Doctor Who: Series Eight

Doctor Who: Series Eight, 2014. An alien travels through space and time with a human girl.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon (3 episodes), Ben Wheatley (2), Paul Murphy (2), Paul Wilmshurst (2), Rachel Talalay (2), & Sheree Folkson (1). Written by Steven Moffat (7 episodes), Jamie Mathieson (2), Phil Ford (1), Mark Gatiss (1), Stephen Thompson (1), Gareth Roberts (1), Peter Harness (1), & Frank Cottrell Boyce (1). Starring Peter Capaldi, & Jenna Coleman.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: I put off watching this for a really long time, largely because "The Time of the Doctor" was so completely godawful. I'm relieved to find that the show seems to be back on its feet, though. They have adventures. There's minimal bullshit (the "teases" throughout the season mostly tease stuff that actually happens, instead of Moffat's usual empty bluster). Clara's still not much of a character (despite spending most of the season attempting to develop her). Moffat's writing style still tries too hard (and has a way of sounding like he's writing for trailers more than for the episode). Overall, it's a great show again, the best series since series five. Hopefully the Capaldi Years don't decline as sharply as the Smith Years did. A

GPA: 2.8/4

Doctor Who: "The Time of the Doctor"

Doctor Who: "The Time of the Doctor" (tv special), 2013. The Doctor vs... everybody? I don't even know.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Jamie Payne. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith & Jenna Coleman.

Concept: D
Story: F
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: F
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: Hands down, the worst Doctor Who episode since the 90's Fox TV movie. In fact, now that I think about it, there's arguably more to like in that than in this. The only part that's any fun is the few seconds of Capaldi at the end, and that's just because of curiosity. D

GPA: 1.4/4

Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor"

Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor" (tv special), 2013. Three Doctors are thrown together to help one of them make a decision.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Nick Hurran. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, Jenna Coleman & Billie Piper.

Concept: Okay, now can we all just forget about the Time War nonsense and move on already? C
Story: D
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: B
Enjoyment: Seeing Smith and Tennant side by side, it becomes painfully clear that the problems with the 11th Doctor aren't entirely due to Moffat's writing. Largely due to it, but not entirely. So... I guess that bodes well for series eight? I can hope. B

GPA: 2.4/4

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part Two

Doctor Who: Series Seven Part Two, 2013. An alien travels through space and time with a human girl.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Saul Metzstein (2 episodes), Colm McCarthy (1), Farren Blackburn (1), Douglas Mackinnon (1), Jamie Payne (1), Mat King (1) & Stephen Woolfenden (1). Written by Steven Moffat (2 episodes), Neil Cross (2), Mark Gatiss (2), Stephen Thompson (1) & Neil Gaiman (1). Starring Matt Smith & Jenna-Louise Coleman.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 1/4 (Bad). None of the individual episodes have particularly good stories, and any of their harmlessness is offset by a terrible overarching "mystery."
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent). Clara barely gets a chance to be a character at all, and when she is it's usually as a collection of Doctor Who Companion tropes (What's that you say? The new companion is a plucky young woman from present-day London? How do they think of these things!). Meanwhile, after three seasons, I still have no idea what the 11th Doctor is like - except that he has a habit of running into River Song, which is almost as annoying as, say, the 6th Doctor's costume.
Dialog: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Acting: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Aaaand all of the optimism I had from the first part of the season is gone entirely. It's still a pretty good show (it is Doctor Who, after all), but my excitement level for more is just about at zero. The reveal at the end of the finale does nothing, since Moffat is so damn predictable at this point that no one would believe for a second that he would actually do anything with the potential to cause real change in the show. Which would be fine, if the show behaved like Doctor Who should - if it were a series of adventures. Instead, he keeps trying to tease things, trying to imply that something really big is coming. And he never delivers. He barely ever manages to deliver comprehensible plot resolutions, much less Something Big. His idea of a major revelation is to have someone say, "this is a major revelation," then carry on as before. This show desperately needs a change - something majorly different, like a female Doctor, or an old Doctor, or an established actor, or a companion that isn't just another in the long line of Rose clones. But Moffat will never do it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.4/4 (Okay)

Doctor Who: The Snowmen

Doctor Who: "The Snowmen" (tv special), 2012. A girl and a misfit crime-solving gang convince the Doctor to save Christmas again.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Saul Metzstein. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith & Jenna Coleman.

Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent). Um... your show did this already, Moffat. Remember the 10th Doctor? No?
Story: 1/4 (Bad)
Characters: 3/4 (Good). Victorian Governess Clara is a great companion, up until the end of the episode where they're all like "ooooh, mystery," and why can't they just go on adventures damn it.
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). The plot is complete gibberish, but that's okay because most of the focus is just on the characters, who are a lot of fun.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.7/4 (Good)

Doctor Who: Series Seven, Part One

Doctor Who: Series Seven Part One, 2012. An alien travels through space and time with a human couple.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Nick Hurran (2 episodes), Saul Metzstein (2) & Douglas Mackinnon (1). Written by Steven Moffat (2 episodes), Chris Chibnall (2) & Toby Whithouse (1). Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan & Arthur Darvill.

Concept: 4/4 (Great)
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent). The plots are either predictable, or Swiss cheese. It's a huge improvement over season six, but Moffat's still more interested in writing Clever Twists than telling stories.
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good). Not as many great joke lines as I expect from Moffat's Doctor, and some occasional awfulness.
Pacing: 2/4 (Indifferent). Too fast. Mostly good, but the Ponds' exit is frustratingly incomplete.
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Often great, sometimes terrible.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). I don't find any of the individual episodes to be particularly remarkable (at least not compared to what the show was doing a few years ago); the best ones fall apart at the end when the plot holes are brushed aside with babble. But the tone of the show is back to the old standard of fun and adventure, and I'm back to being Unreasonably Excited about watching it.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.9/4 3.0/4 (Good)

Doctor Who: "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"

Doctor Who: "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (tv special), 2011. A British family during WWII is treated to an unusual Christmas holiday.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Farren Blackburn. Written by Steven Moffat. Starring Matt Smith & Claire Skinner.

Concept: 4/4 (Great). Domestic Doctor is always welcome.
Story: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Characters: 3/4 (Good)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites, 4/4 5/4). Now that I've finally gotten around to watching this, I'm very relieved to find Doctor Who turning in the complete opposite direction of the cluttered, fast-forward mess of series six. There are still a lot of problems with the story, but nothing too bad. The focus is back on characters, and taking the time to let the audience care about what's happening to them. As far as emotional impact goes, this is the strongest episode so far of the Smith/Moffat era - maybe of the entire series.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.1/4 3.2/4 (Very good)

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two

Doctor Who: Series Six Part Two, 2011. An alien travels through space and time while putting off dying.

Created by Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber & Donald Wilson. Directed by Nick Hurran (2 episodes), Richard Senior (1), Richard Clark (1), Steve Hughes (1) & Jeremy Webb (1). Written by Steven Moffat (2 episodes), Mark Gatiss (1), Tom MacRae (1), Toby Whithouse (1) & Gareth Roberts (1). Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan & Arthur Darvill.

Concept: 3/4 (Good). Still too focused on an awful over-arching story, but for the most part that's limited to just a couple of the six episodes.
Story: 0/4 (Terrible). At its worst, it's horrible and makes no sense. At its best, it's clever and makes no sense. There are also some parts that make sense, but those are recycled and dull.
Characters: 3/4 (Good). Best part of this half-season? River Song is only in two episodes. (And her story's wrapped up enough that she might be gone for good!)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good). The Moffat-written episodes are just as awful as the first half of the season was, pacing-wise, but the other four slow down enough that we can catch our breath. There are even several strong emotional scenes.
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good). Mostly great, with just enough instances of of bad CG to bring it down a point.
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Like the first half of the season, there's only one great episode. And if I hadn't seen Lost, I'd say the resolution to the season-long story arc couldn't have been more disappointing. Steven Moffat has made a remarkable 180 in the last couple years, going from being the best Doctor Who writer to the worst since the 1980s. It's really just the great cast that's carrying the show at this point. Although, given Moffat's demonstrated love of narrative curve-balls, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns around and does something great again next season. (And I haven't seen the latest Christmas special yet, so for all I know he already has.)
Objective Rating (Average): 2.6/4 (Good)

Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One

Data
Title: Doctor Who: Series Six, Part One
Year: 2011
Network: BBC
Episodes: 7, at about 45 minutes each
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Toby Haynes (2 episodes), Julian Simpson (2), Richard Clark (1), Peter Hoar (1), Jeremy Webb (1)
Writers: Steven Moffat (3 episodes), Matthew Graham (2), Neil Gaiman (1), Steve Thompson (1)
Starring: Matt Smith
With: Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston, Frances Barber, Hugh Bonneville, Raquel Cassidy, Suranne Jones, Mark Sheppard, Sarah Smart
Music: Murray Gold
Cinematography: Stephan Pehrsson, Balazs Bolygo, Dale McCready, Owen McPolin
Editing: Jamie Pearson, Tim Porter, Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Peter Oliver, Simon Reglar
I saw it: on video, over the past couple weeks (have on DVD)
Synopsis: an alien travels through space and time with a human couple expecting a time-baby

My reaction
Concept: 2/4 (Indifferent). What was wrong with adventures? I liked when they went on adventures. Not happy to see the show turning into Lost.
Story: 1/4 (Bad). The Neil Gaiman episode is excellent. The pirate episode is crap. Otherwise, the rest of the episodes are pretty much all part of one big story, and not a very good one. There are so many unanswered questions set up in the beginning that I don't even know what hasn't been resolved yet. And I don't care. They mean to be creating suspense, but instead they're just ensuring that none of the stories have effective conclusions.
Characters: 2/4 (Indifferent). The only development going on is with River Song. Does anybody actually like River Song? I mean, other than Moffat, who is clearly obsessed with her.
Dialog: 4/4 (Great). At least when the stories get bad, I can tune out the plot and enjoy the banter (when the music's not too loud to drown it out).
Pacing: 1/4 (Bad). This season is on crack a little. Kind of like we're watching it in fast forward. Which makes the "emotional" parts hilarious.
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great). Reasonably good special effects. Not much designing to speak of compared with previous seasons (only one new alien), although what there is is excellent - the sets in particular.
Acting: 3/4 (Good). It is hard to judge this when you're watching a show in fast forward.
Music: 1/4 (Bad)
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, 3/4). Meh. Matt Smith's Doctor is turning out to be a lot of fun. But there sure is a lot wrong with this season so far. Still good, though, thanks mostly to Neil Gaiman for sticking something great into the middle of this mess.
Objective Rating (Average): 2.3/4 (Okay)

Doctor Who: "A Christmas Carol"

Data
Title: Doctor Who: "A Christmas Carol"
Year: 2010
Network: BBC
Length: 60 minutes
Creator: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Director: Toby Haynes
Writer: Steven Moffat
Starring: Matt Smith
With: Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Michael Gambon, Katherine Jenkins, Laurence Belcher, Danny Horn
Music: Murray Gold
Cinematography: Stephan Pehrsson
Editing: Adam Recht
I saw it: online, after it aired; on video (have on DVD), yesterday
Synopsis: a spaceship will crash if a rich old man doesn't become a good person overnight

My reaction
Concept:
Story: There's too much of it, but it's nice enough.
Characters:
Dialog:
Pacing:
Cinematography:
Special effects/design: Great design, mediocre effects.
Acting:
Music:
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good, ). Too rushed and overstuffed with timey-wimey cuteness for there to be time for the character stuff (which the story is supposed to be about) to work. Also, there are plot holes and crimes against science (does Moffat even know what the word "frequency" means?). But it is nice that they at least tried to do something more low key in a special for a change. And its faults are made up for with some first rate Doctor Blathering.
Objective Rating (Average):

Doctor Who: Series Five

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series
Year: 2010
Network: BBC
Episodes: 13, at 45-65 minutes each
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Adam Smith (3 episodes), Andrew Gunn (2), Jonny Campbell (2), Catherine Morshead (2), Ashley Way (2), Toby Haynes (2)
Writers: Steven Moffat (6 episodes), Chris Chibnall (2), Mark Gatiss (1), Toby Whithouse (1), Simon Nye (1), Richard Curtis (1), Gareth Roberts (1); with characters by Terry Nation
Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold



My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious alien travels through space and time with a human girl
How I saw it: online as it aired (Spring 2010); on video over the past week or two (have on DVD)
Concept: Great.
Story: Good. Most episodes are great. Three of them are kind of bad, and the attempt at a season-long story arc is annoying.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good. Good design, but the special effects have regressed a few years.
Acting: Good. Smith hasn't got anything on David Tennant's acting chops. Don't get me wrong, though, he's perfect casting for The Doctor. Really great acting is inevitably going to humanize the character. Tennant's performances could move you to tears, but that took the character in a very un-Doctorly direction. This time around, they leave the tear-jerking responsibilities to great directing, writing and guest stars, and let the Doctor be an alien.
Music: Indifferent. I'm getting the feeling that Murray Gold has done what he can do with this show, and they're over-due to bring in somebody new. What he did in the first series was absolutely brilliant, and he's had some fun re-imagining things over the years, but he's kind of failed to adapt to the "new" show. He gets some points for attempting something new, but loses them immediately for putting the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire music in my head.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). They had a great opportunity to re-invent the series, to make Steven Moffat's Doctor Who as different from Russel T. Davies' Doctor Who as Davies' was different from the classic show. I mean, they've got a completely new cast, new producers and a new head writer. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't ever such a complete, simultaneous change-over in key Doctor Who personnel throughout the classic show's entire history. But at the same time, I don't think a change in Doctor Who personnel has ever had less impact on the feel of the show. I mean, apart from the new Doctor*, the occasional nod and wink to William Hartnell, and the lack of obligatory gay characters, nothing's really changed. It's still as great as it ever was, and the quality of individual episodes might be a bit higher than before, on average (but it's hard to say - the Silurian story brings it down quite a bit). Perhaps, with the ridiculous success of the show, they felt obligated to carry on with the old formula. But the beauty of Doctor Who is that it changes; not just The Doctor, but the entire show. So where's my new era?
Objective Rating: 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good).



*This is my first proper New Doctor (when I started watching the show, Tennant had already done a series (and by the time I caught up with everything (or, at least, everything on region 1 DVD), he'd done two series)) which is a big deal so I should comment. So far I like Smith's take on The Doctor. Whatever that take is. Who is the eleventh Doctor? As I noted above, he's alien - probably more alien than even the fourth Doctor was - but what are his other defining characteristics? Doctor Four was alien and witty; Doctor Eleven is alien and... what? Fumbling? Reckless? Goofy? Can you even tell from a single series?

I've noticed that whenever The Doctor regenerates, his new personality overcompensates for his previous personality's major flaws. For instance, the second Doctor was terrified of everything, in place of the first Doctor's reckless curiosity. So I'd like to think that, in place of the tenth Doctor's near-crippling loneliness and tendency to fall in love with humans, the eleventh Doctor is someone who can completely forget that the people around him are there. He's the Doctor who leaves Amy waiting for 14 years while he breaks in the TARDIS, who runs off without ever looking to see if you're following, who lets people get attacked while his back is turned, and who tells a blinded companion surrounded by evil aliens to wait there while he goes to save the day because she would only slow him down. Then again, I could be completely wrong, and he could be the goofy weirdo who eats fish custard, wants to wear a fez, and dances badly at weddings.

Doctor Who: The Specials

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete Specials [but not really - just the specials since season four ended]
Year: 2008-2010
Network: BBC
Episodes: 5: 1 at 65 minutes, 3 at 60 minutes, 1 at 75 minutes
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Euros Lyn (2 episodes), Andy Goddard (1), James Strong (1), Graeme Harper (1)
Writers: Russell T. Davies (5 episodes), Gareth Roberts (1), Phil Ford (1); with characters by Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis and Terry Nation
Starring: David Tennant
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold

My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious, lonely alien travels through space and time
How I saw it: youtube, over the past couple years; on video (have on DVD), over the past few days
Concept: Great.
Story: Great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). Prior to this set, the Christmas specials had always been some of my least favorite episodes. I'd much rather watch a smaller-scale show that's well done than a big spectacle-infused event that tries too hard to impress you. But these usually manage to have the best of both worlds. Yeah, the finale does try way too hard, but at the same time, it always comes back down to character.  And there's Wilf. (If you don't know the show, just take my word for it: Wilf is the s**t.)
Objective Rating: 3.6/4 3.7/4 (Great).

Doctor Who: Season Four

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series
Year: 2007-2008
Network: BBC
Episodes: 14: 9 at 45 minutes, 3 at 50 minutes, 1 at 72 minutes, 1 at 65 minutes
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Graeme Harper (5 episodes), James Strong (2), Douglas Mackinnon (2), Alice Troughton (2), Euros Lyn (2), Colin Teague (1)
Writers: Russell T. Davies (6 episodes), Helen Raynor (2), Steven Moffat (2), James Moran (1), Keith Temple (1), Stephen Greenhorn (1), Gareth Roberts (1); with characters by Robert Holmes, Terry Nation, Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Starring: David Tennant, Catherine Tate
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold

My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious alien travels through space and time with a human woman
How I saw it: on video several times (have on DVD), most recently over the past few days
Concept: Great.
Story: Great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). The best season of Doctor Who, ever. Which is really saying something. Still, I'm expecting next season to be better.
Objective Rating: 3.6/4 3.7/4 (Great).

Doctor Who: Season Three

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series
Year: 2006-2007
Network: BBC
Episodes: 12 at 45 minutes, 1 at 52 minutes, 1 at 60 minutes
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Charles Palmer (4 episodes), Richard Clark (2), James Strong (2), Graeme Harper (2), Colin Teague (2), Euros Lyn (1), Hettie MacDonald (1)
Writers: Russell T. Davies (6 episodes), Helen Raynor (2), Paul Cornell (2), Gareth Roberts (1), Stephen Greenhorn (1), Chris Chibnall (1), Steven Moffat (1); with characters by Terry Nation
Starring: David Tennant, Freema Agyeman
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold

My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious alien travels through space and time with a human medical student
How I saw it: on video several times (have on DVD), most recently over the past few days
Concept: Great.
Story: Good. There's really only one bad episode this whole season.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). I think if I were to make a top ten list of my favorite Doctor Who episodes, probably close to half of them would be from this season. This is where the series gets to the point where you can expect great drama (and humor, and horror) from just about every single episode. The plots don't always work if you think about them too much, and the finale is a mess, but it doesn't really matter while you're watching it.
Objective Rating: 3.5/4 (Very good) 3.6/4 (Great).

Doctor Who: Season Two

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete Second Series
Year: 2005-2006
Network: BBC
Episodes: 13 at 45 minutes, 1 at 60 minutes
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Euros Lyn (4 episodes), Graeme Harper (4), James Hawes (3), James Strong (2), Dan Zeff (1)
Writers: Russell T. Davies (6 episodes), Tom MacRae (2), Matt Jones (2), Toby Whithouse (1), Steven Moffat (1), Mark Gatiss (1), Matthew Graham (1); with characters by Bob Baker, Dave Martin, Gerry Davis, Kit Pedler and Terry Nation
Starring: David Tennant, Billie Piper
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold

My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious alien travels through space and time with a human girl
How I saw it: on video several times (have on DVD), most recently over the past couple weeks
Concept: Great.
Story: Indifferent. A couple of episodes are great, but most of this season is just okay.
Characters: Good.
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Great.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 9/10 (One of my favorites). Easily the worst season so far. I have to admit that if I wasn't a fan and saw an episode from season two (other than one of the few great ones), I might wonder what the fuss was about. On the other hand, the first time I saw season two, the awesomeness of David Tennant was more than enough to make me love it.
Objective Rating: 3.2/4 3.3/4 (Very good).

Doctor Who: Season One

Data
Title: Doctor Who: The Complete First Series
Year: 2005
Network: BBC
Episodes: 13, at 45 minutes
Creators: Sydney Newman, C.E. Webber, Donald Wilson
Directors: Joe Ahearne (5 episodes), Keith Boak (3), Euros Lyn (2), James Hawes (2), Brian Grant (1)
Writers: Russell T. Davies (8 episodes), Steven Moffat (2), Mark Gatiss (1), Robert Shearman (1), Paul Cornell (1); with characters by Robert Holmes and Terry Nation
Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper
Music: Ron Grainer (theme), Murray Gold

My reaction
Synopsis: a mysterious alien travels through space and time with a human girl
How I saw it: on video several times (have on DVD), most recently over the past few days
Concept: Great.
Story: Good. There are a couple bad episodes, but most are great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Indifferent. The special effects are pretty cheesy, but not bad for television.
Acting: Good.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). Eccleston's Doctor doesn't really compare with David Tennant's, and the individual episodes are rarely as good as the best ones from more recent years, but I love the over-arching story of this first season. They keep trying to top it by making things bigger, but it's never worked as well as the first time. Hopefully the new producers for the next season this spring will finally move on and stop with the constantly revisiting and repeating season one.
Objective Rating: 3.3/4 3.4/4 (Very good).