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

Review #16

The Big 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

Disclaimer: If you read this Review, then I highly advise you to give my "Parting of the Ways" Review a Read, since that one directly continues from this, due to the Nature of this being a Two-Parter.

Series 1 already stands out as an odd-one under the NuWho seasons, not only because its Eccelston only, but also it feels so tightly thought-out (and no I am not talking about the Bad Wolf “Arc”, it’s cool that it got mentioned through the Season, but I don't really get why this arc and to some extent others of the RTD Era are so beloved). Series 1 I do describe as a speed run to get to know the mechanics of Doctor Who, ending of course with a regeneration. As much as I would enjoy seeing more televised Eccelston, if it’s similar to series 2 then I kindly decline it.

One of my biggest issues with a lot of RTDs Finale is that maybe the first half will be pretty solid and then the pay-off being pretty underwhelming, that’s how I feel with Empire of Death. With “Bad Wold” basically being a big spoof on reality TV, as well as some other popular TV formats, it does have its own identity and stands on its own in my eyes, unlike Legend of Ruby Sunday for example. And while of course it did age in some regards, I would lie if I didn’t say I enjoyed it quite a lot. It’s very charming!