Bad Dr Who, Good Lee Evans
You can't have a new episode of Dr Who without a rumour of a spin-off and sure enough, following the Doctor's Easter special Planet of the Dead comedian Lee Evans is being mooted as the co-star of his own breakaway show. In this weekend's episode Evans followed in the footsteps of Peter Kay and Catherine Tate and stole the show as obligatory comedy cameo. Dotty lab-coated boffin Malcolm Taylor was the kind of part Evans could probably have done without any rehearsals – he simply slicked down his hair, slicked up a Welsh accent and was off.
Evans had some of the bestlines in the programme – it was rather sweet that he had called a unit of measurement a "Malcolm", but beyond the overexcitable nerd stereotype there was not a lot of room for Evans to do what he does best onstage – run about like a bluebottle. That was left to the pretty dull aliens who were basically jobbing extras with giant bluebottle heads.
This was not the greatest Dr Who special by a long way. The tantalising trailers of the red London bus stranded in the desert made it look promising but it just couldn't live up to expectations. Evans being eminently watchable but not being stretched was typical of the way this yarn was severely lacking in the imagination department. Likewise those other monsters – the metallic manta ray things – felt like they have been seen in endless sci-fi romps of the past. This may have been a homage, but it felt like a lack of thought.
Meanwhile there was not much sign of sexual chemistry between David Tennant and Michelle Ryan. I'd heard rumours that Lily Allen was going to be a future Dr Who companion, but judging by Ryan's jet black fringe they clearly decided to hedge their bets and just cast her hair instead.
The appearance of Evans was a nice surprise for comedy fans but it would be have better to have had more of him. Which may be why there is talk of a spin-off. This is a character that Evans could really get his teeth into, but in this one-off he barely had a nibble.
Lee Evans, with or without comedy Welsh accent, is a sub Norman Wisdom one trick pony, the plot owed a great deal to The Langoliers, a novella by Stephen King and why are there always so many black people in Dr Who ? the Windrush couple complete with pork pie hat were totally cliched and as for the utterly capable black female army captain could anything be more PC ? I appreciate that Dr Who is ostensibly for children but please....
Posted by: Squiz | 14/04/2009 at 02:07 PM
Michelle Ryan was actually the highlight of this show and i would see a spin off with her.
Posted by: Kate | 14/04/2009 at 02:22 PM
The whole programme was over-hyped,over acted, under-written and I was underwhelmed by it all
Posted by: Steve | 14/04/2009 at 10:06 PM
Well I thought the episode was brilliant and Lee Evans in particular was great.
Posted by: Joanne | 15/04/2009 at 12:00 AM
I get the real impression that when it comes to specials Doctor Who is starting to run out of steam. When the writing has to run to 60 minutes, rather than the usual 45 minutes it seems stretched, and a little flabby.
Like a lot of people I asked who watched the show Planet of the Dead seemed more than disappointing, and frankly underwhelming. David Tennant was his incarnation of the Doctor by numbers - his usual performance, but suddenly lacking a little of that sparkle and energy he had a year or two go. I would almost go as far to say that he is starting to seem a little tired and care-worn in the role and I think he has made the right decision to move on.
As for Russell T Davies' writing; I am forever in debt to the man for bringing Doctor Who back so successfully, but his scripts are starting to become repetitive and a little creaky.
Despite its parallels with disaster movies of the 70s, I still think that the production team have a long way to go to beat the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned.
Posted by: Mark A | 15/04/2009 at 09:33 AM
this was classic doctor who, very enjoyable not sure what your all moaning about!
Posted by: Ben | 15/04/2009 at 12:20 PM
I agree with Squiz, that much of the plot was reminiscent of Stephen King's "Langoliers".
I liked Lee Evans' cameo, and was sorry he wasn't featured more.
Otherwise, it was rather average I'm afraid.
Posted by: Yvonne | 15/04/2009 at 03:56 PM
I really don’t think that I could stand a spoiled princess who steals fortunes rather than shops for them as a companion. She doesn’t even have that sense of hidden morality that you had with Jack, just the evident “it’s all about me, isn’t it” smirk.
They didn’t even try to give the character some endearing characteristics. Yeah, she speaks French, big deal. She carries more junk in her bag than the tardis, still boring. Her leadership skills boil down to “I like listening to my own posh voice.” Not overwhelming. She was less about spunk and more about being a bored debutante.
The character came across as someone who wants a thrill and when that doesn’t work, a quick way out of it. I don’t see that compatible with the Doctor who is not afraid to make the hard decisions and the hard work if necessary, just not the paperwork.
Posted by: kar | 15/04/2009 at 04:53 PM
I thought it was a great special. The only thing that seemed to spoil it was the flying bus. All the rest of it was in context and I agree, it would have been fun to have had more Lee Evans but a flying bus???? Nope RTD - that was just a weeeny bit tooo over the top. They should have just got the bus through the worm hole and let Lady Christine leg it after her cuffs had been zapped by the Doc. The same can be said of the Xmas special - the walking steam powered Victorian cyberman was just too silly. I think it really is time for RTD to move on. Shame DT has to go too but then we can look forward to some of his other fab characters.
Posted by: Ruth 2E | 15/04/2009 at 09:54 PM
What a remarkable world we live in when a time travelling Doctor in a disappearing Police Box, fly-like aliens, their spaceship, a desert planet of the dead and flying manta-ray style munching creatures etc are all acceptable but "a flying bus" is over the top!
Posted by: Michelle | 16/04/2009 at 04:20 PM
Average, but that's to be expected, it's a build up for the next three specials (I hope) when the story line will beef up. The recent specials are never that good anyway, simply flippant one off treats for the holidays.
And squiz, the show's set in london. Not a Richard Curtis "london", but actual London. Figure it out.
Posted by: bry | 17/04/2009 at 07:00 PM
Bry if the show was supposed to be set in an actual London the bus would have been absolutely packed with the majority of passengers asian in origin, not white or black. My point is not about ethnicity as such but why so many afro-carribeans all the time ? there are no Chinese, Asians, Eastern Europeans, no Scots, Welsh (Lee Evans comedy accent notwithstanding) or Irish. In the Christmas special we were treated to David Morrisey's sidekick apparently just thrown into the mix to show the kids that Victorian England was knee-deep in West Indians.
Posted by: Squiz | 27/04/2009 at 05:31 PM
u lot are all strange!!! i loved the special!!! don't be mean about doctor who, its soooo good - my friends and i are just annoyed because it will probably end soon. Also, RTD is a very good writer, and doctor who is going to become much scarier when that other guy who wrote 'blink' will be writing it.....
Posted by: em x | 14/05/2009 at 04:16 PM
Squiz, you show your own prejudices by referring to people as 'West Indians', a term not used for years by anyone under seventy!! It seems you have a problem with the number of black people in the programme, however many episodes go by without a single non-white person appearing but you don't seem bothered by that! Just keep your prejudices to yourself and either enjoy (or not) the programme and remember a person is usually cast in any modern drama because of their ability not their colour.
Posted by: Caryne Pearce | 17/05/2009 at 07:03 PM
What everyone seems to have missed is that Doctor Who is an excuse to play with the absurd, create mayhem and enjoy the impossible! Its designed for the viewing pleasure of the open minded and to spark the imagination of every inner child.
The danger is to see and think too far into it. Start trying to find a reasonable explanation for the absurd and you'll find yourself falling further into the pit of confusion with nothing but a thin thread of self righteousness to hang on to as a lifeline.
It's meant to be enjoyed. If it fails to engage your imagination and sense of adventure, maybe playtime's over for the inner child.
Posted by: Emma Stacey | 19/05/2009 at 04:58 PM
Contrary to many of the opinions here, I thought Michelle Ryan was very poor. She was extremely wooden and seemed to be reading her lines at some points rather than acting. She also had only one expression - smiling - even when she thought they were all going to die, and looked waaaaay too pleased to be there! I hope the new producer goes for acting skill over looks for the next companion...please!
Posted by: Geoff | 21/05/2009 at 01:59 PM
i thought mr slumpy had the best role.......even though the insect habitat lacked the touch of paganism art!
Posted by: bob strange | 03/06/2009 at 03:23 AM