It’s a feature of RTD’s #DoctorWho that he always kept in mind how kids / casual viewers might only have general memories of previous stories, not specifics.

People don’t care about the exact details of the Robot Santas, they’ll just remember “Oh, the bad guys from last Xmas!”

Unfortunately we’re now into the era of the Tenth Doctor moping over Rose every bloody episode.

Cheer up mate, it’s Christmas! 😜 #DoctorWho

The Racnoss Queen is such a crazy character, with her peculiarly mannered way of speaking and a seeming fascination with Christmas, weddings, etc.

And the creature itself looks great, just a shame they couldn’t stretch to a single CGI shot of her scuttling about. #DoctorWho

“Where are they from, the planet Zovirax?”

The single most dated reference in all of #DoctorWho! 😄

Martha gets one of my favourite ‘bigger on the inside’ moments, with the Doctor mouthing it along with her.

Welcome aboard, Miss Jones! 😀 #DoctorWho

They literally do the “there was only one bed” thing from fanfiction. 😄

Honestly Doctor, Freema Agyeman in bed next to you, looking longingly… and you go and ruin the moment blathering about bloody Rose…

You idiot! #DoctorWho

“Oh, 57 academics just punched the air!”

There it is - Russel’s favourite number! Is that the first time it was used in dialogue? #DoctorWho

The bit about “Time Lord DNA” being conveyed down the lighting strike (?) is the point where the plot feels like its unravelling.

And the scene of the Doctor saving Lazlo seems rushed and almost improvised, sort of “oh, just do what you can with the available props.” #DoctorWho

The Lazarus Experiment: there was often a bit of a mid-season slump in the RTD years, and never more obviously than in season 3. There’s nothing too terrible here, there’s just much better episodes coming soon.

Still, a whole episode without a mention of Rose. Result! #DoctorWho

The CGI for the creature is generally very good and holds up well… except for the human face. 🫤

On DW:Confidential the CGI artists proudly talked about how they’d managed to get Mark Gatiss’ features in there. Er, really…? #DoctorWho

The Saxon story arc is ticking away nicely in the background. It’s worked into the season much better than Bad Wolf or Torchwood ever were, which were just… words being mentioned.

So who was this guy and what did he whisper to Francine to make her go so mad? #DoctorWho

42: I recall there being some very daft criticisms of this one, mainly people claiming that it was “exactly the same!” as Impossible Planet/Satan Pit from the previous year.

What, just because you can’t see past the grimy industrial aesthetic? #DoctorWho

Also fans grumbled because they thought it was our sun that’s revealed as a living entity, when its actually far across space.

Like the later ideas of ‘the Statue of Liberty’s a Weeping Angel’/‘the moon’s an egg’. People can’t cope when this stuff’s too close to home. #DoctorWho

The space sequences are all extremely well done. From Martha and Riley floating away in the escape pod, to the Doctor’s rescue attempt, to McDonnell’s sacrifice.

We’ve come a long way from Pertwee on very obvious wires in Frontier In Space! #DoctorWho

Tennant is very good at being possessed by the entity too, leading to a rare confession from the Doctor of being scared.

A decent, if not Earth-shattering debut from Chibnall. 🙂 #DoctorWho

Human Nature / The Family Of Blood: this was the beginning of a stormingly good sequence of episodes from here to the finale, maybe the best run in the entire history of the show?

How are there two versions of this story, given the novel? Ah, the Time War changed it. #DoctorWho