The Long Game

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.

Although this episode has an interesting premise and Simon Pegg steals the show, it is ruined for me by the sheer stupidity and annoying nature of Adam Mitchell. I'm glad they got rid of him. It's a good episode that's could have been better.

This is by far my favourite episode of Season 1 of Dr Who for several reasons.

First of all, it steers clear of clichés, something that the creative teams behind "World War Three" and similar atrocities could learn from. Rose Tyler isn't her usual helpless self either and, sparingly, she isn't a big part of this episode.

I also loved the casting in this one too, Simon Pegg does a great job as the villain "The Editor", and the rest of the cast are impressive too.

With a few quips and a fast-paced and entertaining story, for me this is the stand-out episode of Season 1

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.

Two very good episodes in a row. A difficult one to follow after last episodes performance but they managed to do so with flying colours. An unexpected villain and also the darkness of human nature. The plot in this one will keep you on the edge of your seat, very good use of suspense.

I loved it _ 8-8.5