Doctor Who - the second series kicks off

And suddenly, there it was at last: Series 2, episode 1.

Long awaited, much trailered and perhaps the most hotly anticipated start to a TV series since .. well, since Series 1.

All in all, it was a good start, but for those of us who have been watching since the real Series 1, since the dark and distant days of 1963, I can't help thinking that it's all a bit quick. You know, we used to have entire stories spread out over four, six, or even eight episodes. A cliff-hanger at the end of every one.

The Doctor lands, and spends most of episode 1 scoping out the terrain of the new place. You might catch a glimpse of the resident alien right at the end of that first episode, or even (gasp!) have to wait until episode 2 to really get a clue what's going on.

Now?

He lands, pretty assistant by his side (some things don't change, thank God!) and within 45 minutes he's arrived at the right location, discovered the problem, avoided the bad guys, worked out what's wrong, fixed it and left again. A kind of scientifically-enhanced emergency plumber.

This isn't even a virtual 45 minutes, you understand. We get no clues about extra time passing by. There's no "later that day" or "fade into next week." He really does do the whole bit in 45 minutes. Frankly, it stretches credibility.

You'll probably say that today's audiences demand instant gratification. They need the pace to be break-neck. They have no patience or attention span for anything above the level of the Playstation. Is that right, though? Isn't it a self-fulfilling assumption? Isn't it worth at least giving longer stories a try?

Last season included some two-parters, as will this season. I found them much more satisfying and rounded. Two 45-minute episodes is equivalent to three episodes of the old show and is long enough to flesh things out a bit. I wonder what three episodes would be like? Even better, I'd suggest. More demanding on the storyteller, to be sure. Harder to keep the interest up. But worth it, IMO.