Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
I realized (okay, I was told) that I hadn’t made a single mention of the first Doctor Who special of the year. This is very poor on my part, considering how many times I watched the one minute trailer and how excited I was in general. It came out on Easter weekend and I watched it as soon as I could. Unfortunately, BBC America is slacking and it still hasn’t aired here, so I couldn’t watch it on my big screen, but I was happy just to see it.
Planet of the Dead is a stand-alone episode that finds the Doctor traveling by himself on Easter. He happens to be on a double decker bus that inadvertently passes through a wormhole and winds up on the desert planet San Helios. Also on board the bus is Lady Christina de Souza (played by Michelle Ryan, who is on the run after a botched jewel heist. The survivors on the bus have to figure out how to return home with the help of Unit officers and scientists back on Earth, as an unseen threat grows closer and closer.
The Doctor is brilliant as usual and played nicely off of Lady Christina. They made a good team as they ventured off into the desert, coming across the wreckage of a Tritovore ship. I’m not sure what a Tritovore is, but they turned out to be friendly. The Doctor learns of the giant swarm of metallic, sting-ray looking creatures that are creating the dark cloud approaching in the distance. There is little time for them to get back to the others on the bus, get them home, and of course, save the world.
I really enjoyed this episode. I wouldn’t put it in my top 5, but it was entertaining and it was a nice “welcome back” after an extended Who break. Stand-alone episodes are always difficult because there’s not as much vested interest as there is in season long stories like “Bad Wolf” or “Doomsday”, or even the spectacular two parters like “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” or “The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit”. They have to create meaningful characters and a story that is introduced, told, and wrapped up all in one shot. I’m sure that is extremely difficult to do, and Planet of the Dead did a great job. It had funny moments, suspense, and some interesting characters for the Doctor to meet. There was even some great foreshadowing for the 10th Doctor’s final adventures in the last 3 specials of the year.
The next special is titled The Water of Mars and it looks like a great kick off to the 3 specials, which will all air around Christmastime. I’ve heard a couple of spoilers, but I’ve tried really hard to stop sneaking peaks so that I’m surprised. Christmas is a long time to wait though. Fortunately, we have an awesome five episode Torchwood Special coming up this summer to tide everyone over. I love the BBC Sci-Fi!