"The Empty Child" aired last weekend in the UK and all I can say to those of you in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, who have yet to see this episode, is that I kind of envy you!

That might seem like a strange thing to say but I genuinely think that when you sit down to watch this episode you will, in my opinion, be about to watch one of the best slices of Doctor Who ever. You'll also be in the fortunate position at the end, as those of us in the UK are now, of being able to look forward to the second part of the story which, unless something goes radically wrong, promises to be just as good an episode as the first.

Having seen the episode I know quite how superb it is but you lucky people have it all to come, some of you also have other potential classics like "Dalek" and "Father's Day" to look forward to as well - you are lucky! :-)

Anticipation is one of the wonderful things about watching a series like this, sometimes you're disappointed and sometimes an episode/story surpasses your expectations. The former happened to me with "The Long Game", which admittedly had a hard job given it was following "Dalek" and after watching it again a few days ago I have to admit my initial disappointment was slightly unfounded. Although a bit of a pot boiler it's a good little episode, with lots of great moments and a script that hangs together reasonably well. In fact it's strong enough to beat many of the 80s stories it resembles into a cocked hat. But in relation to the quality of the rest of this season it was a disappointment for me at the time it aired. Thank goodness 'modern technology' allows such episodes to be recessed as recordings - a luxury not available to many viewers of the 'classic' series.

Conversely there are some episodes that don't disappoint no matter how much they are anticipated; "Dalek" was a case in point, "Father's Day" another and now they are joined, and perhaps surpassed, by "The Empty Child".

This is a risky thing to say, given how some fans jump on anyone disagreeing with their strongly held beliefs, but I feel able at this point in the season to go so far as to say that I think we've rarely, if ever, seen a season of Doctor Who as strongly written and as well conceived as this one.

In my opinion you would have to go back to seasons Thirteen and Fourteen (starring Tom Baker) from 1975 to 1977 to find anything as consistently good as this - the golden age of Who for many including myself. I certainly haven't seen anything approaching the quality of "The Empty Child", "Dalek" and "Father's Day" since "The Talons of Weng Chiang" aired from February to April 1977. Yes there has been great stuff since, "City of Death" and "Caves of Androzani" come to mind, but certainly not seasons that come anywhere near to this one in consistently producing brilliant stories and where even the weaker stories would wipe the floor with many so called classics from other eras, particularly the latter years of the 'classic' series.

It's always difficult and somewhat controversial to compare episodes across eras and it has been quite difficult to do so thus far given that this series is radically different in a number of ways to those preceding it. However with The Empty Child comparison seems easier, not least because it's a two parter (effectively the equivalent of a 'classic' series four parter) and in some ways it's quite a traditional tale.

So, from the point of view, and in the humble opinion, of this viewer the story knocks spots off pretty much anything I care to compare it with apart from out and out classics like "Weng Chiang" and my favourite classic series opening episode "Web of Fear" One (starring Patrick Troughton).

Given a choice between "Empty Child" and "Androzani" or "City of Death", I'd watch "Empty Child" - don't even mention anything from the last years of the show (and I include 'classics' like "Curse of Fenric"). Time will tell whether it settles down into a position in my personal league table that's higher than "Weng Chiang", and all those other classics from seasons Thirteen and Fourteen and earlier, but I think it stands a pretty good chance of doing so. It might even end up beating "The Web of Fear" One in my own personal league table as the best opening episode in the series' history.

Am I being controversial?

Published @ 1:36 PM (UK local time)

It's been a while since I last blogged - how time flies!

In that time those of us lucky enough to be in the UK have seen "Dalek" and "The Long Game" and are now eagerly awaiting "Father's Day" (penned by the lovely Paul Cornell).

Perhaps I haven't blogged because in the first instance I was so bowled over by the brilliance that was "Dalek". This story had everything for me, from a monster on the rampage to some superb scenes between Eccleston and the "Dalek" and a denouement we never thought we'd see. Certainly it took me a few days to come down from the ceiling as it were and stop saying "WOW" every time I thought about it. "Dalek" was the best story I've seen since I sat down to watch "The Talons of Weng Chiang" back in 1977 - it's a long time to wait but so very good to see such brilliance on screen once again under the title of Doctor Who and being watched by millions.

On the other hand perhaps I didn't blog after this weeks offering, "The Long Game", because I was positively underwhelmed by it. The story reminded me of a pretty average 80s tale and seemed like something of a step backwards to me after the preceding six episodes, all of which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Having said that there were great elements to the story and many good moments, it just didn't seem to hang together properly though. So for me the 'least good' episode so far.

Next up is "Father's Day" and this promises to see the series very much back on form, although I suspect it may prove controversial in some quarters due to it's emotional content.

Then it's "The Empty Child", details of which I've just added to the New Series Episode Guide page and I must say I'm looking forward to it immensely...

Happy viewing and look out for the Big Bad Wolf - and be afraid!

Published @ 5:51 PM (UK local time)