I don’t mind either that the 3 finale or Left Turn is undone at the end because both are as much about an exploration of the characters as anything else. One of my favorite moments of the show so far was in the 3 finale when Martha goes off on her own and becomes a total bad-ass mofo over the course of a year, and you can see when she’s returned to Earth that this experience has fundamentally changed and scarred her and made her really brave in a way that Rose never was and Donna definitely never was. (Martha, btw, my favorite companion of the new series by far.)

And I really don’t think you can watch the Talons of Weng-Chun and think the original series didn’t know it was campy. C’mon, the total Chinese stereotype complete with yellowface and “ah-so” accent? The bad guy who has mask ripped off and DUN DUN DUN has the twisted distorted weird face? The midget robot with the brain of pig?? It’s freakin HIGH camp.

Left Turn gave us an interesting exploration of Donna’s character and an exploration of what the Doctor’s world would be like without the Doctor — with Sarah Jane, Torchwood and UNIT stepping in to fill the void and ultimately sacrificing themselves in the process. My favorite was Torchwood getting stranded on the Sontaran homeworld which had me in stitches. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode.

I also hated the “80 kliks later” schtick at the beginning of “Midnight” but got sucked in once the knocking on the exterior of the train started. From there, it had a very Rod Serling feel to it. But I didn’t buy the conclusion, with the Hostess being the one to make the sacrifice and to choose Sky as the person to be expunged. I thought Dee would have come to the logical conclusion as to which was the correct person to jettison. Minor point, I guess.

I didn’t hate “Turn Left.” Yes, it was completely self-indulgent and a way to highlight the mythos he’s introduced. But I still found it watchable, unlike the series three finale. Watching Donna’s mother degrade into a soulless automaton, the horrors of martial law, Donna surrendering to destiny… I was entertained. (The bug? Meh. Whatever.)

Given the nostril-raping repugnance of last year’s finale–Earth enslaved only to be reversed when Superman flies around the world backwards–and knowing the upcoming onslaught of guest shots and “the Darkness,” I can’t imagine this finale will be in any way satisfying. I’m bracing myself for him to pull out the Deus Ex Machina gun and give it to us full in the face once more.

Breathe. Moffat’s reign is coming. Breathe. (But let’s not forget that Davies is still showrunning the Christmas show this year and next year’s specials… 2010’s still a way’s off.)

I agree that the bug looked silly, but though in other episodes the silliness of the special effects was a deal-breaker, in this episode it was clearly not the crux of the story or even its horror – that was derived mainly by the reactions to the bug before people could see it, not to mention the bleakness of the alternate universe.

(By the way, I agree that the episode plays fast and loose with the possibility of the Doctor dying, but Steven Moffat did exactly the same thing when he announced that the Doctor would die of electrocution in “Forests of the Dead.”)

This is now the second story from RTD — a year later, no less — in which it didn’t happen. Which suggests he has only a tertiary commitment to the emotional truth, however flawed, of the show. That truth, incidentally, doesn’t have to be all drama. Personally, I think some of Graham Williams’s contributions got a bad rap. But this crazed tension gives us the weird Nyssa skirt dropping scene in “Terminus.” (Man, I am really revealing my geekdom.) It gives us truth WITH the cheesy effects. Now that they have some money, why not try harder with this? As the above writers I’ve named have done?

That said I agree with you that Moffatt is a much better writer than Davies, and frankly I hope I never see another script written by that guy who did the awful Christie and Shakespeare episodes. But Left Turn was a good episode, and so was last year’s season finale, which made me laugh and smile and clap my hands. That’s what the show is supposed to do.