The Doctor and Rose arrive in 2012 and investigate a series of disappearances on a housing estate.
Ordinarily, you would be able to watch the episode here, but for real world reasons it is currently unavailable:
However, it is available on DVD and BluRay:
Rate and review below:
“Fear Cher” would’ve been a better episode… 
Because I can’t get the DVD at the moment, I’ll be watching this instead:
Well, you could always read this:
I have no nice words for this story so I won’t even try…
The Tardisode is better than the episode itself…
Only Elizabeth Sladen makes a worse “possessed voice” than that child actor (my word I didn’t like her as Androvax)…
Rose Tyler 
… Just leave already will you…
The Doctor with the torch… 
Manhandling the Kookaburra song…
There might be a decent story somewhere in there but I don’t feel up to spending the time and mental energy to retcon that into existence…
Since I am a generous man I will give it 1/5 
Love the man from the Council though 
I like that it connects to the Olympics. But as a whole, this is the worst episode of the season. 3.5/5
You give the worst episoe of the season a 7/10? That’s a pretty good season then, considering it’s one of the weakest seasons of the revival 
I cant give my favourite team lover than that 
Oooh! Ten/Rose bias! Blergh!
Okay so. Everyone knows I am no s2 lover. But I do need everyone to explain why this episode is so universally hated. Is it an instant classic? No. Is it a bit lumpy around the edges? Sure, but this is Dr Who. I can forgive that.
Perhaps this is a case of ‘this is one of the episodes I got weirdly attached to as a child’, because I did - I watched this one a lot. I think the idea of a lonely little girl possessed by a lonely alien is a compelling one, and I think the resolution is quite lovely. It’s been a long while since I last watched it, so I may well be misremembering it a little, but I truly do not believe it deserves the universal panning it gets
I know it’s not great but I also don’t get the hate. I do think it’s one of those situations where everyone was expecting something amazing because it’s by Matthew Graham and he was hugely popular because of Life on Mars. I think fan expectation hindered this one. I do like the Scribble Monster and think the underlying themes of domestic abuse are important and handled fairly well. That said, i haven’t seen it since broadcast so it could be clunkier than I remember.
KEL: No! You, stop! You just took a council axe from a council van and now you’re digging up a council road! I’m reporting you to the council!
Only memorable part of an otherwise pretty poor episode, the concept is good, but it’s not executed well at all and the child acting is far from great
I am not a fan of the episode. It runs into the common problem of stakes feeling artificial because you know kids are going to be ok in Doctor Who. I’m not going to be too harsh on a child actor not really carrying the role of Chloe, but it is a bit of an issue. Scribble creature doesn’t hold up. Didn’t really do enough discussion on how Chloe was struggling with the death of her father and the trauma of his abuse of her prior. It’s quite repetitive with the Chloe draws something, someone disappears, they take away her pencils, she finds more pencils, and repeat just with bigger numbers or more important things being drawn. Odd that a creature known for being together with many of its kind is called “Isolus” as in isolated, and it was rather on the nose with how it identified with a kid who was feeling lonely and isolated, it’s like Terry Nation naming a planet. And don’t get me started on all the stuff with the Olympics and the torch. TARDIS landing turned the wrong way and council man are the two main highlights of this one. There are still far worse episodes, so this one scrapes a 4/10 from me.
This has genuinely altered my vocabulary every time I see something council related.
Makes the episode worth it
Well, it’s not the worst episode ever (that one contains large walking ants), but it’s not a very good one either.
Rewatching it today made me think of one thing:
Ten and Rose are unbearably smug; the setting is forgettable; the Olympics angle is unnecessary and makes for a very melodramatic ending; the faraway future year of 2012 doesn’t feel like 2012 at all; the scribble creature and wannabe Malus are some of the worst Doctor Who monsters; the abusive father angle is important but badly handled; Chloe is an annoying kid and poorly performed.
The failed TARDIS landing is a fun gaga as is the council van jike.
The biggest crime is that the Doctor claims he’s not a cat person! That’s an instant dislike from me!
4/10
Like @sircarolyn, this episode is important to me and I was quite attached to it as a kid. I really don’t understand the hate.
I was a very lonely, artistic kid with undiagnosed autism. I could really relate to Chloe. Her getting a happy ending made me feel better about my own situation. Yes, it’s not the pinnacle of good television, the child acting isn’t great, and the resolution is a little meh, but it has heart. And isn’t that what Doctor Who is all about?
To be honest, I think this episode deserves a rewatch.
Unfortunately, I don’t have it…
I don’t totally get why this Episode is hated? Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from great or even good, but there are some great bits to it, and I’d argue at least this one didn’t totally waste its Potential, looking at you, Idiot’s Lantern.
I do really like the core idea of this Episode quite a lot, it’s ambitious and while the ambition can’t be done too well with its execution, it does offer some fun (but admittely) clunky moments. The Idea of a lonely girl getting possessed is one that is done fairly well, especially when get to see some moments with the Mother of the Child, she does a splendid job in my opinion.
The Child Actress from Chloe does an okay at best, a “meh” at worst job. I don’t want to be too harsh, because even great stuff does struggle with some lesser good child performances and that’s fine, at the end those are children after all! Not everybody can be the Kid from A.I (a Movie I recommend highly for anybody, who hasn’t seen it yet!)
The whole deal with her Drawings effecting the real world is done decently, it gets repetitive fairly quick, which is disappointing.
Ten and Rose are at their worst here, perhaps? I do go as far as saying that Tennant might deliver his very worst performance in the role of the Doctor here. Piper does a bit better, but her and Tennant combined just doesn’t work at all for me (how shocking!!! Me not liking TenRose?? Happens so rarely!!!)
I would comment on the angle about Chloe’s abusive father, but it’s been a while since I saw that Episode and I don’t feel qualify to comment on that at all.
Kel is one of the greatest Character in Fiction, so that gives that Episode a 10/10.
But on a serious note: One of the biggest mixed bags. There are good bits here and there. There are some great Ideas, but I feel like the execution just doesn’t work and dare I say it couldn’t, at least as a televised story. A Character such as Chloe is one hell of a task for any child actor, so I don’t blame the actress for giving a rather bad performance. Its ambition make it interesting, but also hinders it from being something really special. At least this one made me roll my eyes a lot less, last time I rewatched Series 2!
Also, I totally forget the whole Olympic Aspect of it until it got mentioned here, so I think that says enough about my opinion on those scenes.