The Long Game

As a Follow up it isn't the best, or superb. But the action and the story to set up the Finale works wonders. The new human race was an Entertaining introduction and it was amazing to see how it had advanced and progressed in a creative way. The story was progression for Series 4's Finale too in my mind as they used the Daleks, but also the time so they had gotten out of time, this was the episodes biggest strength. And it's a good one.

The characters feel better as side kicks as they atleast have more to do, and work with. They aren't great, but their still interesting and have a decent dynamic.

However the episode is mostly just okay, the pacing was good, but the story did just feel like set up and filler. But it was good at it, and the time elements being taken out and taking it to the future is the exact same as Series 4'S Finale.

Without doubt this is the weakest story of the first season of the DOCTOR WHO relaunch and it's all down to writer/executive producer . Like most episodes written by RTD it has a very good opening hook and a very good closing sequence but in between we have a fairly bad structured and paced story where nothing much happens

The opening revolves around new companion Adam experiencing his first trip into space with humorous results and it's at this point the audience are left rubbing their chins thinking hey this guy might be a really good addition to the Tardis crew but unfortunately as the story progresses it becomes obvious that he's only included to take up some running time and to set up a joke at the end . Likewise the inclusion of both Simon Pegg and Tamsin Grieg seems more like gimmick casting in order to make the episode more memorable than it really is and there's no way you'll believe this story was part of the Bad Wolf running theme . As always Ecclestone's performance as possibly the most callous incarnation of The Doctor is fantastic

Exploration of the manipulation of media in the modern world through 'fake news' controlled by Aliens on a gigantic space station in the year 200,000? Brilliant. Execution is filled with pointless characters. Was Adam wrote for the sake of having his life ruined? Bright moments steady the episode into a decent outing at the mid-point of the season.

A pretty unexciting filler episode which mainly serves as a set up for the story arc which culminates in the final two episodes of series 1.

The plot is that The Doctor, Rose and new companion Adam arrive on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000 where there turns out to be a sinister alien influencing the brainwashed masses. It has similar themes to The Macra Terror and its descendant Gridlock as well as other Doctor Who stories. So there is nothing feeling very original or clever about it and while nothing about it is really bad, it is not brilliantly done either.

The main interesting element is the idea of new companion Adam failing to follow the instructions The Doctor gave him and causing problems which result in him being thrown out and losing his chance to travel with The Doctor any further. I find that idea great and fresh but the rest of the episode is a little bit cheesy in design, not quite convincing enough in plot or dialogue and lacks enough fun or entertainment to lift it above an unremarkable filler.

Simon Pegg who is now a big Hollywood star and who is a fan of the show is good as you might expect but is not used to his full potential in his role as the Editor, I hope he returns to the show in a better role in the future.

This is not awful in any way but it looks rather dull and feels rather dull. It actually feels a little bit too cold like the top floor of the satellite!

An acceptable filler but nothing more than that in my opinion. My least favourite of Series 1.

6.5/10.

In an ironic twist of fate, the best episode of Doctor Who's first season, Dalek, is followed by the weakest, The Long Game. Adding to the crushing sense of disappointment is the fact that the incriminated 45 minutes are written by none other than Russell T. Davies, the man responsible for bringing back the Doctor in the first place.

This time, it all takes place in the year 200,000. The specific location is Satellite Five, the heart of the Fourth and Bountiful Human Empire, an ideal place for Rose's first "date" with new companion Adam (Bruno Langley), who joined our time travelers in the TARDIS after the Van Statten incident. It all looks perfect, which means it obviously isn't: something or someone is blocking every kind of human evolution, effectively enslaving and entire race. The prime suspect is the malevolent Editor (Simon Pegg), but the increasingly deteriorating situation indicates something more serious than one man's machinations have to be behind this. And it's up to the Doctor to save the day. Again.

Normally, Davies' stories are among the best of each season because they're (usually) part of a more complex mythology arc, similar to what Chris Carter conjured on The X-Files. But whereas Carter never wrote an X-Files episode that couldn't be enjoyed without considering the bigger picture, Davies has managed to come up with a story that makes little sense on its own and seems to exist solely to set up a more important story later on in the season. The consequence is that most of The Long Game passes by without leaving anything memorable behind. Only Eccleston, always a gas no matter how silly things get, and Pegg (a huge fan of the show), reversing his slacker image with an OTT but utterly enjoyable villainous turn, save the episode from being a throwaway experience.

6,5/10