The Single Biggest Mistake Every Doctor Who Series Has Made

Series 2 is a strange beast. As the second series of Doctor Who’s revival but the first to feature the Tenth Doctor, it’s both a second chapter and a first chapter – a continuation and a fresh start.

Though David Tennant had already been launched on Christmas Day, it’s definitely possible for that first series to be a successful jumping-on point too (as we’re hopefully about to see with Ncuti Gatwa). However, Series 2 isn’t exactly proof-of-concept.

Despite some fan-pleasing elements (the return of Cassandra and the Face of Boe) and a fantastic location in the New New York hospital, New Earth is a lame series opener. It does nothing to really hook new viewers, or set up the rest of the series. And it feels too familiar, with the Tenth Doctor/Rose pairing having already been established (and already becoming slightly unbearable). The Doctor and Rose aren't even the Doctor and Rose for half of it, which seems like such an obvious misstep for the series premiere.

The production team weren’t even 100% sure which episode to put first, with Tooth and Claw and The Girl in the Fireplace both considered. Neither would have worked particularly well, but what we got wasn’t much better.