So guess "Torchwood" is this year's "Bad Wolf" after all? And while I'd like to think the makers have been a little more cunning in disguising this year's "Bad Wolf", I actually don't think they've bothered other than to use it as a plug for an already well publicised spin-off show (presumably with Torchwood getting some serous air-time in the final episode).

Part of the mystery and attraction surrounding the previous series, was picking up on the "Bad Wolf" reference part-way through, It worked like a charm. That little bit "extra". Raised the profile of the show and gave the viewers a chance to play the game. It was fun!

Perhaps it was too much to expect another chance to play this series?

Instead, it turned out to be a plug - blatantly kicked off in "The Christmas Invasion", plugged openly in episode #2, with further references being so easy to spot, the whole thing has become somewhat tiresome.

Might I suggest that next series they put a little more thought into developing "the long game", as it could prove one of the best TV gimmicks in recent years. The more challenging to spot, the better. Perhaps with a more obvious hint as to what "the long game" may be, around episode #8 - just in case we haven't spotted it yet!

Quite liked the suggestion about spotting the capitalised letter hidden in the lower-case word of a sign/read-out/note/poster/whatever each week, making up an anagram connected to something in the arc. Heck, even if we figured out the phrase or word, it'd still be great fun spotting the upcoming letters!

Open a thread here, and we'd probably get dozens more ideas!

Russell! Finger out, now! Get this sorted for series #3 ya slacker!

Course, if there does turn out to be a cleverly hidden conundrum in series #2, and we just haven't spotted any evidence of it yet... then just ignore the above.

I`ve had an idea as to how the Doctor gets out of this one...

He has a remnant of the Tardis on him.

Now, the tardis is supposed to operate in a state of "temporal grace" which means that weapons do not work in it. This has been ignored in at least one story I know, but the TG is canon.

So, the Cybermen go to zap the Doctor, and the Tardis throws some sort of "grace field" around the group, maybe even freezing out the Cybermen long enough for everyone to do a runner.

I know it`s very Deaux Ex Machina, but hey - it`s only an idea!

What if Rose's actions in Father's Day actually had a knock-on effect on this parallel Earth and caused the divergence in the first place?

OK, so the Doctor fixed it in our universe, but he wasn't around in this alternate one to put things right.

I have just had another thought...*the brain cell hurts now.....*..........it might mean nothing, but how many Rose's has he met?......just the comment toward the end of the episode, either just before or after she had seen the ROse dog, he muttered out of earshot, as rose did not comment on it, he said......"all these different dimentions *or something like that* and not one of them gets it right." now did he mean humanity in general, or the tylers?.............


LIke i said, probably nothing, but has just struck me, is that significant?

David

It's been insinuated that The Doctor has visited this alternate world before, and met Ricky. Perhaps his previous visit (before the demise of the Time Lords) had something to do with averting the course of history with regards to Cybus involvement in developing the Cyberman? Perhaps he thought he'd put it right, and Cybus would develop naturally as a media corporation? Perhaps this struggle with Cybus also brought him into contact with Ricky's "most wanted" and Pete and Jackie Tyler? Perhaps there was also a 12 year old Rose Tyler (perhaps looking forward to getting a red bike for Christmas), and the outcome of all his involvement caused her death? Perhaps he tried to fix it by somehow altering the timeline, but failed and atlernate Rose was never born - never born in any alternate timeline? Feeling guilty, he grants her wish in our universe?

Sorry. "Perhaps" overload there!

I thought he had left it in the TARDIS itself.

No he took it with him, he shows it to Rose when they are all sitting on the Bench by the "Thames" and he does not return to the TARDIS after that.

There's also a pic on the BBC site (I think) that shows it in his hand as they are surrounded by the CM.

Well, I would give you 9 out of 10 for that guess. You just got the actual workings of the fragment wrong...but I actually PREFER your version rather than the straught 'lets use it as an actually offensive weapon' get out that was used.

I enjoyed tonight's show.

Very nice end to the two-parter.

Agreed, thoroughly enjoyed it aswell. The scene where the Doctor basically put an end to that Cybermen, shall we say woman was pretty emotional. I'm gutted Mickey stayed behind, was getting quite used to him being in the Tardis aswell.