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With Planet of the Dead making its premiere Easter weekend (and does anyone know if it was televised at the same time as Red Dwarf: Back to Earth?), it would be easy to dismiss it. I'm glad to say that it's not a flat-out classic...but it's a pretty enjoyable episode in and of itself.
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Much of it is due to the chemistry between David Tennant and Michelle Ryan, who seems to be having a lot more fun than when she was starring in her last genre series. There's a great, almost breezy chemistry which dominates the episode (which really, plot-wise, is rather simple - but that's meant as a compliment). It's kind of what early Series Two hinted at with the Doctor and Rose - a kind of ease with each other bordering on the romantic. In fact, it's almost shocking when, towards the end, we see a flash of the shell-shocked Ninth Doctor, not wanting to get connected.
(And the episode makes it clear that, to quote another Series 4 episode, the Doctor's song will soon be over. However, there's a small clue that hints....it may be more than we expect).
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I'm also glad that this is, in many ways, also a U.N.I.T. episode - I heartily admit, I am a U.N.I.T. fanboy, so having a healthy amount of guns and ammo is a good thing..in fact, I secretly hope that this episode is setting up a good situation for Moffatt to take advantage of in a later season. However, this also leads to my minor quibble....
...and that's the character of Malcolm Taylor, aka the "loving portrait of Doctor Who fandom".
Granted, I'm being a little oversensitive on this - I quite enjoyed Lee Evans playing a guy attempting to live up to the Doctor's shadow. But to make him a slightly ove
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However, this was, in my opinion, one of the best new Who episodes to date. I'm glad that it's not part of a season, sandwiched between episodes. It seems as if having time between episodes is giving Davies (with, this time round, help from Gareth Roberts) a chance to do a little bit stronger writing.
Although I wish we had more Who, I would rather have better quality Who on a semi-regular basis...and I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.
Very Highly Recommended.
1 comment:
I quibble a lot more over at the SBG, but still agreen with your appraisal. A fun bit of fluff with an attractive guest companion.
It's Lee Evans by the way.
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