'Doctor Who,' episode 2

Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor in "The End of the World."

I know I said I wouldn't get sucked into the habit of downloading every "Doctor Who" episode, but after an e-mail conversation with college buddy Joe Video who had watched it, I couldn't resist.

The second episode, "The End of the World," was a huge improvement over last week's show. I was willing to overlook a lot in that episode, "Rose," because it was after all the first new "Doctor Who" in more than 15 years. That is, unless, you count the Paul McGann TV movie, which also left a lot to be desired, but I similarly enjoyed it at the time anyway.

Now I can tell you that "Rose" did stink. It's no wonder the Sci-Fi Channel passed on it. But "The End of the World" was better in almost every respect. A better story, better effects and some mysterious hints dropped about the Doctor's past.

Let's hope they can crank out more like this one. The download I found included the trailer for next week's show. It looks like the Doctor and Rose are going back to 1860 to meet Charles Dickens and fight zombies.

I should mention that I was able to get the episode I downloaded to play in our new DVD player. Unfortunately the disc I used was prone to skipping. But when it worked, the show looked and sounded great on the widescreen TV.