Single Father

David Tennant's highly anticipated return to our TV screens aired last week - and I missed it because I was on holiday. But, thanks to the wonders of digital TV I've been able to catch up!

After a busy, messy first half hour full of exposition and back story - the first episode finally kicks into gear and we eventaully get to see what the series' title promised: how Tennant copes as a single father.

But was this slow start really necessary? We needed to understand the relationship of the family, and Suranne Jones' Sarah, but it felt like the flashback technique was only used to allow a dramatic opening sequence where Rita is knocked down. Subsequently the pacing gets slightly confused as do the viewers emotions. There were simply too many characters to introduce in such a short space of time.

However, as the episode progresses and things begin to settle, the characters are given time to develop at a more natural pace and it suddenly becomes much easier to watch and far more compelling. And we begin to see Tennant's full range as an actor.

Not that he was never pushed in his tenure as The Doctor, but the role was so iconic, and became so enormous towards the end that it was hard to see him as the actor rather than the character. This role however, is so much more paired back, more raw and natural that it allows us to see another dynamic to his acting ability.

And he is supported by a strong cast too. They say never work with animals or children but the supporting cast of young actors keeps this series fresh and grounded. And special mention should be given to Chris Hegarty (Paul) who perfectly portrays the mature before his years young man of the house - the relationship between Hegarty & Tennant is compelling and quite moving.

If I have a criticism, it's the score - not because it was poor, but because it was Murray Gold. Gold is a fantastic composer and has brought Doctor Who to life with his music over the past 5 series', but similarities between these two scores become a bit jarring. Some of the emotional cues echo those of the Tenth Doctor's, even to the untrained ear, and therefore take us out of this new world.

All in all as a first episode it didn't grip me. I might even go so far as to say that if I wasn't such a huge Who fan, I wouldn't have watched it all the way through. But I feel like it has a lot more to give. Now that the backstory is out of the way we can actually focus on the idea of the show I hope it can really entice me.

Having said that, with so many character arcs to focus on, will it just remain as messy as it started, with no one quite getting as much attention as they deserved?

TBC...

The final part of Single Father airs Sunday @ 9.00PM on BBC1