Doctor Who Season 2 Review

Trailer courtesy of Gallifreyforever97

Doctor Who returns for an explosive second season that exceeds expectations with David Tennant taking the helm. Oozing charisma, Tennant’s Doctor effortlessly surpasses that of Eccleston’s last year and his chemistry with returning companion Rose (Billie Piper) feels more natural. The stories feel more structured and feature some truly memorable moments in the history of Doctor Who.

The episodes themselves are much improved this season with the two parters in particular, cut with a darker and tighter emphasis on cohesive writing than the first time around. Even the stand alone episodes seem to have a higher quality too. However, for all its positives there are still a few episodes in particular that don’t deliver. “Fear Her” is a dreary slog that never really goes anywhere, feeling like nothing more than an indirect advert for the 2012 Olympic games. “The Idiot’s Lantern” and “Love And Monsters” are also hit or miss episodes with the latter an interesting detour away from the Doctor to focus on an obsessive man tracking down the Doctor.

Whereas the first season focused on the Daleks, this second season focuses around another old nemesis – the Cybermen. The new look given to the foes is realistic while staying faithful to the original 60s design. Having said that, throughout the season the villains are realistic and the set design and costume work is nothing short of brilliant. Whether it’s designing 15th century flowing dresses and masquerade-masked robots to designing costumes for a trillion years in the future, everything the designers and the CGI team do respectively is a joy to behold and boasts such creativity.

The acting is also a step up from before and as said previously, the chemistry between Piper and Tennant really works right up until the gut-wrenching, tear inducing finale – arguably one of the finest episodes of Doctor Who shown on TV.

With an improved emphasis on writing this season, the second season of Doctor Who has some of the best episodes in the show’s illustrious history since returning to TV. The season is a massive leap ahead of the first and cements just why Doctor Who is so loved. The plots are darker, its humour used more effectively and David Tennant’s performances are brilliant. making him one of the best Doctors to play the role.