The Ghostbusters bit annoys me more each time I see it, because I think it's dragged out too far - if he'd simply gone "Who you gonna call?", and that was it, I think it would have been fine - a quite funny and simple reference. But remember when you went on about how Dwarf series VIII frequently overplayed gags by drawing in the lines too much? I think the way Rose shouted "Ghostbusters!" and Tennant's mugging of "I ain't afraid of no ghost!" made that scene a bit like that. Oh, and the music didn't help.

The Trisha bit was quite "meh", simply because Shaun of the Dead had done the exact same gag. But I loved the Eastenders bit. Especially Jackie's line immediately afterwards.

As for the Olympic torch bit... I'm with Charlie Brooker on this one. He showed a clip of it on Screen Wipe when talking about the overuse of sentimentality (in the same segment, he showed a clip of the end of Girl in the Fireplace to demonstrate how good it can be when the sentimentality is done well and sparingly), and combined with the awful, awful voice-over from Huw Edwards, and the way the camera pans across everyone - including the "Council" bloke - smiling with pride, it really is horribly, horribly mawkish. Which is a shame, because I quite liked the actual gag moment where he picked it up - but it was ruined by everything that followed.

"The Ghostbusters bit annoys me more each time I see it, because I think it's dragged out too far - if he'd simply gone "Who you gonna call?", and that was it, I think it would have been fine - a quite funny and simple reference. But remember when you went on about how Dwarf series VIII frequently overplayed gags by drawing in the lines too much? I think the way Rose shouted "Ghostbusters!" and Tennant's mugging of "I ain't afraid of no ghost!" made that scene a bit like that. Oh, and the music didn't help.

See, I like it that they went all out for such a silly joke! Again, it's my love for over-the-top things.

As for the Olympic torch bit... I'm with Charlie Brooker on this one. He showed a clip of it on Screen Wipe when talking about the overuse of sentimentality (in the same segment, he showed a clip of the end of Girl in the Fireplace to demonstrate how good it can be when the sentimentality is done well and sparingly), and combined with the awful, awful voice-over from Huw Edwards, and the way the camera pans across everyone - including the "Council" bloke - smiling with pride, it really is horribly, horribly mawkish. Which is a shame, because I quite liked the actual gag moment where he picked it up - but it was ruined by everything that followed.

Weirdly, I'm usually extremely oversensitive to mawkishness (Rose's line in The Unquiet Dead "Better with two!" triggering me off into howls of "THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CUT FROM THE FIRST DRAFT YOU IDIOT".)

But I loved the torch stuff. I think it was Tennant's performance - the sheer joy on his face just made me grin like an fool.

Okay. But next time you watch the scene, don't pay attention to Tennant - watch the camera pan across the faces of everyone watching on TV. And tell me a little part of you doesn't die inside...

My problem with the Torch bit was just that it was quite out of character for the Doctor to run in and go LOOK AT ME, I SAVED THE DAY! I quite like Tennants Doctors playfully arrogant streak but this was just too far, and after the Doctor disappeared into the drawing, and then didn't show up at the same time as the other people released from the drawings, I thought there might be some explanation or interesting plot point. But him showing up on TV just indicated that he'd be running around having a laugh and that made the fact that I'd had to sit and watch Billie Piper save the day on her bloody own for ten minutes all the more irritating. The Doctor was just being kept off screen because he was running around laughing or shagging or something.

I take your point about the obvious jokes, but I think they're better to be throw away gags - like the Kylie line in Idiots Lantern, one of the few bits I liked about that ep - rather than fanfared with backing music and each character barking a part of the punchline, because when that's done as with the Ghostbusters gag it gives a sense of the writers going LOOK AT THIS BRILLIANT JOKE, when the whole nature of the joke is it's just a stupid thing to say. The banter between the characters should give a sense of laid back camaraderie, rather than imply with a techno ba-dum tishhh that it's the FUNNIEST THING EVER. I dont think it's a matter of giving more to the joke - if it wasn't there, the joke would probably be more audible, anyway.

I may be the only person anywhere who actually hares John's tastes on this matter...

I meant "shares", obviously.

I don't mind the Ghostbusters moment (even though Tennant saying 'I ain't afraid of no ghost' in Scooby Doo's voice is what you might call an insane acting decision!). The TV clips are OK too because they're short. The Peggy Mitchell scene was better than I imagined it. HOWEVER, I don't like the Olympic Torch bit and I never will! It's as though the only reason it was set in 2012 was to get the moment where the Doctor carries the Olympic Torch. Actually...OK, here's the thing, it's not the Doctor running with the torch that I mind, it's just the way it fits into the episode. I was already fucked off at that stage by the Huw Edwards voiceover and just about everything else in the episode (I reckon the living scribble is the most stupid thing I've ever seen).

And don't get me started about the ending of Fear Her. It's a wonder the line 'D'you know Rose, it's the finale next week so something bad is going to happen *wink* *nudge*' wasn't there. There was absolutely no need to do that. SOOOOO patronizing to the audience. I know kids watch, but for fuck's sake.

Fear Her stank to absolute high heaven. Not only because it was so unbearable shoddy, mawkish and generally rubbish, but also because it was written by the excellent Mathew Graham - a man who chucks out consistently brilliant stuff on shows like Hustle and Life on Mars - so it was a *huge* disapointment.

Also, UK acting schools for kids should really learn to actually... you know... teach them acting.

> And don't get me started about the ending of Fear Her. It's a wonder the line 'D'you know Rose, it's the finale next week so something bad is going to happen *wink* *nudge*' wasn't there. There was absolutely no need to do that. SOOOOO patronizing to the audience. I know kids watch, but for fuck's sake.

I agree with this. I love a bit of foreshadowing, but it needs to be subtle. That was a problem throughout Series 2 - the Torchwood references were just annoying by the end. They did Bad Wolf really well - it being written on posters in the background, in German on the bomb and so on - but they fucked Torchwood up good and proper. There was a bit in the Army of Ghosts edition of Confidential where Gattiss said "but did you spot the Torchwood references throughout the series?" Of course we did! They might as well have had a bloke walking into shot and coughing the word "TORCHWOOD!" And then have The Doctor say "wait a minute, did he just say Torchwood? I wonder what Torchwood is". And then have the word "TORCHWOOD" flash on screen in big green letters. And have Rose point to it while pulling an inquisitive face.

Or have the word paint itself purple and dance naked on top of a harpsichord, singing "Torchwood is here again!"

Did anyone else get annoyed by Billie Piper's (and David Tennant's) crap look-I'm-taunting-you-so-I-won't-close-my-mouth-for-five-minutes acting?

...in the last episode to the Daleks.