Doctor Who: The Almost People (2)

Doctor: 'Would you like a Jelly Baby?'

Matthew Graham has definitely gone up in my estimations. I liked this episode a lot. Admittedly, it had a few problems—the dialogue was occasionally clunky, the CGI predictably rubbish, and there was far too much telling rather than showing. ('Who are the real monsters?')—but these are minor gripes in what was, an otherwise, event laden episode. And now that we know who died back in episode one, the question must surely be: what has happened to Amy?

Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh (1)

Doctor: 'Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?'

Matthew Graham's first effort at a Doctor Who script ('Fear Her') was an anomaly in that, despite Graham's impeccable writing pedigree, it was absolute tosh. No writer, no matter how talented, can pull off a scribble monster. True, the minuscule (some may say non-existent) visual effects budget didn't help matters—but it was still pretty bad. Thankfully, tonight's episode went a long way toward making amends. It wasn't perfect, but I didn't herniate myself from weeping at it either—which is always a bonus.

Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife

Idris: 'Oh, my beautiful idiot. You've got what you've always had. You've got me.'

It's virtually impossible for me to criticise tonight's episode, as I loved every last minute of it. Let's face it, expectations over this episode were impossibly high. Once word got out that Neil Gaiman was on the writing team, fans have talked about little else. Recipient of numerous prestigious writing awards (Hugo, Bram Stoker and Nebula, to name but a few), Gaiman's a doyen of the fantasy fiction genre. Add Moffat to the mix, and it's a Marvel Team-Up made in heaven. I didn't think anything could eclipse 'The Girl in the Fireplace', 'Blink' or 'Vincent and the Doctor', but I was wrong. Tonight's episode pipped them all.

Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot

Doctor: 'Ignore all my previous theories.'

Tonight's episode was a serviceable, if lightweight, yarn which saw the Doctor, Amy and Rory take to the high seas, swash some buckles, and wade through just about every pirate cliché in the book. There was a mutiny, a stowaway, a storm, mad pirate laughter, some booty (of the non-arse variety), and more pirate lingo than you could shake a stick at. The only thing missing was a parrot. Add to the mix a spaceship, a sick bay, and a virtual doctor, and you've pretty much got your plot. It's just a shame tonight's episode followed on from last week's mind-bending WTF-a-rama. Comparatively, it felt a little ordinary.

Doctor Who: Day of the Moon (2)

The Doctor: 'You're building me the perfect prison. And it still won't be enough.'

Calling this a two-parter is perhaps something of a misnomer. We've had two parts, granted, but was anything truly concluded? Virtually all of our questions were left unanswered. Sure, they managed to defeat the Silence (although I'm pretty sure that's not the last we'll see of them), but what exactly is going on? And then the little girl started to regenerate and, suddenly, I found myself grinning from ear to ear. What a turn up for the books. What a cliff hanger. Actually... just, WHAT?!

Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut (1)

Doctor: 'I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool.'

It must be hard for any show to live up to the pre-season hype. They're always promising bigger, better, weirder, more satisfying story lines. Of course, it's usually just talk. Maybe they're too close to the project to be truly objective, or more likely, they feel obligated to big-up the show to the size they hope it will be. So what are we to make of Steven Moffat's 'it's the Doctor's darkest hour' and 'it's going to be a real game changer' pre-season spiel? Should we write it off as mere rhetoric designed to get our fantasy/scifi juices flowing, or will there actually be some substance to the Moff's grandiose promises?

Doctor Who: Space and Time (Comic Relief Special)

Amy: “Okay kids, this is where it gets complicated.”

Sound familiar? It should do. It was the same line Amy used in last year's season finale. This year, instead of a Children in Need special, we got a Comic Relief special. Same idea, same station, roughly the same length, just a different charity. Same wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey goodness, though. And two Amy Ponds! Be still my beating heart.

Being Human: The Wolf-Shaped Bullet

Mitchell: 'Thank you, all of you. You made me human.'

What an exceptional season finale. I watched with five friends, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. As far as emotional punches go, tonight's episode was brutal. At one point, it looked as though Whithouse would press the reset button. He didn't, and I applaud him for that. Unfortunately, we're now a cast member down—unless, as well as entering houses unbidden, the Old Ones know how to bring people back from the dead. I'm clutching at straws, I know.

Being Human: Though the Heavens Fall

Herrick: “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

With Herrick back from his sojourn in la-la land, the body count tonight was freakishly high. Standard penultimate episode etiquette dictates that, come the closing credits, at least one main character must be either dead, seemingly dead or dying. Tonight, Toby Whithouse chose Nina as his sacrificial lamb. I was so shocked by what happened to her that I actually tweeted Sinead Keenan to express my concern. In case anyone's wondering, Sinead's fine. Nina... less so.

Being Human: Daddy Ghoul

George Senior: “I came back from the dead for you, Ruth. How many men can manage that?"

Tonight's episode saw George and Nina take a break from the increasingly bizarre goings on at Honolulu Heights, and take a road trip back home. This was essentially George's "coming out" episode. Not that anyone noticed. After meeting George's parents, it's easy to see why he is the way he is -- yet, his family's prosaism is what makes them so special. It also probably explains why he left.

Being Human: The Longest day

Nina: “What's your manager's number, Wendy? I'm going to unleash a shit-storm!”

Things are looking decidedly bleak for Mitchell. The sins of the past two seasons are catching up with him. Herrick's back and living in the attic, Nina's knows about Mitchell's part in the box tunnel massacre, George is threatening to disown him -- there was only Cara who seemed vaguely pleased to see him... right before she committed suicide. It's like all of Mitchell's nightmares are coming true. Let's hope he doesn't hear about The Real Hustle being fake or it'll be curtains. There's only so much a man can take.

Being Human: The Pack

McNair: “You spilt my boy's blood. So I'm going to spill yours.”

After the relative lightness of the past two weeks, tonight's episode turned the chuckles down low and cranked up the drama. It's a testament to the show's quality that even the stand-alones this season have been excellent -- with each instalment an improvement on the last. Tonight's story saw McNair and Tom finally meet potential pack mates George and Nina. Sadly, instead of creating harmony, it brought violence, revelations and grief. The wolves totally kicked arse tonight. Could McNair really take Mitchell in a fight? I'm guessing we'll find out before the season's over. My money's on Mitchell.

Being Human: Type 4

Sasha: “Live Annie. Seize the day.”
Annie: “I will.”

Despite being mostly a stand-alone, tonight's episode had surprising depth. Sasha and Graham provided the perfect comedy foils for Mitchell and Annie. I'm not sure who was the most messed up: fanboy Siddion, or Sasha the chavalanche zombie. (Mentally, that is. Physically, Sasha wins hands down.) Sasha's dying words had a profound effect on Annie and Nina. Her carpe diem swansong forced them to reassess their choices and re-evaluate their relationships. For Mitchell, Graham's death was perhaps less of an epiphany. The shadow of his past still looms large -- and if that closing shot of Graham's scrapbook was anything to go by, Mitchell's past atrocities won't stay hidden for long.