Series 2 re-appraisal

[Anthony Williams]

With the series 2 box set having popped through my letter box earlier this week, I began watching series 2 again tonight.

The aim of this thread will be to look at series 2 retrospectively, posting my thoughts on the various episodes, and for other people to join in.

I started with the Children in Need Special.

The first thing that I'd like to say is that I was distinctly unimpressed with the new soundtrack that they'd put on for the DVD. It took away a lot of the tension and excitement of the scene, which was a great disappointment for me.

I have fond memories of watching it for the first time and being terribly excited when David Tennant's name appears on the title sequence for the first time, and even today, on this particular scene, it still brings up a small amount of excitement.

As for the scene itself - I've always enjoyed it for what it is - an extra little scene bridging the gap between series 1 and series 2. David Tennant provides an excellent first outing as The Doctor. But then again, for me, David was The Doctor from the moment he said "'allo!"

Anyway, Billie provides a fine performance, making Rose's reaction to the new person in front of her thoroughly believable.

All in all, a nice little scene that's more fun than anything else

I'll do The Christmas Invasion mid-week, I imagine.

Ant x

[Logo Polish]

The first thing that I'd like to say is that I was distinctly unimpressed with the new soundtrack that they'd put on for the DVD. It took away a lot of the tension and excitement of the scene, which was a great disappointment for me.

I've heard that this might have been an early sound edit that was put on the DVD by mistake.

[Anthony Williams]

ok, on to The Christmas Invasion

Now, I've always loved TCI in the past, and I still do! It's got such a wonderful magic to it. Introducing David Tennant's Doctor, this provides us with an exciting story, as well as strong performances from the supporting cast.

Although the Doctor doesn't really take much part in the action until the last 20 minutes, the performances of Penelope Wilton, Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri are strong enough to keep the story up until The Doctor does take part.

However, Rose begins her extremely annoying traits here - her brattish crying at The Doctor's regeneration ("I thought we had something special, but then he went and did this" - would you rather he DIED?!?!?), and her stupid attempt to command the Sycorax to leave (since she failed so dismally here, why is she so cocky throughout series 2?) This is unfortunately just the beginning of Rose becoming extremely annoying and unlikeable.

I guess this is the beginning of what I like to call the "Mickey arc", which sees the growth of Mickey's character. He shows definite signs of bravery here, fending off the Christmas tree with a wooden chair so that Rose and Jackie can escape. Noel Clarke does such a good job with Mickey, and we were truly blessed to have such a talented actor play the role (and he became an excellent ambassador for the show!)

As for the Sycorax, I like the design of the monsters themselves... the way they're built up, with an exoskeleton on top of their muscle. Their blood control ploy was very cunning, until The Doctor spoilt it for them. They seem to have a warrior culture steeped in tradition - rites of combat are an important thing to them. Russell T. Davies and his team have crafted the Sycorax brilliantly - I hear that the bloke who played the lead Sycorax actually learnt their whole language for his role!

As for the Doctor, well... I like David Tennant's Doctor here. It's a brilliant introduction for one of my favourite Doctors. He shows features that are distinctly Tom Baker-like (e.g. his way of talking to distract the enemy). The only thing I'm not such a fan of is the whole "no second chances" morality, which he doesn't seem to follow through with much in S2.

I feel quite sorry for Harriet Jones at the end of the story. She did what she thought was best for her planet, and The Doctor doesn't see that. Her "I'm sorry" as the Doctor walks off is an excellent touch. The brilliance of the scene is added to by the fact that as The Doctor and cohort walk off, The Doctor is the only one who doesn't look back to Harriet. Very well scripted and acted.

All in all, this wasn't a bad introduction to the Tenth Doctor at all, and I'm looking forward to re-appraising the rest of S2!

Ant x

[Si Hunt]

"Christmas Invasion", there's something 'bout you baby I don't like.

The trappings are fine - Tennants 'dormant' like state for the earlier part, that amazing TARDIS crash-landing, the Doctors severed hand, the ending with Torchwood and the turnaround. But to me, it's like "Storm Warning" on audio - loads of window dressing, but when you strip all that away what story have we got? Everyone piles into a big spaceship and has a bit of a chat. Additionally the Sycorax are dreadful Star Trek like aliens, big warlords in silly masks who have an oh-so-clever but unexciting language.

I like everyone in it, but not the adventure itself. There is no switching to different locations, advancement of plot (what plot? Aliens invade, Doctor tells them to go away, the end), shocks, changes in motivation or real adventure. The robot Santas are more of what I would have preferred to see, but they are in it for not very long at all, and have no reason to be there. Perhaps, given they are back this year, the production team realised that they were underused. Most of TCI takes place in a big cave. Woo.

My least favourite Tennant adventure to date, by far. But I shall give my thoughts on my next least-favourite very soon!

Si.

[transvamp]

The Christmas Invasion is really the story that put me off the New Series. Not in the kind of "Oh Wolrd War III and The Long Game were insultingly dumb and pointless", because there was always Dalek and Father's Day to look forward to next week. Christmas Invasion to me is the story where the ratings of new Doctor Who went to Russell's head and he just wasn't writing it with soul anymore- so we got a long sob-athon but it was all so routine and soulless that it made me eager for the whole thing to end rather than having me involved. There was a feeling about Rose, her mother and Mickey that made me say, "stick a fork in them all, they're done" and that the series was going nowhere fast.

I hate Doomsday for much the same reasons.

[Paul Monk]

Rewatched Girl in the Fireplace at the weekend and am now even more sure of its loveliness. And I don't care what anyone says the drunk scene is great. And I'm even more convinced that the Doctor is faking it in a huge diversion rouse of the sort that the fourth Doctor did.

[Anthony Williams]

I'll get on and do New Earth once I've got this sodding essay out the way.

Ant x

[Wayne]

Interesting thread, Ant.
I shall contribute properly in a few weeks time, as i'm intending to give TCI, & S2 another go in the weeks before S3 is aired.

[Milky Tears]

I intend to watch the Series Two box set in the week before The Runaway Bride is aired.

[Wayne]

Oh yeah, i forgot about the xmas special.
Well, i shall watch that before S3 airs, obviously.

[Anthony Williams]

New Earth

Personally, I like this story. Sure, it's not brilliant or amazing, but it's good fun, and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

This episode has some fantastic ideas. I really like Cassandra's return. Sure, the episode would have worked brilliantly without her, and would have given room for expansion on some of the other themes, but she adds so much fun into the episode. The body-swap scenes are played brilliantly by David and Billie, and there is some fantastic dialogue in there.

In addition, the plague farm was a fantastic idea. I do agree with those who said at the time that an entire episode devoted to this concept would have sufficed, but RTD's reasons for putting Cassandra into the first episode were sound, giving the viewer some familiarity.

The return of the Face of Boe works very nicely, adding a touching dimension to it. The scene where the nurse says "it's said he'll talk to the man without a home, the lonely god" still brings a tear to my eye, to this day. Finally, the Face sets things up nicely for a sequel.

However, there are some things about the episode that I don't like. Firstly, the character of Rose begins her downwards spiral here. The first annoyance about Rose comes at the very beginning, where Mickey says "love you" to her, and her only response is "bye". It was just cruel, callous and unnecessary. Then, her general clingyness to the Doctor was just plain annoying, and this is highlighted in the scene where she grabs onto his arm and says "travelling with you... I love it!". It's just plain annoying!

Secondly, the way the Doctor and Rose react to the end of the story. People died earlier in the story, as a result of Cassandra's actions. As the Doctor said earlier in the story "Rose would CARE!". Yet here, neither Rose nor the Doctor spare a single thought of all the visitors and patients of the hospital that would have died over the course of the episode.

Now, I know some people find the solution to the problem poorly thought out. Personally, with the intravenous solutions being spread by touch, one needs to use their imagination slightly. These are medicines from the far future. Who knows how they would have reacted when mixed together?

Anyway, although the story has it's down points, it remains a fun episode, and a fairly middling one in the series so far.

Ant x

[Anthony Williams]

On to Tooth and Claw.

This episode is for the most part, excellent. Well written, fantastic action scenes, well set up from the beginning. Just genius.

The plot is very clever, setting up the climax well. The acting is just fantastic from all members, and Pauline Collins does an excellent job as Queen Victoria. I certainly believed in all the characters for most of it, and it was nice to see a glimpse of Series 1-style Rose, whilst she was comforting the maid.

However, that is my main bug-bear with it. Rose's character is almost totally unbearable. Throughout the episode, she's simply extremely irritating. The "we are not amused" gag ran dry after about 30 seconds, and just came across as extremely arrogant, and totally disrespectful. Likewise, with the mocking of Princess Anne at the end. Simply awful, and in bad taste. That scene with the maid was Rose's only good scene.

Other than that, a spectacular episode.

Ant x

[transvamp]

On to Tooth and Claw.
However, that is my main bug-bear with it. Rose's character is almost totally unbearable. Throughout the episode, she's simply extremely irritating. The "we are not amused" gag ran dry after about 30 seconds, and just came across as extremely arrogant, and totally disrespectful. Likewise, with the mocking of Princess Anne at the end. Simply awful, and in bad taste. That scene with the maid was Rose's only good scene.

Funnily enough I remember people saying similar things about this episode at the time but I didn't really agree with the complaints. The Thatcher dig was glib (and probably ill-judged given who said it), but glib enough to be ignored. The Princess Anne bit, I did actually like that scene. It's not entirely out of character for Rose to make such a remark and I liked the open ended idea that maybe the Royals still are werewolves in waiting. I saw it as a nice bit of 'the aliens are among us' food for the kids' imagination.

Likewise I thught the 'we are not amused' line straddled the right line of good natured teasing. It probably did get tired but then again I thought it was quite a moment when Rose was still making that quip in the middle of the carnage and she gets bitchslapped for it. It seemed like she really had become numb to the violence and death of life in the Tardis and that was quite eye-opening at the time.

The thing is, by the time we got to the end of the season, I found that the bitchiness of Rose and the Doctor really had taken its toll by now, and that far from being intolerant of this aspect, I'd actually been more than patient with it and now it was making my skin crawl. This was no longer a series about an adventure of discovery or broadening horizons and opening your mind to new people or cultures. It was about mocking and belittling it all through its sneering protagonists. It was simply a petty, bitchy series for petty, bitchy fans. The Old Series may have had its highest highs and lowest lows but it was hardly ever so mean spirited.

[WhiteCrow]

Oh of the worst things about the Christmas Invasion was how little the new Doctor was in it - so frustrating to get only about 10 fantastic minutes of what was to be one of the all time most electric turns as the Doctor by David Tennant this series - although other Doctors are available.

It was also the beginning of the neverending Torchwood plugs!

[transvamp]

If there was ever anything that signalled the soullessness of Season two compared to Season One it was the repeated meme in question. 'Bad Wolf' represented a point of emotional development for Rose's character. 'Torchwood' tells me nothing except that Russell wants to advertise his spin-off as many times as possible.

[Wayne]

It was simply a petty, bitchy series for petty, bitchy fans.

Not only is that remark directly insulting to all the people who do enjoy it, it's also a rather silly, wide sweeping generalization.

[Dave Lewis]

Most authorities consider that cheese was first made in the Middle East. The earliest type was a form of sour milk which came into being when it was discovered that domesticated animals could be milked. A legendary story has it that cheese was 'discovered' by an unknown Arab nomad. He is said to have filled a saddlebag with milk to sustain him on a journey across the desert by horse. After several hours riding he stopped to quench his thirst, only to find that the milk had separated into a pale watery liquid and solid white lumps. Because the saddlebag, which was made from the stomach of a young animal, contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin, the milk had been effectively separated into curds and whey by the combination of the rennin, the hot sun and the galloping motions of the horse. The nomad, unconcerned with technical details, found the whey drinkable and the curds edible. From Biblical sources we learn that when David escaped across the River Jordan he was fed with 'cheese of kine' (cows) (2 Samuel 17:29), and it is said that he presented ten cheeses to the captain of the army drawn up to do battle with Saul (1 Samuel 17:18). Indeed, records show that there was at one time a location near Jerusalem called 'The Valley of the Cheesemakers'. Clearly, skills had been developed to preserve milk either as an acid-curd based cheese or as a range of lactic cheeses, and fermented milks such as today's unsweetened natural yoghurt. Learning these techniques, the Romans with their characteristic efficiency were quick to develop cheesemaking to a fine art. Cheesemaking was done with skill and knowledge and reached a high standard. By this time the ripening process had been developed and it was known that various treatments and conditions under storage resulted in different flavours and characteristics. The larger Roman houses had a separate cheese kitchen, the caseale, and also special areas where cheese could be matured. In large towns home-made cheese could be taken to a special centre to be smoked. Written evidence shows clearly how far the Romans had changed the art of cheesemaking:-

Homer, ca. 1184 BC, refers to cheese being made in the mountain caves of Greece from the milk of sheep and goats. Indeed one variety called 'Cynthos' was made and sold by the Greeks to the Romans at a price of about 1p per lb. This could well have been the Feta cheese of today.

Aristotle, 384 - 322 BC, commented on cheese made from the milk of mares and asses - the Russian 'koumiss' is in fact derived from mare's milk and is fermented to provide an alcoholic content of up to 3%.

Varro, ca. 127 BC, had noted the difference in cheeses made from a number of locations and commented on their digestibility. By this time the use of rennet had become commonplace, providing the cheesemaker with far greater control over the types of curd produced. Cheese had started to move from subsistence to commercial levels and could be marketed accordingly.

Columella, ca. AD 50, wrote about how to make cheese in considerable detail. Scottish cheesemakers today would be perfectly at home with many of the principles he set out so clearly some 1900 years ago.

By AD 300, cheese was being regularly exported to countries along the Mediterranean seaboard. Trade had developed to such an extent that the emperor Diocletian had to fix maximum prices for a range of cheeses including an apple-smoked cheese highly popular with Romans. Yet another cheese was stamped and sold under the brand name of 'La Luna', and is said to have been the precursor of today's Parmesan which was first reported as an individual make of cheese in AD 1579. Thus, Roman expertise spread throughout Europe wherever their empire extended. While the skills remained at first with the landowners and Roman farmers, there is little doubt that in time they also percolated down to the local population. Roman soldiers, who had completed their military service and intermarried with the local populace, set up their 'coloniae' farms in retirement, and may well have passed on their skills in cheesemaking. With the collapse of the Roman Empire around AD 410, cheesemaking spread slowly via the Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic seas to Southern and Central Europe. The river valleys provided easy access and methods adopted for production were adapted to suit the different terrain and climatic conditions. Cheesemakers in remote mountainous areas naturally used the milk of goats and sheep. Tribes such as the Helvetica, who had settled in the Swiss Alps, developed their own distinctive types of cheese. They were in fact so successful in doing this that for a period all export of their Emmental cheese was banned. In Central and Eastern Europe the displacement of people through centuries of war and invasion inevitably slowed down developments in cheesemaking until the Middle Ages. Production was often restricted to the more remote mountainous areas where sensible cheesemakers simply kept their heads down and hoped for the best. In the fertile lowlands of Europe dairy husbandry developed at a faster pace and cheesemaking from cows' milk became the norm. Hence, the particular development of cheeses such as Edam and Gouda in the Netherlands. This was much copied elsewhere under a variety of similar names such as Tybo and Fynbo. A hard-pressed cheese, relatively small in size, brine-salted and waxed to reduce moisture losses in storage, proved both marketable and easy to distribute. France developed a wider range of cheeses from the rich agricultural areas in the south and west of that country. By and large,soft cheese production was preferred with a comparatively long making season. Hard-pressed cheese appeared to play a secondary role. To some extent this reflects the Latin culture of the nation, mirroring the cheese types produced in the Mediterranean areas as distinct from the hard-pressed cheese that were developed in the northern regions of Europe for storage and use in the long cold winter months that lay ahead. However, throughout the Dark Ages little new progress was made in developing new cheese types. During the Middle Ages, monks became innovators and developers and it is to them we owe many of the classic varieties of cheese marketed today. During the Renaissance period cheese suffered a drop in popularity, being considered unhealthy, but it regained favour by the nineteenth century, the period that saw the start of the move from farm to factory production.

[Pip Madeley]

Am I losing it, or was that a long post about cheese?!

[Andrew Curnow]

Both parts of your post could be true, Pip...

Maybe Dave's post is basically saying "Cheeses!" as a very close approximation to a name often used as an expletive.

Or/and maybe I'm losing it!

[Dave Lewis]

I think I've lost it. Or found it.

[Andrew Curnow]

The thing is, by the time we got to the end of the season, I found that the bitchiness of Rose and the Doctor really had taken its toll by now, and that far from being intolerant of this aspect, I'd actually been more than patient with it and now it was making my skin crawl. This was no longer a series about an adventure of discovery or broadening horizons and opening your mind to new people or cultures. It was about mocking and belittling it all through its sneering protagonists.

I'm not sure, with all due respect Tom, what show you've been watching. I'm the first to criticise things I don't like in Who, but I can't really see an ongoing run of examples to back up your claim. I would say, if anything, that the first couple of episodes of series 2 had the Doctor and Rose being a bit too far on the wrong side of smug, but after that, I think it was pretty much back to business as usual. I don't recall them mocking or belittling the Ood, or the Preachers, or Mickey, or the French, or... well, anyone really.

[transvamp]

I'm not sure, with all due respect Tom, what show you've been watching. I'm the first to criticise things I don't like in Who, but I can't really see an ongoing run of examples to back up your claim. I would say, if anything, that the first couple of episodes of series 2 had the Doctor and Rose being a bit too far on the wrong side of smug, but after that, I think it was pretty much back to business as usual. I don't recall them mocking or belittling the Ood, or the Preachers, or Mickey, or the French, or... well, anyone really.

Tooth & Claw- there was the whole mocking of Queen Victoria, in concert with glib digs at Thatcher (which the Doctor simply rattled off for the 'cool' appeal and didn';t even bother to substantiate) and the Royal family.

School Reunion- the whole Rose picking on Sarah Jane Smith. Yes they make friends eventually, but only on Rose's own terms. Furthermore the Doctor refuses to intervene and leap to anyone's defense because this bitch spat is 'cool' that would make him a parental figure and a 'spoilsport'

Rise of the Cybermen- the Doctor not only gossips with Rose, deliberately keeping Mickey out of it, but in the course of which he describes 'weird looking' aliens, coming across as narrow minded and a snobby adolescent, as if journeys through time and space are just an oppurtunity for him to play 'look at that freak' with his companion. There's also him laughing in Rose's face when he spots her counterpart as a dog.

The Age of Steel- again the Doctor refuses to intervene when Mickey is getting insulted by Jake because he can't be seen as a spoilsport.

The Idiot's Lantern- the whole length of the episode is them picking on Mr. Connelley. Maybe he deserved it, but they're so 'in house talking' and humiliating over it that it makes them seem petty.

The Impossible Planet- When one of the crewmen panics over an impeding disaster, Rose retorts "What are you? Chief dramatist?"

Love & Monsters- Well I've already gone over the "you upset my mum" bit. But the point is, its the companion putting her self-agrandisement over the alien threat and the Doctor happily obliging her.

Fear Her- Ah, the exception to the rule, they're briefly a nice pair again, compassionate, open minded, and all about understanding the person they're up against. Episodes like this are actually a lot more likeable.

Army of Ghosts- Why on Earth does the Doctor suddenly care if the staff at Torchwood write in their journals that he travels with his companion's mother? Since when was the Doctor that much of a snob, or someone who cared what simple humans thought about him?

[Andrew Curnow]

See, I personally would say that a lot of those are just throwaway lines and moments which (IMHO) you're taking out of context and blowing out of all proportion.

School Reunion- the whole Rose picking on Sarah Jane Smith. Yes they make friends eventually, but only on Rose's own terms. Furthermore the Doctor refuses to intervene and leap to anyone's defense because this bitch spat is 'cool' that would make him a parental figure and a 'spoilsport'

The actual 'bitch fight' takes place with the Doctor out of the room. There's tension before then, agreed, but I'm not sure exactly what you would have expected the Doctor to do. If, as I think is the case, you don't like the more 'emotional' current Doctor, then I can't see you'd approve of the Doctor sitting Sarah and Rose down to get all their feelings out in the open a la Oprah (and nor would I). And, they make friends eventually "but only on Rose's own terms" - I'm not sure that's true at all. They both burst out laughing and that seems to be it as far as I can see, I don't think either gets the upperhand.

Rise of the Cybermen- the Doctor not only gossips with Rose, deliberately keeping Mickey out of it, but in the course of which he describes 'weird looking' aliens, coming across as narrow minded and a snobby adolescent, as if journeys through time and space are just an oppurtunity for him to play 'look at that freak' with his companion.

As I say, I really think that's blowing a throwaway line out of all proportion - I don't even remember the line. I can only, honestly, say that it didn't make the Doctor seem to be a narrow-minded snob to me. And where's the idea that the Doctor should never be a little 'mean' to his companions, or never laugh at them, come from? "Primitive Tegan, very primitive" (Earthshock) or even "Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!" In fact, the fourth Doctor is often nasty and dismissive and critical in respect of Harry; it makes the Doctor's treatment of Mickey mild in comparison.

The Idiot's Lantern- the whole length of the episode is them picking on Mr. Connelley. Maybe he deserved it, but they're so 'in house talking' and humiliating over it that it makes them seem petty.

The whole length of the episode? Hardly - there's some stuff with Maureen Lipman and a TV shop isn't there? One might argue that they're overly-harsh to Mr Connelley, but on the other hand, wouldn't the alternative be leaving Mrs C & her son under the oppressive thumb of the husband if the Doctor did nothing? Not to mention that it's Rose who makes the boy go after his Dad at the end. Personally I think if there's a problem with that set up it's that the actor playing the Dad isn't all that good, but that's another issue.

Army of Ghosts- Why on Earth does the Doctor suddenly care if the staff at Torchwood write in their journals that he travels with his companion's mother? Since when was the Doctor that much of a snob, or someone who cared what simple humans thought about him?

I'm holding up my 'throwaway line' card again, sorry. It's, to my mind, on an exact parallel with such instances as the second Doctor sitting down neatly to let Isobel take his picture in "The Invasion", it's just a little touch of human vanity which makes him our Doctor.

IMHO of course!

[transvamp]

At first they could be dismissed as throwaway, but by the end of the season they accumulated to the point where they felt omnipresent and had actually somehow become the whole ethos of the show. If you reread my post on Tooth & Claw you'll notice that I didn't even notice this kind of thing the once. Twelve episodes later it is all leaving a really nasty aftertaste.

I've seen all of Harry's stories and the Doctor tends only to get mean with Harry when he does something clumsy and causes the Doctor to get exasperated. The Doctor's meanness wasn't something that came out of nowhere in any given scene (in the opening scene of ROTC before Mickey has even had a chance to annoy the Doctor, he's being ripped by the leading man) just because the Doctor fancied having a laugh at someone else's expense, and throughout the season Harry still felt like part of the dynamic.

I wouldn't have wanted the Oprah scene either, but the old Doctor was always holding Ace back whenever she got aggressive with people, and in my opinion Tom Baker would have told her to either stop having a go at Sarah or 'you can get out my Tardis'.

I'm afraid the vanity of The Invasion doesn't cut it. His vanity and egotism derived from believing that he knew he was great and he didn't care if people were won over or not. The old Doctor wouldn't care what people thought of the company he kept, the fact that he now does leaves a sour taste in the mouth and I would not like to have anything to do with such a man who'd befriend you and then arbitrarily hide you from sight when he felt ashamed of being seen with you.

the bottom line is that this all felt very wrong to me, and it took watching the Key to Time Season to realise 'why' it all felt so wrong. And I realised what it was. The old series used to be one about expanding your mind, meeting people and learning about them, seeing new worlds. In the New Series, the Doctor and Romana would have sneered at everyone they met, shutting them up before they got a chance, and they'd ignore the scientific details to discuss the episode of Eastenders they watched last night, oh and they'd side with the colonists over the tribesmen in Power of Kroll, simply because the Tribesmen look 'weird' and 'scary'.

[Milky Tears]

I see that The Flake is trying to muscle in on my cheese posting "scene". Well, I've got big news for him.

Is he aware that the climate and geography of Scotland are well suited to cheese-making? The short making season in Scotland meant that traditional cheeses usually required to be capable of being stored (matured) through the winter - hence the predominance of hard (matured) cheese in Scotland and Britain. At one time most farmhouses or crofts made their own cheese, but there was little financial return. Improved transportation of milk changed the scene dramatically.

Today there are still more than two dozen cheesemakers across Scotland, ranging front large industrial Cheddar creameries to the handful of artisan and farmhouse cheese makers. Scottish Cheddar accounts for 70-80% of total output and the main creameries are located at Lockerbie, Stranraer and Campbeltown and on the islands of Bute, Arran, Mull (a peninsular), Gigha and Orkney. Often the creameries are open to visitors. The advent of modern temperature controlled facilities and refrigerated transport has revived artisan cheesemaking in small creameries and farms across the country.

A McLelland & Son Ltd created a wide range of delicious Scottish cheeses including connoisseur cheeses to awaken the palates of many a connoisseurs. In recent years the main supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury, Somerfields and the Co-op have stocked a selection of local cheeses and specialist cheese shops in Scotland's main towns have extended their ranges. If you come across interesting local cheeses when you eat out, it may be worth enquiring where these can be bought.


Some of the cheeses to look out for are:


Bishop Kennedy: A 'trappist' cheese originating in the medieval monasteries of France but still relatively unknown in Scotland. Full fat soft cheese, rind washed in malt whisky to produce a distinctive orangey red crust and a strong creamy taste. Runny when ripe.

Bonchester: Small coulomnier-style cheese made with unpasteurised Jersey milk. Available mainly March to December.

Bonnet: Amid, pressed goats milk cheese from small Ayrshire dairy. Similar to Inverloch (and Sanday).

Brie: Howgate Scottish Brie, traditionally made, matures to a runny sticky texture. Also Howgate Camembert.

Brodick Blue: Ewes milk blue cheese from Brodick.

Brodick: Arran blue is the cows milk version.

Caboc: (see cream cheese)

Caithness: a new mild, Danish style wax coated cheese. Also available smoked.

Cream Cheese: several versions, mostly based on revived traditional Highland recipes and rolled in oatmeal, including Caboc (Ross-shire), Howgate (Perthshire) and Lochaber-smoked. Available plain or with peppercorns, garlic or herbs.

Crowdie: a soft fresh cheese, several versions, mainly available only locally. Originally made using milk left after the cream had separated naturally. Plain or flavoured with peppercorns, garlic or herbs(Hramsa, Crannog, Gruth Dhu etc.)

Dunlop: resembles Scottish cheddar with soft texture. Mostly creamery-made in blocks on Arran and Islay but also traditionally in Ayrshire (Burns), near Dumfries and at Perth (Gowrie).

Dunsyre Blue: cows milk farmhouse blue cheese made on the same firm is Lanark Blue, with vegetarian rennet and unpasteurised milk.

Fool: A mild, white creamy cheese made from fanboy milk. It is a modern cheese from the Ayrshire region. Fool is very similar to the French cheese Sainte-Maure de Fesse, but comes in wider wedges. It can be used to replace spurt on pizza toppings. Delicious with toss salad.

Highlands and Islands:
'Drunileish' is produced on the Isle of Bute. A three month old mild cheese with a buttery flavour, uneven texture and piquant taste.

'Isle of Bute' (also produced on Bute) is a hard medium cheese with all the characteristics of a good cheddar.

'Mull of Kintyre', from the Campbeltown Creamery, is a mature cheddar with a nutty aroma and rounded taste.

'Highland', a mature cheese also from Campbeltown, has a unique, soft texture with a smooth flavour and strong aftertaste.

'Arran' cheddar, made by traditional methods, is a deliciously mellow medium to mature cheddar with a creamy soft texture.

Howgate: Established artisan farmhouse cheesemaker, originally from Howgate near Edinburgh, now in Dundee, pioneered the making in Scotland of continental cheeses including Howgate Brie, Camembert and Pentland. Other cheeses include St Andrews, Bishop Kennedy, Strathkinness and Howgate Highland Cream Cheese.

Inverloch: Pasteurised pressed goats cheese from Isle of Gigha. Coated in red wax. Also popular fruit shaped waxed cheeses.

Isle of Mull: traditional unpasteurised farmhouse cheddar from Tobermory. Cloth-bound.

Kelsae: unpasteurised pressed cheese made near Kelso from Jersey milk. Like Wenslensdale but creamier in texture and taste.

Lanark Blue: unpasteurised ewes milk cheese in the style of Roquefort.

Loch Arthur: traditional farmhouse organic cheddar from Loch Arthur near Dumfries. mull of Kintyre: small truckle of mature Scottish cheddar coated in black wax. A smoked version is also available.

The Orkney Isles: distinctive cheddar whose history goes back nearly two centuries, made in two creameries on Orkney. Several seasonal crofting cheeses sometimes available locally.

Pentland: white moulded soft cheese made in small quantities and not widely available.

St Andrews: award winning full fat, wished rind soft cheese, mild creamy, full flavoured with characteristic golden rind.

Scottish Cheddar: creamery produced cheddar now made in Galloway (Stranraer), Lockerbie, Rothesay and Campbeltown.

Stichill: unpasteurised creamy Jersey milk Cheshire style, from the Scottish Borders.

Strathkinness: award winning Scottish version of Gruyere, nearly 50 gallons of milk goes into a cheese! Matured 6-12 months. Limited availability.

Swinzie: pasteurised, pressed, ewes milk cheese from Ayrshire.

Teviotdate: vignotte style, white moulded unpasteurised cheese.