Press reviews

Press reviews have started to appear in the Sunday newspapers for last night's third series opener of Doctor Who. The Sunday People's critic Jon Wise expresses disappointment with "Smith and Jones", stating that "The BBC'S biggest, brightest, shiniest and most overly-hyped flagship show - Doctor Who Really Cares Any More? - is back... What was once new and exciting is now boring and repetitive. It feels a struggle to have to engage with a new sidekick for the Doctor... While it was still easily watchable sci-fi fun, after two series this is starting to feel lazy and lame." The Daily Mirror's verdict from Kevin O'Sullivan is mixed: O'Sullivan feels that Freema Agyeman "is set to be just as popular as her smash-hit predecessor Billie Piper," while adding "there's no denying that energetic David Tennant doesn't deliver the goods."The online version of The Stage entertainment industry newspaper carries a review by assistant editor Scott Matthewman, which also praises Agyeman. "Freema may have proved herself capable to be the new companion, but she has big shoes to fill. And it’s to the series’ credit that it openly acknowledges the Rose-shaped hole and makes it a virtue. By doing that, it helps set up what should be an interesting series. Bring it on!" However, Matthewman feels that the plot of the episode "doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. An MRI scanner, capable of being tweaked to kill everything within 250,000 miles? On an NHS budget? (Seriously though, it could kill everything on Earth — even from the moon — but Anne Reid plans to escape by hiding behind a screen?)".