I absolutely hated this one as a child, I think it was the first ‘behind the sofa’ moment I had. As such, I usually skip it when I rewatch series one, but it’s still a good episode. Being scared by Doctor Who is good (sometimes)! It also marks Mark Gatiss’s first writing for the revival series, and it’s definitely a highlight of his nine-episode credits.

It’s our first of three RTD era episodes where the Doctor meets an author and drops references to their works into conversation, and Dickens at Christmas with ghosts, in a distinctly Bleak House, is a wonderfully silly-yet-spooky concept. Though that’s about as far as silliness goes. The whole episode, pre-TARDIS-landing aside, is far more serious than the previous two- the tone is darker, and even the sets are gloomier. There’s still plenty of lightness to the plot- the Doctor’s fanboying over Dickens, Rose and Gwyneth’s conversation about boys- any more than that would feel out of place.

This episode once again puts the characters at the forefront and develops the side characters wonderfully- Dickens gets his own little moment of heroism, and whilst Gwyneth having ‘the sight’ seems a little convenient, it gives the Doctor and Rose a perfect opportunity to clash heads.

The Doctor, in his post-war mind, feels that saving the Gelth is worth having a few zombies around, but Rose is concerned only with Gwyneth having a real choice, and is disturbed by the thought of the dead walking around. It’s an interesting argument, and the audience is left to make up their own mind despite the Doctor being proved wrong with his clouded judgement - if the Gelth really were few and good, would a few lively corpses be a worthy sacrifice? We don’t get that answer.

Instead, we get an explosion! Set ten years before Torchwood is even founded, Eve Myles is already making her mark on Cardiff’s infrastructure.

I can’t say I won’t skip it again in future, but it’s not awful, and certainly better than I remembered from the original broadcast.