My 2009 Easter Special Review:
Planet of the Dead
This was broadcast as an Easter Special in a year when there were only 4 new stories for fans to see on TV. I suspect that is why it seems to have received an overly negative response and dismissed as disappointing. Fans were eager for more Doctor Who that year and expected that if they only got 4 stories they should all be awesome classics. That is an understandable reaction and indeed this is not an awesome classic so I guess it failed to meet expectations but I do think it was a decent episode.
Michelle Ryan as guest character Lady Christina is very good, the other passenger characters are decent with future Hollywood star Daniel Kaluuya (star of Get Out and Oscar winner for Judas and the Black Messiah) doing as great a job as you would expect in a small early role. Interestingly, when people talk about big stars who have appeared in Doctor Who people always seem to forget Daniel for some reason.
David Tennant acts brilliantly as always but has less meaty material than in other recent stories. Comedian Lee Evans has a fun appearance and the Tritovores are a fun alien race although with not much to do.
The visuals of the episode are great and there is some nice action and dialogue.
The story and certain ideas and scenes are more suited to a mid series filler episode than a special and are not totally satisfying but it is still pretty good fun.
My Rating: 8/10.
Planet of the Dead
This was broadcast as an Easter Special in a year when there were only 4 new stories for fans to see on TV. I suspect that is why it seems to have received an overly negative response and dismissed as disappointing. Fans were eager for more Doctor Who that year and expected that if they only got 4 stories they should all be awesome classics. That is an understandable reaction and indeed this is not an awesome classic so I guess it failed to meet expectations but I do think it was a decent episode.
Michelle Ryan as guest character Lady Christina is very good, the other passenger characters are decent with future Hollywood star Daniel Kaluuya (star of Get Out and Oscar winner for Judas and the Black Messiah) doing as great a job as you would expect in a small early role. Interestingly, when people talk about big stars who have appeared in Doctor Who people always seem to forget Daniel for some reason.
David Tennant acts brilliantly as always but has less meaty material than in other recent stories. Comedian Lee Evans has a fun appearance and the Tritovores are a fun alien race although with not much to do.
The visuals of the episode are great and there is some nice action and dialogue.
The story and certain ideas and scenes are more suited to a mid series filler episode than a special and are not totally satisfying but it is still pretty good fun.
My Rating: 8/10.