carrot that he'll inevitably return to later. Like the Bad Wolf arc from last season, I'm sure Davies has a master plan for this series and beyond.

So, welcome back Doctor, Rose, the Tardis and all those who sail in her. Next week: Doctor Who vs. The Wolfman – but the Crouching Tiger style kung-fu apparent in the trailer has me worried…has someone been watching Brotherhood of the Wolf recently?

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