LANDRU141: Doctor Who “The Lazarus Experiment”

8/10 - Strong rebound ...

The Plot - The TARDIS materializes in Martha's flat. The Doctor tells her that they had agreed - one trip and home. It is about twelve hours after they left. Martha's phone rings, but she does not pick it up; it is her mother, Francine, saying that her sister Tish is on the news. Martha turns the television on and, alongside Tish, an elderly man, Professor Richard Lazarus, announces that tonight he "will change what it means to be human." The Doctor says goodbye to Martha and, oblivious to her upset, steps into the TARDIS. It dematerializes, but quickly rematerializes.

“Hang On,” the Doctor says as he pokes his head back out. "Did he say he was going to change what it meant to be human?"

Lazarus invents a machine that makes you young. He’s a creepy old/young guy played by Mark Gatiss (who is actually really good in this) and then he turns into some kind of giant crab (some genetic strand we rejected in our evolution.)

The Rant – Well, this was sure a bright spot after last week’s really depressingly bad Dalek story. There really isn’t much to complain about here, apart from the monster. Bad CGI and a poorly conceived idea – basically a massive rip-off of John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” The other main issue is the way the story works … the “fake ending” up to the church bell tower … I mean, this stuff was cliché in “Die Hard.” It could have gone some place better.

The Review – This was surprising because it was so good after something so lame. There is always a dread of these middle season shows where things get stretched out. And, add to that Gatiss (another in the clique) playing something as stale as a man who invents a machine to get younger … well, not terribly thrilling. But, ironically, Gatiss was very good (especially as the creepy older version … Him hitting on Tish was disturbing) and even his mini-monologue in the church had a good classic Who acting appeal. The story pays obvious homage to “The Quatermass Experiment” (which was remounted a few years ago with Gatiss and David Tennant.)

The return to Earth means the return to the “domestic” aspects of Doctor Who. I do not really care about the companions mother, father, brother, cousin, in general … that’s sort of the point of the show. But, it looks like in this season the mother is going to play a pivotal role. We do find out a bit more about the mysterious Mister Saxon. Lazarus’ research is basically funded by Saxon (hmm, I wonder why?) And, his goons slip some nasty words into Martha’s mother’s ear about the Doctor …