Army of Ghosts / Doomsday [TV/2006.7.1 ~ 7.8]

★★★★☆

  For all the polarising reception it gets in recent years (diehard fans of Ten/Rose cite it as one of Doctor Who's best, and some others call it vastly overrated), it's quite surprising just how well Army of Ghosts / Doomsday holds up to this day. There's an air of confidence to this two-parter that a few other episodes of Series 2 do not possess; it's as if Russell T Davies, David Tennant and the entire team were fully confident by now that they've made the right choices to keep the show going. Their beliefs would be proven right, of course, and the Tenth Doctor era of the new series would blossom into a new golden age for Doctor Who as a whole.

  What makes this two-parter tick? A lot of things, most of which I'll talk about later, but at the heart of the storm — the Doctor and Rose Tyler. Let's face it; regardless of what you or I might think about the strength of their relationship, there's no denying that Tennant and Billie Piper blow it out of the park with their performances. Even if you were a non-believer at the time, there's a high chance that even you were sucked into the chemistry and tragedy of these two for two 45-minute episodes. Sixteen years on, and the moment when these two feel each other's presence through the sealed breach still emotes as strongly as it always has. Is the emotional climax at Bad Wolf Bay a bit overkill? Perhaps... but sometimes, it leads to a much more fulfilling experience to suspend all disbelief and let the story take you over and leave you a blubbering wreck. 

  Lightning round of what else makes the two-parter awesome: Daleks and Cybermen having a go at each other, with Daleks being extra sarcastic! Graeme Harper directing the hell out of the episodes, proving yet again that he deserved to be the first director to cross from the classic series to the new! The first full introduction of Torchwood, with Yvonne Hartman leaving a strong enough impression for Big Finish to bring her back in the near future! Jackei and Pete finally meeting each other after two decades! 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  There are a lot of things to admire about the Army of Ghosts two-parter, and I'm fairly sure that this was the best possible way to let go of the popular TARDIS duo. It's still as exhilarating and heartbreaking as it was back in 2006, and David Tennant has, by this point, found his unique voice as the Tenth Doctor. Top-quality action-adventure Doctor Who, with a side of real emotions.