You can tell a lot about a Doctor Who fan by whether they hate, tolerate or love Love & Monsters. Hatred of this 45 minute of TV for me indicates a fan who takes the show a little too seriously and can't embrace the show switching up its format in a fun or inventive way. Loving this story too indicates a lack of interest in denouements that hold up to serious inspection. I'm someone who thinks this story has far too bad a reputation, but wish the green, blobby monster reveal had been carried off a bit more successfully.

Until Peter Kay disrobes, this story is an excellent chamber piece, introducing and dispatching with new characters at a quick rate. Every character moment matters though. And Elton, our hero of the week, is so damn lovable. The scenes with him and Jackie are pure dynamite - some of the best Doctor Who we've had all season. It has been said a 1000 times before but MAN Russell T Davies knows how to write characters.

The framing device of Elton talking to camera is a brilliant novelty and helps set this story apart from its peers. It may be a middling episode, but its one of the most memorable middling episodes. And ends with a hilarious blow job gag.