The opinions surrounding the issue of whether or not this episode was a "good" episode or a "bad" one has been largely debated by the Doctor Who fanbase.
In my opinion, there was little to nothing in this episode that reflected a episode of Doctor Who. Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I DO understand that this was a Doctor-lite episode. However, Davies seemed to
look at this slot in the season as an opportunity to write whatever he wanted and disregard any fundamental guidelines or basic framwork to what makes an episode fit the Doctor Who classification. Watching this episode frequently felt like it was more of an episode of another series, considering that the story closely revolved around Elton's character.
Anyone can easily see that pulling off a great episode of Doctor Who that requires minimum screen time for the lead character - the Doctor - is a task to be reckoned with. Incidentally, in the following season, Steven Moffat managed to pull it off brilliantly with "Blink."
There's not much I can say positively about this episode. Even when the Doctor did have screen time, it was either a parody of Scooby Doo, or quite possibly the most annoying scene of Rose's time with the Doctor - Because poor, simple, Elton upset Jackie Tyler, that's reason enough for the TARDIS to make an emergency run to modern-day Earth and track Elton down, just so Rose can exit out of the TARDIS and jump on Elton's case about it. Forget the gigantic slobbery, blubbery Abzorbaloff thats standing over him; a minor relationship gone bad between Rose's bitchy, whiny mom and Elton is FAR more important in this scene that a monster that already absorbed every character in the story.
Davies seemed to use this episode once again as an attempt to give the newbies and fan girls something they could directly relate to - because like Elton, they obsessively find out as much as they can about new Doctor Who, and Tennant's Doctor.
The whole idea of making the Doctor some sort of legend was something I didn't approve of in the new series, but it was often the case in episodes like "Rose," "The Next Doctor," and of course "Love And Monsters."
Before I get into another ramble about why I disliked this episode so much, let me point out that the ONLY reason this episode scored the .5 is because it had the Doctor Who opening/closing sequences and the incidental music here and there sounded reminiscent of the classic series. That's where the similarities ended.
The idea of the monster actually wasn't that bad, with the exception of the farting noises and Davies' frequent comical approach to alien takeovers. I think had the story been written by someone who takes the idea of alien infiltration seriously - like Steven Moffat, and the episode been designated NOT a Doctor-lite episode, it probably would have been OK.
Definitly my least favorite of the new series.
In my opinion, there was little to nothing in this episode that reflected a episode of Doctor Who. Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I DO understand that this was a Doctor-lite episode. However, Davies seemed to
look at this slot in the season as an opportunity to write whatever he wanted and disregard any fundamental guidelines or basic framwork to what makes an episode fit the Doctor Who classification. Watching this episode frequently felt like it was more of an episode of another series, considering that the story closely revolved around Elton's character.Anyone can easily see that pulling off a great episode of Doctor Who that requires minimum screen time for the lead character - the Doctor - is a task to be reckoned with. Incidentally, in the following season, Steven Moffat managed to pull it off brilliantly with "Blink."
There's not much I can say positively about this episode. Even when the Doctor did have screen time, it was either a parody of Scooby Doo, or quite possibly the most annoying scene of Rose's time with the Doctor - Because poor, simple, Elton upset Jackie Tyler, that's reason enough for the TARDIS to make an emergency run to modern-day Earth and track Elton down, just so Rose can exit out of the TARDIS and jump on Elton's case about it. Forget the gigantic slobbery, blubbery Abzorbaloff thats standing over him; a minor relationship gone bad between Rose's bitchy, whiny mom and Elton is FAR more important in this scene that a monster that already absorbed every character in the story.
Davies seemed to use this episode once again as an attempt to give the newbies and fan girls something they could directly relate to - because like Elton, they obsessively find out as much as they can about new Doctor Who, and Tennant's Doctor.
The whole idea of making the Doctor some sort of legend was something I didn't approve of in the new series, but it was often the case in episodes like "Rose," "The Next Doctor," and of course "Love And Monsters."
Before I get into another ramble about why I disliked this episode so much, let me point out that the ONLY reason this episode scored the .5 is because it had the Doctor Who opening/closing sequences and the incidental music here and there sounded reminiscent of the classic series. That's where the similarities ended.
The idea of the monster actually wasn't that bad, with the exception of the farting noises and Davies' frequent comical approach to alien takeovers. I think had the story been written by someone who takes the idea of alien infiltration seriously - like Steven Moffat, and the episode been designated NOT a Doctor-lite episode, it probably would have been OK.
Definitly my least favorite of the new series.
Agreed, this episode was truly awful. Except, the "Scooby Do parody scene" was really funny for me, as I've never watched Scooby Do.
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