Doctor Who: A Nightmare in Silver

Doctor: 'The impossible girl. A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, squeezed into a skirt that's just a little bit too tight.'

Well, that'll teach me to get my hopes up. I suppose it was a bit much to expect something equalling the quality of 'The Doctor's Wife', but I expected more than this. It wasn't terrible—but it wasn't overly memorable either. Did Neil Gaiman succeed in making the Cybermen scary again? Not really, no.

Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror

Vastra: 'I was right then, you and Clara have unfinished business.'

When the Paternoster Gang are in town it's always fun and games, but Mark Gatiss excelled himself tonight. This has to have been the high point of the season so far, and what made it so perfect is that it was completely unexpected. Most of us were sat around, biding our time until next week's Neil Gaiman penned episode, yet tonight's offering had everything we could have hoped for: horror, pathos, adventure, humour... sonic screwdriver erection gags.

Doctor Who: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Clara: 'Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this.'

I think your enjoyment of this episode is pretty much dependent on how interesting you find the TARDIS. If you're a fan of Sexy, then there was plenty of good stuff to gnaw on. Outside of the TARDIS stuff, the story was slightly spoiled by the occasional plot contrivance, and an underdeveloped secondary cast, but had some undeniably great moments. And I'm not just talking about Jenna's dress.

Doctor Who: Hide

Doctor: 'I am the Doctor and I am afraid.'

After 'The Rings of Akhaten' I wasn't expecting much from this episode, so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be excellent. At first, I thought we were in for a bog standard Scooby Doo style run around, but somewhere along the way it transformed into a glorious sci-fi/fantasy tale of love lost, love found, mortality and pooper scoopers.

Doctor Who: Cold War

Grisenko: 'I need to know... Ultravox! Do they split up?'

The opening quote pretty much sums up the episode: funny, sometimes clever, often cheesy, occasionally suspenseful, and probably the best Mark Gatiss episode since 'The Unquiet Dead'. (Admittedly, not much of an accolade.) It also had the Doctor kissing a dolly, promising to kiss Professor Grisenko, and Ultravox. Surely the ingredients for a future classic?

Doctor Who - The Rings of Akhaten

Doctor: 'We don't walk away.'

For me, Doctor Who is at its best when it's traversing alien worlds, teaching us about humanity, and telling stories which, although ostensibly other-worldy, resonate with our human hearts. Tonight ticked all three of those boxes, although it wasn't without fault. There's a fine line between homage and derivative. Tonight, I think they occasionally overstepped that line.

Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint John

Doctor: 'Right then, Clara Oswald. Time to find out who you are.'

A typically frantic opening salvo from the pen of Steven Moffat. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the mostly stand-alone nature of the first half of this season, so I was chuffed to see some continuity tonight. Christmas episodes generally stand on their own—but not this year. I think I even cheered when the enemy was revealed. (Albeit discreetly and it sounding like a burp.) Doctor Who's at its best when there's a mystery to be solved, and I'm already loving the detail Moffat's slipping in. The question is: how much of it is relevant?

Being Human: The Last Broadcast

Alex: 'Shit's getting real out there.'

As far as finales go, that was incredible. Just when we thought we were about to get our happy ending, they pulled the rug out from under our feet and sent us sprawling. For fifteen minutes I felt excitement, which turned to weeping, then disappointment, then happiness, then confusion. I think I'm still stuck at confusion. Was this a fitting end to five years of blood, death and long brooding stares? You know, love it or hate it, I think it probably was.

Being Human: No Care, All Responsibility

Rook: 'Close your eyes. Don't look at the monsters.'


I spent the first half of tonight's episode wondering when something was going to happen, and the last half wishing that nothing had. In traditional penultimate episode style, everything went colossally wrong—leaving Toby Whithouse just with 60 minutes to either pull it out of the bag or feel the wrath of my right boot up his arse.

Being Human: The Greater Good

Hal: 'All we are doing is marking time until the inevitable happens.'

Another great character episode, although the season arc itself is a little slow to get going. I guess I keep expecting Captain Hatch to explode in a burst of malevolent madness. Instead, he just sits there, gently picking people off and manipulating others from afar. Not that I'm complaining, it's an effective strategy. The Barry Grand Hotel has a higher mortality rate than Midsomer.

Being Human: Pie and Prejudice

Hal: 'What have you done? You've broken Mary!'

I confess, I wasn't anticipating any stand-alones this season. With the end in sight, and a reduced episode run, I was expecting a mainly story driven final four. So, although initially miffed by the appearance of the seemingly obligatory comedy episode, this actually turned out to be a fascinating character piece. To say Hal killing Larry has thrown a spanner in the works seems like something of an understatement. After over 200 years of lying to Lady Mary, Hal looks set to continue the tradition with his house-mates. This isn't going to end well, is it?

Being Human: Sticks and Ropes

Hal: 'Very well, Thomas. I accept the challenge.'

Now Being Human has been cancelled, I'm finding it difficult to decide what might pass as an appropriate finale. Will they all live happily ever after? Have the new characters had sufficient time to develop so that, in the event of their possible deaths, we'll all feel suitably distraught? If Hal died, I'd definitely miss him. Tom, too probably. Alex, being the relative newcomer, needs some work, but tonight Toby Whithouse did his best to oblige, and thankfully, he did a better job of hanging flesh on Alex's bones than Alex did of playing the organ.

Being Human: The Trinity.

Hal: 'Fill a bowl with boiling water and washing-up-liquid. This is a two sets of Marigolds problem.'

A solid opener to what promises to be Being Human's biggest season yet. Thanks to the rickety economy, we're down to six episodes instead of eight, but this doesn't seem to have diluted Toby Whithouse's ambition. The villains have been getting bigger each season, so it should come as no surprise that this year's big bad is none other than Beelzebub himself. And with Phil Davis on board as Captain Hatch, how can this not be awesome? Well, quite easily, really—but at least we're off to a good start.