madscientist15

Series 4 exemplifies the new series at its peak, able to explore wide ranging topics with a strong versatile cast. Donna in particular shows profound character development throughout; something typically missing with the companions. Tennant as usual gives a stellar performance as the Doctor. A wide range of guest writers, including Steven Moffat, provide a steady stream of fresh ideas. My only quibble is with Davis' scripts; so much more could have been done near the end of this series yet he was starting to show signs of burnout before handing over writing duties to Moffat in Season 5. Much of the social agenda axe-grinding in his latter episodes feels jarring and out of place and would have been better left out entirely. Donna's fate feels like a bit of a cop-out; I would have preferred to see her character develop fully and stay developed instead of Davies hitting the Big Red Reset Button in an attempt to generate pathos. Yes, it works, but it feels cheap on retrospect in comparison to Moffat's work in the later seasons with River. Overall, more fun than problems with this series though. Highly recommended!

The show really started to hit its stride in this season. With arguably the best Doctor (played by Tennant) and a stronger companion than the previous season the stage was well set for what Sci-Fi does best: exploring the human condition in strange new settings.

Tennant's stage experience takes the character of the Doctor to new heights in this series. As the show effectively revolves around a single character (the Time Lord) it tends to rise and fall on the strengths of its central actor. The scripts were engaging and while I take a point away from the score for the companion being a bit of a shallow tag along Barbie-type character at times overall this season was among the best of the new series.

By far the worst Dr. Who series of the new era. I have watched all episodes starting from the 9th on to the 12th doctor, and while the scriptwriting was tanking in Season 7 it has hit rock bottom in Season 8. Coupled with a cantankerous senile doctor that can't seem to remember anything experienced in his past 1500 or more years of existence and a "companion" who takes on the role of the Time Lord far too often and you have a recipe for complete disaster. Steven Moffat is ovbiously written out at this point. The plots are shallow, insulting, extremely childish, and a great departure from the fine television normally expected when tuning into the BBC. Instead of an old, wise man with some quirks taking his companions (and the audience) to experience the wonders, horrors, and pathos of the universe we get Ms. Frizzle and the Magic School B̶u̶s̶ Box. Please, please hand over the show to someone else; all the previous seasons had guest writers yet all we really have had in this series is a steady diet of Moffat's social agenda promoting soap opera. I've quit watching it as of the 5th episode and so have most of the people I know.