Doctor Who - Waters Of Mars - Spoilers

On the wonderfully named Bowie Base One, Captain Adelaide and her crew are manning the first human outpost on Mars. The Doctor turns up and is immediately concerned, it's the exact day that according to history, the base is destroyed in a self detonated explosion. This is as the Doctor repeatedly says as he tries to back out the door, a so called fixed point in history. Before he has a chance however, it's discovered that two crew members have been infected by a mysterious alien life form, that turns them into zombies with really badly chapped lips. Yes there is life on Mars and it isn't pretty.

I enjoyed the episode more than I thought I would, yet the ChapStick zombie storyline felt only there to put the Doctor into a situation that raised the question of what happens if all the power he has over time and life, finally gets to him? Without Captain Adelaide it would have felt even more disconnected, yet thankfully she pulled the story together enough for me not to complain too much. I did find her however the most interesting and entertaining aspect to the story. Which as a secondary character shouldn't really be the case.

Part of the reason for that was the Doctor just didn't seem the Doctor we've known through out the series, this seems to be a recurring theme with Russell T, wrap up a story by making the characters implausible or have a Messianic complex. It doesn't create good drama, it just feels like a bit of a cop out. In doing so he's certainly making the series feel like it needs to regenerate.

O/T Torchwood - Children of Earth - Spoliers

It was an emotional roller-coaster with moments of brilliance and sadly written with skill I've not seen Russell T Davies apply to Doctor Who. The kids being taken away by the army was some of the best drama I've seen on the BBC in years. It was all too real as those trucks and buses pulled into the school. While the teachers were powerless to do anything but just insist that the soldiers don’t have the right to take the kids.

Finding out the 456 motives - drug dealing on an intergalactic scale - was a bit strange, part of me sniggered and part thought it was twisted. It does open up some big plot holes though, why did they come to earth in the 60s for the children? They couldn't have known the kids were drugs, were they just sniffing around for a dealer. Which lends to questioning why the government just shut out Torchwood from the start? There was a collective shrug as they resigned themselves to doing whatever the 456 said.

Overall I do feel torn in my reaction, as it's Torchwood, someone from the team is meant to pull the short straw and sleep with the bald three headed telekinetic chicken with a mucus problem. No one expects an Eastenders Christmas special, it was drama with a bit of sci-fi, instead of what it's been for the last two years, sci-fi with a bit of drama. If Torchwood didn't have a history this would have been brilliant, instead it's a little disappointing and really depressing.

Is this the end of Torchwood? Certainly as we know it, perhaps that won't turn out to be a bad thing, if they introduce some of the characters from this series.

O/T - Torchwood New Series 3 Trailer

I was expecting a bit of a "home movie" than that from Torchwood! *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*

I love a bit of sci-fi, I wasn't griped with Torchwood though until the end of the last series, the writers and actors really seemed to get into stride. They filled in a back story to the characters and the events that lead them to join Torchwood. They answered that question which hangs in the air when I watch, why do these people go around chasing and sleeping with aliens?

The trailer does look to be a promising start to the next series. I hope they'll continue with their own voice though, rather they falling into Doctor Who territory.

Doctor Who – Planet of the Dead

Overall "Planet of the Dead" was like opening a tub of Neapolitan ice-cream only to find someone has just eaten the chocolate, disappointing.

The plot centred around a London Bus being sucked through a worm hole, and ending up on a barren desert planet. With swarming creatures fast approaching, the Doctor and passages must find a way back home. I wasn't so sure on the London Bus having the top deck blown apart, nor were the references to the recession welcomed. I watch Doctor Who for escapism, I don't really want to be reminded of how crap things are at the moment. Also when did Doctor Who become 'The Bill'? How many ex EastEnders actors did the episode need.

There were moments that I really enjoyed, Lee Evans was perfect as a mad professor, yet what let the episode down for me was Russell T Davies writing has become like spot the parody - Lara Croft, Mission Impossible, Pitch Black, Thomas Crown Affair, the Fly! I was just left looking forward to Steven Moffat taking over, the series really needs some unexpected twists, scares and excitement injected back into it.

The preview for the next episode looks just bizarre, killer water? Seriously Mr Davies? Killer water? Or is it Waterman - water boarding all who stand in his way.