[Ronnie Rowlands]

Well for a start, there was the way that the story was made up of two parts. It's not *about* the Doctor, as such, and yet it was all about him, life without him, how things transpire. I thought Catherine Tate gave an absolutely sterling performance. The story is about entirely about her. Usually Doctor-Lite episodes are also without companions but this centered on Donna. She really had her chance to shine. I thought it was a brilliant way of telling us how important the Doctor is, and very thought provoking with the choices and how they affect life, it really made me think about that sort of thing.

Ok, I will admit that the premise was all a bit rushed. They were on another planet, and yet there was oriental writing everywhere, like it was in China. The whole beetle stuff was not very well explained, and the ending was a bit rushed. The Doctor didn't seem to think much about 'Bad Wolf', and yes, it was a bit silly for him to suddenly say "Badwolf? Oshitz end of universe".

The sense of dread and bleakness was very well conveyed. The more dread and bleakness you have in a story set on earth, the more you think about it, and I like stories that make me think. It really showed a believable way that people would react. The optimists making the best of it, but the knowing that they are actually helpless is such a sad thought. They are just sitting around and "letting the army deal with it", but even they don't know what the hell to do. It's scary. Again, it's the making you think. Can you imagine the helplessness of being in that sort of situation?

There was a lot of mystery about it,and I felt that Rose excelled in this episode. She was no longer the whining, moaning thicko who pined for the Doctor, but was now mysterious and clever, she knows everything that Donna does not, and again, Tate, being such a fantastic actress, showed her confusion realistically. How would you react if some strange blond was following you around and knowing everything about you and your future?

My only other criticism is that we didn't know much of the villain. Yes, we know the Trickster was involved. But to have the Doctor meet him and thrash it out with him would have been entertaining. RTD would have had the opportunity to make a more clear explanation of what was happening had he been given the time, but hey, the centerpiece of the story is life without the Doctor. I will admit that the beginning and end were somewhat hasty.

Great performances from everyone involved, (and hey, did anyone notice that the fortune teller was Chantho from Utopia?). Cribben's acting as the italians were taken away was heartbreaking and brilliant to watch, and seeing Donna's mum cave in from her loud, feisty personality really conveyed the effects of the events, the contrast was outstanding.

This story was dark and frightening, so I don't understand... isn't this what the Doctor Who fans want, after all?

I challenge anybody try and find me an old school episode with this much realism and bleakness and accuracy of our behavior.

There's, your list, Kody. Your serve.