I don't enjoy being negative, certainly not about Doctor Who. But...

I hate the Slitheen. I can't stress that enough. I hate the Slitheen.

They don't look great (some of this is understandably due to the budget limitations of the time), they can't stop making silly jokes, the gas exchange fart jokes are overwhelming & annoying, their plan just boils down to destroy Earth = money (I never cared), the performances are over the top & cringe-inducing. I do like the subversion of Slitheen being their family name and not their species. That's interesting and kinda clever. In theory this should allow for them to have more personality and not just be nameless monsters/villains. In reality they do have more personality, I just do not like the personality they've been given. The show treats them as a joke, and it's a joke that never landed for me.

There are some good things in his episode though. I mentioned in my review of Rose that because of what that episode (correctly IMO) prioritised in it's storytelling, that Mickey & Jackie got a little short changed by the episode. Well they're both back in this two-parter, and the show more than makes it up to them here. The entire notion of what is the toll of travelling with the Doctor is a good one, but it has been examined before in Doctor Who. But, I don't recall a story where this idea was examined not through what the toll is on the companion, but on the people the companion leaves behind. It's an interesting story to explore and it is does so in way that makes me sympathise and like both Mickey and Jackie a lot more. The only slight criticism I have regarding this side of the story is the dramatic idea that the Doctor has to decide to risk Rose's life in order to save the day. A solid idea and given a lot of dramatic weight in the episode. But either I'm missing something, or the choice is for The Doctor, Rose & Harriet to maybe survive a single, non-nuclear missile being dropped (which tbf could kill Rose), or alternatively the world gets turned to slag after the Slitheen fire countless nuclear missiles over the Earth, killing everyone, including Rose. The show plays it as a hard decision to make, but presents it as a choice between saving the Earth but maybe killing Rose, or destroying the Earth and definitely killing Rose.

Honestly, although I do like the whole side of the plot that is about Rose and the people in her human life. It's not enough for me to remotely like this episode. Because, and I'm not sure I've mentioned this, I hate the Slitheen.