New TV Club, New Series! Series 2 kicks off with a returning villain, a returning friend, Cat Nuns and apple grass.
Watch the episode on BBC iPlayer:
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7 Likes
I think this episode has some good stuff going for it. The return of Casandra, Cat people, Boe. Sadly, this is the beginning of an era I donât like, and it has crept into my enjoyment of some episodes.
I give this a respectable 3/5. Some good stuff, but ultimately forgettable.
11 Likes
I am not a fan of series 2, in fact I think it is the very worst of all of the 40 seasons of Doctor Who around. I will try not to be too negative in my comments, but some might bleed through 
Introducing Bill Filerâs patented series 2 negativity corner:
Summary
- The Doctor and Rose are so smug, they are just utterly insufferable together.
- I love the Doctor doing science-y stuff, but just chugging colourful liquid medicine in a vat without measuring or anything and we are then to suspend our disbelief that that is a cure for every illness imaginable, somehow passed along by touch? Pull the other one Russell.
- Cassandra is an even more one-dimensional villain this time around. Only cares about an arbitrary ideal of beauty.
- I hate the over-sexualisation of the Doctor and companion, utterly loathe it.
- David Tennant being possessed by Cassandra is almost as bad of a performance as Sarah being possessed by Androvax in the SJA, and just as bad as his appearance in Harry Potter.
Positive things:
- Really struggling to find any honestly. I kind of like the design of the cat nuns?
1,5/5 
16 Likes
I remember the episode as the starting point for the utter escalation spiral happening between Rose & The Doctor.
But at this point in time, itâs still at an enjoyable level.
Curious to find out if I will keep this opinion or revise it after the re-watch. 
11 Likes
Iâm always down for some cat nunsâŚ
11 Likes
Got to say I really like this episode. Really works for me. Camp classic.
10 Likes
Itâs a fun story, with a few bits that niggle. I know why thereâs the farewell scene at the start, so as to clue the audience in, but Iâd have preferred a âpreviouslyâ scene rather than an odd line up with Mickey and Jackie. Besides, the Bad Wolf graffito is badly hidden. I like the main story, but the resolution of the plot is massively irritating. Why the Doctor can just pour a load of the drip bags together, seemingly with no care at all, and this becomes the magical cure that can then be passed on to cure all just annoys me. If heâd just sonicked the mixture and added a bit of technobabble to explain why he, the Doctor, was the only person who could come up with the cure, then I wouldnât be so annoyed with it, but as it is, anyone could have thought to slosh all the medicine together and cure everyone!
That said, the body swap stuff is amusing, if a little slapstick, and the Cassandra arc is very satisfying. Also, the cat nurses are beautifully designed and still stand up today.
10 Likes
Iâm going to come and sit in negativity corner qith you! S2 is by far my least favourite New Who series.
This episode is like, fine, but never one I crave to rewatch. The bts stuff for it is funny though
12 Likes
Plenty of fun stuff here, and I especially love the bit of super flirty date vibes at the beginning, but having either the Doctor or Rose taken over by Cassandra for a majority of the episode means we still donât get a lot of time seeing the dynamic between Rose and 10, which I think was a bit of a mistake.
10 Likes
I like this episode a lot.
I always have a lot of fun when watching this one.
8 Likes
Oh boy, what happened here?
I agree with @BillFiler and @sircarolyn that this isnât a very good episode.
Itâs one of my least favourite New Who episodes and a bad start to the weakest New Who season.
Tennant is unlikeable, Piper is unbearable, Cassandra is superfluous to the plot, the disease zombie people are unoriginal, and the comedy is so cringeworthy (âYup, still got it!â and âOoh, Iâm busting out a samba!â). The beginning of the buttery romance seen throughout this season ruins this incarnation forever by helping create the fangirls and fanboys who never got over Tennantâs regeneration and till drool over him and want him to remain as the Doctor forever.
Sigh.
The mix of very obvious BBC low-budget sets and futuristic, clunky CGI looks odd. The cat nuns are pretty cool.
Cassandraâs story has come to an end, and she doesnât merit such a respectable conclusion.
Not one Iâm prone to rewatch. Iâm not quite as hard on it as Bill, so Iâll give it a weak 4/10.
11 Likes
6 Likes
I think the Episode is pretty okay overall, personally I am not too big on it but can see what they were trying to attempt with this. Sadly, I feel like this is a perfect case of two types of Stories clashing with each other.
In one hand you have the freaky friday bodyswap between the Doctor, Rose and Casandra, which is a fine idea, on the other you have a story about an almost âConspiracyâ at New Earth with its Patience. Both Stories are a fine idea, mixed together they donât work at all. I havenât mentioned it yet, but I think with Series 2 itâs more clear that the runtime sometimes can be rather âtoo shortâ to fully delve into its potential of its Stories. Add this with the fact that it leans more into the lovey dovery of Rose and Ten, and you got an Opener that ranks very low most of the time for me. Same as @BillFiler I am not too big on Series 2 (not my least liked Season/Series, but very much bottom 5).
Performance wise: Piper does really well, and you can tell the difference when itâs Rose and when itâs Casandra, unlike Tennant who still kinda struggles to find his foot after an excellent first impression. Most People here do a good Performance, but I really donât like the Script, the overly flirty vibe doesnât work for me at all. Then again most of the time while I want to try to like them, I canât work much with most Doctor Romances and this one just doesnât work for me, I can see the appeal of course and of course I am happy for anybody who enjoys them but this Tardis Team gets a bit on âmy nervesâ with it.
Overall the Story has some few nice things, the Idea of New Earth is cool but never goes too deep with it. The Makeup on the Cat Nuns is splendid and it does an alright job to set up the romance some more between 10 and Rose.
9 Likes
This is bad. Probably unfair to criticise the FX but most of it looks terrible, actually seems a lot cheaper than the previous season. The humour is cringe. The smugness between The Doctor & Rose is already creeping in, I forgot it started this early. Murray Goldâs music is awful, that âletâs tell the audience exactly how to feel all the timeâ style of score. The resolution is stupid, & not in a fun way. Plus I donât really care enough about Cassandra for what happens to her to hit emotionally in the way RTD wants & it comes out of nowhere. Overall far worse than I remember.
9 Likes
New Earth shouldâve been the first big indicator of some of Russellâs more confusing choices. The worst of Series One was boring, this is just bad in so many ways.
Itâs fun, Iâll give it that, everybody on set seemingly had a good time shooting (especially Tennant, he really chose to put his heart and soul into that performance) but the plotâs utter nonsense, Cassandraâs back to nobodyâs amusement and Rose is beginning her steep decline from everyday, relatable audience surrogate to melodramatic and smug intrusion.
Absolutely none of the episode makes sense and it was a terrible choice for a season opener, no matter how fun it may appear to be.
Bring me back to New Earth when itâs Gridlock.
5/10
5 Likes
I enjoy this one. Itâs daft, itâs absolute nonsense. But apple grass! And Cassandra! The Face of Boe! The Cat Nuns! Taking over Rose and the Doctorâs bodies!
Iâd say overall itâs probably the weakest RTD opener? Not completely sure.
Itâs like a 7/10. In itâs worst bits, a 6 perhaps. But itâs good fun if you just go along for the ride and donât think too hard about the solution, which doesnât make much sense.
(Edit: considering the quality of this one, I mightâve rated it lower. But, I think thereâs just some other absolutely terrible DW stories that are not fun for me. Like this one is still fun at its core, thatâs why it doesnât dive down to a 4 or 5 for me. I mean, later on, one of the stories is a definite 1/10 for meâŚ)
7 Likes
Itâs fun, and I guess it sets the stage for the rest of that season pretty well, but itâs a bit⌠meh, I guess, overall I put it as a 5/10
Definitely enjoyment to be had, but eh
6 Likes
Itâs a bit silly, but a lot of fun. Billie Piper is amazing, sheâs really not playing Rose but Cassandra when sheâs possessed. The cat nuns are fantastic too, and the face of boe is mysterious.
I think it suffers a bit from trying to do two different things at once though, the disease stuff would fit better in a more serious episode, that can properly examine the implications of it.
11 Likes
Canât say I disagree with anything said in this thread but I havenât watched it since first time round.
But - this episode has to get 10/10 because it gave us the greatest action figure of all time:
Summary
12 Likes
Some thoughts:
With this rewatch my rating for âNew Earthâ has dropped from 3.5 to 2.5 out of 5.
The episode felt like it was made for a kidsâ TV show with fairytale logic instead of ârealâ logic
The incidental music was a standout, especially during scenes with the Face of Boe, which always struck a chord with me.
Billie Piper delivered a real strong performance as Cassandra, showcasing her versatility as an actor.
On the other hand, David Tennant wasnât at his best acting-wise, but he did manage to display the full spectrum of the 10th Doctorâs character, both good and bad. And man, was he young.
10 Likes