Series 2 (Doctor Who 2005)

For the 1964-1965 season of the original series, see Season 2.

Series 2 of Doctor Who, also known as Season 28 to differentiate it from Season 2, ran between April 2006 and July 2006 and starred David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler. The 2005 Christmas special, The Christmas Invasion, and the 2005 Children in Need Special were filmed as part of the Series 2 block and featured on the Series 2 DVD. Despite this, The Christmas Invasion is listed as a special episode and therefore not considered to be a part of Series 2 by the Episode Guide on the official website.

Overview

Each episode (not counting the specials) was accompanied by a short teaser "Tardisode" which was only viewable on the Internet; this experiment was not repeated for succeeding seasons and the Tardisodes were not included in the DVD release. The main story arc for the season was the Torchwood Institute, referenced only twice previously, which served to lead up to the finale episodes as well as the Torchwood spinoff series. A secondary arc dealt with Rose's growing infatuation with the Doctor. Series 2 saw the return of the Cybermen to television (albeit an alternate-universe version), and the return of companions Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. Both were last seen (notwithstanding independent, fan-made productions in 1983); their successful return sparked the commissioning of a second spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, for CBBC. The Series 2 finale saw the introduction of Donna Noble.

This was the first series to feature a "Doctor-lite" episode. These were episodes in which the Doctor (and, usually, his companion) only appear in one or two scenes, with the story carried by new, supporting characters. This allowed David Tennant to film two episodes at the same time. Love & Monsters was the first episode to use this innovation, though it did not receive the same level of acclaim later Doctor-lite episodes such as Blink and Turn Left achieved.