Bad Wolf is mostly set-up for the second half of the finale, but fair play it's good set-up. More than that, it's a solid story in its own right - tearing apart the mid-2000s reality show zeitgeist, introducing my beloved Lynda-with-a-Y, and really allowing Christopher Ecclestone to show just how good he is as an actor.

A lot people, myself included, agree that while Bad Wolf is an excellent part one, it's is more of a setup and the real meat of the story is all in the finale. But that doesn't mean we should overlook a lot of what Bad Wolf offers that makes it an all-timer in its own right. The highlight of course being the game show setting where all these game shows we're familiar with are now used to kill contestants. It builds to my favourite scene of the story where the Doctor learns about the consequences of his actions in the past that unintentionally shaped the Earth into the nightmare world it is today. It’s something that doesn’t come up a lot in Doctor Who where they reveal that while the Doctor in the moment may have saved the day, in the long term he actually made things worse because he was too busy flying off to his next destination instead of cleaning up the mess.

The other highlight of course being the reveal that the Daleks had been pulling the strings this entire time, slowly building their fleet for an invasion of Earth. Which leads to an hell of a cliffhanger and one of Eccleston's best scenes setting the stage for one massive battle in the finale. It's an excellent part one to one of Modern Who's best series finales

New Who Review #12

Bad Wolf

This episode was good. It serves as a good first part of the series 1 finale. The deadly game shows are really cool and a fun idea. The scene where rose gets shot with the disintegrater beam was a shocking one. The reveal that the daleks are behind all of this hiding in space controlling the games is scary and the fact there's half a million daleks is truly terrifying. This is a strong 9/10

Great episode with the main cast getting some opportunities to perform on their own in an unfamiliar environment. The twist of how the Game Station "kills" its losers was chilling, and Rose's situation added real stakes through the episode. Jack really shines in this episode, both in his game and after the breakout. The episode ends with a good old "EXTERMINATE", and the Daleks are scary here

2025 Rewatch (Will post on both episodes)

• I love the wild and bold choice to bring iconic reality shows of the time and turn them into deadly games. still such an iconic idea, and it feels dated as well, but beautifully so. It would be so weird trying to do that today. What shows would they use? Love Island? The Chase?
• However, overall, I didn't feel much interest in the story as I used to. I wonder if that's because it doesn't have that grandeur most finales I'm expected to have. It has that feel of just another adventure. I know that changes by the finale episode, but vibes don't always be there
• During my classic rewatch I can't help that this feels a little like a combination of Vengenace on Varos and Revelation of the Daleks for certain plot points. which is interesting because they are very separate, but I can't help but think of them
• The Daleks are pretty great in this story, killing tons of people, a bit insane
• 2 minor points I don't feel so set with
  • Why did the Doctor have to kiss Rose?
  • Why didn't the Doctor put Lynda on the TARDIS, too? Felt like he was interested in having her onboard but only decided to save Rose fully? RIP LYNDA we love you