For a while I debated whether I should review the seasons separately or review all of the seasons of the tenth doctor together. I've decided doing each season by itself will allow me to go into more detail, so that's how I'm going to approach it.
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1 (2005) and THE CHRISTMAS INVASION.
World-Building: Great, would have been awesome if they hadn't spent so much time on Earth
Characterizations: Great-Awesome (many supporting characters improved a little over the first season)
Plots: Great except for a couple of cringe-worthy episodes
This season picks up where the last season, and the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion" left us. As I said in my previous review, I didn't like some of the things that they did in "the Christmas Invasion," but what I do like about it is that it did an excellent job of easing the viewers into the transition from Eccleston's ninth doctor to Tennant's tenth Doctor. Overall, I found this season engaging and many of the episodes were excellent. The thing that carried it, however, was Tennant's portrayal of the Doctor and the growing characterizations.
Some people compare the doctors portrayed by Eccleston and Tennant and try to pick the best, but for me, the transition was so well written that I can accept that both are awesome and don't feel a need to pick a favorite. The regeneration, as we were shown in the Christmas special, changes things about the Doctor's brain and make him into a new person, with a new personality. I love the personality of Tennant's doctor, some of his insane monologues are just so enjoyable to watch.
Both the Doctor's characterization and Rose's growing one are very well-crafted. They both continue to grow so that by the time the end of Season 2 rolls around you can't imagine Rose being the same person she was in her first episode. She's grown so much. What I love about this season is that there are many situations in which she feels like a very valuable part of the team and does a lot to solve the problem/save the day. There's a lot less of her being helpless/needing the doctor to save her life. She is now very competent in her own right and that is awesome.
Mickey also grows in this season and moves beyond the joke character we saw in the first season and I loved what they did with his character this season. We also get to see more of Jackie, though she doesn't really change much.
The stories/episodes this season can vary wildly from the excellent to the terrible. In season 1 there wasn't one single episode that I hated or felt was terrible. Yes some of the monsters were stupid, but the episodes all held up as solid episodes. In this season, unfortunately, we have "Love and Monsters" which - the less said about it the better actually. It was just plain terrible. If you would like to skip it take it from me, you won't miss anything. (I might post a separate spoilery rant about it later, but for now know that it is horrible.)
In season 1 we had The Empty Child/The Doctor dances, which was just plain frightening and a very memorable episode. This season, I didn't feel that there was anything that compared. There were a few episodes which came close, such as The Girl in the Fireplace, but that episode, was, I felt a wasted opportunity. It could have been so excellent, but the ending was so stupidly handled/not explained well that for me, the emotional impact was gone. My favorite this season was the final two-parter Army of Ghosts/Doomsday. However, I don't feel that any of the stories this season came up to the level of The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances.
Overall, it was an excellent season with one terrible episode. I would highly recommend this season, especially if you enjoyed season 1.
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