My Reviews for Doctor Who (The New Series)

Starting this week, I will be posting a formal review for each of the Doctor Who Episodes beginning with the reign of Christopher Eccleston.  The reviews will be thorough and I will welcome all comments and feedback on my opinions.  New reviews will follow every week and each will follow a common layout and will culminate in an overall rating besing assigned to the episode.  The following outlines the guidelines and sections for each review.

• Story Synopsis – a quick overview for the episode with major plot highlights
• Things I Liked – elements of the episode which added value & distinction
• Things I Didn’t Like - elements of the episode that we could have done without
• Best Lines – The top 3 quotes that we’ll commit to memory going forward
• Overall Rating – On a 5 star basis (1-5) with the following guidelines

          [5] = A true Doctor Who “classic” which leaves the viewer with a strong emotional connection to the story and characters. The show breaks ground for originality or themes.

          [4] = A very strong episode which features a riveting story line, lots of memorable moments and strong acting while offering science-fiction “freshness”.

          [3] = A good episode which maintains or positively advances the Doctor Who canon.  It can utilize a previoulsy explored theme or plot devices as long as the viewer leaves feeling satisfied.

          [2] = An episode which falls short in numerous key areas (plot device, acting, originality, special effects) and leaves the viewer feeling cheated.

          [1] = An episode which just should never have been made.  It is slow, boring or simply features BAD, BAD acting. No redeemable qualities, an episode we’d never want to watch again!

• Episodes can receive a “half-star” in their overall rating rating when appropriate.

A few last thoughts and parameters:

1. I will not compare the new series to the old series in any way other than those things I thought represented positive continuity references or “valentine” elements.
2. I will review each episode in the order in which it was aired, and will not compare episodes from the new series unless I feel that a later episode borrowed too heavily from another, previously shown episode.
3. Music, special effects, costuming & sets will play an important role in all of my reviews. 

Tags: Doctor Who