The historical story had a key role during the adventures of the First Doctor, but over time they started to slip out of favour or became a backdrop to a tale set in the future. The Fifth Doctor, to my recollection, had quite a few, too. Now, we can expect something from the past in every season, or more than one if we’re lucky, and ‘The Fires of Pompeii‘ doesn’t fail to deliver at any level.

Great story, great scenery, superlative special effects – the Pyrovile looked appropriately menacing throughout. The early appearance of the Pyrovile sentry really made an impact, and the whole background of secret cults and visions provided a compelling and believable setting.

Again, Donna provided wit, wailing and a little wisdom, showing her willingness to stand-up to the Doctor when it comes to the crunch. Unlike other companions, who might have allowed the Doctor to leave while swallowing back their objections, Donna shows her backbone and ability to serve as the Doctor’s back-up conscience.

And wouldn’t you love to watch the archaeologist who digs up the frieze of the household gods, with Doctor, Donna and TARDIS? (Yes, I know that frieze isn’t the right word… but, it’ll suffice until I think of the right one).

So, having taken a holiday from writing anything at all… I’m going to do the lot in one go. Right…

‘Partners in Crime‘ – I have no trouble with. Thing is, while people rate it down scale from ‘Smith and Jones‘, I didn’t find the Judoon slash vampire granny episode any more compelling than ‘New Earth‘… and none of them (in spite of plastic Mickey) compares to the raw thrills and excitement of ‘Rose‘. Yes, flat blobs from another planet would have worked equally as well (if not better) in the ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’, but they provided a relatively safe basis for some good humour, an over-confident villain, and a meeting of Time Lord and companion.

The silent window conversation worked brilliantly and Catherine Tate proved she could (just about) play a semi-serious role without wailing and gurning every three seconds.

In hindsight, you might agree with the principle of starting the series on such a light hearted note, given the steady descent into darker (shadowier) realms since.

As a Yorkshireman once said: ‘Aye, very passable, that, very passable…’.