My flatmate vervassal and I had much the same reaction, although rather less coherently. I actually had tears standing in my eyes at the death and resurrection of a little tin dog. And as Sophie commented, if they're going to keep exploring the emotional undercurrents this well, one really doesn't need fanfic. Sarah-Jane was so very awesome.

I quite like Rose, even when she's being self-centered and whiny - it makes her not-perfect and real. Plus, she must be 19 or so, so it's understandable that she'd have a lot of growing up to do. That's one of the reasons why, while I'm a fan of Doctor/Rose in theory, I hope it doesn't happen for some time yet.