Ok, I'm feeling somewhat unsure, I'm definitely going to give it a second viewing before I vote, but here are my general thoughts after seeing it.
I just didn't like it very much. I didn't see it as 'laughable', but I did feel bad about the structure of the episode and the way it was handled. It just seemed very rushed, very flabby and very, very random. Several concepts and events were brought up and just rushed over, explaining very little. I remember something about bees being alien and them giving off some sort of signal and Harriet Jones and Co somehow getting the whole world to phone the Doctor and Dalek Caan saving Davros. There were just so many vague aspects that I had to take in, and the problem with the episode is that it was just fast paced and hurried and action packed all the way through.
There were no quiet intervals, no time to think, nothing in the episode that was actually thought-provoking. It wasn't scary at all, just fast. I knew that Davros and the Daleks were coming back, there was no surprise element at all. It was just over crammed with references and past character, as though RTD has sat there looking over his old scripts and thought "hmm I'll 'ave that and that, this can be slipped in somewhere, oh wonderful I'll shove that in as well and I'll put all of these characters in". Again, there was no breathing space to allow me to take in what each companion was doing, what references were made, what was going on and what the characters were thinking. I could barely fathom any of it because everything was going at a lightening fast pace.
With 'Turn Left', I could empathize with the character's feelings, because they were portrayed so well in the crisis. In this heap, we didn't see any of that. We didn't see how other people were being affected, their terror, their feelings, apart from the 10 second bit where the one family tried to rebel.
Rose really got on my tits in this episode. Again she's being treated like some sort of old flame, and her pining came back. "Oh what about me? Don't you love me?" and all that shit. I was so glad that the Doctor was shot down mid-clinch, I was really ready to get angry when I saw them making for eachother's arms. Why oh why can't the Doctor get over Rose? Oh, and slight goof here, the Dalek shot the Doctor dead, why didn't he shoot Rose when she rushed over and dragged him to the TARDIS? Did the Dalek think "Ah sod it, she's bent over and I like her arse, I'll leave her be".
So that's what I didn't like, here are some of the things I did like.
Davros. Truly magnificent. He looked and sounded awesome, and it certainly was pleasant watching his encounter with the Doctor, the only such scene that truly gripped me in this episode.
The Daleks. Same old really, but still very fun to watch, and I also loved the "my vision is NOT impaired! Weren't expecting that, were you? Suck on that, ass hole!" as was Dalek Caan. He was interesting to say the least, but what bothered me is the way he was supposed to have 'lost his mind'. I thought the Daleks already had lost their mind. I thought they were driven insane with fear and claustrophobia and hatred, I'm not sure I can see how a Dalek can deteriorate any further, especially into that.
The acting. All the acting was convincing as ever, and Wilfred was, again, a joy to see. I admit I found the short comic exchanges between him and Sylvia delightful.
Paul O'Grady. Ok, it wasn't really important or vital, but I thought it was a delightful cameo. I
PO'G.
The ending, simply for shock factor and effect as a cliff hanger, I really cannot wait to see what happens to him.
So that's it. It had some redeeming features, but overall I felt that this episode was just very, very messy. I'm going to watch it again tomorrow, maybe it will be clearer. There were, to be fair, a lot of people in the room talking when I was trying to watch, so maybe my concentration wasn't all there, but we'll see. I can see this has been a popular one, so you're all free to shoot this review down and rebut it.
That's my 2 pence.