Doctor Who series 1 Aliens of London and World War Three review

Here's what you need to know; after returning home a little later than expected, the Doctor and Rose get caught off guard by an alien ship crash landing in the Thames. Now humanity is on the cusp of a new age, but a conspiracy seems to be bubbling in Downing Street that threatens to end this new age before it begins.

In this review I call both these episodes this episode a lot, to compensate for series 9  and tight time, I will review 2 parters together, just a quick note, now on to my review.

Now we are back in the present, which is a refreshing change from the distant future space stations and 1869 Cardiff we've seen so far in Doctor Who, though it's admittedly a less interesting setting. Meanwhile Humanity's reaction to the presence of alien life is done in a very interesting and probably accurate manor, and this episode takes this scenario of a ship crashing into the Thames very seriously. The conspiracy is also interesting, with the villainous Slitheen infiltrating the British government and formulating their schemes. People who read my Thunderbirds reviews know  that I like tension, and this episode's climax goes for tension, fortunately, while not the most nail biting thing ever, it's enough to keep the interest. The story overall is interesting; the Slitheen pulling tricks on the humans, and a decoy alien in the possession of the army that quickly becomes the weirdest thing since the talking canvas and giant head in a fish tank. The Slitheen themselves are cool too, if a little gross, zipping themselves up in skin suits to disguise their repulsive green blobby bodies, and farting a lot, a little slither of comedy that is not overplayed, thank god for that. this applies to the episode as a whole, not just the Slitheen, but unlike the Gelth from The Unquiet Dead, who are entirely CG, and look awful by modern standards, the Slitheen are, for the most part, costume and make up, this decreased reliance on CG makes the dated CG a lot less noticeable and a lot more excusable. Characters are, as ever, important in this episode; with a drama going on with Rose and her loved ones, and the Doctor stuck with the dilemma of saving the world but risking losing Rose, and conflicted  over the danger Rose is in by traveling with him.  That said, I have a criticism with Harriet Jones, who I simply can't take seriously, I don't know it is, her insistent nature, the various dumb faces and running away from the Slitheen, I don't now what their intentions with her were, but she is certainly an interesting character, and not always in a good way. this episode also has humour, and not just fart jokes, but also chuckle worthy writing  and the Doctor's usual eccentric personality, which really lightens the mood and makes the episode fun to watch.

The first 2 part story in the series comes with a more complex story, as well as more time for development both of the story and the characters. And while Harriet Jones is a bit of a joke, the other characters are interesting, as is the story. In addition to interest, this episode has tension, which I always like, and humour, which really makes this as fun as it is interesting. All this makes this a very enjoyable watch that doesn't disappoint if you lies the last 3 episodes.