I haven't vanished. Work has just been rather busy in the run up to Christmas. Reviews will return in the new year.

Hope you all have a merry Christmas!

Episode #231 - Closing Time

"Hello, Stormageddon. It’s The Doctor, here to help. Be quiet. Go to sleep. No, really. Stop crying. You’ve got a lot to look forward to, you know. A normal human life on Earth. Mortgage repayments, the 9 to 5, a persistent nagging sense of spiritual emptiness. Save the tears for later, boyo. Oh, that was crabby. No, that was old. But I am old, Stormy. I am so old. So near the end. But you, Alfie Owens. You are so young, aren’t you? And you know, right now, everything’s ahead of you. You could be anything. Yes, I know. You could walk among the stars. They don’t actually look like that, you know — they are rather more impressive. Yeah! You know, when I was little like you, I dreamt of the stars. I think it’s fair to say, in the language of your age, that I lived my dream. I owned the stage. Gave it a hundred and ten percent. I hope you have as much fun as I did, Alfie."

Episode #231:      Closing Time.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor.
Air Date:               24th September 2011

Craig Owens is having enough trouble trying to care for his child. The last thing he needed was the return of his old friend, the Doctor. And it looks like he's not alone; trouble seems to have once again followed the Doctor to Colchester, with a silvery shine.

Closing Time is a disappointing story. It feels like any instance where the writers ran out of ideas. Rather than be a Cyberman threat story, it's the Doctor trying to stay away from anything interesting but getting caught up in things. The Cybermen are just an afterthought to the Doctor's search for self. Even the return of Craig Owen (last seen in The Lodger) does little to make this a better story.

Another part of what spoils this is the silly elements that the Matt Smith era includes. Things such as being able to speak baby and the shop staff thinking Owen and the Doctor are lovers just doesn't work. It's all too forced and isn't actually funny. It is more cringe worthy than anything. The Doctor Who writers have shown that they can do better this and it makes me wonder how this made it through to completion.

We do get a new form of Cybermat however. The special effects department have given us a creepy new shape complete with real flesh mouth with teeth. A much better upgrade for these than we have seen previously. Again, nice to see something from the classic show making an appearance.

Closing Time is also an episode which is companion lite. Rory and Amy do make an appearance in the episode but they don't interact with the story. Instead it looks like Amy has become model or something, as she is advertising a new perfume -  "Petrichor." Would it have been better with them? I don't think so. There isn't enough going on in the episode already to include them. Nice to see them getting on with their life though.

Ultimately, Closing Time is just another poor attempt at a filler episode. Not the worst the show has had in recent years but another case of could have done better.

Episode #230 : The God Complex

" I can't save you from this. There's nothing I can do to stop this. I stole your childhood and now I've lead you by the hand to your death. But the worst thing is, I knew. I knew this would happen. This is what always happens. Forget your faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain. Because I wanted to be adored. Look at you. Glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me. I'm not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box. And it's time we saw each other as we really are."

Episode #230:      The God Complex.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:               17th September 2011

The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory investigate a hotel of horror where repeat business is low but the body count is high, where a mighty monster stalks the corridors and the rooms hold visions of angels, apes, and creepy clowns. Who — or what — has brought them to this place? Can the Doctor solve the mystery before the residents check out in grisly style?

The God Complex is a much enjoyable and well written adventure than the recent few. It deals with a mysterious hotel which seems to be abducting people from different planets and forcing them to face their fears, which results in their death at the hands of a powerful monster. It is a much more cerebral story but doesn't push it too far. Instead it features just enough weirdness and fun Doctor moments to make it enjoyable.

In The Girl Who Waited we saw character development for Rory and Amy. This adventure gives us some time for the Doctor. It builds upon the foundations that New Who has build with the Doctor being much more aware now of how his adventures affect his companions. He knows that his time is almost over and it is on his mind. He also has to destroy the faith that Amy has in him, much like he did to Ace in the Curse of Fenric, so that he can save her. He knows what his adventures could mean to his companions and at the end of his life he is beginning to understand the threat he is to them. Maybe I care more for the Doctor's character development than for his companions, but it seems to work for me more when it deals with the main hero.

It isn't all doom and gloom however. This episode has a lot of humour as well. David Walliams makes a great appearance as an awkward alien from a world which has been invaded more times than any other in the universe. Even the planet's national anthem is a welcome song to any invading empire.

It is nice to see a tie to a classic episode again. The monster behind this horror mystery is connected to the Nimon faced by the 4th Doctor. I've said it before and I'll probably repeat myself again, but I get a lot more enjoyment out of New Who when it does these little tie ins to the classic show.

Definitely a great episode and one worth watching.

Episode #229 : The Girl Who Waited

"Right, okay, this is big news. This is temporal earthquake time. I'm now officially changing my own future. Hold on to your spectacles. In my past I saw my future-self refuse to help you. I'm now changing that future and agreeing. Every Law of Time says that shouldn't be possible."

Episode #229:      The Girl Who Waited.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:               10th September 2011

The Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams and Amy Pond land on Apalapucia in the middle of a plague. Amy is left behind, and the Doctor and Rory must save her...but time for Amy is running at a different speed.

Every season of modern Doctor Who seems to have that one episode that just doesn't work. In the past we had Fear Her and Love & Monsters, for example. This time around this is that one story. The Girl Who Waited is one of those stories where rather than being action, excitement and strange aliens, it is all about repercussions and choices. The problem is that it doesn't even do it in a good way which is why it doesn't work for me.

Science fiction normally does well when it gives us something to think about. In this case we are looking again at the repercussions of travelling with the Doctor from Rory's point of view. He sees travelling blindly through time and space as dangerous and that the Doctor puts his companions at risk. Unlike previous episodes where we see the repercussions of his travels in this one we don't get the chance to say that what the Doctor did was right or wrong. Everything is seen the point of view of an angry Rory and two versions of Amy separated by thirty odd years.

It is nice character development for Rory after all this time but it lets the episode down being just full of exposition with nothing else to it. It is nice to have a companion who sees things differently than everyone else has. Even Tegan who left because of things that she saw and experienced never failed to see the wonders of time travel. It took me a long time to like the character of Rory and in this episode I go back to how he was he first appeared and I just don't like the portrayal.

Future Amy is also unlikeable in this one. The troupe of the future self who won't save their younger self and has become angry and bitter, is just overdone in science fiction. Amy in this story has become that troupe. It is old and clichéd. It doesn't work and it doesn't do anything to expand her character.

I'm sorry to say that I just don't enjoy this one.

Episode #228 : Night Terrors

"Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire, through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes... and one thing I can tell you, Alex: monsters are real."

Episode #228:      Night Terrors.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              3rd September 2011.

The Eleventh Doctor receives a distress call, bringing him, Amy Pond and Rory Williams to Earth. George is a young boy terrorised by the monsters in his cupboard. Are they imaginary, or are they real?

With Night Terrors the show goes back to the good old horror stories. This one is good but doesn't quite go creepy enough for me. The time travellers get drawn to Earth due by the psychic fears of a little boy to find that all his fears are now "alive" and  hidden in the bedroom cupboard. Most of the story is the set up and it takes too long to get to the scary bits but when it does it's not too bad.

The resolution of the story is a little too much like the Isolus from the episode Fear Her. In fact is almost like the writers couldn't come up with something different. The story worked well enough without needing an alien explanation for the little boy and his fears. The fears themselves would have worked just as well.

It is also another story which just ends. While the story has a resolution it isn't a very satisfying one. Had the set up been swifter and the story given a better ending rather than one which feels rushed I would probably have given it a 4 star rating but as it stands Night Terrors is fairly average.

Episode #227 : Let's Kill Hitler

"Well, I was on my way to this gay gypsy Bar Mitzvah for the disabled when I suddenly thought, "Gosh, the Third Reich's a bit rubbish. I think I'll kill the Führer." Who's with me?"

Episode #227:      Let's Kill Hitler.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, River Song, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              27th August 2011.

In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in Thirties Berlin. The Doctor comes face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler. Old friendships are tested to their limits as the Doctor suffers the ultimate betrayal and learns a harsh lesson in the cruelest warfare of all. As precious time ebbs away, the Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities. And he must succeed before an almighty price is paid.

After a short hiatus the show comes back with a bit of a corker. In this story the Doctor meets Amy's childhood friend Melody who turns out to be a bit of a bad egg. She hijacks the TARDIS and takes them back to kill Hitler. Melody turns out to be a previous incarnation of River Song, one brainwashed to assassinate the Doctor by the Silence. It isn't a particularly serious episode being very much comedic although it does explain a lot of what happened in the previous half of the season.

Outside of the comedy elements, the point of this story really is to explain the back story to the current series from who River Song is and why she is prison, who are the Silence, to the death of the Doctor in the first episode of the season. It's a clever twist and not one that I would have thought of previously. I really enjoy the back story to River Song in this episode. From killer to the Doctor's future lover in one short story.

The episode title is a bit of a ruse really. Hitler only features in about five minutes and spends the rest of it locked in a cupboard.

I won't spoil anything, so it's going to be a short review really, but this story is well worth watching although it probably won't make much sense if you haven't seen the previous episodes/

TW #27 : Miracle Day

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. So many times. And that’s just today. It’s been about seven hundred years since my last confession."

Episode #27:         Miracle Day.
Companions:        Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams and Rex Matheson.
Air Date:              8th July to 9th September 2011.

When C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy, he finds himself unearthing a threat which challenges the entire human race. One day, nobody dies. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next. People keep ageing. They get hurt and sick, but they never die. The populace of the planet dub this "Miracle Day" for the immortality they now seem to have. However, this leads to a negative result: a population boom, overnight. With all the extra people unable to die and continuing births, resources have become limited. It’s suggested that in four months’ time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone must have caused "Miracle Day". It’s a race against time as C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy. The answers lie within an old, secret British institute. As Rex keeps asking “What is Torchwood?", he’s drawn into a world of adventure, and a threat to change what it means to be human, forever.

I have to be very very honest here and just outright say that hated the "Miracle Day" mini-series. Had this been a one off show of it's own unconnected to the Whoniverse I might have enjoyed it more. There is a lot to like really as it features things that I rather enjoy in my science fiction and horror. The story is very dark and nihilistic, and is rather gruesome in some places. It does make you thing about things too. How would you or I react if we woke up tomorrow and these events were playing out?

The problem is that Miracle Day just does not fit into the Whoniverse very well. Other than it being too dark even for Torchwood, it is one of those major events that would have been mentioned before in passing. I know that isn't possible but it feels shoehorned in. I also find it hard to conceive that an event this massive would not have drawn to the Doctor to it. Again, different show, but it is a major event and yet it just stands alone too much. On a side note it is also far too American in style which may also go some way to explain why I have a hard time with it.

Another problem is that the series just ends with a strange swap of immortality between Jack and agent Matheson. So far this has, canonically, gone unresolved and with no new Torchwood on our screens in the foreseeable future I doubt it will ever get resolved.

So what is the big horrible thing at the centre of the Earth between China and South America? How does that fit in with subterranean Silurian cities and the Racnoss at the heart of the planet? Again, we have no revelation and it just feels like the very notion of tying it into the canon has been chucked in the bin.

I really don't have a single good thing to say about this series of Torchwood and I would avoid it if I were you. Pretend it never happened and carry on watching the rest of the Whoniverse.

Episode #226: A Good Man Goes to War

"This was exactly you. All this, all of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name? Doctor: the word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word "doctor" means "mighty warrior". How far you've come. And now they've taken a child. The child of your best friends. And they're going to turn her into a weapon, just to bring you down. And all this, my love... in fear of you."

Episode #226:      A Good Man Goes To War.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, River Pond, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              4th June 2011.

On the asteroid Demon's Run, Amy Pond has given birth. But the villainous Madame Kovarian and the religious order of the silence are waiting to make a collection that tears Amy's world apart. Across the galaxy, the Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams are assembling an army to fight the battle that lies ahead, whilst in Stormcage, River Song prepares to escape for what may be the last time. For this is the battle of Demon's Run. On this day, the Doctor will rise higher than ever and fall so much further, and finally, this is the day he discovers who River Song is.

Where do I start with this story? It is big. Each series of New Who has contained it's own plot line that builds and builds before reaching, hopefully, an awesome finale. A Good Man Goes to War is no different, other than it builds up to this mid-season break and ends on a real corker. A good few plot lines that have been building or hanging get resolved or at least opened up here. Mainly, who the mysterious eye patch lady is, who River Song is and who was the little girl from The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon? Even now I get goose bumps when the revelations come up at the end of this story.

We are introduced to three new characters in this story who become recurring allies of the Doctor. Madame Vastra (a Silurian), her lover/servant Jenny and a Sontaran nurse named Strax. Although not called such on screen, they are known as the  Paternoster Gang (Paternoster Row being the street in Victorian London where they reside). These characters have quickly become fan favourites.

I won't spoil the plot here as I think this is a great episode to watch and learn rather than be told. However, watching it did reveal to me why I think certain stories in New Who work better than most. Part of it is the plot and the excitement they generate but more specifically I think it is the perfect dialogue. Some writers seem to just coast through it sometimes getting those moments of exposition just right, but then you get some who seem to strike the right cord. The quote above is one that gets me every time. We learn so much from that short speech and it opens up our understanding of our beloved Time Lord. River's speech above mirrors, for me, Davros' speech about the Doctor from The Stolen Earth / Journey's End. We all look to the Doctor as a hero or even anti-hero and we see what he does. We give him the big thumbs up but really throughout time and space he has become the cause of so much bloodshed and destruction in order to achieve the desirable outcome. Does the final outcome outweigh the deed that brings them about? For the Doctor we say yes but is that right? These sort of questions make for me the better episodes.

So why then is this a 4 star story not a 5? Well, I'm being resistant I think. The 11th Doctor's adventures, as I have said many many times, has a certain strange fairy tale quality that doesn't always sit well with me. A Good Man Goes to War has those elements and pushes my personal enjoyment down slightly. Had it not featured strange headless monks and space worthy spitfire planes, for example, I might have given it a 5 star rating.

Episode #225: The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People

"I've got to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose! ... I never thought I'd have to say that again!"

Episode #225:      The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              21st to 28th May 2011.

The Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams visit an acid-mining factory. A solar storm hits the factory, turning the workers' gangers into self-aware individuals. The Doctor must mediate between the original workers and their rebellious gangers.

The basic premise of the adventure is that the TARDIS lands on Earth in the 22nd century, some time before the Dalek invasion I would guess or maybe a few decades after. Humans now use a living material called the Flesh to work in hazardous conditions. When a solar storm and a few other calamities strike the Flesh come to life and decide that they will no longer be slaves. From there it takes on a nice horror feel with some unnatural flesh warping and form shifting.

When I first watched this two part story I was not all that impressed. It seemed like a very dull story that only had my interest because of a slight horror vibe. Watching them for the second time in preparation for this review I actually enjoyed the episodes a lot more. I still don't think they are that great but mainly because it feels like too much has been pushed into the story and it is padded out far too much.

Ultimately the story is simply one of differences and overcoming them. Nothing new to science fiction and I think is why the story doesn't really work for me. It is a troupe that has been done to death in almost every modern science fiction show since Star Trek first aired. I like something a little more well thought out and emotional. It is also another one that exists simply to set up the following adventure.

Episode #224: The Doctor's Wife

"I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough."

Episode #224:      The Doctor's Wife.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              14th May 2011.

The Eleventh Doctor receives a message from an old Time Lord friend. The message brings him, Rory Williams and Amy Pond to another universe where they meet an alien who eats TARDISes.

One of the better and more enjoyable stories of the 11th Doctor. Having received a message from another Time Lord, the Doctor and his companions find themselves trapped in a pocket universe with an asteroid monster that feeds on the Artron energy. The TARDIS itself is forced into a human body and her and the Doctor must rescue Amy and Rory, recover the TARDIS and escape back into the real universe.

What makes this story so good is the interaction between Idris (the TARDIS) and the Doctor. Famed author Neil Gaiman does such a magnificent job with this story. We get some great back story from Idris about who exactly stole who on Gallifrey all those years ago. The only thing that prevents me from giving this story a 5 star rating is that I just don't like the villain nor the chase sequence through the TARDIS. I dislike it enough that I can't give this one more than 4 stars.

Back in the SJA episode Lost in Time, there is a character who has been canonically named as the Corsair, and he (or she) is mentioned in this one. Now definitely deceased. In passing the Doctor mentions that the Corsair was once a female which has kicked off the silly (in my opinion) idea that Time Lords can regenerate into different genders. I don't like that idea myself.

There is a lot to like in this episode and it certainly goes on my list of episodes that everyone should watch.

Episode #223: The Curse of the Black Spot

"Okay, groovy. So you're just not pirates today — we've managed to bag us a ship with a demon popping in. Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you."

Episode #223:      The Curse of the Black Spot.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              7th May 2011.

The TARDIS is marooned on board a 17th century pirate ship whose crew is being attacked by a mysterious and beautiful sea creature. Becalmed and beset by cabin fever, the pirates have numerous superstitious explanations for the Siren’s appearance. The Eleventh Doctor has other ideas, but as his theories are disproved and every plan of escape is thwarted, he must work to win the trust of the implacable Captain Henry Avery and uncover the truth behind the pirates’ supernatural fears — and he must work quickly, for some of his friends have already fallen under the Siren's spell.

This adventure returns us to the old style historical story with a science fiction twist. It is quite cool to have a story set on an old sailing vessel rather than some historical manor house or the like, and the idea of the siren fits nicely. Unfortunately it is one of those stories where the first half, set on the ship, works really well but the second half falls a bit flat. The reveal isn't great though. I think that the final twist to the plot could have had more impact.

The main real historical character is captain Henry Avery, a captain who vanished mysteriously in 1696. He is also referenced in the 1st Doctor adventure The Smugglers. The writer of this episode didn't know of that reference and only used Avery because of his historical disappearance.

We have another appearance of the mysterious eye patch lady who seems to be watching Amy Pond. There is also a mystery that Amy is and isn't pregnant at the same time.

I am giving this episode an average 3 rating because while I don't find it the most interesting adventure, it is another example of what I expect from the modern show.

Episode #222: The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon

"Safe? No! Of course you're not safe! There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world, but if you want to pretend you're safe just so you can sleep at night, then, OK, you're safe. But you're not really."

Episode #222:      The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, River Song, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              23rd to 30th April 2011.

Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song and the Eleventh Doctor receive a mysterious summons that takes them on an adventure to 21st century Utah and Florida in 1969. Along the way they meet Richard Nixon, president of the United States of America, and former FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III.

With this story the newest series kicks off with an excellent adventure. It begins the adventures that deal with the mysterious "Silence". These were first referenced in the 11th Doctor's first adventure, The Eleventh Hour, with the phrase "Silence will fall". These aliens resemble tall, thing creatures reminiscent of Grey aliens from UFO lore. At this time we don't learn a lot about them other than they seem to be everywhere in 1969 Earth and that no one can remember them unless they are looking directly at them.

We are also introduced abut very briefly to the mysterious eye patch lady who plays a bigger part at the end of the series. Her appearance her opens up some intriguing questions (assuming you haven't seen the later episodes).

Another reference we have goes back to the previous season with an episode called The Lodger. the mysterious time ship on the roof either reappears or there is at least another one. A nice tie in to connect the series.

There is a lot of strange cross time line elements to this story, mainly dealing with the Doctor and his companions trying to stop his death sometime in 2011 at the hands of a mysterious astronaut who is also present in 1969. It works in this story as the writers have taken the opportunity to make sure everything fits together. As a future element we also learn that Amy is pregnant.

I really enjoy this one because other the very beginning it keeps a steady pace of action and adventure going all the way to the end. It also has a nice science fiction horror vibe that works spot on. A sort of alien psychological horror I would call it.

The final culmination to the story is really rather inspired and, at least in myself, generated a very exciting sensation. In some elements this adventure could be better but I have no real grumbles about it. Very well done.

Episode #221 : Space & Time

"Oh, so this is how it all ends, Pond flirting with herself. True love at last."

Episode #221:      Space / Time.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              18th March 2011.

The Eleventh Doctor is doing repairs on the TARDIS with Rory Williams' help, but thanks to Amy Pond they make a mistake that could leave them trapped in the TARDIS forever.

This was a special episode created for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief back in 2011. Although created as a bit of fun for the show it has been accepted as canonical to the show. The story is simply that the Doctor and Rory are making repairs to the TARDIS in flight but something goes wrong when Rory looks up and see's up Amy's skirt through the glass floor above, and pulls the wrong cable out. There follows some comical time travel high jinks as they use the temporal situation to tell their future selves how to fix the problem. Despite the potential paradoxes they fix the situation and get under way.

I love these little filler episodes because it condenses down well and in this case is genuinely funny. It holds the fun elements that younger viewers enjoy but also contains enough disguised rude elements to have the teenagers and adults laughing along.

As the whole thing rocks in at under 9 minutes there isn't much more to say than enjoy this slice of Doctor Who fun.

Episode #220: A Christmas Carol

"Nobody important? Blimey, that's amazing. You know that in nine hundred years of time and space and I've never met anybody who wasn't important before."

Episode #220:      A Christmas Carol.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Air Date:              25th December 2010.

Amy Pond and Rory Williams are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way the Eleventh Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?

The 2010 Christmas special is rather a let down to me. The story, as given away by the title, is based very loosely upon Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol. By it's self this isn't a bad idea but the implementation and the all to silly fairy tale elements spoil it. Flying fish and a giant flying shark? Good grief!

Even the time travel elements of the story contradict everything we've been told over the previous four decades. Once part of established events you can't go back and make changes but yet this is exactly what this episode consists of. The Doctor rewrites Sardick's memories by altering the events of his past. The Blinovich Limitation Effect is also ignored when the older and younger Sardick's interact with one another. I know that sometimes you have to let things slide in order to make a story work but these are big no no's in my mind.

Some elements, such as on board the space liner, do feel reminiscent of classic era sets and uniforms. In that regard I get some enjoyment out of the episode but the story is a real let down. Especially the reference to being Christmas. A Christmas special doesn't need to be set at Christmas, as I have said before. Attempting to do A Christmas Carol though does give it some bonus points though.

There isn't a lot to like in this episode to be fair. The pacing is wrong and the inclusion of the fairy tale elements, plus that it just ends, just leaves me disappointed with what could have been a good episode. My apologies for this being a rather negative review (and I would love to read your opinions) but this is probably the worst of the worst for Christmas specials.

SJA #24 : Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith

"That's my stomach and it's hungry for your soul!"

Episode #24:        Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith.
Companions:        Sarah Jane Smith, Mister Smith, Rani Chandra, Clyde Langer and Luke Smith.
Air Date:              15th to 16th November 2010.

Sarah Jane has begun developing a form of dementia, and she realises that her ability to defend the Earth is diminishing. She must now hand over the task to surer hands. A seemingly suitable replacement, Ruby White, has arrived on Bannerman Road, but can she be trusted?

The end of the current series and it is one of the more disappointing episodes. Essentially it revolves around Sarah Jane becoming unwell and having to hand her responsibilities over to another who turns out to be a alien masquerading as another "Sarah Jane" in order to devour the Earth. Had the character of Ruby made appearances previously in the season it might have worked but just coming in one story doesn't make her believable. The story also doesn't feature any real action and it's absence makes the story just seem to drag.

The problem is that recently there have been some good episodes and this is another, that yet again, could have been better just be adding Ruby into some prior episodes this season. Laying the groundwork as it were.