Initially, I told myself I was only going to write movie reviews on this blog, but then I thought, why be so limiting?
So, here’s a bit of television to delight and entertain.
You will believe a bus can fly!
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
Cast: David Tennant, Michelle Ryan, Lee Evans, Noma Dumezweni, Adam James, Reginald Tsiboe, Ellen Thomas, Victoria Alcock, Daniel Kaluuya, David Ames
Director: James Strong
The second Doctor Who special of David Tennant’s final run was different from a lot of what we had been introduced to in the new Doctor Who series. Instead of opening with the Doctor landing the TARDIS and walking about or a brief bit of terror involving our “creature of the week,” we instead are treated to a museum heist in progress. A daring cat burglar scales from the top of a gallery to steal a golden chalice of some kind.
After gaining the prize, our thief reveals herself as a woman. She exits to meet her accomplice, only to find him being arrested. Immediately, she jumps on a bus to escape the police surrounding the area. Just as the bus departs, the Doctor also boards.
The rest of the episode revolves around wormholes, a race of fly-people called Tritovores, and a desert planet. I don’t want to go into full details or examine the whole plot because, frankly, I think you need to watch it for yourself. I will say that I loved Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina and think one of the best characters created in this new incarnation of the Doctor Who series is Dr. Malcolm Taylor played by the incomparable Lee Evans. That man is pure brilliance.
It aggravates me when people start to nitpick things about Doctor Who. This special feels like it is more for the old fans. There was that level of cheese that was so present in the original series. The Tritovores were a big part of that, not only in that they were fly-people, but also in that they wore silver spacesuits. This was a fun special. Why do all these new Who fans expect great drama every single time? That’s the beauty of Doctor Who. It can go from heavy drama one week, to rip-roaring comedy the next; from historical piece to futuristic sci-fi action. The original series didn’t even always focus on aliens (at least in the beginning). In fact, sometimes the Doctor was the only alien involved in the story during that very first incarnation played by William Hartnell.
I know people give RTD a lot of grief about some of his more ridiculous story ideas, but let’s think about this show’s history. There have been plenty of completely outlandish, unbelievable moments, and that’s what we love about the Doctor.
I, for one, hope that one day Malcolm and the Doctor get to have an adventure together. THAT would be something, indeed!
But, if you’re a fan of Doctor Who or just cheesy (in a good way) sci-fi adventure, you absolutely HAVE to see Planet of the Dead. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
William, the Movie Nerdfighter
who is still waiting for the day he hears that TARDIS appear and the Doctor yell “Allons-y!”
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