Two Guys, A Decade and the Doctor

181B. (2.13) Doomsday

After 2 seasons, 1 regeneration, 3 other male companions, Daleks, Cybermen, Slitheen

and Lady Cassandra, we say good bye to Rose. The pitched battle between the Daleks and

and the Cybermen seems almost minor compared to the instance of Rose being sucked away to

the parallel Earth, forever seperated from the Doctor. We've have some heart wrenching moments

over the past two season, but the final few scenes of this episode take the prize. Even after all these

years, I still get choked up watching the scene on the beach. It just breaks my heart. And despite

Rose having reunited her family with Jackie, Pete and Mickey, life without the Doctor is just not the

same. The emotion painted across David Tennant's face in the last scenes makes you cry with him.

Never before have we seen such emotion on a Doctor's face with the departure of a companion.

Even the death of Adric didn't ilicit such a reaction. And for the first time since the beginning of the

new show, the Time Lord is alone again. That is until the Runaway Bride pops into the TARDIS.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_(Doctor_Who)

Welcome to the Torchwood Institute! After a season of teasing, much like Bad Wolf last season, we get full frontal Torchwood. After Queen Victoria founded it, Torchwood has been running all along obtaining alien technology and using it for the British Empire. I remember at the time, being very excited about it but wondering how they co-existed with UNIT all these years. Yvonne Hartley was a wonderful villainess with lots of cute boys at her disposal. Freema Ageman was lovely as Adeola but more on her later. The initial premise of ghosts coming back was a neat tease for the big return of the Cybermen from the other universe invading ours. And we get a CyberLeader again with black handle bars! Mickey pops back up in our universe to save Rose again and he's got an attitude. But its the cliffhanger that's the best ever- the Dales emerging from the Void Ship! This promises of a showdown between the Daleks and the Cybermen has been every fan boys dream for over 40 years.

TO BE CONTINUED!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Ghosts

180.(2.11) Fear Her

I don't get this story. It's my least favorite of the season. It's cute to see the Doctor running in the future 2012 Olympics. Engineering a situation that removes the Doctor from the canvas and leaves Rose to save the day allows Billie to carry the story. The foreboding ending also foreshadows the doom that is to come.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_Her

179. (2.10) Love & Monsters

Another new tradition to begin this season is the "Doctor-lite" episode. While this story is all about the Doctor, he and Rose actually are feature quite little in it. And that is its brilliance. The guest cast are fantastic with Elton carrying the story. Jackie Tyler also gets the spotlight and you feel the loss that Rose's absence has caused her. It's quirky little story that's a nice pick-me-up for the season.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_%26_Monsters

178B. (2.9) The Satan Pit

The Devil made me do it! While they don't clearly state if it is indeed the Devil, it certainly is an ancient and evil entity that may well be older than the universe itself. And regardless of what it's called, it is evil incarnate. The genius casting of Gabriel Woolf as the voice of the Devil, who also played Suhtek in the classic series, creates a very old and deep resonance. The closing line of the story, that the Doctor and Rose are the stuff of legends, is strangely foreboding. The fact that this was David Tennant's and Billie Piper's actual final scene adds an emotional undercurrent that runs so deep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satan_Pit

178A. (2.8) The Impossible Planet

The Doctor and Rose are stranded on a planet poised on the edge of a Black Hole. The alien Ood are reciting in chorus warnings from something evil beneath the planet. People are getting picked off one by one. And by the end of part one, we're lead to believe the devil was returning....

TO BE CONTINUED

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Impossible_Planet

177. (2.7) The Idiot's Lantern

Mark Gatiss' contribution to this season is another modern classic that shows the fun and the peril in equal shares. Rose in 1950's garb is a treat set against the backdrop of the Queen's coronation. The concept of an alien monster living inside the television is brilliant. But it's the family dynamic of young Tommy, his mum and his dad that is the heart of the story. Except for poor Mr. Magpie, no one dies and we have a happy ending.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idiot%27s_Lantern