I'm a pretty casual viewer of Dr Who, mainly because of the time of day it was on, but whenever I caught an episode with David Tennant as the Dr I was usually drawn in to the plot and the characterisations. And the fact that some of it was pretty scary - Waters of Mars was like a horror movie. very well executed and you cared about the people. In fact the quality of the last few episodes of RTD's Who made me want to make a point of watching the new ones.

Hoewever, new Dr Who seems more like a step backward to the days of Patrick Troughton/Tom Baker etc and I'd outgrown those ones a long time ago. Fair enough, it's primarily a children show, but the RTD ones seemed to be aimed at an older audience as well.

The intention and overall concept of the programme makers make a huge difference to the finished result. I'm not sure how this is going to pan out, but if it carries on the way it has I don't think I'll be sticking with it for long.

The Eye has always been both investigative and satirical. It's easy to tell the difference, you couldn't make the real stuff up.

In their own words.

Private Eye is the UK's number 1 best-selling news and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.

It offers a unique blend of humour, social and political observations and investigative journalism.

Well I have read most of those criticisms you state aimed at those moments in the shows so far.
So it's not as if nobody mentioned them.

In DWC SM said something like: "What haven't we changed yet? The Daleks. Let's change them as well." So he at least wants a visual difference.

I think most people would agree that that would be a step FORWARD.

Secondly no-one in the past 40 years of the programme has done more to dumb down Dr Who than RTD. The suggestion that he wrote for adults is bizzarre..

Millions of real fans were wanting mature, sophisticated sci-fi drama (a la nu-BSG) and we got farting bins instead.

I guess I'm just not one of those then

It's a family programme with an emphasis on children, nobody promised it to be a sophisticated sci-fi drama

If that's the case, I find that disgusting. The BBC is not supposed to be primarily a commercial organisation, that's the whole point of the licence fee. OK, it has a commercial arm, but the promotion of BBC Worldwide's product or of licensed merchandising shouldn't have any effect on the actual creative content of the programming. If that's now not the case, they should abolish the licence fee.

Thought about your post and I can't remember a time when old Doctor Who was mature and sophisticated Surely it had had it's day and that's why it fizzled out.

RTD brought the series into the 21st century with a new look and feel. I'd say this new series is a step backward.

The game is going to be free anyway

As a so-called fan I feel it necessary to update you: the Adventure Games are counting as four extra episodes in addition to the 13 we will see on TV, they are being made available by the BBC free of charge from June and certainly as far as the production team are concerned will count as part of the new series - by a curious quirk of fate, as I read your latest post I heard Grandpa from The Simpsons in the background...

But I bet there will be Dalek action figures and you'll have to collect all colours to get a mug with Matt Smith on it or something

Then good for them if they're making the lives of parents who have no idea how to say "no" to their kids that much more difficult...I've lready seen parents around here who are going to HAVE to buy their kids new toys...hmmm, why? Just for a quiet life? Grow some and just buy the kids what you can afford...I mean, did you have them in the first place as a reason to complain about a television programme?

A game is counting as part of the series? Christ...

Oh come now: if "The Twin Dilemma" counts I hardly think the Adventure Games warrant criticism...plus, you vote books that have nothing to do with what appears on TV as part of the canon, you read, others play games: who are you to say which is better?

The Twin Dilemma is 50x better than "Love and Monsters" or "pArtners in Crime".

I must admit my first thought on seeing them was 'oh look, you'll be able to collect all the different colours'.

Must be the 'big kid' in me but I thought "Gosh colourful ! Just like the 'Movie Daleks'"

Books, obviously. A game is...well, it's just a game. How can something interactive and therefore different to everyone who sees it possibly be canonical? There'd be no consistency!
And while everyone can read a book if they choose to, a huge chunk of the audience does not understand computer games and is unlikely to want to try in order just to get the full story, so it's excluding that part of the audience. I don't understand the current obsession with these games.

...In your opinion...

In my opinion, 'Love and Monsters' and 'Partners in Crime' are better than anything presented as 'Doctor Who' from 1980 onwards...

'The Twin Dilemma' is televisual sh*te of the highest order...

Like a space whale that motors a spaceship you mean, yeah that's really mature and sophisticated....