'Planet of the Dead'/'The Waters of Mars'

Am current on my Doctor Who watching again and enjoyed both specials. Some thoughts follow.

-Both stories separated the Doctor from the TARDIS for some period of time. I like this as many critics like to ask 'When things get bad, why doesn't the Doctor just leave?' These times he couldn't. It's not that every story needs to do this but it's nice to have plotted out at times.

-I really liked the way 'Planet of the Dead' built. There's a mystery and an event, but it seems like a small story. As it progresses, it gets bigger and bigger, until it gets huge.

-It's nice to see a creature vulnerable to bullets and bombs for a change.

-Some great characters in this story, Malcolm especially. I'm not sure what I thought of the fate of the Countess. It makes sense but, at the same time, I'm not sure I liked it.

-'The Waters of Mars' reminded me a lot of the Patrick Troughton story 'Fury from the Deep'. There's a weird force that transforms humans into its servants and uses those servants to infect others. It takes place in a 'base' set aside from the bulk of humanity. 'Fury' just has a happier ending.

-The Doctor separates himself a bit from humanity and quickly (quickly seems like an odd choice of terms because who know how many adventures he had between the two stories) he starts becoming very alien again. He swings heavily towards 'crazy Time Lord' instead of 'fun loving adventurer' and that choice costs him big time. He knows he does something wrong and immediately regrets it.

-I've been referring to 'The Waters of Mars' as 'delightfully depressing'. It's a creepy story and well told but it's very sad for most of the running.

'The End of Time' is not far off...