Some of the episodes have been fine - Blink, for instance, was so good it was even praised by Charlie Brooker.

But the last two, I agree, were pretty ppor. Even without Catherine Tate (much).

but join in here anyways

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/has-dr-who-jumped-shark

and judging by his first minute or so,and the trailer shown after Eastenders, I think Matt Smith is going to be great.

yes

as Gavin and Stacey.

I don't mean that quite as unkindly as it sounds, but it quoid lidderally is "for kids"

I've seen a couple of episodes with Eccleston and a couple with Tennant and I thought it was meretricious nonsense, big budgets thrown at it to cover up its absurdity. Nothing wrong with absurdity, you may say, and I'd agree; I just think Doctor Who is No Bloody Good. A sacred cow. Not for me.

...given that David Tennant appears to have been replaced by the 25 year old Tommy Cooper...

And appropriately enough he did seem to regenerate 'just like that'. and then start goofing around. it's uncanny...

understood it's appeal. I have a recollection of watching the Tom Baker version but we've only watched bits since it was re-invented and it hasn't grabbed me or the kids.

cos your name is so, so close.....

I decided that I didn't like it because it seemed to invariably climax with actors staring wide-eyed in horror at some nameless dread just beyond the viewer's eyeline. I've caught a few minutes of various diferent episodes from time to time over the years since and invariably seen EXACTLY THE SAME THING.

Overall it's been one of the best things on TV in recent years, and most of the stories have been highly entertaining. But it's for the best that Russel T Davies is moving on. He has become too fond of the big blockbuster approach in which the Universe is threatened with extinction, and the David Tennant finale was one of the weakest we've seen - way over the top with a comic book performance by John Simm. And the last twenty minutes was dreadful, self-indulgent hash. Hopefully Stephen Moffat will take it in a new direction - smaller scale, more intense stories that are genuinely scarey. We'll have to wait and see what Matt Smith can do in the lead role, but I'm glad they didn't give the part to a name actor who would have brought the baggage of previous high profile roles with him.

Production values are great - none of your wobbly sets and dogdy costumes which were a feature of the 70's. But the story lines are just poor - the last one I watched was that one on the far flung planet with the crew turning into zombies - just thought it was poor.

Drama wise - I enjoyed Cranford and even the Triffids - though I though the latter had a weak ending.....

this is a review of TV programme you slept through then, I to find plots hard to follow when I'm unconscious.

Seems to a lot of ire here for a programme which has a great deal of heart, that aspires to all the things people here bang on about (good acting, original writing, humour, tension). It has imaginative stories and ideas, tries hard to be scary without being horrific. It has never claimed to be anything other than a family show having enough about it to entertain adults who are awake but more than enough to fire in our case several hours of imaginative play from my nephews afterwards.

I understand if people are tired of the hype I'm sick of seeing David Tennant raising an eyebrow on every media outlet but the show still has a great deal going for it. Tennant's over exposure is partly due to the dearth of other talent around to hog the magazine covers and panel shows.

There's plenty of dross on TV to inspire grumpy old man rants but Dr Who is poor and unworthy target for this vitriol, if only all programmes where so carefully written, directed, designed etc.

... I hoped it might be more than just a cut-price episode of "Grumpy Old Men". It is, but too rarely.

You can like it, dislike or care neither way: that's an opinion. You can highlight good or bad writing, photography, effects, acting, storylines etc. But "a bit rubbish?" That's got to be the ultimate put down: if I was involved in it, I'd want people to say it was absolute rubbish or really good. Not "a bit rubbish."

I thought the last 10 minutes were sentimental tosh but the preceding hour was very good entertainment. And some of the acting, especially Bernard Cribbins, was top drawer. And speaking as one whose watched the Doctor since the 60's (albeit hiding behind the sofa) I have to say I think David Tennant has been the best Doctor ever: I shall miss him in the part.

I watched the very first series of Dr Who. Didn't like it then, don't like it now and never liked it in between. BUT... I know plenty of people who do, so, as with opera and cricket, I regard not liking it as my loss.

Let's not take it too seriously. I think some eps have been great and I always watch it, but the two-parter wasn't very engaging.

Matt Smith will be interesting to watch.

Never been the same since Katy Manning left.
Now that's what I call an assistant!
Even the Daleks fancied her.

..but like a lot of his comedy writing, it was strangely reminiscent of something that had been done before . This outrageously politically incorrect comedy sketch about Daleks as a minority group had been done by a much greater comedy talent 10 years before Lewis's version:

Not in the U.K. so not overexposed....I would love to see more David Tennant. I am nearly 50(yikes!) and Tom Baker was my favorite doctor until Eccleston and Tennant came along. Until this two-parter we in the U.S. have seen everything months later than you. I have thoroughly enjoyed David Tennant's run as the doctor; his joie de vivre and sense of humor. I do not see Dr. Who as just a show for children -the story lines are often clearly commentaries on modern life and politics and much of the dialogue would be over the heads of many of the watching children. Maybe it is easier to dismiss if you see it as just an everyday thing. For me, the return of Doctor Who has been a wonder. I am sad to see David go, but am not giving up on the show - I know what a good writer Stephen Moffitt is.

Then you must be very young or have never watched it years ago when we were subjected to the likes of sylvester McCoy and Peter Davidson. Anything and everything that the revamped Dr WHo has produced since those days is a hundred fold improvement.

I've read all of these posts with eclectic interest and I've enjoyed arguements from both sides. The debate has compelled me to justify my thoughts further...

1) I was exaggerating a little when I said I fell asleep, though I did struggle to stay awake and did drift in and out of consciousness (perhaps as a result of Christmas over indulgence). However I watched the first part on Christmas Day and the majority of the second part, so I do still feel justified with my 'a bit rubbish' opinion. The fact is that in both episodes I saw a lot of 'mock drama' (ie drama which was supposed to be there, and was heavily suggested to be there, but in-fact, wasn't).

2) I absolutely accept that Tennant and Cribbins are first class actors and that the rebooted Doctor Who isn't as 'a bit rubbish' as the earlier incarnations. But when I say a bit rubbish I'm not talking about the acting or the non wobbly sets - I'm talking about the overall 'in your face', 'isn't this epic' 'how good is this!' production values which are far too over the top and which are forced down the viewers necks. I accept it is primarily aimed at kids, but I fear there was more then a bit of overkill which just spoilt it. The sad fact is that, not matter how hard I tried (pretty hard considering that everyone else in my household considers it to be 'essential') there was nothing in it to maintain my interest. The same story could have been told in half of the time a d would probably have been more dramatic and exciting as a result.

Just my opinion!

Cheers!!

...that it's managed to immunise several generations into accepting a flagrant tautology without getting annoyed about it: 'exterminate'.

So... if Russell T comes back to the helm if his Hollywood thing doesn't work out, does that mean his involvement in the show will have been ex-terminated?

And, frankly, isn't that (pleasingly) exactly the sort of too-clever-by-half, say-it-all-quickly-in-the-script-so-that-nobody-has-time-to-notice-it's-ridiculous kind of paradoxy nonsense Russell T has been throwing at the viewing public increasingly in the last couple of series?

I'm not really a Dr Who buff, but I suppose I've seen most of the episodes since the Eccleston revamp (quite a career trajectory that: 'Guitar Magazine' teaboy to Emap Metro Supreme Roving Editor to time-travelling planet saver! ;-D ) and enjoyed many of them as diverting TV fun - until the last series, when it all got too pretentious and pseudo-portentous. and annoying.

sadly - for I'm as much in need of diverting harmless fun as anyone else - I don't think I'll bother watching the next series.

rewarded the stayers. If you just dip in here and there you can come up with some awful rot. It's the lesser part of the series, but there it is.

For the stayers, one of Davies' greatest achievements is sustaining story arcs over each series. Sidestepping the odd clunker, the odd one-off, each run has contained a thread of some sort, ratcheting up the drama at every reveal. I'm thinking of Bad Wolf in series 1, the leaking universes in 2, the fobwatch in 3, disappearing planets in 4 - obviously it all sounds like hokum when you list it, but I'm a fanboy and each development has been exciting.

Just as crucial is the show's emotional core, its reflections on loss and guilt. It has heart and Tennant exemplified this.

And even if you don't meditate on the serious elements, it's a barrel-load of fun.

(I've got a bit fed up with "This must mean the END OF THE UNIVERSE", mind you. Drama can come in miniature, you know.)

Dr Who is BIGTIME RUBBISH!!!
I used to think David Tennant was a pretty good actor (see 'Blackpool', for instance), but, as the not-so-good doctor, he uses one facial expression - a wide eyed grimace!
Admittedly, I've never watched an episode.
The clips that get shown, apparently designed to pull you in, have always put me off.
But, in every clip, preview or TV advert, no matter how brief, there's been Tennant, making that stupid face.
I hope, now that he's free to pursue other projects, he hasn't forgotten how to really act.
Or, maybe, he can just live very nicely, thank you, on his piece of the merchandising royalties (even his doll is making that face!).
I mean, OK, I can see why kids like it (although, these days, I'd expect more sophistication even from them), but for it to have the fanatical following it has and the artistic merit it's been granted is just one more example of the rapidly sliding attention span and intellect of the general populace.
Sorry...yaaawwwwn...more like Dr WhoCares???