Series 2 ( Doctor Who ) Series 2 of " Doctor Who " was David Tennant ' s first full series as the Tenth Doctor . It wrote out Billie Piper ' s Rose Tyler and briefly introduced the character of Donna Noble . Significantly , series 2 also served as a mild advertisement for the then - forthcoming " Torchwood " television series , since its main story arc established the origins of the Torchwood Institute . Unlike series 1 , the main production team did not feature Mal Young . Instead , Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner carried on as executive producer s and Phil Collinson continued in his role as the main producer — an arrangement that persisted through to series 4 ' s " Journey ' s End " . Everything from the 2005 " Children in Need Special " to " Doomsday " was a part of the series 2 production block — though the " regular season " is typically characterised as the stories from " New Earth " to " Doomsday " . Overview . The main story arc for the season was the Torchwood Institute , referenced only twice previously , which served to lead up to the final episodes as well as the " Torchwood " spinoff series . A secondary arc dealt with the development of the love story between Rose and the Doctor . Series 2 saw the return of the Cybermen to television , and the return of companions Sarah Jane Smith and K9 . 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 appears 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 as later Doctor - lite episodes such as " Blink " and " Turn Left " . 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 , though several online prequels would once again be produced for series 6 ; the Tardisodes were the first BBC - filmed " Doctor Who " productions since TV : " Mission to the Unknown " in which neither the Doctor nor a companion appeared ( with the exception of the Tardisode for TV : " School Reunion " which featured Mickey Smith ) . Adaptations and merchandising . Home media . VHS . All episodes of series 2 including the Children In Need special and The Christmas Invasion were released in July 2006 by Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment . DVD . All episodes of series 2 were released in 2006 in both individual volumes and in boxset form by 2 | Entertain and Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment for Region 2 , in 2006 by Warner Home Video for Region 1 . However , in region 4 volumes 3 , 4 and 5 along with the complete box set were released by CTHE under the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment name . In 2014 the series was re - released on DVD in the US , split into two volumes labelled " Part One " and " Part Two " respectively , mimicking the home video release of Series 6 and 7 . This release is missing much of the bonus content seen on the previous box set . Re - packaged versions of the complete series were also made available . Bluray . Series 2 was included in the " Doctor Who : Complete Series 1 - 7 " Bluray boxset , released on November 5th , 2013 in the US and November 4th , 2013 in the UK .