(See also: my review of the first half of the season.)

8. Father’s Day — Like almost every episode of the series, this turned out to be much better than the trailer would have had us believe. It takes a sci-fi element — travelling back to when Rose’s father was still alive, and saving his life - and explores what happens, how the other characters react when they realise what’s happened, and what happens (including freaky black monsters, why not) when a small part of history has been changed. I know I wasn’t the only one to get something in my eye towards the end there — this episode was not primarily sci-fi (something which narked some of the diehard fans), but was first rate drama.

9. The Empty Child/10. The Doctor Dances — Absolutely appalling ABC promotion for this story, but I thought it was the best of the whole season. The Empty Child got the top scare rating from the BBC’s panel of kids, and it worked on the adults too, the chilling gas masks, and a suitable amount of mystery over why it was occurring.

11. Boom Town — Groan, not the Slitheens again. After three strong episodes, this one was a bit of a let-down. Most of the episodes have had a strong idea to explore, and in this case it was capital punishment. But it dragged on too long (compare for instance to the topic being dealt with in Genesis of the Daleks, way back in 1975). And the Deus ex machina ending was a bit weak. But happily, the preview for the next episode grabbed me.
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