And I agree completely about Blink. What an absolute genius of an episode.

This particular doctor does technobabble from time to time (wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey), but as Martha suggests, just smile and nod at appropriate intervals.

CJSF

Out of Gas– brilliant, but painful, especially if you watch it when you know the show is going to end in 6 episodes. Best written episode of Firefly, for sure, another favorite.

The only other TV episode that I can think of that’s as good as “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” or “Out of Gas” is not sci-fi, but still awesome: “Two Cathedrals” from the West Wing.

Bring back Sally Sparrow!!

I say this because Donna Noble has a huge emotional range, plenty of depth, and she’s strong enough to stand toe-to-toe against the Doctor if she thinks she has to.

Plus, Catherine Tate has a vast amount of (platonic) chemistry with David Tennant, and it shows up in their acting. They play off each other extremely well. (Same basic sort of thing you see when Colin Mochrie and Ryan Styles do improv together.) That precious scene where Donna and the Doctor spot each other through windows while eavesdropping on the Foster/Nanny is a great example of this.

That rip-off of Catherine’s award is horrible. Stealing the People’s Choice Award just gives the rude gesture to the entire voting population as well as to Catherine. I’m glad to see that she’s getting it, after all, but still…

I really, really like the way Donna’s been developing as a character in the first six episodes. She has a way to get the Doctor to really open up in a way that he never has with any other companion. Also, their dynamic is so fluid that everywhere they go, they’re being mistaken as a couple. The Doctor is getting constantly surprised by her, too. Her ingenuity and ability to think in ways that the clinical and scientific minds of the Doctor and many of his past companions is really refreshing. I think I like her so much because I could see myself in her shoes. Kind of an ordinary person who could “never go back to a normal life” after seeing what’s out there. She’s very human, too, and she’s really filling the role of the someone that the Doctor needs. If you want an excellent example of what I’m talking about, just watch the scene in “The Doctor’s Daughter” where she’s ribbing him about Father Shock.

OH! Did you know that the title character in “The Doctor’s Daughter” is really the Doctor’s daughter? I happened to look it up because I read Moffett and thought of Moffat (didn’t realize the spelling was different).