Another cracking episode on Saturday night.

Its always nice to see a returning New Series monster as well (although to call the Ood monsters is perhaps a bit unfair).  There’s a general reliance on classic series monsters to provide a big punch for a season (you can’t beat the Daleks or Cybermen turning up), but its nice to see the new series developing its own classic monsters.  I was really pleased when the Slitheen turned up in Sarah Jane Adventures for example.  While I maybe thought the comedic aspects of them had been (very) overplayed in the Aliens of London 2-parter, there was still no doubt that they’d really resonated with the kids.  I’d like to see us get to the point where a Doctor Who season finale can have a shock reveal of a returning new series monster, and it to be as big a shock as the return of the Daleks or the Master.

The one thing that’s really striking me so far about this season, is the amount of fore-shadowing going on.  Every episode so far has had at least one big moment hinting at big things to come.

Its interesting, as this kind of thing has always been a bit more subtle in past seasons, or at least not as prolific.  For example, the Harold Saxon arc of season 3 only appeared in some of the episodes, or back in season 1, it was easy to miss the Bad Wolf mentions if you weren’t watching for them.

It does add to the feeling that this season’s building up to something epic in its finale.