Steven "The Moff" Moffat comes in heavy from the top rope and delivers lasting childhood nightmares

There’s just so many great ideas, characters and moments all throughout. The nightmare inducing Empty Child with his iconic catchphrase, the introduction of Captain Jack Harkness, the clever revelation of what’s causing the gas mask plague and why, the emotional ending and Eccleston’s outstanding performance. I just never get tired of revisiting this story.

Out of all of Steven Moffat’s written works, this has aged considerably better than most of his episodes. Mostly due to the fact that while it’s bursting with imagination and different ideas, he never gets over ambitious or ahead of himself. The story is kept tightly written and never veers off in a pointless direction. The characters also have a lot more dimension compared to a lot of Moffat’s later side characters whose names I can’t remember even if you held a gun to my head! Especially when this story introduces the one and only Captain Jack Harkness who absolutely steals the show. It’s a real shame Jack’s time onboard the TARDIS was as short-lived as it was, he’s easily the most fun part of the Ninth Doctor era.

New Who Review #9

The Empty Child

This episode is fantastic easily the best 2 parter of series 1. The story is about a man called Captain Jack Harkness and how he thought a harmless warship would be a great con for the doctor and rose. But instead this ambulance is full of Nanogenes and has infected everyone. The doctor and Rose are split up in this part. The doctor is with a girl called Nancy investigating the "Bomb" which is in fact the warship jack threw at them. And rose is with jack getting information about who he is and finding out about the Nanogenes. Nancy is a cool character who is very important to this story I just wish we got more of her. The whole premise of being touched turns you into one of the Gas Mask Zombies is truly terrifying. The cliffhanger is pretty good as it's not too risky and the resolution pays off well. 10/10

Really good episode, with Rose and the Doctor being split up. Rose goes on an adventure by accident and meets Jack Harkniss, who is really cool throughout this whole two-parter. The Doctor has to figure out what the deal is with this child in a gas mask and what Nancy has to do with him

2025 Rewatch (Post the same review for all parts)

• This story is still a classic, even after 20 years. It's such a high-concept horror thrillride
• Moffatisms galore. You can hear him in his scripts, and I dare say they become a little distracting
• The simplistic use of the gas mask is such a brilliant idea, weaponising something already creepy to make it worse
• Jack seems much rougher around the edges under SM's writing, and I dare say more likable. There's a better twinkle in his eye. It's a shame SM never wrote for him again
• That old woman with the regrown leg is an absolute icon