I already kind of covered my reactions to last week's episode, "The Fires of Pompeii," in previous posts, so after a week off from my running commentary on this season's American broadcasts, let's jump back into it.

For an episode with some extremely dubious xenobiology, even by sci-fi standards, and a rather pedantically preachy message, I didn't mind this one nearly as much as I suppose I should have. Granted, part of that is because its aforementioned flaws make it feel a lot more like an original series episode than most of NuWho has done, but then again, this whole season to date has really managed to capture a surprisingly strong classic Who vibe.

Upon reflection, I realized that the Doctor's presence actually didn't make much difference to the outcome of the Ood's struggle. While I have mixed feelings about that, since the standard laws of narrative fiction dictate that the protagonist should be the primary character who drives the story forward, I've decided that I don't mind as much as I would otherwise, since one of the themes of the episode was the humbling of the Doctor, which was also manifested in his desire to atone for his past indifference toward the Ood.

Not that it's hard to humble the Doctor when Donna's on hand to spar with him verbally. Their tart but ultimately affectionate exchanges recall the best of Five and Tegan, and while I'm far from opposed to allowing the Doctor some romantic involvements with certain of his companions, I really like the fact that Ten and Donna's relationship isn't constrained by a need to live up to some sort of starry-eyed, idealized perceptions of each other. Of course, I don't know why a romantic relationship between the Doctor and one of his companions would have to confine itself to placing one another on pedestals anyway, like a pair of codependents, but then, I'm not Russell T. Davies.

Sledgehammer-subtle hints of things to come: A second mention of disappearing bees, and the Ood telling ... the Doctor? Donna? Both? That their song would be ending soon. There are a number of ways to interpret that one.

Oh, and bonus points to Donna for wrinkling her nose at the treatment of the Ood first. Trust the working girl to connect best with those at the bottom of any given pyramid.

And I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this, but Donna's need to hear the Ood's song, even after the Doctor warned her how painful it would be, and her subsequent shame at asking him to "take it away," underscored her compassion and courage in an achingly quiet way. And good for Ten, for showing her such understated acceptance, by telling her that her reaction was perfectly "okay," when she needed to hear such consolation the most. He's come a long way from the Ten who told Martha in "The Shakespeare Code" that "Rose would know what to do."